Chapter 143 - 72

Riyao spent seven days happily acting like a bum, and in his own manor, he started fussing over the Tenrou Island tree trunk.First, he snapped off a branch of excellent quality from the thick trunk. The branch carried a verdant green that seemed to be condensed and ready to overflow. He stuck the branch into the empty soil between the three small huts.He stared at the branch just buried in the soil and suddenly pondered a name. The original work didn't seem to mention the formal name of this tree, only that it was a specialty of Tenrou Island, but "Tenrou Tree" always felt like it was missing something. He relied on Life Magic to sustain his life and on the phoenix's vitality to be resurrected. Since he had personally brought this tree to life, he might as well call it the "Wutong Tree"; it seemed quite fitting.A bright green Life Magic circle spread along the patterns of the soil, wrapping around the base of the branch, and tender green sap flowed slowly along the twigs.He pulled out a bottle of greenish potion, as green as moss just fished out of a swamp, unscrewed the cap, and poured it onto the tree roots.Under the urging of the magic circle, fine white roots actually sprouted from the end of the branch buried in the soil, digging into the moist earth, and the entire branch suddenly straightened up.Absurd as it was, this was the world of Mages, and the terrifying thing about Life Magic was its ability to knead the impossible into reality.He poured his own magic power and life energy into the magic circle together, and the bright green light spread along the branch.The magic circle spun for a full two hours, and the sapling grew from the thickness of a finger to half a person's height, its tender green leaves shimmering with a faint light.Riyao finally withdrew his magic power, raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and let the half-person-tall Wutong Tree sway in the breeze.He turned back to stare at the thick Tenrou Island tree trunk, raised his hand to activate the Hundred Battles Technique, and pale golden magic flowed from his fingertips into the trunk.He deliberately restrained his magic, not urging it to grow wildly, but instead guiding the wood fibers to rearrange bit by bit. The originally crooked trunk gradually became straight and symmetrical, with even the grain showing just the right curvature.He raised his hand to trim off the excess branches, collected the small wood scraps into his storage bag, thinking they might be useful for making small magic tools.He pulled out a carving knife he had just picked up from a magic tool shop from his storage bag; the blade was inlaid with pale green magic patterns. Holding the carving knife with his fingertips, he carved one Enchantment Magic after another along the grain of the trunk: first size change, then mass change, weight change, fireproofing, ice-proofing, hardness... and over a hundred other Enchantment Magic spells. By the end, even his fingertips were sore.From morning until the sunset sank into the western hills, the life energy stored in the Hundred Battles Technique was nearly drained. Finally, he carved the Enchantment Magic: Solidify at the most prominent position on the staff body, solidifying the Enchantment Magic on the staff. The pale golden magic seeped into the wood along the carvings, and the entire staff glowed with a soft light.He rubbed his sore waist and stiff shoulders, clutching the polished wooden staff with his fingertips, yet feeling inexplicably satisfied and itching to do something. It felt as if he would be doing this staff a disservice if he didn't take it out to cause some trouble.He leaned in close to the staff, examining it against the light for a long time, the corners of his mouth curled high as he muttered cheekily, "Hey, such a symmetrical and slender staff, the black and gold wood grain makes it look incredibly imposing, and the carved magic patterns give it a classic feel. It's simply the pinnacle of aesthetics. From now on, it's called the 'Fire Poker'."Gray and Cana were squatting behind Riyao, their faces scrunched up like steamed buns, wearing speechless expressions that said, "This guy is having another episode." Seeing him finally put down the carving knife, Gray finally couldn't help but speak up: "What is wrong with your naming obsession? And that whole mystical introduction from just now, what kind of nonsense was that?"Riyao was rubbing his face against the Fire Poker when he suddenly heard the voice. Startled, he jumped three feet into the air, nearly throwing the wooden staff in his hand: "Holy crap! You scared me! When did you two get here?!"Cana shook the juice cup in her hand and laughed as she replied, "We've been here for a while. We watched you squatting here carving a piece of wood all afternoon. We didn't say anything because we didn't want to disturb you, waiting to see what you'd come up with."Riyao immediately thrust the Fire Poker in front of the two, his chin held high, looking proud: "See that? My exclusive weapon, the Fire Poker. Doesn't it look cool? It's a divine weapon passed down from the previous era."Gray rolled his eyes in a standard dead-fish look and glanced at it nonchalantly: "Cut the crap. This is just a wooden staff you just messed around with. We watched the whole thing from start to finish; where is this divine weapon from the previous era?"Riyao patted the body of the Fire Poker, looking at him with disappointment, "Your perspective is too narrow! I am imbuing it with historical value. A long history gives it more charm."Cana leaned over and touched the carvings on the staff, frowning: "Isn't it just a straight stick with patterns carved on it? Also, shouldn't you turn off the Hundred Battles Technique on your body?"Riyao slapped his forehead: "Oh, oh, I forgot to turn it off."He deactivated the Hundred Battles Technique. The life energy stored in the technique was already bottoming out and was slowly replenishing into his body through his pores.Gray and Cana took the Fire Poker and took turns playing with it. Gray even performed a set of fancy staff techniques he had practiced. It