Chapter 164 - A Craftsman's Pride

Arriving at the very depths of the Tree, Rynold heavily inhaled.

'Ah... the smell of fresh smoke in the air.'

Smoke pillars from the forges were rising to the air as Rynold breathed in a good chunk of it. It was a questionable act as regards his health.

Ignoring that, Rynold walked towards the main entrance and headed straight towards Phrystol's office. On the way there, some dwarves respectfully greeted Rynold. Others focused on their craft with sweat on their brows.

Looking around, Rynold could safely say this was an ideal workplace for most of the people here.

Knocking on the door to Phrystol's office, Rynold asked if he could have a moment of the dwarf's time. Fortunately, the dwarf didn't seem to be doing much at this time and could spare a few moments for whom he considered a friend.

"How have you been, Phrystol?" Rynold politely greeted.

"Can't complain, My Lord," the dwarf answered, "Are you here to check on the progress for one of the human's requests? Or, perhaps to check on the Mech Knight's condition?"

"Neither, actually," Rynold answered. "Although, it wouldn't be so bad to hear about the current status of those things."

Rynold hadn't gotten around to visiting Phrystol for quite some time. But, that didn't matter as the two were similar in focusing too much on their work. Their work ethic took precedence over their relationships. This much the two knew and understood about each other well.

"The shrine one of the humans had requested already in construction. I will notify him of its completion. As for your Mech Knight, the assessment of its physical state remain unchanged. Although it had suffered significant damage, the Mech was capable of recovering by itself."

"That's good to hear."

Relief expressed in his voice, Rynold was glad to hear about X's condition. He knew that the Mech Knight had suffered damage, but it wasn't anything he could do about in the middle of a mission.

Still, he had to acknowledge that the Mech Knight had yet to become stronger. It might have gotten more capable physically; however, the results weren't anything exceptional.

Rynold knew that the responsibility of nurturing X's strength fell on him. For now, though, he threw the thought to the back burner because there were other things that he had to take care of.

"Anyway, for the reason why I came here... I need your help with this new device I'm working on."

Taking a straightforward approach, Rynold then proceeded to explain his needs. From the characteristics of the device to its possible relationship with Grimoires, Rynold explained it all. He could trust Phrystol, after all, and nobody was more eager to listen to Rynold's ideas.

By the end of it, Phrystol sat in his chair and looked down, deep in thought.

"What do you think?" Rynold asked nervously.

"It's interesting, to say the least," Phrystol answered in a rather disheartened voice. "However, there isn't anything I can do to help. You said it yourself, My Lord. The secrets of creating Grimoires have been lost in time. I suggest taking a different approach, My Lord."

Disappointed, Rynold let out a frustrated smile. He couldn't have come all this way and went back with nothing to show for.

"Do you have any other ideas?"

The dwarf remained silent as he thought of a way to accomplish Rynold's goals.

"My Lord, perhaps you're going about this in the wrong way."

Rynold raised an eyebrow as he heard the dwarf explain.

"It is true that the production method of Grimoires has been lost through time. Additionally, obtaining such methods would require an extraneous amount of work and time. However, I'm almost certain that the creation of a Grimoire would also require a higher understanding of Mana."

"Your point?" Rynold said with a tinge of annoyance.

"The point is, My Lord, that you mustn't be limited in what has been there before. We inventors must implore the use of the objects around us to make something entirely new. We are the pioneers of the next steps of life. We must be able to stand tall even amidst our failures. Only then can we succeed with a true craftsman's pride!"

As showboating as it sounds, Rynold didn't know that he had to hear such a thing. Even if the dwarf hadn't said anything that had substance, Rynold felt somewhat inspired.

"That's great and all, Phrystol. But, I don't think I can do anything in this situation."

"My Lord, I believe you have the spirit of a master craftsman inside of you. This will only be a small bump in a long road," the dwarf said respectfully. "You wish to create a device that can appropriately express your intent, correct? That, to me, sounds like Conjurer Magic."

With widened eyes, Rynold couldn't believe he hadn't thought of something as simple as that.

He had gone on and on utilizing Enchant magic to restructure his Mana for him. However, all this time, he had been approaching it incorrectly. Enchant magic wasn't something applicable to this situation. This device wasn't the same as the Accord Spheres.

Conjurer magic was the real way to go.

As Rynold's eyes shone with brilliance and newfound determination, he eagerly headed out the door. But, he was stopped by Phrystol.

"My Lord, I see that you've regained your vigor. Before you leave, however, I wish to let My Lord know that it was I who left the crystal in your den. It was my conscious decision to leave something from the previous Lord's treasures to you. I am glad that it was of service to My Lord at this time."

Stopping dead in his tracks, Rynold turned around and faced Phrystol. He then put a hand on the old dwarf's shoulder and smiled.

"Thanks for everything, Phrystol. If you need something, don't hesitate to come to find me for help, alright? Even if it's just a simple chat, I'll definitely have time."

