Three Doors?

Rhode threw a punch, but his opponent swiftly dodged and followed up with a high side kick.

Rhode raised his arm and blocked it firmly, but his opponent had already vanished.

Hearing a faint sound behind him, Rhode quickly turned aside. His shoulder was grazed, and his upper body swayed slightly before he immediately steadied himself and spun around with a backfist.

Bang!

The punch landed solidly. His opponent crossed his arms in front of him, left arm horizontal and right arm vertical, blocking the blow in an X.

"That punch was heavy! You're much stronger than they said you were!"

His opponent took half a step back, then simply did two more flips to open up the distance again, rubbing his forearm.

Salsuk, nicknamed Jet, wore a purple shirt, a wide-brimmed hat over a foot tall, loose riding trousers, and long boots suited for running.

He was a member of Levy's Chariot Engine Squad. Ever since the three of them had returned from their last job, they had not gone out to work again, spending every day in the guild laughing and fooling around with their companions.

Rhode did not know whether Jet was interested in the rumor that he planned to fight everyone in the guild, or whether he was a little unhappy that Levy had recently been accompanying Rhode as he studied foreign languages.

Either way, Jet had voluntarily put his name on the "waiting list" to fight Rhode, and his teammate Troy had done the same.

They had been trading punches and kicks for several minutes now. So far, Jet was the first opponent Rhode had encountered who was evenly matched with him in hand-to-hand combat.

Rhode did not know whether he had grown stronger or his opponent had grown weaker, but either way, he had not suffered today.

"You're impressive too. Your movements are incredibly agile."

His strength is a little lacking, though... Rhode silently warned himself not to get too smug.

"Jet! If you can't win, hurry up and admit defeat so I can take your place!" Troy loudly "cheered" for Jet. "Levy thinks I'm the one who can win too!"

Jet turned his head and roared, "Shut up, Troy! Levy obviously supports me more!"

Levy sighed and said softly, "I never said anything like that... Still, Rhode has improved so quickly. He can already match Jet blow for blow."

After yelling at his best friend, Jet pressed down the brim of his hat, smiled at Rhode, and assumed a runner's starting stance.

"Now I'll show you my magic. I'm the fastest man in the guild—that's why they call me Jet!"

"Divine Feet!" Jet shot forward like a feathered arrow.

Rhode had only just seen him start moving when a gust of wind sounded by his ear—it was the wind Jet stirred up as he raced past him!

Jet did not attack immediately. Instead, he began circling Rhode.

Bursts of wind and footsteps rang out, making it difficult for Rhode to catch sight of Jet.

By Rhode's rough estimate, Rift Scuttler's sprinting speed was probably about the same as Jet's. However, Rift Scuttler could dash and stop suddenly, but it could not turn as nimbly as Jet or run in such a small circle.

Watching this scene, Rhode could not help thinking of that scene from next door where Little Li ran circles around Gaara.

He really wanted to stick out a leg and trip him...

But before Rhode could move, Jet had already flashed back to his original position. He stretched each leg to the side and rolled his neck.

"Warm-up's over. I remember you have a crab that runs really fast, right? Aren't you going to summon it?"

"No. Rift Scuttler isn't the one making an appearance today." Rhode gripped his pendant as magic power surged within him.

"I am One who communicates the path between two realms. You, creature of Summoner's Rift, heed my call and pass through the gate! Ancient Stone Beetle!"

"A beetle?" Troy, who had been about to continue "encouraging" Jet, shuddered. "You aren't going to summon a huge swarm of bugs, are you? That would be terrifying!"

If it really was a swarm of insects, he even wanted to hide behind Levy.

The pendant in Rhode's hand gave off a blue glow. The ground beneath his feet trembled lightly, and then two Stone Beetles burst from the earth and stood in front of him.

The larger one stood over two meters tall, with four thick, stone-pillar-like legs, huge pincer-like mandibles in front, and a crack like a seam in stone running along its back.

