Chapter 226 - Competition

Plop!

Rynold landed face-first into the cold, hard ground. It hurt, of course, as Rynold took a full second to recover and push himself off the ground. He steadily got up and looked around, realizing the gazes of other people were on him.

'Where the hell am I?'

Rubbing his forehead as he stood up, Rynold didn't recognize any of the people around him. And, even though the people stared at him, they didn't recognize Rynold either.

Which, quite obviously, bares the question: who are all these people?

They stood apart from each other, indicating that these people weren't here together. Not only that, but they all seemed hostile towards each other.

For whatever reason, these people were not here to make friends. And, luckily, neither was Rynold.

"Show's over."

With a deep voice intended to scare people off, Rynold changed his Mana Gauntlets to Strength-form. And, upon noticing this, some of the people looked away while others glared at him even more.

"Really?" A familiar voice rang from across the room, "The first thing you do when you get here is to piss people off? You're really an asshole, huh?"

"You."

Rynold's eyes narrowed as he rushed forward, gauntlets first. There was no hesitation in his footsteps, no doubt in his mind whatsoever as he ran towards his target and grabbed his collar.

"You're the one who brought me here?!" Rynold's tension and hostility were showing, so much so that the people in the room reacted to it rather poorly. "You said that the gods don't interfere with the dealings of us mortals. So, what the hell were you thinking bringing me here?!"

He was confronting none other than the Mech God. In any other circumstance, he wouldn't be so bold as to intimidate and curse a god, especially not when people were looking at him weirdly.

Leaving at the climax of the battle, though, wasn't something Rynold could let pass.

"I don't have to answer to you," the Mech God stared at Rynold without any fear in his eyes. Even though Rynold was close to committing sacrilege, the Mech God wouldn't back down. The god, of course, had no reason to do so.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

A sudden voice came from behind Rynold, intervening with what he was doing. Rynold, on the other hand, didn't appreciate being interrupted like that. He was busy getting answers from an arrogant blowhard, after all. Anything interrupting his process would only piss him off more.

"Shut up," Rynold warned in a cold, threatening voice, "I'm not talking to you."

"And, I don't care," the voice responded with clear hostile intent, "When you're threatening a god like that, nobody here will let you do as you please."

Rynold sensed Mana starting to whirl behind him. He continued to stare down on the Mech God with a death glare, ignoring the hostility directed towards him.

"Let. Him. Go."

The man warned Rynold once more, but the threat had only fallen on deaf ears. Rynold didn't care what any of those people thought as he needed to go back to the fight in Ark City.

"You asked for this," the man said as his Mana coalesced and cast a spell. But, before the man could actually release the magic, Rynold intervened.

Pulling True Caliber from his inventory, Rynold slung his free arm back and fired without aiming. The truth was he didn't have to as the bullet made its mark on the man, wrapping him in ice. One bullet. One shot. That was the only thing Rynold had to do to stop the guy from attacking.

In doing so, Rynold made a harsh first impression on those around him. In layman's terms, Rynold was not one to mess with or to piss off.

"I know you don't think that you have to answer to me," Rynold continued his threats as he pointed True Caliber at the temple of the Mech God's skull, "But, I also know that you wouldn't stop me from saving lives. So, I'll ask again. Why did you bring me here?"

"You do know that whatever you do to me, you won't actually kill me. Right?" the Mech God called Rynold's bluff. His attitude towards the situation was uncannily calm.

"I know," Rynold responded, "But it'll hurt like hell."

"Pfft," the Mech God smiled and laughed, causing the other people in the room to flinch. They all reacted like this except for Rynold, whose sole focus was on getting answers.

"Okay, okay," the Mech God added after his bout of excessive laughter, "Let me go first. I'll explain everything to everyone here. I can't really do that when you're this close to me."

That said, Rynold calmly released his grip on the god's collar. He then crossed his arms and observed what the Mech God would do next.

"Greetings, my Candidates! I am..."

The Mech God then proceeded to talk about himself in excessive detail, causing Rynold to shake his head in frustration. The guy didn't stop until Rynold audibly cleared his throat.

"Right, back to the main subject at hand," the Mech God refocused, "You are all gathered here today to—"

"What now?" Rynold asked, clearly annoyed.

"Can't you thaw him out?" the Mech God asked while pointing at the guy Rynold froze, "I'd hate to repeat myself."

"Without accidentally killing him? No," Rynold answered, "Best I can do is to chip away at the ice — slowly."

After being interrupted like that, Rynold didn't want to free the guy from his icy situation. Nor did Rynold have the means to do something like that. That was practically the first time Rynold's ever frozen another person. He wasn't sure he could do something about it.

Taking a glance at Rynold, the Mech God turned back to the block of ice and sighed. "Fine," he said exhaustingly, "Can't believe I have to clean up your mess."

