Chapter 4 - Supplies

The atmosphere was quiet but Rynold knew what was happening and he opened his mouth.

"He'll be fine. He probably just ran out of stamina."

It was obvious based on the evidence that was out there. Oliver threw himself at the front every battle and his rest was cut short due to Elle suddenly showing up. Speaking of….

Rynold glanced towards Elle who followed into Skye's dorm shortly after they did. As soon as he glanced, he could tell what was going on in Elle's head. Apathy.

Tsk. Rynold couldn't help but feel pissed at her for no real or rational reason. Instead of showing it, he got up and looked out the window.

Ghouls were still roaming around the courtyard although there appeared to be a lot less from what Rynold saw earlier.

Rynold thought of what he could do to maximize time only to realize he needed a lot more supplies like clean food and water to make it out of the area and head to the next location.

He suddenly stood up and told Skye his plan. He took time to look at his gear and current stats and mana only to realize that his mana still hasn't filled up all the way yet. He took a look around only to gaze upon the Dull Shortsword that Oliver was using this whole time.

Rynold grabbed the shortsword only to realize that it was almost broken. He knew that this was the only thing that was worth using when getting supplies as the Wooden Staff he currently had didn't deal enough damage to grind the monsters easily.

With that, Rynold was ready as he stepped out of Skye's room, leaving Oliver and venturing solo back into the fields. Or so he thought…

The moment Rynold stepped out onto the hallway, he was instantly blocked by Elle as the door closed behind him.

'What does she want?'

Rynold rolled his eyes.

"Tsk. You don't plan on leaving me there are you? With those lovebirds?? Have you no shame?!"

Rynold just stared at her in surprise. Instead of asking for help or taking her with them when they're leaving the campus, she said this? How daft can she be?

Elle stared intensely back at Rynold not knowing what he was going to say. There wasn't a situation like this ever in her history of going around and dating guys left and right. There really wasn't a situation where the world was going to end. No, this was definitely a first.

After a while, it seemed that none of them would give an inch and back off from their staring contest. Out of nowhere, though, Rynold scoffed and decided to move past Elle.

'No time to waste.' Rynold thought as he headed straight toward the stairs.

Rynold's current destination was the cafeteria. Sure there were some spots he could hit up for quick food like the pantry of the girls' dorm but he had to make this trip worth it.

The cafeteria was across from the girls' dorm in between the main building and the boys' dorm. This meant that he had to cross the courtyard again.

Granted, there were a lot fewer ghouls around than earlier when they crossed the courtyard but Rynold still had to be ready. He didn't summon X to lead the way, instead of relying on himself and the Dull Shortsword to clear the ghouls.

He considered this to be training. He knew there was still enough time for him to get supplies before Oliver woke up and decidedly used this time to train.

This was the New World! There were always risks when doing things unprepared and rashly. Rynold's keen insight on what's been happening so far thought that his current self wasn't enough to get ahead. This was the reason why he wanted to train, why he needed to train.

Rynold reached the first-floor reception area and mentally prepared himself while standing by the door. Elle, who has been following ever since they left Skye's room, thought otherwise.

She immediately opened the door loudly and forcefully out of sheer impatience from Rynold's tempo. This was like announcing to the ghouls that there are still people here.

It was at this moment that Rynold realized that Elle was going to get the both of them killed.

Three ghouls immediately noticed the loud sound and stumbled their way onto the girls' entrance.

Rynold readied the Dull Shortsword to readily block and defend himself from the ghouls' advance.

The first ghoul to arrive was easily dealt with due to the combined tactics of hitting and running. It was a simple kiting tactic that you see in typical video games.

When the opponent strikes, dodge and then counterattack. This type of combat tactic worked and slowly but surely dealt with the first ghoul. Thankfully, the ghouls' attack speed wasn't fast. In fact, it was so slow that Rynold could hit the ghoul twice before preparing to dodge again.

After dealing with the first ghoul, Rynold managed to level up. He didn't realize that the XP needed to level up was so little and the 10 extra attribute points would definitely become useful.

However, what Rynold definitely noticed was the drop rate for any loot was so abysmal that there wasn't much to expect from the insane clearing of ghouls they've done so far.

Basking in the glory of leveling up, Rynold didn't notice that the two remaining ghouls approached almost at the same time. Forcing Rynold to go into defensive right away and dodge one of the attacks but failed to dodge the other.

Rynold was hit in the side and managed to lose 8 HP. 'Crap. That hurt.' It was the first time Rynold was ever hit that hard, causing him to lose focus on the situation.

Even though the 8 HP was small compared to his overall max HP of 50, it still didn't mask the pain from the hit. But Rynold wasn't hit hard enough to be stopped in his tracks. He immediately raised the Dull Shortsword above his head to block the next hit from the ghouls.

After a few rounds of dodging and counter-attacking, Rynold finally managed to clear the last two remaining ghouls. There still wasn't any loot this time but the level up from this battle was definitely worth it. However, Rynold's movements suddenly felt sluggish. It was as if he was walking through the hot desert.

This was the result of his current stamina. It wasn't enough of an effect to put him out of commission for the training but definitely enough to slow his progress.

One way or another Rynold knew he had to get supplies no matter what. They wouldn't last long in the New World if they lack the basic necessities. But first, he had to deal with something…

"Would you be more careful next time??"

The question was directed towards Elle. It couldn't even be considered as a question at this point. It was a blatant exclamation of how unbelievable she was being and what was worse was her reply…

"That's what you get for ignoring me."

Elle looked like she was pissed beyond belief and decidedly showed it in the pettiest way possible.

"Tsk. Whatever just stay out of my way."

It was at this moment that Rynold knew there was nothing else he could do towards this stubborn princess. He started cursing and questioned why he was stuck with Elle in the first place. Of course, Rynold didn't show it.

Rynold stepped out of the building entrance and into the courtyard, stealthily making his way towards the cafeteria. Halfway through the distance of getting to the cafeteria, however, he was suddenly noticed by a pack of ghouls hanging around near the cafeteria's entrance.

Ghouls in the New World didn't act based on sight. Instead, these creatures based nearly everything on their instincts and used their keen sense of smell to attack possible prey.

Rynold didn't hesitate at this point and instantly summoned X to attack the party of ghouls coming his way.

X drew his longsword and readied to receive the incoming attacks, defending its master while dealing blows to the enemies. Thanks to X's help, Rynold managed to clear the ghouls without expending so much stamina. It took less than a minute to deal with the party of five ghouls to be dealt with thanks to X's help and Rynold's combat experience of dealing with the ghouls so far.

This time, thankfully, loot dropped although it appeared to be far less appealing to what Rynold's experienced so far. Instead of a book or a visible weapon, it looked like a gear that was the size of a coin. It was an inch thick and the weight is double what a person would've expected from something so small.

Then a window appeared.

[Thanks to the Mech Knight's combat influence, mech-attributed items have a chance of dropping.]

[Small Bronze Gear]

Enhancement Item

A dedicated item to enhance mech-attributed entities to a certain degree.

*Item Usage Requirement: Mech-attribute entity

'Woah…'

Rynold was currently thrilled out of his mind. He had to upgrade X but he didn't know how. The system didn't give out any clues to it whatsoever and, out of nowhere, this stuff happens. One thing was for sure though, the drop rates of ghouls are just absolutely horrible.

Without a moment wasted, Rynold immediately chose to use the gear on X.

A magic array appeared on the ground where X was standing as soon as Rynold used the system to accept the upgrade on X. The magic array then spit out a subtle glowing light.