Chapter 53

  The room was a simple affair, but it was large enough to not feel crowded even with three beds, three desks, and empty cabinets for our daily clothes. A wide, if a little old, carpet was stretched across the middle, its tassels a faded brown, depicted upon which was the Chaos Beast that gave our Hall its name.

  It looked mighty strong, the Dreadmare did. It had a pair of jet-black wings, a pointy beak gleaming with a silver hue, and two pairs of eyes decisively crimson in color. It resembled an overgrown raven at first glance.

  I moved over to the fireplace, studying the pokers placed in a steel bowl to make myself busy while letting the other two decide which bed to choose. I wasn’t particularly picky about these things, but a part of me hoped the one by the large windows would be left alone.

  “I’ll take this one,” Valar said as he flopped over onto the bed by the entrance. “My old man always told me you have to be prepared in case shit goes wrong. You can never be too cautious about these things.”

  Oh, that was why he picked that one. So that he could bolt out in case of an emergency. Clever, really, but it did make me question what sort of life Valar had lived to become… someone like this. He seemed to be in a constant state of caution, as if at any time a beast could pop out of nowhere and have a go at him.

  Compared to him, Keralth appeared much calmer in general. He picked the bed straight across from the fireplace, then tapped his ring and pulled out a bookshelf the size of his entire person. He placed it down with a gentle plop, then moved on to pull out one book after another in blissful silence. In seconds, the bookshelf was packed with old tomes that lacked even a speck of dust on their faces.

  A bookworm, as expected, but that wasn’t important now.

  The bed by the windows was mine! I’d have the whole view to myself, which, considering my prior school experiences, had never happened before. I was used to getting the worst of anything. This was a much-welcomed change.

  Giddy like a real kid, but expertly cool and calm on the outside, I walked over to my bed and pulled the desk a bit closer to it, the wooden legs groaning with motion. I placed my ink bottles in the top left corner, pulled my pens and quills out, lined them beside the bottles in order. Then I picked one of the magical leather stacks from inside the ring, strapped with quality silk, and threw the whole stack down with growing satisfaction. In the end, the desk looked much like the one in the Runechamber.

  “How does that work, exactly?” came a question from Valar the second I finished the prep work. “The runes, I mean. How do you go about inscribing them?”

  “It’s not really different from basic writing,” I said as I moved over to the cabinet and pulled out one of my shirts. “You work the magic into the letters.”

  “Soul magic, you mean,” Valar said.

  “Guess so, yeah.”

  “It’s not soul magic,” Keralth interjected right away. “That’s a completely different and irrelevant field.”

  “Really?” Valar didn’t seem too happy with the distinction. “I’d say the two feel pretty much the same.”

  “Soul magic is simply a glorified term for body animation and alteration,” Keralth said. “While it is true some Mages can utilize a person’s soul in strange ways, they do it strictly with mana and charms. They do not, on any occasion, generate something that doesn’t exist.”

  “Don’t think so,” Valar shrugged. “Runemasters use their souls. Soul magic uses souls. They’re about the same thing, if you ask me.”

  “They’re not,” Keralth said without a change in expression. “A Runemaster uses his own soul for the Runes. They breathe a part of their existence into their Rune sequences, giving them life in a way nobody really understands on a deeper level. Soul Mages, however, simply utilize what is available in a person’s being. They don’t create anything. They do their work with what already exists. Do you understand?”

  “No,” Valar said.

  “It’s okay.” Keralth smiled, but there was something odd about that expression. It seemed as though the edges of his lips were kind of… strained. “We don’t have to understand everything. Most of us don’t, anyway.”

  I chuckled silently at their back-and-forth, not really blaming either one of them. It was a hard topic to articulate an educated opinion on, since Runemasters were pretty stingy with Rune-related information.

  But Keralth was right. Soul energy was what mana meant for Mages to a Runemaster. It was essentially an extension of will, a living thing that could be guided through the runic alphabet. Meanwhile, a Soul Mage was basically a powerful Mage who could control souls and do weird things with them. That Diamond Rank puppet from the trial was a good example of that.

  “Whatever,” Valar said after a beat. “I don’t care much for runes. I don’t need them to make a name for myself.”

  “Really?” Keralth sounded surprised this time. “You do know that even a Grade 1 Rune can boost your general strength by around 20 to 25 percent?”

  “I know,” Valar nodded. “But if ever a time comes and I feel the lack of Runes, that means I failed on the Path of Glory, that I have failed myself and the people who expect great things from me, that I’ve been too undisciplined a fool to not have put in enough work.”

  “You’re being a great fool for not acknowledging the importance of Runes,” Keralth said, then gestured at me with a finger. “Especially considering we have a Runemaster for a roommate.”

  “Can he even inscribe Runes, though?” Valar gave me a doubtful look. “Don’t get me wrong, but most of the Runemasters I’ve heard of were at least centuries old. You can make a real master out of yourself in the future, I’m sure, but at sixteen? I don’t think so. That’s probably why you’re training as a Knight at the same time, right?”

