Payday

The weather seemed to have gotten even hotter after entering August.

Magnolia's greenery was well-maintained, with trees visible everywhere, leading to the incessant chirping of cicadas.

If one listened with a calm mind, it might have sounded pleasant, feeling like the true essence of summer.

But when in a bad mood, it just felt annoying.

The ceiling fan in the guild hall spun with a creak, delivering a barely perceptible breeze to the noisy tavern.

In this sweltering weather, Rhode felt that even the boisterous voices of everyone else carried a sense of heat.

In reality, many people in the tavern were as hot and lethargic as Rhode, some so much so that they spoke weakly. Only by gulping down several drafts of ice-cold beer could they find some relief.

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

Even though he was drenched in sweat himself, he couldn't refuse everyone's pleas and became an unfeeling ice-making machine.

However, there was a benefit for him in this: the people who benefited from his help felt too embarrassed to remind him to put on clothes.

Of course, Natsu was not among these people.

This guy was completely unaffected. Even though it was this hot, he still had the energy to run around, occasionally even performing strange dances.

Mira brought over an empty cup, placed a few ice cubes in it, and pushed a drink toward Rhode, "You don't look too well."

"Thanks," Rhode said with a grimace. "I didn't sleep well last night. It was too hot, and the mosquitoes were really bad."

Rhode reminded himself to buy a new bottle of mosquito repellent after work, as Goodman's supply from his move had just run out.

Mira gave him a sympathetic look. "That sounds tough... Why haven't I seen Warm these past couple of days?"

"He didn't want to come out because of the heat. Such a disloyal fellow, hiding in the Howling Abyss to escape the heat."

Rhode picked up the cup and pressed it against his forehead. The cool sensation made him feel a little better.

"I suspect that recently, nothing has been going smoothly. Even my magic growth isn't as noticeable as before."

"Of course, that's because your magic level is already quite good. The same increase won't feel as significant as it did at the beginning."

"You think I'm doing well like this?"

"At least Jet and Marcus can't compare to you anymore..." Mira lightly covered her mouth, feeling that saying so might be a bit rude to Jet and the others.

When Rhode first acquired the Stone Beetle, it had already given Jet a lot of trouble. Not to mention that his magic had increased significantly now, and he also had the 'Three Wolves'.

The Three Wolves was the common name for this monster combination, which included two Shadow Wolves and one Large Shadow Wolf.

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

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

When the three giant wolves crouched down and bared their teeth, their ferocious expressions made it clear they were not to be trifled with.

After multiple tests and sparring with his companions, Rhode confirmed that they were more agile and offensively oriented than the Stone Beetle.

In addition to basic pouncing attacks, Shadow Wolves possessed a keen sense of smell for tracking and were adept at stealth attacks from the shadows, living up to their name.

Although they seemed weak in the game, their strength here was quite good—at least Kana couldn't hit them with her cards as easily as she could with the Stone Beetle.

As for the magic consumed to summon them, it was roughly equivalent to summoning three River Crabs, similar to the Stone Beetle.

Rhode could now command both the Stone Beetle and the Shadow Wolves in battle. Once a fight started, a one-on-one duel immediately turned into a group brawl, giving him a significant advantage.

The accompanying problem was that Rhode himself was more easily targeted as a breakthrough point.

Currently, there were two most effective solutions: first, ride the River Crab and run far away.

Second, burrow underground with the Stone Beetle and try to run as far as possible within the limited time he could hold his breath.

The tactics were cowardly but effective.

However, these were only temporary fixes; true improvement required personal strength.

Continuously training his physique and practicing combat skills was one method, but it required long-term persistence.

Another method was to learn one or two Ability Type magics, but this method...

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

"Because there isn't enough time and energy," Mira said. "Both learning magic and increasing magic power require a large amount of time and energy.

Learning multiple magics simultaneously might result in achieving nothing for a considerable period, so it's better to focus your energy on mastering one type of magic.

Imagine, if you added another magic to your current schedule, would you still have time to spare?"

Rhode thought about it. Meditation and physical conditioning were the foundations for becoming stronger and absolutely could not be neglected.

Proficiency in Summoning Magic was an important factor in shortening incantations, so this practice time couldn't be reduced either.

Then there was work time...

He couldn't just do nothing and expect the guild to support him—even Nab, who never took missions, occasionally worked odd jobs to earn money for food.

Besides these, there was time for reading.

Once his common knowledge was sufficiently improved, he should be able to use that time to learn other magics.

For now...

"Can you squeeze in a little more time for sleep?"

"No way!" Mira immediately refused. She raised her index finger to emphasize the importance of what she was about to say.

"Sleep is a crucial way to restore mental energy. Didn't you mention your schedule before? It's already extreme. If you cut back on sleep even more to practice magic, you risk developing Mana Deficiency Syndrome!"

Mana Deficiency Syndrome. Rhode had read about it in books. It usually occurred when one's magic was overdrawn. If it struck, it could lead to anything from a coma to sudden death. It was a very dangerous condition for a Mage. Practicing magic out of fear of death, only to end up dead from it... that would be too foolish.

Rhode replied seriously, "I understand."

Just because he didn't have time to practice now didn't mean he wouldn't later. Things had priorities. As long as he completed his current goals—supplementing his general knowledge and shortening incantations—he would naturally have time for other things later. He had only been studying for less than a month; he couldn't rush things.

"Don't look so glum. I have some good news for you."

Mira seemed relieved and placed a stack of bills on the counter. "Ta-da... payday!"

"So soon!" Rhode exclaimed, happily picking up the bills and counting them. 120,000 J, no more, no less. He asked, "That's not right, though. I don't think I've even worked a full month yet."

Mira thought for a moment. "The day we went shopping counts as overtime."

"Then... thank you." He was thanking the guild for its care, and also Mira for thoughtfully coming up with a reason. Rhode realized this wasn't like the hotel where he used to work his summer job; this was a 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. She was a full-time employee, so her stack of bills was thicker than Rhode's. "Finally, I've received the measure of my time and labor value..."

The measure of time and labor value... Laki's strange expression. Rhode removed this phrase from his mental vocabulary. Correcting his common speech was already hard enough; he didn't want to learn these eccentricities.

Laki affectionately rubbed her face against the bills. "I can buy a few more 'little cuties' now."

Little cuties... Fine.