The Runesmith

Chapter 696: Can’t Rest Yet.

*Click.*

“I think I’m getting used to this new cockpit, but…”

“Is there something wrong? I think we managed to improve the response time, so it should feel much more natural now. Were there any problems?”

“Uh... no, everything is fine. I was just thinking... are you taking care of yourself, brother?”

“Taking care of myself?”

Roland stopped looking at the panels as his brother moved closer. He was wearing his Mobile Runic Armor pilot suit, which was essentially a modified Silvergrace suit. The two had been focused on the cockpit, trying to improve the frame’s reaction time, but Robert seemed to have noticed something else.

“Yes. Your eyes look kind of vacant. Have you been sleeping enough lately?”

Roland blinked and pulled his gaze away from the runic diagnostic screen. The monitorʼs pale blue glow reflected in his tired eyes. He raised a hand and rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling the exhaustion that had settled deep within him over the past few weeks.

“I sleep as much as necessary, Robert. There is simply a large amount of work that requires my direct supervision at the moment.”

“If you say so, but perhaps you should take a day off, or at least half a day, to recover some strength. As they say, no kingdom was built in a day, but many who tried were buried under the shaky foundation.”

There were old sayings in this world as well, and now that he had his older brother here, he was hearing them more often. Robert was slowly becoming more comfortable speaking his mind. In the past, he had usually remained silent.

“Really, I’m fine. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to work for a few extra days. After a nap, I’ll be fully recovered. You know how resilient the body of a Tier Three class holder can be.”

“That may be true, but it would be better not to rely too much on that or on magic. When your mind isn’t focused, accidents happen.”

Roland nodded. He had to admit that when he spread himself too thin, calculations that normally took a few minutes could end up taking half an hour. There were diminishing returns to pushing himself this hard. Still, he felt as though he could not afford much rest. Today, however, perhaps it was better to listen to his older brother.

“Perhaps you are right, brother. Let’s call it a day.”

“Ha! Splendid. You won’t regret it.”

Robert seemed to brighten immediately after hearing him agree. As Roland prepared to leave for the night, he found himself asking a question.

“How is our sister faring these days?”

Roland closed the door leading to the runic golem chamber and turned toward Robert.

“Lucienne? Oh, she is doing fine. Somewhat.”

“Somewhat? Are there any problems? Did something happen?”

Robert reacted exactly as a concerned brother would, but Roland quickly stopped him before he could jump to the wrong conclusion.

“Everything is fine. It’s just that the new group she joined still needs some time to adjust. The team has been trying to implement the new squad tactics, but the synergy isn’t there yet. It’s hard to make five completely different people work as a single unit, and in this particular case... some of them are rather peculiar kids.”

It had been a few weeks since he held the initial meeting, and things were progressing at a steady pace. He had explained the roles and given everyone time to familiarize themselves with the strategy, but some were not particularly happy with their assignments.

“Peculiar? Is it something dangerous?”

“Oh, it’s nothing like that. It’s just that some of them aren’t adapting to their roles very well, and the assistant professors are apparently having trouble directing them. Which means I might have to go there in person.”

Roland let out a sigh as he recalled reading the reports from the first few training sessions. Every student was different, and some of those he had selected for the group with his sister were particularly headstrong.

“Well, it’s not all bad. One girl is quite exceptional, and it seems she and Lucienne are becoming friends. But it would be better if she told you about it herself when the two of you meet.”

Robert stopped in his tracks at the mention of seeing her again. There were still about five months left before the event, but it was obvious he was eager to reunite with his sister.

“Perhaps we can even arrange a meeting with your mother. We’ll just have to do it after the competition ends.”

“...”

Roland patted Robert on the shoulder. The problem with meeting Francine was the possibility that she might try to take her son back to the Arden estate. For now, she believed he had left the kingdom to run away with his new fiancée, but if she met him in person, there was no telling what she might do.

“Well, I’ll follow your advice, brother. Have a safe trip back.”

“Ah, yes. I’ll be off then.”

Robert nodded and left the workshop, just as he always did. The train ride that had once taken an hour now lasted only fifty minutes thanks to several upgrades made to the runic train, making the commute to the workshop much easier.

After watching him disappear through one of the heavy doors, Roland headed for the elevator and made his way outside. He had been busy for the last few days, and he could already tell that the coming months would be exhausting. Tonight, however, he could spend some time with his wife, who, as always, was concerned about his health.

“I’ll be heading out. Try not to overwork yourself.”

