“Amazing… this is amazing!” Pamerun and the other Grand Witches couldn’t stop squealing in joy while they were reading the books on Alrune’s bookshelf. “To think that the secrets of the founder’s magics were all in this place… I can hardly contain my excitement!”
After entering Alrune’s room, the girls began debating on where to bury his body, but the Guardian of Wisdom spoke up and said, “Please, leave our master with us.” With a flap of its wings his body was whisked into her feathers, and the two guardians left, presumably to bury him somewhere. With the guardians gone, they all began searching Alrune’s room and found that the books on his shelf were written by each of the founding Grand Witches. Besides those books there wasn’t anything else of interest in his room, but the Grand Witches were more than satisfied from this find.
“Hmm… this is a bit troublesome.” Q frowned as she looked up at the rafters in the ceiling.
“What is the matter Q?” Brie asked.
“It’s Alrune’s key. He told me to give it to his guardians, but they left already. I guess I’ll have to go back here sometime.”
“Yeah, I’d like to come back here as well to do a proper walkthrough of this dungeon!” Kukis said with an excited voice. “I mean, sure we got to the bottom floor, but there were a lot of weird creatures and things all around the place. Since the Grand Witches took care of them and we just sped through, it doesn’t feel right calling this a successful capture.”
“Indeed. Though I believe we should make our way to the surface. This musky air is no good for milady’s health.” Phanos had already began pulling Brie away.
“Hold on a moment,” Pamerun cut in. “We found a teleportation array underneath Alrune’s bed, and it leads back to the surface. Of course, you could make your way through every single floor of the library by yourselves…” She trailed off.
“We’d be happy to join you!” Phanos made a 180 turn as she walked straight into Alrune’s room with Brie in tow. Q and Kukis followed with smiles on their faces, and everyone went inside Alrune’s room.
When Q saw the teleportation array, she felt slightly curious and used [Spell Analysis]. A *ding* sound was heard and she looked up to find a window that said:
[Teleport Rune analysis: 5%]
Although she found it slightly strange that she couldn’t simply copy the rune as she saw it (when she tried it failed and the rune she wrote disappeared), she still couldn’t help but grin widely. “Hahaha… HAHAHAHA!” Q began laughing maniacally as the rest of the girls stared at her in confusion. “Sorry, I’m just excited because I’ll be able to teleport in the future! That’s like… number two on the list of superpowers I want to have.”
“What’s number one?” Kukis asked in curiosity.
“To turn anything I want super soft.”
“...”
“Stand close, we’re activating the array now.” Pamerun reminded the girls, and they all huddled together. With a bright flash of light, their vision was temporarily blinded. Once the light faded away, the found themselves standing on top of the upside-down fountain. Their appearance startled quite a few witches, as one almost fell off her broom in surprise.
“We’re back! Though we’ve only been gone for a few hours…” Q frowned a little. Despite their grand adventure, it didn’t even take half a day. “I can’t believe you slept through all of that though.” Q poked Schorl who was coiled up around one of her ears. Once everyone was accounted for, the Grand Witches all ran off to read the books they just got, and said they would eventually contact the girls later. With nothing else to do, the girls decided to head back to the Nine-Lives inn to rest up a little.
On the way there Brie asked, “Q, what is your new class about?”
“It’s about making runes, and then using them.” Q drew a rune for fire and let it hover above her hand. “Alrune sort of disappeared so he didn’t tell me anything about how to use the class, but I’ll figure it out eventually.” She activated the rune and let it dissipate as she reached the front of the Nine-Lives inn. “For now… fluffy-fluff time!” Q dashed into the Nine-Lives inn and instantly homed in on Clair who was taking a nap.
After causing a bit of a commotion, Q eventually settled down and let go of Clair. “So what do you guys want to do now?” She asked. “For me, I’m going to find somewhere I can test out my runes.”
“I’m heading down to the experimental district.” Kukis said. “If I want to capture the underground library, I’m going to need a lot more stuff than what I have now. See you all later!” Kukis ran off and left the group.
