Chapter 107 - The Plan's Progression

'Shit, that could've gone so bad.'

Leo walked aimlessly to make sure that nobody was following him. He mistakenly walked along different paths and hallways, opening doors to rooms that he wouldn't otherwise open. He did all of that to make sure that he wasn't being followed.

After a few minutes of wandering aimlessly, Leo was finally able to calm down.

With his blood pressure slowly returning to normal, Leo walked down a nondescript hallway. Leo had effectively made his way to where Rynold was.

In just a few steps, Leo stood before the cage that contained Rynold. He took in a deep breath and knocked on the concrete door with a slightly loud bang.

"Dude, you alright?" Leo asked, taking the initiative in the conversation.

Rynold scoffed before answering as if he knew that Leo was coming.

"Apart from a visit from your insane little sister, I'm fine," Rynold spoke with a tone of calm conveyed through his voice. "I presume you've got a plan in mind?"

Leo hesitated for a split second before answering, "Yeah... But, unfortunately, circumstances have changed."

"Oh?" Rynold intriguingly let out a syllable. "What's up?"

"Whatever you managed to do in that arena," Leo explained, "It grabbed the attention of a few people. We can't act without caution anymore."

Chuckling, Rynold gave out an answer that Leo half expected he would say. "I assume one of those few people is your sister, right? Well, whatever does come up, I can handle it no problem."

Despite being stuck inside a cage all day, Rynold had calculated some of the possible scenarios that could happen in case things go awry. Admittedly, he can't really do anything else when he's stuck inside a single space all day.

Regardless, the two continued their conversation.

"Anyway, what do you think we should do from here?" Leo brazenly asked, having complete faith in Rynold having a plan to back him up.

Rynold, on the other hand, has a different sentiment towards the situation.

"As much as I want to help you, I lack the resources to do it," he started to give out an explanation that would contradict Leo's original thoughts. "But, one thing I can say for sure is that we can't act proactively."

Leo pondered as to what Rynold had meant. Surely, he thought, that Rynold may be acting like this because he was scared as to what might happen in the long run.

"Listen," Rynold then continued his earlier statement, "There's something interfering with the flow of Mana here and I can't put my mind as to what it is. If you want a plan, let's start with that."

Surprised, Leo looked at his hand and started to use some basic Thunder magic that he had learned very early on.

'Static Discharge!'

The Mana from his hand formed some electric currents that dissipated as soon as it appeared on his palm. Leo's eyes immediately widened at the sight of his magic instantly disappearing as soon as he had his sights on it.

"You're right," Leo agreed as he put his hand down, "I can only output at the most 20% of a spell. What the hell is happening..?"

"Focus," Rynold grabbed Leo's attention, "Whatever it is, you need to find what's doing it. Blueprints or some sort of prisoners entry that can identify whoever or whatever is doing this. In the meantime, I'll work my way up the bracket."

Doubt filled Leo's mind as the plan seemed a little inconclusive. "You sure that's all I need to do?" Leo asked, hesitant to gain an answer from Rynold.

Rynold clicked his tongue in annoyance. "You do realize that I'm stuck behind a two-inch-thick concrete room here, right? The things I can do here are limited at best. Besides, working my way up the tournament bracket is a thing that we will both need. I can't really just sit still and take a beating, either."

Leo, in utter confusion, could only let out a sound in agreement. Whatever Rynold seemed to have planned required him to be in a position of power. So, with complete trust in him, Leo agreed to do what must be done.

"Oh yeah," Rynold said just when Leo was about to leave. "Bring me something to eat next time, damn. Just because they don't feed the other ghouls and monsters here, doesn't mean I don't need to eat."

Leo snickered. "Yeah, yeah," he said as he left Rynold to his own devices.

'Damn,' Rynold thought as he laid back down on the cold, hard ground. 'Will this even work? It's not the most foolproof plan, but the risks may be worth it. In the meantime, I've got no other choice but to depend on Leo for getting the information I need.'

Rynold let out a deep sigh. He didn't know what else he could do but sit and wait. His thoughts wondering as to what could happen in the days to come.

Minutes passed, then hours. Soon, Rynold fell asleep once more.

In the next few days, Rynold would battle a lot of different opponents, most of which are things that he's experienced before.

Luckily enough, Rynold had yet to come across any sort of champions under the other people who took part in the tournament. He expected to fight one or two humans by now, but still, none came up.

Regardless, Rynold was actually glad that he hasn't fought against other people. As much as possible, Rynold didn't want to raise a weapon against another human.

Truth was, he hasn't killed any other people yet. Nor does he plan to do so.

However, despite the utter lack of experience in that side of things, Rynold didn't have a problem bashing on other ghouls and monsters.

Some were typically other enhanced ghouls that have properly evolved. Some monsters were actual beasts that have mutated due to the Red Rain.

He was able to beat them all. To that degree, others became interested in Rynold's overall power.

So much so that Rynold was able to catch a few predatory gazes from the stands. He thought that it was weird, borderline creepy even. Rynold's impressions aside though, he found it odd that none of them could actually use magic.

During his fights, there were no signs of foul play. No influence to tip the scale of the battle in the monster's favor. Nor were there any fluctuations in the ambient Mana around him.

It was as if the entirety of the population had no experience with Mana at all.

Since that was the case, Rynold grabbed whatever loot the monsters dropped. It's gotten to the point that his inventory made him encumbered. He had no other choice but to force some of the items to Leo, who had visited regularly ever since their second conversation.

"The crowds sure do love you, man," Leo spoke from outside the cage that Rynold was currently in.

"Yeah," Rynold spoke in a semi-coarse voice. "I can't help but notice that the crowds keep getting bigger every match I participate in. It's annoying."

It was currently a few minutes after Rynold was brought back to his cage. Over time, Rynold had learned how to dodge the tranquilizer darts that were coming his way whenever the match was over. However, he decided not to show that card and acted unconsciously.

"If only they'd be less rough on throwing me back in the cage, though. Whoever trained the guards needs to have them learn hospitality. Anyway, why are you here so early?"

Leo tossed a small folder of documents through the gaps near the ceiling. "This," he said as he laid back on the door separating them.

"Good work," Rynold acknowledged and swiftly looked through the documents. "We'll start taking action when I get to the finals."

"Damn," Leo suddenly let out a curse, "It'll take that long?"

Rynold stopped flipping through the documents and looked at the door. "What's the matter?" he asked earnestly.

"The place where I grabbed that wasn't really a place that was easy to access. I had to do so much stuff just to get to that point," Leo explained. "I covered my tracks the best I could. But, it would only be a matter of time until we're discovered."

"It's fine," Rynold calmly answered back, "Lay low for a while. You've done your part, anyway, so let me do mine. And, no matter what, don't try to fight back. Keep your guard up at all times and, in case something does happen, get back here as fast as you can."

Leo couldn't help but click his tongue at Rynold's sudden conditions from this point forward. Not in such a way where he had a problem following his orders; it was just that he thought it would be hard in doing so.

"Whatever your plan is," Leo said as his voice started to fade away, "It'd better be worth it."

Once again, Leo headed back to his quarters, preparing for the worst.