With a snap of his fingers, small automatic drones descended from the sky and flew straight towards the ice. The drones then shot pinpoint lasers at the ice in a delicate pattern, chipping away at the ice at an astonishing speed.

"Okay," the ice shattered as the Mech God turned his attention back to the crowd, "Back to business. I've gathered you all here today to begin the selection for the Chosen."

Rynold raised a brow as he heard the words coming out of the Mech God's mouth. It was nothing like he expected at all.

"A Chosen is a select individual that carries the will of the god that chose them. I am the Mech God, and you are all my Candidates. Among you, there will be only one that will become the Chosen while the others will not."

"I can tell you're having fun with this," Rynold subtly expressed his disapproval. To which the Mech God turned to him and smiled. "Of course, I am," he said to Rynold before looking back to the crowd.

Something about that response sent chills down Rynold's spine. It didn't sit well with him at all. It was as though the Mech God smiled at him like he was planning something.

"Each one of you has qualities that make you worthy of becoming my Chosen. Some have the natural gift of craftsmanship. Others have magic and a thirst for the arcane. Others, well," the Mech God shot Rynold another glance, "Are just interesting."

'Great...,' Rynold thought as he avoided eye contact.

"All of you have the chance to prove yourselves. Each one of you has the chance to rise above the rest. Throughout the selection process, there will only be one winner. But, rest assured, you won't go home disappointed."

"That's great and all," Rynold interrupted as he took a step closer to the Mech God, "But, you still haven't answered the question. Why did you teleport me in the worst moment possible?"

That said, Rynold could feel all the gazes land on him. Some of them were hostile, while others mocked. But, Rynold would be damned if he cared what other people thought.

All he wanted to do right now was to go back. To fight.

"Everyone," the Mech God addressed the crowd, "Follow the guides to your temporary quarters while I address this Candidate's issues."

Suddenly, a bunch of machine parts moved on their own and formed small, child-sized mechs. From there, they clicked and dinged with each movement as they guided the other Candidates out of the room.

As those people left, though, Rynold could feel waves of jealousy hit him. It wasn't even the worst of it as the hostility increased tenfold. But, as soon as they left the room, though, it was just the two of them left.

"So," the Mech God casually addressed Rynold, "How've you been?"

"Cut the bullshit," Rynold loosened his hands as he extended his gauntlets to Strength-form, "Give it to me straight. Tell me what I need to know or so help me I'll—"

Before Rynold could speak any more of his threats, the Mech God waved his hand, and something happened. A screen popped up from nowhere and presented the forest around Ark City.

"What the hell am I looking at here?" Rynold asked as his Mana Gauntlets reverted to their original size.

"The fight you were just in," the Mech God watched the scene unfold, "There's nothing to worry about because your friend's got this."

"No, he really doesn't," Rynold disagreed as he watched David vigorously attack.

"He's fine. He can handle this thing on his own," the Mech God waved his hands once more and made the picture disappear, "Anyway, you stopped one of those things?"

"Three," Rynold corrected while crossing his arms, "I can't believe you screwed me over when I was about to deal with number four. Why do you even want me here? I don't give a damn about becoming your Chosen."

"I don't think that's true. Sure, you can be an ass sometimes, but I'm more than certain that you're willing to fight the good fight. I mean, it's what you've been doing since the Red Rain, right? It's even what you did before you got here."

"You're telling me the Goliaths are—"

"Sent by the Association to probe one of the largest cities in human civilization? In doing so, measuring their responses and defense capabilities? Basically, yeah. That's why they sent those things to charge towards the city. Luckily, you stopped them before they got the chance."

Rynold fell silent as he became deep in thought.

What the Mech God had just told him made perfect sense. It explained why the Goliaths appeared and why those creatures didn't attack. They strode forward with a single purpose that the Mech God had explained.

"Anyway," the Mech God acted casually around Rynold, "It's the first time we're meeting eye to eye, huh? I can't believe you charged at me like that. Heh. Talk about a bad first impression."

"Well, it's your fault for choosing a bunch of stiffs to be your candidates," Rynold chuckled as he calmed down, "They don't have any backbone or anything in them."

"Don't talk down on them now," the Mech God rebutted, "They deserve to stand on the same stage you're on. They fought for their lives in the New World with no exception. Some of them even unlocked the paths of their sigils. You can't tell me that's not impressive."

"I'll have to see it with my own eyes first," Rynold shook his head, "And, for the record, I seriously don't appreciate the teleport. And, doing the right thing doesn't necessarily mean I'll play your games. So, send me back."

The Mech God eyed Rynold conspicuously as he heard the words coming out of Rynold's mouth.

"Drop the act," the Mech God called his bluff, "You need this more than you're letting on, kid. The power you get here is infinitely better than you slaving away at your workshop at home. Trust me, you're going to want to stay here."