“I would like to stay and watch you Q.” Brie said after a moment of silence.
“Naturally, I will join milady.” Phanos chimed in.
“If you’re sure then I won’t stop you. Hey Clair, is there anywhere that I can test my new runes?”
“Mew can go to the backyard of the inn. Just don’t make a mess alright?” Clair lazily stretched out on the counter.
“I make no promises.” Q and the others made their way to the backyard. The backyard was a wide open area, about thirty square meters large. There were a few floating lanterns providing illumination, and some gnarled trees were also growing out of the ground. The sky was hidden behind the clouds, which gave the area a slightly ominous feel.
“For starters, let’s see what each of the element runes do.” She began to draw each rune and tested their abilities. The fire rune exploded into flames, the water rune made a small ball of water that vanished, the earth rune created a small rock, and the wind rune made a breeze. The dark and light runes made a small ball of their element, and the void rune seemed to be invisible. At first Q was confused but when she used [Mana Perception] she saw that there was actually something there.
“Okay, now for some of the command runes.” Q tried using a few of the command runes but quickly realized that they didn’t do anything, even when she used [Mana Perception]. “Well logic dictates that I should mix them with the element runes to make them do something… But how do I do that?”
“Perhaps they can be overlapped?” Brie suggested.
“Oh yeah, maybe.” Q drew a fire rune with her right hand, and then drew a ‘forward’ rune with her left. She moved the forward rune on top of the fire rune, and then said “Activate!” In the next moment, the runes exploded in Q’s face! “...Maybe something else works.” Q began to put the runes in different positions in an effort to get them to work together, but none of them seemed to work. Q stared hard at the fire rune, and was looking directly at the empty space in the triangle.
Hold on, what if I filled the empty space with something? Q then created a slightly larger fire rune, and then drew the forwards rune inside it. When she said activate, it worked! At first Q was excited but then the fire disappeared after half a second. “What the heck? Did it run out of mana or something? But at least I figured out that the rune needs to be enclosed by something to work properly. Hmm…”
Driven by curiosity, Q created a large circle and drew the fire rune inside it. Then she drew the forwards rune inside the fire rune, and activated it. This time the fire went much farther than before, with a force and speed that was similar to her [Ember] spell she had. “So I guess using a circle lets you direct the runes more easily. This is really interesting!” Q wore a silly grin on her face as she began experimenting with different combinations of the runes.
Meanwhile Brie was sitting on a log watching Q, while Phanos stood beside her. “Milady, do you truly find this entertaining?” Phanos asked after a few minutes.
“Strangely enough, yes.” Brie said with a slightly perplexed expression. “For some reason I have come to like watching Q smile and have fun. Do you think that is odd?”
Phanos’ eye widened at Brie comment, and she was silent for half a minute before responding. “Milady, that isn’t strange at all. To find enjoyment in other’s entertainment is a very common thing.”
“Mm.” Brie once again focused on Q.
It seems that Lady Brie truly considers Q a friend. To the extent that she even ‘trusts’ her…. Whether or not Q is actually worthy of that… Hmph. I suppose I’ll need to test her a bit. With Brie looking at Q, and Q focusing on her runes, neither of them noticed Phanos’ malicious gleam in her eye.
“Acti- what?” Q was about to activate a rune when it suddenly disappeared. “I suppose there’s a time limit huh? I wonder if I can change that somehow…” Q looked around her status for a bit and found a new page describing her class skill tree. A screen popped up with an icon in the center which read: Rune-write. There were three branching paths leading away from it, and they were all colored differently. “Oooh, this looks really fancy. Let’s see, there are three paths to take. Permanence, Intensity and Abundance. The permanence tree focuses on keeping runes active for a long time, intensity increases their damage and effects, and abundance lets me draw more runes at once… Hey Brie, what do you think I should do?” Q looked over at Brie.
After explaining her situation, Brie and Phanos began thinking along with her. “Could you possibly go down all three paths?” Brie asked.
“I could, but being an all-rounder takes a lot of time and effort. I’d prefer to pick two and go down their trees evenly.”
