Chapter 189 - Impressions

"Almost there."

Even though it was pitch black, the rock formations based on Axiom's scans that the two were nearly reaching the exit. What felt to him like forever was only really an hour he spent inside this dark and somewhat eerie cave system.

As soon as Rynold said that, the kid suddenly picked up his pace. The brisk pacing they've taken so far seemed to have become brisker. The child was excited, understandably so.

But, Rynold didn't care much for it.

He was tired, exhausted, even. Rynold could go for a long nap right about now as the adrenaline from the previous battles wore off. He could still keep moving, though, as it wasn't that much of a problem to do so. But, he wished that he could at least get some rest right about now.

"Kid, wait up."

Rynold sighed as he sped up to match the child's speed. He frustratingly walked faster in the hopes of reaching the kid and soon found himself just outside the tunnel exit.

"Don't run off like that, alright? You don't really know what's out here," Rynold spoke in a somewhat frustrated tone. Nonetheless, he was glad that he was out of that dark place.

"Sorry. I'm just excited to see what's out here," the child apologized as the look of wonder was clearly expressed on his face. To which, Rynold found it to be quite odd.

'I guess he doesn't smell that.'

The lingering odor from the polluted pool was still there. From what Rynold could tell, the smell wasn't as bad as before. But, even then, it still stunk. Anybody that would've encountered this stench could only reel in disgust. However, the child reacted differently.

As the kid turned to Rynold on what to do next, the child saw the face of disgust that Rynold carried. From there, curiosity took over, and the kid asked a question, unhindered.

"Why are you making that face?"

"It smells. Can't you smell that?" Rynold answered as he recovered his facial expression.

"I do," the child casually responded with a confirmation, much to Rynold's surprise. "But, it doesn't stink that badly."

Rynold scoffed and shook his head. He shouldn't assume that this kid would've had the same thoughts as he did. The child's physiology was different from a human's, after all.

"Let's just get out of this place before the stink sticks to us."

With that said, Rynold activated Protecting Light. Doing so was a bit excessive, Rynold admitted, but it was all in the hopes of blocking the smell. Rynold had the Mana to spare, anyway. So, he could use it in whichever way he liked.

"What's that?" The child asked as he poked Rynold on the side. He was referring to the dim light that had suddenly wrapped itself onto Rynold.

As soon as the child touched it, the veil of light reacted. It immediately repelled the child's hand as soon as it made contact, surprising the kid. Rynold didn't mind it, though, as this was the standard response for something like that.

"It's a protective barrier meant to shield me from harm," Rynold noted as he started walking, "It doesn't really hurt anyone when they make contact with it. Just counteracts with force minimize the impact. Well, I guess it's kind of hard to explain in simple terms."

"I get it," the child nodded as if he understood. Rynold turned to check whether the child was telling the truth or not, but all Rynold saw was the child looking at his hand.

'Does this kid actually get it?' Feeling as though he was overestimating him, Rynold thought the kid would've understood right away. A thousand-and-six-year-old wasn't just a number. Or was it?

Anyway, that didn't matter as they had more important business to attend to.

"Hey, kid. Let's go," Rynold said as he started walking in a particular direction. "We don't have all day here." Rynold looked up to the sky to see where the sun was. From there, he guessed he wasted a few hours off on his own. It was now close to noon at this point.

"Right, right."

Waiting for the child to catch up to him, the two then proceeded to walk down the slums. The area around them was as depressing as before. And, as Rynold continued walking, he couldn't help but think if this were the best first impression of the surface.

Because, for Rynold, it certainly wasn't.

"This isn't how most towns are, kid. It's just a coincidence that this place was the first one you encountered," Rynold's tone was somewhat flat as he explained.

"I know," the kid nodded as he walked beside Rynold, "Is there a reason why this place is like this?"

"Well..."

Rynold then proceeded to explain what he had said to Neana before. During which, he also added a number of different explanations provided by the Undine. And, by the end of it, the kid seemed to have understood what Rynold had just explained. To this point, the kid then nodded as the two kept walking.

"What're you thinking, kid?" Rynold asked as the two got closer to their destination.

"Nothing," the child answered without hesitation.

He didn't mention it, but Rynold could see the slight narrowing of the child's brows. The kid was thinking about something. Rynold didn't know what.

"Kid, I know this isn't what you expected," Rynold tried to set the child's mind at ease, "But, there are a lot of things out there. Things that look and smell better than this place could ever be. It's a shame, I know. But, that's just the way how life is."

It wasn't any good advice. Nor was it something one would say to comfort someone. But, Rynold spoke the truth, albeit in a somewhat blunt and realistic way. Whatever the kid would come up with from that was up to him to decide.

"We're nearly there," Rynold said as he continued walking. He laid his hand gently on the kid's head as an act of comfort. As it stands, the kid wasn't enjoying his time in the outside world.

