Chapter 287 - False Presumptions

'Boy, that was a tight fit.'

Rynold brushed away the grime on him as he stood up. He had finally gotten out of the tight tunnel, realizing how thick the walls really were in the process.

After cleaning himself up the best he could, Rynold promptly looked around. He tried to get a firm grasp of his surroundings, only to come up short. He couldn't see very far because the inside of the walls was a lot darker than the outside. It was, for the most part, a room. Rynold could at least tell that much, judging by the smell of it. The open-air freshness was no more as the atmosphere drastically changed to something damp and humid.

"Hm..."

Letting out a low hum, Rynold tried to take a slow approach to the situation at hand. He took it one step at a time, starting out with stating what he knew. And, as far as he could tell, it wasn't much.

All that stood out for him was the atmosphere. It felt slightly heavy like the room had no airflow. Rynold had no idea what this meant, though, as he could only guess.

'Okay then,' Rynold nodded as he let in the octahedron drones through the tunnel and locked it after, 'Let's take a quick scan, shall we?'

A second later, Rynold finally understood where he was. Although, why the secret entrance would leave to someplace like this, Rynold didn't understand. Either way, he was in the building, the boiler room, to be exact. That was why the atmosphere was the way it was, seeing as nobody had a reason to be here. Rynold just so happened to go into a room with no people with it. At that moment, luck was on his side.

But then again, Rynold knew that luck was nothing more than a cruel mistress. Rynold needn't rely on it as he walked towards the door. While Rynold couldn't see anything, he was far from blind.

Reaching over and turning the knob, Rynold didn't swing the door wide open right away. He made sure that there was no one on the other side. He was in unfamiliar territory, after all, and one mistake could cost him his life. He creaked the door open, only leaving room enough for his eye to peek through. And, from what he had gathered, there was no one outside.

However, Rynold wouldn't make the mistake of letting his guard down. He then walked out of the boiler room and into a dim hallway. The only light illuminating the way was a flickering lightbulb not far from where Rynold was standing. Anything beyond that was darkness, not that Rynold was afraid of stepping into it.

'Strange,' Rynold thought as he didn't hesitate to keep on walking, 'You would think that there's someone here. I mean, if the boiler room's here, I don't think there's a lower level than the one here. So, if I'm on the ground floor, there should be some guards walking around the place.'

Rynold found it concerning that this place was quiet. Maybe, there was some particular reason for it being so. Either way, Rynold would have to deal with it if he wanted to accomplish the mission. Complaining and bitching wouldn't really change anything.

As he went on, Rynold made sure that he was safe. Rynold checked before turning any corner. He constantly scanned for any signs of life with the octahedron drones. He had even imbued Mana into his eyes, only to realize that there wasn't any Mana in the walls or floor.

'There's really nobody here,' Rynold thought to himself as he turned a corner to yet another hallway. He was starting to get sick of walking into nothing but empty hallways. While it was safe, Rynold found it bothersome. There was nothing around him, not even a single sign of life.

Eventually, though, Rynold finally saw some light coming from the end of the tunnel. He had lost track of time ever since he left the boiler room. But, by his estimate, he had been walking around for a good twenty minutes or so. So, in a manner of speaking, Rynold was glad to put an end to the nightmare. He ran towards the light, throwing away any sense of caution.

"What the hell?!"

Then, there it was: the boiler room. Rynold recognized the door and its handle. There was no mistaking that he had managed to make his way around the entire floor and returned to where he had started. Rynold was afraid that he was in the exact situation he was in now. He had long thought of the possibility. And, now that he was facing it, Rynold still couldn't believe it.

"Damn it," Rynold cursed loudly, seeing as there wasn't anybody that could have heard him. "I'm in the labyrinth, huh? Somebody's really trying to keep something safe here. Whoever that person is, they could piss off for all I care!"

Out of anger, Rynold punched the boiler room door. He slammed the extended Mana Gauntlet into it in a fit of rage, expecting the door to break. Unfortunately, the result ended up being different.

As soon as Rynold's right hand made contact, it recoiled, much to Rynold's surprise. It was as though the shabby wooden door was something else entirely. Rynold didn't register what had happened initially, thinking it was a bizarre coincidence.

However, Rynold punched the door again and produced the same result. The suspicions never seemed to cease as he raised both hands and started assaulting the door. It was hard to maintain the enraged barrage of punches, though, seeing as how the door bounced each attack off like they were nothing. But, whatever Rynold did, it didn't do jack squat.

"That's just great! The damned door won't even open!" Rynold cursed as he extended his drill. Rynold then pointed it to the wall and started drilling through it. Through sheer frustration, Rynold even managed to Augment the drill with his Mana.

Crack!

"The hell?"

Rynold immediately stopped as soon as he heard the wall crack. He lifted his drill away from the wall and looked over to the spot he started drilling. From there, Rynold saw the cracks on the wall, caused by none other than Rynold himself. He then smiled connivingly, knowing full well what this revelation means.

Reverting his Mana Gauntlets back to Strength-form alone, Rynold imbued them with his Mana. A white light covered the weapon as he started smashing his way through the thick walls of the labyrinth. With no care for his safety, Rynold didn't dare stop until he found a way out of this mess he had gotten himself into. And, with each slam of his fist, Rynold felt as though he was getting closer to a way out.

As the walls crumbled in Rynold's wake, he soon stopped as he reached what appeared to be stairs. Of course, Rynold didn't know where exactly it would lead to, but Rynold knew that it was better than staying on the current floor. Rynold didn't hesitate and rushed up to it, putting his foot down on the first step.

Instead of climbing up the stairs, though, the moment Rynold's foot landed on the step, a rune activated. Rynold couldn't get away in time as the light enveloped him. It stunned his vision. Rynold couldn't have seen what had happened to him as he soon came to, in a room filled with books.

"What the..?"

Rynold, stunned, looked around the place in fright. While he tried his best to remain calm and steady, the situation only seemed to be getting worse. There was only so much Rynold could do, analyzing and trying desperately to grasp where he was.

Suddenly, the door behind him opened. Rynold quickly glanced over only for a chair to scoop him up and move him towards the desk. Rynold couldn't look back no matter how hard he tried. All he did, or at least what he could do, was to look straight to the opposite end of the table. Whoever entered the room seemed to have full control over any object in it. And, in this case, included Rynold as well.

"So, it's you," a raspy voice came from behind Rynold, with the latter sensing a gaze on him. It wasn't hostile. All Rynold could feel from his end was a stare. Whatever it meant, Rynold didn't know.

"You know who I am?"

Rynold wasn't sure how to approach this, and he couldn't even look the guy in the eye. He was stuck to a chair against his will, incapable of moving an inch. Rynold couldn't run from where he was, but, at the very least, he could still run his mouth.

"No. No, I don't," the voice admitted, "Although, a stranger breaking into my house and destroying my walls is hardly what you would consider as a friend, no? So, do you mind telling me who are you and why you are here? It's the least you could do seeing as how you destroyed my property."