Chapter 308 - Shortsightedness

"So," Rynold suddenly called out, "The warding. How potent is it?"

"Shh."

Focused on what he was doing, the man couldn't spare the attention to answering Rynold's question. It had been some time since the man had worked with materials outside of those found in the cave. So, as of this moment, there was nothing more he had wanted to do than to make something out of what Rynold gave him. To which, Rynold didn't seem to mind. However, there was something else that did bother him though.

With a dedicated workbench, Rynold could be working on a new attachment for his Mana Gauntlets. And, Rynold should be doing just that. Unfortunately, he couldn't focus on anything as he knew something was on his tail. And, whether he liked it or not, the only thing keeping Rynold safe was the extensive warding on the walls. Even then, Rynold wasn't sure if the warding was enough.

Shaking his head, Rynold soon realized that dwelling on his fears wouldn't do him any good. And it was also at that moment wherein Rynold laid his eyes on the man's working process.

Inspired was the only word that Rynold could use to describe it. Each swing of the man's hammer showed decisiveness and experience. There was a sizable gap between the two's abilities. There was an unexplainable, immeasurable gap that Rynold had no idea how to bridge.

Whatever the case, Rynold knew he had to at least start.

He brought out his tools as he started melting down a random combination of items. If anything, Rynold would have to work with whatever he had on hand. Metals of various qualities were there in front of him. But most of which were just typical iron with different levels of purity.

'Reformed steel? That seems like my only option here,' Rynold thought to himself as he brought a couple of broadswords to the forge. He always thought about melting down whatever subpar loot he got from monsters, and now seemed as good a time as any.

As the weapons melted down, Rynold soon came to a realization. He had no idea what he was going to make. He didn't stop working as his brain started to think of something new.

'Another drill seems like a bad idea,' Rynold admitted. He knew how impractical the use of a drill was in a battle. It was bulky and hard to maneuver. While it had its moments, it wasn't the best in a fight. Rynold could go for something more practical, something better.

Unfortunately, Rynold couldn't think of anything.

A gauntlet attachment was something Rynold thought to be odd. The Mana Gauntlets alone were incredible. They served Rynold well over the course of his journey. So, what the hell should he put on it to make it better?

Rynold's thoughts soon landed on the grapple attached to his left Mana Gauntlet. He stared at the forge as he explored the idea of choosing utility over weaponry. Some ideas popped into his head as he continued to think about it. However, they were either redundant or impossible to make.

"Hey," the man called over, "What are you thinking?"

"Hm?" Rynold broke from his concentration and looked back. "Nothing. I, uh, was thinking about what I should do. Heh. I really don't have a clue."

"Is that why you're standing there? For a stroke of inspiration?"

"What? No," Rynold furrowed his brows in confusion, "Whatever. What about you, huh? What do you have over there?"

"Oh," the man smiled and put his hammer gently on the workbench. He then grabbed the weapon by the hilt and raised it high enough for Rynold to see. "It's this sword which, I admit, is a little rough around the edges. However...'

As the man trailed off, he turned to an unoccupied desk. And, from there, he swung the sword down in one fluid, vertical motion. Following which, the desk split cleanly in half. Like a hot knife through butter, the slice was clean. It was as though the sword had sliced through air.

"You must have incredible body strength," Rynold scoffed, then grinned.

"It has nothing to do with that," the man smiled, "Look. Closely."

The man threw the sword at Rynold without a proper warning, causing the latter to bumble as he caught it. Truthfully, he could've just handed the blade directly. Catching a sword mid-air was a dangerous, if not, severring task, especially for the hands.

Nonetheless, Rynold managed to catch the thing without any damage caused. He inspected the blade, carefully guiding his fingers on the metal. As he ran through the steel with utmost attention, he stopped as his fingers finally reached the hilt of the sword. After which, he turned to the old man. Rynold didn't feel any disappointment, nor did he reach any enlightenment as the old man had intended. Instead, Rynold looked at the old man with widened eyes; a question rising to the tip of his tongue.

"Was I supposed to get something out of that?" Rynold asked with a dumbfounded expression. To which, the old man sighed defeatedly.

"You still have much to learn it seems," the man nodded as he walked over to where Rynold was standing. Then, the man reached his hand out, motioning Rynold to hand over the blade. "Do you not recognize the inscriptions on the blade? I am well aware you have some knowledge on even the most basic of runes. I refuse to believe that you do not see the runes on this weapon, recognize the worksmanship I have put into the blade."

"No, no," Rynold shook his head, "I see it. I know what a good runic inscription looks like. I just don't know what you want me to do with it. Even then, I wouldn't be able to make something like that even in my best day. Not to mention that I don't want to put a weapon on my gauntlets. I want something more... practical. Augmenting weapons with runes like that won't really fit what I'm trying to go for."

Rynold expressed his thoughts without so much as thinking of wording it properly. His thoughts were scattered, much like how he was thrown into the Nevermore without so much as a warning.

"I suppose you didn't check the hilt properly either," the man said as he returned to talking about the blade in his hands, "Here. Check it again."

That said, Rynold was starting to get pissed off. The whole indirect approach was a lot more annoying, given the circumstances. Rynold didn't think have the time or the patience for any of this. He, above all else, wanted to go back. Back to whatever counted for normal these days.

Even so, Rynold didn't have much of a choice as looked at the hilt with a watchful eye. He had no idea what he was supposed to be looking for. Fortunately, he didn't seem to have to look very far. Or long, for that matter.

"What is this?" Rynold pulled the pommel of the sword closer to his eyes than necessary. He did so because there was something on it. And, it was, for whatever reason, glowing with a dim orange color. "It's a... Mana Crystal?"

As Rynold finally got to where the man had wanted him to be, the old geezer didn't allow for Rynold to stay there for long. He snatched the weapon from Rynold's hands and looked at him with a serious expression. It was as though the old man was trying to tell Rynold something. To whom, Rynold seemed to understand completely.

"It's not a Mana Crystal, is it?" Rynold asked, knowing full well what the answer was, "It's something else entirely. From the way it glowed all the way to how bright it was. It's not a Mana Crystal. It's more runes if anything else."

A trickle of inspiration appeared in the forefront of Rynold's thoughts which turned to a full-on waterfall. He felt enlightened, rearing to go. Rynold was more than ready to get working on something new, even though his ideas weren't fully fleshed out just yet. That was the way Rynold had always done things. Testing with action, rather than thorough planning. While it had managed to get him this far, Rynold didn't know that even his methods had limitations.

So, without any solid plan on what he wanted to make, Rynold got to his workbench and almost started working. He only stopped because of an interruption from the only other person there. Much to Rynold's dismay, the old man did the right thing. Although, his actions were rather ill-received.

"What?" Rynold asked with an irked tone.

"Patience and discipline," the old man said disappointedly, "These are two things that you do not have. I may not know who you are, but I've met countless others like you. You keep a cool head in the middle of stressful situation, often using insight on dealing with situations. However, when there comes a time when you need to jump, you do so without thinking. There are benefits to these attributes, naturally. But, this is not one of those times where you jump."