The smaller one looked nearly identical to the larger one, but stood only around one and a half meters tall.

When the two Stone Beetles stood still, they resembled a pair of large and small rocks. Once they moved, however, the cracks on their backs began to glow blue.

"Click, click, click..." The Stone Beetles gently opened and closed their mandibles as they waited for their master's command.

Rhode checked the magic power consumption inside him again—it was the same as when he had first summoned them before the Master yesterday, roughly the amount needed to summon three Rift Scuttlers.

However, perhaps because he was more proficient than yesterday, the expenditure had dropped slightly, by about the amount of one Poro. Better than nothing.

"These are beetles?!" Troy was no longer afraid of them, but a different kind of fear immediately took its place.

"They look strong!" Facing the two hulking creatures head-on, Jet felt the pressure.

Their stone-like appearance was the main thing. They looked tough at a glance, and Jet was not a wizard known for destructive power.

"In that case, I'll just have to go around them and attack you directly!" Jet sprang from the ground and shot forward in an instant.

Rhode was equally decisive. He bent down, turned around, and hid behind the inside of the Ancient Stone Beetle's hind leg.

Secret technique: circling the pillar like the King of Qin!

The Ancient Stone Beetle's pillar-like thick legs and hard abdomen gave Rhode a solid sense of security.

It was a bit short, but at this moment, that was an advantage too. If Jet wanted to squeeze in and attack him, he would have to hunch over, and his speed would inevitably be affected.

Sure enough, after Jet ran around the Stone Beetle, he came to an abrupt stop. "Hey, isn't that way too cheap?"

Rhode did not care. "It's a defensive summon. That's exactly how it's supposed to be used. Erza didn't take off her armor when she fought me either."

Jet wanted to ask whether Erza wearing armor had affected the outcome at all.

But after thinking about it, he could not exactly demand that Rhode not defend himself.

"Fine, then try this—Soaring Falcon!"

Jet's figure traced a graceful arc across the yard before he raised his leg and kicked the Ancient Stone Beetle's leg hard.

Rhode could feel the "pillar" he was leaning against tremble. The Ancient Stone Beetle raised its head slightly, as if it were in some pain.

"Stone Beetle!"

At Rhode's shout, the smaller Stone Beetle beside him turned and charged at Jet.

"So hard, but it worked!" Jet nimbly dodged, opened up some distance, and charged again. "Super High-Speed Impact!"

Isn't that an Iron Mountain Lean? Rhode caught sight of Jet's stance and quickly dodged out from in front of it.

Bang!

Jet's shoulder slammed into the Ancient Stone Beetle's hind leg, knocking it off balance and nearly making it fall.

Before the Stone Beetle could counterattack, Jet immediately ran far away again. "What a headache. Even that can't knock it down."

Rhode poked his head out from behind the Ancient Stone Beetle. "If you stop moving, I'm coming after you!"

Jet smiled confidently. "Those clumsy things can't possibly keep up with my speed!"

"To deal with someone built for speed, of course you need a little strategy." Rhode gripped his pendant, recited a brief chant, and Rift Scuttler made its entrance.

"He can actually summon two kinds of monsters at once!"

Levy knew something about Celestial Spirit Magic. Celestial Spirit wizards capable of opening two gates at once were exceedingly rare, so summoning magic like Rhode's, which resembled Celestial Spirit Magic, should be just as difficult!

What was more, if the Poro beside him was included, Rhode was now maintaining three gates at once!

Even if the Poro was only an ornamental creature, it was still beyond simply calling him impressive!

The large one was called an Ancient Stone Beetle, and the small one was called a Stone Beetle.

When a Stone Beetle was killed, it turned into smaller ones called Mini Stone Beetles.

When the Mini Stone Beetles were killed again, they were gone for good.

The appearances and traits in the game seemed to have been revised recently, but I won't bother with that. I'll stick to what I wrote.