Return of the Runebound Professor

Noah’s gaze bore into Linestra as the demon flinched back from him. It looked like his demonstration had been effective in more than one way. She was absolutely terrified — and that was making staying serious a little bit of a challenge.

I wonder what Linestra would do if she realized I was actually ‘just’ a measly Rank 4. Oh well. If it gets me information on who or what the hell Orlen is, I don’t care what she thinks of me. Wizen’s last word — literally — was this name.

Unless he decided to have a bit of fun at my expense, then this has to be incredibly important.

“I… I wasn’t privy to all of the details,” Linestra stammered. “Salthazar handled that. He was the one that ensured we got out of the Damned Plains and recruited us to the cause.”

“I don’t care,” Noah said flatly. “Tell me everything you know about Orlen. You clearly recognize the word.”

A flicker of anger lit behind Linestra’s eyes. The demon was still a demon. She definitely didn’t take kindly to being ordered around. Unfortunately for her, she was completely surrounded and entirely outmatched.

If anything, I’m surprised she’s got this much control over herself. I guess there’s a difference between being controlled by your Runes and just throwing self-preservation to the wind.

I wonder if all Demon Runes are somehow adjacent to Yoru’s Moonlit Prophecy. Do they eventually become sentient when they get strong enough? Are they already sentient and just don’t’ have enough power to manifest themselves? If that’s the case… it would make sense that they would take actions to survive, even in spite of their normal nature.

Noah yanked his thoughts back to the matter at hand. Demon Runes and how they worked was fascinating — but he couldn’t let himself get distracted right now. There would be time to think about the demons as a whole later.

So it’s a name. I thought so, but good to get confirmation.

“Why?” Noah asked. “What did he want?”

And why were there so many Inquisitors there? That definitely wasn’t the normal amount. Is there a leak somewhere in the information channel between the demons and Orlen? Or is something else entirely going on?

“He just said he was looking for something. That’s all I know,” Linestra said. She swallowed heavily, clearly aware just how useless her information was. “That’s really it. He didn’t even tell us what it was he wanted. Our job was just to kill a few key targets and cause some chaos before making a run for it.”

“Making a run for it?” Jalen repeated. He tilted his head to the side and let out a derisive snort.

“Not likely you’d get very far with all those Inquisitors standing outside of the auction,” Aylin observed.

Noah couldn’t help but agree. It almost felt like Orlen had set the demons up to fail on purpose.

But… why?

“Is Orlen a demon?” Yoru asked.

“I don’t know.” Linestra shook her head. “I never saw his face. We never met in person. It was always through messages that would show up through red plasma portals. I once saw a demon try to peek through the portal. A strand of energy touched him and his whole body twisted up like someone was wringing a wet towel. Got blood and guts all over the whole damn room.”

Noah’s features twisted in distaste. Orlen was not sounding like a particularly enjoyable person… but despite the expression on Linestra’s face that betrayed how useless she felt she was, her information had actually been useful.

Red plasma. Like the magic Wizen was using from the Key? That would certainly be a connection. But why would Wizen be using Orlen’s magic? This isn’t a situation where he’s pretending to be Orlen. If he was, then there would be no point telling me his other name — and Orlen wouldn’t be still ordering things around.

So Wizen got something from Orlen? He took the Key from Arbitage. Maybe this Orlen gave him a way to use it? A Rune or something?

Even if that was the case, Noah didn’t have the slightest idea why Wizen would have bothered writing the man’s name down. Orlen didn’t matter if he was just some random powerful mage that had helped him out for some reason or another.

He made sure to make sure I was aware of his name.

Why?

Noah’s jaw clenched in annoyance. Every single answer he got just gave him even more questions. The more he learned about the world, the more he realized that nobody had the slightest fucking idea as to what was going on.

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“I’m sorry,” Linestra said. “I swear. That’s all I know.”

