Chapter 227 - Dumb Ideas

'How the hell did he convince me?'

Rynold sat up from his bed and placed his hand on one of his raised knees. He was here in the temporary quarters for the Candidates. But, instead of being glad about all of this, Rynold could only feel confused.

The concerns weren't misplaced, though, as Rynold had a reason to feel this way.

Despite knowing that staying here was the most direct route to getting stronger, Rynold was reluctant. He didn't want to compete with anyone else for something so coveted by other people. Meanwhile, Rynold himself didn't think of the prize as something much.

That said, Rynold wasn't willing to fight for it. He was arguably the most unconventional person ever. The fact of the matter was he didn't even want to be here.

He wanted to head home, back to the Tree of In-Between. Rynold didn't want to stay here and join a competition. He couldn't care less about winning. Rynold had his own ways of getting stronger, apart from being this so-called 'Chosen.'

'Then again, this place is pretty nice.'

Looking around, Rynold found a sense of calm within the spacious room. It was an odd feeling, especially considering there was a workbench just beside the bed.

The room was, by Rynold's standards, an all-in-one place for any craftsman. It had everything a person like Rynold might ever need, machinery and all. This small room felt fitting for a Candidate of the Mech God.

Rynold even considered that this place was better than his workshop at home.

Groaning as he got out of bed, Rynold stretched. The first thing he did when he got to the room was take a nap, after all. Rynold had only woken up a few hours later. The exhaustion he accumulated from killing the Nightstalkers and the Goliaths piled on him, making the nap more than reasonable.

Regardless, Rynold took a good look at the room. He inspected the equipment and resources available to him, only to come up with a single conclusion.

This place was none other than honing grounds for the Candidates.

The Mech God placed the Candidates here for them to thoroughly train their skills in craftsmanship, as evidenced by the rarity of the materials in the room. There were no special ores or minerals, but the machinery and equipment were top-notch.

After inspecting most of the things in the room once, Rynold directed his attention to the only thing that stood out in the room. A Mana Crystal at the corner farthest from the door.

"Huh."

Rynold approached the Mana Crystal with a sense of wonder and excitement. Something about it exuded brilliance unlike Rynold's ever seen before.

It was a Mana Crystal that was undoubtedly rare. Rynold studied it with a careful eye and noticed the beautiful, pristine cuts. The overwhelmingly deep Mana. And even the aura it gave off. Rynold knew just how rare it was to find a Mana Crystal this pure.

'I guess that's what's powering this room, huh?'

Following his instincts, Rynold extended his senses and focused on the Mana Crystal. Rynold did that to find out why a Mana Crystal of this caliber was here of all places. If he owned the thing, he would've found a much better use of it.

"Crap."

He stopped a few moments later, realizing that this Mana Crystal was above his capabilities. The best that Rynold could do was to sense the Mana within it, confirming the Mech God's dense and powerful Mana. Anything more than that made his head spin and his Mana Core suffocate.

'Hold up. This feeling. It's familiar.'

That feeling of being overwhelmed was something Rynold would never forget. It was the same feeling that nearly killed him before because he had been unprepared to deal with it.

Suffice it to say, Rynold didn't expect to experience something like this again. And, for that very reason, Rynold smiled. His eyes shone as if he had just struck a gold mine.

'Formless Mana Defense.'

Activating the weaker of his Mana Defenses, Rynold approached the Mana Crystal and gently touched it. And, as a result, Rynold coughed a mouthful of blood.

Rynold immediately took his hand off the Mana Crystal and took two steps back. He raised his other hand and wiped the mouth of his blood, showing just how much he's lost. If he left his hand there a second longer, he wouldn't still be standing.

'What the hell,' Rynold said as he cleaned himself up, 'That's nothing like I expected. My Mana Core's weakened because of that. What the hell was I thinking?'

Standing before the Mana Crystal once more, Rynold deeply exhaled.

A part of him wanted to try it out again, hoping for a different outcome. But, it would make better sense for him to stay away. Who knows what might happen?

Then again, Rynold knew there were benefits in succeeding.

'A Tier 4, maybe Tier 5 Mana Core. That's what I'm going to need in order to guarantee my success. A Tier 3 Mana Core might survive. But, at my current level, I'll die.'

Assessing the threat in his head, Rynold couldn't help but feel defeated.

Right in front of him was the opportunity for his Mana Core to develop. He would've been an idiot to ignore something like this. Rynold's experience with the Anti-Mana Source wasn't easily replicable, so Rynold knew just how hard it was to come across something like this.

'Damn it,' Rynold cursed at himself for what he was about to do next. 'I can't believe I'm about to try it again. Fuck.'

Shaking his hand loose, Rynold braced himself for the worst. He took a sharp, deep breath, expecting the worst. Rynold couldn't ignore the wall he had to climb. Even though he wasn't sure he could conquer it, Rynold would be damned if he didn't give it a real shot.

'Protecting Light.'

