Chapter 190 - A Rocky Path

Hearing Rynold's sad sentiment, Neana kicked Rynold in the knee.

"What'd you do that for?" Rynold asked as he kept on walking. The kick didn't hurt at all. In fact, it was more playful than anything else. Still, a kick to the knee was a kick to the knee. Nobody would do that without a good reason.

"Do you even hear yourself?" Neana rhetorically asked, "Don't focus on what you can't do, idiot! Focus on what you can do. You want to keep fighting on your own? Then, fine! Just don't you dare forget that you aren't alone. Asking people for help is something within your capabilities, yeah? You can do something as simple as that, right?"

Rynold wasn't sure what to take from that.

The whole thing seemed like an insult to make him feel even worse. Luckily, Rynold spotted the face that Neana was making. The very same she would use whenever Rynold did something idiotic back in his workshop. Just looking at it could have only meant one thing.

"Yeah, yeah," Rynold patted his hand down gently on Neana's head and chuckled. "Thanks, by the way, for, you know, not leaving me back there. Pretty sure it wasn't an easy few hours."

"I don't want to talk about it," Neana shook her head as she looked up the road. "Besides, nothing interesting happened, anyway. I'm sure you've got more interesting stuff to talk about, like what do you plan on doing with that kid."

Before answering that question, Rynold let out a deeper than average sigh. It was unavoidable at this point, and Rynold had some explaining to do. Rynold raised his head as he looked at the kid who was gleefully walking down this stony path.

"Hmph. Well," Rynold felt slightly flustered as he spoke. "I don't know, really. Suddenly, I got put in charge of some kid with abilities beyond any average human. At this point, I guess I just want to see what he does for himself."

It wasn't a stretch to say that Rynold didn't know what he was doing. Sure, he made promises and all that. But there were no concrete plans to follow. It's not like he could pull up a map that dictated the kid's destiny. Rynold could only be an external figure and help the kid out whenever he needed it.

"Really?" Neana asked with skepticism on her face. "You're going to put him in charge of his own life? What is he? Like, seven?"

"A thousand and six, actually," Rynold answered as he let out a sly smile. "Anyway, his life isn't something I can control. That's why it's his life, isn't it? I can only ever lend a helping hand."

Neana was still baffled that a kid, whose age didn't appear to be over two digits, could look that young. But, after a few seconds, she then turned to Rynold and continued.

"You sure about that? I don't think it's a good idea. A thousand-year-old or not, that kid is still easily influenced by a lot of things. Who knows what troubles he might get into?"

"Eh, it's fine," Rynold dismissed Neana's worries, "He's a lot more mature than he looks. No matter what happens, he would be able to do the right thing. Besides, he won't be entirely alone. Not when someone can keep an eye on him."

"What are you suggesting? That I babysit?"

"Why not?" Rynold answered, "I know for a fact you're good with kids. Besides, he's not going to want to learn stuff from me. I'm a bad influence on people! He'd be much better off in your hands."

As soon as Rynold said that, his heart went to his throat. He was worried he might've said something offensive then and there. But, fortunately, that didn't seem to be the case as Neana swatted her hand away.

"Let's just talk about this when we get home," Neana frustratingly spoke, "We've got other things to do, remember?"

Nodding in response, Rynold and Neana walked gleefully next to each other on this stony path. The road was uneven. But, it was a lot better than the terrain from before.

This place isn't half-bad, Rynold thought as he looked around.

He hasn't been here for quite some time. But, this was the only road that led back to the city. It was rocky like the roads of some rural, mountainous area. Still, the trees that covered the road offered some shade. The atmosphere was calm and scenic.

Rynold hasn't noticed it, but this was a relatively romantic place. It was arguably the first time Rynold and Neana had been in one together.

That said, even though Rynold hadn't noticed it, Neana did.

What Rynold found to be relaxing wasn't the same for Neana. She was aware that this was a hard chance to come by. With that in mind, Neana turned to look at Rynold's expression to see if he was feeling the same.

"Damn," Rynold casually let out a single word. And, as soon as Neana heard that, she immediately knew that Rynold wasn't thinking about the same thing. Instead, Rynold was actually quite bothered by something else entirely.

In truth, Rynold was worried about what would happen once they got to the city. He knew how bad things were the last time he was in Ark City. Who knows what state was it in now?

What's worse, there was no sign of Oliver or Jack ever since they got here. Who's to tell that something hasn't happened to them already? Rynold could only keep walking down this path to the city and see things for himself.

Having a plethora of thoughts in his head, Rynold paid no mind to Neana's gaze. The two continued walking next to each other, having contrasting thoughts about the current situation.

Luckily, both of them finally managed to align their thoughts, albeit in a somewhat abrupt and sudden manner.

Without giving any sign whatsoever, Rynold suddenly grabbed ahold of Neana's hand. The sudden act caused Neana to be surprised, much to her glee. But, despite Neana's positive interpretation of the situation, Rynold had other plans.

