Chapter 18: The Women of the Guild Are Tigers
Chapter 18: The Women of the Guild Are Tigers
Erza, with her tough exterior and intimidating presence, actually brought back gifts for her comrades?
Rod was curious about what was inside the gift box... It couldn't be armor, right?
"I'm opening it now!"
Laki laid the gift box flat, gently untied the ribbon, and lifted the lid.
"What is this thing?" Rod couldn't immediately recognize what was inside.
It wasn't armor, but it was definitely a metal object. It looked like a statue of a woman?
No, statues shouldn't have strange gaps and handles.
As Rod puzzled over it, Laki pulled the handle, opening the 'metal statue' to reveal a menacing array of spikes.
To everyone's surprise, Laki's expression wasn't one of fear but of delight: "Wow! It's an Iron Maiden!"
She caressed the cold metal, her face flushing: "Amazing!"
"Iron... Iron..." Rod's tongue tied itself, his head buzzing as he took a step back.
This is a torture device! They said it was a local specialty. What kind of place has torture devices as a specialty?
Why would anyone give an Iron Maiden as a gift?
And Laki carrying this thing back without a second thought—she must have the same superhuman strength as Cana.
The biggest question is, why are you so excited, girl?
Mira smiled: "Oh, Erza must have put a lot of thought into this gift."
Thought? More like ulterior motives, right?
"Um, Mira..." Rod carefully chose his words, "Are you sure this is a gift and not a death threat or something?"
"How could it be? Laki loves all sorts of torture devices. This well-crafted Iron Maiden is the best gift for her."
Mira tilted her head, "Didn't I tell you? Laki's room is filled with torture devices."
"..." You only told me that Laki's collection was interesting and suggested I visit sometime.
Rod realized a serious issue. The women in the guild, like Mirajane, Cana, Laki, and Erza...
They might be beautiful, but they're also one tougher than the next.
Only Levy is truly cute and has a good personality. Mira, despite being a bit devious, is mostly gentle.
But there might be more to them that he doesn't know.
---
In the afternoon, things were a bit quieter, giving Rod some time to practice his magic.
Erza seemed to have nothing to do and was chatting with a girl with long green hair in the guild hall.
Thanks to her, the bar was unusually peaceful.
However, according to Mira, it would only be quiet for a short while after Erza returned, and then everyone would start causing a ruckus again.
Levy held a small notebook, reviewing the pronunciation she had learned in the morning. Whenever Rod paused his training, she would come over to learn a few Chinese characters.
During this time, Makarov also helped Rod refine his summoning spell.
Typically, Celestial Spirit Mages call out the name of the spirit they are summoning and use the corresponding key.
But Rod only had one pendant that connected to different summoning creatures, so he had to distinguish them by calling their names.
Once he became more proficient with his magic, he could skip most of the lengthy incantation and just call out the name.
The initial spell would be used when he sensed a new summoning creature.
"Toad, Three Wolves, Six Birds, Stone Golem..." Rod counted the monsters he might summon next on his fingers, feeling that summoning a dragon was still a long way off.
Although Rod wasn’t sure if there were any particularly strong common monsters, judging by the size of the river crabs he encountered today, even weak monsters like the Three Wolves and Six Birds from the game would be formidable beasts when summoned due to their sheer size.
For Rod, the most important thing right now was to increase his magical power and improve his proficiency with spells.
Meditation to increase magic power was limited by time, so he could only practice his spells.
Rod summoned Worm, who had been mooching off the guild’s food and drinks, and began practicing the spell to "dismiss" the summon.
"I am the one who bridges the two realms. By my will, return to the Abyss, Poro!"
The incantation was complete, and Worm’s figure gradually became transparent before vanishing completely.
"Success!" Rod was delighted that he managed it on his first try.
Next, he began the incantation to summon:
"I am the one who…… Cross the threshold! Open, O Gate of the Abyss, Poro!"
A vortex of magic appeared and then disappeared, and Worm reappeared in front of Rod.
"Very good, let’s do it again!"
"……Return to the Abyss! Poro!"
"……Open, O Gate of the Abyss, Poro!"
"……Return……"
"……Open……"
Rod practiced the spells over and over, and Worm had to cooperate.
At first, it was fine, but as the repetitions increased, it became monotonous, and the little creature became more casual.
Sometimes it appeared standing, sometimes sitting, and sometimes lying on its back, trying to cross its legs but failing……
Worm was getting annoyed, but Rod couldn’t help it—after all, it consumed very little magic.
If he were to summon a river crab, with his current magic power, he could only manage it twice before needing a break, making it impossible to practice repeatedly.
"Wah~ ah, ah…… Ah-choo~~~"
After countless repetitions, Worm sneezed loudly when it reappeared in the tavern.
Its long tongue was retracted, but a long strand of snot hung from its nose.
Rod’s first reaction was: "So you do have a nose."
Worm sniffed loudly, turned its back to Rod, and the little horns on its head drooped—clearly, it was upset.
The Howling Abyss was in the midst of a harsh winter, while the Kingdom of Fiore was already in summer. The frequent back-and-forth between the two environments had nearly given even Poro a cold.
"Ah, I’m sorry, it’s my fault."
What to do when Poro is upset?
Rod thought for a moment and cautiously said, "Mira, I’d like a fried egg……"
Worm’s drooping horns perked up.
"……And a bowl of tomato and egg soup?"
Worm spun around, tongue out, its happiness evident.
Although Rod hadn’t fully figured out Worm’s preferences, eggs were definitely one of its favorite foods.
"Easy to please." Rod skillfully petted Worm’s head, horns, chin, and belly.
Mira smiled and took his order, but a slightly harsh voice came from above:
"Finally quiet, huh? You’ve been making a lot of noise since you got here."
Rod looked up to see a young man with a lightning scar over his right eye and blond hair.
He wore something that looked like headphones, a brownish-yellow shirt, and a coat—despite it being summer.
He leaned over the railing on the second floor, looking down at Rod with a stern expression.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
