Chapter 88 - Rynold Appears!

'That's great and all, but how the hell am I supposed to get a purifying spell? It's not like it'll just drop out of the sky.'

Oliver snickered at the devil's suggestion. He didn't deny that the plan could work. No, it would definitely work. The only thing that was holding them back was that they had no access to one.

But, all that was about to change.

Suddenly, a white light shot across the sky and landed in the middle of the forest. It was exactly like the time when Oliver and Chris first got here. The only difference was that someone else was being teleported.

Without even a word spoken to each other, the three instantly moved out. Their destination: the landing spot.

From the middle of the forest, someone suddenly yelled out.

"SON OF A BITCH!"

Rynold stood up and rubbed his back from the pain. Despite the short teleport here, he didn't have much of a problem up until this point. Basically, up until he landed on his back.

"Keep it down, would you?" Neana scolded, "It doesn't even look that bad. Stop being a baby and get up."

Looking at the summoner that was helping him up, Rynold couldn't help but scorn the fact that she came along. The mission was to help Oliver and Chris finish the damn thing they set out to do 8 months ago. Rynold alone should've been enough. So, why did she decide to tag along?

"Okay, you wouldn't be saying that if you were the one who was stuck inside a workshop for months on end," Rynold retorted as he stretched his back. "It's terrible to be stuck like that for so long, you know? It certainly doesn't do any wonders for your back."

Neana looked back at Rynold with an upset expression on her face. It was like the expression of a significant other who watched an entire season ahead of the other person.

"Would you quit your whining?!" she scolded once more, but this time with a much louder volume.

"Alright, alright," Rynold said, defeatedly. Suddenly, he heard creatures growl from a distance. Screaming at each other like that may have not been the best idea.

"Head's up. We've got company."

Almost instantaneously, the two got ready for the battle. Rynold grabbed three metal balls from his inventory and threw them all out to the sky. They were small, practically the size of golf balls, but they were one of the many things that Rynold had been working on these past 8 months.

The small balls suddenly extended wings and flew on their own. Floating above the sky were three small dots that resembled stars. Rynold designed them to be as inconspicuous as possible, with the defining factor that differentiates the three were their colors.

[Accord Sphere - Variant: Axiom] (Yellow)

[Accord Sphere - Variant: Dictum] (Blue)

[Accord Sphere - Variant: Maxim] (Red)

Each of the spheres is powered by its own independent Mana Crystals. While the Mana Crystals are small to account for the spheres' size and speed, the Mana Crystals inside each one are no joke when it comes to their purity. The number of resources that Rynold took to develop a single one was big enough to bankrupt a small village.

Furthermore, the process of making one was just as unforgiving.

Rynold had to jump through hoops to make each one carry out different roles in battle. While he was adept at making things in concept, he had his own limitations. Regardless, though, he at least made it work in the end. So much so, that Rynold managed to make 3 different types.

Looking at it now, the three spheres appear to be identical, but it's clear that their individual functions are completely different.

The Axiom Variant could be the most useless in terms of battle, but its value shines in other scenarios. This specific Accord Sphere is made with support in mind. Rynold designed it as an extension of his senses. It was meant for Rynold to have tactical support in the middle of battle.

Messages tuned to a specific frequency that only Rynold could decipher indicated how many enemies were approaching. The scanners inside Axiom helped with identifying threats at a distance. Suffice it to say, Rynold was glad to have a machine decide his fight-or-flight response.

With that, Rynold cracked his knuckles.

A smile on his face formed as the wave of dark Mana creatures approached his vicinity. Neana, on the other hand, didn't want to risk it. But, over the past few months that she had spent with Rynold, she knew what his game face looked like. This, much to her dismay, was one of those times.

"You better know what you're doing," Neana warned as she drew her mage staff from her inventory.

Rynold casually walked in front of her in anticipation. "Relax," he said, nonchalantly, "It's not like I haven't done anything these past 8 months, you know."

Not bothered to reply, Neana summoned a stone golem and stood at the back.

"Just one?" Rynold asked sarcastically.

Neana sighed and shook her head. "Are you kidding? I'm not doing this to help you. This is for my own protection. You can go screw yourself."

Raising his hand to his chest, Rynold acted like his heart was hurt. It was a joke in which Neana simply rolled her eyes in response.

The sound of the rampaging beasts got louder as they approached. Rynold extended his Mana Gauntlets back to Strength-form and was anticipating the battle. After all, it's been a long time since he had a need to raise his weapons.

Rynold's Mana surged from his Mana Core like a warrior whose blood was boiling. With a big smile on his face, he extended his drill and started infusing Mana to it.

'Augment: Flaming Spire!'

The drill attachment on his gauntlets started to rise in temperature. Before long, the whole thing set ablaze with actual fire and whirred uncontrollably.

"Stand back!" Rynold yelled back as he faced the creatures that were getting closer by the second. "It's about time for me to let loose."

Raising his left gauntlet, a grapple shot out onto a nearby branch. Rynold used it as leverage to gain some height. Just when the creatures reached where he was standing, Rynold was afloat.

Then...

He pointed his drill to the ground and started to go down, using gravity to increase the force of his impact. The flaming drill extended into a fire tornado that knocked the enemies back. Even though the damage wasn't as high as Rynold expected, it managed to do the job of attracting their attention.

With Rynold maintaining aggro, it was high time for a rampage.

'Unyielding Twine!'

Activating the plant-type spell, the three nearest creatures to Rynold were tied up with plants that surfaced from the ground. It was one of the few spells that he had picked up over the past few months. The spell served no other purpose but to bind nearby enemies.

But, that was enough for Rynold to create some space.

Swiping his drill on the creatures that were trapped, Rynold vanquished them into nothingness. He didn't stop there, though.

Without as much as a breather, Rynold continued his one-sided slaughter. He fought recklessly, leaving some gaps in his defenses, but another Accord Sphere managed to watch his back.

Variant: Dictum. The blue-colored Accord Sphere's main focus is to revolve around Rynold as a mobile defense unit. Using the Mana Crystal that powers it, Dictum projects small shields to block projectiles and small hits. Unfortunately, though, it can't block anything bigger or stronger than a certain threshold.

If a ballista were to hit Dictum, for example, it would most likely pass through the shield and hit Rynold. He learned that the hard way.

But, it worked well enough to block the attacks of the dark Mana beasts. Rynold didn't even hold back at this point and continued his relentless rampage. Swinging, hitting, stabbing, and drilling through the enemies that stood in his way.

Before long, Rynold managed to clear out most of the dark Mana creatures. Admittedly, it would've been a lot faster if Neana had helped. But, she was too busy enjoying the view.

Releasing a deep breath, Rynold retracted his drill back into its docile form. The dark Mana creatures were all gone now, and he managed to get a bunch of levels from it too. Levels and experience were the things that he had lacked the most these past few months.

'Weird,' Rynold thought as he looked around the battlefield, 'They didn't drop anything.'

He continued to scope the area, sticking his head close to the ground. It was a weird sight from Neana's point of view, but it's nothing compared to the amount of sheer weirdness that Rynold had done for the past 8 months.

"Don't bother," a voice was heard from in between the trees as if someone was standing on the branches. "They don't drop anything, trust me. It's been rough living here for the past months."