With that said, Rynold bid farewell to Phrystol as he headed back to his workshop. He was eager to share what he had learned to the Spirit of Fire.

Stepping on his personal Floating Platform once more, Rynold left and, within some time, he arrived back at his workshop. On the way there, he also grabbed some literature from the Library.

"Hey, I'm ba-"

Stopping all so suddenly, Rynold was taken aback by the sight of someone right in front of him. Someone that he hadn't really seen after some time.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" Rynold asked coldly.

"I'm here to visit you, silly," Lissa answered in a rather hoarse voice. Her appearance seemed distorted; the bags beneath her eyes were heavy as the rain in the middle of a typhoon.

Her appearance was all the more reason for Rynold to be confused.

Just by looking at Lissa, Rynold could tell that she had a tough week. It wasn't anything he was surprised by, though, since he knew full well what she had gone through.

In fact, this past week, Rynold hadn't even seen Lissa.

The very moment they had returned to the Tree, Lissa was inside her room all the time. The only person who had gone and talked to her was Leo. But, even then, during this past week, Lissa was inconsolable.

Now, Rynold might not be the most sensitive guy in the world. But he was sure as hell knew that visiting him wasn't the best thing to do.

"How long has she been here?" Rynold asked Prominence Alpha.

"A few minutes, perhaps. She said she wanted to talk to you. Something about training?"

Surprised, Rynold turned to Lissa.

"I'm sure Leo would be happy to help you with whatever training you could think of. But, before that, are you sure you're up for this? You should take all the time you need before jumping to whatever decision you could think up next."

That doubtful question was Rynold's way of expressing wariness on Lissa's decision. That was because he knew what the training was for. And, as much as he could help it, Rynold didn't want someone to pursue the path of vengeance.

"Yes, I'm fine," Lissa answered, "You shouldn't treat me like a kid, you know. I'm a grown woman who can take care of myself."

After Lissa's questionable declaration, Rynold remained silent as he stared at Lissa. He was worried about what would've happened if he decided to say yes to whatever Lissa was asking for. Then again, there were still people who would be better suited to help her out.

"Hm," Rynold nodded as he turned around and headed towards his worktable. "You should go ask Nea first. Ask her if she needs help with anything. Only then will I give the Spirit here back to you."

"How did you-"

"Know that you wanted to train with your kitty here? It's pretty obvious, don't you think?" Rynold answered as he stared at the part that he had completed before. "Sorry, but I can't talk for long. Say hi to your brother for me."

Rynold spoke how he normally would have to anybody else. Fortunately, Lissa seemed to have understood what Rynold was talking about and left him alone.

"You sure you wanted to let her do that?" Prominence Alpha expressed his doubts.

"It should be fine," Rynold answered as he sighed, "Besides, whatever I say to her, she won't listen to me anyway. Despite how she looks, she's a lot more proud than she's willing to admit. Anyway, we need to get some work done on this thing."

"Did you get something that we could use?"

"Not exactly," Rynold answered. "Apparently, we've been going at this the wrong way. We shouldn't be thinking along the lines of Grimoires and Enchant magic. We should find a way to use Conjurer magic instead."

Rynold then proceeded to explain what he had spoken to Phrystol before. Unfortunately, the Spirit of Fire seemed to disagree with Rynold's new approach.

"Conjurer magic is the accurate wielding of Mana itself. It's not unheard of a device that could do such a thing. But, those devices perform rather poorly in battle."

"Then," Rynold disagreed rather enthusiastically, "Let's make the first one that actually works, shall we?"

Grabbing the crystal from the table, Rynold studied its structure intricately.

He knew that the properties of his Mana remained inside the crystal, thus establishing it as a natural Mana battery. From there, he then noticed that the state of Mana remained unchanged as well. Thus, establishing that the crystal also served as a natural Mana conduit.

However, Rynold's main concern now was the way to output the Mana inside the crystal. There weren't many options available to them except for carving out a magic array. But, in doing so, there might be some unforeseen results when adding another element to the device.

So, with that, Rynold had to find a way to fire his Mana without changing its natural state. Meaning, Rynold wanted to fire his Mana according to what his intent was without any conversion whatsoever.

"I got it," Rynold suddenly spoke.

Grabbing the book of Conjurer magic, Rynold flipped through the pages until he saw one for magic arrays. From there, he studied their characteristics until he spotted one that would fit his idea perfectly.

Then, Rynold stood perfectly still as he planted both of his feet to the ground.

Mana started to pour out of both his hands as he held the crystal together. Imbuing his intent and every part of his will into this one technique, Rynold risked it all.

Closing his eyes and concentrating, Rynold's Mana wrapped around the crystal with a blue light. Each second that passed seemed to have carved at the crystal slowly, chipping away unimportant pieces. It was as if Mana were his chisel as Rynold continued to work on it.

Soon, Rynold opened his eyes as he released his grip over the crystal. Looking at it, Rynold felt a sense of pride rise up within him.