“Then perhaps Permanence and Intensity?” Phanos suggested. “I would imagine that being able to create a large, powerful rune to unleash in the perfect moment is a solid tactic.”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“That does sound tempting, but I wouldn’t want to be locked into a single rune if the situation somehow changes… Agh, this choice is so agonizing!”
“If it causes you pain, then why are you smiling?” Brie tilted her head in confusion.
“Because this is one of the great parts of playing games! The hesitation and uncertainty when picking a certain playstyle is always fun! Alright, I’ve decided. I’m going to use permanence and abundance. I will spam the heck out of my runes!” Q began placing points in those skill trees and began practicing with her runes.
“...Although you said that making this decision is hard, you decided on what you’re doing quite easily.” Phanos raised an eyebrow.
“Eh, picking things on impulse is also pretty fun at times.” Q shrugged her shoulders.
“Hehehe” Brie giggled. “You are very full of contradictions Q.”
“It’s the best of both worlds.” Q grinned as she once again turned to face the two girls. “Now could one of you possibly spar with me? The best way to get used to your abilities is to use them in action after all.”
Brie stood up and was about to volunteer, when Phanos suddenly interrupted her. “Q, would you mind fighting against me?”
“Sure!” Q smiled and pulled out her weapons. Her smile faded away though when she saw the notice that appeared in front of her.
[Phanos has challenged you to a deathmatch. Do you accept? (Y/N)]
Q furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at Phanos in confusion. Phanos’ face was completely neutral, and gave no indication that she felt anything about the request she sent. Brie was looking at the two who were silently facing each other and asked, “Has the fight not yet begun?”
Q looked over at Brie, then back to Phanos. Oh, is this some sort of test? That was the only possibility she could think of with this sudden deathmatch request. “Okay, let’s fight.” Q accepted the match and got into a fighting stance. She didn’t miss the slight smirk that Phanos let out, and felt slightly irritated inside. Just as the match began, the clouds overhead cleared away and revealed the moon which shone down on the entire area.
[Match begins in 3...2...1… START!]
The instant that the match began, Phanos’ figure shimmered and then disappeared from sight! Q was surprised for a second, but she used [Sense Presence] and then rolled forward as she felt something behind her! In the next instant a knife slash was sent at the space Q just was, which sent chills down Q’s back.
“Hm. Your reflexes are so-so, but you used a skill didn’t you? To rely on this game’s abilities is pathetic. If this was real life you’d be dead by now.” Phanos talked in a quiet voice that only Q could hear.
“Are you implying that you didn’t use a skill?” Q couldn’t believe that Phanos just naturally disappeared like that without using a skill or ability.
“Of course not. Erasing your presence and moving out of your opponent’s line of sight is quite simple. Like so.” Phanos disappeared again and Q rolled away from her next attack while her [Sense Presence] ability was still active.
This is even scarier than fighting Wolfy! Q screamed a little on the inside as she began running around the battlefield to avoid Phanos’ attacks. Phanos was relentless in her pursuit, as the moment Q let her guard down a knife would instantly slash at her! Suddenly Phanos appeared a few meters ahead of Q and threw a knife! Q brought out her own dagger to block the attack, but as soon as she did Phanos disappeared again.
This time Q extended her free hand behind her and cast [Tri-Spark] while also blocking the knife flying at her. For a moment she saw a flicker of Phanos’ figure, and she reappeared a few meters away. “At the very least, it seems you can learn. I suppose I should pick up the pace then.”
She can go even faster!? Q was thoroughly dumbfounded at Phanos’ skills. Suddenly there were multiple knives flying towards Q! With great effort she managed to block them all, but Phanos appeared while she was doing so and cut Q’s neck! The attack was both a sneak attack and a critical hit, and Q’s health plummeted down to below half. Once again Phanos appeared in front of Q and still kept her emotionless face. “If this is all you’re capable of, you are not suited to be with milady.” Phanos’ gaze suddenly became vicious as she rushed towards Q!
