Payday

After August began, the weather seemed to grow even hotter.

Magnolia had excellent greenery, with trees everywhere, which also meant the cicadas chirped without end.

When one was at peace, listening to them might even feel pleasant, like this was what summer was supposed to be.

But when one was not in such a good mood, they were simply irritating.

The ceiling fan in the guild creaked as it spun, sending a barely noticeable breeze through the noisy tavern.

In weather like this, Rhode felt that even everyone's chatter carried heat.

In fact, quite a few people in the tavern were just as overheated and sluggish as Rhode. Some were so drained that they could barely speak, and only gulping down a few mouthfuls of ice-cold beer brought them any relief.

At times like this, Gray became one of the most popular people around.

Though he himself was drenched in sweat from the heat, he could not refuse everyone's pleas and became a merciless ice-making machine.

Still, it benefited him too. Those who received his help were too embarrassed to remind him to put on some clothes.

Of course, Natsu was not among them.

That guy was completely unaffected. Even in such heat, he still had the energy to run around, and occasionally he even broke into strange dances.

Mira brought over an empty glass, dropped in several ice cubes, poured a drink, and pushed it toward Rhode. "You don't look too well."

"Thanks." Rhode grimaced. "I didn't sleep well last night. It was too hot, and the mosquitoes were terrible."

The mosquito repellent Goodman had left behind when he moved had happened to run out. Rhode reminded himself to buy a new bottle after work.

Mira looked at him sympathetically. "That sounds rough... Why haven't we seen Worm these past couple of days?"

"It's too hot, so he doesn't want to come out. The disloyal bastard is hiding in Howling Abyss to escape the summer heat."

Rhode picked up the glass and pressed it to his forehead. The icy touch made him feel a little better.

"I suspect I've had bad luck lately. Even my mana growth hasn't been as noticeable as before."

"That's only natural. Your mana level is already quite good, so the same increase naturally won't feel as obvious as it did in the beginning."

"Does mine really count as good?"

"At the very least, Jet and Marcus can't compare to you at all anymore..." Mira lightly covered her mouth, feeling that saying so seemed a little rude to Jet and the others.

When Rhode had first obtained the Stone Beetle, it had already given Jet quite a headache. Not to mention that Rhode's mana had increased considerably since then, and he now also had the Three Wolves.

Three Wolves was the common nickname for that group of wild monsters, consisting of two Shadow Wolves and one Large Shadow Wolf.

Shadow Wolves were about the size of tigers, much larger than ordinary wolves. They looked more imposing too, somewhat like saber-toothed tigers.

The Large Shadow Wolf was even bigger, and it had two heads.

When the three giant wolves lowered themselves and bared their fangs, they looked utterly ferocious. Anyone could tell they were not to be messed with.

After many tests and sparring sessions with his companions, Rhode confirmed that they were more agile than the Stone Beetle and better at attacking.

Aside from basic pouncing and biting attacks, the Shadow Wolves possessed keen noses that could be used for tracking. They were also skilled at sneaking through shadows and launching ambushes, living up to their name.

They seemed weak in the game, but their strength here was actually quite decent—at least Kana could not hit them with cards as easily as she could the Stone Beetle.

As for the mana required to summon them, it was roughly equivalent to three river crabs, about the same as the Stone Beetle.

Rhode could now command both the Stone Beetle and the Shadow Wolves in battle at the same time. The moment a fight began, a one-on-one duel immediately turned into a group beating, giving him a tremendous advantage.

The resulting problem was that Rhode himself became an easier target and was more likely to be treated as the point of breakthrough.

At present, there were two most effective solutions. The first was to ride a river crab and flee far away.

The second was to follow the Stone Beetle underground and run as far as possible within his limited breath-holding time.

The tactics were cowardly, but effective.

However, they only treated the symptoms. To solve the root problem, he still needed to become stronger himself.

Continuously training his body and practicing fighting techniques was one method, though it required long-term persistence.

Another method was to learn one or two Ability Type spells, but that method...

Rhode asked, "Everyone seems to specialize in only one type of magic. Why not learn several kinds to deal with different situations more easily?"

"Because there isn't enough time or energy." Mira said, "Whether it's learning magic or increasing mana, both require a great deal of time and effort.

If you study several types of magic at once, you might accomplish nothing for quite a long time. It's better to focus your energy on mastering one kind of magic.

Think about it. If you added training in another kind of magic to your current schedule, could you still squeeze out the time?"

Rhode thought about it. Meditation and physical training were the foundation of becoming stronger, and he absolutely could not abandon them.

Proficiency in Summoning Magic was an important factor in shortening incantations, so he could not cut down on practice time for that either.

Then there was work...

He could not just do nothing and wait for the guild to support him— even Nab, who never took on jobs, occasionally did odd work to earn food money.

Other than that, there was reading time.

Once he had mostly filled in the gaps in his common knowledge, he should be able to use that time to study other magic.

But for now...

"Could I squeeze out a little time from sleeping?"

"No!" Mira immediately rejected the idea. She raised an index finger to emphasize the importance of what she was about to say.

"Sleep is an important way to restore mental energy. You mentioned your schedule before, didn't you?

That was already extreme enough. If you reduce your sleeping time further to practice magic, you risk developing Mana Deficiency Syndrome!"

Mana Deficiency Syndrome—Rhode had read about it in books. It was usually triggered when one had overdrawn their mana.

Once it struck, the mild cases resulted in unconsciousness, while severe cases could cause sudden death. It was an extremely dangerous condition for mages.

Practicing magic because he was afraid of dying, only to train himself to death... That would be far too stupid.

Rhode replied seriously, "I understand."

Not having time to practice now did not mean he would never have time in the future. Everything had its priorities.

As long as he completed his current goals—filling in his common knowledge and shortening his incantations—he would naturally have time to practice other things later.

He had only been studying for less than a month. He could not rush things.

"Don't look so troubled. Let me tell you some good news."

Mira seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as she placed a stack of banknotes on the counter. "Ta-da... It's payday!"

"So early?" Rhode happily picked up the money and counted it. It was exactly 120,000 J. He asked,

"Isn't this wrong? I don't think I've even worked a full month yet."

Mira thought for a moment. "The day you went shopping counted as overtime."

"Then... thank you."

He needed to thank both the guild for taking care of him and Mira for specially coming up with a reason.

Rhode realized that this was not the hotel where he had worked summer jobs in his previous life. This was the guild, Fairy Tail.

Mira waved to Laki, who was chatting with her companions not far away. "Laki, come get your share!"

"Coming!" Laki took her wages. As a full-time worker, her stack of banknotes was a little thicker than Rhode's.

"I have finally received the measure of my time and labor value..."

The measure of time and labor value... Laki's strange way of speaking.

Rhode removed that phrase from his vocabulary. Correcting his common speech was hard enough; he did not want to learn things like this.

Laki affectionately rubbed her cheek against the banknotes. "Now I can add a few more little cuties."

Little cuties...

Fine.