“Sorry, it was just a slip of the tongue…”
“What do you mean, a slip of a tongue? Do you know how long those idiots from the Inquisition delayed my own research! Why would I know anything about some devilish relics?”
“...”
Roland was just sitting there without replying to the angry-looking cat face that was shouting at him through the crystal ball. It had been some months since his return from his gold rank mission. There he let it slip that it might be worthwhile to search for a certain runic mage instead of seeking help from him. At that point in time, he just did it to avoid being scrutinized but this also caused his associate to disappear for a while.
“Those idiots tried to force me to examine some damn etching of this so-called relic of theirs, those damn fools didn’t even prepare it well so much of the runic structures was lost in the process… it took me weeks to restore all of it and even then…”
The cat professor continued to vent at him while describing the process he went through. It seemed that the relic had truly been lost. The only thing that remained was a magical etching that had either been either damaged or wrongly produced by whoever the mage on the side of the inquisition was.
This magical impression could copy runic structures or off other various non-runic enchantments. If done right it could produce something akin to a detailed blueprint of the magical device. It was somewhat similar to his debugging skill but took a lot more preparation and was very delicate.
“Professor, are you sure you should be yelling out delicate information like this? What if there is a cultist spy at the Academy?.”
“A spy? Now that you mention it, there was actually one of them here but they had at least one competent inquisitor there that could see through their allegiance. Quite the handy skill he had, very troublesome he was able to see through all of my concealment magics ....”
‘Wait, could it have been that guy…’
Roland wanted to ask the cat if it was perhaps the same inquisitor that he had a run-in after escaping from the village but he decided against it. It would be better if people didn’t know that the old inquisitor had a relationship with the Arden estate and his father in particular. What if the kitty started asking about his origins and his secret got out in the process?
“So… were you successful in your research? Is there a way to counter that relics illusion magic?”
“Hah, even if I found something out I wouldn’t be able to tell you anything!”
“Did they force you to sign a contract?”
“A contract? No. The Inquisitors have different ways of restriction but in any case, my mouth is sealed…. that is unless you wish to come over here.”
“What do you mean?”
“Hah, you can become my assistant! Aren’t you bored in that tiny village? Your talents are wasted there, ever thought about becoming a proper scholar?”
“A scholar?”
Roland was taken aback by the offer of working at the magical academy. The one the cat professor was working in was quite prestigious and had many tier 3 mages working there. Most of them followed the standard teachings but this didn’t mean that he wouldn’t be able to learn a thing or two. They probably had some superior mana-related skill books sealed away in their libraries along with special spells. These all could be converted into runic versions with the help of his own skill which made the offer quite alluring.
“That’s right, don’t you want to learn the secrets that this world holds? Discover new magic or learn the long-lost secrets of lost civilizations!”
“Um…I think I’ll have to pass on that.”
“Just imagine all that power at your fingertips… wait, you’ll pass?”
“Yeah, I still have a lot of things that I need to do here.”
The cat’s mouth was wide open as he was quickly dismissed. To the small runic magician, it was strange that someone like Roland was fine bumbling away in his forge. Yet the man in question didn’t really like the whole studying part that scholars needed to go through. If he could have the knowledge be injected into his brain instead then he would prefer that solution.
“But don’t you want to study the ancient runes? Think about the possibilities!”
“I’m more interested in their practical use, if they had been forgotten perhaps they were inefficient or lacked usefulness.”
He was not really a researcher, his preferred work was in the field. The runic machines that he created needed to help him achieve his goal which was freedom in the end. Staying cooped up in a library was not something he liked doing. Instead, he favored fiddling with the runic programming and working with his hands over going through ancient texts. Testing new theories was vastly more interesting to him than coming up with them.
“Lacked usefulness?”
The cat’s face scrunched up as if he wasn’t sure what he had heard. To a hardened researcher like him, there was no such thing as a useless magical instrument or spell. Everything was interesting and discovering these lost magical techniques was what he strived for.
“But this doesn’t mean that I’m totally against it, I just need to get through a few things here… give me a few months and I’ll see what I can do.”
“Hah, are you playing hard to get?”
After rolling his eyes the two talked for a little bit more before Roland decided to end the conversation. This confirmed that the relic was destroyed and that the church was working on decoding part of the runic code. This was not the only magical academy that they went to as what survived from the etching could be copied over.