She’s seriously going to kill me! The moment Q realized this her blood went cold. Fine then, I guess I need to get serious too! Q narrowed her eyes and tensed her body, and the world seemed to slow down a little. This time Q could make out Phanos’ movements, and she began to match them as she attacked with one hand and began drawing a rune with her other hand. The two girls’ daggers clashed against each other, and this seemed to surprise Phanos quite a bit. By the time Phanos regained her composure Q activated the rune and made a small fiery explosion!
For the first time since the battle began, Phanos took damage, but it was a miniscule amount compared to what she had dealt to Q. “I guess you do have some abili-” Phanos’ words were caught in her throat as she saw Q’s gaze. Q’s face became incredibly grim, and her eyes were radiating pure hostility. If you’re seriously trying to kill me, then I’m seriously going to kill you! Q thought as she began drawing more runes.
Phanos’ expression changed as well, as her eye narrowed and she began frowning. She disappeared once again and appeared behind Q, but this time Q turned around with frightening speed and punched with a fist glowing with lightning. Phanos’ eye widened as she didn’t expect this sort of speed, and she could only block with her knife.
The moment they collided, the knife dug into Q’s flesh while lightning flew out from her fist and hit Phanos, stunning her in the process. Q twisted her fist with the knife still inside and wrenched it free from Phanos’ hand. The rune she had prepared was also released at point blank, and it consisted of Void, condense, amplify, and release. A large amount of magic power was released, and it created a scene similar to Q’s Arcane Overload (though it wasn’t as destructive as it).
The attack blew Phanos away, and just as she managed to get back onto her feet, Q dashed forward with a red aura around her! This time Q looked incredibly feral as her claws elongated and her pupils shrank into slits. She even let out a growl, revealing a row of sharp teeth that went straight for Phanos’ neck! Now Phanos was slightly alarmed as she began to use some skills as well. First she fully disappeared from sight and reappeared on the other side of the backyard with a green glow around her. Then she placed down a stick of some sort which caused Q to get a headache when she looked at it.
In this momentary lapse, Phanos placed down even more things on the ground and made a few gestures with her hand. Q suddenly felt tired, drowsy, and exhausted all at the same time, but she shook her head and managed to say, “Hah, relying on this game’s abilities is just pathetic.” She sent Phanos’ previous words right back at her, which caused the latter to grit her teeth in anger. Phanos brought out a large dagger and covered it in magic, giving it a sharp, green glow. Just as she was about to charge forward and attack, she was stopped by a figure who stepped in-between them.
“Stop it you two!” Brie suddenly interrupted the fight and looked at the two girls angrily. “This is supposed to be a sparring match! Why are you trying to kill each other?” The moment that Phanos and Q’s expressions changed, she felt something was off. Only now did she have the opportunity to step in and stop the battle.
The moment Brie appeared, Q felt the effects of Phanos’ items disappear and could once again think normally. “She started it.” She said with an accusatory tone.
Brie looked over at Phanos with a furious expression and said, “Steph, are you doing it again?”
“Er, please call me Ph-”
“DO NOT try to change the subject! Tell me, are you trying to ‘test’ Q?”
“...It is necessary.” Phanos said with a small voice. “I must make sure that-”
“NO EXCUSES!” Both Q and Phanos flinched at her words. “You will logout this instant, and we will continue this in real life.”
“...Yes, milady.” A notice appeared above Q saying that Phanos had conceded the fight, and then she disappeared into light particles.
“Um… Brie?” Q was slightly scared as she hadn’t seen such an angry expression from Brie before.
“I am sorry Q, I have other matters to attend to.” Brie then logged out without another word, and left Q alone in the backyard.
“That was… scary.” Q let out a sigh and looked up at the moon. “I guess I’ll keep practicing then.” She silently continued to test her runes, with only the moon as her companion.
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Overprotective much? Well now you get a nice look at Phanos' darker side. "Anything for Milady," or so she'd say with a smile. A smile while stabbing your neck...
By the way, which combination of her class trees would you have used? Answer in the poll (if you feel like it).
Fun-fact: LED light-bulbs don't give off the UV wavelength that attracts night bugs.