“I would never. You know me.”

Morning came quickly, and Roland chuckled while his wife, Elodia, frowned at him. She knew better than to believe that. During this period, the two of them had far less time together than before because they were both busy. The new school for children had become far more popular than anyone had anticipated.

Many parents were eager for their children to learn how to read and write and to gain basic mathematical skills. The work demanded a great deal of time, and Elodia now spent more of her days at the school than she ever did at their shop. It had, regrettably, gradually become something of an afterthought.

It was a little disheartening to see the runic shop, which had once been his first major goal, reduced to something managed almost entirely by hired workers. With so many other projects demanding his attention, he rarely had time to stock or oversee it himself.

Most of the time, he had Bernir create the bulk of everything. Then, once a week, he used the rune copy skill to quickly apply a few simple enchantments. The finished products were still of high quality, but they were not something that could truly be praised as exceptional. Nevertheless, he could not worry about that right now. First, he needed to finish his other projects, some of which also involved Arthurʼs mother.

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“Always the sarcastic one... Just take care of yourself.”

“I will.”

They parted with a kiss, and soon someone else demanded his attention as Agni pushed his large snout through the window.

“Woof!”

“Donʼt worry, I havenʼt forgotten about you, big guy. In just two or three months, you should be there.”

“Awooo!”

Agni nuzzled Rolandʼs palm, his thick fur radiating a comforting warmth. The wolf had grown over the years, and his intelligence seemed to have grown alongside it. He was now about a quarter of a head taller than when he had first reached this stage of evolution, and he was likely approaching the limit of his growth.

“I hope you wonʼt get much larger than this. Otherwise, weʼll have to expand your doghouse, and getting through some dungeons will become a problem.”

Agniʼs strength could not be denied, but if he grew as large as the legendary Fenrir, he would no longer fit through some dungeon corridors. Out in the Lesser Draconic Valley, his size was not an issue. However, bringing him into hidden temples or other smaller enclosed structures would certainly become problematic.

“Well then, Iʼve had my rest, so letʼs get back to it!”

Lately, he had been working for three days straight before taking a single day to rest. To most people, it would have looked like a suicidal schedule, but with his Sleep Resistance skill maxed out, one day was enough to recover his stamina and avoid any serious drawbacks.

“Letʼs go then. Youʼve got me for the rest of the day, Agni. Letʼs make it count.”

“Woof!”

With that, the two headed back into the workshop and used the gate to return to the underground temple where the undead lesser dragons wandered. Even though they could slaughter many of them in a short amount of time, the experience required to gain levels continued to increase.

By now, Roland was certain that he would not reach the level needed for a new class before the Convocation arrived. The amount of experience required to obtain a secondary tier three class was staggering. Many people never reached that point and became stuck somewhere around level two hundred. However, some were different. Just like Roland and Agni, their progress was rapid, almost too rapid for some to accept.

The skeletal lesser dragons lurking in the subterranean depths turned to dust beneath Agniʼs flames and Rolandʼs fiery barrage. The fighting had become routine, reminding him of grinding in the games he had played in his previous life. There was always a route that offered the most experience in the shortest amount of time, and thanks to mapping the entire area, he knew exactly which path to take.

‘That boss chamber never recovered, though...’

“Woof?”

“I know, Agni. Letʼs head back.”

The route ended at a vantage point overlooking the chasm leading to the boss chamber. It was better to turn back than attempt to cross it. Without a boss on the other side, there was nothing to gain in terms of experience or loot. The egg he had taken was still absorbing Agniʼs pure mana, and he had no idea when it would hatch, or even if it ever would.

By the time they returned to the gate, more than half a day had passed. This had become almost a daily routine. After clearing out all the monsters, it took another day for them to respawn. While they could always head out and blow up sea serpents, this remained the most efficient approach for now, especially since Roland still needed time for other projects. One in particular was something he would have preferred to avoid, but could not.

‘Back to the Institute again… I really drew the short straw with this one, didn’t I?’

After returning to the workshop, he changed into his professorʼs armor and stepped through the gate. As he had done countless times before, he nodded to those who bowed in greeting. The shift from his quiet workshop to the bustling Mage Institute, filled with talkative youths and magical creatures running and flying about, was something he never truly got used to.

Just as he had his own training and Agniʼs to oversee, he also had responsibilities here. His original plan had been to leave most of the teaching to the assistant instructors by providing them with detailed handbooks outlining the tactics students should practice. However, after about a month, he realized things would not be nearly as straightforward as he had expected.

