Published: December 26th 2024, 4:12:24 pm
Firana pushed forward and executed a surprising diagonal slash. Our blades clashed. Firana aimed a wind-blow at my leg, but I foresaw her movement before she even used the skill and countered with one of my own. The wind bursts collided midway, canceling each other out.
With the corner of my eye, I saw Zaon performing a surrounding maneuver. I stomped on the ground, and a sandstone spike emerged between Firana’s feet. The girl jumped back, drawing a wide arch into the air. I stomped again, my mana flowing into the ground. High-speed debris rained down on Zaon, but he blocked it with his [Steadfast Shield].
Zaon shot forward, and I ducked at the last moment. A wind current held my back and pushed me back to my feet just as Firana lunged at me. I parried her blow, but she locked hands with Zaon just as I countered, and the boy pulled her out of my range.
Firana and Zaon panted, covered in sweat.
“Enough,” I said, raising my hand. “That was good.”
The kids hadn’t just leveled up, but their ‘combat intelligence’ had also improved. Zaon was making great use of his [Awareness], always ready to bail Firana out of a disadvantageous position or go on the offensive at the slightest opening. He had lost the fear of making mistakes, and his movements were more confident and deliberate.
Wolf, Ilya, Kara, and Captain Kiln sat by a felled tree. Their clothes were covered in dust and sweat. We had been sparring and limit-testing my new Class for the past three hours, but I still felt fresh. That couldn’t be said the same about the rest. Kara was the only one who stayed lively despite being literally pulled through the dirt several times.
“I can still go on,” Firana said.
“You are running out of mana,” I replied, sheathing my sword.
Firana exchanged a mischievous grin with Zaon, and they used the Wind-Shot Boots to lunge forward. I grinned. I didn't need [Foresight] to see her intent. Crossing my arms, I raised an ice wall between us. Zaon and Firana parted ways, trying to surround me, but I was prepared. Pillars of stone emerged from the ground, forcing Firana’s [Acrobatics] to the limit. The girl writhed like a ferret, seemingly defying gravity.
Zaon attacked head-on. I channeled a fireball, but he blocked it with his [Steadfast Shield]. The explosion blinded me momentarily. Zaon appeared through the smoke, sword thrusting forward. The tip almost touched my black Ghoul armor.
A jet of cold water shot from the ground, hitting Zaon’s wrist and sending his sword flying. I thought it was over for a moment, but Firana executed a flawless somersault and unleashed her sword with a forceful blast of wind.
I narrowly avoided the edge, not expecting Zaon to catch the pommel mid-flight. He aimed at my chest, but just before the sword could touch me, I surrounded my hand in ice and grabbed the blade. Zaon yanked to reclaim the sword, but his hands slipped through the handle, and he fell on his backside.
The ice around my hand melted, and I pointed the sword to Zaon’s chest.
“Do you surrender?”
Zaon raised his hands.
“Firana?”
“I guess,” the girl replied, lying on the floor like a starfish.
“Good. Knowing when to retreat is an art in itself,” I said, stretching my back and burying the stone pillars back into the ground. A minute later, there was no sign of excessive spellcasting on the clearing.
I smiled, satisfied with the sparring session. The kids had improved a lot since we left Farcrest. Each of them was a serious contender, but they turned into a menace with Zaon by their side. Surprisingly enough, Zaon and Wolf had been the ones who almost brought me down. Despite not being a combatant Class, Wolf could imbue his fists with [Stupor]. He had grazed my shoulder, and my whole arm had become numb for a moment.
I channeled my Character Sheet.
Name: Robert Clarke, Human.
Class: Runeweaver Sage Lv.42
Titles: Out of your League, Hot for Teacher, Consultant Detective, Researcher of the Hidden, Headmaster, Classroom Overlord, Golden Sage, Iron Runeweaver, +15 others.
Passive: Lv.5 Swordsmanship, Mana Mastery, Foresight, Master of Languages.
Skills: Identify, Magical Ink, Silence Dome, Invigoration, Stun Gaze, Intimidate, Mirage, Runeweaver Encyclopedia, Rune Debugger, Rune Identification, Minor Aerokinesis, Minor Pyrokinesis, Minor Geokinesis, Minor Hydrokinesis.
Sage was one of the two Prestige Classes of the Scribe evolution line, the other being Tactician. The Book of Classes didn’t go into detail on any of them, as Prestige Classes seemed to be shrouded in a cloak of secrecy. Sage, however, was marked as a non-specialized spellcasting support Class. I could use elemental magic to attack, but the power of my skills was capped.
