"There's no doubt about it. This is a high-quality magic item."
Makarov spoke with certainty. Magic power never lied—he could recognize a magic artifact at a glance. Fresh chapters posted on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✦𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✦𝙣𝙚𝙩
Perhaps Rhodes had managed to survive that monster rampage because of this pendant, even if he himself had no idea how to use it.
Rhodes carefully removed the necklace, letting the thin metal chain coil into a small pile in his palm. The pendant rested at the center—golden lettering against a deep blue background, shimmering in the light like a miniature star.
He turned it over, examining every angle, but aside from looking incredibly well-crafted, he couldn't tell what made it so special.
"Tatsuya, you never gave me an instruction manual for this thing!" Rhodes blurted in his native language.
Makarov and Mirajane exchanged confused glances.
Realizing they didn't understand him, Rhodes sighed and handed the pendant to Makarov.
"Master, do you know how I'm supposed to use this?"
"You don't necessarily need to know magic to use a magic item," Makarov explained. "But once you can use it, you've already taken your first step into magic itself."
Taking the necklace into his hand, Makarov murmured something—his words flowing rapidly, almost like a tongue-twister.
Rhodes tried to make sense of what he was saying, but before he could, he noticed something.
The pendant—so ordinary-looking in his hands—began to glow faintly in Makarov's.
"Ah, I see," Makarov mused. "It's similar to Celestial Spirit Keys—a magic item that only you can activate."
"Celestial Spirit Key?"
Rhodes had no idea what that was supposed to mean.
Seeing his confusion, Mirajane smiled and picked up a light pen, sketching a diagram in the air.
"Celestial Spirit Magic is a type of summoning magic," she explained. "It allows a mage to form contracts with Celestial Spirits and summon them from the Celestial Realm to assist in battle. But to do so, a mage must possess special keys—it's a form of Holder Magic."
Rhodes examined the glowing drawing Mirajane had made.
Her art skills, unfortunately, left a lot to be desired.
Compared to Reedus' illustrations, her sketches were... abstract at best.
Because of that, he still had no clue what Celestial Spirits actually looked like.
But he got the general idea.
So, he used a word that made sense to him.
Makarov chuckled. "That's about right."
He handed the necklace back to Rhodes.
"I'll teach you the fundamentals of magic, along with some of the Celestial Spirit Magic techniques I know."
He nodded toward the back of the guild.
"The guild library also has materials on Celestial Magic that you can study. So..."
Makarov's gaze met Rhodes', filled with both encouragement and curiosity.
"Do you want to learn this magic?"
Rhodes gripped the pendant tightly.
"Yes," he said firmly.
Rhodes stared at the pendant in his hand, the League of Legends-inspired design reflecting the light.
So, what exactly could this thing summon?
He could already picture the possibilities.
With over a hundred heroes in that game, if he could summon even just a few of the stronger ones... wouldn't that make him unstoppable?
Just the thought made his heart race.
But before he could entertain the idea further, Makarov clapped his hands.
"Alright then. We'll start your magic training soon. But first, let's deal with some practical matters."
Rhodes was kicked out of the infirmary.
Since his injuries had mostly healed, there was no reason for him to keep taking up a bed.
Now, that left him with a big problem—finding a place to live.
Getting a house in a completely foreign city—no, a foreign world—felt more than a little nerve-wracking.
Thankfully, Makarov had already arranged something for him.
A house not far from the guild—less than a kilometer away in a straight line.
Rhodes had already gotten a glimpse of it. It looked like a street-facing shop—with the first floor designed for business and the second floor serving as a living space.
The owner was a young man in his twenties named Goodman Riel.
Apparently, he had lived there a few years ago but moved out after getting married. Now, he only came by during the day to run the store.
The place was already fully furnished. It had a kitchen, a bathroom with a shower, and even a bathtub.
The bedroom wasn't very big, but for one person, it was more than enough.
80,000 Jewels per month.
Rhodes had no real understanding of how currency worked here, but according to Mirajane, that was considered incredibly cheap for a place in Magnolia.
The landlord's reasoning for the low rent was simple—he wasn't using the second floor anyway, and having a wizard live there made him feel safer.
Rhodes suspected that the real reason had more to do with the fact that the guy occasionally visited Fairy Tail's tavern for drinks.
Maybe this was just his way of staying on good terms with the guild.
