Rhode was feeling a bit guilty now; he wasn't sure if it was the True Damage from the Crown of Embers that worked, or if the power of the Broken Ghost Crown was too strong.
The Magic Power Tester, which was supposed to withstand even Super Magic, was broken by him.
But can he be blamed for this?
No way, it was the chairman who told him not to worry.
Mr. Rhode was just faithfully carrying out the chairman's orders.
The conscience of Fairy Tail temporarily suppressed his own conscience and innocently asked, "What should we do now?"
"I suppose it's considered accidental damage..." Trein said unsurely, "Perhaps we should head back to the Council first? I think the evaluators' thought bodies will soon reappear."
Rhode nodded, "Sounds good."
The soldiers present, along with Rhode and Trein, didn't take the disappearance of the thought bodies seriously.
It's normal for such remotely deployed magic to occasionally have 'bad signals', especially under interference from such powerful magic power just now.
Little did they know, the meeting room at the main Council headquarters was already in chaos.
All nine evaluators, including the chairman, had fallen from their chairs, clutching their heads in pain and curled up on the floor.
The most severely affected person had blood flowing from his nostrils.
It took a full ten minutes before their pain somewhat subsided, and they struggled to climb back into their chairs.
Chairman Gulan Domma held his forehead and said hoarsely, "I felt like my head was splitting just now, like my brain was being pulled out of my head and roasted on fire, what about you guys?"
"Same."
"Me too."
"I've never heard of magic that can hurt us through our thought bodies."
"Is it an attack magic targeting the mind?"
"Did that Rhode intentionally assault us?"
"No, it's probably unintentional. Doing something like this in front of so many eyes would be too foolish, not his style."
"Plus, he did warn us to step back."
"Maybe he himself didn't know about this effect?"
After a round of discussion, everyone fell into silence.
It was too embarrassing.
A simple magic power test nearly wiped out the entire Advisory Council.
And it was all caused by their arrogance, carelessness, and curiosity.
Who would have thought there would be magic that attacks the main body's spirit through a thought body? It's kind of against common sense.
"What do we do now?" Org raised the pressing question, "They are probably still waiting for us to return and confirm the results."
"..."
After another few seconds of silence, they honestly didn't feel like heading back just yet.
Who could have imagined that a simple test would be so dangerous?
Furthermore, if they used their thought bodies again, it would be quite undignified to grimace in pain after arriving there.
Eventually, Gulan Domma made the decision, "Let's use the Communication Magic Crystal."
It might seem less formal, but it's currently the best plan.
But after making the decision, none of the nine moved.
They needed to recover a bit, and also tidied themselves up to keep others from seeing they had rolled around on the floor.
...
Rhode, accompanied by Trein, waited for a full half-hour at the Council's branch but still didn't see any sign of the evaluators' thought bodies.
"What's going on?"
Trein thought for a moment, then replied, "Maybe there's some urgent business at headquarters holding them up, or maybe they're already discussing whether you qualify."
That exaggerated breath attack had completely impressed Trein, and he unconsciously used honorifics in his words.
This young man in front of him, even if he hadn't yet received the title of the Ten Wizard Saints, was already outstanding, so outstanding that Trein looked up to him.
The most terrifying part was that Trein had heard a rumor that this person had only been learning magic for less than two years.
What kind of genius could reach the level of the Ten Wizard Saints in such a short time?
Thinking of this, a slight ripple of emotion stirred in his heart, "Mr. Rhode, although it may be presumptuous, may I ask if you're willing to share a bit about your experience in magic training? If we could cultivate more talents for the Strong Detention Team..."
The soldiers all perked up their ears; the training experience of a Ten Wizard Saint.
"My experience is somewhat... the conditions for realization are too harsh, you might not be able to replicate it," Rhode said, "Initially, it was just relentless exercising of magic power and physique, then finding guild mates to spar with each other and solidly establishing the basics."
Trein nodded; fundamentals are vital, and mutual exchange and sparring is feasible since they have that as part of their usual training routine.
"Then, by the time my magic and combat skills had made some progress... every day I had an S-Class Mage personally guiding me and could accompany me for training anytime.'
"Oh, S-Class Mage is one of the top-tier powerful few in our guild. Additionally, if I have any doubts, I can ask her or our President, who is also one of the Ten Wizard Saints, Makarov..."
Rhode was aware that his developmental environment and 'teaching resources' were among the top-tier in the Fiore Kingdom.
Trein obviously realized this point as well. With every point Rhode mentioned, Trein's expression became more and more numb, eventually resigning completely.
Which rookie mages can randomly select various opponents of different levels and types every day?
Even having an S-Class Mage provide personal guidance, and a Ten Wizard Saint available to answer questions?
Is Fairy Tail really offering such good benefits?
Trein, along with his subordinates, all felt envious.
And when they thought about who the S-Class Mage guiding Rhode might be...
They felt an intense urge to quit and join Fairy Tail!
Learn magic freely, join and get a wife; the wife being the number one beautiful model of Fiore!
What kind of god-tier guild is this?
What a pity, a guild this good must have very high entry barriers?
The crowd felt a wave of dejection.
Rhode, a bit embarrassed, used Requip Magic to take out a piece of paper: "Um… this is the training schedule I used when laying my foundation, maybe you guys can use it as a reference?"
That seemed like an option... Trein perked up a bit.
However, after looking at it for a moment, his expression gradually collapsed, "Did you really train according to this schedule?"
Rhode nodded, "Yeah."
Trein said incredulously, "At this intensity, most people would die, right?"
Claiming it would lead to death might have been an exaggeration, but with the slightest negligence, one might end up crippled.
"Well..." Rhode thought for a moment, "Oh, because our guild's consulting pharmacist was quite attentive, frequently making suitable medicinal concoctions for me, and also Mira is very good at taking care of people..."
"..." Trein unintentionally crumpled the paper in his hand a bit.
Damn, there's even high-level personal doctors specifically monitoring his training condition, and even concocting customized medications for him!
And Miss Mirajane personally taking care of him...
Really makes one want to beat him!
Trein easily composed himself because even if he took his entire troop, he might not be able to defeat Rhode alone.
But now...
Is it too late to join Fairy Tail?