The Runesmith

“What do you think? The calculations should be correct but if you see that something is off, then tell me.”

“You want to know what I think?”

“Yes.”

“Then… wouldn’t it be better if you just take an airship back if you need to return? I don’t feel comfortable with the other method, something could always go wrong. What if you end up inside a flock of wyverns or in the middle of the ocean?”

“That’s why I’m asking you to go over my calculations, I’m sure we both won’t make the same mistake.”

“...Fine…”

A floating cat grumbled while moving large pages of papers to look through the numbers presented on them. Behind him stood a man wearing a newly gained crimson robe that now presented his new position of Deputy Professor, someone that had a special position within the institute.

“It seems correct to me, you should come out at those coordinates… but why do you wish to place yourself in danger? Doesn’t this seem a bit too extreme?”

“Perhaps, but I don’t have the leisure of time…”

“Time?”

The floating cat raised an eyebrow, its tail twitching with curiosity.

“You are always in such a rush, are you in some sort of hurry? or trouble?”

Roland hesitated, reluctant to divulge the complexities of his chaotic life to his friend. While Arion was aware of certain aspects, he remained unaware of critical details such as Lucienne being Roland's sister or his role in the demise of three higher-tier Knights during the recent dungeon incident. The Institute had decided to craft a narrative, portraying the events as if a formidable monster had emerged within the dungeon. They would blame the disappearance of Professor Ulfine on it and not even mention the Baskerville knights.

“Well, let’s just say that I have some urgent personal matters that need attending to. You probably don’t want me to bore you with the details…”

The cat’s eyes narrowed again as he tried to decipher the hidden meaning behind those words. The two had known themselves for a while and he could sense that there was something that Roland wasn’t telling him. Nevertheless, he was not one to push for answers when others were trying to change the subject of a conversation.

“Personal matters you say? Very well, I won’t pry into your business. Just be careful, Wayland. Whatever you’re up to, and make sure you don’t get yourself into more trouble than you can handle. If there is anything that I can help you with, don’t be a stranger.”

“I appreciate your concern, Arion. But I assure you, I’ve got everything under control.”

Arion simply nodded, though a hint of skepticism lingered in his eyes. Roland could sense that his feline friend wasn't fully convinced by his explanations. In truth, he remained uncertain about his next course of action. While his instincts urged him to return to Albrook immediately, leaving behind the complications of his current situation, he couldn't shake off the lingering concern for his sister's safety.

He hadn't anticipated encountering this problem upon arrival, and now he was feeling conflicted. It would have been ideal if he could delegate this responsibility to someone else, but for some reason, his older brother wasn’t answering his calls. On the other hand, Lucienne probably hadn't divulged any information about the incident at the institute. He was sure in his belief as he had kept his spider golem around her to keep watch.

She never attempted to contact her family members, and the likely reason for this was her character. She appeared to be the type of person who didn't want to burden others with her problems and instead kept everything bottled up inside. Even when the bullying began, she didn't reach out to anyone outside or confide in any of the teachers. She clearly hoped to resolve the matter by herself without bothering anyone else.

“But there is one thing you can aid me with…”

“Oh? What is it?”

“There is one thing that you can help me with, you already know the student by the name, Lucienne Arden, right?”

“Sure, she was part of that hearing you were in, what about here?”

“Yes, her. Could you watch over her while I’m not here and inform me if something out of the ordinary happens?”

“Hm… I don’t think there should be a problem with such a task…”

Roland couldn't simply depart and leave his sister without any form of support. While his spider drone was with her, it had very limited defensive capabilities. Arion would probably be a better option to ensure her safety within the institute. He didn’t believe that she would be put in harm's way, at least not until Viola Castellane arrived back from her suspension. It had been nearly five weeks since Roland's arrival, and the girl remained barred from returning for almost a month. This provided him with some time to craft a thorough plan and repair his armor, which had begun to fail him.

“Great, I’ll leave her up to you then. You’ll be easily able to keep watch thanks to one of my golems and the many more that are going to be placed throughout the institute.”

“Quite, was that a perk of becoming a Deputy Professor?”

It seemed that Arion was about to push the issue further but quickly decided to change the subject.

“I’m not sure, Thorne seemed to like the idea and they finally decided to go ahead with it.”

