The guild was less than a kilometer away; even at a leisurely pace, it would take less than twenty minutes to get there.
But the tempting aromas drifting from all the breakfast stalls and shops along the way slowed Rhode down somewhat.
Worm was even more troubled than he was, its huge tongue hanging out as its eyes darted around, not knowing where to look.
The variety of food here was as diverse as the clothing styles—Chinese, European, Japanese, and everything in between.
Rhode picked a bun shop that looked decent and bought two buns, one for himself and one for Worm.
Rhode only ate half of his before giving the remaining half to Worm.
He thought that until he had more money to spare, he should avoid wasting food. Buying this was worse than going to the guild and having a bowl of noodles.
Worm, on the other hand, ate happily. Perhaps resources had been scarce in that awful place, the Howling Abyss, because the little one was not picky at all.
"Good morning, Mira."
"Good morning, Rhode. And Worm."
Laki arrived a little late today. The moment she came in, she apologized breathlessly, "Sorry, I was organizing my collection this morning and lost track of time."
"It's all right," Mira said. "There isn't much to do in the mornings, and Rhode is helping out now."
"A collection?" Rhode was rather curious about what Laki collected. Wood carvings, perhaps? After all, she used Wood Shape magic.
"Laki's collection is quite interesting," Mira said with a smile. "If Rhode gets the chance, you should definitely go take a look."
Rhode had already learned a little about Mira's dark side. Looking at her smile, he felt there was nothing simple about this.
"Unfortunately, boys are strictly forbidden from entering the girls' dormitory. But when I have time, I can bring one or two smaller pieces for you to see."
Laki adjusted her glasses. The white gleam reflecting off the lenses made Rhode feel that something was even more wrong.
"Just asking, it isn't anything terrifying, right?"
"Of course not! They're all very cute collectibles!"
Rhode grew even more suspicious. Mira refused to say anything and only smiled, as though she were looking forward to seeing Rhode's 'surprised' expression.
He would find out sooner or later anyway. Rhode set aside his curiosity and decided to have a bowl of noodles first.
After he had eaten and drunk his fill, the guild gradually grew livelier. The Master appeared in casual clothes, carrying a wooden staff. As usual, he sat cross-legged on the counter, watching the children laugh and play.
Anyone who did not know the truth would probably think he was merely an ordinary, kindly old man.
"Master, regarding my magic, there's something I want to know without holding anything back..."
After finishing the chores assigned to him, Rhode immediately went to Makarov and explained his situation.
"I see. Then let's try it now. We'll go behind the guild."
Makarov was actually a little moved. Before doing something potentially dangerous, this child had come to ask for his opinion!
His levelheadedness already surpassed more than ninety percent of Fairy Tail's members.
"Also, that isn't how you use 'know without holding anything back.'"
"Oh."
Rhode went to let Mira know, left Worm behind in the tavern to play, and headed toward the back door with the Master.
Behind the guild was a large courtyard, surrounded by bluestone walls. In the middle stood an iron gate bearing the Fairy Tail Emblem.
Rhode looked out through the gaps in the gate. Beyond it stretched an endless expanse of water. The rising sun cast orange-red light over the surface, only for the breeze to shatter it into rippling sparkles.
As someone who was not particularly disciplined, Rhode had not seen a sunrise in a long time since starting university.
"So the guild is by the sea?"
"No, it's a lake. It's just very large." Knowing that Rhode still lacked some common knowledge, Makarov added,
"Magnolia is an inland city. If you want to see the sea, you'll need to take a train to Harujion. It's a port city with some lovely scenery."
"Then I definitely need to go see it someday." Rhode set himself another small goal.
Having somewhere he wanted to go was a good thing. What Makarov feared most was Rhode losing his direction in life.
As things stood, as long as Rhode had something he wanted to do—whether learning magic or traveling—it was all good.
"All right, let's begin."
"Okay." Rhode pulled the pendant from beneath his collar and recited the incantation once again.
This time, a vortex appeared on the ground. And through it, he no longer sensed freezing wind, but moist water vapor. He could vaguely make out the shadows of aquatic plants.
The vortex vanished, and Rhode felt the magic within him pour out like a flood. In an instant, more than half of it was gone.
Ripples like those on the surface of water spread across the ground. From their center emerged a green, shelled creature nearly one and a half meters tall and around two meters long.
It had six legs, a pair of short pincers, two gleaming green eyes on its head, and a pair of antennae resembling twin ponytails.
It seemed a little wider, shorter, and lower than an ordinary minivan.
"Is that... a crab?" Makarov looked slightly upward at the creature, which was taller than he was.
"I think so..." The moment it appeared, Rhode already knew this big fellow's name. "It's called a Rift Scuttler. It comes from the river in Summoner's Rift. Its special trait is... that it runs very fast?"
The Rift Scuttler was commonly known as the river crab, crab, Riverway Crab, and so on.
Like Poro, it was a creature from the game League of Legends, though they did not come from the same map.
More precisely, it came from the Serpentine River, also called the Serpentine River, though Rhode, like most players, had no idea what that river was called.
Unlike Poro, which was something like a mascot, the Rift Scuttler was a neutral creature—a jungle monster, in common terms. Killing it granted gold and experience.
In the game, the Riverway Crab was probably the weakest kind of jungle monster, because it—
COULDN'T! ATTACK!
Apparently, in ancient versions of the game, the Riverway Crab had once possessed attack power. But when Rhode played, it was a jungle monster that only knew how to run after getting hit.
This thing was probably one of Tatsuya's favorite jungle monsters. Almost every time before or after coming to Rhode's lane to support him, Tatsuya would kill a Riverway Crab for fun.
He could skip the kills, but the Riverway Crab had to be taken.
Rhode was not overly disappointed that his second summon might still have no offensive ability.
Because what disappointed him more was that his summoning path might be different from what he had imagined.
He had thought he could obtain the help of all sorts of beau... all sorts of powerful heroes. Now, it seemed he could only summon jungle monsters.
Rhode gripped the necklace Tatsuya had given him with mixed feelings. Was this what he got for wearing a necklace gifted by an arrogant jungler?
At this rate, he would not need to call himself Rhode anymore. He could just change his name to Ivern.
Grumbling inwardly was one thing, but he still had to practice this magic.
Though it differed from the direction he had expected, summoning jungle monsters was still powerful.
One day, when he could summon a Little Dragon or a Big Dragon, wouldn't he be invincible?
Setting those thoughts aside for now, the Swift Crab before him was larger than Rhode had expected.
But thinking of the size comparison between the heroes and the Riverway Crab in the game, it really did seem about this large.
Though it was not aggressive in the game, in reality, with that size alone, getting rammed by it would probably be pretty deadly, wouldn't it?
Rhode sensed the tangible magical connection between himself and the Swift Crab. With the Master standing nearby, he finally gathered the courage to approach it.
As though it understood Rhode's thoughts, the Swift Crab docilely lowered its body, allowing Rhode to place his hand between its two antennae—probably counting as a head pat.
It felt cool and slightly damp, though thankfully it did not smell fishy.
"Do you have any special abilities that I don't know about?"
Rhode thought the game's settings might have changed after being reflected into this magical world, so he asked.
He had actually asked Poro Worm the same question...
Then Worm had demonstrated such incredibly 'powerful' abilities as hugging his leg, leaping into his arms, and eating.
Now, Rhode only hoped this Rift Scuttler could bring him even the slightest surprise.
Before you continue