The thoughts in Neana's head disappeared as soon as she matched Rynold's gaze. His face carried a strange sense of omen as he stared at the path in front of him.

Then, Rynold suddenly moved. He grabbed Neana by the waist and lifted her up. Rynold carried her and ran forward at full speed as if worried of some threat coming to get them. Which, unfortunately, was happening right now.

Running at full speed, Rynold only stopped once he caught up to the child. The sudden appearance of Rynold at the kid's side made him jump. But, Rynold didn't mind that as there were other pressing matters. It was unforeseen, but Rynold knew something was wrong.

"What's the matter?" Neana asked as Rynold let her down.

"Get a golem up," Rynold answered as he pulled True Caliber from his inventory. "Something's trailing us. I didn't even notice it until just now."

Rynold wished he was joking. That what had triggered his internal alarm was some sort of random creature passing by. Unfortunately, it wasn't that simple. And, for it to bypass Axiom's scanners made it dangerous.

"Kid, stay back," Rynold said as he took a step forward. His feet were steady as he kept taking each step with great caution. "Come out! I know you're there!"

Shouting out in the open, Rynold hoped the creature would reveal itself. A visible opponent was much easier to deal with, after all. Rynold would then be able to know what to do next. This situation, on the other hand, was far from ideal.

Not knowing who the guy was, Rynold could only wait it out. He quickly glanced back to see Neana and the kid sitting on top of the summoned golem. Rynold breathed a sigh of relief as he realized the two were safe.

Being out in the open, though, Rynold was not.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, something struck Rynold. The attack managed to push Rynold back a foot. It was impressive, Rynold thought. Because even with Protecting Light up, Rynold felt the force of the attack come through.

'Close combat, huh? Let's do it, then,' Rynold thought to himself.

Any other person would've backed away from an invisible enemy. But, Rynold wasn't like any other person as he stood his ground. His eyes dotted around the environment to spot the next attack. And, even with the Accord Spheres in his control, Rynold couldn't rest easy.

Thud!

Another attack landed on Rynold's chest, pushing him back even further. Rynold couldn't tell where it was coming from, but he was starting to narrow it down. He cleared all past impressions of the attacks and focused on what he knew.

The attacks were coming from a single direction, both of which hit his chest.

The attacks also carried enough force to push him back a few inches, but no significant damage occurred.

Not only that, but the attacks also had no tangible presence. That meant whoever or whatever was doing this was nowhere near Rynold.

Thud!

Another attack hit Rynold as he thought things through. And, with this third attack, Rynold was now sure of what he had noticed. The same three conditions were present with each attack.

Letting out a deep breath, Rynold raised True Caliber to where he thought the attacks came from. His aim remained steady as his concentration piqued.

'Don't fail me now.'

As soon as he willed it, a dimmer blue bullet shot out from True Caliber. Its color was significantly darker than any other bullet that Rynold had made before. But, it still carried its blue color, indicating Rynold's Mana and intent.

Tick!

A flicking sound rang in Rynold's head. He immediately knew what it meant as Rynold smiled at his success. The bullet had done its job without fail.

"Stay here! I'll go check things out," Rynold told Neana and the kid as he left on his own without a moment to spare. However, instead of taking the stony path, Rynold took to the trees and jumped from branch to branch. He did so with a sense of eagerness in his actions.

Soon, Rynold reached his destination: the spot where his assailant stayed. How did Rynold know where to go, exactly? It was all thanks to the bullet he had fired before.

Rynold was careful, especially in dealing with something unknown. Sure, he had made mistakes here and there. But, because of his versatility and preparedness, Rynold got to live another day.

That said, Rynold wasn't going to shoot at the unknown. The margin for error would be too big for something like that. With that in mind, Rynold still had to know where his assailant was. It was to fight his opponent head-on and, hopefully, find out what their intentions were.

So, that was where the bullet came in.

Without going into too much detail, the bullet was essentially a homing beacon. In theory, making a bullet that not only acted as a homing projectile that also acted as a beacon wasn't easy.

But, with Rynold's understanding of the principled of Enchant magic, he was able to make this happen. It wasn't without difficulty, of course. The Mana cost for doing so was higher than the average. However, it was worth it as Rynold soon revealed who had suddenly attacked him.

"The hell is that?"

Stopping on a nearby tree branch, Rynold let out those words as his assailant entered his field of vision. And, much to his surprise, the attacker wasn't human. Human-like, sure, but it didn't look like an actual person.

Before Rynold could process this information, the humanoid suddenly moved erratically. It behaved in a way no normal human with working bones would. The way its body bent made Rynold physically sick.

Then, the humanoid creature stood upright. The sound of cracking bones emanated from its body as it straightened itself.

This encounter was far from what Rynold liked.