"I am the one who bridges the path between two realms..."
To ensure the success of his first summoning, Rhodes decided to recite the complete incantation for once.
"Crimson Mark Treant!"
As Rhodes uttered the creature's name, the ground beneath lit up with a red glow, and the creature's body sprouted quickly from the earth like a tree.
Its limbs resembled sturdy tree trunks, with red claws extending from its feet. A glowing red orb sat on its back, surrounded by clusters of green leaves.
The entire creature was about the size of a small house, making it appear imposing and fierce at close range.
The Crimson Mark Treant, colloquially known as "Red Buff" or "Red Dominator Sigil," was relatively stronger compared to the Three Wolves and other similar monsters.
Due to its ability to provide a decent buff to whoever defeated it, its strategic importance was also quite high.
As for its effect after being summoned, its sheer size and intimidating appearance were already impressive.
The moment it appeared, the entire courtyard seemed to have shrunk considerably.
Moreover, summoning it once had drained a substantial portion of Rhodes' magic power. Maintaining its existence felt like opening a floodgate—he figured it wouldn't be long before his legs gave out.
With that kind of drain, Rhodes figured it wouldn't be a weakling.
"Is this... a wood-based monster?" Makarov closely observed the massive creature Rhodes had summoned.
From what he could sense, the magic level of this creature was quite high, and it appeared to be wood-based.
"Its name is Crimson Mark Treant. A treant should be considered wood-based, right?"
Rhodes issued a few simple commands like "lie down" and "get up." Once he saw the creature obediently follow them, he moved closer to try touching it.
This big fellow had a head that resembled a wooden stump, with glowing red eyes.
After quietly feeling the treant's power for a while, Rhodes said,
"It seems to have some wood-based magic, but what it excels at most is a buff spell called 'Crown of Embers.'"
"A buff spell?"
"Yes."
The "big light bulb" on the treant's back flickered, casting a red glow over Rhodes.
Three red, semi-transparent light patterns appeared around Rhodes, swirling around him like dragons.
When he tried throwing a punch, the three light patterns enveloped his fist, transforming into red flames.
Heaven smiled upon him—he finally had attack effects!
Makarov, who was well-versed in magic, immediately recognized the type of spell:
"This is an enhancement spell? And it grants magic to others—it's already touching upon the domain of high-level enchantments."
"So this is what enhancement magic feels like. Want to give it a try?" Rhodes asked.
After Makarov nodded, Rhodes patted the treant's front leg and pointed to the guild master: "Crown of Embers."
The red glow swept over, and the same light patterns as Rhodes' appeared around Makarov.
At that moment, however, the red light on the treant's back dimmed, suggesting it couldn't provide this buff to more people.
Makarov tried throwing a punch, then enlarged his fist and punched again.
The red glow seemed capable of transforming into enough flames to cover his entire fist, regardless of its size.
Makarov said, "It's quite an impressive boost, and I feel more energized overall."
Rhodes thought for a moment. Besides dealing extra damage, the Crown of Embers also provided some health regeneration.
Though the effect wasn't too strong, would giving the guild master a dose of it every day make him live longer, maybe even rejuvenate him?
As Rhodes was lost in these thoughts, he suddenly felt dizzy and weak, collapsing onto the ground.
The Crimson Mark Treant disappeared shortly after.
"My magic power couldn't hold out," Rhodes said, holding his head. "I couldn't even last five minutes—it looks like, for now, it's just a trump card."
"For an effect this powerful, the magic consumption is completely justified," Makarov evaluated.
"If you keep working hard, you might have a chance to participate in this year's S-class promotion exam."
"S-class? Me?" Rhodes couldn't believe it. Putting everything else aside, wasn't his magic power far below the required level?
Makarov nodded. "Yes, if you can manage to receive it."
"Receive it? Forget it. I can take the S-class exam next year." Rhodes smiled wryly. Receiving a wild creature cost more magic power than summoning it.
Just summoning it had already drained most of his magic power. He couldn't even complete the first step of receiving it.
Not to mention that, after receiving it, he'd need to stay battle-ready... He'd drop dead, or, in this case, suffer from a magic deficiency.
Looks like he'd have to work hard on improving his magic power next.
"Keep it up." Makarov seemed pleased with Rhodes' response.
Indeed, even when faced with the allure of advancing to S-class, he didn't act recklessly.
If it were Natsu, and he heard that receiving a monster could grant him a chance at the S-class exam, he'd try immediately, regardless of his magic power level.
That was also why Makarov had brought up the S-class exam to Rhodes.
The boy's personality and temperament could make up for his lack of magic power.
Natsu, on the other hand, was an example of what not to do. His strength wasn't enough to compensate for the shortcomings in his character and experience.
It was only mid-September, with three months left until the S-class exam. Makarov had high hopes for Rhodes' progress.
"By the way, how long does this 'Crown of Embers' effect last?" Makarov asked.
Rhodes replied, "If the treant is present, it can last around ten minutes. If it's not, it can only last about two minutes."
Two minutes was plenty—battles between wizards often ended quickly.
Sometimes, an encounter with an opponent of the right element could end in a single move. If it was an unfamiliar spell, the person might already be on the ground before they knew what had hit them.
Long-lasting, drawn-out battles were rare; those were usually wars or prolonged confrontations between well-matched opponents.
In that sense, a strong buff that lasted a few minutes was very valuable.
Makarov, satisfied, returned to the tavern with the red glow still surrounding him—Rhodes truly had great potential.
But Rhodes himself wasn't happy. Summoning a treant only to run out of magic power in a few minutes—what if he couldn't end things quickly in a real battle?
He'd always been steadily advancing his training—stamina, magic power, summoning magic, receiving magic...
Everything had been progressing in parallel, and his magic power had steadily increased as he unlocked more creatures. But today, he suddenly found it insufficient.
Then again, the limitations of his magic power had first become apparent when he learned Receiving Magic.
Rhodes sat cross-legged on the ground, pondering for a while. He had to prioritize enhancing his magic power from now on.
The methods: meditation, along with extreme physical training.
Extreme physical training not only built endurance but also tempered the will, which was highly beneficial for boosting magic power.
The downside was that it was grueling and could risk bodily harm.
But what if, after the extreme training, he applied a Crown of Embers to himself?
The slight healing effect might offset some of the negative side effects, right?
To boost his magic power, he could afford to take a bit of a risk.