"Are you sure you want to receive it?" Makarov looked at the big, green crab in front of him, "That will take over its body."
"Yeah, I want to try." Rhode nodded,
"Even after receiving it, as long as I 'release' it within a certain time, it shouldn't have any problem, right?
I've already mastered the method of 'releasing'."
Back in the day when Rhode was learning to ride a bike, he had the painful experience of knowing how to ride but not how to stop, relying only on crashing into walls to park.
Naturally, he learned his lesson and first learned how to stop when learning to skateboard, and asked how to brake before learning to drive…
Previously, he learned summoning a bit too excitedly, and learned the forced closure only later. Now, learning to receive, he certainly couldn't make the same mistake.
Makarov frowned, feeling that this child Rhode was trustworthy:
"If you've confirmed it's fine, then let's start."
"Okay." Rhode placed a hand on the River Crab's head, "Be good, don't resist, okay."
He closed his eyes and controlled the 'fluctuations' of the magic power within him, trying to match the state described in the book.
At a certain moment, Rhode opened his eyes: "Receive!"
Blue magical light burst from Rhode's hand, completely enveloping the Gorge Swift Crab.
Immediately after, spots of light flickered across Rhode's body, and finally, a golden light enveloped him.
The duration of the golden light was short. As it dispersed, Rhode just felt a large portion of his magic power being drained away
And then, nothing happened.
He could see his bewildered self through the perspective of the River Crab.
Makarov said, "It failed, focus."
"Receiving failure consumes that much magic power too?" Rhode was heartbroken, with this, his chance to practice this morning would be reduced by one.
"Of course, any magic that progresses to this stage consumes magic power, whether it succeeds or not."
Makarov asked, "Why did you get distracted at the last moment?"
"Because... I was worried about becoming too ugly."
Rhode was somewhat anxious, as there were differences between receiving spells.
Some people completely transform into what they receive.
Some remain mostly themselves, with added features of the target they receive.
Rhode really didn't want to end up crawling like a crab.
"If you're worried about that, you shouldn't learn receiving magic." Makarov said,
"First, believe in your own heart, and then it will respond to you with a 'miracle.'
But remember, that's not a 'miracle,' it's just your heart. Magic is the power of the heart."
"Believe in yourself, believe in your heart," Rhode tried to ask himself, what does he want most?
Firstly, strength, and secondly, looks.
If he is strong enough, he can do without looks, because if he defeats all his enemies, that's naturally the most handsome.
But how strong can receiving a River Crab make him?
No, no, the River Crab has its own specialties as well.
Moreover, the strength of receiving magic is heavily reliant not just on the target, but also on the user's own magic power.
If the President used receiving magic, even receiving an ordinary rabbit, he could kick most of the guild members flying.
Believe...
"Receive!"
Spots of light shined, golden light flashed and disappeared, the River Crab vanished from its place, and Rhode's appearance changed dramatically!
His hands, feet, body, and even his head were covered with a layer of hard shell armor, like he was wearing a set of green armor.
On his head stood a pair of antennae, on his face like he wore a mask, and his eyes emitted a faint yellow glow.
His chest was armored thickly, the armguards extending from his fingers to his forearms, appearing particularly robust.
These were what Rhode saw for himself. After receiving the River Crab, he gained a peculiar 360-degree field of vision, allowing him to see his full appearance without a mirror.
"Is this Mozi? Kabutack? Armor Warrior Elephant General?"
Upon seeing himself, Rhode immediately associated with three characters of similar color schemes.
Suddenly, he felt that this green armor was quite handsome.
He tapped his chest and arms with his fist, and the hardness seemed decent.
Makarov held one hand behind his back, the other raised in front, ready to subdue Rhode if he went berserk.
"President, I'm fine."
Makarov lowered his arm: "That's good, how do you feel?"
Rhode moved a little, feeling his limbs more agile than usual.
He raised his right hand, the spots on the armguard flickered, turning into a crab claw, and he could feel strong power between opening and closing it.
Rhode tried moving his legs, and he immediately dashed out, much faster than usual.
Moreover, with a thought, he used the River Crab's skills, leaving afterimages as he ran.
"Is this Ghostly Swift Step?" Rhode was distracted for a moment, and with a bang, he smashed through the yard's wall, rushing out.
It seemed to be the spot where the wall was knocked down when he summoned the River Crab last time.
What a coincidence, and Rhode was pleasantly surprised to find that crashing through walls didn't hurt a bit.
"Rhode!"
"I'll fix it!"
Rhode's voice drifted in the wind, and he had already run to the lake behind the guild:
Swimming, diving, even standing on the surface of the water!
Receiving the River Crab automatically granted Water Combat Mastery!
Speaking of the River Crab…
Rhode concentrated, sensing the situation in Summoner's Rift through his pendant.
In the upper and lower river routes, a River Crab was patrolling upstream, while the other didn't disappear, instead entering a dormant state, its body submerged, leaving a pair of antennae protruding above the water.
This left Rhode puzzled. Wasn't the magic supposed to take the opponent's body? Did he take the refresh timer instead?
He moved around in the lake for a while, getting familiar with this magic, then returned to the yard and released the receiving magic in front of the President.
Thank goodness, there was no situation like Chita where the clothes tear apart.
"Any discomfort?"
"No, but the magic power consumption is intense, feels more than summoning two River Crabs at the same time."
"That is a drawback of receiving magic. Improve your magic power, and the more you get used to that state, the more it can be improved somewhat."
Makarov thought for a bit, then asked, "How's that crab?"
Rhode checked the situation in Summoner's Rift, seeing a River Crab patrolling each river route: "It's already recovered."
"That's good." Makarov didn't say it out loud, but was evidently a bit bothered by the concept of receiving one's battle partners.
"But President…" Rhode said in confusion, "I only released the receiving magic, I haven't performed the 'release' step yet."
"What? How can this be…" Makarov was surprised, "Could there be a third River Crab in that Summoner's Rift you mentioned?"
"It shouldn't be…" Rhode had seen the dormant River Crab jump out from underwater.
Could a new one have refreshed?
Makarov thought for a moment, "Then, can you use receiving magic now?"
Rhode closed his eyes, and moments later, opened them: "Receive!"
Familiar light spots appeared, and Rhode transformed once more.
...