Rhodes remembered that Vilemaw's leg had been torn by the Black Dragon, and that he and Warm had sent him here afterward. He had no idea how they were doing now.
The Ocean Dragon lowered her voice, explaining, "There's a Magic circle at both the east and west ends of Summoner's Rift. The one in the east leads to the Howling Abyss, and the one in the west to the Twisted Treeline. You can go whenever you want."
"Which way is east?"
It wasn't Rhodes' fault for asking. In the Rift, he had never once seen a sun. The grass grew in no particular direction, the trees twisted whichever way they pleased, and the moss spread wherever it liked. There were no reference points to orient himself.
"The river runs east to west," the Ocean Dragon explained patiently, gesturing with her claw. "Step out of this valley and the front is north, behind you is south, left is west, and right is east."
Rhodes nodded slowly, though she added immediately after, "But it's best you don't go there yet."
"Why not?"
"The Howling Abyss is deathly cold. If you went now, the Poro would be forced to tend to you constantly, unable to rest."
Rhodes frowned. "What about if I bundle up? Can't I just use Magic Power to endure it?"
The Ocean Dragon shook her head. "This isn't ordinary cold. Only when you've mastered the Purgatory Dragon's power can you withstand it."
That serious? Rhodes drew upon the Purgatory Dragon's Soul, taking on his little draconic form. Flames radiated from his skin, drying his soaked clothes and steaming the rainwater away.
"Like this?"
The Ocean Dragon tilted her head thoughtfully. "They said… if you can only call upon the Dragon Soul's strength by transforming, then you're still half-baked."
"Half-baked?" Rhodes' eye twitched.
"They mean you must adapt to the Dragon Soul's power completely. Use it freely, even in your normal state, or at least be able to draw on fragments of it without transforming."
Rhodes compared it to the powers he'd gained from the jungle beasts. That made sense.
"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"
"Because to us, it feels like we've only just met you," she said softly. "Our lifespans… they stretch across eras. To us, the days you've had with us are no longer than a nap. When you suddenly found yourself against a foe you couldn't handle, the Mountain Dragon even praised how quickly you'd grown."
Rhodes blinked. "The Mountain Dragon? He always seemed so dismissive of me before."
The Ocean Dragon chuckled. "That's only because you always disturb his sleep. He's lazy, and not very honest about how he feels."
"Oh." Rhodes sighed. So Mountain was a tsundere. He turned the Ocean Dragon's words over in his head. "So basically, I need to focus on studying the Dragon Souls' power next, and for now, I can't go to the Howling Abyss."
The Ocean Dragon's face brightened. "Exactly." Then her expression cracked into another uncontrollable laugh. "Hahaha! You know, if you tell a joke in the Howling Abyss, would that make it… a cold joke? Hahaha, cold joke! Hahahahaha!"
"Hmmm." Rhodes rubbed his temple. This joke was at least an improvement from before, but her laughter once it began was downright demonic. For a second, it reminded him of a cackling old comedian back in Magnolia.
When she finally calmed down, Rhodes tried again. "What about the Twisted Treeline?"
"It's similar," she admitted. "It has a gloomy, cold feeling."
"Gloomy and cold?" Rhodes glanced at the sky, where the rain still fell steadily. "Isn't that the same as here? Always damp?"
"It's not the same at all!" For the first time, her voice carried sharp displeasure. Rain was her favorite weather. How could anyone complain about it? Especially someone who bore her Dragon Soul?
Then she remembered, oh, she'd gotten so caught up in Rhodes' questions, and laughing at his ridiculous jokes, she had forgotten to actually pass it on.
Without warning, she pressed a glowing green sphere of light into his chest. "Here. Study the Ocean Dragon Soul properly, and you'll fall in love with rainy days!"
"Couldn't you just stop the rain?" Rhodes muttered to himself. Honestly, she'd fit right into Fairy Tail with an attitude like that.
Rhodes gently reminded her, "Aren't we getting off-topic? I think we were talking about the environment in the Twisted Treeline."
"Oh, right!" The Ocean Dragon perked up. "The gloominess there isn't because of humidity, it's the atmosphere. There's a constant, eerie sensation, like Ghosts trailing after you."
She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Mhm… you've seen the wolves, haven't you? If you linger in the Treeline too long, you might end up like them, flesh rotting away in patches. But you're human, so you'd probably turn into a Ghost instead. Pale claws, tattered clothes, floating in the mist."
Rhodes shivered slightly. So in some ways, the Twisted Treeline sounded even more terrifying than the Howling Abyss. He nodded grimly.
But then, remembering the Ocean Dragon's fondness for cold jokes, he quipped lightly, "Well, if your hands rot away, there's nothing you can do… but if your clothes are tattered, you can just change them often."
The Ocean Dragon blinked at him, stunned for a second, then burst into uncontrollable laughter. "Hahahahaha, Clothes can be changed! Hahahahaha!" She clutched her belly and rolled with laughter, tears almost streaming down her face.
Rhodes rubbed his temple. 'It wasn't even that funny…' She had sat stone-faced through every carefully-crafted joke he'd remembered from magazines, but one throwaway remark had her in stitches. Truly a peculiar sense of humor.
When she finally finished laughing, Rhodes shifted the conversation back to the Dragon Soul, then began preparing a place to stay.
The Dragon Pit was flooded with water. For now, he didn't feel like sleeping in it. The jungle had dry flatlands, but who knew what creatures might wander out at night? Staying near the Ocean Dragon felt safest.
Tomorrow, he would scout the high ground, defense towers, springs, somewhere more suitable to live while he trained.
Night in Summoner's Rift never brought full darkness; the light simply dimmed, and no stars shone overhead.
Rhodes tested whether he could raise a platform with Earth Magic without drawing on a Dragon Soul, but after half an hour of effort, he made no progress. To wield the Mountain Dragon's power, he still needed at least a partial Take Over.
So, bit by bit, he constructed a small stone hut beside the cliff wall. It wasn't pretty, but it was sturdy, raised high enough to avoid flooding, wide eaves to block the rain.
Afterward, he used partial Take Over of the Purgatory Dragon, letting its heat dry his body. Pulling out spare bedding from his storage space, he prepared for rest.
He didn't sleep immediately. Instead, he sat cross-legged to meditate. If he wanted to return sooner, he needed to expand his Magic reserves.
Rhodes carefully laid out tomorrow's schedule in his mind: exploring more of the Rift, a plan for clearing jungle creatures, training his body and Magic under the Ocean Dragon's watchful eye, devoting extra time to studying Dragon Souls, and, of course, learning to master Fairy Glitter.
To return home faster, he would need to work harder than ever before.
Exhausted both body and soul after such a long day, Rhodes finally drifted into deep sleep.
But midway through the night, he was jolted awake, his dreams haunted by the terrifying image of the Black Dragon.
Sitting up, he took a long breath. His hands trembled slightly as he pulled out two things from his pouch: a photo of Mira, and a group picture of Fairy Tail.
He placed them gently under his pillow. Their faces gave him strength.
'For tomorrow's plans… I need proper rest.'
He lay back down, whispering softly to himself as sleep reclaimed him:
"Acnologia… just you wait."