“Let’s call it a day,” I said. “Good job everyone.”
The kids jumped to their feet and walked to the creek. With the Lich gone, spring had entered the valley. The days were warmer, and the forest began to be reborn. Monster presence was low, so the Teal Moon tribe planned their return to their usual territories.
“Kara! Don’t learn anything Firana tries to teach you!” I shouted as they got lost in the thicket. The half-orc girl was too naive and eager to learn for her own good.
A moment later, I was alone with Captain Kiln. After I had told her the truth about the System, Captain Kiln had been shocked for a whole day.
The System was created by a group of men and women from another world—the same world I came from. Then, the System Avatar, who is a copy of the personality of the lead developer of the System, turned me into a Runeweaver and asked me to fight against the ever-growing Corruption so the System doesn’t implode.
The revelation had been quite the blow to her beliefs. I couldn’t blame her. The truth about the System went against everything the inhabitants of Ebros presumed, yet I had ‘proof’. Scholars simply didn’t turn into Runeweavers without the influence of the System.
This was the first time we were alone since I told her.
Despite hiding it very well, [Foresight] told me she was restless.
“Good fight—”
“The System isn’t going to implode, right?” Captain Kiln asked with the same fear of a middle schooler asking if the sun would explode.
I hold my laugh.
The kids had handled it better.
“The System isn’t going to disappear any time soon,” I replied, but maybe it would be for the better for everyone if it did. I didn’t say that part out loud. “We destroyed the Corruption vector, so we have time to fix it.”
Captain Kiln grabbed the waterskin from my hands.
“So… what now?”
That was a great question. The System Avatar had told me I would need decades to learn everything there was to know about Runeweaving. With the Lich gone and considering the lack of communication from the Avatar’s side, I guessed the timeframe remained the same.
“We need to return to Farcrest first,” I said.
Cultivating my Class in the Farlands seemed nearly impossible. I needed to examine several enchanted items to fill my Rune Encyclopedia and eventually get access to superior runes.
“Janus will be thrilled to see us back,” Captain Kiln clenched her hand around her sword.
We exchanged a glance, and even though we had not voiced it, we knew what the other was thinking. Janus had to die. However, it was easier said than done. Janus wasn’t just a powerful Prestige Class, but the secret right hand of the Marquis with strong ties with the Osgirians. It was still difficult to fathom that Janus had been pulling the strings from the shadows all this time.
“We can always appeal to the Prince. What Janus and Tauron are doing is nothing short of treason,” Captain Kiln said.
I understood that she wanted to go all out, leaving nothing but scorched earth. After all, she had given her life for the city just to be betrayed by those she swore to protect. However, if we did that, we would label the entire city as traitors.
“Isn’t there a way to not involve the Prince?”
Captain Kiln looked beyond the horizon, deep in thought. Suddenly, her face lit up.
“Even if there’s a new Captain of the Guard, I am still a Farcrest thane. I can challenge him to a duel,” Captain Kiln said, her words oozing malice.
“I saw your Character Sheet, Izabeka. You have a rather nasty debuff,” I pointed out, trying to sound diplomatic.
Captain Kiln’s eyes fell on her missing arm.
“A warrior retires when the fight is over.”
I understood the sentiment.
“And our fight is to fix the System,” I said. “There will be a lot of work to do at the orphanage, and I don’t think I will be able to cultivate my Runeweaving skills while working full-time as a teacher.”
Captain Kiln’s glance got lost among the trees.
“I’m not a caretaker, Rob. I’m a warrior, and fighting is what I do.”
Career changes were a rarity in Ebros.
“I’m not asking you to become a caretaker,” I grinned. “I’m asking you to become the Marquis’ political counterweight.”
Captain Kiln blinked repeatedly before opening her mouth.
“Rob, no.”
“I’m not asking you to overthrow the Marquis. Think about it. We know his dirty secrets, so as long as we have a modicum of credibility in the court, he will not act against us,” I said. “We will be left alone, the royalist faction will not know he’s a traitor, and the city will become an important trade hub and prosper.”
Captain Kiln thought about it for a moment.
“It might work. Tauron will dispose of Janus as soon as he sees him as a risk for his plans, and we will prevent the city from falling into chaos,” she muttered. “But we have to be sure we can eliminate Janus. He is at least Lv.47, but he might be faking his actual level just like he did with his class.”