Roland's monitoring devices were eventually approved by the institute, but in truth, it was all thanks to the Headmistress, who had the final say in the matter. Many other faculty members opposed the idea, fearing it would infringe on their privacy. However, with the excuse of the numerous recent strange incidents, their objections were disregarded in favor of implementing the runic camera system. This was also one of the main reasons for the return of the forge master, as he would be responsible for producing this technology based on Roland’s schematics.

“Hope you have a safe journey then but I hope that you plan on returning soon, the whole department has been steadily growing since you appeared, I even got a few interviews that I need to attend to!”

“Interviews?”

“Indeed, the Runic Department is now getting more funding thanks to this project and the amount of students attending has tripled ever since you introduced that method of study.”

“Well, glad that I was able to help.”

“You did more than that! You practically saved it!”

Arion was delighted with the developments of the past month. The runic department had become the center of attention at the institute, and with Roland’s promotion to Deputy Professor, his former assistant professor position had opened up. It was likely that whoever sought to fill the vacancy had ulterior motives, given Arion and Roland's positive dealings with the Headmistress. It was a business opportunity for networking and Arion would need to watch out for it.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

After finishing things up with Arion he decided to take his leave. Once outside he could feel many gazes coming his way. This robe that was coupled with the new emblem was the reason for it. People identified him now as a person with a lot of prestige and he could tell that some even wanted to come closer and chat. Luckily, his runic armor and helmet under the robe gave him an air of mystery and intimidation, dissuading others from approaching him without reason.

However, Roland couldn't linger in the institute any longer. With his decision made, he needed to begin preparations for his departure. For this exact reason, he had taken some research papers to Arion as he would be traveling through one of the mage towers and not any airships. The math had been complete but considering he would be doing this type of magic for the first time, it was still nerve-wracking.

All of his belongings were inside his storage space and it was fine for him to leave. He already contacted Elodia that he would be returning soon and was informed that Agni was eagerly waiting for his return. The journey ahead could be dangerous but he was mostly sure that he would make it back in one piece and if he was correct, then perhaps in less than an hour he would be back in his old workshop.

As he made his way towards the mage tower of fire, the same one he had previously visited with Arion’s help, he could not help but glance at his display screen. There he saw through the eye of his spider drone his sister Lucienne who was chatting with some of her friends. Ever since he cleared out the incident with Viola and several smaller ones, she had started to

enjoy her school life in this institute.

‘So she really did get it…’

It wasn’t difficult to access her status screen, and she had indeed acquired the unique Clairvoyant class, just as he had suspected all those years ago. She was now on the path to becoming an Oracle, with the ability to foresee the future to some extent. Oracles were often deployed to crime scenes to deduce what had transpired or used to locate people or hidden objects. As her brother, it was likely that she would eventually uncover his true location.

‘Something like that won’t probably happen until she is at least a tier 2 class holder but how long would that be…’

Roland’s obsession with keeping himself hidden from his family members had been part of his life ever since he fled over ten years ago. Even now as he was a full-blown adult, he still had second guesses about his involvement with his sister. If he hadn’t acted out against Viola, then now he would have probably been leaving the Institute to never return here again. However, being an adult also meant that he needed to take responsibility for his actions.

‘An adult huh… What should an adult do in such a situation?’

He arrived before the tower of flames and slowly ventured inside. The path to his next destination lay open before him, yet he hesitated, halting himself from taking another step. There were lingering concerns weighing on his mind, ones that extended beyond just his sister to his brother Robert as well. It had been a large amount of time since their last conversation, and even he was starting to worry.

Robert had made the decision to journey northward into the war-torn zones where the three nations frequently clashed. To make things worse, it was an area teeming with dangerous creatures. It was a place where one could sharpen their combat skills, but also where one could swiftly meet their demise. Nevertheless, given that he was the son of a decorated general, Roland anticipated that he would have a fair amount of assistance.

‘Or could daddy dearest have had some enemies that would target his son?’

The possibility was there but he wasn’t really in a position to help. Heading there would do no one any good and his presence could only make things worse. His other contact that had previously held the runic department Assistant Professor title, Lucille De Vere was nowhere to be seen either. He wanted to get to the bottom of this mystery but there was only one way, and that was through his sister.

While Roland and Lucienne were half-siblings, Robert and her were true ones. They both came from Francine, the second wife who was very overprotective of her children. If something happened to Robert then she would probably know. Going through his sister would perhaps offer him some sense of closure. For that to happen, he would need to confront her which was the crux of the problem.

