Alzack pondered for a while and said, "If I have to say, I heard that demons once appeared in the north, and there's a place in the west inhabited by a peculiar mechanical race."
It's Zeref's territory after all, so it's not surprising for demons to appear. But the mechanical race Rhode indeed has never seen.
"What does the mechanical race look like?"
"...They're like puppets entirely made of metal. Some have obvious mechanical features, making their movements appear slightly stiff, while others look no different from humans.
"Although they seem like puppets controlled by others, they actually have life and their own thoughts, and they can use magic as well.
"By the way, they're somewhat like Blue Pegasus' Jenny and her Receiving Magic, though I'm not sure how strong the magic used by the mechanical race is."
As Alzack spoke, Rhode could picture it.
So Jenny's 'Receiving·Mechanical Soul' might have a bit of a connection with the mechanical race?
Can machines really have a 'soul'?
After a while, Alzack and Bisca also provided a vague tale of a death god, and then couldn't think of anything valuable.
Alzack said, "We'll let you know if we think of anything else in the future, alright?"
"Sounds good, go get changed and let's go swim, I'll have Asuka cheer for you."
Alzack and Bisca: "???"
How heartless! We've provided so much information, yet now we're punished?
...
Rhode isn't a demon either; considering that Alzack and Bisca came from afar, he only made them swim half the distance everyone else did.
The originally exhausted ones watched the couple suffer, seeming to instantly experience Rhode's joy.
They copied and altered Rhode's lines, using them all on Alzack.
By the time those who were training with Erza returned, Alzack and Bisca had also come ashore to Asuka's cheers.
Everyone had dinner at the guild.
After dinner, Rhode suggested, "There's still some break time left, wouldn't it be nice to hear Mira sing a song?"
Cheers immediately rang out:
"Great!"
"It's been so long since I heard Mira sing!"
"I'm not worse than her at singing; I just wrote a new song..."
"Mira! Mira!"
Amongst the cheers, there seemed to be some strange remarks, but everyone tacitly ignored them.
Who wants to listen to the sound of scrap metal scraping when you can hear the voice of heaven?
Mira gracefully stepped onto the small stage amid everyone's expectations, and without any accompaniment, began to sing a cappella.
"Miss Mira's singing is as lovely as ever... huh?" Lucy had just admired a sentence when she felt her eyelids growing heavy.
Her body swayed twice and she was about to fall onto the table with her eyes closed.
However, at that moment, her head was suddenly knocked.
"Ow, that hurts!" Lucy immediately woke up, and turning around, saw Rhode's figure flash past as he punched the equally drowsy Reby on the head.
"Ow, that hurts!" Reby covered her head, making a shout much like Lucy's.
As she looked for the culprit, Rhode had already reached Wendy, flicking her forehead.
"Ouch..." Wendy, with teary eyes, held her forehead as she saw Carla also get a flick of the finger.
Next, Rhode moved like a phantom through the crowd, punching each sleepy person's head and cat head.
"It hurts so much!"
"Why did you suddenly hit people?"
The guild suddenly became chaotic.
Erza asked in confusion, "Mira, why did you use Hypnosis Magic at this time?"
Mira paused her singing, smiled, and explained, "Because it's also part of Rhode's training plan."
Erza drew her sword, slashing a line extending to the door on the floor in the center of the crowd, signaling everyone to be quiet.
She pondered and asked, "Is this the mental discipline mentioned in the training schedule?"
"That's right." Rhode affirmed, "Everyone just went through intense physical training and then ate, so it's the easiest time to get sleepy.
"If you add a little help from Mira, it's easy to fall asleep. So now, what you need to do is resist Mira's Hypnosis Magic with your own will.
"Mira didn't use Receiving Magic to transform into Lalabai, and she won't exert full strength. So, theoretically, you should be able to resist it.
"As for the punishment for falling asleep..."
Rhode raised his fist and smiled, "Don't you think the force just now was too light?"
Before others could rebuke Rhode, Lucy, true to everyone's expectation, spoke up first:
"There's no way it feels light! That's already enough!"
Rhode immediately said, "Great, since you all accepted, let's continue!"
When did we accept it? Everyone was stunned, directing their gaze at Lucy.
Lucy: "..."
She wanted to apologize, but didn't dare to even say sorry, so she just covered her mouth and sat down slowly.
"What an interesting training method, bring it on." Erza sat eagerly in the front row.
Seeing Erza so serious, the others resignedly prepared themselves.
Hapi, feeling aggrieved, just rubbed his head. Seeing Mira about to start again, he quickly put down his hand, trying to hold up his eyelids.
Amidst the gentle singing, thuds and screams rose in succession, with more than one person getting a bump on their head.
Thanks to Rhode's efforts, today the average height in the guild will increase by about a centimeter.
Of course, Wendy still missed the opportunity to grow taller—because Rhode flicked her forehead, not the top of her head.
Such a grave sin.
For Rhode, the joyous time soon ended.
When Mira finished her song, Rhode spoke before anyone could cause trouble:
"Time's up, sit down now, and begin to meditate seriously, in whatever way you prefer!"
Since it was part of the training, and Rhode spoke so earnestly, everyone suppressed their thoughts of revenge for now and began meditating seriously.
It's the basics for a mage, even someone like Natsu, who emphasizes practice, knows what to do.
Makarov, watching the quiet children, felt slightly unaccustomed.
He quietly asked, "Is this your way of training?"
Rhode looked at him, "Wasn't the plan shown to you in advance?"
Makarov looked away, "Ahem... I was just, just confirming."
Must have not read it again! Rhode couldn't be bothered to expose him, and explained, "Whether it's physical or mental training, Magic Power will naturally improve.
"But for our guild members, it's hard to feel improvements from just a day or two's training, potentially leading to slackness.
"According to the 'container theory' mentioned in the Second Magic Source research, after the body and mind are trained, supplemented by meditation, differences are more noticeable.
"In my own words, it's easier to perceive positive feedback this way, boosting emotions accordingly. Magic is the power of the heart, thus influenced by emotions.
"So the effect of training will also be enhanced. That's the basic premise for my training plan.
"The subsequent plans might change, but the general idea of helping everyone enhance Magic Power is like this."
Makarov nodded in realization, "So that's how it is."
It hadn't occurred to him at that moment, not due to lack of knowledge, but because he seldom pondered it.
Karloff belongs to those born with great aptitude, and in his life he never really worried about Magic Power inadequacy.
So naturally he never specifically researched methods to enhance Magic Power—"Magic power? Isn't that something that increases just by eating and drinking?"