Many times, Rhode feared suddenly making eye contact with strangers.
Because once eye contact was made, looking away immediately might seem rude, but staring seemed like a challenge.
In such cases, Rhode would feel at a loss.
Especially when, after a few seconds of eye contact, the other person set their glass down and walked over.
Fortunately, talkative Marcus was there: "Alzack, you're here; we were just talking about you."
"Talking about me?"
"Yeah, this is Rhode, you know him, right?"
Alzack nodded: "The one who destroyed a whole forest?"
Marcus clapped his hands: "Exactly!"
Rhode slapped the table: "Incorrect!"
Both of them looked at him puzzled, as if questioning why such a big reaction.
Rhode raised his hand: "Sorry, unintentional."
The two became even more puzzled; did slapping a table need an explanation?
"..." Rhode didn't know what to say.
He took a deep breath, officially introduced himself to Alzack, and then clarified some rumors about himself.
He was just a not-so-qualified mage who had only studied magic for a few days; how could he destroy a forest?
"The president told me that the forest ended up like that because of a beast stampede. Weird birds, giant frogs, evil wolves, and flying dragons among other rumors, it's just..."
It did indeed sound a bit like something he might have caused.
Rhode fell into deep thought.
Something's not right about this.
Thinking back, when he first heard of the event, he didn't even know he could summon wild creatures.
After realizing he could summon them, he never gave the event much thought.
Now connecting the two things...
Could it be that after being attacked by that bear, the life-threatening crisis caused his magic to lose control, summoning creatures of all sizes?
The more he thought, the more guilty he felt. If it was really him, then... how much would he have to pay to compensate for destroying a forest?
The more Rhode thought, the guiltier he felt.
Meanwhile, the conversation had shifted. Marcus was complaining about being bored lately and suggested hosting an event to put himself as the go-to host to use.
"How about a shooting competition?" Alzack patted the gun on his waist.
"Don't joke around, who can beat you and Bisca at a shooting contest?"
Alzack suddenly panicked: "Don't, don't say that, what Bisca, I..."
Ah, the young man indeed had something going on, Rhode listened to Alzack's incoherent response and got a slight taste of the joy of gossip.
As they chatted, Alzack became Rhode's next opponent.
...
In the days that followed, Rhode went through battle training one after another, sometimes once a day, sometimes two or three times.
Some opponents were of his own choosing, while others were brought by Marcus—who relished in taking the president's hosting and judging duties.
Kana, who returned from a mission, also took over the president's betting affairs.
The guild's backyard had been unusually lively for a while, and Rhode had repaired the wall a few times with his opponents.
However, as the battles became increasingly frequent, the novelty wore off, and the number of spectators gradually decreased.
Mostly because the outcome was rather predictable.
Rhode's current record stood at 19 fights, 19 losses.
Today was yet another day to joyfully add another defeat, Rhode slumped over the counter on a round stool, listlessly waiting for the midday work hour.
Warm, who had been freeloading at the tavern, came running back to hug Rhode's leg in an attempt to comfort him.
Mira brought over a small plate of edamame and put it on the counter, calling Warm over for a snack.
As she groomed Warm's white fur, she said, "Weren't you close to winning against Lidas today?"
"Lidas is so nice, he just can't bring himself to hit me, and it's hard for me to throw a punch at him too."
Rhode had always been grateful to Lidas; it was his Painting Magic that helped him quickly understand the situation and eliminated a lot of his anxiety.
"But Painting Magic is too overpowered, right? Being able to draw anything makes my Summoning Magic seem so lame..."
Lidas drew a Gorge Swift Crab today, then had it fight another crab, while still having the extra attention to draw a Poro to play head-butting with Warm.
Although the crabs created from drawings weren't very durable, breaking apart after a hit or two, he could draw a string of them non-stop!
The two original river crabs happily retreated to the gorge's river path under the onslaught of a swarm of knock-off crabs, leaving Rhode helplessly watching.
He felt he might develop a fear of insufficient firepower.
Mira laughed: "Creations from Painting Magic have their limits, and almost every action requires the technician's divided attention to control.
But the creatures summoned through Summoning Element, as long as they have a set target, can act autonomously, right? That's your advantage.
In some ways, Lidas' weakness is similar to yours; attacking the technician directly is the most effective method.
And since he has to divide his attention to control the 'drawings,' even if he's good at combat, he can't exert his full strength.
So once you get stronger helpers, or your combat techniques improve, you'll soon surpass Lidas."
Like many in the guild, everyone had only seen Rhode repeatedly fail these days.
But Mira saw Rhode's progress, most evidently, she hadn't had to apply medicine for Rhode in several days.
Even in a fierce close-range battle with Gray, he didn't end up as bruised as when facing Natsu.
Though it's possible that Gray went easier than Natsu, Mira could tell Rhode's parries and attacks had become much smoother, and his magic power seemed to have increased quite a bit.
Plus, he was using the trick of defending with magic power more proficiently.
Rhode felt comforted; he realized that even though Mira claimed she couldn't fight, she knew much more than he did.
Her confident talk reminded him of himself criticizing professional players' gameplay...
Of course, Rhode is a keyboard warrior, while Mira is like Wang Yuyan.
"Ah, I already have an idea for my next summoning target, just venting a little."
Even in gaming, losing ten matches in a row could stir emotions, let alone in a fight.
Fortunately, the friendly matches weren't in vain these past days, and the sweat wasn't wasted.
When Rhode sparred with Lidas over summoning crabs today, he felt a black mist in Summoner's Rift fade away, revealing a mountain hollow.
The ground was smooth and the rock walls sleek in the hollow, with moss growing in the corners, giving off a cold and damp feeling.
And in this small mountain hollow, stood quietly a large and small 'rock.'
Rhode, familiar with this game, naturally knew what this was:
Ancient Stone Beetle, known informally as the Stone Monster, judging by its appearance, it's a hardy type, and in fact its attack power is quite decent among ordinary wild creatures.
Moreover, the Ancient Stone Beetle, when smashed, would turn into a smaller Stone Beetle, and once smashed again, become even smaller Mini Stone Beetles.
Yet in today's contest with Lidas, Rhode didn't dare try summoning it.
—He only knew their information in the game, without specifics on the actual conditions, he would have to consult the president before anything else.
If it turned out to be disobedient, it wouldn't be good to hurt a companion.
In this guild where recklessness was rampant, Rhode firmly warned himself not to cause everyone a big trouble.