Erza and Mickey's cooking skills were surprisingly good.
Being able to sip hot soup on such a cold day is truly a pleasure.
Rhode was amazed that these two seemingly fierce women could actually cook so well.
Do all these super-tough girls secretly practice cooking at home, then surprise everyone with their skills?
Of course, Mira's food is definitely tastier.
Everyone sat around the warm fire with a bowl in hand, listening to the President tell stories of the past...
Mainly about the shortcomings everyone exposed during the exams, then encouraging them to keep pushing forward next year.
After lunch, Wolian and Marcus almost recovered, packed up with the other three who didn't pass, and left together.
Only Makarov, Erza, Kana, and Rhode were left in the camp.
Makarov spoke about the content of the third exam.
"Actually, in your current state, I don't recommend you continue with the third exam."
Kana wanted to say she was fine, but thinking of Rhode's condition, she decided to ask for his opinion.
Although this was her exam, without Rhode earlier, she would probably have gone back with Wolian and the others.
Rhode thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you tell us the exam content first, we'll listen and then decide. We can't just give up without knowing what's being tested."
Makarov glanced at Erza.
Erza took out a task sheet: "The content of the third exam is a mission—find the hiding place of the Unicorn Demon Beast and eliminate it."
"Unicorn Demon Beast?" Kana's eyes widened, "Isn't that classified as an S-Class Magical Beast?"
"If it's an adult Unicorn Demon Beast, it would indeed be classified as S-Class. They can cause small earthquakes, damage mountains and mines, endangering the safety of nearby towns."
Makarov explained, "But this one is still in its juvenile stage, so it's somewhat less capable in all aspects."
Erza said seriously, "We've received information that it's hiding nearby, quietly feeding and growing. You must find and eliminate it before it matures, that's your task."
Rhode thought for a moment and asked, "It takes time for a Magical Beast to mature, right? Can we rest for a day or two before continuing the exam?"
"No, the time limit for this exam is before sunset today," Makarov said,
"Even a juvenile Unicorn Demon Beast has considerable destructive power, and nighttime is its most active period. We can't leave it unchecked.
If you don't complete it by nightfall, the task will be handed over to Erza."
Rhode looked at Kana's expression and said, "Shall we rest a bit more, then give it a try?"
Kana worriedly said, "Your body..."
"If we give up without even trying, we won't be satisfied, right?" Rhode said, "At worst, you take the lead, and I'll keep a safe distance."
Rhode thought that with the President and Erza as backup, it would be a shame not to try.
Kana was slightly moved and nodded vigorously, "Alright."
During the break, Rhode opted to chat with the President and Erza, wanting to learn more about the Unicorn Demon Beast.
After returning, he needed to add a course on the Rare Magical Beast Atlas for himself, as he hadn't even heard of the Unicorn Demon Beast and had no idea what it looked like.
"Why don't I draw it for you?" Erza rummaged through her luggage and pulled out a pen and sketchbook.
Rhode was surprised, "You actually carry a sketchbook with you, and you can draw?"
"Of course, so I can sketch new armor designs whenever inspiration strikes, a sketchbook is a must-have."
Erza looked serious, "Because I use it often, I'm quite confident in my drawing skills, let me draw it for you now."
Kana's expression was somewhat subtle.
It was Rhode's first time seeing Erza draw, and he felt a bit expectant.
"The most important feature of a Unicorn Demon Beast is, of course, the horn on its head, followed by strong hind legs and a sturdy tail, with muscle lines different from humans, and the curvature of its claws is quite distinctive too..."
Erza narrated while drawing, making her sound very professional.
A few minutes later, she flipped the sketchbook over to show Rhode, with an expectant expression for compliments: "How is it?"
"Uh... well... how should I say..." Rhode carefully chose his words, "It's amazing, perfectly capturing all the features you just mentioned."
But apart from the features, there was nothing else.
Erza humbly said, "No, it's not that outstanding, still far behind Lidas."
You're actually comparing yourself to Lidas!
Rhode was impressed by Erza's artistic evaluation skills, "So your goal is Lidas... well, keep it up."
Actually, Mira's drawing skills were just as bad as Erza's. When she explained Celestial Spirit Magic to Rhode back then, she showed off a bit.
This led Rhode to believe, before understanding Celestial Spirit Magic in detail, that Celestial Spirits were bizarre creatures, more oddly shaped than wild monsters.
Seeing Erza's drawing skills today, he could only say that these two indeed were well-matched rivals.
Kana gave Rhode a thumbs up, impressed that he could handle the situation so well.
Although the drawing was somewhat abstract, Erza's experience was solid, at least she clearly explained the Unicorn Demon Beast's traits.
She also mentioned that Unicorn Demon Beasts like to hide in mountain caves, sometimes natural, sometimes self-dug.
As for its Magic Attribute, it's clearly Earth Element, with quite high Defense.
If this were a task taken from the Guild, most of what she said could be easily found, so it wasn't really giving away answers.
As the sun gradually moved westward, Rhode's Magic Power and stamina had recovered somewhat. He summoned the Gorge Swift Crab and called for Kana to set off.
Time was running short, so they needed to search first, they could consider battle tactics while on the move.
Sitting on the River Crab's back, Rhode could continue resting.
Maintaining just one River Crab was no longer a burden for him, and borrowing the Crab's 360-degree view was much easier than constantly turning his head.
"Shall we split up to find it?" Kana suggested, "Together we're too slow, the gorge is huge, we won't find it by nightfall."
Splitting up could be dangerous... That was Rhode's first thought.
But considering the President and Erza would each accompany one of them, and they had enough manpower, he agreed: "How do we communicate?"
Kana took out two cards and handed one to Rhode.
Rhode took it, and it immediately displayed a chibi Kana.
The card in Kana's hand displayed a chibi Rhode.
"With these two cards, we can communicate." Kana demonstrated how to use them.
The chibi Kana on Rhode's card waved its little hand, saying, 'Help me, help me.'
At the same time, the chibi pointed to Kana's location.
Rhode was a bit amazed, "Is this Wolian's magic? You really can do everything..."
Kana shook her head, "No, it only transmits this one distress signal, and indicates the holder's direction, far less convenient than Wolian's magic."
So it's a distress signal-specific form of telepathy, with the crucial feature of location tracking.
Kana was too well-rounded.
If given more time to accumulate, she might become that reliable 'all-knowing old sage' figure.
Yet, mastering every Magic to the highest level isn't an easy task.