Still, even though the rent was cheap, Rhodes had a much bigger problem—he couldn't afford it.
The money he used to pay the rent came from none other than Master Makarov.
A loan of 150,000 Jewels.
With 80,000J going straight to rent, that left 70,000J for food and daily necessities.
At first, the amount sounded huge.
But when Rhodes got a look at the currency itself, he realized...
The bills were in thousands and tens of thousands.
Yeah. No way this had the same value as real-world currency.
But the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.
Wait... I've been living off the guild's food and medicine for days, haven't I?
And not the cheap stuff, either—those medicines healed me way too fast to be anything but expensive.
Then there was Hibiki's payment.
Magic-assisted language learning definitely didn't come free, right?
But at the time, he had been too out of it to ask how much it cost.
He was officially in debt.
"Who the hell goes broke right after getting isekai'd...?"
With very mixed feelings, Rhodes set out to buy the essentials.
A quick stop at a nearby store, and he picked up basic toiletries—towels, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, and shampoo.
That alone cost him nearly 2,000J.
Then came the real necessities—Bedsheets, pillows, a blanket... another 20,000J, gone just like that.
Rhodes stared at his thinning wallet.
"Will 50,000J be enough for food for an entire month?"
He thought back to Natsu's Flame Set Meal—that thing cost over 1,000J.
Normal food was probably cheaper, but still...
If worst came to worst, he'd just have to cook for himself. With that in mind, he decided to set 20,000J aside for clothes.
Better safe than sorry, though, so he cut the budget in half.
Having an extra 10,000J for emergencies sounded like a very good idea.
"At least it's summer right now," he muttered, briefly relieved.
Then it hit him, he'd probably need a mosquito net.
And just like that, his remaining wealth shrank even further.
After a long afternoon of shopping, Rhodes finally managed to get everything he needed and lugged it all back to his new place.
By the time evening rolled around, he decided to head over to the guild for dinner.
Compared to the lively chaos of the daytime, the guild was noticeably quieter now.
Most of the remaining members were here to grab dinner, just like him.
A few others were slumped over the tables, completely wasted—some were snoring, others were still drinking, and a few were locked in heated debates, their faces red as they argued over who-knows-what.
From the looks of it, things were one wrong word away from a full-blown fight.
Rhodes quickly scanned the guild hall.
That fire-breathing interrogator from earlier—Natsu—was nowhere to be seen.
Looks like he had already gotten his answers from Master Makarov.
At that moment, Mirajane gracefully set down a tray filled with plates and cups onto a table before turning toward Rhodes with a warm smile.
"Rhodes, you're back! Did you finish settling into your new place?"
"More or less," Rhodes nodded. "I figured I'd grab dinner here. That's okay, right?"
"Of course! What would you like to eat?"
Rhodes glanced at the plates coming out of the kitchen, spotting someone eating a particularly delicious-looking dish.
"I'll have whatever that guy just ordered. It looks good."
Mirajane's smile widened.
"Alright! One Super Devil Spicy Curry!"
Then, she turned toward the warrior at the other table, pumping her fist in encouragement.
"Make sure you finish what you started!"
What did she just say?
"W-Wait a second!" He quickly waved his hands to stop her. "Super what now?"
Mirajane blinked innocently.
"Oh, just Super Devil Spicy."
Rhodes slowly raised a hand.
"I really don't think the words 'just' and 'only' are supposed to be used that way."
Mirajane tilted her head and gestured toward the man who had ordered before him.
"It's fine! See? He's enjoying it!"
Rhodes turned to look—
Only to immediately regret it.
The guy's entire face was red, sweat dripping down his forehead, eyes watering—and worst of all...
He was literally breathing fire.
"HE'S BREATHING FIRE!!"
Mirajane giggled. "Aww, I thought you'd like it, Rhodes~."
Rhodes was already shaking his head.
"I beg you—absolutely, without a doubt, no exceptions—please change my order to something normal!"
"What a shame. I was really looking forward to seeing your reaction," Mirajane giggled, her playful tone making it clear she definitely found this entertaining.
With that, she gracefully turned and walked off, leaving Rhodes utterly bewildered.
Yesterday, she had been so gentle and kind, taking care of him like a big sister.
Now, she was openly messing with him?!
Was it because she didn't need to look after him anymore?
Rhodes sat there in silence, his emotions thoroughly mixed.
'Please bring back the gentle, considerate Mirajane.'
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