Chapter 303 - Jumping into Hell

Slung over the bulky Soul Doll's shoulder, Rynold did not enjoy the ride.

For one, Rynold didn't have a comfortable ride as the Soul Doll followed Skeem into the well. They jumped, one after the other, with Rynold carried like dead weight. Rynold didn't enjoy the jump down, not one bit, and he was far from ready to take in what was in Hell. So much so that the moment Rynold caught even a whiff, he wanted to vomit.

Despite his reservations, Rynold couldn't really do anything about it. He could barely move, let alone run and climb up a well. No, Rynold could only follow in his undesired state as the group went deeper into Hell.

'So, this is Hell, huh?'

Thinking to himself as he couldn't do much else, Rynold took in the surroundings. And, even though the atmosphere felt vile and wretched, Rynold was, so far, underwhelmed. Hell was no place any human would want to enter. At least, that was what Rynold learned. However, as Rynold witnessed, Hell was empty. There weren't any screams of agony or signs of torment. It was a desert, both figuratively and literally.

Even though it came as a surprise for Rynold, Skeem seemed unimpressed. No, he wasn't disappointed or anything. Instead, it was as though the ogre had already expected Hell to be this way, only walking and not putting much thought into the surroundings as Rynold did. If anything, the guy didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that they were in Hell.

Nonetheless, the group kept moving forward and, somehow, deeper into Hell. Along the way, Rynold thought why Skeem appeared so confident in the path he went on. He kept walking, leading the way and doing so with no hesitation.

'I guess this guy really thought things through.'

Furrowing his eyebrows for but a second, Rynold returned his focus to his injured Mana Core. Throughout their journey, Rynold had been trying to tap his Mana Core. But, it was to no avail. Rynold didn't understand how he could have these problems right now. Although, he had an idea. But, even then, there really wasn't much he could do about it. Skeem was far above his paygrade.

Despite all that, Rynold still tried his best. It wasn't like he had anything else to do at that point. He willed his Mana to resonate with the Timber Sumbios in an attempt to fix things. However, even with that, nothing happened. Rynold felt something happen, though. The symbiotic tree was still alive, and, for whatever reason, Rynold couldn't call out to it.

'It's a seal,' Rynold felt his Mana pulsate and do nothing else, 'He blocked off all the Mana Channels in my body in one go. Whatever that shock-thing was, it's put me out of commission. It's like a paralytic nerve effect, but for my Mana. That's for one of my Mana Cores, though; I wonder what he did with the other one. It's-'

As soon as Rynold tried to tap his other Mana Core, he could will it to life. However, instead of the Mana traveling through his Mana Channels, the Mana just stayed there. It was brimming with the Fire Attribute, but Rynold had no way to use it.

'This is confusing,' Rynold thought as he tried to use the Fire-attribute Mana the same way he had done before. Unfortunately, it did nothing, much to Rynold's frustration. 'Whatever this Mana Core is, it won't listen to me. The son-bitch won't let me infuse it to anything. God damn it.'

Rynold's frustration was not entirely baseless. His Mana Channels were things that he needed to make use of his Mana. And, now that they're blocked, Rynold had no other way of using Mana. Even if he had the Mana to spend, there wasn't any way to make use of it. And not only that, but his other Mana Core wasn't in any position to use.

'Status.'

[Your Mana Core is currently unavailable due to a potent seal. All uses of Mana are disabled.]

[Your Mana Channels are currently unavailable due to a potent seal. All uses of Mana are disabled.]

[Due to the second Mana Core in your body, a potent seal is being actively extinguished. Current Progress Rate: 0.13%.]

'I thought as much. Heh. Although the third line is a bit of a surprise,' Rynold couldn't help but sport a smirk. The effective rate of extinguishment was beyond slow, not that Rynold was complaining. That was better than nothing, really. It was a sliver of hope. And, of course, Rynold would at least have to capitalize on it.

With that, Rynold tried to speed up the process, forcing the Mana of his second Mana Core to intensify. As soon as Rynold did, though, Skeem took notice. The ogre promptly stopped, causing the Soul Doll to follow. Skeem then ran up to Rynold in an instant. He pulled Rynold's head up by the hair. The ogre glared at Rynold, to which Rynold stared back while putting on a brave face.

"You seriously think I wouldn't notice?" Skeem let go of Rynold's hair and punched him across the face, "You're under lockdown, you roach! I have every inch of your Mana down under my heel. So, whatever you do, you won't get away. And, even if you did, you wouldn't get very far. In case you haven't noticed, we are in Hell. So, do me a favor and leave your resistance until after I got what I came for."

Rynold didn't answer one bit and looked down to the ground. A part of him wanted to fight back, but he knew it would be the dumbest thing he could do right now. Instead, Rynold decided to bide his time and wait until the seal broke. Of course, Rynold didn't spend the time lying down either. No, Rynold tried to help out the process, bit by bit, and did so without Skeem's knowing.

As they went on, the terrain soon changed. From a blistering desert, the group entered a freezing tundra. However, even with the 180-degree change in weather, Rynold didn't feel it. The weather or climate or whatever toll it would have in his broken body, Rynold couldn't feel any part of it.

Whatever the case, Rynold concentrated on breaking free of the seal. As far as he could tell, he wasn't making much progress with it. As the minutes passed, Rynold chipped away at the seal. Although his Mana Core was doing most of the work, Rynold didn't impede the progress.

'This is exhausting,' Rynold thought to himself as he directed his Mana to another part of the seal, 'I can't rush anything about the process. While I'm slowly regaining control, the pace is far from what I'd like it to be. Sigh. It's progress, nonetheless, though. But, damn. If only that bastard weren't here right now. Whatever, now's not the time for that. Hm. It bothers me how he didn't seal my other Mana Core. I'm sure he knows about it.'

Choosing to ignore such an open problem, Rynold focused on the task at hand. He didn't notice where they were going or how far they went. Closing his eyes, Rynold maintained his focus. And, as the minutes turned to hours, the group would soon stop before a cave entrance.

The abrupt stop caused Rynold to take a look around. They weren't in the tundra anymore, but instead deep into a jungle. He didn't recognize this place, let alone think something like this would exist in Hell. But, well, there was no denying that they were here.

Where exactly was here, though?

"Hey, I know you're awake," Skeem called out, not looking over to Rynold at all, "Whatever happens in there, you better keep quiet. Otherwise, I'll be the last thing you see. Well, that is, if the big guy wouldn't get to you first."

With Rynold's senses dampened, he couldn't sense what was dwelling inside the cave. But Skeem knew. The ogre had a firm grasp of the identity of the creature living inside, down to a tee. It was the reason why Skeem had chosen to go here in the first place.

That said, Skeem let out a breath and jumped into the cave with no fear. The Soul Doll followed, carrying Rynold on its shoulder as always. During which, Rynold decided to pay close attention to it this time. With eyes wide open, Rynold took in the sights. And, it was quite a good thing that he did.

As the cave opened up, the three of them soon entered a room with a giant creature sleeping in it. Rynold couldn't grasp what kind of creature it was, only reaching a conclusion that it was a demon. For whatever reason, Skeem didn't even stop as he went up to it.

"I am here," Skeem spoke respectfully, kneeling as he did, "Master."

Whatever that thing was, Rynold didn't expect Skeem to suddenly turn so respectful. The ogre even kneeled. Rynold gaped in awe as the creature soon woke up to Skeem's call.