Chương 34: Chapter 34: Victory!

"Using those stone monsters for defense, and then chasing me with that weird crab?"

Jet didn't notice all the details; he remained confident. "If you can pull it off, give it a try!"

"It's not that simple." Rhodes patted the leg of the large Stone Beetle. "Ancient Stone Beetle, split!"

Crack!

At Rhodes's command, the crack on the back of the Ancient Stone Beetle flashed blue and actively split into two. When they landed, they had become two Stone Beetles.

This was different from the game—the Stone Beetle could actively split.

Three almost identical Stone Beetles lined up in front of Rhodes, with the River Crab glaring at Jet from in front of them.

"They can split? Five against one then..." Jet was stunned. From his angle, he could only see Rhodes's head.

"No matter how many there are, their speed won't increase. I won't lose in speed!"

"Don't worry, I can't maintain this state for too long." Rhodes jumped onto the back of one of the Stone Beetles, sensing the rate of his magic consumption.

"If I can't catch you within five minutes, I'll consider it my loss." Rhodes pointed forward. "Canyon Swift Crab, charge!"

The Swift Crab dashed straight ahead, leaving afterimages in its wake.

Immediately after, Rhodes took a deep breath: "Stone Beetles, burrow!"

The three Stone Beetles lifted their front legs, lowered their heads, and as their giant pincer-like mandibles opened and closed, they simultaneously burrowed into the ground.

Even Rhodes was taken underground with them!

"Don't think you can catch me!" Jet spiritedly dodged the crab's charge, and when he looked back, Rhodes had disappeared.

At this moment, the ground began to shake slightly. Soft soil was overturned from below, and Jet instinctively jumped away.

A Stone Beetle burst out from the ground, but missed him.

But then, the second Stone Beetle emerged from beneath Jet while he was still in mid-air.

Jet twisted his waist, flipped, and kicked out: "Eagle Strike... Damn!"

Jet's expression changed because the third Stone Beetle surfaced carrying Rhodes at that moment. Its mandibles opened and closed, firmly clamping onto Jet's waist and one arm.

Rhodes swung his fist, stopping just at the tip of Jet's nose. After a moment, he smiled and asked, "How about that?"

Jet struggled a few times; being clamped like this made it hard to exert force. Feeling a bit frustrated, he said, "I admit defeat."

The Stone Beetle released Jet, and their forms, along with the crab, became translucent before disappearing.

Rhodes had already jumped down. He was extremely happy inside, but to consider Jet's feelings, he controlled himself and only showed a modest smile.

"Thank you for sparring with me."

Rhodes extended his hand.

"Comrades should help each other, after all."

Jet also extended his hand but didn't shake Rhodes's. Instead, he slapped Rhodes's palm away with a smack, then made a fist with his right hand, back of the hand facing Rhodes.

"Handshakes are too formal; I don't like them."

Rhodes mimicked him, raising his fist to bump against Jet's, and they both laughed together.

He was starting to like this guild more and more.

"Oh!!!" Marcus emerged in a swirl of dust, holding a microphone, and shouted excitedly,

"The winner is—Rhodes! After days of defeats, Rhodes has achieved his first victory since joining the guild!

"Let's congratulate Rhodes! Using summoning magic to call forth powerful monsters... Rho—des!"

Cheers erupted from the onlookers. Many of them had watched from Rhodes's first match with Erza until now.

They admired Rhodes's spirit of fighting despite repeated defeats, but ultimately hoped he could win at least once. Although the time span hadn't even been half a month, they felt a kind of joy as if watching a child they had seen grow up finally succeed.

Mira was also among those cheering. But after raising her fist and shouting once, she stood there quietly smiling.

Her red dress made her particularly eye-catching among the crowd.

"Well done, Rhodes!" Kana's voice was super loud. She raised a wine bottle in her right hand and waved money in her left as she shouted to Rhodes,

"I'll treat you to a drink later! And you don't need to find someone tomorrow; I'll spar with you!"

Today, aside from Mira's encouraging bet on Rhodes to win, everyone else who participated in the betting had wagered on Jet.

As a result, Kana made a big profit and wouldn't have to worry about her drinking money for quite a while.

However, Rhodes felt a bit awkward. Although he knew she meant she'd be his sparring partner, with Kana's attire, the drunken look on her face, the money in her hand, and that line she shouted, it was easy for people to misunderstand.

But after the cheers came the complaints. A group of people who had lost their bets—including the two uncle-like figures, Macao and Wakaba—started venting, accusing Jet of intentionally throwing the match and causing them to lose money.

Jet decisively argued back, and unsurprisingly, the argument quickly turned into a brawl.

Rhodes tilted his head to dodge a shoe thrown by who knows who, caught an innocent Poro that had been used as a weapon, and decisively distanced himself from them.

"With not much magic power left, fighting would put me at a disadvantage. Let's retreat!"

"Ugh..." Worm's eyes turned into swirls, responding dizzily.

The Guild Master watched everyone fighting with a smile. Rhodes's progress made him very happy, and seeing the kids get along so well also comforted him.

Moreover, it was rare for them to be fighting in the yard rather than inside the building, so he didn't have to worry about things getting broken...

Bang!

Macao crashed through a window and flew into the guild hall.

The Guild Master maintained his smile, but a vein bulged on his forehead.

"Damn you, Wakaba!" Macao, engulfed in purple flames, burst back out through the window.

Rhodes didn't even understand why he was fighting with Wakaba; weren't they on the same side just now?

But he hugged Worm and moved even further away, even considering re-summoning the Stone Beetles to block any stray attacks.

Because the battle was escalating: Wakaba was spewing smoke-formed fists, Kana had pulled out some cards, Elfman's arm had transformed into a beast's claw...

"Macao, don't think you can run!" Several figures charged out from the hall, enlarging the hole in the window—they had just had their drinking table knocked over by Macao.

The Guild Master's smile gradually faded, and the veins on his forehead formed a tic-tac-toe pattern.

"I smell a fight!" Natsu, who had just returned from a mission, stormed into the backyard without even putting down his luggage.

Thanks to him, the unfortunate window had merged with the one next to it.

"I'm joining in! Fire Dragon's—"

The Guild Master finally couldn't bear it anymore. His body rapidly expanded, and a massive shadow enveloped the entire battleground: "Use the door properly! No destroying the guild!"

Natsu hadn't even finished shouting "Iron Fist" when he was stomped flat by the Guild Master. The others who were in the midst of their heated fight were all slapped into the ground by the Guild Master in two moves.

"Oh dear... it's happened again." Mira stood behind the Guild Master, smiling gently, as if none of the people flattened into the ground included her own younger brother.

Rhodes shivered while holding Worm. Speaking of destroying the guild, back when he summoned the River Crab, he had also torn down part of the courtyard wall.

"Grateful that the Guild Master didn't use the Buddha's Palm on me—I'm so thankful I could prostrate myself."