The Runesmith

“What if we get caught?”

“Don’t worry about it, this concealment spell will do the trick.”

“Are you sure? Won’t we get penalized if someone finds out?”

“Why would anyone find out, we’ll be back before it’s morning, and by then, we will all be true men!”

“Yeah, stop complaining, just think about all those beauties.”

“... Okay, I’m in, let’s go!”

“That’s more like it!”

Five young men were climbing through a window that led out from the large inn they were staying in. They were all wearing black robes to help them hide in the darkness of the night. It was around eleven at night, and they planned to sneak out to enjoy a night of pleasure in the town.

Today they arrived at the closed establishment reserved for individuals from Xandar’s Institute of Wizardry. It was a special event for all of them, and the entire place had been cleared of any outsiders. The compound was quite large and this helped them sneak out through the empty corridors. Eventually, they reached one of the windows through which they exited outside. Now, their only task was to avoid some of the knights patrolling the area. This task they deemed simple as they possessed magical means to aid them.

“See, I told you, those knights aren’t even paying attention and the silence barrier keeps our voices and footsteps hidden from them!”

“You truly are a genius…”

There were five of them and all around the age of fifteen. The youngsters hailed from shelter backgrounds, where stepping outside too much was not permitted to them. Their status as mages made others eager to shelter them, ensuring an easy life. However, this also meant restrictions on having fun outside designated places. Today they resolved to change that and to indulge in some adult fun in town was just what they desired.

Once outside they encountered some armored men that seemed rather lax. These were the knights from the academy situated near the institute. Most of them were simple squires and held only tier 1 class status. They couldn’t perceive anyone capable of noticing their concealment spell as only a few early tier 2 class holders were on site. Those of higher status were not patrolling but left the tiresome task to their junior counterparts.

“This is so boring…”

“I know… but we need to get used to this eventually.”

“Yeah, I bet we’ll have to guard some spoiled nobles after we become real knights…”

“Ahh… I hope that I become a guard of some young noble lady.”

“That would be grand.”

As they were sneaking by they stopped by a nearby tree. This inn had been created for nobles and rich merchants. It has an extensive backyard with a large garden with a pond and flowers everywhere. There were certain places they could hide behind so they waited for the patrolling guards to pass. Soon, they intended to make their way over to the three-meter tall wall that they would climb over. They could already see themselves out in the streets of Hazelfront, with the red light district being their main target.

“Hey, wait…”

“What’s wrong? Did you get cold feet again?”

“No… look there, what is that?”

“Huh?”

The five were one step of getting out of this place but before they could climb over the three-meter tall wall, one of them noticed something. Right on top of that wall, something was sitting. It was gently illuminating the place with a red hue that was being exuded by a circular orb that made up its eye. After a moment the others also noticed its presence but it was already too late.

“Wait, isn’t that one of those golems?”

Right as the leader spoke a large amount of light expanded from within this orb that was in actuality, a golemic eye. Before the five a small metallic spider stood, watching their every movement. It was also not the only one as another light source expanded from behind them. It illuminated the space the group was hiding in and it was clear that even their concealment spell wasn’t working.

“Damn, we need to get out of here! Run before…”

“Before what?”

The teenagers panicked upon seeing the two spider golems and realized that there was no escape. From a third direction, a familiar voice reached them - one that belonged to a professor who accompanied them in this advancement class. The man slowly revealed himself, his form large and surrounded by a shadowy haze from his own concealment spell. They couldn't determine how long he had been there but it became evident he might have been aware of their escape much sooner.

“A-assistant Professor Wayland… what a nice evening… we were just taking a stroll through the garden…”

“A stroll through the garden, huh? You should at least try to come up with a better excuse than that.”

“We uh…”

The five didn’t know what to say as the presence of this man was far too overbearing. They had heard about some rumors of his exploits, all of which portrayed him as a man with no mercy, someone who only followed the Institute rules. Soon he was in front of them, looking like some kind of monster from within the dungeon.

“Just be quiet and come with me.”

“... Yes sir…”

The five slumped their heads but knew that it was better not to argue with someone who wasn’t afraid of going against high nobility. They soon found themselves walking through the garden with the squires and knights looking at them with anger. The walk back felt rather long and nerve-wracking. Soon they arrived at the entrance of the Inn where they were greeted by other faculty members from the institute.

As they entered the inn, the atmosphere became tense and the other students who were still inside stared curiously at the troublemakers. Professor Ulfine was there already waiting for them and so were many other people. The other students started chuckling the moment they saw the five walk back inside with their heads slumped down.

“This is going to cost you a lot of merit points, now go back to your rooms.”

“Yes, Professor Ulfine…”

It seemed that everyone had already been informed about their sneak-out attempt. It was quite a walk of shame back to their rooms which were then promptly locked behind them. While they weren’t punished directly, they could only imagine what would happen to them once they were back at the Institute.

*****

“It’s so good to have someone else keep watch over these rascals. Those golems are quite handy, does the Runic Department plan on making more of them?”

Professor Ulfine smiled while looking at one of the chubby spider golems that Roland created. Thanks to them spreading throughout the Inn were they able to keep an eye on these rowdy youngsters. Their attempt on going into the city was noticed almost instantly and even though they used costly magical artifacts, they could not evade Roland’s runic detection technology.

“Not really but something similar is in the works.

“Oh, that’s a shame… Have you ever thought about joining the Summoner Department? We have a tamer section?”

“I’m not a monster tamer and these are runic golems.”

“It was worth a shot~”

Ulfine smiled and then turned to the students who were peeking out from their rooms.

“Everyone, go back to your rooms and go to sleep. You all will have to be well-rested for tomorrow's classes.”

“Yes Professor Ulfine.”

With the troublemakers confined to their rooms, the night settled back into a calm state. The students started to disperse, with no one thinking about trying to sneak out after seeing what happened to the quintet of troublemakers. Roland could see his sister peeking out with interest and along with her friends chuckling at the five that were captured. It seemed that she was back to being more of her older self, with no Viola there to bother her.

‘This reminds me of my old school trips…’

He also retreated to his private room, given to him due to his tier 3 status. Thanks to his golems patrolling the whole Inn there was no reason for anyone to stay up throughout the night. Their leader Ernas wasn’t even awake as he had gone to sleep an hour ago, even before many of the students continued to chat in their rooms. Some played card games or performed magical tricks, while others were planning to sneak out.

They were similar to his old friends in this way as he could remember trying to drink alcohol at their age when he still lived in his old world. During school trips, the boys would sometimes try to sneak into the girl's rooms or vice versa. Teachers would have to stay up until late hours to patrol the hotels they were staying at. Usually, after midnight they would eventually give up and that was when the fun happened.

‘I’m old aren’t I?’

Even though in this body he was still in his early twenties, he felt like he was becoming an old man. He was not on the other end and needed to act like a proper adult. Sometimes he missed those years of leisure when he was younger but having the freedom to do what he wanted, whenever he wanted was something that he would probably never give up.

‘It doesn’t seem like anyone is going to come… but I still need to be careful.’

The incident with the students had passed but he still found himself awake two hours later. He looked outside the window where some of his spider golems were hidden away. This was not the time to relax and he was ready to engage at a moment's notice. It was very disadvantageous to him in this place as he lacked information about his next adversary. At any moment he could get attacked and even this inn was not safe.

However, by now he was used to such things, and spending the whole night awake wouldn’t even phase him. After getting around two hours of sleep in, he awoke in the morning to find that no attackers made it through the perimeter. Considering that no one dared to engage, the possibility of the attack taking place during his dungeon visit became more likely.

‘If I’m lucky they won’t be stupid enough to do anything around the students but I can never be sure…’

From his perspective, this was a golden opportunity for the Castellane household to take their revenge. It also placed them as the main suspects for everyone looking from the outside. Even though he was considered an outsider and an adventurer, doing something to a Baron’s daughter would not be that simple. It was possible that no one would raise their hand against them and perhaps they would just examine his movements first. His enemies still lacked information about his true identity, something that a person needed to have when getting their revenge.

The morning arrived and the atmosphere in the Inn was filled with excitement as the students prepared for their first day of classes in Hazelfront. Despite the previous night’s incident, the five troublemakers had become a source of entertainment for the rest of the students. Everyone knew that they would be eventually punished and couldn’t help but to point at them and snicker.

“Good morning, Professor Wayland! Did you sleep well?”

“Ah? Yes, I’m doing fine.”

“Glad to hear it!”

Lucienne along with her two dorm friends were there to greet him in the morning. Roland was trying to intimidate the other students and people around him. This was made difficult by how nonchalant his younger sibling had become around him. The other students thought that she was brave at first but slowly were beginning to see him in a different light. His persona of the unapproachable no-nonsense professor was starting to crumble.

“You three should go back to your group, we will be heading to the dungeon now, be sure to not forget anything.”

“Of course, Professor!”

The stay at the inn was temporary and they would be spending the rest of the day at the dungeon where the advancement classes would take place. Once outside large crates were already waiting for the youngsters and also Professor Ernas was there. He looked slightly and was covering his mouth while yawning.

“Good morning, Professor Ernas. It looks like you had a restful night.”

“Ah… yes, please just give me a moment to get ready…”

Ulfine greeted Ernas with a mocking tone. It was clear that this person didn’t like to get up early so one of his assistants would be performing his duties of informing the students about their advancement classes instead.

“Please everyone, gather here and take your designated magical appliance, you will need them once inside the dungeon.”

Roland didn’t say anything as he looked at everyone taking out various magical weapons. They reminded him of his old runic wands but instead of using up mana, they all had pre-applied charges on them. They had the shape of mage-rods with a large mana crystal at the top part, something that he hadn’t seen in a while. All the mana crystals that he now used, were always melted into the metal instead.

‘This does bring me back…’

“Please be sure to familiarize yourself with the magical appliance. You should have been taught how to use them at the Institute but if you have any questions, then please ask them now.”

A stern-looking lady started talking while Ernas sat on the side and drank some morning tea. The magic rods worked in a similar fashion to how he cheated his way to a higher level. With their help, the students would be able to easily dispatch monsters that were above their level and quickly gain experience. It was quite easy to do at lower levels as these artifacts were rather plain and simple to make. However, once a person reached tier 2 such leveling drives could only be done by the powerful and wealthy.

Their schedule was quite tight and they intended to get everyone to level twenty-five within a week. After someone managed to achieve this feat they would be forced to return to the city and wait patiently for everyone else to be done. Eventually, they would end up with fewer students who could blast through the levels with multiple magical rods at their disposal.

“We might be able to finish this a lot faster this year with you around, Wayland.”

“I’ll do my best but my mana isn’t infinite.”

There was one other reason why he was allowed to come on this trip. His strength was one of them but he also possessed additional utilities. Thanks to being a runesmith he would be able to recharge these weapons on the fly without them needing to be replaced. Normally, after the charges were used up the classes would need to be halted.

After returning to the city, the nearby enchant smith or runesmith would perform these duties. However, this skill wasn’t exclusive to crafting classes and a good enough Rune Mage could restore the mana to the magical circuitry. While applying for this job, he did include that he was capable of this feat and thanks to this they were expecting to wrap up things faster.

Eventually, everyone was armed with a rod and the rest were packed up for later. Even though he could recharge them, it didn’t mean that they wouldn’t just use the prepared equipment first. The students seemed excited to finally leave the inn and soon they headed toward the dungeon.

As expected, the students from the magical institute attracted a lot of attention. The squires and knights were responsible for their initial safety. Some of them even started shoving people out of the way, just so they wouldn’t get too close to the mages. From Roland’s perspective, this was quite rude but they were being trained to prioritize their masters and duty over anything else.

The youngsters were quite interested in some of the structures and brick buildings but they couldn’t leave. Just like in Albrook, the dungeon wasn’t that far away so they were going on foot. They passed various adventurers while taking up most of the road, some of them were quite scary which caused some distress to the youngsters. Finally, after about half an hour they approached the entrance of the dungeon. A massive stone structure awaited them with a grand archway leading down.

“Listen up, everyone! We will be entering the dungeon now. Remember your training, stick together, and follow the instructions of your assigned leaders. We'll be only exploring the first level of the grand dungeon so please don’t get lost down there.”

“Yes Professor Ulfine.”

Finally, they were here and this was when the advancement classes started. Roland wasn’t sure what to make of things as once they went down, then all hell could break loose. There were many adventures here and also below, he did not know who he could trust. Nevertheless, the Spiritualist was down there and eventually, he would have the chance to meet them to complete his research.