The Runic Artist

Nate sat at the table, trying to process what he was hearing.

“What do you mean they got away?” he asked.

“They had an exit strategy planned. For all we know we missed them by seconds,” replied Luc, waving something that could’ve been a chicken drumstick in his direction. “I think they might’ve even been beyond the gates before Frick told us what you’d seen.”

“I thought you had a detection skill though?” He said, pressuring his mentor.

“I do. A good one too, for battlefields. Not so good in a city that is absolutely fucking filled with metal. How can I tell the difference between someone carrying a knife, wearing some jewellery or even a belt buckle? Metal’s metal, kid,” said Luc, pausing for a moment. “Besides, it’s meant for keeping track of my metal mostly.”

“Damn,” he muttered in response. He’d thought that Luc’s awareness skill that he used to keep track of all his flying metal balls, or he supposed needles when the man was actually trying to kill people, would be better. Apparently, even if it had a wider range, its fidelity couldn’t even be called a pale shadow of his own awareness skill.

He turned to Aisling when he saw she was looking at him and surprisingly she responded with a smile. Usually she was approachable, but resolute. Except for with her husband.

“You did well, Nate. Very well. I am sure the Guild will reward you for what you did today. You kept two Unseen out of the Guild,” Aisling said firmly, the smile still on her face. “Better than that, if their goal had been to attend the Royal University through our funding, they likely could have risen far into the ranks of the Guild. Very far. Future Platinums at a minimum, if they really did have Epic Classes. Who knows how much damage they could have done in the long-term? Not just to our credibility, but to our internal functions. They might have even managed to become Prefects, or assassinate Platinums in Guild Dungeon runs. That future may have been years away, but it was a possibility. A possibility you averted. I’m proud of you.”

He nodded in response, trying his best to return her smile. Her praise did make him feel better. He didn’t care much about the reward. It would probably be another orb or two. Better than nothing, but nothing truly world-changing for him. He didn’t bother to ponder on the fate of Helena and her sister again, the evening being spent in celebration. The effervescent cheer slowly seeping into him until he didn’t need to fake it and was genuinely enjoying himself. Luc started regaling them with his own stories from his time as a Silver Badge in the Guild which eventually got Aisling to join in. Evindal ended up admitting that he joined as a Gold Badge, having already been quite experienced. A minor noble among the elves it turned out, which explained why everyone called him ‘Lord’ while they called Luc ‘Master’.

He’d thought to keep his drinking to a minimum but rather than Luc being the one to encourage him to indulge, it ending up being Evindal, assuring everyone they would not have to worry about hangovers, even as they drank mana-infused wine. The fruity flavour was amazing and the mana-infusion apparently more than able to overcome their heightened Endurance Stats.

After dinner finally came to an end he found himself sitting beside Kiri on the roof of their inn. Evindal had used one of his healing Skills to detox them. The minor inebriation was gone but the joy was still flowing as they stared up at the sky together.

“What do you think it will be like?” she asked.

“The University?” he replied, getting a small nod in response. “I’m actually not sure. If this was…you know…then it would be something like a bunch of us sitting in an auditorium listening to some Professor explain things, then giving us assignments to do in our own time. Maybe a few group projects, which literally everyone hates. But this isn’t there. Fighting is so necessary here that I have to think it might be more like a military academy crossed with a school for magic.”

Kiri was silent for a moment before smiling, “They probably have some Enchanters who could help you.”

He shook his head in response, “Their methods have some overlap with mine, but are still kinda different.” He paused for a moment thinking about how he could explain it. “They don’t care as much about the shape. Everything they do is guided only by intent. It’s more efficient, but more limiting. Both in terms of complexity of the effects they can create and in terms of the materials they need.”

“That sucks for you then. Is it worth it for us to go? We could just go find Dungeons. We might be a little slower now, but we could still manage it,” Kiri suggested, though her tone told him she was unsure.

“I still think the Royal University is what we both need to keep growing,” he argued, far more confidently than he felt. “They definitely have sigils I have never seen and every one I learn is an exponential increase in the number of things I can do and create. For you, they probably know more about what you do…and use. At worst they can give you ideas for how to further develop. Unless you’re happy remaining at our current tier?”

