Chapter 125 - Wilfred vs Rynold

Rynold easily dodged a single rock spear that was coming his way.

The attack wasn't slow, nor was it exceptionally fast, either. So, Rynold didn't really have a hard time dodging just the one rock spear. Well, if it were only just the one.

'Shit.'

Letting out his first curse word of the fight, Rynold couldn't help but feel a bit tense. Multitudes of rocks in the shape of spears were being thrown his way. What's more, Rynold was currently in mid-air, a combat setting that he wasn't familiar with in the slightest.

The best that Rynold could do right now was to navigate the Miniature Floating Platform and dodge the attacks. However, it was just easier said than done.

Weaving left and right, Rynold did his best to dodge the rock spears that were coming his way. Unfortunately, his lack of experience in mid-air combat was clearly shown.

Cuts started to appear on his already tattered clothes. Blood started splurting as Rynold failed to dodge some of the rock spears.

'What the hell am I doing?'

Rynold's thoughts have lost focus ever since the start of the fight. He was trying to fight an opponent in their element. Of course, he would be at a disadvantage!

He hasn't gotten the chance to actually think things through. There were no rules that state which Rynold had to fight on his opponent's terms.

Activating Formless Mana Defense, Rynold had to tip the scales of the battle to his side. He won't be able to win if he was consistently passive. There weren't even any openings for Rynold to get close to the guy.

Prompting to shift to the side instead of going through the barrage of rock spears, Rynold couldn't help but feel a bit helpless. It wasn't an unwinnable fight, that's for sure. But, his overall kit wasn't designed to fight out in the open. Nor was his combat skills designed for mid or long-ranged combat.

Rynold wasn't anything like that. He had to get close to his target to strike. That was what his grapple was for. That was what the small number of spells he had was for.

Beating the living daylights out of monsters was what he was used to.

Naturally, Wilfred didn't care for all that. The young child was focused on killing Rynold, not sympathizing with him. At first, he was truthfully hesitant if he were able to do such a thing. The small spheres that appear to have a mind of their own were protecting him.

It was an odd device, one that he himself hasn't even seen before. But, as soon as he started his barrage, Wilfred immediately knew that whatever trinkets his opponent may bring out was ultimately useless in front of his sheer power. Wilfred's Mana Reserves were barely even touched.

Suffice it to say, Wilfred has grown confident that he would, undoubtedly, win this fight.

'Fuck this. Fuck being a Technomancer.'

Meanwhile, Rynold was under huge stress. His mind was racing to calculate trajectories of the rock spears. Combining his maneuvers and Dictum's small shield, Rynold was able to block a majority of the rock spears.

Rynold struggled to avoid the attacks. In which case, his movements managed to drag the battle out from the balcony areas to the open courtyard to the side of the castle. An open space with barely any debris was good for Rynold to move around. But, it would still be useless if he can't find a way to win.

He managed to move onto the open space while simultaneously dodging the rock spears. From there, Rynold jumped off of his Miniature Floating Platform and ducked behind a statue, using it as cover.

Seeing his target trying to hide it out, Wilfred clicked his tongue. He stopped his barrage and spoke, his voice echoing throughout the courtyard.

"You honestly think that's going to work? HAH! You're as pathetic as I thought you'd be," Wilfred provoked Rynold with the most basic of insults.

Wilfred landed on the courtyard after dismounting the floating chunk of debris that he had controlled before. He slowly raised his hands and started to chant a spell. A big one at that.

Rynold could sense the ambient Mana in the air getting denser and consolidating at one location. He immediately knew what was going to happen if he had let things pass.

'Unyielding Twine!'

Using the spell that rooted enemies to the ground, Rynold swiftly moved past the statue and ran straight towards Wilfred. He had contemplated using the spell earlier in the battle, but Rynold decided against it. It was much more effective with some grass around, after all.

Drill extended and Mana Gauntlets in Strength-form, Rynold didn't hold back. He shot the grapple to the side of Wilfred's body and started to gain momentum as soon as he retracted the rope.

With the drill whirring and pointed directly at Wilfred, this one move could decide everything.

"Graaghh!!"

Rynold let out a massive groan in pain as soon as Wilfred finishing chanting. A gigantic stone pillar shot out of the ground, and one of its components managed to puncture Rynold's left leg.

He was close. He was a hair's width away from getting to Wilfred. If only he were faster. If only he had moved sooner.

Using the drill to loosen himself from the rock, Rynold groaned in pain as he tried to get away. His left leg had let out a lot of blood, removing the thing would only make him lose more. Either way, though, Rynold was immobilized.

'Shit.'

His face was distraught. Rynold was trying to figure out what to do from here. He can't move. He can't even walk. Rynold was slowly losing consciousness from the obscene amount of pain that he felt. His mind was filled with consistent and troubling swear words just to deal with the pain.

"The Everlasting Stone Shrine. Summoning this thing costs a lot of Mana and time," Wilfred said as the plants that rooted him started to crack. "But, it's worth it. Do you see it now, scum? The gap in our powers! You are nothing to me! You are just a rat that managed to get a little bit stronger!"

The plants cracked open and dissolved. Wilfred slowly walked forward in a very ominous fashion.

"I will cleanse this earth of your disgusting presence."

Rock spears started appearing by the dozen. They were much larger and significantly more powerful this time, too. If Rynold didn't do anything to get out of the way, he would die.

Gritting his teeth tightly, Rynold did the only thing he could think of.

"Summon."

The low mumble of that one word caused a magic circle to appear on the ground. It shone with a brilliant light, one that Rynold hadn't seen in quite a long time.

A metal figure slowly rose from the ground as Wilfred stared in awe. A cornered animal was when it was most dangerous.

"It has been a long time, Master," the robotic man spoke in a monotonous voice.

"It really has, X," Rynold smiled. Even with his disgruntled and struggling appearance, Rynold was glad to see his old pal once more.

"You think that can stop me?!" Wilfred shouted, "Do you think some hunk of metal can stand before my greatness?!"

Rynold scoffed in response, ignoring Wilfred's tantrum.

'Mech Boost.'

[Activating Mech Boost on target...]

The system prompted the spell that Rynold had activated. It was the only active skill that he had from his class. It was essentially useless without X around. But, now that the big guy was here...

The atmosphere slowly entered an eerie calm. It was as if time had stopped. Mana circled the Mech Knight and rapidly increased in intensity. Stronger and stronger, Rynold himself was surprised by the sudden change.

In just a few moments, X was covered in an all-new shine. The one longsword he had was split into two, and its massive frame had become leaner and smoother.

Rynold inadvertently smiled.

"Get to work," Rynold nodded as he tried to shift his weight on his right side.

Hearing the command, X immediately moved. Swinging both of the swords in a cleaving motion, shockwaves were emitted and pushed Wilfred back. From there, the Mech Knight quickly ramped up and approached Wilfred with astonishing speed.

Wilfred blundered in surprise and shot the rock spears towards the Mech Knight, to which he dodged with relative ease. They were bigger and faster, but X had gone through an unnatural change. It was like a CPU being overclocked.

Weaving through the rock spears, the Mech Knight soon approached Wilfred.

The young child was within range of X's attack. The only thing that Wilfred could do to protect himself was to cast another spell. A spell that he swore he wouldn't disclose until the critical moment.

"Reverse."

He muttered out a single word that caused the entire situation to reverse. Things on the ground started to lift up off the ground. They floated in mid-air with barely any resistance and X was no exception.

It was as if gravity had been turned off.