As for Teams C and D, they were also capable, but if they ran into other elite teams, they could not necessarily guarantee victory.
After all, this time the S-Class Mages from other guilds had been allowed to participate, which greatly raised the strength of every team. In that regard, Fairy Tail had suffered quite a disadvantage.
If Fairy Tail's S-Class Mages had not been gathered into a separate boss team, they could have assigned one S-Class Mage to each team.
In that case, it would not matter even if the other guilds also had S-Class Mages participating.
There were differences even among S-Class Mages.
Fairy Tail's Team C consisted of Jet, Droy, Bisca, Alzack, Warren, and Reedus.
Team D consisted of Macao, Wakaba, Joy, Marcus, Vijeeter, and Miki.
For them, being able to group up was a happy thing.
One team acting alone might not be able to defeat those powerful elite teams, but if the two teams combined, their combat strength would instantly double and their safety would rise tremendously.
Very few other Mage Guilds had two teams participating together.
Even if they did, their second team was usually not that strong.
Because of that, Teams C and D grouping up was still a major advantage.
With two veterans, Macao and Wakaba, holding the line, along with younger members who each had their own unique abilities, they would definitely give those elite teams plenty of trouble.
...
Before long, after entering the floating labyrinth, Fairy Tail's four teams regrouped.
They immediately began comparing their map fragments.
This was where Reedus showed his specialty.
He could directly draw out the map they currently had, allowing all four teams to possess a copy.
"Five fragments, but only three of them are useful. Not bad."
Reedus looked at the five map fragments in his hands as he spoke.
Although two fragments had been wasted, that was still within an acceptable range.
As for why they had five fragments, it was because Freed's Team B had casually eliminated a team on their way to regroup.
That unlucky team had been eliminated almost as soon as the game began.
"Teams A and B should act separately. Teams C and D will move together. You two teams are strong enough, so there's no need to group up and waste time."
While Reedus was drawing the map, Macao brought up the next arrangement.
This kind of thing was easier to accept if he said it first.
Otherwise, Lucy and Freed might not have felt comfortable suggesting it.
"All right. We'll move in three different directions and collect map fragments separately!"
Lucy nodded.
She believed that with Macao and the others' strength, they would not be eliminated.
This arrangement was indeed the better choice. It also prevented Fairy Tail from being wiped out all at once.
"Agreed."
Freed nodded as well.
By then, Reedus had finished drawing the map fragments.
Each team was starting with three map fragments.
That was a good beginning.
Perhaps they were already ahead of quite a few other teams.
"Here. Take this mobile phone. It only works at close range for now, but at least it should reach a little farther than my magic."
Before they split up, Warren tossed two "mobile phones" to Teams A and B.
These were first-generation models and were still very incomplete, but it was better to be prepared.
Warren could not maintain his Telepathy Magic to contact everyone at all times, but the mobile phones could continuously perform automatic detection.
When the teams entered communication range, the phones would give a notification.
"This thing is amazing."
Lucy looked at the mobile phone and immediately saw the business potential contained within it.
As expected of the research her Master had always strongly promoted and funded.
This device would definitely sell across the entire world and completely change the way people communicated.
"Let's move! Everyone advance together!"
Macao shouted, cheering everyone on.
The tense atmosphere of the preliminary round had even made an old-timer like him excited.
People always said that Fairy Tail already belonged to the younger generation, but he wanted to show everyone that their generation was still the backbone of the guild.
They could still shine and give their strength to Fairy Tail.
"Advance together!"
The Fairy Tail members shouted together, then quickly separated.
The four teams split into three directions and began sweeping through the labyrinth.
Any guild that ran into them could only consider itself unlucky.
"Fairy Tail's four teams have a huge advantage!"
Through the broadcast lacrima, Pumpkin-headed King Toma commentated on the preliminary round.
He was truly being worked to the bone.
There was no helping it. Too many things were happening at once, and there was no way he could cover all of them.
Because of that, King Toma could only choose the teams with the highest attention and focus his commentary on them, then read out the names of the teams that were eliminated.
Fairy Tail's four teams were incredibly popular, so naturally King Toma paid special attention to them.
And at a glance, he could see that their momentum was fierce.
One team after another was being eliminated by them.
The map had been divided into many fragments, and some of them were even duplicates. Gathering the full map was still quite troublesome.
Although Fairy Tail's Teams A and B were very strong, their luck seemed slightly poor. They had still not managed to complete the full map.
It had to be said that luck was a very important part of this preliminary round.
Both the initial starting-point assignment and whether one could encounter the exact map fragments one needed depended heavily on luck.
Teams with bad luck were carried out almost as soon as things began.
Meanwhile, teams with bad luck but strong ability might keep failing to encounter the fragments they needed.
"Looks like your luck isn't very good."
Goldmine stood beside Marco, his tone carrying a hint of gloating.
Quatro Cerberus's team was already only one fragment away from completing their map.
Under the condition where Fairy Tail's teams had started with three fragments each, they had managed to overtake them.
"No need to rush. Didn't one of our teams already gather everything?"
Marco remained calm and composed.
Lucy's Team A still needed two fragments, while Freed's Team B needed one.
Both teams had been stuck for a while, but the problem would soon be solved because they were about to run into each other again.
"The phone lit up! There's a team nearby!"
An anxious Lucy looked at the mobile phone, which had suddenly started vibrating.
The thing looked like a huge brick and was somewhat troublesome to carry, but Lucy had kept it out the whole time.
After all, staying in contact with Fairy Tail's other teams was crucial.
For example, right now.
Their Team A had been stuck on these two fragments for ages.
If they could meet up with their guildmates, perhaps they would complete the map immediately.
...
"Hello? Can you hear me?"
Hearing a voice come through the mobile phone, Lucy's expression brightened.
The companions around her also let out sighs of relief.
They had really made contact.
"Freed! How many fragments are you still missing?!"
As Lucy asked, she and Freed compared their positions. The two teams quickly moved toward one another.
And after checking which fragments each side lacked, both teams immediately relaxed.
"We finally completed it!"
Lucy shouted happily.
Hisui, Juvia, Levy, Wendy, and Cana all cheered as well.
This mobile phone had truly done great work!
Otherwise, they had no idea how many more teams they would have had to defeat before completing the map.