Chapter 236 - A Day Like Any Other

Rynold let out a cold breath as he watched his opponents' reactions.

But, contrary to what he expected would happen, the five other Candidates there didn't seem so eager to put up a fight. They even appeared to be discouraged.

"So," Rynold provoked, "How do you want to move on from here?"

"We-"

The Enchanter hesitated, choking on what Rynold thought to be his threats. But, the indecisiveness didn't stem from that. Instead, it came from the group sentiment. Of which, each person didn't seem to have the same idea.

Before the Enchanter could finish his sentence, though, the burly man charged at Rynold. Rynold, in response, quickly changed his gauntlets to Strength-form and matched his opponent's strength. Rynold stopped the man's charge, with both Mana Gauntlets out.

'This guy is strong.'

Rynold realized the attack-oriented nature of his opponent. Of course, Rynold's combat style wasn't as straightforward as it appeared. He activated [Unyielding Twine] on where the burly man's feet were. From there, Rynold just threw the guy off-balance.

As his opponent tripped forward rather embarrassingly, Rynold turned to the other four and watched what they would do next. Fortunately, they weren't as aggressive as the one who attacked first.

"We're leaving," the Enchanter repeated, this time finishing his sentence. Despite the gazed of the members on his back, the Enchanter had better sense than that. He knew it just wasn't worth the trouble of bothering Rynold. Who, by the by, was hiding more of his abilities than he thought.

"Good," Rynold nodded as his hostility turned to friendliness, "I'll keep my word. You don't have to worry about me, truthfully. Cross my heart. I'm not aiming to be the Chosen. And, from what I've seen about you guys, I definitely think you should be the one."

Pointing directly at the Enchanter, Rynold gave his seal of approval. If this were a political campaign, Rynold would endorse the Enchanter. Rynold knew that his approval meant nothing. But, he wanted to make his intentions clear, regardless.

"Noted," the Enchanter said, less hostile but overall uncaring. He then turned to his group and said, "Let's go," in a disappointed tone, no less.

Rynold found his workbench after two days and watched the others leave him be. He could still tell there was some resentment. Rynold didn't mind it, though. There were always going to be unresolved feelings between two opposing parties.

Although, Rynold knew this wasn't going to be the last he'd see of them. He'd even have to deal with other people on top of the group he's come across just then. Rynold knew the challenges ahead would be inevitable. He would have to deal with it sooner or later.

For now, though, Rynold could relax a bit. He walked around the campsite he had only stayed in once. Grabbing some food and water, Rynold replenished his stomach with essential nutrients.

Several minutes later, Rynold descended the mountain once more. He then looked around, picked a direction, and started walking.

"Huh," Rynold let out a mumble as the dense forest had nothing in them. It felt bare, even with the thick amount of grass and trees around him. There was nothing of interest but greenery in the area.

'It makes me wonder where'd the other Candidates go to find their resources. Because, no matter how you look at it, there's nothing of value here. But then again...'

Rynold realized something as he kept walking at an amicable pace.

If his camp was near a valuable resource, the other campsites must have the same. Meaning, Rynold had to find another campsite. That was if he wanted to find something of value.

'What a pain,' Rynold thought to himself, thinking of how troublesome it would be to do such a thing, 'Let's keep walking and see what happens. I'm not about to go out of my way to exert effort and mess with other people. That's not why I'm here.'

With that in mind, Rynold just kept on walking.

After several hours of idly wandering in the forest, Rynold found something glistening under the sunlight. He walked towards it then picked it up. He proceeded to study it, only realizing that he hadn't seen anything like it before.

'A tough exterior. Hard, shell-like texture. What is this?'

Rynold looked around, trying to figure out where this came from or any clue what it was. It didn't take him very long to realize the same glistening not too far away. That said, Rynold followed.

He followed the tracks that would soon lead to the source. Rynold kept walking and soon reached a somewhat stony clearing. It was smack dab in the middle of the forest, but Rynold noticed that nothing green ever touched the stone clearing.

Turning his head to the clearing, Rynold saw a flat-looking stone slab at the center. He hesitated to move towards it, not knowing what might happen if he did. But, even so, a part of him was still curious.

'Okay, it doesn't seem like anyone or anything is here.'

Rynold put away the glistening shell and moved forward. He took each step carefully, wary of something popping out from nowhere. So far, though, there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. Even the rocks on the ground didn't react when Rynold stepped on them.

'What is this thing? It's smooth like processed by machinery. Having this here seems out of place.'

When Rynold was about to touch the stone slab, the earth shook. From slight rumbles to downright massive earthquakes, Rynold fell down on top of the stone slab. It was only then that he knew he wasn't supposed to go anywhere near the stone slab.

The stony clearing started to shift and move on its own. Rynold couldn't tell what was happening then as he watched the pebbles on the ground flow upwards. The pieces of rock then formed into one single entity: a stone golem.

This stone golem, however, wasn't anything like Rynold saw before. Its body formed using every piece of stone in the vicinity. The stony clearing was now barren land.

