Chapter 108 - Anti-Mana Source

Rynold slanted back down to the floor he usually sits.

He contemplated on the different documents that Leo had just left him with. The blueprints to the colosseum in its entirety seem rather disorganized from an overview.

Rynold flipped through the documents and found himself frustrated, much to his surprise.

'Man, whoever designed this place must've been in a hurry,' Rynold thought as he stared at one of the blueprints that outlined the arena floor. 'Well, that, or maybe the guy just didn't know how to map things in the long run.'

Looking at the small number of documents, Rynold now knew what he had to do. He first grabbed the one that detailed all of the construction materials used to build the colosseum.

'Hmm...,' he contemplated as he looked through the list. 'Okay, nothing is really standing out in this list here. Have they redacted it? Or, maybe it's not in the material...'

The interference in the Mana fluctuations within the immediate area was the biggest problem that they had to solve right now. Whether it was someone or something that was inhibiting the flow of Mana, Rynold had to find a way to get rid of it.

Or, well, understand it at the very least.

He went through the list once more. However, despite his attention to the littlest amount of detail, Rynold didn't find anything out of the ordinary.

'Shit,' Rynold inevitably swore, 'What could it possibly be, then?'

Checking the other documents that Leo had brought to him, Rynold found the list of things in the cages. But, no matter how hard he tried to pinpoint whoever was interfering with the Mana flow, the results were still the same.

Nothing stood out from either list. In the end, Rynold was stumped as to what possible explanation is there for the strange phenomenon.

'Wait. Hold up,' Rynold suddenly formed a train of thought. 'I'm having trouble maintaining Mana in the cages, that much I'll admit. But... When I'm out fighting in that damned arena, it's as if there weren't any problems at all?'

'Don't tell me,' he continued to connect the dots. 'It's underground, isn't it?'

Rynold immediately laid out all the plans on the floor. It wasn't neat in the slightest, but it got the job done. Since there weren't any signs of interference coming from the elevation that Rynold was in, there was only one other explanation for all of this.

There weren't any signs of interference due to the construction materials or the creatures around him. Because the guards and most people didn't even know that Mana existed, there was no other way for normal people to tell.

An underground source of what can only be described as Anti-Mana. It was the most reasonable assumption that Rynold could have come up with. But, how can he prove such a thing?

The cage that Rynold was located in seemed to be the deepest levels of the entire building. There was no place lower than he currently was.

That being said, Rynold considered the possible options that he could have come up with. Time was ticking, after all. Even if he had nothing better to do, nothing was stopping the guards from barging in.

With that in mind, Rynold extended his drill to full length. A smile on his face formed as he raised the drill high. Rynold hasn't pulled the attachment out in quite a while since his battles so far were won only using random weapons that were already in the arena.

Before anything else, though, Rynold pulled Axiom out of his inventory.

As much as he wanted to let loose and find the source, Rynold didn't want to alarm any of the guards that might pass by. There was no telling how ridiculous things could be if he got caught.

Using the Accord Sphere as another pair of eyes, Rynold could rest easy as he did whatever he wanted, starting with locating the source that he determined to be underground.

Whirring the drill to life, Rynold was relieved that the Mana flow from inside his body wasn't being interfered with. It wasn't much of a surprise, considering that the interference only seemed to happen whenever he tried to use Mana outside his body.

Regardless, Rynold got to work, eager to find out what was contained within the depths of the building.

With the sound of the drill echoing through his cage, Rynold soon found himself blasting through chunks of dirt, rocks, and other sorts of debris that was in his way.

Through physical resilience alone, Rynold was able to withstand the harsh conditions of the tunnel he was digging out. It was far from easy, but Rynold had to go through with it.

However, it doesn't mean that he had to go through it the normal way.

'Formless Mana Defense!'

The skill activated as soon as Rynold willed his Mana into it. Admittedly, Rynold knew that it wasn't the best idea considering that he was going towards the source. But, there was no harm in trying, right?

A small veil of Mana started to surround Rynold but dissipating as soon as it fully coated him. It was clear that the interference was still present.

Regardless, Rynold kept trying.

With the consistent and stubborn way of doing things, Rynold's Formless Mana Defense slowly dwindled. Whether it was because his Mana Pool was running out or the interference growing stronger, Rynold kept pushing forward.

Soon, Rynold's Formless Mana Defense didn't even have the chance to activate. He used the spell as a measure to see how much worse the interference would get the more he descended.

Deeper and deeper, Rynold's spell dissipated as soon as the Mana left his body. It was suffocating, considering the deeper he got, the less oxygen there was. However, due to Rynold's tenacity, he had some time before needing to go back up.

Time that he eventually didn't need.

Because in just a few seconds, Rynold managed to drill straight into a dark cave.

At first glance, the cave didn't seem to have anything interesting. It was practically a small, dark, nondescript cave that was formed by tectonic shifts that were evident in nature.

That being said, Rynold was rather surprised by the fact that something was shining from underneath a gigantic stone in the middle of the cave.

Whatever it was, it gave off some sort of subtle, ambient lighting that was purple in color. The sizable chunk of rock covering most of the gaps that only light seemed to be able to pass through.

Inspecting the rock further, Rynold checked to see if the chunk supported the cave he was currently in. A cave-in would kill him in just a matter of seconds.

Rynold whirred the drill to life as soon as he finished inspecting the stone chunk. Even though the size of the rock was big and hard, Rynold was able to completely remove it in just a matter of seconds. A decision that he would've immediately regretted.

The moment the rock was cleared, Rynold was immediately thrown back.

What was hidden beneath the rock that Rynold had just removed was the source of the interference all along. With its presence fully revealed without any sort of blockages, Rynold was completely exposed.

From within himself, Rynold could feel that the flow of his Mana was being tampered with. Rynold slowly became lightheaded and incapacitated. He simply stared at the ceiling of the cave with his back on the cold, hard, uneven ground.

With his mental resilience only barely keeping him awake, Rynold concentrated on trying not to pass out.

That meant what he needed to do is to simply concentrate on maintaining the proper flow of the Mana in his body. No matter what, he couldn't spare the cost of passing out deep underground.

Breathing. Focusing. Circulating.

Rynold struggled to do all three things at once under the harsh conditions he was currently in. With his Mana Channels being restricted and the very essence of his Mana slowly being chipped away, he could barely keep it together. One wrong move could simply mean the end of his life.

His eyes slowly dimming, Rynold couldn't help but wish that he hadn't done this. Slowly and surely his consciousness was fading. But, ultimately, Rynold pushed through until the very end.

The Mana in his system was slowly growing stronger, even if he hadn't realized it yet. Each circulation of the Mana flow within his body slowly ramped up, getting used to the harsh conditions that Rynold had put himself in.

It was a great, albeit completely risky, way of doing things. However, Rynold had read up on improving the stage of his Mana Core before. Even though there wasn't really a way how to do it, Rynold was sure that it was possible. Well, not that he was thinking of those things right now.

Rynold was still too busy just trying to survive. It was just a coincidence that his Mana Core was getting stronger along the way.