Could Kana Really Be This Strong?

"Ha! Hah! Ha!"

Rhode hammered the punching bag in front of him with one punch after another, his bare upper body glistening faintly with sweat.

This was a newly added evening training routine.

He had spent a "fortune" on the punching bag a few days ago. He always felt that having it would help him become more disciplined.

—After all, he had spent the money. If he did not use it properly, he would feel like he had wasted it and his heart would ache.

After half an hour of punching, Rhode stopped, panting heavily. He wiped the sweat from his face and gently kneaded and patted his sore arms.

Only after his breathing and heartbeat had mostly settled did Rhode go take a shower.

Before leaving the bathroom, he flexed his arm in front of the mirror. "I seem a little more muscular, right?"

He bent down and patted his calf. Compared to how it used to wobble three times with every pat when it was chubby and soft, it really had become much firmer.

"Grrr!" Worm gave him an affirmative answer.

"Good. Time to study." Rhode returned to his bedroom, sat at his desk, opened his magazines and notebook, and began writing and sketching.

He had already used the Wind Chant Glasses to roughly go through more than sixty magazines. Now, they were divided into two stacks.

One stack contained more than twenty magazines. It had Mirajane's photo spreads—no, it had relatively important information.

The other stack contained more than thirty magazines and only had ordinary information.

What Rhode was doing now was organizing the useful information, such as major guilds, famous mages, well-known cities, and so on.

He also recorded any unusual magic mentioned in news reports that had caused trouble.

He wanted to understand this world and adapt to it as much as possible, so he would not get himself into trouble over common-sense mistakes in the future.

Besides that, this world had plenty of magic that could kill on first encounter. Those who did not understand it could easily fall for it, while those who did could break it with ease.

For example, the Charm Magic that the Council had banned a few years ago... To be honest, after learning what Charm Magic did, he somewhat wanted to learn it.

"'Bora of the Red Sky,' expelled from the legal guild Giant's Nose for theft, has recently been roaming the border region between the Kingdom of Fiore and the Kingdom of Bosco, occasionally committing crimes..."

Rhode wrote down the information on this dangerous individual, closed his notebook, and began today's Meditation Practice.

Master said that the only way to grow stronger was through steady, down-to-earth effort. Even the most powerful magic needed sufficient magic power to support it.

Mira had also, in a rare serious tone, warned him never to aim too high. Otherwise, he would not only hurt himself, but might also implicate his companions.

Rhode was someone who could take advice, especially in fields he did not understand well enough.

So every day, he simply accumulated magic power and trained his body steadily. Even when using his mental power to explore Summoner's Rift, which was shrouded in black mist, he was extremely cautious.

If something like a "beast stampede" happened in a forest, that would be one thing. If it happened in a city, Rhode felt he might end up in prison.

—

July 22nd, clear weather.

Today's scheduled opponent was Kana. Rhode felt that he could do it.

As usual, Kana was already chugging from a huge barrel of alcohol in the morning.

Macao, sitting beside her, was one of her drinking buddies. "Kana, aren't you getting better and better at drinking?"

"Gulp, gulp... Hah!" Kana wiped the corner of her mouth and glanced at Macao. "What's it to you? Aren't you drinking too?"

Macao spread his hands. "I'm not trying to control you. I just think girls should drink a little less."

"Shut up. I won money yesterday, so of course I'm drinking to my heart's content today." Kana complained, then picked up the barrel again, though she drank a little slower this time.

"Young people these days..." Macao spoke in the tone of an old man.

After taking a few gulps amid Macao's sighing, Kana set down her barrel with a thud. "Rhode, are you ready?"

"Almost..." As an excellent worker, Rhode had to finish his job first. "Don't go passing out drunk again!"

"It's still way too early for that!"

Because she often got drunk, Kana knew her alcohol tolerance very well. Finishing one barrel in the morning only counted as an appetizer.

Mira had roughly calculated that Kana alone accounted for more than twenty percent of the guild's alcohol consumption.

In other words, a considerable portion of Rhode's current wages could be said to have been contributed by Kana.

Once Rhode finished his cleaning duties, the two of them went to the backyard to prepare for their duel.

Naturally, there were spectators as well, though not as many as usual.

Following his usual routine, Rhode summoned a river crab to test the waters.

"Just to make sure." Kana took three playing-card-sized cards from the pouch at her waist. "Will this thing die?"

Rhode said, "Don't worry. Once it gets injured past a certain point, it'll be sent back. It'll recover by tomorrow."

Besides, compared to Poros, the river crab and Stone Beetles seemed to lack much spiritual intelligence.

"Then I won't hold back." Kana wore a confident expression as the cards in her hand began to glow gold.

Was this really the same drunken mess? Rhode realized that once Kana got serious, even her entire aura changed.

He even had the illusion that he was facing Erza.

The river crab charged forward. Kana fired the three cards in her hand, striking the crab precisely on the head.

The three cards exploded. Amid flashing golden light, the river crab was already sent back.

"That power..." It was somewhat beyond Rhode's expectations, so he immediately summoned an Ancient Stone Beetle.

Kana threw out two cards. One transformed into blazing flames, while the other became a violent gust. Struck by the two spells, the Ancient Stone Beetle instantly split into two Stone Beetles.

That was not the end. Kana fired another three cards, and three bolts of golden lightning struck down upon the heads of the three Stone Beetles.

"Light Element, Fire Element, Wind Element, Lightning Element..." Rhode's eyes were filled with dazzling special effects. Now he understood the meaning of being an all-round mage.

Once the three Stone Beetles had been beaten into six Mini Stone Beetles, Kana casually fired six more cards.

Six explosions rang out, and the Stone Beetles were sent back as well.

Kana rolled her wrists and smiled. "All right, close-quarters combat is the main event now, right?"

Rhode nodded. He could still summon another river crab, or summon a Stone Beetle by itself, but there was no need.

This counted as a tactical mistake. In the future, whenever he faced an enemy, he had to have the Stone Beetles burrow underground immediately after summoning them.

A few minutes later, Rhode lay on the ground, questioning his life.

That speed, that power... Could Kana really be this strong?

"Of course. Kana is very strong." Mira answered Rhode's question.

"She's been listed as an S-Class Mage candidate for three years in a row, but she was just a little unlucky every time.

Like running into Erza during the exam, or running into Mystogan... things like that."

"An S-Class candidate..." Rhode thought of Erza's oppressive presence, as well as Mystogan's powerful Sleep Magic...

He immediately felt much better. It was not embarrassing for a newbie to lose to Kana.

"Kana must be really upset, right?" Rhode glanced at Kana, who had switched to drinking from a smaller cup.

Someone who looked so bold on the surface had her own troubles too.

Mystogan—Miston...

Erza—Elsa

Mirajane—Miraj

Laki—Laki, Raki

Japanese anime character names always had all sorts of translated versions. Please understand.