Chapter 96 - What Needs to be Done

"Explain," Rynold pushed for Oliver to continue his thought.

"Well," Oliver tilted his head slightly to meet Rynold in the eye, "for one thing, I don't think you'll have the guts to abandon an entire city-state of people."

Rynold raised an eyebrow, thinking, 'Is this how you want the conversation to go?'

He sighed before responding to Oliver's rebuttal, "That's not a good enough reason. The risks are still too high even if we do charge in with blatant disregard."

Oliver raised his hand to stop Rynold from talking any further. He then proceeded to shake his head and speak, "I get it. I get that the risks are still too high even if we arm ourselves to the teeth. But, think about it...

You aren't one to just leave an entire population just like that. Risks aside, you never even think about what'll happen to you just to save other people. Especially in the direst consequences, you'd bear your fangs down on the problem until you save people who don't even care."

'He's right,' Rynold thought to himself as the atmosphere of the room sunk. He always had a blatant disregard for his own safety just to save other people from the slightest of inconveniences. He would even risk his own life for some random stranger in the street.

Whether it was Rynold's death wish or his insanity, Oliver seemed to know which spot to hit in order to convince him to do the right thing.

After a brief moment of silence, Rynold leaned back on his chair. "Alright," he softly said, "I'll do it. But, in one condition."

Oliver snickered as if knowing what Rynold was going to say. Neana, on the other hand, looked at Rynold with a serious expression. She couldn't believe that Rynold agreed to do something just like that. Meanwhile, Chris seemed somewhat uninterested.

"I'm going in alone," Rynold said after a short pause.

"Heh," Oliver scoffed, "Good enough for me."

Neana's eyes widened in surprise but kept it to herself. She didn't want to alert Rynold that she was opposed to his decision. Well, not now, anyway. Neana only glared at Oliver, to which he responded by mouthing the words that he'll explain later.

The rest of the so-called "meeting" continued without any more awkward topics of conversation. Rynold and the others had a good time. Eating good food and enjoying each other's company was something they had learned to appreciate more.

Rynold seemed to have noticed Oliver looking down once in a while, though. Without even having to talk about it, Rynold understood what the guy was thinking.

Even though he hadn't thought about that person in a while, it was clear that Oliver had. It was a tough topic to talk about, but it wasn't something they could actively fix either. Only time could heal those kinds of wounds.

As the meals were finished by the end of it, the group stood up to leave in their separate ways.

Rynold proceeded to leave alone, mentioning something about gear that he needed to prep for the mission. He promised that Neana that he'd say something before leaving, much to his surprise.

Regardless, Neana left with Oliver and Chris back to their quarters. It didn't take them very long to get there seeing as how they had their own estate located in the same residential district. Courtesy of the new Lord, of course.

When they arrived, Chris immediately left the two alone for some sleep. Now that they were alone and without interruption, Neana kicked Oliver in the back.

"Are you insane? Why the hell did you convince him to go?! He'll just go out there to get himself killed!" Neana aggressively yelled at Oliver, who was holding back his laughter.

Oliver waited for Neana to calm down and shook his head in disagreement. It wasn't like he wanted to see his best friend get killed. Oliver just simply knew his friend best.

"Look, I get that you care about the guy and don't want to see him get hurt," Oliver started to explain his behavior earlier. "But, trust me, it's best if you don't care about his safety."

Neana's expression turned to pure and utter confusion, prodding Oliver to explain further.

"Yes, yes. I get that it sounds insane," Oliver sounded doubtful this time around before refocusing on his explanation. "Rynold... Well, let's just say that he never really cared about himself. Impulsively, it makes you pity the guy. It makes you go, 'oh what a sad man, no regard for himself whatsoever.' But, you really shouldn't."

Clicking her tongue in disappointment, Neana didn't seem to be satisfied with Oliver's explanation. Oliver, on the other hand, wasn't interested in explaining Rynold's aloof behavior any further.

However, it didn't seem like he had much of a choice.

"Okay, listen. I don't really like saying this, but Rynold's just weird," Oliver admitted with a frustrating tone to his words. "You can never expect him to do the things normal people would do. But, at the same time, he'd do things nobody in the right mind would actually do.

Trust me when I say this, Rynold needed to go out and accept Leo's request. If he doesn't, it'll just eat him up inside. The guilt would tear him apart. It's a lot easier for him to save other people than to save himself. Doubting himself like that... well, it looks like you've been a good influence on him."

Oliver smiled and comforted Neana. He knew Rynold all too well and saying all of these things about him came from his own experience.

Neana looked at Oliver in disdain. She couldn't believe what he had just said. But, at the same, she found it understandable. Rynold was genuinely a confusing person, one that didn't abide the normal social conventions.

"Don't worry," Oliver smiled, "He's not crazy enough to go and kill himself. Despite how the guy acts, he's got the instincts of a jungle cat."

Rynold checked around the workshop to see if he had left anything good behind.

With his lower level and the overall lack of skills and spells at his disposal, he needed to grab whatever he could in order to compensate for his poor combat capabilities.

It was now that he realized the creations he had made so far were suitable for supporting others in combat. In the most literal sense, nothing he made can increase his own combat capabilities.

'Shit.'

His sharp tongue swore at himself for being so incredibly stupid. Rynold made weapons for literally everyone else other than himself. Daggers for Oliver. A gun for Jack. Twin sticks for Chris.

Aside from the Accord Spheres which support his individuality in battle, there was nothing else. Even the Mech that he had painstakingly made was meant to act as a support vehicle rather than an assault one.

Slumping down at a nearby chair, Rynold drowned himself in his own thoughts and frustrations.

'Think, man. Think!' Rynold stared into the ceiling thinking about what he could do in the short amount of time before leaving. Even if he had ample time to do something, there was no way to make something up from scratch.

He had to whip up something that he had experience in making before. The question now is what.

Rynold opened his Crafting Menu to check on his options. Even though the crafting recipes numbered near a hundred, Rynold can't seem to simply decide on a single one.

Spending minutes scrolling up and down the list, Rynold seemed stumped as to what to make. He could easily make weapons that didn't fit his fighting style in the slightest. Maneuverability and hand-to-hand combat was his preferred style of fighting. It was hard to fit those conditions.

Just when he reached the very bottom of the list, Rynold saw the recipe for the Accord Sphere. It was then that inspiration struck.

'Since the Accord Sphere utilizes Enchant magic to work, maybe I could make something else that uses a different type of magic,' Rynold thought as he stood up and started pondering his options.

'What if I use the same medium, but will produce a different effect altogether? Of course, some types of magic like Equip and Augment are out of the question instantly. But, what if I use Conjure magic instead? Or, maybe Casting magic?'

Without even a single doubt in his mind, Rynold grabbed a pencil and started jotting down notes of a newly developed recipe. Over the past 8 months, he's gotten better at making theoretical assumptions of weapon and equipment development.

Even though it rarely ever worked in the first attempt, Rynold was able to map out what needed to be done in his head and write it all down.

His hand moved as swift as the wind and soon, Rynold was able to develop a full plan of the thing he wanted to make. All he had to do now, though, was to actually start making it.