He knew she wouldn’t be, even if neither of them knew what lay beyond Mythic. There had to be a tier above it. He wanted to find out what it was, and he suspected so did Kiri.

“Alright, we’ll go to the University and learn everything we can,” Kiri said firmly.

“Talking about it now, everything seems to rely on mana here. Even the economy is based around it. Kind of worried about how much of a factor it will be at the University. What if the best classes or learning materials like the library are only made available to those with the wealth to afford them?” he asked. It was something he hadn’t really considered till now. Universities back on Earth, at least in Australia, had basically been an upfront payment and then you got access to everything. There was no guarantee that it was the same here in Etrua. What if he couldn’t get access to the parts of the library that interested him because he couldn’t afford it?

“You worry too much,” Kiri said, breaking him out of his train-of-thought. “If it costs to get access to what we want, we will just have to figure out a way to get the mana or coin to pay for it. The Guild owes you plenty already. Between the Dungeon you found on the plains, whatever we make from this Tournament, and your rewards from unmasking the Unseen today, you’ll definitely have enough.”

“We’ll definitely have enough,” he replied, continuing before she could respond. “We’re a team. We do this together.”

Kiri closed her mouth and after a moment smiled, “Fine. I’ll just have to figure out how best to do my part.”

They lapsed into silence, staring up at the night sky above the Capital. The Royal University loomed off in the distance. Soon they’d be walking its grounds, but in his heart, he was glad he wouldn’t be doing so alone.

*************

Kiri stood on the stage alongside Nate and the other six competitors who had won their way into the top eight. Staring out at the crowd she felt a small flutter of nervousness that she ruthlessly squashed. Prefect Raoult was giving a speech before the final matches started, extolling the virtues of the Adventurer’s Guild.

“...when there are problems to be solved, both here, in wider Etrua and even the countries beyond, the people turn to the Adventurer’s Guild. We do not work for free, as no one should, but when our services are sought, we guarantee results. That has been our motto, our guiding light, since before I was a twinkle in my mother’s eye and it will remain so long after I am gone. Reliable. Steadfast. Honest. These are the words that we live by. Before you stand the best of the best among our Silver Badge cohort. Not a single one over level forty. The apex and our hope for the future. Before you stand future Platinums and maybe even a Gem or two. Let me remind you who they are!”

“Nathaniel Weber of Helmfirth!” boomed Prefect Raoult. The crowd surged to their feet, cheering for her best friend. Their reaction made her smile.

“Kiri Beaufoy of Helmfirth!” Another wild cheer.

“Ameera Fakhoury of Gashana!” The cheer was a little less wild. Unsurprisingly the native Etruans weren’t as big of a fan of competitors who hailed from the lands of a neighbouring country, even if they now lived in Etrua. Nate had told her the girl was some sort of unarmed fighter. A martial artist he’d called her, which was odd to her ears, since martial just meant combat so technically she was also a martial artist.

“Karima Nazari of Gashana!” That was the earth mage and he got a surprisingly loud cheer. She figured he must have done some impressive things in his preliminaries.

“Brittany Lavaud of Etrua!” A louder cheer this time. Kiri guessed it was a bit of local pride. Actions would speak louder than words for this crowd anyway.

“Myles Lebas of Etrua!” Kiri glanced at him. The guy seemed to think he was somehow in contention for Coralie’s affections. She had her doubts about that and the thought made her smirk.

“Coralie Allais of Etrua!” The crowd got noticeably louder again and Kiri saw Coralie wave towards the crowd which caused the cheering to surge.

“Null Raoult of Etrua!” The screams reached a peak as the crowd cheered for the fan favourite.

She wasn’t sure why, but the cheers for Null made her think of Nate’s words the night before. They needed a way to acquire mana or coin. Nate had his crafting, which while it might require some finesse to prevent him from being discovered, was the obvious solution for him. But she’d been wondering how she could contribute. Seeing how the fans went wild for Null made her wonder if she could earn her keep through gambling. Gambling, and maybe fighting. Surely the Capital had some underground fighting pits. It was food for thought but she needed a little longer to chew on it. Turning her attention back to the here and now, she saw that Prefect Raoult was trying to get the crowd to quiet down.