  I waited silently, not really taking these words to heart, partly because I expected some sort of answer from Keralth. There wasn’t any, which made me look up, only to see him staring at me with questions in his eyes.

  He didn’t know?

  “Really?” I mumbled.

  “See?” Valar nodded to himself knowingly. “He needs to take his time. Don’t worry. I’ll be around.”

  “I should note that down.” Keralth searched hastily through his newly organized bookshelf, picked a notebook from between the tomes, reached into his ring and pulled out a shining pen before scribbling in it with full focus. “Runemasters probably need dozens of years’ worth of training to actually begin inscribing—”

  “Hey!” I jabbed a finger at him. “Stop that!”

  And yet he kept mumbling as he scribbled on, “They’re understandably lacking in value before a certain age, but the potential alone means that—”

  “I said stop!” I finally had enough of him. “I can inscribe runes. I can inscribe them plenty!”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “You can?” Keralth looked up from the notebook, not really convinced. “It’s okay to admit your shortcomings. I’m sure nobody expects you to perform right away.”

  “I can, though,” I said, the pressure behind my forehead building up. “I spent years working my ass off. I won’t let you two look down on me. That’s, like, super unfair.”

  “If you say so,” Keralth said, then added another sentence to his notebook before putting the damn thing down.

  “What did you write?”

  “Nothing.”

  “You…” I cringed. “I can actually inscribe Grade 3 Runes, okay? It’s nothing for me. I can inscribe them here now if you want. No big deal. I can do it. Even Grade 4 Runes are a piece of cake. I was thinking of giving the Grade 5 ones a go, but had decided to postpone that since I couldn’t make use of them as a Silver Knight, and yet you just convinced me. I’ll show you—”

  I stopped. Felt like something was deeply wrong in my mind at that very moment. I was an adult, so why did I get worked up like this? Just because these kids doubted my talent? Was it that important to make these two believe that I could, in fact, inscribe their brains off if I wanted? What would that accomplish, exactly?

  But then, I figured, I had never been in this situation before. I’d never had a talent. Not one that could distinguish me from the rest of the crowd, anyway. In this life, however, I was a rare gem. I owed it to myself to make people treat me with respect, damn it!

  “Deep breaths,” I muttered to myself. Keep your cool. Easy and calm. “Take three deep breaths.”

  “Is there something wrong?” Keralth asked, completely oblivious to the fact that he had just made me question my two lives without even meaning to. It was scary, this attitude of his. It could catch a lot of people unaware if they weren’t expecting it.

  “No,” I said, waving my hand. Now that I had taken a couple of breaths, I could actually think with a clear mind. “I’m all good.”

  “So the Runes,” Valar continued after giving me an odd glance. “Reckon it’s like painting yourself all over with ink, yeah, except someone else does it. Like tattoos. I think it’s too early for me to get tattoos—”

  There was a knock on the door.

  All three of us perked up at the sound, with Valar’s hand quickly finding his axe and slipping it free from its sheath. I myself clasped Beatrice’s handle out of habit, tension building in my shoulders. Keralth appeared stupidly calm. He was always calm, this guy.

  “Who the hell is it?” Valar’s voice had a sharp quality to it as he neared the entrance, settling beside the wall as though an experienced hunter approaching a prickly prey. The way he positioned himself would definitely give him an edge if the person behind the door ever tried to barge in.

  “I’m here for the Runemaster,” a voice answered from behind the door. A young woman’s voice, tinged with a touch of impatience. “Open the door. I need Runes.”

  Instead of opening the door, Valar first glanced back at us, mostly at me. I didn’t know what to do, so I gave him a slight nod. I thought we might as well see who this odd girl was before making a judgment.

  Valar opened the door, revealing a familiar face behind the entrance. It was that Crimsonpale girl who seemed like she’d been on a mean streak for a while. She glared up at Valar, studied his axe with mild interest, then shouldered past him and strolled into the room before finally planting her eyes on me.

  “Here,” she said, tapping a finger onto her golden ring and pulling out a hand-sized sack, jingling inside with what sounded like a generous amount of coin. “I need Runes. The Grades aren’t important. I need them now.”

  I froze at the sheer absurdity of the situation, or should I say the boldness of this young woman? She had that look about her, of course. The kind that told me that she was way too used to getting her way, that she hadn’t, for a second, thought there was any possibility of me rejecting her. The sort of pompous attitude a true Young Master would have, surely, surrounded by riches and dozens of servants.

  “No, thanks,” I said.

  “I need a Strength Rune first,” she continued. “A Regeneration one, too. Those two are a must. For the third Rune, I want—”

  “Lady!” I yelled a little. “I said no. We’re not doing any business here. The shop’s closed. The Master’s too busy to take extra projects. Thank you very much, but you have to go.”

  “You…” Seres said, slowly raising her chin and looking at me. “You said no? To me?”

  “Yes.”

