Chapter 31: A Little Gossip
Chapter 31: A Little Gossip
Rod quickly flipped through two magazines, then took off his glasses, preparing to start his daily physical training.
"I told you not to crawl under the bed."
Rod grabbed Worm by the scruff of the neck. Worm's four legs dangled, his tongue lolled out, and his little horns drooped, giving him a pitiful, "please don't scold me" look.
"Well, it's just as well." Rod set Worm down and went to the laundry room to get a basin of water and a cloth.
Worm sat obediently on the floor, waiting for Rod to clean his fur.
But instead, Rod tossed the cloth to him. "Since you're already dirty, you might as well clean under the bed for me. It's hard for me to reach."
Worm: ???
"If you finish before I get back, I'll buy you cookies tomorrow. See you later!"
Worm hesitantly picked up the cloth with his small paws.
Rod closed the door with a click and went downstairs to start his run.
The route was slightly different from yesterday, as he now knew his limits. Rod controlled his turnaround point, estimating he would be just exhausted enough to collapse when he got home.
At the beginning of his run, he could still think about his future training plan, pondering whether to get a punching bag to practice with at home.
By the second half, his mind was reduced to the single thought: "One more step, one more step."
This training was effective—at least, Rod was becoming more proficient at cold compresses and applying external injury medicine.
When he dragged his leaden legs up the stairs, leaning heavily on the banister, he saw a "little gray dog" squatting by the door.
"You really did clean it, didn't you? That deserves a reward."
Rod moved to the bed, flopping down on it. His first thought was: "Great, I'm drenched in sweat. I'll need to change the sheets."
Worm, tongue lolling, watched Rod think for a moment, then jumped onto a chair, onto the table, and finally onto the bed, carrying the bottle of medicine Rod had used yesterday.
"Thanks." Rod struggled to sit up, taking the bottle and noticing the gray paw prints Worm had left on the sheets.
"..."
Worm felt guilty under Rod's gaze, took a few steps back, and jumped off the bed, leaving more prints.
"Alright, let's get you a bath first."
---
Summer dawn always came early. When Rod opened his eyes, the sky was already bright.
Worm, who had been sleeping on the pillow, was gone again.
Rod wasn't sure if it was because his magic supply was interrupted when he slept, or if summoned creatures had a time limit.
He got out of bed, put on his slippers, and stretched. The soreness in his legs and the noticeable increase in his magic made him feel very grounded.
Maybe because his base was so low, he could easily see the results of his efforts.
"Chime, MP limit +10!"
Rod provided the voice for his silent golden finger.
The increase in magic was good, but what made him even happier was his discovery after meditating last night. When he tried to sense the Crab through the necklace, he not only "saw" the Crab submerged in the water but also the entire river—and another Crab.
The other Crab was leisurely patrolling downstream.
Rod had a feeling that if he wanted to, he could summon this Crab at any time.
Once the injured Crab recovered, he should be able to summon both at once.
He felt his magic—okay, a few more days of practice.
Rod washed up and went out, greeting Goodman as usual, and summoning Worm along the way.
He didn't forget to buy a pack of cookies for Worm.
Funds reduced by 500J.
Watching Worm happily eat a cookie, his tongue curling to swallow, Rod started thinking about a feeding plan.
In the game, Poro needed to eat Poro Delicacies to grow... although they looked like cookies, what were they made of?
Rod considered finding more ingredients and letting Worm decide for himself.
It wasn't a bad idea.
While he was lost in thought, they had already arrived at the guild.
Rod, as usual, did some cleaning before waiting for Marcus, who he had arranged to meet yesterday, to arrive. Then they headed to the back yard.
He had already inquired about Marcus. Marcus used Sand Magic, which made him a formidable defender, though his offensive capabilities were somewhat lacking.
In terms of overall strength...
Mira had tactfully given a “not as impressive as Erza” evaluation, which was a polite way of saying Marcus was not one of the guild's top fighters.
Rod pondered this and concluded that Mira probably meant Marcus was not particularly standout in the entire guild.
Then, Rod lost again.
Marcus couldn't match Natsu's efficiency in taking down the River Crab, but he could still block its charge.
When the River Crab slammed into the Sand Barrier, several Sand Bindings wrapped around its legs, restricting its movements.
"It seems the River Crab is only good for support," Rod admitted, finally accepting its role.
Marcus walked around the River Crab and approached Rod. "Want to keep going?"
Rod got into a fighting stance. "Sure."
...
There was no way Rod could win. With only a couple of fights under his belt, how could he compare to someone who regularly engaged in brawls?
Even though Marcus wasn't one of the guild's top fighters, he could easily handle Rod.
However, Marcus was more about "tapping out" rather than causing actual harm, so Rod didn't end up with any bruises.
As Marcus put it, "I don't want my new friend to avoid talking to me the next day."
For someone who enjoyed conversation, having an audience was important.
Rod figured he might as well chat with Marcus for a bit before work.
It would help him gather more information and improve his common language skills.
"Quick ways to boost magic? There's no such thing. Magic power grows through hard work and practice.
Oh, right, your magic power will also naturally increase as you age. For me, I'm 16 now, and in seven or eight years, I'll be a lot stronger.
Hey, Rod, how old are you?"
"Almost 19..." Rod was taken aback. How would he calculate his age and birthday in this world?
"18, huh? So you're the same age as Erza, Mira, Bisca, and Alzack..."
Marcus thought for a moment, then patted Rod on the shoulder, as if to offer some encouragement. "You need to work hard."
"..." Rod didn't feel particularly comforted.
"By the way, Bisca hasn't been learning magic for very long, but she's already capable of handling missions on her own. So you don't need to rush. Just keep working hard..."
As Marcus spoke, Rod's gaze fell on the green-haired girl chatting with Erza.
That was Bisca. Although they hadn't formally met, Laki had introduced her to Rod.
Bisca and Erza were good friends, and Bisca also used the Transformation Magic, but her transformations were into various firearms.
Mira, being the enthusiastic gossip, had also shared that Bisca had learned Transformation Magic out of admiration for Erza and had a crush on Alzack, who specialized in Bullet Magic.
Mira had observed that Alzack sometimes stared at Bisca's back, and she believed they would end up together eventually.
Alzack... Rod scanned the area and found the cowboy-styled handsome man standing not far from Bisca.
Rod realized that while his guild had its fair share of oddballs, it also had a good number of handsome men and beautiful women.
Some readers have mentioned that it's hard to keep track of the characters. To help with that, I've added some illustrations in earlier chapters and will continue to do so in the future.
(End of Chapter)
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