Rhode vs. Natsu

"Let's settle this, Rhode!"

Natsu was direct, getting straight to the point without even a proper greeting.

Rhode said helplessly, "At least wait until the rain stops?"

Natsu retorted, "Hasn't it already stopped?"

"Huh?"

Rhode looked outside. Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the clouds, like golden threads scattered from the heavens.

More light followed, the clouds rapidly dissipated, and the sky turned a clear blue.

"..." Rhode was shocked. "Are you Honoka Kousaka?"

"Who's that? Is she strong?"

"In a way." Rhode no longer made excuses. "Then let's do this."

Natsu took the lead, jumping into the backyard and stomping his feet in the mud. Rhode suddenly lost the desire to go.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to ask for help: "Laki?"

"Leave it to me." Laki activated her magic: "Wood Shape: Pure Love Immaculate!"

A circular wooden floor, ten meters in diameter, appeared in the backyard, like a wrestling ring.

Several people around Laki complained about the name she chose, but Laki was quite pleased with herself.

Natsu jumped onto it and stomped his foot, happily saying, "Oh! This is good. I've decided, falling out of bounds means you lose!"

"How about falling down also counts as losing?" Rhode would rather fake a fall than get covered in mud.

Natsu had no objections. The spectators were in position, and the Guild Master had even set up bets—Rhode didn't even know when the old man had shown up.

"Alright, Natsu vs. Rhode, begin!"

Rhode grasped his pendant: "I am the one who bridges the paths between two realms...

Canyon Swiftclaw!"

Natsu, like Erza, was honorable and didn't resort to sneak attacks, but Rhode felt awkward. He really needed to shorten this incantation.

When the Canyon Swiftclaw appeared, Natsu could no longer hold back. He slammed his fists together, flames erupting around them, and charged forward like a fire dragon swinging its forelegs:

"Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!"

The punch wasn't aimed at Rhode but at the River Crab.

The scorching fiery fist magnified in 'Rhode's vision,' making him instinctively raise his hands to block his face, but he immediately realized it was the River Crab's vision.

In his haste, he didn't know what command to give, and the River Crab was already acting on instinct, raising one of its short claws.

Natsu's fist struck the green crab claw, and the scorching flames shot towards the River Crab's eyes.

The immense force caused the River Crab's six legs to pierce the wooden floor beneath and slide back more than two meters.

Splintered wood mixed with the mud below flew up. Rhode was also hit, half his body sprawled across the River Crab's back.

If not for some protrusions on the shell he could grip, he might have been flung off.

"Ugh..." Rhode, hit in the stomach, felt like he was going to vomit. He felt that if he had taken that punch directly, he might have died.

Seeing Rhode's reaction, the Guild Master decided to give the inexperienced child some impromptu training:

"Magic isn't just for casting spells; it can also be used for defense. Even if you don't know defensive magic, it can provide some protection, though the efficiency is lower."

Rhode nodded, understanding. It was like using internal energy, but with much lower cost-effectiveness than using defensive magic.

"Canyon Swiftclaw, charge!"

However, his command came too late. After being attacked, the River Crab had already begun to flee instinctively.

It even ran with a blurred afterimage—in a game, this would probably be a small speed boost skill the River Crab possessed.

This betrayal of his teammate caused Rhode to face Natsu directly, only three meters apart.

Only when he heard Rhode's command did the River Crab turn back and accelerate its charge again.

"So fast!" Natsu had been about to charge forward and deliver a friendly punch—one without fire—out of habit from their usual fights.

But the River Crab's speed was unexpectedly fast. Facing it head-on was indeed different from watching from the sidelines yesterday.

"This is more like it!" Natsu grinned instead, opening his hands and gripping the tips of the two large crab claws.

Chii...

Natsu was pushed back by the River Crab, his leather sandals making an unpleasant sound against the magical wooden floor.

However, after retreating less than a meter, Natsu stood firm, a grin spreading across his face as he looked at the River Crab:

"Gotcha!"

Flames erupted all over Natsu's body, and he headbutted the River Crab's face: "Dragon Slayer's Roar!"

"Squeak squeak~~"

With a bang, the River Crab was flipped over by the headbutt, flames engulfing its entire body as it let out a pained squeal.

Before it could struggle a few times, the River Crab's form gradually became transparent, finally disappearing completely.

"This is bad!" Natsu covered his head with both hands, rubbing his hair in frustration. "I overdid it!"

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Natsu clasped his hands together and darted to Rhode's side, apologizing profusely.

"I didn't mean to kill it! Sorry, sorry, sorry..."

Rhode, however, was unhurried. "It's fine, it's not dead."

"Really?" Natsu remained in his bowing posture, looking up at Rhode.

"It's really not dead. You can consider it forcibly returned. It just needs to recover from its injuries."

Rhode could now vaguely sense a body of water, with the River Crab hiding beneath the surface, only a pair of tentacles exposed above the water.

In game terms, it was waiting to respawn.

However, the River Crab's disappearance this time made Rhode feel that this particular River Crab's existence might be different from that of a Poro.

"So that's how it is!" Natsu suddenly leaped back a considerable distance. "Then let's go again! Bring out any other monsters, all of them! Ahahaha!"

Is this guy dense? His mood swings are too fast.

Though it does fit the persona of a hot-blooded shonen protagonist.

Rhode learned a little more about Natsu's personality, but then he continued to summon...

He glanced at the Poro Warm on the sidelines.

Warm 'casually' dodged behind Happy.

Rhode sighed, as expected, he couldn't count on them.

He clenched his fist and faced Natsu. "Let's do this!"

He had agreed to fight Natsu in the first place to gain some combat experience. If he surrendered out of fear of getting beaten, it would be meaningless.

Natsu also raised his fist, showing Rhode a bright, cheerful smile.

Only later, when he recalled it, Rhode always felt that Natsu's smile was like that of a demon.

Damn it, he hit too hard!

"Ouch... it hurts, it hurts..."

Mira carefully used tweezers to hold a cotton ball, dabbing medicine onto Rhode's swollen cheek.

Rhode sat on the chair, gripping the armrests, wincing in pain. He couldn't even bother with the issue of Mira being a little too close, which had bothered him initially.

"Just bear with it a little longer, it'll be fine soon," Mira switched to a new cotton ball, dipping it in the medicinal liquid again. "Did the defensive techniques the Master taught you not work?"

"They worked, but I haven't mastered them yet, and... ouch... who knew he'd go straight for the face!"

Mira chuckled. "Natsu usually fights like this... Alright, turn around... Speaking of which, will you still need this kind of training in the future?"

Rhode turned, pulling down his collar slightly to reveal the bruise on his upper back.

Recalling the painful experience just now, he nodded with a crestfallen face.

"The more like this, the more I need to keep sparring. Getting beaten up in the guild is better than being killed outside... ouch..."