Reby has always been interested in book-related tasks.
However, getting 200,000 J just for retrieving a book was considered abnormally high, so Reby hesitated for a day.
Today she found out someone else took it, and the reward was raised to 2 million.
This made Reby feel... relieved.
Though she was unwilling, tasks with such a high reward generally exceeded her abilities.
Accepting it rashly may lead to unpredictable consequences.
Mira encouraged, "Find another suitable one."
Loki had already hidden in a corner, discreetly wiping cold sweat, slipping away while no one was noticing.
It's one thing that Lucy, an actual Star Spirit Mage, was calling upon Leo Constellation, but what's up with Rhode, a fake Star Spirit Mage doing it?
It felt increasingly difficult to stay in the guild.
"Over here, two beers!"
"Coming right up..." Rhode delivered the beers, "Macao? You're here drinking even though you haven't fully recovered?"
"This sort of injury is a piece of cake!"
"Just fighting Valken got you injured like this, and you have the nerve to brag?" Wakaba blew out a puff of smoke, slapped the table, and laughed heartily, "So lame, Macao!"
Rhode glanced at him, thinking you had the worst expression when there was no news from Macao, and now that you know he's fine, you're the harshest with the ridicule?
"What did you say? 18, I defeated 18!" Macao stood up, leaning forward, "If it were you, at most 17! No, 16!"
Wakaba stood up as well, his forehead pressing against Macao's, "At least 19, no, 20!"
"16!"
"20! Don't think I'll let you off just because you're injured!"
"15! Don't think you can surpass me just because I'm injured!"
"21!"
"14!"
"Is this some kind of new auction?" Rhode couldn't be bothered with them, feeling like there won't be a fight today.
...
Three days passed by in a flash.
"Partial Receiving · Mountain Sub-dragon's Claw!"
Rhode activated the Dragon Claw slightly to adapt, clenching his fist and smashing it to the ground, "Mountain Fist!"
Boom!
From the point of impact, a fissure rumbled along the ground, stretching from the center of the guild yard to the entrance.
Rhode wasn't quite satisfied, adjusted his force technique, and punched again.
This time, the distance shortened, but it created a web of cracks centered around his fist, with soil and rocks beneath shattered by the blow.
"Feels a bit off, is this brute strength?"
Rhode carefully checked the surrounding wall, noticing it wasn't damaged, but realized these moves weren't suitable for practicing in the yard.
"Better fix up the ground... Full Receiving · Mountain Sub-dragon!"
"Earth Element Magic… feel the magic power of the earth, the strength of the land, merge!"
The shattered ground reassembled, bulging up into a small mound about knee-high.
The fissure caused by the first punch also merged and formed a ridge.
"It's still easy to overdo it," Rhode shook his head and released the receiving magic, ready to get back to work.
Merely using full-body receiving magic wasn't too exhausting.
As soon as Rhode entered, he saw Lucy complaining to Mira about not getting the payment:
"Lucy, you're back? Where are Natsu and Hapi?"
"Over there." Lucy pointed weakly, as Natsu and Hapi were mindlessly fooling around in the tavern.
Lucy was feeling down because she couldn't get the reward for her first official task.
"What happened?" Rhode naturally sat next to Mira.
Mira prepared a towel and water for him.
"Actually…" Lucy recounted the task details.
It turned out the client, Kabi Menlo, was the son of the famous novelist Kaim Sareo (Renqua Menlo).
This task was meant to erase a blemish in his father's writing career.
— Kaim Sareo was imprisoned for three years by Duke Abar and forced to write a novel with him as the main character.
He wrote the book "DAY BREAK" during this time.
Upon returning home, he claimed it as trash and destroyed the hand he used for writing, which led to his death not long after.
Kabi considered the book a disgrace to his father and wanted to burn it.
But Lucy unlocked the magic hidden in the book, rearranging its text, transforming "DAY BREAK" into "DEAR KABY."
The content changed from a bad story into a letter to his son, which Kabi accepted as his father's finest work.
"That's how it went. Initially, the client's reward was increased and the objective changed from 'acquire the book' to 'destroy it.'
Then Natsu said since the book wasn't destroyed, the task wasn't completed, so considering the guild's reputation, they couldn't take the money."
Two million! Though Lucy understood Natsu's decision, she still felt heartache.
"I've read a work by Kaim Sareo, never thought he went through that."
In seeking knowledge, Rhode hadn't forgotten to familiarize himself with some literary works, and though he hadn't read many books, he'd perused some by renowned authors.
"Writing novels seems like a dangerous career; if you're not careful, a reader might imprison you to demand a new draft, not feeding you if you don't write."
"That sort of thing is an extreme rarity!" Lucy nodded, secretly thinking that since she writes novels on the side, she hopes she doesn't encounter people that crazy in the future.
"Hopefully." Rhode asked further, "What happened with that Duke? Illegal detention isn't covered under noble privileges, right?"
"We helped Mr. Kabi gather some evidence, and Hiloci Men City Government plans to investigate him. Since he's a mage, the Advisory Council will intervene too."
Lucy and Natsu had wrapped things up well.
Lucy was just a bit downhearted: "It was my first job…"
Mira consoled, "Though you didn't get paid, at least you got to read a marvelous piece first, isn't it good?"
"True." Being a witness to such a love-filled work was indeed an honor for Lucy,
"But I wanted to ask Miss Mira about the secret after completing the task."
"What secret?"
"Rhode's secret to getting stronger, Hapi said Mr. Rhode entrusted it to Miss Mira."
Rhode wondered aloud, "I have a secret to getting stronger? Why don't I know about it?"
"Were they duping me!?" Lucy wanted to confront them.
Mira thought for a moment, "If I had to say, there is something."
"What what?"
"Hold on." Mira rummaged around and pulled out three sheets of paper, "This is it."
Lucy eagerly took them to read, "Push-ups, sit-ups, meditation, long-distance running, magic practice... what's this?"
"It's Rhode's training schedule. There's the initial version, the extreme training version afterward, and the modified version, all here."
"But… the first can be considered arduous, but the second and third… that intensity could kill someone, right?"