In reality, he was interested in what that code showed and wanted to head out to help his kitty associate with the research. However, getting involved with a hot potato like that while he was this week was not smart. The cult would have probably already made moves to try and remove anyone working on this research.
Only in a place like the magic academy would he actually be safe as it had various protective spells that would probably be even effective against that illusion. Even without examining the monolith, there were spells that could counter it. The only problem was that such spells required a lot of magical energy which could only be provided in select locations. Thus for the time being he could not involve himself in this matter and could only hope that someone made a breakthrough.
‘I don’t think the church will make it public even if they manage to crack the code. It wouldn’t be strange if they only distributed the knowledge to their most trusted paladins.’
It wouldn’t be smart for the church to point out their countermeasures to their enemies. The cult might be able to quickly change their relics and patch up the loophole. Then it would be back to square one and the dance between the two religious groups would continue again.
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‘The cult decided to go with the nuclear option just to destroy their traces. It wouldn't be strange if they did something drastic again… but that is if they actually know of the existence of those etchings.’
Perhaps the church had learned from their mistake and they took the right steps to protect their only clue. If that scary inquisitor arrived at the magical academy then it was a sign of them taking things seriously. Roland had been able to escape the illusion twice already and was probably the best person for the job. Together with the etching and his memory of the original code that he saw through his debugging skill he might be able to decipher the mystery.
‘That is, after I get to tier 3 and get a full understanding of greater runes.’
After the conversation was over he decided to pay his workshop a visit. There he continued with his work and also training. His increase in levels was not the only thing he needed to work on. All of his skills were quickly falling behind and he had to keep up. At a bare minimum, his Runic Eye of Truth needed to be maxed out before he attempted a class change again. Without it being at its highest he did not expect getting a prestige class at the rank of his Runesmith Lord.
Thus the hours ticked and the next day arrived while Roland achieved a whole four hours of sleep. This day was a bit special as some of the Orphans had turned ten within this month. Three of them were ready to receive their first class and he was going to be their sponsor.
Thanks to his work with Sister Kassia and the local church he was given a discount when buying the class change crystals. He would use it to elevate the children that he had somewhat grown accustomed to. After visiting the orphanage several times the little guys were growing on him. Money was not really a problem for him anymore and if these kids felt indebted to him, then he could actually receive a return on his investment.
“Good Morning.”
“G..good m-morning…”
“GOOD MORNIN!”
“G’ mornin’ “
The three children replied to him as he spotted them next to Elodia. The first was a somewhat shy-looking girl with green hair. She was the shortest of the bunch and her ears were a little pointy but besides that, she passed for a regular human.
Then there was the loudmouth of the group that shouted back to announce himself. The kid was the tallest of them and had a better physique. From the way, he carried himself it wouldn’t be strange if he received a class that suited his larger stature. Yet this didn’t mean that he would become a warrior as becoming a carpenter or a blacksmith was just as probable.
The last one was also a boy of ten years with some stubble around his chin. Similar to Bernir he was a half-dwarf and already at this age he was starting to grow a beard. Probably after two years, his beard would start covering most of his jaw and he could pass for a very young dwarf.
“Fin stop running around and don’t touch anything!”
“Hah, he sure looks excited.”
Elodia’s fist collided with Fin’s head as he was trying to touch one of the stationary spider golems. This was the most energetic boy from the bunch and it was the first time in Roland’s compound. The young lad had a hard time deciding what to look at, his eyes were darting in all directions as if he was in a store filled with candy.
“You already saw Fin…”
“That I did.”
“This is Marcie and this is Jorg.”
Elodia shook her head while trying to pull Fin back to the group. The girl was quite shy and the moment he glanced her way she flopped her head down to avoid his gaze. She like most of the other kids in the orphanage was mixed in one way or another. In this world purity of a bloodline was still an issue so it wasn’t strange to see an abandoned child that had parents from different races.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Wayland only looks scary on the outside but he is very kind.”
“Wait… I’m scary?”
“Awoo!”
Before anyone could answer his question Agni gave out a howl as if he wanted to agree with Elodia’s claim. Roland didn’t really pay attention to his facial expression that most of the time could make others feel uncomfortable. The only person that didn’t seem to mind his piercing gaze was Fin who was more interested in the magical items than the class crystals.
