Fairy Tail: I Absolutely Refuse to Be the Guild Master

Many times, Rhodes feared making eye contact with unfamiliar people.

Because once their gazes met, if he looked away immediately, it seemed impolite; but if he kept staring, it might seem like a challenge.

In such situations, Rhodes would feel at a loss.

Especially when, after a few seconds of eye contact, the other person put down their drink and walked toward him.

Fortunately, the talkative Marcus was there. "Alzack, you're here! We were just talking about you."

"Talking about me?"

"Yeah, this is Rhodes—you know him, right?"

Alzack nodded. "The one who destroyed an entire forest?"

Marcus clapped his hands. "That's right!"

Rhodes slapped the table. "That's wrong!"

The two looked at him in confusion, as if asking why he reacted so strongly.

Rhodes raised his hand. "Sorry, didn't mean to."

They were even more puzzled. Did such a small thing as slapping the table need an explanation?

"..." Rhodes didn't know what to say.

He took a deep breath, formally introduced himself to Alzack, and then clarified the rumors about himself.

He was just an inexperienced mage who had been learning magic for a few days—how could he have the ability to destroy a forest?

"The Guild Master told me that the forest ended up like that because of a beast stampede. Rumors about strange birds, giant frogs, evil wolves, even dragons—it all sounds..."

It all sounds... really like something I did.

Rhodes fell into deep thought.

Something's not right.

He thought carefully. When he heard about this incident, he didn't even know he could summon wild creatures.

After discovering his ability to summon, he hadn't thought much about it.

Now, connecting the two events...

Could it be that after being attacked by that bear, the life-and-death crisis caused his magic to go out of control, summoning all kinds of wild creatures?

The more he thought about it, the more guilty he felt. If he really caused it, then... how much would it cost to compensate for destroying a large forest?

Rhodes felt increasingly uneasy.

Meanwhile, the other two had shifted the conversation elsewhere. Marcus was complaining about being bored lately and wondered if they should organize an event or something, so he could have a chance to showcase his hosting skills.

"How about a shooting competition?" Alzack patted the guns at his waist.

"Don't be ridiculous. Who could beat you and Bisca in a shooting contest?"

Alzack suddenly panicked. "Don't, don't talk nonsense. Bisca and I, we..."

So the guy does have something going on. Listening to Alzack's incoherent response, Rhodes felt a bit of the joy of gossip.

As the three chatted, Alzack became Rhodes's next opponent.

...

In the following days, Rhodes underwent one actual combat training after another—sometimes one a day, sometimes two or three.

Some opponents he found himself; others were brought by Marcus—who, for his own enjoyment, took over the Guild Master's role as host and referee.

Kana, who had just returned from a mission, also took over the Guild Master's job of running the betting pools.

The guild's backyard was lively for a rare stretch of time, and Rhodes even helped his opponents repair the walls a few times.

However, as the battles became more frequent, the novelty wore off, and the number of spectators gradually decreased.

Mainly because the outcomes were too predictable.

Mr. Rhodes's current record was 19 losses in 19 matches.

Today was another day of adding a defeat to his tally. Rhodes slumped over the counter, lying on a barstool, listlessly waiting for his midday shift.

Worm, who had gone to the tavern to mooch food and drink for a while, ran back to hug Rhodes's leg in an attempt to comfort him.

Mira brought a small plate of broad beans to the counter, inviting Worm to come up and have a snack.

As she combed the white fur on Worm's back, she said, "Didn't you almost beat Reedus today?"

"Reedus is too kind; he couldn't bring himself to hit me hard, and I also found it hard to punch him."

Rhodes had always been grateful to Reedus. Back then, his Painting Magic had helped Rhodes quickly understand the situation, alleviating much of his unease.

"But isn't Painting Magic a bit of a cheat? He can draw anything, which makes my Summoning Magic look silly..."

Today, Reedus drew a Canyon Swift Crab and used crab against crab, and even had the energy to draw a Poro to play with Worm.

Although the crabs he drew weren't very sturdy and dispersed after a few hits, he could continuously draw many of them!

Under the attack of a bunch of counterfeit crabs, Rhodes's two authentic river crabs happily retreated to the canyon river, leaving Rhodes dumbfounded.

He felt he might develop a fear of insufficient firepower.

Mira laughed, "The creations of Painting Magic have limits, and almost every action requires the caster's focused control.

"But the creatures summoned by Summoning Magic can act independently as long as you give them a clear target. That's your advantage.

"In a way, Reedus's weakness is the same as yours—the most effective method is to attack the caster directly.

"And because he has to split his attention to control his 'paintings,' even if he's good at close combat, he can't perform at full strength.

"So once you have stronger helpers, or improve your combat skills a bit more, you'll soon surpass Reedus."

Like many guild companions, Rhodes had only seen himself failing repeatedly these days.

But Mira noticed Rhodes's progress. The most direct evidence was that she hadn't needed to apply medicine to Rhodes for several days.

Even when sparring with Gray, engaging in intense close combat, he no longer ended up with the severe bruises he had when facing Natsu.

Although it's possible that Gray held back more than Natsu, Mira could see that Rhodes's blocking and attacking had become much smoother than before, and his magic power had likely increased significantly.

Moreover, he was becoming more adept at using the little trick of magical defense.

Rhodes felt comforted. He realized that although Mira claimed she couldn't fight, she knew much more than he did.

The way she spoke eloquently was just like himself criticizing professional players for playing poorly in games...

Of course, Rhodes was a keyboard warrior, and Mira was like Takumiyan.

"Ah, I already have an idea for my next summoning target. Just venting a bit."

Even when losing ten games in a row in a video game, you'd feel some frustration, let alone actual fights.

Fortunately, these friendly matches over the past days weren't in vain, and his sweat wasn't wasted.

Today, when sparring with Reedus and summoning the river crab, Rhodes sensed that the black fog in a certain part of the Summoner's Rift had dissipated, revealing a mountain hollow.

The ground in the hollow was flat, the rock walls smooth, with patches of moss growing in the corners, giving off a cold and damp feeling.

And in this small hollow, two 'stones,' one large and one small, stood silently.

Familiar with the game, Rhodes naturally knew what these were:

Ancient Stone Beetles, commonly known as stone monsters. Just by their appearance, you could tell they're the durable type, and their attack power among ordinary wild creatures is quite decent.

Moreover, when the Ancient Stone Beetle is broken, it splits into smaller Stone Beetles, and when broken again, becomes even smaller Mini Stone Beetles.

However, during today's sparring with Reedus, Rhodes didn't dare to attempt summoning them.

—He only knew their information from the game; he didn't know the specifics. He needed to consult the Guild Master first.

In case they didn't obey commands and hurt his companions, that wouldn't be good.

In this guild where recklessness was prevalent, Rhodes firmly warned himself not to cause big trouble for everyone.