felt handy to swing, but other than that, there were no other changes.He pursed his lips and handed it back to Riyao: "There's nothing special about it; it's just a handy wooden staff."Riyao took the Fire Poker, patted the staff body, and looked proud: "Naive! This is the painstaking work of this master; it's the only one of its kind in the world."Gray rolled his eyes: "Duh, as if someone else would be bored enough to make one too."Riyao gripped the Fire Poker, lightly tapped the carvings on the staff with his fingertips, and whispered, "Lengthen!"The originally half-meter-long Fire Poker shot out violently, extending dozens of meters in the blink of an eye."Shorten!"The Fire Poker immediately retracted with a swish, landing precisely back in his hand."Heavy!"He swung it casually, and the Fire Poker slammed into the dirt ground with a clatter, actually creating a small pit half a finger deep.Gray and Cana instantly widened their eyes, their mouths open wide enough to fit an apple, looking on in disbelief.Cana leaned over and reached out to try it. Riyao handed the Fire Poker over, but the moment she touched the staff, Cana was pressed down to the ground with a thud by the suddenly surging weight, her face flushed red."Why is it so heavy?! Help me lift it, I'm going to be flattened!"Gray stepped forward and tried to lift it, but the Fire Poker didn't budge at all, not even swaying.Riyao flicked it with his toe, and the Fire Poker flew into his hand with a swish. With a tap of his fingertip, the staff body quickly shrank, turning into a black-and-gold wooden bracelet with carved patterns.A flash of envy crossed Gray's eyes, but he still turned his face away stubbornly: "Tch, it's just a wooden stick that changes length and weight. My Ice-Make magic can create any weapon anytime, anywhere."Cana, on the other hand, leaned over and hugged Riyao's thigh, blinking her big eyes and deliberately pitching her voice higher: "Riyao-giegie, are there any more? I want one too."Riyao raised his leg, trying to shake her off, but Cana held on tight, wrapping her arms around his waist, and no matter how he shook, he couldn't get her off: "There aren't any more. I only have some branches left. If I make one, it will only be a low-spec version; I can't carve many Enchantment Magic spells on it."Cana shook his leg: "Low-spec is fine. I just want it to get big, small, and heavy so that my close-quarters combat will improve a bit."Riyao rolled his eyes helplessly: "Fine, I'll make one for you tomorrow. Get down, you're about to pull my pants off."Gray just opened his mouth to ask for the same thing, but after seeing the playful look Riyao shot at him, he immediately swallowed his words and turned his face away, pretending to look at the sky.The three of them walked to the guild together, intending to have dinner. Riyao was also thinking of checking the S-Class requests while he was at it.They looked back at the newly planted Wutong Tree. The evening breeze, carrying the light of the setting sun, swept across the leaves, and the branches and leaves glowed with a golden-red light, as if they had been burned by fire.Riyao didn't stop the whole way. Clutching the Fire Poker bracelet on his wrist, he took it out to show off from time to time, turning it into a long staff one moment and a bracelet the next, making Gray and Cana's eyes dizzy.He turned the Fire Poker into a long whip, swinging it with a mighty force, accompanied by the sound of wind breaking, but he wasn't paying attention and whipped Gray's arm.Gray jumped up, clutching his arm, and glared at him: "Bastard, you did that on purpose, didn't you?"Riyao pursed his lips, looking innocent: "No, I won't admit it even if you beat me to death!"Cana stoked the fire: "Fight! Fight!" She directly ignited the fuse.Gray was so angry he could explode, and on the spot, he and Riyao started scuffling.Within two moves, Gray was entangled by Riyao using the Fire Poker, tied up like a rice dumpling, and hung from the tip of the staff. Gray kicked his legs in mid-air and shouted: "Bastard, let me down, this is too embarrassing."Riyao carried the Fire Poker on his shoulder and shook it, looking punchable: "This is just right to train your strong heart as a Mage."Cana cheered from the side, clapping her hands and shouting: "Gray is really lame."As soon as she finished speaking, a bristling shout was heard: "Whoa, I'm fired up! Riyao, let's have a fight!"Ding, encountered wild monster Natsu!Riyao didn't hesitate at all. He raised his hand and swung the Fire Poker, using a meteor hammer move imitating Gray, and knocked Natsu to the ground with one strike. He used the Fire Poker to tie him up as well, hanging one on each end, with two idiots hanging from his shoulders.The entire Magnolia street could see Riyao carrying the Fire Poker on his shoulder, with the two guys, Gray and Natsu, hanging from the ends of the staff. Cana held up Riyao's camera and snapped a picture of this scene.Dark History + 1The two guys hanging from the staff didn't stop either, bumping into each other in mid-air."Fire-breathing idiot, stay away from me!""Ice-cube face, who wants to hang with you? Blech..."It triggered Natsu's underlying code for motion sickness, and he started throwing up, vomiting all over Gray's face.Gray, having been vomited on, quickly shouted to Riyao: "Ah, Riyao, let me down quickly, this fire-breathing idiot threw up on my face!"Natsu was still dry-heaving on the side, his face pale. Riyao rolled his eyes, raised his hand and swung the Fire Poker, throwing the two guys into the guild hall. Then he shook the staff body, activated the Enchantment Magic: Clean on the staff, and shook off all the stains on the staff.He turned the Fire Poker back into a bracelet, fastened it on his wrist, and walked into the guild with Cana.Just as they entered the guild hall, Gray and Natsu were already brawling. As soon as they climbed up, they were grabbed by the collars and lifted up for punishment by Erza, who had just returned from patrol.Riyao leaned against the bar, drinking juice, and shook his head while watching this scene.Sigh, they never learn.