Return of the Legendary Runesmith

"So? What's the plan?" Ariana asked as she sat in her office with Annabelle across from her.

The room was locked, and a voice-silencing artifact in the door would prevent anyone from eavesdropping.

"So yes, I have thought of baking a seven-foot-tall cake and placing it in the middle of the campus."

Ariana frowned, "Are you nuts? Why do you go to such extreme lengths?"

Annabelle groaned, "Need to do something, or how Darling would remember this day?"

Tomorrow was Adrian's birthday and as such, they were planning what to do.

Ariana sighed, "We can't let other students know that it's his birthday. It would cause unnecessary ruckus." She hasn't forgotten the Lover's Oath from a few years back.

It became so extreme that in the end, Adrian had to lock himself up.

She couldn't have that event repeat, more so when the final terms were just ten days away.

Annabelle hummed, "Then what should we do?"

Ariana leaned back in her seat and asked, "Have you prepared a gift?"

Annabelle tilted her head, "If I had, why would I have been here?" She clicked her tongue, "Ruby is quite sly to secretly prepare the gift for him."

Ruby already handed Adrian his gift the day of their engagement.

She had to join her parents since they were gathered at their relative's place for a funeral ceremony. As such, she couldn't come tomorrow.

Ariana hummed, "And that gift is so damn useful. Adrian barely smiles that much upon being gifted." The silver head was feeling envious of Ruby's brains.

She gave him several tools which could help him in studying like an endless note artifact in which he could write notes whenever and wherever.

Annabelle muttered, "Should we give him something like that? We can buy artifacts from the Tower, no?"

Annabelle has the funds, and she knew, using her authority, she would be able to purchase high-ranking artifacts.

However, "It would look like we are trying to copy Ruby. And not like any of those artifacts can't be made by Adrian. Then why waste money?"

Annabelle slumped in her seat, "You are right...this is difficult."

A momentary silence before Ariana said, "Why don't we go and search in the market? Browsing things might help us get a better idea."

Annabelle perked, "Yeah, that might work." She hurriedly got up, "I will go tell Darling."

Ariana face-palmed, "This idiot."

....

Adrian stood before the first years, the weight of expectation pressing down on them like a storm.

Though two months still remained before final terms, the air was already thick with tension. For the first time, they would face the three mandatory exams—exams whose importance every student in the academy knew too well.

From the podium, Adrian's voice carried clearly, calm yet commanding.

"Everything I've taught you so far—today you will test me. You may ask me three questions. Then, I will return with three of my own on the same subject. If you answer me correctly, I will share with you one question that has a high probability of appearing in the examinations."

A ripple of excitement ran through the class. Students straightened, eyes sharpening, but restraint showed on their faces. They knew that if they dared to test him with something too difficult, the professor's questions would only be harsher.

The first hand shot up. A boy with short brown hair—Mike. He played it safe.

"Sir, what are the two anomalous elements?"

Adrian's lips curved into a faint smile.

"Light and Darkness," he replied smoothly—so elementary that even those who had never attended a single day of the academy would know it.

But Adrian saw the game at once. He clasped his hands behind his back, eyes narrowing with faint amusement.

"Since you've chosen elements, let me return the favor. Tell me—what element played the greatest role in ending the Great War?"

A low murmur broke out, students whispering hurried theories before the class representative raised her hand.

"Wasn't it the Light attribute, sir?"

Adrian shook his head.

"No. It was Wind. Darkness was trapped inside a vacuum funnel for a very… very long time, rendered useless until the Sword of Infinity was forged."

Several students clicked their tongues, the sound sharp in the tense silence. Clearly, some had considered that answer but lacked the courage to speak.

Adrian's smile returned.

"You had the freedom to choose any subject, yet you went for the most basic one. Remember this—elements are such a vast domain that I could draft an entire examination from them alone."

His gaze flicked back to the boy.

"Good work, Mike."

The praise landed like a curse. Dozens of eyes turned toward Mike, burning with death glares. He had wasted their chance at a precious exam clue.

Adrian chuckled before saying, "Alright, I'll give you another chance. This time, ask me something that can impress me. Show me through your question that you've truly been with me this past year. Choose wisely."

This time, no one dared to stand up on their own.

The students left their seats and gathered together in one spot.

Quiet murmurs filled the room as they debated what kind of question could possibly impress their professor.

"Is it even possible?" one student whispered, doubting whether they could ever challenge this genius Runesmith.

"We won't know unless we try," another answered firmly.

After a long back-and-forth, the class representative finally stood.

The rest of the students turned with her, facing the professor.

And then came the question:

"The Legendary Runesmith who created the Sword of Infinity—why did he choose runes? How did such an idea come to him when so many powerful spells already existed at that time? Why not sorcery but runes?"

Adrian narrowed his eyes, lips curling slightly. "Oooh."

The class representative grinned, and so did the other students.

They had done it.

"That," Adrian said, "is a very good question. One you won't find in any book. And the so-called evidence that claims to answer it… is all fake."

The students seemed confused as one of them asked, "So...what is the true answer, sir?"

Why is it that when every form of sorcery fails, something like runes which were used to empower weak humans come into use?

Why did something which was regarded so inferior to sorcery helped to exterminate the biggest threat humanity has ever come across?

Naturally, everyone was eager to know about it.

However, "The matter of fact is…I also don't know."

"Huh?"

"Eh?"

"For real?"

"Aren't we quite awesome?"

Adrian chuckled, "I have no concrete reason to prove why Avirin used runes to destroy Darkness. But once I get the answer, I will let you know."

The students still couldn't digest the fact that they asked the Professor something he couldn't answer.

Just then, Adrian picked the books, ready to leave; only for a student to call out.

"Sir! The question!"

Everyone's attention was pulled back to that question which would come in the final exams.

Adrian hummed before picking the chalk and writing it on the board

And when they read the question, the students couldn't help but smile wryly.

[Which element among the four parent elements played the most major role during the Great War.]

It turned out, he already told them the question.

°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading.