Chapter 39 - Townspeople

The moment that Rynold, when he kept to himself, didn't last long as he suddenly realized he can upgrade his Summon: Mech Knight skill once more.

Although he doubted that the upgrade could be worthwhile since it hasn't produced any amazing developments for X in a direct sort of way. Last time, the skill was upgraded to the fourth level which upgraded the Mech Knight's sentience but this time could produce a completely different effect.

After all, Level 5 usually turns out to be something of a stage of surpassing limits. Well, hopefully.

Regardless of what might happen, Rynold knew that it would only lead to benefits. He pulled the small gear that appeared multiple times before him from his inventory. Then, Rynold summoned his familiar.

With the swift array of magic that covered the ground in front of him, X stood tall as it welcomed his liege. Rynold approached the Mech Knight that stood proud and tall and used the Small Bronze Gear.

[Skill Level Up!]

[Max Level for Active Magic Skill: [Summon: Mech Knight] reached!]

[Complete Trials to Ascend Skill Further.]

'Trials? What trials?' Rynold thought as he pulled the skill window up.

[Summon: Mech Knight]

Active Magic Skill Lvl. 5 (Complete Trial of the Mech Knight to Ascend Skill)

Summons a Mech Knight using magic. Consumes 3 Mana per minute while the creature is summoned. The Mech Knight follows your command without question. It is possible to let the Mech Knight grow stronger and evolve. (1/1)

Trial of the Mech Knight:

Through the tribulations that the Mech Knight has faced before, you must prove your worthiness by completing the following task(s):

Defeat a Hazard-grade Monster or higher (0/1)

"Wha-?!"

Rynold wasn't able to keep his face straight as the shock of the requirement was far too much. He didn't even know what type of monsters or creatures would count as a Hazard-grade Monster.

For now, he could only sigh and shake his head. Not only did he X not necessarily get any stronger but now he was faced with something that could probably kill him if he tackled a monster of that magnitude. Rynold could only admit defeat as he couldn't do anything about it for now.

X was looking at his liege with a bewildered expression. At least, that was what it looked like.

The Mech Knight didn't necessarily have a facial expression but a person could generally sense what X was feeling.

"I'm fine, buddy," Rynold comforted the bulking Mech Knight. It was undeniable that he felt rather shocked and frustrated but there wasn't really anything he could do to move forward.

"What the hell is that?!" A shout was heard from a corner in the street in front of the building.

It was Shyft. He had finally cleared his way off the ghouls but he was shaken to the core now that he had to kill what looked like a metal giant. All he knew was that he doesn't have the stamina, Mana, or strength to kill something that could squash him like a bug. It was even more threatening now that he saw the massive longsword that it was holding.

"Relax," Rynold moved to the side to greet his uncle while patting X on the shoulder. "Don't worry, this big guy is with me. X, I'd like you to meet my uncle, Shyft."

Like a toddler, X looked at Shyft with a curious expression. It was expected, after all, the Mech Knight's sentience was only at the level of a toddler that had yet to experience the true nature of people. Shyft, on the other hand, had other thoughts in mind.

"What is it doing? It looks creepy as hell," Shyft asked Rynold while being examined by X.

"Just learning is all. Don't worry, nothing bad will happen," Rynold assured his uncle.

Not soon after, Oliver and Skye appeared from the lobby of the building.

"Sorted it all out?" Rynold asked before anyone else spoke. He actually noticed that Oliver looked admittedly defeated from a long argument but Rynold pretended not to notice.

Skye didn't answer the question and ignore Rynold. She just kept marching forward past both X and Shyft as she scouted the road ahead with her grimoire out.

Rynold scoffed, "nice to know things haven't changed after all this." The remark was meant to be sarcastic, naturally, and Oliver shook his head in response.

"Let's just say that I'd rather beat the crap out of ghouls," Oliver solemnly answered as he sighed in defeat.

Funnily enough, Rynold was so used to the two of them arguing that he'd occasionally make jokes in the middle of their arguments. The jokes were received in poor taste, though, as there were moments that they would near the point of breaking up but, in the end, didn't.

Rynold shook his head and said, "love is indeed a battlefield," as he looked at Skye to make sure that she wasn't doing anything that would endanger them. "Oh right," Rynold remembered.

He pulled out the equipment that revolved on the Water Attribute and gave it all to his uncle. Shyft happily received the items and learned the spells all in one go. He even pulled something out of his inventory as he was equipping the [Gauntlets of the Water Vanguard].

"These match!" Shyft announced as he wore a chest piece that had the same intricate designs as the gauntlets that Rynold gave to him. Once worn, the set items shone with a dim light that signified that the set equipment effects must've activated.

[Water Vanguard Set Effect Activated!]

2-pc Set Effect: Water Affinity +35

The windows showed up in Shyft's vision as the suspicions of what the set effect would hold cleared up. He immediately dismissed the window and checked out what he looked like with the equipment on.

"What did that give you?" Rynold asked his uncle as his curiosity piqued.

Shyft's shoulders rose as he gave a response. "I don't really know," he said while flexing, "something about water affinity thing? +35. Don't really know what that's for."

Rynold shook his head, thinking about how so many disappointing things happened in one day. "It boosts your skills that relate to water. I'm surprised that it's given you that much," Rynold said with a disappointed tone.

"Neat-o, kid," Shyft said sarcastically, "We should probably get going, town center's not far up ahead."

Rynold nodded as he motioned the rest of them to catch up with Skye. She was still in sight but she was relatively farther ahead than the rest of them were. It was obvious that the girl was steaming with anger and ready to vent it out on ghouls but taking them all alone was a bit much.

Having caught up, the group moved forward to the town center. Even though they didn't take different routes as the plan changed, the destination didn't.

As Shyft mentioned before, the town center also managed to house the rest of the survivors before some of the ghouls mutated. The last time that they were in radio contact was a few days ago before the electricity had run out. The townspeople were actually safe last they heard but how come it was all different?

Rynold cleared the barricade that was obviously overrun by a shroud of ghouls. The town center was in ruins and there were corpses lying about. The townspeople didn't look like they had put up a good fight against the ghouls. In fact, it was so bad that the corpses looked like they were run over.

'Who or what did this?' Rynold thought as he moved forward, gauntlets ready with X and the rest not far behind.

The atmosphere was ominous. It was like a car busted into the barricade and decided to mutilate the people. Shyft tried to hold back his appalment as he knew some of the people around him. Rynold, however, was focused on the objective of finding his parents. Even though he knew some of the corpses, his heart was set on finding his parents first.

Rynold continued to look for signs of the one responsible for doing this. He noticed that the corpses looked like it was leading into something with the amount of blood getting more concentrated as they moved forward. It was as if they were protecting something at the last minute.

Marching onward as the stench of blood getting stronger, Rynold cursed inwardly. 'Who could've done this?' he repeatedly racked his brain for answers only to come up short. The people looked like they died filled with horror, with no fighting chance at all.

It was taxing. Rynold was burdened at the thought that maybe this could have all been prevented if they had gotten here sooner. It finally caused Rynold to stop in front of the town fountain with water that turned red.

"We gotta keep going," Shyft patted his nephew on the shoulder as he tried to pull himself together. "Your parents are still alive, I can feel it."

Clenching his fist, Rynold nodded in response.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake.