The Runesmith

“Big brothuer Rowand!”

“...”

“Heyyyyyyyyyy”

“...”

“Bwotha Lowannn…”

“What do you want!?”

“It's a bug! Hehehe!”

“I guess it is…”

Roland looked at the large green caterpillar that the close-to-three-year-old was holding. It was strange to see a young girl being fine with bugs, but he was more concerned about her being there instead. One moment she was showing him the chubby insect, and the next moment she was running away as if the two were playing a game of tag. The girl giggled as if she expected him to chase after, but he just remained sitting there while looking at a map.

“... Buahhhh!”

He tried to ignore the little girl, but after her escape attempt, she quickly tumbled over her own legs and started crying. Roland gave out a sigh as he knew that trouble was coming. The young girl was his little sister, and she liked to wander off by herself, but whenever she went, others weren’t far behind.

“Lucienne, is that you? What is wrong? I’m coming!”

The voice he heard was probably the worst possible outcome as soon another child appeared. He was a few years older than him and over twelve years of age. This gave him quite the physical advantage over the young Roland, who was now expecting an annoying turn of events.

“Hey, did you do this? You dare bully my sister!”

“I didn’t though; she just fell down while running. Stop assuming things.”

“Shut up!”

Robert was his name, and he was quite the annoyance that Roland had hoped to be free of after the brat was sent off to the knight academy. However, even though knights started early, the academy allowed them to return home often, and this was one of those periods. His abysmal luck was about to get him assaulted by his older brother again.

Their ages were three years apart, and the difference in size was apparent. Robert was a head taller as he was going through a growth spurt. He had acquired a warrior class, while Roland still had a month left until he would go through his ascension ritual. While he had the mind of an adult and had learned all the basic fighting skills that he could, the stat advantage provided by a class would give his brother an unfair advantage.

‘Should I just take it? Even if I win, I’ll just get punished anyway.’

He was between a rock and a hard place. Whatever he did, there wouldn’t be a good ending to this encounter. However, just as Robert was going towards him with his fist raised, he stopped.

“Lucienne? What are you?”

“Brother Roland isn’t at fault! Leave him alone! Dum Rowbert!”

“Hey, stop it, Lucienne, big brother was just trying to help…”

To Roland's surprise, Lucienne started biting Robert's leg in an attempt to protect him from a beating. This seemed to have worked, as the twelve-year-old was unsure of what to do and decided to withdraw after some adults arrived. Two maids managed to pry his sister off Robert’s leg, which now had bite marks. Soon the commotion was over, and he was left alone to ponder his young life and what would become of it after he got his first class.

‘I really thought that my luck was picking up after that, but then the ascension ritual happened…’

Roland looked around the darkened forest that he found himself in. His mind was filled with old memories from the days when he still lived at the Arden estate. He couldn’t stop thinking about his younger sister and her peculiar problems within this academy. Some things weren’t adding up, and he wasn’t sure if he should do something about it or if he even could.

“I should focus on my new job, this place sure is big…”

He wasn’t there for long, but the training grounds were much larger on the inside than on the outside. The dome outside was the size of a football stadium, but on the inside, it was more than ten times as large. The spatial technology in this building was quite intriguing and something that he just had to implement into his own workshop.

“There is no reason for me to wander around this place…”

The whole area was too large for him to explore, and it was also filled with monsters. A few of them launched themselves at him the moment they spotted him, and continuing at this pace would only put him in trouble. The monsters here were supposed to be hunted by the students; if he subjugated too many of them, it would become a problem. The old motto was to work smarter, not harder, and he decided to go with that approach.

From his back, he removed the large tower shield that he wore under his new robe and then placed it in a vertical fashion. With a little jolt from his mana, he activated the runes that began to glow on the surface. Soon, the surface of the dark shield began glowing, and a few round objects popped out from within the spatial pocket that was hidden within his shield. The round objects rolled onto the ground until there were exactly ten of them, and soon they started taking on their true form.

Insect-like legs popped out from within the metallic orbs, transforming them into spider golems. They were militarized versions of his old creations, designed for the sole purpose of scouting out the area. Their smaller size would allow them to crawl into smaller spaces to hide, and they were equipped with camouflage spells to keep them hidden away.

The spider golems scurried away into the darkness, their small metallic bodies blending seamlessly with the surroundings. Roland watched them go, knowing that they would cover more ground than he could on his own. With this new approach, he could minimize his own exposure while still keeping an eye on the training grounds. They were equipped with his runic sensors which would allow him to map out the whole area and make it a lot easier to spot any trespassers and monsters.

As the spider golems ventured deeper into the forest, Roland took a moment to reflect on the events of the day. The mysterious teacher who had aided his sister, the accusations against her, and the involvement of a Castellane girl named Viola all raised more questions than answers. It seemed that the troubles within the academy ran deeper than he initially thought. However, as he was contemplating the issue something caught his eye.

“There is actually someone trespassing today? What’s with this luck…”

One of his spider golems stopped abruptly, its eight metallic legs freezing in place. Through the sensor feed, Roland could see several figures moving stealthily through the training ground. Six dots appeared on his map, indicating people of lower levels. Two individuals were of tier two variety, while the rest were still below level fifty. What was more alarming was that he recognized one of these people; in the back of the group was his sister, identifiable by her mana pattern that he had previously registered.

“Not much time has passed since the last incident, are those kids crazy?”

Roland asked himself while looking at the moving dots on the screen. His immediate concern was for his sister's safety. The training grounds were designed to simulate dangerous environments, and during nighttime, the monsters here were far more agitated than usual. As an enforcer, it was his duty to intervene, but the reason they were all there was still peculiar. It was as if they felt confident that they wouldn’t be punished. From Lucienne’s words, he assumed that they had failed, as she was attacked by monsters. But for some reason, they were already back for more, not even a week after the last incident.

“Let me see… Those two look like knights and that looks like their leader…”

He was not in a hurry, so he took this chance to examine the situation. The mini-spider golem that he had sent there was able to film the group from a safe distance. Roland could see their entire group, and it seemed that his sister didn’t truly belong there. She was trailing behind all of them in the back, while one young lady was in the front. She was chatting away and smiling with two other girls, while two young knights were seemingly guarding them.

‘This doesn’t seem right…’

There was something off about this situation, as the supposed bodyguards weren’t all that strong. The two young men were probably on the level of Robert or even below him when he arrived in Albrook a few years ago. They were fresh tier 2 class holders who could barely contend with the monsters here. There were tier 2 ones scattered here and there, some that even had secondary tier 2 evolutions - not something those two would be able to handle. Yet, they were not afraid; it seemed as if they were on a picnic.

“Huh?”

As he was trying to discover where their confidence came from, a red warning signal went off on his visor. One of his spider drones that he sent in another direction had been destroyed by something, and it was far stronger than any of the monsters that should be there. This was the answer to his question; there was someone else within these training grounds, and they were quickly approaching his position.

“Good evening good sir, does this belong to you?”

“It does.”

“My apologies then but fret not, I will reimburse you for the damages, just name your price~”

A man appeared from within the shadows, his hair was long flowing, and silver. His ears were quite pointed but not that long, unmistakably marking him as a half-moon elf. Dressed in light, silvery armor made out of mithril metal, he carried a gracefully curved elven sword at his side. His eyes, a striking shade of blue, gleamed with an otherworldly light. Roland squinted at the moon elf, surprised by his sudden appearance. The man had a charming smile, but there was a mischievous glint in his eyes that hinted at a playful nature.

“My price? How about you identify yourself first, you aren’t part of the Enforcement Department and you don’t seem to be a teacher, why are you here on the training ground, this area is restricted.”

Roland questioned the moon elf, his tone firm and authoritative. The stranger’s nonchalant attitude didn't sit well with him, especially considering the potential danger lurking within the training grounds. The man was in possession of a school emblem, but it was neither one given to the teachers nor students. Instead, he only had a temporary badge that identified him as a guest who shouldn’t have the right to be there.

“Ah, where are my manners? My name is Elythaes.”

The moon elf introduced himself with a flourish, giving a small bow.

“And as for your little metal spiders, I apologize if I caused any inconvenience. I’m sure this should cover the expenses.”

The man brandished a pouch that he threw toward Roland’s direction. Being cautious as always, Roland stopped it in mid-air with the help of his magic, which made the man raise a brow. It wasn’t an explosive reagent or anything dangerous; instead, it was filled with quite a few gold coins that would certainly cover the damages to the one spider golem he had lost.

“There is more in here to just cover it but you haven’t explained yourself, why are you here? Do you have anything to do with those trespassing students?”

Roland was quick to make an assessment, this was probably the ‘Teacher’ that saved his sister from the monsters. It wasn’t strange for prominent nobles to send out strong bodyguards to protect their children here and this person was probably Castellane Viola’s bodyguard.

“You’re quite smart, this won’t take long then. That’s true, I’m Lady Castellane’s aid. I’m here to protect her from any harm~”

The man claimed to be a bodyguard, which was plausible considering what had transpired. However, Roland could not take the man’s word for truth; he needed to investigate further. It was possible that he was a dangerous individual who had sneaked into the academy. After a thorough scan and dispelling of the man’s status protection charm, he had his answer.

“Hm? What did you just do?”

"Nothing much … A Baskerville, so you do belong with the Castellane lady…”

“Hoh?”

The half-elf was intrigued by Roland’s words, as they indicated that he knew something about the Baskerville knight house. Before the Arden house was given the title of Baron, it was the same as the Baskerville house, just soldiers for the Castellane Marquess house. It was a house of professional knights that sometimes took talented individuals into their midst.

Considering that this man was a half-elf without any knight classes, it was probable that he had been a platinum adventurer who had been scouted and given a title later. The Baskervilles had a certain nickname; they were known as the guard dogs of the Castellanes. They carried out various orders, even ones involving assassinations - a nasty bunch that most people didn’t want to go against.

“Why is Lady Castellane here in the training grounds at this hour, and why are you not with her?”

Elythaes chuckled, his eyes gleaming with amusement.

“Well, you see, Lady Castellane is a curious and adventurous soul. She wanted to experience the thrill of the training grounds at night. As for me, I thought I'd give her some space to explore while still keeping an eye on her from a distance.”

Roland didn’t feel too great about the answer. The man’s demeanor was quite lax, as if he didn’t think that he was doing anything wrong and that he was in control of this situation. It was as if he was not afraid of the Enforcement Department, and considering his affiliation, this wasn’t strange. He decided to probe for some more information, as there were some things that he was interested in.

“I have a duty to ensure the safety of the academy, and unauthorized access to the training grounds is a serious violation. Hasn’t the lady already attempted this a few days before?”

“Oh? You know about that?”

“Yes, another student had gotten injured during that incident. Were you involved with it as well?”

“Oh my, you are really inquisitive, but I’m sure you’ll understand. I had to make sure that the lady was safe first, but I made sure that the other students got back safe~”

“Her wrists were injured by monsters.”

“Well, accidents do happen~”

It was clear what had happened that day. This man was the teacher that ‘rescued’ his younger sister but only after he led Viola Castellane to safety. Probably the only reason he went back for Lucienne was to not make a bigger commotion. It was easy to sweep a few injuries under the rug but not a death. The Arden estate would have gotten involved with such an incident, and even the Castellane lady would have gotten in trouble.

“I understand that Lady Castellane may have adventurous tendencies, but this is a restricted area for a reason. It seems that she is here for something, couldn’t you as her guard have dealt with that?”

“Perhaps but the lady has picked up quite an interesting hobby lately.”

“A hobby?”

“It’s not my place to question the lady nor is it yours, I think you have asked enough questions. I think you know what this is about my friend~”

“You want me to overlook this incident?”

“That’s right! I knew that we would understand each other.”

The man smiled some more while Roland glanced at the sack of gold in his hand. It was clear that this was hush money and that he was supposed to just leave them be. The hobby that the man mentioned probably involved tormenting his sister. It was even possible that this Viola person was here to put Lucienne in a difficult situation. The reason for it was unknown, and this person would probably not tell him.

There was a decision to be made, he could either follow the rules of the academy or let all of this slide. The man here was quite confident which indicated that there was perhaps another backer in the academy that could make his stay more problematic. If he confronted him and the students it was probably going to get annoying during his future stay.

It wasn’t hard to let something like this slide; involving himself with nobles was never a good idea. Any other time he would have probably just taken the sack of gold as an excuse and minded his business. However, as the two were talking, he continuously glanced at the feed from one of his spider golems. There he could see his sister walking in the back of the group with her head down. He was not sure what they were doing here, but it was clear that if no one did anything about it, Lucienne’s school life would continue like this.

“Under Article 4, section 6, clause 2 of Xandar’s Institute of Wizardry law, I have the right to detain you. Please comply and do not resist. If you try to resist, you will be detained… forcefully…”

His opponent was quite surprised by the change of tone and the immediate rise of mana particles in the air. Roland knew that there would be trouble on the horizon, but he could not let his sister get bullied right under his nose. Even though he hadn't seen her for more than ten years, his old memories were still vivid, and he could just not let it go…