‘Mages aren’t like soldiers…’

Back in Albrook, he was the High Knight Commander, and people followed his orders without question. Many of these students, however, were remarkably stubborn. Some refused to follow instructions altogether, while others demanded answers to a hundred questions before they would even consider moving. It was an entirely different environment, and Roland was beginning to understand that a standard manual was useless when dealing with a room full of eccentric, highborn teenagers convinced they already knew everything about magic.

He made his way toward the specialized training grounds beneath the main campus. The area had been retrofitted with reinforced runic barriers designed to absorb spells, making it the perfect place for students to practice group coordination without accidentally blowing up part of the academy.

“Deputy Professor. Over here.”

Arion waved at him with a small cat paw while floating in the air. He was already waiting for him, and beside him stood several dwarves from the Runic Department. At the moment, they were repairing a collection of white puppets that reminded Roland of the crash test dummies from his previous world, except these were completely white.

“How are the teams doing?”

He nodded to both the dwarven craftsmen and Arion.

“Why don’t you see for yourself, my friend?”

Roland turned toward the array of runic monitors. Eight of them were arranged side by side and stacked atop one another, each displaying a different training exercise. Some showed students from various age groups navigating simulated labyrinths, while others focused entirely on target practice. His gaze immediately settled on the screen displaying the sixteen-year-old group, the team that included his younger sister in the upcoming treasure hunt.

‘This looks like a complete mess...’

The group was facing six white puppets created for this exercise. However, these were no ordinary constructs. They could assume the illusory forms of other mages and imitate the abilities of both monsters and mages up to Tier Two.

“You shall not escape!”

Oxian Goodwill, who usually remained silent, shouted as he encased his body in a layer of sand and rock. Even though he was still a Tier One class holder, his affinity for earth-based body enhancement magic was staggering.

His role was supposed to be that of a tank, but as on many previous occasions, instead of watching over his team, he charged after a lone puppet. It was clearly a distraction meant to lure him away from the group. As a result, Elian was left exposed to a barrage of mana bolts, which were much easier to cast than more advanced spells.

“F-fire arro... ack!”

Elian dove to the side as the bolts of mana zipped past him. They were not strong enough to injure him, but if they struck his body, the impact would still leave him badly stunned. Fortunately, there was still one competent member of the team. Selphie quickly raised a mana shield to protect him, while Lucienne held her position near the center of the formation.

At first glance, Leron appeared to be performing well. Using a combination of stealth and illusion magic, he slipped behind the puppet mages. He successfully ambushed them and even managed to eliminate one with a quick spell. However, he completely ignored the larger battle unfolding around him. While three of his teammates were under attack, he remained focused on a single target that was not particularly important to the enemy formation. It was a clear demonstration of the young manʼs poor target prioritization.

Roland tapped his fingers against his forearm as he watched the tactical display. The lack of cohesion was painful to witness. It was like watching a group of players in a game, each determined to be the hero while remaining completely oblivious to the teammate who was about to be eliminated.

‘Maybe if this were some kind of team deathmatch, this would work... but if they lose their tracker, they wonʼt be able to find any treasure...’

He shook his head and initiated the shutdown procedure for the training chamber occupied by the five youths. The puppets froze instantly, and their illusory forms faded away to reveal their true bodies beneath. The environment around the youths shifted as well, the chamberʼs magic restoring everything to its original state.

‘Itʼs still quite a sight, even after seeing it so many times. It may not be on the level of Tier Four magic, but it can reshape the environment to simulate a wide variety of scenarios.’

These training facilities had existed long before Roland arrived. Normally, they were reserved for mages deemed worthy enough to use them in a controlled environment. However, they were far from perfect. It was only after the addition of the golemic puppets that the training chambers truly became exceptional. With the Runic Department programming their behavior, they could simulate combat scenarios with an unprecedented degree of realism.

“Ah, he did it again...”

Arion chuckled as he watched Oxian punch one of the stationary puppets while it was still in the process of shutting down.

“He certainly has a fiery temper.”

Roland wondered whether he had made a mistake when selecting some of these recruits. Their abilities suited the task, but their personalities often worked against the team.

“Iʼm sure you can rein them in, my friend.”

“Iʼll try...”

Roland sighed and headed toward the chamber. The only one who truly required little guidance was Selphie. His sister was struggling as well. More often than not, she became a burden to the team because she could neither defend herself properly nor keep her composure during live combat. Still, he intended to remedy their shortcomings through harsher and more focused training.