Chapter 33: Three Gates?

Rhodes threw a punch, and his opponent quickly dodged, raising a leg for a high side kick.

Rhodes raised his arm to block it steadily, but his opponent had already vanished.

Hearing a faint sound behind him, Rhodes quickly turned to the side. His shoulder was grazed, causing his upper body to sway slightly before he immediately regained balance and swung a hook punch backward.

Bam!

This punch connected solidly, and the opponent crossed their arms in an "X" to block the strike.

"That's a strong punch! You're much stronger than they said!"

The opponent took half a step back, then somersaulted twice to regain distance, rubbing his forearm.

This was Sarusuk, known by his nickname Jet. He wore a purple shirt, a wide-brimmed hat almost a foot tall, loose breeches, and a pair of running boots.

He was a member of Levy's Shadow Gear team. Since their last mission, the three of them hadn't gone on another job, spending their days at the guild joking around with their companions.

It wasn't clear if Jet's interest in the rumor about Rhodes wanting to fight everyone in the guild prompted him, or if he was unhappy about Levy frequently hanging out with Rhodes to learn languages.

Either way, Jet voluntarily put himself on Rhodes's "sparring list," and his teammate Troy did the same.

The two had already exchanged punches and kicks for several minutes, and so far, Jet was the first opponent who matched Rhodes evenly in terms of hand-to-hand combat.

Rhodes wasn't sure if he had gotten stronger or if his opponent had gotten weaker, but he hadn't lost ground today:

"You're pretty impressive too—your moves are incredibly agile."

It's just that you're lacking in strength... Rhodes warned himself in his mind not to get too cocky.

"Jet! If you can't beat him, just give up and let me go next!" Troy loudly "cheered" for Jet, "Levy thinks I can win!"

Jet turned his head and shouted, "Shut up, Troy! Levy clearly supports me more!"

Levy sighed and muttered softly, "I never said that... But Rhodes is improving fast; he's already evenly matched with Jet."

After shouting at his best friend, Jet lowered the brim of his hat, gave Rhodes a smile, then got into a starting stance:

"Now, I'll show you my magic. I'm the fastest man in the guild—there's a reason I'm called Jet!"

"God Legs!" Jet shot forward like an arrow.

Rhodes barely saw him take off before hearing the sound of rushing wind—the sound Jet made as he passed by!

Jet didn't attack immediately; instead, he ran circles around Rhodes.

The sound of wind and footsteps made it hard for Rhodes to catch sight of Jet.

Judging roughly with his eyes, Rhodes figured the speed of the river crab's charge was about the same as Jet's. But the crab could charge and come to a sudden stop, while it couldn't change direction and run tight circles like Jet could.

In this scene, Rhodes couldn't help but recall the image of Lee circling Gaara from a neighboring show.

He was tempted to stick his leg out...

However, before Rhodes could make a move, Jet had already returned to his original position. He leaned side to side, stretching his legs and neck:

"Warm-up is over. I remember you have a fast-running crab, don't you? Aren't you going to call it out?"

"No, the one coming out today isn't the Canyon Swift Crab." Rhodes gripped the pendant, feeling the magic surging inside him.

"I am the one who bridges the path between two realms. Thou, creature of the Summoner's Rift, heed my call and cross through the gate! Ancient Stone Beetle!"

"Beetle?" Troy, who was about to continue "encouraging" Jet, shivered. "Don't tell me he's going to summon a swarm of bugs—that'd be terrifying!"

If it were really a swarm of bugs, he'd probably hide behind Levy.

The pendant in Rhodes's hand emitted a blue light, and the ground beneath him shook slightly before two stone beetles broke through the earth, standing in front of him.

The larger one was over two meters tall, with four thick, pillar-like legs, a giant pincer-like mandible at the front, and a stone-like crack running along its back.

The smaller one was almost identical, but only about 1.5 meters tall.

When the two stone beetles were stationary, they looked like two different-sized rocks, but as soon as they started moving, the cracks on their backs glowed with blue light.

"Click, click, click..." The mandibles of the stone beetles opened and closed lightly, awaiting orders from their master.

Rhodes double-checked his internal magic consumption—similar to the first time he summoned them with the Guild Master yesterday. It required about as much magic as summoning three Canyon Swift Crabs.

However, it seemed that with increased familiarity, today's consumption was slightly reduced, by about one Poro's worth—not much, but still a slight improvement.

"Those are beetles?!" Troy wasn't scared of them anymore but soon felt a different fear.

"They look really strong!" Facing the two large creatures head-on, Jet felt the pressure.

The main thing was their rock-like appearance—they looked extremely tough. Jet wasn't the kind of mage known for destructive power.

"If that's the case, I'll just have to bypass them and attack you directly!" Jet leapt forward.

Rhodes was quick to react. He bent low, spun around, and hid behind the hind leg of the larger stone beetle.

Secret Technique: Qin Shi Hiding Behind the Column!

The pillar-like thick legs of the Ancient Stone Beetle and its sturdy abdomen provided Rhodes with a decent sense of safety.

The beetle was shorter than he was, but in this situation, that was an advantage—it meant that if Jet wanted to get in to attack, he'd have to crouch, which would slow him down.

Sure enough, Jet circled the beetle and came to a sudden stop. "Hey, that's a bit too cowardly, isn't it?"

Rhodes disagreed. "It's a defensive summon—that's how it's used. When Erza fought me, she didn't take off her armor, either."

Jet wanted to ask if it made any difference whether Erza wore armor or not.

But after some thought, he couldn't really deny Rhodes the right to defend himself.

"Alright, then try this—Hawk's Soar!"

Jet's figure traced a beautiful arc through the yard, delivering a heavy kick to the leg of the Ancient Stone Beetle.

Rhodes could feel the "pillar" he was leaning on shake, and the beetle's head tilted slightly, seemingly in pain.

"Stone Beetle!"

Rhodes called out, and the smaller beetle turned around and charged at Jet.

"So hard, but it worked!" Jet deftly dodged and created distance before charging again. "Super High-Speed Impact!"

Isn't that just an iron shoulder tackle? Rhodes caught sight of Jet's posture and quickly moved out from the front.

Bang!

Jet's shoulder rammed into the Ancient Stone Beetle's hind leg, causing it to stumble and nearly fall.

Before the beetle could retaliate, Jet quickly retreated again. "What a headache—still didn't bring it down."

Rhodes peeked out from behind the Ancient Stone Beetle's cover. "If you stop, I'll come at you!"

Jet gave a confident smile. "Those clumsy creatures could never match my speed!"

"To deal with someone fast, you need a little strategy." Rhodes gripped the pendant, chanted a brief incantation, and summoned the Canyon Swift Crab.

"He can summon two creatures at the same time?!"

Levy, who had some knowledge of Celestial Spirit Magic, knew that Celestial Spirit mages who could open two gates simultaneously were rare. Rhodes's summoning magic, similar to Celestial Spirit Magic, should be just as difficult!

Moreover, if you counted the Poro on the side, Rhodes was currently maintaining three gates at the same time!

Even if the Poro was just a decorative creature, it was still impressive—it was beyond amazing!