I nodded. Janus not only had at least five levels on me, but he was also a pure combat class.
With the Monster Surge over, leveling up beyond LV.42 was impossible, so we had two options. Stay with the orcs and travel deep into the Farlands, or force the conflict while the Prince remained in the city. Both options had their advantages and drawbacks.
Staying with the orcs was safer, but unless we found a monster with ‘question mark levels’, leveling beyond the soft cap of Lv.40 would be a grueling task. Leveling up after reaching level forty could take years. Captain Kiln had spent more than a decade and several Monster Surges to reach Lv.51.
I wasn’t going to be away from the orphanage for years. And given my presence in the Farlands hadn’t exactly been covert, without a Monster Surge hiding us, evidence that me, the kids, and Captain Kiln were out here would eventually make it back to Farcrest. That could result in Janus making a move before we did.
On the other hand, publicly denouncing Janus for the murder attempts was equally risky. The Marquis was Janus’ accomplice, and we couldn’t afford such a scandal. Janus and the Marquis had been working to turn Farcrest into a trade hub for a decade, and it was evident they would use any tactics to carry out their plan.
If we moved quickly, we could catch Janus off guard. He didn’t know I had gained tens of levels and had become a Prestige Class.
“You’ll challenge him to a duel, and I will be your champion,” I said.
Captain Kiln sighed, knowing it was the only way.
“Can you win?”
“I have tricks upon tricks up my sleeve.”
***
We marched to Farcrest with a squad of five hundred Teal Moon warriors behind us. The Monster Surge was over, and the forest started to regain its life. The songs of the birds filled the silence, and small critters skittered away from our path as soon as they detected us. There was no sign of monsters, but we found a few Greyfangs. Their skin was still black as coal with the mark of Corruption, but they didn’t seem to be under mental control. Just like the red squirrels, the Greyfangs avoided us.
The Teal Moon Warriors seemed very eager to fight for Wolf.
My feet itched to power the Wind-Shot Boots and race toward the orphanage. I fidgeted with the enchanted ring. Even if I should be focusing on the upcoming fight, my thoughts were with Elincia.
The Sentinel patrols spotted us before we crossed the mountainous path into Farcrest Valley. No matter how crafty orcs might be, concealing five hundred of them from a System user with detection skills was nearly impossible.
I pulled the hood over my head and blended into the group.
Not an hour later, we climbed the slope and exited the Farlands.
The valley between the mountains and the city was laid waste. The farmlands, mills, and barns were destroyed. Withered Warden’s roots clutched to the city walls like the fingers of a drowned man reaching for a plank, and the army camp was gone.
The city had weathered the storm.
“Soldiers are forming outside the walls,” Ilya announced.
“Shall we send a messenger, Warchief?” Kara asked, her chainmail jingling under her cloak.
The half-orc girl had insisted on coming with us despite not being an official Teal Moon warrior.
“Tell Little One to assemble a team and announce my arrival. The new Warchief of the Teal Moon tribe wants to renew the vows of friendship,” Wolf said.
The conversation died as we descended the mountainous path. The human army waited for us. The golden stag fluttered along the impaled wolf. I let [Foresight] examine the scene. There were about five hundred royal soldiers and the same amount of guardsmen. Several nobles tagged along, probably too curious about the sudden visitor to remain inside the walls.
When we reached the cobbled path, Little One and his orcs returned.
Farcrest had been informed of our arrival.
The sound of battle horns reached my ears. I hoped it was a greeting and not a challenge. Dassyra signaled the warriors to sound the horns back. We advanced in the usual checkered formation orcs used to hunt monsters. I expected the orc army to stop a hundred meters away or so, but we didn’t stop until we were just a stone's throw away.
I could see the expressions of the human soldiers under their helmets.
Tension was palpable.
Behind the double line of soldiers, Prince Adrien sat on top of his horse, surrounded by a squadron of Skeeth riders. The Marquis rode a black steed. I recognized more familiar faces. Lord Osgiria, Lord Herran, the High Priest of the Church of the System, and finally, the one I was looking for. Janus.
“It’s showtime,” I said.
I walked past the orcs, and the soldiers' attention fell upon me. They exchanged curious glances. Isn’t that too small to be an orc? The whole army focused on me. Behind the soldier formation, the Marquis whispered something in Prince Adrien’s ear. Then, I pulled my cloak back.
“Janus! Come out, you coward!” I shouted, and my voice echoed against the city walls.