“Nice to know we’ve got our local favourites competing isn’t it? A full half of our top eight train and work out of this very Guildhouse,” yelled the Prefect. “But now that we have our top-eight we need to answer that burning question. Who is number one?! Well, before today is done we will know. Lord Evindal has kindly agreed to make sure that every competitor is fully restored and fighting-fit after every match.”

The man let the cheers drag on for a moment before he quietened them down again, “No better time than the present, so let's find out who is up first!”

Prefect Allais joined him then, holding a silken bag. Kiri wasn’t sure what was going on until she drew out a small piece of wood with a name on it from the bag.

“Myles Lebas will be fighting…” called Prefect Raoult as he paused waiting for a moment as the second piece of wood was drawn forth, “Kiri Beaufoy!”

The crowd cheered even as Kiri made her way off the stage onto the gritty sand of the arena. Any misgivings she had evaporated the moment she entered the arena. This was now her battleground and the only thing on her mind was how she was going to defeat her opponent. He was like her, a dagger user. She remembered his other class was Edgedancer and that he was on his way to embodying the concept of ‘swift’. That meant he could potentially match her speed. None of that mattered though. Whether it was death by two cuts or death by a thousand, she wouldn’t lose to him. With a grimace she accepted that if she was losing, she would even use the Skill she’d been hiding from everyone. Her trump card so she wouldn’t get demolished by Nate. But she’d rather show her hand and lose to her best-friend than be defeated by this angry young man.

Myles spun to face her as they reached the middle of the grounds, his short brown hair reflecting the sun as he stared at her intently with his green eyes.

“You impressed us. Both Coralie and me. But this as far as you go, so I really hope you’ve got a rare item tucked away somewhere to pay her with,” he quipped, his smile smug as his face transformed from plain to punchable.

“Careful,” Kiri replied, drawing one of her daggers and twirling it casually. “If you keep up with that attitude I might make you pay for mine and Coralie’s first date.”

She was rewarded with a flush of red to her opponent's cheeks as his eyes narrowed in anger.

“Remember you said that when you’re face down in the dirt,” Myles hissed, drawing his two daggers.

She just snorted in response, activating Tethered Soulblade Dancing. Four arms made of soul energy and a small amount of mana bloomed behind her like the unfolding legs of a spider. Each one reached down and drew a dagger from her leather armour as she unsheathed her final dagger. Six daggers versus two. She didn’t see how he could think he had a chance, but who knew what tricks he had up his sleeves.

The Gold Badge referee checked that they were both ready before shouting ‘begin’. Everything faded. The sound of the crowd, the stands, the clouds above. All that remained was her and her opponent. Flooding her body with soul energy using Soul Imbuement, she immediately boosted herself as she sent sand exploding behind her. The first clash of daggers told her everything she needed to know. He could match her speed. The second clash told her she might be in trouble, as she felt her flesh sliced open by an afterimage that remained from Flash’s first attack. Looking at the space between them she could see a ripple in the air, razor thin and almost invisible to the eye.

Using Soul Shift she disengaged, appearing halfway across the field as she took in the extent of the injury. It hadn’t sliced into her bone and her Soul Imbuement was already knitting the flesh back together, but it was an additional drain on her soul energy. Myles was sauntering across the sand towards her. Even now she could see he had perfect footwork. Poised and ready to launch in any direction if she went for a surprise attack.

“Not so confident now, eh? You’re not the first. Takes skill to be an Edgedancer. You may be an Epic Classer, like Coralie, but that doesn’t mean you’re good enough to walk beside her. I am though!” Myles said viciously.

Kiri ground her teeth for a moment before relaxing, “Let’s find out how true that is.”

Without a thought she launched herself back at Myles. No matter how many times she had to do it, she would prove that she was good enough. No matter how much blood she had to spill, her own, or others. She’d fight until she defeated whatever stood in her way, or die trying!