The Runesmith

“How could this be? Did the mana from the dungeon corrupt the spell? Something like this should not have happened! The other mages will think that I was responsible for it…”

The leader Professor Ernas seemed to be shocked by the magical explosion that had just occurred. Never before had something like this transpired during an advancement class. He sounded more concerned about his reputation for allowing such a thing to happen than by the potential injuries that students could have sustained. Luckily, someone had managed to safeguard every student by shielding them with bubbles of magic.

“Are the students fine? Is someone injured?”

Professor Ulfine on the other hand along with her tamed creature rushed to the epicenter of the explosion. The ground was scorched, and the smell of burnt vegetation hung in the air. Lucienne, who had the part of conduit stood shakily, but she seemed unharmed and it was thanks to Roland’s quick intervention. The other students were startled but also appeared physically unscathed.

“I don’t know what happened but it wasn’t the dungeon's mana. Someone interfered with the spell..”

Roland said as his eyes scanned the surroundings.

“Interfered? How is that even possible? Stop making up things”

Professor Ernas didn’t agree with Roland’s assessment for some reason and this was concerning. He clearly saw a strange mana phantom shooting from the distance and afterwards, the spell structure started going berserk. It was possible that the mages here didn’t have the skills required to perceive this fact but there could also have been a different reason, they were in on it.

‘Should I prod for some answers or keep my mouth shut?’

Roland didn’t know who his allies here were so these people could faint ignorance. They would certainly not admit to having any involvement in this incident and he had no authoritative power to make them do anything. He was in a sense a lone boat and rocking the waters too much could make him tip.

There was no telling what these people would do if he started accusing them, it was probably better to keep things civil so that the children wouldn’t be affected. If a fight broke out now, he wasn’t sure if his enemies would care much about the offspring of commoners. Plus, he would also need to explain how his skill worked, something that was better kept hidden.

“I didn’t sense anything either, could it just have been a Dungeon anomaly? Those happen from time to time.”

“That was probably it.”

Ernas concurred with Ulfine who suggested that this might have been a dungeon anomaly. At times, these locations experienced fluctuations in chaotic mana which were capable of causing even a skilled mage to falter in their spellcasting. Considering that it was also done by tier 1 students with lesser mana-handling skills, it was a realistic possibility.

“Perhaps I was mistaken and just felt the strange fluctuations of the mana inside the dungeon.”

“Glad that you did, all of the students seem to be fine thanks to your quick thinking, Wayland.”

Roland nodded as he decided to play along with the explanation to avoid unnecessary complications. The students were still in a state of shock and were now being comforted and assured by the professors that it was just a rare dungeon anomaly. The adventurers who had been knocked down by the shockwave were slowly getting back on their feet. He did not bother to save them as the magical explosion would have not reached them anyway.

“Are okay?”

“Yes, t-thank you Assistant Professor, I’m just feeling a bit dizzy.”

His sister was shaking but fine. Even though he created multiple shields it was easy to protect people from a spell of this magnitude. It was perhaps better if she didn’t know that she had just been through an assassination attempt. Nevertheless, the danger persisted and it would probably be unwise to have her and the other student continue today's lessons.

‘I wonder…’

Roland had an idea that could potentially fix all of his problems quite quickly. It wasn’t very smart but would allow him to perhaps tackle this enemy without the involvement of the students. If the other two professors were his enemies was still debatable but they would probably go along with this proposition as it would put him in danger.

“May I propose something, Professor Ernas?”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Perhaps it is unwise to continue today's advancement classes.”

“You wish to end it before we even begun? We still have the lesser artifacts, those won’t be affected by any dungeon anomalies.”

Ernas didn’t seem to agree with him. One possibility was that he wanted to get these classes over with, even if it put the students in a bit of danger. However, he could have ulterior motives that could not only harm Roland but also the students here. It would be better to perhaps play into his enemy's hand for now as it would get Lucienne and the others out of here first.

“Yes, we should have enough time to complete the classes within a week but what if any of the students is harmed? What if the anomaly produced a unique monster that could appear on this floor? What if it’s a precursor to a dungeon break?”

“A dungeon break? That’s preposterous!”

There were many ways he could spin it and excuse his idea. His voice was also loud enough for everyone to hear. The students along with the adventurers started to whisper around as they knew what the mages were talking about.

