Chapter 97 - Spirit of Fire

'This goes to this... No, it goes to that...'

Rynold's thoughts were all over the place as if focusing on everything at once.

Even though there aren't any clear signs of progress, Rynold was able to visualize the things that would go wrong. With that, he was able to take the most efficient path to produce something good.

However, going through each and every path in his head made his thought process go awry.

'Well,' Rynold thought to himself, 'Might as well start making stuff.'

With that, Rynold buckled down and started working on the new device that is supposed to help increase his own combat capability.

Grabbing the [Hammer of the Worthwhile] from his inventory, Rynold started to bang a small piece of hard metal that was heated to make it more malleable.

'Here's hoping this works.'

Following the recipe of the Accord Sphere, Rynold started shaping the metal into a spherical shape. There was no way for him to fully mold the thing without any guidance, but, luckily, there was magic to help.

Using a small mold made from a very hard stone that can tolerate the amount of heat the metal had, Rynold placed it into the mold and started shaping the Mana lines within the metal itself.

It wasn't an exact science, Rynold had to admit, but it was a lot easier than trying to do guesswork.

'Thank heavens that I took some books from the Library.'

Grabbing a book that explains Conjure Magic from the nearby bookshelf, Rynold shuffled through the pages and found one that explains how the configuration of Conjure Magic was.

Rynold followed the book through and through, naturally fitting the Mana lines in the heated spherical metal. With his experience in making the Accord Spheres before, Rynold was able to do something like inscribing Mana lines superbly easily.

It wasn't anything like how Rynold was 8 months ago.

Putting the golden quill down to the side and satisfied with the output, Rynold proceeded to scour his resource deposit at one of the corners of the workshop. With magic, the space that resource deposit took was small. It was like a walk-in closet, using shrinking spells to make it easier for storage.

Rynold checked every shelf he had to find a Mana Crystal that would properly accommodate the specifications of his creation.

'No... Photon-Infused Mana Crystal, no... Not that, either...,' Rynold couldn't settle on a single Mana Crystal that would be the best fit for the project until something caught his eye.

At the most bottom shelf and behind the random rocks and minerals, Rynold saw a gem. It was like a literal diamond in the rough only... a bit ominous.

[Prominent Mana Crystal - Spirit of Fire]

'Huh.'

The information of the item that popped up wasn't very descriptive, but Rynold had a somewhat bad vibe from it. It was as if his instincts are screaming at him to don't do it.

'Eh, what could go wrong?'

Without even giving it much thought, Rynold walked out of his storage area and stood before the table where the spherical chassis was. The sphere was currently split down the middle and was awaiting its Mana Crystal to power it.

Holding the Mana Crystal in his hand, Rynold gently placed the small, red, and luminescent crystal into the center of the chassis. As he closed the sphere and sealed the crystal in, Rynold held his breath as the window he expected appeared.

[Crafting Complete!]

[Calculating Results...]

Rynold's anticipation of the results led to a sudden increase in his anxiety. He hoped that it would've turned out alright. After all, he didn't want to do the whole process again.

But, it was taking somewhat longer than usual.

'Something's going on,' Rynold couldn't put a finger on exactly what, but his instincts are telling him to stand on guard. Something was truly going to go down.

The atmosphere of the room started to heat up. It was as if the entire workshop was thrown into an open forge, gaining temperature with each second passing. It didn't stop until it became unbearable for a normal human being to stay conscious.

Rynold realized that the source of the sudden change came from the sphere. It was an unexpected twist of events that he truly didn't expect. Especially with the name of "Prominent Mana Crystal - Spirit of Fire."

Truly unexpected.

Actual flames started to spit out from the sphere, increasing the temperature once more. With each moment passed, the sphere was slowly swirling active flames around its small chassis.

From the initial intense, swirling flames to a full-blown tornado, Rynold was struggling to breathe, let alone stay conscious.

Soon, a figure dispelled the flames from within and blow all the heat to the side.

Rynold, who was barely awake, stared at the figure with his somewhat fading vision. He couldn't point it out as to what exactly the figure was. But, what he could say, though, is that the figure that came out was bright. Very bright.

As Rynold slowly lost his own consciousness, the creature suddenly roared; waking Rynold up once more. It was then that he realized how much he screwed up.

'What the hell is that?!'

Eyes widening, Rynold tried to decipher what he was looking at. Curse and swear words started to float up in his mind, making him nearly lose his shit and panic. Which, in the most horrible sense, was a bad idea.

The creature floating before him was made of fire. Actual fire. However, it seemed contained and controlled in the shape of a humanoid being. The creature had big, bulging muscles for a body, but its head looked like a lion. A smaller head that is proportional to its body, however, it still had the mane, whiskers, and fangs of an actual lion.

However, Rynold made the mistake of flinching and squirming back by an inch. Those actions caught the creature's attention.

"I'm surprised that you're still alive," a voice echoed in Rynold's head as he stared at the creature's flaming body. Truth was, he couldn't even look away.

Rynold hesitated to say something. He was basically speechless and couldn't say anything. Suffice it to say, he was caught off guard.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"

The creature's mouth slightly twitched but ultimately didn't move. It reaffirmed Rynold's initial assumption that the creature was talking to him telepathically.

"That's funny," Rynold mumbled in response, to which he immediately regretted. Talking to the "Spirit of Fire" like that might be the worst thing that he could ever say.

"Ah yes," the creature snickered, showing its fangs, "Another being with a sense of humor. How long has it been since I've interacted with another being? A few decades? No... A few centuries, perhaps? Hmm... Perhaps it's been that long since someone has been in need of my help."

The creature paused for a moment to reminisce before looking at Rynold and speaking once more.

"Tell me, insignificant speck, what have you summoned me here for? And, why, in the millions of possible mediums you could utilize, did you use such a small object?"

Rynold raised an eyebrow in utter confusion.

"Insignificant speck? Let me remind you that I was the one who made you appear in this plane of existence once again. And, for such an insignificant being, using the highest quality of materials to produce such an object took a tremendous amount of effort to make."

Insulting Rynold was fine, in fact, he didn't care if people insulted him. But, to insult his work? He wouldn't even tolerate such a thing.

"Do the humans in this timeline not appreciate the appearance of spirits anymore? How very strange."

Rynold let out a frustrated sigh, "Look, I don't really know what happened here. I just found a small Mana Crystal that contained your spirit and used it to activate my small device there. It was an accident that I won't make ever again."

Proceeding to walk forward to remove the Mana Crystal from the sphere, intense flames appeared once more. Only this time, the flames were directed at Rynold.

Pushing Rynold back, he stared at the spirit's gigantic snout.

"What do you think you're doing?" the spirit stared back down at Rynold.

Brushing the dust and standing up, Rynold glared. "I thought you didn't want to be brought here. Clearly, I was wrong. I accidentally brought you here on a whim to try and get stronger. I have a rough battle ahead and, with you ruining my workshop, isn't helping."

"Interesting. A human with the power to create powerful constructs with metal," the creature's snout slightly twitched in curiosity. "Allow me to help your pitiful soul on your rough journey. I'm sure the help of a supreme being such as myself would be welcome, yes?"

Rynold was astounded at the fact that the creature would offer to come along willingly like that without a catch. He was even more surprised that the so-called "Spirit of Fire" was able to appreciate his craft.