Chapter 57 - Second Part of the Trial

The force was strong enough for Rynold to indent the wall.

Everything felt broken. Not metaphorically but in the most literal sense, it felt like every bone in his body was screaming in an absurd amount of pain. It wasn't as if he landed on a pin cushion or anything, it was more of getting in a car accident and surviving type of pain.

Rynold groaned.

He inched out of the wall to look at the perpetrator only to find the empty room that he had initially stumbled upon. Aside from the crack on the wall that he had made from the hole, there really wasn't anything different from when he first got here.

Trying to grasp what just happened, Rynold stood back on his two feet. It was impossible that he was suddenly thrown to the side by the wind because he actually felt contact. There was something or someone that hit him, hard for that matter.

His body ached. Rynold continuously tried to look around while he prepared his own defenses. As much as he'd like to do something about the enemy, he couldn't really hit what he can't see. However, Rynold was unmistakably sure that there was something there.

Rynold's instincts shifted from a sigh of relief to full-on awareness. He can't lower his guard now more than ever.

Suddenly, something shifted.

X was thrown to the side too, albeit he wasn't thrown as far as Rynold was earlier. With this, Rynold was able to deduce a couple of things just like that.

'The enemy takes time to attack, whether it needed to charge up for its attack or maybe it takes a long time to get close... Doesn't matter, I need to find a way to do something about this,' Rynold thought as he sharpened his gaze for any abnormalities.

His hands trembling from anticipation, Rynold read the room like a scientist looking through a microscope. The thing was, he still couldn't see anything. No shifts in the atmosphere or any sort of translucency that comes off of camouflage. He reflexively clicked his tongue.

Rynold knew he was next but he didn't know the time interval of the enemy's next attack. He could only prepare for the next strike at the last second.

Before he knew it, the enemy attacked.

This time around, though, Rynold knew what he was looking for. Apart from the force of the attack that would kill him if he got directly hit once more, it was near impossible to generate that much force without an initial momentum or producing wind. Or, well, consuming Mana.

'There!'

Rynold's eyes widened and he sidestepped back. He felt the slightest amount of force that came from the gigantic swing but it wasn't enough since the attack still managed to graze him.

He was instantly thrown off balance and fell to the ground, his right arm which was caught in the impact was badly bruised. Rynold doubted if he could do the same thing again. The attack was a lot faster than he had originally thought and the next few rounds may only get harder.

Rynold had to find a solution, fast.

Thinking he would be hit once more, Rynold pushed himself off the ground with his left hand and shot a grapple almost instantaneously to move out of the way. He didn't know what the enemy is capable of so he just had to wait and see for now.

Despite his expectations, the enemy actually attacked X instead. It was obvious that the attack was ineffective to the Mech Knight's metal body but he was constantly pushed a considerable distance by the attack.

'A pattern!' Rynold realized as he noticed that the enemy attacked them alternatively. Although he wasn't sure what to do with the information, he at least saw a little breathing room in between hits.

Knowing he's up next, Rynold tried something new this time.

He activated the skill [Scan] just like that. Rynold had nothing to lose at this point except for his life if he didn't explore every possible option.

[No enemy within sight.]

The window that he didn't want to show up appeared. Rynold instinctively cursed inwardly and decided to take another approach, one that had constantly and consistently failed him time after time.

However, limits tend to be broken when there are huge stakes played.

Rynold extended his senses outward as he would normally do during any fight. It was his way of fighting so far and it was effective on the enemies that he had fought up until this point. Such that, he added a twist to it.

His sensing techniques may be unrefined, but his understanding of Mana was anything but.

Willing his Mana to sense his surroundings, he continued to fully release the Mana from his Mana Core. This could have very bad backlash if he poured out too much too fast. So, he regulated his control.

Like sprinkler watering plants, drops of his Mana spread to every orifice and opening in his body. His Mana Channels feeling enriched from the sensation of Mana, Rynold continued to close his eyes and concentrate.

A coat of Mana was circulating around him. Using his own body as a medium, he had made a layer of defense made entirely from his own Mana.

The layer was ultimately thick and dense. Without even testing it, Rynold was confident that this new defense could tank a lot of different spells. However, the defense wasn't his objective at this point. Without sparing a breath, Rynold tried to release the circulation of Mana.

But, he was too late.

Rynold took his precious time to just control Mana but it took way too long as the enemy suddenly struck. A big swing pushed Rynold an inch to the side and his Mana managed to protect him as he wasn't able to react in time.

[New Skill Unlocked!]

[Formless Mana Defense]

Active Magic Skill Lvl 1

Drains 20 Mana per 5 seconds to form a protective layer of Mana from the user.

The explanation and usage were simple but the cost was way too high. So much so, that Rynold was visibly panting from the single use of the skill in that particular instance. He won't be able to last long if he continued to tank hits like that.

Rynold had to find a way to stop the enemy and succeed in this trial.

Thinking of what to do next, Rynold wiped the sweat from his brow. He was starting to get flustered on his next approach as he knew he didn't have that much time before the next attack. All of which are for naught because of the window that appeared next.

[Second Floor Trial Completed!]

[The Librarian is now interested in you.]

'Huh?'

Rynold was confused about the notifications that popped up. He succeeded? How?

He continued to ponder as he lowered his guard and walked to where X was. It took some time before Rynold finally realized what was going on.

'This is an intelligence trial,' Rynold thought, 'not a strength trial where I have to bulldoze everything in my way.'

His suspicions were actually true. An intelligence trial uses his ability to understand and manipulate Mana instead of having the necessary strength to push their way through. It was a trial especially suited for him but Rynold wasn't used to fighting with his mind.

Rynold shook his head in his stupidity. Despite it being clear-cut stated that it was an intelligence trial, his thinking was simply too limited to expand his horizons when he first came here.

Now that he thought about it, he could've finished the first trial much sooner if he just noticed that the ground was a magic array.

With a chuckle and a smile, he approached the Mech Knight who was sitting on the ground.

"You alright, buddy?" Rynold asked X.

X's shining balls of light made up his eyes look visibly dim. In his usual mechanical voice, the Mech Knight replied, "Yes, Master. I apologize for not being of help to you."

It was the first time that Rynold noticed X express remorse. Or was it regret?

Regardless, Rynold patted his Mech Knight on the shoulder. It was hard for X to help during the trials because of the stature that it was a trial that was suited for him, not X.

"It's fine, X. The fights we've been through so far were hard, don't be too hard on yourself," Rynold comforted his Mech Knight.

X was complete and utterly silent. It was expected seeing as how the Mech Knight wasn't necessarily capable of understanding emotion easily. Although, Rynold did notice that X's eyes shone a little bit brighter.

Satisfied with the response, Rynold proceeded to look around for the exit.

Unfortunately for him, there wasn't one like the previous trial. The stone walls didn't move at all but the part of the trail was over. Unless...

Rynold proceeded to check each and every wall. There were no openings at all, even the one they came from was gone. His concentration was too focused on the fight that he failed to notice that they were locked in.