Chapter 267 - Two Week Break 2

"I'm done!"

Rynold looked over as soon as Crimson yelled out. The guy dedicated a few hours to very concentrated work, during which, at some point, Rynold lost interest. He worked on his projects, waiting for Crimson to finish up.

"Let me see," Rynold said as he moved closer, eyeing what appeared to be the same rod. He looked back at Crimson, wondering what exactly he had done.

"Ah, right," Crimson picked the weapon up from its stands and pointed at one part of it. "I added this. I'm not sure if you could tell, but-"

"A secondary input charge that you could use to stabilize the Mana usage and rate without needing perfect Mana control. It's quaint and simple but a good solution nonetheless. Nice work."

Nodding in approval, Rynold praised the handiwork. Even with the slight change to the original weapon plans, it solved the problem. While Rynold would've thought of something much more creative than what Crimson did, the solution in itself was still valid.

"What would you have done?"

Rynold fell silent as he stared at Crimson, caught off-guard by the question. It wasn't entirely unexpected, though, but Rynold didn't think Crimson would have been so curious.

"Dunno. Come on. Let's get outside and test it out."

Not thinking much of it, Crimson followed Rynold outside of the building. It had been a few hours since they last stepped out. The bright blue sky slowly faded into orange. Crimson and Rynold stood a considerable distance from each other as Crimson willed his Mana into life.

Crossing his arms as he observed, Rynold stared intensely at the weapon in Crimson's hands. It glowed from a light, red-colored tint to a darker blood-colored shade. It was stable, at the very least, but Rynold found the color of the Mana uncomfortable.

'At least, it's working,' Rynold consoled himself as he watched Crimson's Mana envelop the weapon in his hand. It soon solidified into a dark, crimson hue that covered it entirely.

"Congratulations," Rynold said as the Mana fixated on the device, "Got a name for it?"

Crimson, however, rightfully ignored the question and proceeded to stare at the window screen that had popped up. Crimson carefully read its contents, not paying attention to his surroundings whatsoever. Rynold noticed it and didn't seem to mind. The only problem now was that it was getting dark outside.

Granted, they were still in the Mech God's secluded island. There weren't any threats or anything that might come their way. Unfortunately, there wasn't much lighting or warmth outside either. As far as Rynold could tell, the machinery here never had a need for those things.

So, with that in mind, Rynold pulled Crimson away from his concentration and dragged him back inside. With the weapon now fully completed, there was no reason for them to stay outside.

Rynold and Crimson hurried back indoors. The two then settled in their respective areas, with Rynold returning back to his project to finish up. Crimson, on the other hand, spent a few minutes walking around. He aimlessly wandered as he read the contents of the window.

Without a word to each other, time moved at a pace that neither one of them had noticed.

That was until Crimson finally looked up from the window, dismissing it and turning to Rynold. He walked over to where Rynold had crouched down and over a complicated piece of machinery.

As Crimson approached, a shadow blocked most of what Rynold could see. So, naturally, Rynold looked up and met Crimson's gaze.

"What?" Rynold asked as he stood up from the stool that had been lower than his knees, "Something wrong, man?" his back cracking as he stretched.

Instead of a typical, vocal response, Crimson smiled. He looked to Rynold then back to the machinery he was working on, causing Rynold to think that there was something of concern here. Whatever it was, Rynold didn't have the time to be so cavalier about it.

"Oi. Say something."

"Oh, hm? It's nothing. I just finished with everything. Not sure how you're doing here. So, I thought I'd come up and check on you."

"Right, right," Rynold nodded as he nudged Crimson to the side, "You're blocking my light. I'm close to getting this thing done. Just a few finishing touches are all that's left. If you don't mind, I'll get working on it now."

"Oh, of course. Of course."

Crimson moved aside, allowing the light to pass through. Rynold sat back down on his back-breaking stool and focused his attention on the machinery on the ground. He was, for the most part, finished. There were only a few things left to clean up and finalize.

Unfortunately, Rynold wasn't going to move on unimpeded.

"Say," Crimson broke the silence a few seconds later, "Do you have any idea when the Mech God would come after us?"

"No," replied Rynold after he tightened up a loose screw, "He says he'll show up when you have finished your thing. You remember. You were there."

"Of course, yeah," Crimson nodded, "Just wondering if you still remembered."

After that brief conversation, silence ensued once more. Rynold kept working while Crimson kept watching. Crimson asked a number of questions that followed, though, much to Rynold's irritation. But, ultimately, it wasn't much of a bother as Rynold kept his focus.

"This looks great," noted Crimson, referring to the thing Rynold had been working on for the past few days. "What's it for, man?"

"Wow, you really have nothing better to do, huh?"

"Hey, I'm just asking here. We've spent the past two weeks here. And, while I'm doing my thing, you've moved on from one project to the next. I keep asking you what you were making, and it's always the same answer. I just wanted to ask."

Rynold's eyes strayed away from what he was working on and moved to Crimson. The determined look on Crimson's face was something that Rynold found annoying. But then again, in spite of everything Crimson had done for him, the least Rynold could do was answer a couple of questions.

And, with that in mind, Rynold looked away and returned his attention to the finishing touches. Crimson felt somewhat defeated after realizing Rynold wasn't going to answer him. But then, out of nowhere, Rynold answered, "It's not for me."

"Who's it for?" Crimson asked, curious to find out more.

"A friend."

"What does it do?"

Grabbing a Mana Crystal from the side, Rynold carefully slotted it in. Crimson noticed what Rynold was trying to do and fell silent in order to let the latter concentrate. A difficult step in the process that even Crimson recognized.

Clink!

The Mana Crystal fit perfectly into a small chamber that Rynold made. For all intents and purposes, Rynold measured the Mana Crystal beforehand, making sure that it would fit. And, in doing so, lit up the lines inscribed on the machine, powering it up.

"That's..."

Crimson fell speechless, unable to finish the sentiment. And, interestingly enough, Rynold fell in awe as well, having not expected that things would've turned out so great.

"It's all thanks to the manuals and guides the Mech God had lying around," said Rynold as he approached the machine floating on its own. He then pressed a small button at the machine's handles, making it collapse into a small suitcase-shaped box.

"Did it just-"

"I made it collapsible," Rynold finished Crimson's thought, "I read up on it in one of the Mech God's old textbooks. It doesn't really serve another purpose other than having it easier to move around. Then again, that's not the final build just yet. There are still other things I'd like to do."

"But, it's technically done?"

"You could say that," Rynold nodded before putting the suitcase into his Inventory, "Then again, the real final touches would have to have the guy I'm giving this to there with me."

"But it works?"

"Theoretically, yeah. It should," Rynold gave a vague answer, testifying that he himself had no idea if it was working, "Either way, I can't really test it out. Wouldn't want to have my Mana influencing the Mana Crystal I just put in there."

"What about the other things you made?" Crimson asked, seeing as how there was no harm in asking another question after the five successive ones.

Rynold moved back to his desk and began cleaning up. He put away the tools scattered on the desk, answering, "They're mine," to Crimson's question.

"You spent less than a week making the smaller ones. Are you sure they work? Don't you want to test them out? Or, you know, at least spend some more time making yours than your friend's?"

Placing both hands on the table, Rynold let out a deep breath. While what Crimson said wasn't entirely wrong, Rynold knew his abilities better than anyone. He spent less time making his weapons because they were already tried and tested.

"They work fine," Rynold said after a slight pause, "Trust me."