Return of the Runebound Professor

Noah returned to Arbitage and nearly sprinted back to his room. He’d promised Moxie one of the Greater Runes he got, but he’d never said it would be the first.

Sorry. I really hate waiting, Moxie. And hey, maybe I’ll get lucky and the Rune will survive me learning it. I didn’t destroy the Vibration Rune, after all. Perhaps I’m just good at this.

Once Noah got home, he slipped inside and sat down at his desk. Lee wasn’t home – she’d taken to roaming the campus more often, but there hadn’t been any problems thus far, so Noah didn’t see an issue.

Noah set the Catchpaper bearing the Greater Wind Rune out on the table and grinned, a trill of excitement running down his spine. It was the first rune he’d technically earned himself, though Moxie had technically given him the tool he’d used to gather it.

He made himself slow down and studied the rune for several minutes, memorizing the lines and curves of the flowing sigil. Noah inspected it, closing his eyes and imagining the rune in his mind before checking the paper to see if he’d gotten it correctly.

After a dozen attempts, Noah finally closed his eyes and slipped into his mental space. His seven runes materialized in the air as a dark cover washed over his surroundings. Noah approached his two Lesser Wind Runes.

“You’ve done me well. Thanks for getting this far,” Noah said. He lifted his hand, preparing to shatter one of them, but something gave him pause.

When he’d seen the vision Sunder had given him, the spear wielding man had literally cut runes apart and taken one directly. If he’d understood the books he’d read correctly, energy could be drawn out of a complete rune, but nobody could take energy from their own runes.

What would happen if I Sunder a rune instead of just breaking it normally? Would I be able to harvest any of the energy left over? I’ve already called its power, and I know I can handle it for a moment as long as I only use it once.

Noah considered his rune for several minutes, debating with himself. Finally, he nodded. He raised a hand above his head. Sunder lowered above him, the massive energy stored within the Rune making the hair on his body stand on end.

It brushed against the back of his fingers and energy poured into Noah, flooding into every nook and cranny in his body. He stiffened, the veins going black beneath his skin as a wave of force slammed down on him.

All of Noah’s runes lit, burning energy as he drew on them to keep a hold of Sunder. Gritting his teeth, Noah reached out toward the Lesser Wind Rune. Not daring to hold Sunder’s power any longer than he had to, he released it.

A black line traced down through the Lesser Wind Rune. A trilling chime rang out through Noah’s mind and a spike of pain pierced his chest. He staggered, grimacing but unwilling to let his eyes turn away from the Rune.

Cracks spiderwebbed through the Wind Rune. Instead of splitting perfectly in half like everything else he’d sundered, the rune shattered. Fragments floated in the air, spinning aimlessly as they dissipated.

Noah tried to will them toward him. A little under half of the particles fluttered toward Noah’s hand, sputtering and burning as it tried to remain lit. The rest faded into the yawning mouth of the endless darkness and vanished.

Lines materialized in the darkness as Noah recalled the Greater Wind Rune, moving as quickly as he dared to try and keep the energy he’d managed to save. Burning blue carved through the sky before him as Noah drew the rune out. Whether it was the ability to remember things that he’d gained after his death on Earth or simply some aspect of Runes themselves, Noah was able to recreate it on his first try.

A brilliant thrum ripped out from the rune, washing across his skin and filling his mind. The empty rune snapped into place, dull and empty but full of potential. The energy from the Lesser Rune rushed into the Greater, filling it a little under a quarter of it. Noah’s eyes snapped open and he drew in a sharp breath.

“Damn,” Noah breathed, straightening as the pain receded with his missing Rune. “Well, that answers one thing. I can’t split apart basic Runes, but I can kind of snatch some of the energy from the Lesser Rune as it fades away.”

The temporary drawback of losing the Lesser Rune wouldn’t impact him much, and now he had something that would hopefully fill a large amount of energy when he killed the Hellreaver Ape. There was also still a good bit of energy left to use in the rune, so he wasn’t worried about running out on his flying sword – which meant he could try to form the second Greater Rune as well.

To Noah’s delight, the rune was still on the Catchpaper when he checked it after his first attempt. He readied himself and returned to his mindspace, holding the Catchpaper tightly in his hands. He broke the second and last Lesser Wind Rune, gathering the fragments that it left behind and forming them into another Great Rune. It snapped into place and Noah stepped back, smiling to himself.

It does look like I can only keep energy when it’s from the same kind of Rune, but I suppose that makes sense. Maybe there’s some conversion process that happens between Runes of different energy types that makes it more efficient to keep things in the same style of energy.

If that was the case, then it would be better to train in areas where the monsters have similar runes to me. I’ll have to look into that.

Noah opened his eyes and looked down at the Catchpaper bearing the Greater Wind Rune. Or, more accurately, he looked down at the blackened wisps of smoke that were rising up from it. The paper was badly burnt and completely ruined.

Swearing, Noah gathered the smoke in a ball and directed it out his window using an Ash rune. He scrunched his nose and picked at the remains of the paper.