  “It’s been a while since I last heard that word.” Seres’ eyes widened in incredulity before she dangled the sack in front of my eyes. “Do you know how much gold is in this little thing? It’s enough to buy yourself ten Silver Cores, if not more. I can double it. Triple it if you can give me those Runes.”

  I flinched back a little at how intense her crimson eyes got by the end of her speech. She did seem desperate, almost enough that I buckled under her gaze, but then I remembered the promise I made to myself. I was to be respected and hailed as a Runemaster, not belittled by these high-nosed people even though I was technically a Young Master as well.

  “I might consider doing it some other time, but not today,” I decided to say. Ten Silver Cores for such little effort didn’t sound that bad of a deal, after all. “I have other things to do.”

  “Like what?” Seres asked, stepping closer to me. “You want someone’s head? I can deliver it to you. Just give me the name. I’ll get it done by tomorrow.”

  “So there’s a bite to her, I see,” Valar’s voice sounded too carefree to fit the occasion. “Comes with the reputation, probably. I like it.”

  “I do have to say I’m finding her approach rather harsh,” Keralth muttered from the side. “Considering she has barged into a room with two Silver Knights and a Silver Mage as a Silver Knight herself, I find myself wondering where this attitude stems from. Does she believe she can force Leo to work for her out of fright, thinking perhaps the two of us will turn a blind eye to her actions, or is it truly about the monetary nature of the matter that instills this confidence in her?”

  “Ten Silver Cores, eh?” Valar said. “It’s nothing. You need about a thousand of ’em to become a Golden Knight, and getting those without putting in the work means you’re going to be a shit of a Knight. Ain’t worth it, it sure’s not.”

  He was right, of course. Her logic was flawed from the start. There was a reason why great nations ever bothered to take the risk of sending their scions into academies like this one when they could simply feed them Diamond Cores and turn them into nepo babies with little effort.

  It was all about experience.

  “I… I need those Runes. Please,” Seres said, clenching the sack so tight I thought it’d burst. “There’s someone here. Someone I need to take care of. I can’t do that without those Runes. She has people around her. Too many people—”

  “Okay, enough,” I said with a wave of my hand. “I’m sure you have your reasons, but this is getting a bit too unhinged for me. I don’t want to become a part of some secret plot on my first day. That means responsibility. I’ve already got too much on my plate. Why don’t you go ahead and try to solve… whatever this is like civilized people? Use your words, or demand an official duel through the Halls. You can do that, right?”

  “Technically, yes,” Keralth said before Seres could open her mouth. That single “yes” made her eyes sparkle with hope. “But you’re not allowed to kill anyone during duels.”

  Her shoulders slumped.

  Not good.

  “Who is she, by the way? Anyone we know?” I asked, finding myself compelled to say something because she seemed like she’d lost a part of her soul after this whole thing. “Do you actually need to go this far right from the first day?”

  “It’s the Dravian whore,” Seres said through clenched teeth. “She needs to die. There’s no other way around it. And you’re going to give me the Runes to carry out the deed whether you like it or not. I’ll make sure of it.”

  Then, with another intense glare, she turned and walked back to the entrance, stopped for a second as though she was about to say something, but instead reached for the door and slammed it shut behind her, leaving us completely baffled.

  “What the hell was that?” I asked out loud. “She was completely crazy, right?”

  “Vengeance comes with a certain heat to it,” Valar said. “I respect it.”

  “These things do happen between great nations,” Keralth nodded calmly. “It’s not out of the ordinary.”

  These two… I guessed they were right. People came here with some baggage, after all, but if they thought they could make me a part of their business, then they were terribly wrong. I wanted nothing to do with them. I was here to live the best time of my life—

  “Runemaster!”

  “I want to see the Runemaster!”

  “Open the door! I have much gold here!”

  “Can he even do it? I mean, he’s too young, no?”

  “I’m sure he can. Why else would the Severer take him as a disciple?”

  “Right… Then I want three Runes. No, four!”

  “Four? You can’t carry four Runes. Not if they’re higher than Grade 3. Everyone knows that.”

  I jerked back as noises exploded right behind our door, even Valar and Keralth flinching in response. We all shared a look.

  “What is happening?” I asked.

  “Well, you might’ve said the shop’s closed,” Valar said, grinning widely. “But looks to me the customers are still hopeful. They’re lining up. A lot of them.”

  “If that is the case.” Keralth tapped a thoughtful finger onto the back of his hand. “Can I also join the line? I’d like to get a set of Runes as well, if possible.”

  “That… Wait, what?” I stammered.

  “Might as well count me in, then.” Valar crossed his arms and smiled at me. “I know I’ve said all that stuff about this and that, but I’m not going to pass on an opportunity like this. I’m not a fool.”

  I was done. Left alone by my so-called friends, deserted in a room with nowhere to hide. It was either become a machine and supply these crazy people with Runes, or risk becoming a hermit of sorts. I didn’t want to be alone, but I didn’t want to be the center of attention, either.

  There had to be a balance.

  Right.

  Balance.

  How could I find it, though?

  I had no clue.

  ….