"Okay. Maybe I shouldn't have done that."

Rynold immediately dodged to the side as the golem's stone fist smashed down at him. He moved away just enough to feel the force of the hit on the ground. Even if he hadn't experienced it firsthand, Rynold knew that he would be in for a long fight.

Extending his drill outwards, Rynold turned to face the golem and lunged at it. Rynold whirred it to life, penetrating the stone golem's rocky skin. His drill was the natural weakness of anything made out of stone. Rynold felt the confidence welled up in his heart.

Dealing one blow to another, Rynold stopped and stepped back once he crushed the stone golem's right arm. From what Rynold could tell, he still had his work cut out for him. But, at the very least, it was looking up.

But, Rynold's hope soon vanished as he watched the rocks reform the stone golem's right arm.

'Changing angles and target. Something's gotta be moving this thing. There's no need to waste any more time. Let's make this quick.'

Rynold sent Axiom out to search for any light traces of Mana around him. Aside from himself and the stone golem, Axiom's scans didn't stop until it pinpointed what Rynold was looking for — the stone slab. It was weird, Rynold thought, as he didn't sense any Mana coming off of it.

'How light is that Mana supposed to be then?'

Axiom's scans were significantly more efficient in tracing Mana. So, Rynold believed the results of the initial scan. That said, Rynold knew he had to take a closer look.

Activating [Unyielding Twine], Rynold trapped the stone golem in place for a few moments. It was enough time for Rynold to figure out what the stone slab really was. He took a second to look, but the stone slab was the same as before. But then, an idea popped up in his head.

Walking to where the stone slab ended, Rynold grabbed it with both hands and lifted the stone slab upwards. It was heavy, that's for sure, but Rynold raised it high, revealing what lied under it.

'A sprite?'

Rynold mistakenly took a split second to recognize the small creature under the stone slab. It was a mistake because the stone golem had freed itself and swung its fist to the side of Rynold's lower abdomen. The force of which threw him a yard away.

'Shit,' Rynold pushed himself off the trees he crashed into, 'That hurt, damn it. Letting my guard down was a mistake right there.'

As Rynold went back to the battle, he had a new target. He had to take care of the Sprite controlling the golem. But, he knew just as well that it wouldn't be easy.

That said, the Sprite now revealed itself to Rynold. The stone slab that was once on the ground now disappeared. The creature then hid behind the rock golem, and used it to attack Rynold.

Dodging the blows that came his way, Rynold moved swiftly and sporadically. He made sure that he didn't stay in one place. That way, the golem wouldn't get the chance to hit him. That said, Rynold couldn't find an angle to get to the Sprite.

The Sprite was essentially riding on the stone golem's back. Rynold couldn't get close without being in the range of the golem's fists. He could only analyze and find an opportunity. Rynold couldn't create one of his own. Or could he?

Waiting for the golem's fists to slam down once more, Rynold activated [Unyielding Twine]. He targeted the small plants on the ground to root the golem's hands in place. It trapped the golem from moving, letting Rynold move in towards the Sprite.

"Stop the golem," Rynold talked straightforwardly, not paying attention to the tone of his voice. He then grabbed the Sprite with his hand, holding it in place.

After Rynold said that, the stone golem crumbled into pieces of rock, much like before. It showed no signs of moving, which Rynold found to be satisfactory. He then turned to the Sprite, who appeared to be trembling in Rynold's hand.

"Wow, you're scared, aren't you?" Rynold calmed down and softened his voice. He was clearly terrifying the small creature, causing it to defend against Rynold's appearance. No wonder it used its magic to counteract the threat.

Opening his hand and releasing the Sprite from his grip, Rynold let the Sprite run free. But, instead of flying around like Rynold would expect it to. The Sprite just sat on the palm of his hand.

"Sorry about all that," Rynold apologized earnestly, having not known that the entire battle was based on a misunderstanding. "Then again, I'm not even sure if you can understand me."

The Sprite responded by nodding, but its expression still showed fear over Rynold. It was still scared of what he was capable of doing to the creature. It was in the palm of his hand, after all.

"Again, I'm really sorry," Rynold profusely apologized, "I didn't mean to scare you like that. But, what are you doing here? Surely, a Sprite like yourself has a better place to be."

Rynold wasn't sure what he would get out of asking a question to a creature that couldn't communicate with him. Despite that, though, Rynold managed to get an answer as the Sprite showed a severe injury.

"Oh, you're hurt, huh? Let's fix that real quick."

For the first time ever, Rynold activated a new spell, [Encompassing Serenity]. To which, the palm of his hand suddenly glowed with a green hue as the magic healed the injuries on the Sprite by some degree. It wasn't a complete recovery, but it certainly helped.

"All better?" Rynold asked as he smiled. He wanted to express his sincerity above everything else. Rynold acknowledged the fact that he scared the poor creature. So much so that Rynold felt the need to remedy that.