“This is a B-rank dungeon, what if a tier 3 boss monster appears? We can’t handle that…”

“Hey, I didn’t sign up for killing tier 3 monsters…”

Ernas looked a bit conflicted as he noticed other people whispering. It was his responsibility to ensure that all of them were safe and he would take all the blame as the leader. Roland’s proposal was reasonable but he needed to give him something to latch on.

“It might be or might not be preposterous but we must guarantee the safety of the students, so state the rules.”

Just like previously, Roland decided to play up his rule-following persona. There was one particular rule that was to be followed in a situation like this and he was hoping that Ernas would allow him to proceed with it.

“Thus, I propose that we remove the students from the dungeon temporarily while I investigate the matter of the anomaly.”

“You wish to investigate the anomaly?’

“That’s right. The Institute directive states that any abnormality or anomaly that could potentially endanger the lives of students should be thoroughly investigated by a faculty member. We must… no It is our duty to ensure the safety of the students.”

Ernas was taken aback by his words while Ulfine nodded from the side, it seemed that she at least agreed with his assessment but he couldn’t erase her from his suspect list just yet.

“I suppose… it does make sense but… who will…”

“Let me.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“You?”

This was the crux of his plan and what he wanted, to be left alone in the dungeon while the others retreated. After proposing himself for the investigative role he attempted to read Ernas’ expression. The man seemed to ponder for a while before coming to some kind of decision.

“Safety first… Fine, Assistant Professor Wayland, you may proceed with your investigation. I will take the students back to the city until the situation is resolved, but you must finish within a day, not an hour more, do I make myself clear?”

“Thank you, Professor Ernas. I assure you, I will do my best to get to the bottom of this anomaly as quickly as possible.”

“Aren’t we relying on the newbie a bit too much?”

Ulfine chimed in as she was standing close by during the whole conversation.

“He brought this up himself, so it will be up to him… Let us depart then and Professor Ulfine.”

Ernas, who looked slightly mad when talking to Roland, started smiling instantly when facing the attractive woman who felt that something was wrong.

“Yes?”

“We will have some time on our hands, so how about you join me for a meal in the city? We can discuss our recent advancements in magical research and maybe it will help take our minds off this unusual incident…”

Ulfine raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical of Ernas' true intentions.

“Sorry, but someone has to keep an eye on the students while we are in the city while Assistant Professor Wayland is here, we got used to using his mechanical familiars for that.”

“Is that so…”

Ulfine's response seemed to leave Ernas a bit disappointed but he quickly composed himself.

“Well, maybe next time then. Let's make sure the students are safe and sound. Professor Wayland, the responsibility is on your shoulders now. Don't let us down.”

“Understood.”

With that, the group started to make their way back up the stairs to the surface. He could see the adventurers sighing in relief as they weren’t needed nor were they hired for something like this. The people from the Knight Academy didn’t seem to care about the decision as their main mission was just to protect and guard. What the mages decided on was not their problem and it would not jeopardize their mission.

He watched as the students, professors, and adventurers gradually disappeared from sight. The fog here enveloped everything so he couldn’t even see them going up the steep set of stairs. While he didn’t trust the other Professors nor the Knight Commander that was with them, they would probably temporarily not do anything drastic. The people that were aiming for him and Lucienne would probably focus all effort on him and only afterward go for her.

‘Now… I’m sure that mana phantom came from that direction.’

Once they were gone, Roland activated his detection skills and started scanning the surroundings. He needed to find any traces left over by the intruder that interfered with the siege spell casting. The dungeon was filled with eerie sounds and fog, which made data gathering a lot harder.

‘It must have been a potent mage or an artifact if it was able to fool everyone besides me, or both of them were lying…’

As Roland delved deeper into the dungeon he thought about his situation. He was sure that Ernas was his enemy as he worked under Delauder. However, he wasn’t sure how much the man knew or was actively involved in the issue. It was one thing to take bribes from nobles and another to attempt an assassination on a student.

