Rhode vs. Natsu

"Let's settle this once and for all, Rhode!"

Natsu was as direct as ever. He did not even bother with a normal greeting before getting straight to the point.

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

Natsu shot back, "Hasn't it already stopped?"

"Huh?"

Rhode looked outside. Sunlight streamed through gaps in the dark clouds, like strands of golden thread falling from the heavens.

Then more and more light broke through as the clouds rapidly dispersed, revealing a clear blue sky.

"..." Rhode was stunned. "Are you Honoka Kousaka or something?"

"Who's that? Is she strong?"

"In a sense." Rhode stopped making excuses. "Fine, let's do this."

Natsu took the lead, jumping into the backyard and stomping twice in the mud. Rhode suddenly did not want to go anymore.

After thinking it over, he turned back for help. "Laki?"

"Leave it to me." Laki cast her magic. "Wood Shape: Spotless Pure Love!"

A circular wooden floor ten meters across appeared in the backyard, like an arena.

Several people around Laki immediately mocked the name she had come up with, but Laki looked immensely pleased with herself.

Natsu jumped onto it and stomped his feet. "Oh! This is nice! Let's make it so that whoever falls out of the ring loses!"

"How about falling down counts as losing too?" Rhode would rather fake a fall than roll around in mud.

Natsu had no objections. The spectators were already in place, and Master had even opened up betting—Rhode had no idea when the old man had appeared.

"Then, Natsu versus Rhode, begin!"

Rhode gripped his pendant. "I am the One who communicates the path between two realms—

Rift Scuttler!"

Like Erza, Natsu had enough fighting spirit not to launch a sneak attack. Still, Rhode felt awkward about it. He needed to shorten that chant as soon as possible.

The moment Rift Scuttler appeared, Natsu could no longer hold himself back. He slammed his fists together, flames bursting from them, then dashed forward like a fire dragon pouncing with its front claws.

"Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!"

That punch was not aimed at Rhode, but at Rift Scuttler.

The blazing fist enlarged in "Rhode's vision," making him instinctively raise a hand to shield his face before realizing that it was Rift Scuttler's vision.

In his panic, he had no idea what command to give, while Rift Scuttler had already begun moving on instinct, raising one of its short claws.

Natsu's fist struck the green Crab Claw, scorching flames rushing toward Rift Scuttler's eyes.

The tremendous force drove Rift Scuttler's six legs through the wooden floor, sending it sliding back more than two meters.

Splinters and the mud beneath the platform flew everywhere. Rhode was knocked along with it, ending up half-sprawled across Rift Scuttler's back.

If not for the ridges on its shell that he could grab onto, he might have been thrown off.

"Urgh..." Rhode's stomach churned from the impact. He felt that if he had taken that punch directly, he might have died.

Seeing Rhode's reaction, Master decided to give this inexperienced child a quick lesson.

"Magic power is not only used to cast magic. It can also be used for defense. Even if you do not know defensive magic, it can still provide some protection, though it is less efficient."

Rhode nodded. He understood. It was like using internal energy, except far less cost-effective than defensive magic.

"Rift Scuttler, charge!"

However, his command came a little too late. After being attacked, Rift Scuttler had already started fleeing on instinct.

It even left behind afterimages—in game terms, it was probably some small built-in speed boost.

That betrayal left Rhode directly face-to-face with Natsu, less than three meters apart.

Only after hearing Rhode's command did Rift Scuttler turn back and charge again.

"So fast!" Natsu had originally planned to rush Rhode and give him his usual friendship-breaking punch—the kind without fire on it.

But Rift Scuttler was unexpectedly quick. Facing it head-on really did feel different from watching it from the sidelines yesterday.

"Now this is fun!" Natsu laughed instead, spreading his arms and grabbing the tips of both huge claws.

Screech...

Rift Scuttler pushed Natsu backward, his leather sandals scraping harshly against the magically created wooden floor.

Yet after retreating less than a meter, Natsu had already planted himself firmly. He grinned at Rift Scuttler.

"Got you!"

Flames burst across Natsu's body as he drove his head straight into Rift Scuttler's face. "Dragon Slayer's Roar!"

"Squeak, squeak~~"

With a bang, Rift Scuttler was knocked onto its back by the headbutt. Flames spread over its entire body as it let out shrill squeals.

Before it could struggle more than a few times, its body gradually turned transparent before disappearing completely.

"Oh no!" Natsu clutched his head and rubbed his hair in frustration. "I went too far!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Natsu pressed his palms together and darted over to Rhode, apologizing frantically.

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

Rhode remained calm. "It's fine. It isn't dead."

"Really?" Natsu remained in his apologetic pose, looking up at Rhode.

"It really isn't dead. You can think of it as being forcibly sent back. It'll be fine after it recovers."

Rhode could now vaguely sense a body of water. Rift Scuttler was hiding beneath the surface, with only a pair of antennae sticking out.

In game terms, it was waiting to respawn.

But Rift Scuttler's disappearance made Rhode feel that its existence might be different from Poro's.

"So that's how it is!" Natsu sprang far back in an instant. "Then let's go again! What other monsters do you have? Bring them all out! Ahahaha!"

Was this guy a one-track mind or what? He adjusted his mood way too quickly.

Still, it suited the hot-blooded manga protagonist type perfectly.

Rhode learned a little more about Natsu's personality, but as for continuing to summon...

He looked toward Poro Worm at the edge of the arena.

Worm "casually" hid behind Happy.

Rhode sighed. Just as expected, he was no help.

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

He had agreed to fight Natsu in the first place to gain some combat experience. If he was too afraid of getting beaten up and surrendered right away, there would have been no point.

Natsu raised his fists as well, flashing Rhode a bright smile.

Only afterward, when Rhode thought back on it, he always felt that Natsu had smiled like a demon.

Damn it, he hit way too hard!

"Hiss... It hurts, it hurts, it hurts..."

Mira carefully used tweezers to hold a cotton ball as she applied medicine to Rhode's swollen cheek.

Rhode sat in a chair, gripping its backrest with both hands and baring his teeth from the pain. He could not even spare attention for how close Mira was standing, something he had been slightly conscious of at first.

"Hang in there a little longer. I'll be done soon." Mira switched cotton balls and dipped the new one in medicine. "Didn't the defensive technique Master taught you work?"

"It worked, but it's not like I learned it instantly, and... hiss... who knew he'd go straight for my face!"

Mira smiled. "That's how Natsu usually fights... There, turn around... By the way, are you going to keep doing this kind of training?"

Rhode turned around and pulled down his collar, revealing the bruise on the back of his shoulder.

Remembering the painful experience from earlier, he nodded with a miserable expression.

"The more that happens, the more I need to keep fighting people. Better to get beaten up in the guild than get beaten to death outside... hiss..."