As Rynold approached a familiar building, he immediately called out for Neana. Shouting without restraint caused quite a noise in the quiet slums. And, soon enough, Neana popped her head out of where she was hiding.

"You still doing okay?" Rynold gave a sly smile as he saw the familiar face appear. It was nice to see Neana after all of what had happened.

However, his slightly sly remark was ill-received. The reason being was the first thing that Neana saw when Rynold showed up. His beaten-up appearance with his disfigured clothing was something of a glaring problem.

"Where have you been?!" Neana asked without so much as holding back in her volume. She immediately jumped down from the rooftop, ignoring the smell in the process. Neana seemed much too concerned about Rynold to care about any other matter.

"Sorry, sorry," Rynold chucked as he apologized. He tried to downplay what had happened to him as Rynold didn't want Neana to worry any more than she already had. Rynold had returned, after all. And, despite his condition not being optimal, Rynold was still alive.

Seeing as how Neana would only reprimand him more, Rynold immediately grabbed ahold of the kid's shoulder. Rynold then pulled the kid to stand in front of him, making for an effective barrier.

"Who's this?"

Immediately stopping in her tracks, Neana looked at the child, who was shorter than she was. Neana tried to discern the kid's origin, but the pale skin along with a flawless appearance only baffled her thoughts, impression, and otherwise.

"This is someone I met along the way," Rynold nodded. He also tried to make it seem that he was talking about something else with his tone. "He's going to be hanging around with us from now on. So, kid, this is Neana. She's a friend of mine."

"Why did you say 'friend' like that?" the kid asked without so much as a second thought.

Rynold was speechless after that as he struggled to find the correct answer. Luckily, he didn't have to. Neana seemed to take care of it as she approached Rynold with a sincere expression.

"I'm sure he didn't mean anything by that. Isn't that right, Rynold?"

The tone in which Neana spoke made Rynold think he was in trouble. Perhaps he was overthinking it, but Rynold was sure he needed to talk to Neana soon.

"Sure is," Rynold answered nervously. He then cleared his throat and changed the subject, "We should get going. The city isn't far from here, but we still have a few ways to go."

With that said, Rynold was the first to move since he knew which way to go. The other two soon followed as soon as they realized what Rynold had meant.

As they walked, the kid seemed eager to look around. So, he moved at a considerable distance ahead of Rynold and Neana but not far enough for him to be out of Rynold's sight. With that, Neana and Rynold were now free to discuss whatever they wanted.

In which case, Neana seemed to take advantage of this opportunity.

"Explain. Now," Neana's words were in a harsh tone as she walked by Rynold's side. "What the hell happened when you ran off like that? Didn't it ever occur to you that I'm here to help? Why didn't you come back sooner? Huh? You ought to learn that you can't do everything on your own."

Neana was pissed. It was understandable, Rynold thought, as he felt Neana's fist dig into his arm.

"Well," Rynold hesitated as he chose the best words to fit the situation. Unfortunately, it was hard to even think of some as the series of events was uncanny. "How about I'll just start from the top?"

Rynold proceeded to explain everything in full detail. He started from the moment that he had left Neana alone. He talked about the things that had happened to him at the polluted pool. The time he fought with the slime. And even the time he spent with the Undine and the kid.

By the end of it all, Neana seemed to have calmed down considerably.

"Sorry," Rynold added an apology at the end of his explanation, "I shouldn't have made you worried so much."

Unfortunately, the apology itself was a bit half-assed.

"Tsk," Neana clicked her tongue in disappointment. "Don't be stupid! Do you know how long I waited for you? What if you never came back? What should I do then? Huh? I swear. Every time you do something stupid, I feel like I would age a hundred years."

Still mad, Neana punched harder at Rynold's arm. This time, he could actually feel her full strength from those few punches, making Rynold tense up a bit.

However, he did not fight back. Rynold felt as if this was the way for Neana to let her anger out. And, Rynold accepted this without complaints. Doing so would be a reminder in the future to be better the next time this happens again.

"Say something!" Neana sighed and shook her head. It was about a fifty-fifty chance that Rynold would react this way. So, Neana was more than expecting something like this.

"I'm sorry," Rynold spoke in a somewhat defeated tone, "I let those things happen because I let my guard down. It didn't even occur to me that I would ask for your help because I didn't want to see you get hurt. It's not a picnic out there, and I'm just trying to shoulder the burden on my own.

"I'll be more considerate next time. I swear. I guess I'm still not strong enough to beat everything in the way, huh?"

Finishing with that thought, Rynold chuckled a little. But, he knew how important was it for him to be stronger. This wasn't some game that he was trying to win, after all. If Rynold couldn't rise to the occasion, someone would die.