‘I can’t imagine him being fine with a baron’s daughter sustaining injuries or dying while under his watch, he would take all the blame for this mishap unless they were planning to put all the blame on me instead…Hm…’

There was no one here anymore and it was just what he wanted. The people who took part in the assassination attempt would probably take this chance to attack him. He decided to take the risk as he felt that his opponents were still underestimating his abilities and that this would probably be the last time he would get such a chance.

‘There you are… quite a bit of you too…’

It took him some time to get through but he was finally able to analyze the concealment spell. His current enemies had a mage with them or some type of artifact using tier 3 spells. At first, he wasn’t sure who was truly after him but as he continued to scan the area a mana pattern that he previously saved appeared. One of his old friends was here to pay a visit and probably to get back at him for his previous loss.

‘If that guy is here, it means that the others are probably…’

Roland’s eyes narrowed as he focused on the people that were trying to surround him. At the moment they were keeping their distance and were probably unaware that he was able to detect them with his armor. He still had a few options on how to tackle this issue and a decision needed to be made.

‘I could still run but if I do, then they’ll just keep on coming… sometimes it’s better to nip it in the bud. Though, this bud is already connected to a tree… it might not be enough…’

His previous instincts were telling him to just run. Taking Lucienne away from here while revealing his true identity was also an option. If he showed himself as her older brother, no one would be able to dismiss his concerns. However, such an action would complicate things and would still leave a lot of things to be resolved later. The people who were trying to harm him would probably not relent and eventually appear before him or his sister Lucienne.

‘They’ll probably know that I did it but they won’t know how I did it…’

Finally, his mind had been made up. He already started following this path and it was too late to stop now. His hand moved towards the robe that he was wearing to quickly take it off. It didn’t really offer him much in the way of protection and would only tear during the ensuing engagement.

Soon after, he took the shield he was magnetizing to his back down and held it vertically to the ground. A darkened hole appeared on the surface of the shield into which he stuck his Enforcement Department robe. His shield had been made to hold most of his items and weapons. After placing the robe inside, he took out two items, one was his hammer-staff and the other an identical-looking shield tower shield.

‘These swamps should be enough to hide it…’

The shield that he used to store his items was tossed into the shallow swamp water while the other one took its place on his back. With his attire adjusted and his equipment ready he started moving, his previous shield left here. After a few minutes of wondering, Roland took a deep breath and prepared himself for the confrontation that was about to unfold. The mana signatures of his adversaries were getting closer and he was feeling a bit more tense.

As he walked through the dense fog Roland's senses were heightened, every rustle of leaves, every distant sound echoing was taking in. Even though he had the monitoring system he could not get lazy. Multiple people were emerging and their numbers kept increasing. His previous assumption of them waiting in the dungeon beforehand became true.

Suddenly, the first attacker emerged from the mist, a figure wearing a dark cloak. He didn’t say anything but instead launched a quick magically backed attack in his direction. It was a surge of wind magic, coming at high velocity. Roland didn’t dodge as if he was expecting this attack and just raised his shield. The blades of wind collided with the barrier of mana that was produced by the shield but he remained standing tall.

“I thought knights were above surprised attacks? Right, Elythaes Baskerville?”

“Tsik…”

It was his old friend, Elythaes Baskerville the knight that he encountered during the incident at the training grounds. It was the same man but he was wearing a superior half-plate suit of armor made of light metals. The enchantments on it were far stronger than during their first encounter and he was not alone. Soon two other men wearing similar dark robes emerged to cut away his escape route.

“Hey, Elythaes weren’t we supposed to attack him all at once?”

“I told you that it wouldn’t work, this man is dangerous.”

Elythaes replied to one of the men that were behind him. This one was not a half-elf but instead a human with sharp features and a calculating expression. Roland didn’t recognize him but after using his identification skill he had an answer.

The third person was also part of the Baskerville noble family and was the only one wearing a full suit of plate armor. He reminded Roland of Emmerson whom he had defeated before and he was probably the tank of this group. In his right hand he held a heavy-looking polearm and in the other a huge tower shield that was similar to his own.

‘Quite the lineup and if I’m not mistaken, their mage is still hiding somewhere…’

These three seemed like his main opponents but this wasn’t all. Many other men wearing robes started emerging from within the shadows. It was clear that they brought over many of their lesser knights with them, all tier 2 and waiting for orders. While it was clear that he was outnumbered, he did not feel that he was quite outmatched…