Rhodes, Wendy, and Carla had been working like ordinary orchard hands for two full days.
Finally, they were close to finishing.
When they first arrived, Rhodes had assumed that clearing such a massive orchard would take until next year. But now, as the sun dipped low in the western sky, painting the horizon gold, even Pushmon seemed impressed.
"Keep pushing!" Pushmon encouraged them. "Just finish pruning the rest of the trees today. Tomorrow, you can focus on gathering up the fallen leaves."
Wendy wiped the sweat from her brow, her face still bright with energy. "Maybe we won't need tomorrow," she said cheerfully. "We might be able to finish everything today!"
Pushmon blinked, thinking the girl was being a little too optimistic. "Sweeping leaves isn't easy either, you know…"
But just as he finished pruning the last few trees and was about to call it a day, Wendy stepped forward with purpose.
"Where should we sweep the leaves to?" she asked.
Pushmon pointed toward a bare patch near the edge of the orchard. "Just pile them all up over there. I usually compost them, but this year… it's too much work. I'll burn them later."
"Got it!" Wendy raised a determined fist. "Then leave it to me!"
"Huh?" Pushmon looked puzzled.
Rhodes gently pulled him back. "You might want to give her some space."
Carla also flew a little ways back, her wings fluttering as she landed behind Wendy.
Having finished snacking on persimmons, Warm had already clocked out and gone home.
Wendy took a deep breath, planting her feet firmly. A stillness swept through the orchard. If one were sensitive to magic, they would have felt a dense wave of magical energy concentrating around her.
"Sky Dragon…" she murmured, cheeks puffing up, arms spreading like wings.
With a mighty exhale, she unleashed a burst of wind that whirled through the trees.
"ROAR!"
Whoosh!
A powerful gust swept through the orchard like a sudden storm, sending branches swaying and leaves soaring. Not just the nearby trees, but several rows in all directions trembled under the force of her breath.
The dried leaves scattered beneath the trees were lifted high into the air, spinning in a vortex that swept across the field like a miniature tornado. Within seconds, a thick stream of swirling leaves had gathered at the far end of the orchard, exactly where Pushmon had pointed.
Even from behind her, the wind tugged at everyone's clothes.
"What in the world?!" Pushmon shouted, struggling to keep his balance, his hair sticking up in all directions.
He had completely forgotten, after two days of seeing them work like normal folks, that these were mages.
The wind finally died down.
Wendy ran forward to inspect the tree she had targeted, gently brushing its branches with her fingertips. "No damage," she said with a relieved smile. "The breath's power can be dispersed or focused. That went well."
She turned, raised her little fist, and struck a cute victory pose. "Alright! I can do this!"
Pushmon was still stunned, his mouth agape. "Y-You… You're planning to sweep all the leaves like that?!"
Wendy nodded earnestly. "Yes! Don't worry. I'm controlling my power carefully, and none of the trees were harmed. Just a few more times, and I'll have them all gathered!"
"Hmm... Ah."
Pushmon didn't quite know what to say. "That's... incredible."
Carla puffed up proudly, as if she were the one being praised. "Wendy is a Sky Dragon Slayer Mage. This level of magic is nothing for her."
Still stunned, Pushmon turned to Rhodes. His tone shifted unconsciously into something more respectful. "And... you? Do you know that kind of magic?"
Rhodes replied casually, "I can use a little wind magic, but not to that level."
He could only manage a small breeze using his Script Magic, writing the word WIND in the air. It was barely strong enough to ruffle leaves, let alone sweep a whole orchard.
"But I can help in another way, Blue Sentinel."
With a surge of magic, the ground trembled slightly. A massive stone giant rose up from the earth.
Pushmon jumped, startled by the golem's sudden appearance.
The golem lumbered over and placed a glowing blue buff gently on Wendy's head.
Wendy looked up, eyes sparkling. "Thank you, Mr. Golem!"
The golem gave a sheepish scratch to its head, then began trailing behind her like a loyal guardian.
The sight of the towering stone giant following the tiny Wendy around was both impressive and slightly nerve-wracking. It looked like a single misstep could flatten her.
Wendy sprinted ahead and prepared another Dragon Roar. This time, her control was even more precise. The wind howled through the orchard, scattering leaves like a golden storm and piling them neatly against the far wall.
After three consecutive breaths, Wendy's breathing grew a bit ragged. Even with the blue buff boosting her control, she didn't have endless magic power.
But with just a few minutes of rest, she'd be ready to go again.
Carla muttered, "I'm starting to feel guilty just watching."
Rhodes replied calmly, "That's the point of the mission. It's to train Wendy."
Carla glanced sideways at him. "What about those two books you gave us? Don't they contain wind spells too?"
"They do," Rhodes said, "but using them here would cost us more than the entire reward for this mission."
"And even if we forget the cost," he added, "the magic in those books is combat-oriented. Too rigid. The first spell would blow up half the trees."
"Please don't do that," Pushmon interjected nervously. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't use any overly destructive magic here."
Carla reassured him, "Don't worry, we won't."
What Pushmon didn't say aloud was that he'd heard stories about Fairy Tail. The guild was infamous for turning the simplest jobs into disasters.
Thankfully, this time he seemed to have gotten a reliable crew.
As Wendy caught her breath and prepared to start again, Rhodes sighed, "If only I were better at wind magic... I could help more directly."
"You already know earth and fire magic, right?" Carla asked, surprised. "You want to learn wind too?"
She remembered that his earth and fire magic were each tied to a dragon. Could it be that—
"Hey! Hello?" Carla noticed Rhodes had gone silent mid-thought. She flew up to his face and waved her paw.
Seeing him blink, Carla asked, "Why did you suddenly space out?"
"Hmm, how should I put it?" Rhodes rubbed his temple, still processing the moment. "I think… I might be able to use wind magic now."
"Huh?"
Just moments ago, in the Summoner's Rift that connected him to his magical summons, Rhodes had noticed something strange.
In the center of that world, the terrain of the Dragon Pit, once divided into the earthy ochre of the Mountain Dragon and the searing red of the Purgatory Dragon, now had a third zone: blue and white, like a stretch of open sky. And carved into the wall of that zone was the symbol of a wing.
Coiled within that sky-lit cavern was a massive dragon of pale, misty blue, its form exuding speed, grace, and clarity.
The Cloud Dragon.
In the world of games, it was known for bestowing speed boosts and swiftness. But here, Rhodes instinctively understood, it embodied wind magic.
Judging from the behavior of his previous summons, like the Mountain Dragon and the Purgatory Dragon, this one too would grant him a specialized form of elemental magic.
And that meant one thing, wind magic was now within reach.
He looked around at the orchard. Obviously, this wasn't the place to try summoning a massive elemental dragon. He'd have to wait until they got back to test it properly and receive the 'soul' of the dragon.
Still, he couldn't help but wonder: What would this dragon's temperament be like?
While Rhodes was lost in thought, Carla tilted her head. "You just said you might be able to use wind magic. What do you mean, 'I'll do it when I get back'?"
Before he could answer, he suddenly stopped again mid-sentence, eyes going wide.
"Never mind," he muttered, eyebrows rising slightly. "It looks like I can already use it now."
"What?!" Carla was utterly baffled. "What kind of explanation is that?! Who learns a new type of magic just by talking about it for five minutes?!"