“A little bit, how about you try to smile more?”
Elodia looked down at Marcie that had jumped behind her after hearing Agni’s howling. When looking towards Roland that was told to smile she recoiled in panic at the strange facial expression that was supposed to resemble a smile.
“Like this?”
“Uh… I think we need to work on that, just act normally.”
“Ha ha, boss, stop scaring the kids!”
Bernir called out from afar while also swinging his hammer. All of them were gathered in the yard and three chairs had been prepared for the kids. After getting laughed at by his assistant the girl started relaxing but to move things along he finally decided to get things back on track.
“Have you explained everything to them?”
“Mhm but I’m not sure if everyone was listening.”
Elodia turned towards Fin who was looking at the table with three stones on them. The stones that he bought looked similar to quartz with a somewhat yellowish tint. This color was supposed to change depending on the church it was produced from. If they ventured to the moon elf territory where the religion was different then this stone would have a darker coloring to it.
“This crystal will allow you to gain your first tier 1 class. If you focus on it the effect should activate and you will be taken to a separate space. Don’t worry, you can’t be hurt there nor can you lose your life.”
This was just partially true as any trials that the kids took there could be quite painful. Yet even if they died in that space they would just return to this world as if nothing happened. Roland had the most experience with these trials but the class-up space that he produced was very unique. To explain it to these ten-year-olds he would need to relay the information that he achieved from books.
“The location you will arrive at has many names, some call it the dream space others the god realm, nevertheless it is mostly composed of your own memories and can take the form of many things.”
Just like his class tests took place in virtual reality at his old apartment something similar should happen for these children. Most of the time they found themselves in a place from their memories, this could be their own house, a library they once visited, or even a castle.
“Don’t be alarmed, try to slowly examine the place you have been taken to. There will always be a path to your destination and once there your first class will appear.”
The kids had no choice in the first class but most of the time this would give them an idea of what they could expect from life. It was a brutal system that divided the populace and mostly didn’t allow people to break out. Unless someone achieved a battle class as their first tier 1 class it would be impossible to break out of this constraint.
Yet in a way, it was rumored that what a person received was guided by their subconscious own desires. These didn’t always align with the surface goals of the people taking the trials and sometimes produced shocking outcomes that could turn a person’s life upside down in but a moment.
“Here you go, remember to sit down and concentrate, don’t worry we are all here, nothing bad is going to happen.”
Elodia reassured the trio that sat down on the previously prepared lawn chair replicas. They were folded back so that the kids could lean against the backrest in a more horizontal position. Even though they were telling the kids to not worry about it, their bodies needed to be in a safe position. After they left the magical space they would probably be confused.
‘I never really saw anyone else go through the class change before, this might be a good chance to examine the process from outside.’
His Runic Eye skill had recently reached level seven. The negative symptoms of his eye bleeding only happened if he overused the skill and not really after activating it as in the past. He was hoping to get a clue of what was happening with people during these trials and with three kids here it was the perfect setting.
Finally, the first child activated the crystal, it was Jorg the quietest of the bunch that took the plunge and the two others followed suit soon after. With haste, he activated all of his skills as well as one of his golems which was analyzing the mana patterns that the kids were giving out.
Yet only for a moment did his head start to sting, the effect of these crystals was very fast, too fast for him to wrap his head around it. For a split second, he could see some complicated runic symbols in the air but almost instantly they vanished from his sight before he could analyze them. One thing was for sure though, these structures were vastly more complicated than the ones he had previously examined.
‘Something above tier 3?’
“R… Wayland are you okay? Your nose…”
“Huh?”
While the kids were waking up from their magically induced sleep that only took two seconds in the real world, he moved his hand towards his nose. When he looked at his digits he noticed blood coming out and this was followed by a bout of lightheadedness.
“I’m fine.”
Luckily he did not collapse to the ground to make a scene. Instead, he activated a runic healing spell that he had inscribed onto a temporary bracelet he was wearing. It came equipped with a small divine crystal that made the healing spell possible.
“Sister Elodia, I did it, I have a class now!”
Shouted the small girl to take the attention away from his bloodied nose. The other two quickly followed suit and for the time being, he was safe from his girlfriend's piercing gaze. The focus was on the children and their new classes that would now shape their lives.