Well, that sucks. So much for being a genius. Though I did get the runes on the first try. That’s pretty nice. Once the Hellreaver Ape goes down, I’ll get Moxie that rune I promised her. Maybe I can learn to Imbue things and make Moxie a Rune instead of killing more Fluffants, actually. That could work.

Noah pulled the other Catchpapers out of his pocket. There were two that were still unfilled, and the remaining three all had Lesser Wind Runes on them. Noah set them all down on his desk.

He considered the papers for a few moments. On one hand, he didn’t want to lose all the energy he’d get from killing the Hellreaver Ape to a piece of paper. On the other, he wasn’t sure what would happen to the Master Rune if he killed the monster.

None of the books he’d read in the library had mentioned anything about anyone ever managing to get two Master Runes at once. That was simultaneously exciting and nerve wracking.

Would they combine? Clash? Just destroy each other completely? I have no damn idea. I don’t want to test that out and risk damaging Sunder somehow until I’m absolutely certain nothing would go poorly. It’s not worth losing the ability to come back to life for a jumped up Fire Rune.

Actually, for that matter, are all Master Runes made the same? Are all Greater Runes? Damn it. I have no idea, even after scouring a bunch of books. Why is everyone in this world so blasted stingy with their information about Runes?

Noah grabbed one of the papers and slipped it into his pocket. He could always just leave it out if he decided not to use it. He picked up his travel bag with its spare set of clothes, tucked his sword into his belt, and headed out.

Lee dropped down beside Noah as he stepped out of the T building. He didn’t even flinch, having gotten so used to her appearing out of nowhere over the past weeks.

“Hello, Lee. You’ve got good timing.”

“I do?”

“Yes. I was hoping to speak with you soon,” Noah said, continuing along the road. Lee fell in step beside him.

“Something changing?”

“Just temporarily. I’m going to be working on a personal project for a little while. I don’t know how long it’s going to take, though. Maybe a few days. Maybe a week or two. It’s going to have me pretty out sorts while I’m doing it. Can you keep everything moving with class? I’ll keep up the stretches.”

Lee tilted her head to the side. “We were just about to start getting to Imbuing. Why are you suddenly leaving?”

Damn. I do actually want to learn how to do that.

“I’ll try to speed things up,” Noah promised. “But this is something I’ve been working for on a long time. I don’t want to wait any longer.”

“Why?”

Noah pressed his lips together. He didn’t have a good answer beyond I don’t like waiting. How was he supposed to describe the excruciating feeling of absolute nothingness and boredom that came with waiting in line for thousands of years, unable to even lift his own finger in protest.

Chewing his lip, Noah just shook his head. “I’ll catch up with you and the kids. Don’t slow the class down for me. Maybe just fill me in after hours. I’ll still be on campus and in my room, just less frequently than before for a little while. If anything goes wrong, find me.”

Lee shrugged. “If you’re sure. I’m sure Moxie will help as well. I think I’ve got an inkling of what you’re trying to do.”

“And?”

“Good luck. I won’t miss it. I don’t think you can do it, though.”

Noah grunted. They walked in silence for a few minutes. Lee gave Noah a small nod when they reached the transport cannon building. She broke away, heading back toward Noah’s room while he continued onward.

He ascended the steps and took the lift up to Tim, who was sitting with his back turned, staring out a dirty window at the campus below.

The old man turned as the lift rattled to a stop and let Noah off. A smile crossed his wrinkled features. “Ah, Vermil! I haven’t seen your students in a while, lad. Have they graduated?”

“Nothing like that,” Noah said with a laugh. “They’re just doing some physical training right now. It’s good to keep your body in shape, you know?”

Tim nodded sagely. “Ah, yes. I used to be quite the fan of that sort of thing in my younger days. You wouldn’t know by looking at me now, would you? I’m all skin and bones.”

He let out a snorting laugh, flexing a thin arm to demonstrate.

“I’m sure it’s still there, you’ve just got to get back into it.”

“Maybe. Maybe,” Tim said, shaking his head and patting the table. “Not sure if my old bones could handle it anymore. Well, let’s get you on your way, lad. Windscorned Plateau?”

“Actually, I’m headed back to the Scorched Acres this time.”

“Why does it seem like you swap it every time I ask?” Tim asked with a chortle. The tower rumbled as it rotated and the turret lined itself up with its new destination. “How long?”

“Let’s do two hours. This one won’t be long.”

Tim raised an eyebrow but nodded. “It’s set up for you. Good luck out there.”

“Thanks, Tim. I’ll see you soon.”

Noah stepped over to the turret and climbed into it. It hummed and then he was gone, a blue streak screaming across the sky.

Moments later, Noah slammed down in the Scorched Acres. His knees bent with the landing, and he straightened back up while rolling his neck.

His soul was almost completely healed, and he’d avoided dying in the recent days. His runes were upgraded and ready to be filled. He could use Sunder, if just for a moment. Everything was ready.

It was time to kill the Hellreaver Ape.