"Summoning, F4! F3? Little ghost? Hmm... Ghost!"
Rhode tried a few times before he finally called them by their right names. In front of him appeared three gray-white-haired monsters in tattered cloaks, one large and two small, floating in mid-air.
"Heh~"
"Hiss~"
The three wild monsters all made sounds like wraiths, their ragged clothing and protruding claw-tipped fingers looked quite terrifying.
Although they were called ghosts, they seemed to have a physical form.
The monsters on this map seemed to all have these kinds of pale, ghastly green, gray-white horror-type color schemes.
Rhode summoned another group of ghosts, ordering them to assist the Shadow Wolves in surrounding the big frog.
The ghosts floated over, their claws making awful bloody marks on the frog's sticky, slippery skin with a single swipe.
The frog, though gigantic, was ultimately outnumbered. In no time, it was covered with wounds from sharp claws and teeth.
It let out a "guh-gua" sound, jumped up fiercely, and landed a hundred meters away.
The Shadow Wolves were thrown to the ground, but three of the ghosts clung to the frog, refusing to let go.
The frog kept leaping, trying to escape.
Rhode hurriedly summoned the ghosts back.
In this unfamiliar place, without knowing what dangers lay ahead, there was no need to stubbornly fight a frog.
He attempted again, but Requip Magic, Text Magic, Receiving Magic were all unusable.
Either there was something wrong with the environment, or the Space Magic that brought him here had some special Sealing Magic effect.
The only thing he could rely on now was Summoning Magic, which was in a bizarre state, perhaps unaffected due to a distinctive pendant.
This situation left Rhode feeling a rare sense of insecurity.
But more concerning was the safety of Mira and Elfman.
When that suspicious magic was activated, the three of them were together. If those two encountered danger nearby and Receiving Magic was unusable, it would be a major issue.
He had to find them quickly.
"Shadow Wolves, find Mira's scent."
Six wolves sat on the ground, looking at Rhode with puzzled eyes.
Rhode paused, suddenly realizing they didn't know who Mira was, let alone search for her scent.
He needed something with Mira's scent. After thinking for a moment, he rolled up his left sleeve and took off the hair tie around his wrist: "Smell this."
Luckily, he helped her tie her hair for fun every now and then.
The Shadow Wolves each came forward to sniff it, then scattered, circling as they began their search.
Six ghosts floated by Rhode's side, standing guard.
As Rhode waited for the result, he tried to remember the name of the last group of little monsters.
He also noticed, in the far north of the Twisted Jungle, a huge nest filled with spider webs.
He recalled that there was a giant spider monster there, equivalent to Baron Nash in the game, but more powerful than Baron Nash.
Unfortunately, there was never a definitive official backstory, just sparse mentions in some hero's background, which kept changing... he wasn't sure if it could be referenced.
But even just based on its size, it shouldn't be weak.
"Awoo~" A hundred meters away, a Shadow Wolf raised its head and howled softly.
Soon, the other wolves ran over, sniffed, and also raised their heads to howl: "Awoo~ Awoo~"
One of them returned, as if worried Rhode wouldn't understand, it specifically returned to guide him.
"Mira is in that direction?"
The Shadow Wolf nodded.
Rhode took a couple of steps but found it too slow, so he directly mounted the Shadow Wolf.
Five wolves led the way in front, while six ghosts floated behind.
All around were trees and birds he'd never seen before, occasionally some strangely shaped beasts appeared. Rhode didn't want to waste time fighting them and urged the Shadow Wolves to charge through.
Perhaps seeing their numbers, the beasts kept their distance.
After running some distance, the Shadow Wolves finally slowed, stopping in front of a strange large tree.
Looking closely, the tree clearly had doors and windows, with the emblem of Fairy Tail hanging, and "Fairy Tail" written at the entrance.
Rhode was stunned, a branch office?
He had never heard of it.
The leading Shadow Wolves all looked at the strange tree, letting out a 'woof' like a dog, indicating the scent he sought was inside.
So, either Mira was indeed here, or she had been here.
He could only go ask, and Rhode dismounted from the wolf, walking forward.
At this moment, the wooden door creaked open, and a girl came out: "Where's that barking coming from? Did they find us here too?"
It was a blonde girl, wearing an open jacket that boldly showed her white underwear and flat abdomen. Her lower half wore long black boots, giving off a distinct mature vibe.
But that face...
"Lucy?" Although her style had changed, Rhode immediately recognized the face.
Hearing Rhode call her name, Lucy looked at him warily: "Who are you?"
She glanced at the crouching Shadow Wolves and the floating ghosts behind Rhode, her expression turned tense as she assumed a defensive stance, raising her voice to alert her companions inside: "Are you from the King's Army?"
The inside of the treehouse was in chaos, busy with something. However, two people soon appeared behind Lucy.
"Another King's Army lackey? Persistent bastards."
"Looks a bit unfamiliar though, and what are those things, kind of gross."
Looking closely, these two bore some resemblance to Jet and Troy, but their faces had more scars, making them look fierce.
Rhode's attention, however, was not on them because through the open door, he could see Mira.
Mira looked worriedly at a man with a white bowl cut, seemingly Elfman.
Beside her was a short-haired girl who also looked familiar — though more mature, the hairstyle and features were unmistakably Lisana, whose photo he'd seen that morning!
"...What's going on?"
'Jet' shouted at Rhode irritably: "Hey, we're talking to you! Are you a lackey of the King's Army?"
'Lucy' cracked her knuckles: "Recognizing me and bringing along a strange army, it can only be the Magic War Team. But... fortunately, not many came, we just need to take them down quickly."
'Troy' shouted inside: "Idiots, prepare for battle!"
"Wait, wait! I'm not the enemy!" Rhode thought he understood where he was.
He laboriously rolled up his left sleeve to the shoulder, revealing the emblem on his arm.
'Lucy,' 'Jet,' and 'Troy' exchanged glances: "Our guild emblem?"