Rynold activated the more powerful spell and held out his hand. He was nervous, sure, but he had the courage to push through.

Like a trial of fire, Rynold felt the pain shoot up all over his body. Wherever his Mana was, it hurt like hell. Rynold's Mana Core felt like it was burning to the point where his nose started bleeding.

But he persevered.

Whether it was by some dumb luck or pure brute force, Rynold was holding on. He felt the Mana Crystal temper his Mana Core like a hammer on metal. The Mana Crystal pushed Rynold's Mana to its limits — to the point where it was tearing him up inside.

Each second that passed by felt like hours as Rynold held on. He had his eyes closed the entire time, ignoring the pain and focusing on circulating his Mana.

Breathing. Focusing. Circulating.

No matter what, he didn't stop. He wouldn't give in to the pain as his Mana fought the waves of ire that came to pour on his Mana Core. Rynold pushed his Mana to the absolute limit, forcing himself to survive.

'Not yet,' Rynold thought to himself as he felt the blood run down his mouth, 'Not. Fucking. Yet.'

Rynold pressed on, but the pain soon felt unbearable. It numbed Rynold's senses to the point where his mind contained nothing but the pain he felt.

It wasn't over, however, not until Rynold said it was.

"Graahhh!"

Audibly expressing his pain, Rynold stood his ground. It felt as though his second wind came as the pain of his Mana Core felt slightly eased. It wasn't much, so much so that it had barely made a difference. But, the subtle change brought on hope.

In the next few minutes, Rynold felt the cycle repeat. At one point, he would feel the pain numb him. After which, he would find a second wind. For Rynold, it felt endless.

He wouldn't give up, not if he could help it. But, it wasn't the same for the other person there.

A hand suddenly fell on Rynold's shoulder and yanked him away from the Mana Crystal. The pain immediately subsided, making Rynold collapse on his back as he caught his breath. He didn't know it yet, but blood covered his face as it poured from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

"What were you thinking?!" a familiar voice rang in his congested ears.

"..."

Rynold could only groan in response, much to the Mech God's anger. Even though Rynold was still technically conscious, his brain couldn't process any information at this time.

"That's just great," the Mech God shook his head in frustration and snapped his fingers. Then, a small number of humanoid mechs came into the room and assisted Rynold to his bed. The god then looked over Rynold as the mechs patched the injured human up.

As he left his mechs to it, the Mech God moved back to the Mana Crystal. He inspected it with his experienced eye to notice what Rynold had done.

For one thing, the Mech God thought Rynold was insane for attempting something like this. For another, it was strange to think that he'd survive. It was beyond logic, beyond reason, for him to still be alive after what he did.

That said, the Mech God could only sigh and glanced at Rynold once before leaving the room. The mechs left with him, leaving Rynold behind. He was asleep, so there was no point in calling him out now.

Time quickly passed by, and Rynold woke up a few hours later.

"What happened..?"

Waking up to the same quiet room, Rynold didn't know how he got into bed. The last thing Rynold remembered was attempting to upgrade his Mana Core. But, for some reason, he was wrapped up in bloodied bandages without a shirt on.

Rynold got out of bed and tried to stand up. But, his legs didn't have their regular strength, making Rynold fall back down. He couldn't muster any of his physical strength, which made him believe that his attempts drained him more than he thought.

"You're awake?" the Mech God called out to Rynold telepathically.

"Y-yeah," Rynold answered hesitantly, noticing the god's angry tone.

"Good. Get over here. Now. You've got some explaining to do, asshole."

Clicking his tongue, Rynold looked to the bedside table and found some crackers and water. He quickly scarfed them down and forced himself to stand up. As it turns out, Rynold's strength was recovering much faster than he thought.

As he successfully got out of his bed, Rynold looked over where he stood and saw a pool of blood on the ground. It was undoubtedly his, caused by the process of strengthening his Mana Core.

Unfortunately, now was not the time to think of this.

Walking towards the exit at a casual pace, Rynold kept wondering what had happened to him. He didn't rush but soon reached the main hall where he was first summoned.

"You rang?" Rynold asked as he approached the Mech God standing in the middle of the room.

"I'm going to ask you this one thing," the Mech God turned to Rynold and shot him a glare Rynold's never seen before. "And you better tell me the truth."

"Okay," Rynold answered as he entered the skylight, revealing the bloodstains on his bandages.

"What were you trying to do back there?"

"So, you know, huh?"

"Of course, I do. It's my Mana Crystal. You wouldn't think that I won't sense someone like you tampering with it?"

"Right, right," Rynold sighed as he looked up to the open ceiling, "I was, uh, trying to get to the next Tier of Mana Cores."

"You're an idiot, you know that?" the Mech God shook his head, displeased at what Rynold did. "There are better ways in doing that, you know, better ways that won't get you killed."

"Hey. I'm still alive, aren't I?"

"Well," the Mech God looked up to the dark sky, "You shouldn't be. It's a miracle that you're still standing. If anything, you should be dead the moment that I found you."