‘If I add my previous years, I would be over forty now… What am I still afraid of?’

It had been many years since his last interaction with his father and his other siblings. The home that he left behind was not something that he missed. There was also the failed assassination attempt that prompted his initial escape but as things stood now, he had grown in strength. Confronting his old fears wasn’t easy but he needed to get past this old trauma and face reality. The longer he hesitated, the worse the situation could become.

‘Am I really going to do it…’

He stood before the platform that would transport him to a higher level of the mage tower but decided to turn away. After retracing his steps outside, he made his way toward the park area where students often gathered to rest. There, a small spider drone awaited him, its temporary owner arriving out of breath as she had chased after it. With her were a few other female students who shared the same dorm room and all of them stopped the moment they noticed his conspicuous form.

“Why did you suddenly run off?... Oh, Assistant Professor Wayland, Good Day!”

“Good day.”

He replied to them but had only intended for his sister to arrive here. Nevertheless, he had already made a decision about this issue so he wasn’t about to let a few random people ruin this moment.

“Lady Lucienne, please come with me, I need to discuss something with you… in private.”

“Something private?

Lucienne's brow furrowed slightly, puzzled by Roland’s sudden request. She exchanged a glance with her friends, who shrugged in confusion, before turning her attention back to Roland.

"Um, sure, Assistant Professor Wayland.”

Following the Viola incident, Roland had managed to earn her trust to some extent, especially after saving her during the dungeon explosion. She and her friends held a favorable opinion of him and were unaware that he was actually her brother in disguise.

“Return to your classes and inform your teachers that Lucienne might miss some of her classes, if they ask for a reason, just say that the Deputy Professor needs to discuss some urgent matters with her.”

“Alright, will do!”

Her friends nodded in understanding and quickly dispersed, leaving Lucienne alone with Roland. She followed him without question, curiosity was evident in her gaze but he decided to head to a certain place in silence. There was a reason that he lured her into this garden where the entrance to the Headmistress’ tower was as it also happened to be the palace where his own ‘office’ was.

There was another perk of becoming the Deputy Professor and that was that he received a place of his own. With his badge that had the depiction of a large tree on it, he could open a path to a hidden location. It wasn’t far from the gazebo he used to enter Yavenna’s tower and didn’t look any different from a trees. However, once he approached and injected some of his mana into the emblem the entrance started to shift.

The once ordinary-looking tree shimmered and transformed, revealing a hidden doorway leading into a spacious chamber. Roland gestured for Lucienne to follow him inside, where they were greeted by mostly old books and cobwebs.

“You’ll have to excuse me for the way this place looks, I haven’t had the time to tidy it up. Please, have a seat.”

Lucienne hesitated for a moment, glancing around the dusty chamber with a mixture of curiosity and wariness. Despite its neglected appearance, there was an air of mystery and importance to the place that intrigued her. It was a large office area, with an even bigger desk at the end. To the sides were various tomes about magical incantations but the most eye-catching of all was a large portrait hanging on the wall behind the desk. It depicted a stern-looking man in mage robes, his gaze piercing and commanding respect.

“Is that Arch-Wizard Xandar?”

“Yes, that’s an old portrait of him.”

He responded to the question, but the atmosphere quickly grew stale. Roland seated himself behind the large desk, feeling uncertain about how to begin. This wasn’t part of his original plan. Revealing his true identity, which he had concealed for over ten years, wasn't going to be easy.

“Lucienne, I… I need to talk to you about something important, how do I put this…”

His voice wavered slightly, betraying his inner turmoil.

“What is it, Assistant Professor Wayland? Is this about the golem?”

She replied with a smile on her face, something that she was devoid of when he arrived at this Institute. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for what was to come. There was no turning back now and instead of using his words he decided to break the ice in a different fashion.

His head was covered by the robes hood which could be magically concealed. He wished it to be so and it retracted itself into the magical fabric. His hands then moved towards his mithril helmet that always concealed his face. Lucienne seemed confused but she remained quiet. Roland’s grip on the piece of metal was unsteady but he already made a decision. Slowly he removed the magical effects that kept his helmet steady and finally, his face was revealed.

“Assistant Professor Wayland?”

She didn't catch on immediately, but as she continued to stare at his face, he could see her emotions shifting. It began with a look of confusion, which then turned into contemplation, and finally, denial. However, eventually, two words escaped her lips which he confirmed with a resounding nod.

“Brother… Roland?”