“It’s fine,” Noah said with a shake of his head. It wasn’t her fault, and Aylin hadn’t said anything. That meant she was telling the truth. “I don’t expect the cogs to know what the machine is thinking.”

“What?”

“Nevermind,” Noah said. He shook his head, his thoughts already drifting. The headache prodding his temples from blowing himself up certainly wasn’t helping — but he was so used to them at this point that it really wasn’t that much of a bother.

I’ll have to look into this Orlen. Figure out what it is that Wizen wanted me to know about him. But, until then, I’ve got a much more pressing matter to deal with. The noble bastards after Isabel’s Master Rune.

“That will be all I need you for. Thank you.”

“I… can go?”

Noah paused. Unleashing a Rank 5 or 6 demon on Arbitage hardly seemed like a wise decision. He could think of a number of ways that could go wrong. Ferrying her off somewhere was also a bit of a problem. She’d just go terrorize the local population.

I don’t want to be responsible for killing a bunch of innocent people. I suppose I could ask Jalen to drop her off at the Herron estate or something and just enjoy the carnage, but that would be a waste.

“Do you like cats?” Noah asked.

“I’ve… never had the opportunity to consider that question. Should I like cats?”

On second thought, no. Mascot would eat her alive.

“Well, I’m drawing a blank,” Noah said. “Thoughts, anyone?”

Lee’s stomach grumbled.

Linestra’s features paled.

“Darts?” Jalen offered.

“You are a grown mage,” Noah snapped. “You do not need to kidnap a demon to play darts.”

“It wouldn’t be a kidnapping. More like a mandated vacation.”

Oof. That’s a rough line. Definitely wouldn’t want anyone quoting that one.

“You — you offered us freedom back in the auction house,” Linestra said cautiously. She swallowed before continuing. “Is that offer still available?”

Oh, right. I do vaguely recall that. I was kind of bullshitting at the time, but I do need some backup to deal with the noble houses — and some more test subjects to polish up the process of fixing people with Sticky Runes certainly wouldn’t hurt.

“That could be arranged, so long as you’re willing to swear fealty,” Noah said. “And you’ll need a bit of patience as well. The procedure is not quick.”

“I just hope you aren’t too attached to your arms,” Yoru said.

Linestra sent a horrified look at the smaller demon. Noah sent her a look as well, but for an entirely different reason. His eyebrows twitched in surprise.

Was that a joke? Yoru is making jokes? I’m so proud of her. Wresting Moonlit Propehcy’s influence away has done her wonders.

“I… am prepared to sacrifice if it means I get my freedom,” Linestra said. She set her jaw. “I can always get new arms.”

“No, no. You need your arms,” Jalen said. “Lose the legs instead. You can’t play darts without arms, and that’s a mandatory part of the deal.”

“It is?” Linestra asked.

“Yes,” Jalen said. He sent Noah a pointed look. “It’s very important training. Life and death. You won’t be able to withstand the changes to your body if you don’t.”

“That’s how Yoru lost her arms,” Aylin put in. “She didn’t play darts enough.”

Okay, now we’re just getting our stories twisted up.

“I’ll do anything it takes.” Linestra said. “I don’t understand how playing darts will influence anything, but I will follow your teachings, Spider. I want to be free.”

“Good enough for me,” Noah said with a shrug. “Welcome aboard. I’ll get around to fixing you up soon enough.”

Linestra blinked. “Just like that?”

“Did you expect a ritual or something?”

“…yes.”

“Ah. Sorry. I’ll work on that for the next demon.” Noah scratched at the back of his neck. “For now, a few ground rules. No killing anyone I don’t tell you to. Cover your horns and blend in with humans. Do not be noticed under any circumstances. Avoid all fights and do not feed off anything but food for as long as possible.”

“You want me to starve myself?”

“Think of it as a fast,” Noah said. “You have to purify your body to prepare for the process.”

Aylin glanced at Noah out of the corners of his eyes, but Linestra was already nodding along in understanding.

You’re going to have to get used to a whole lot more bullshit than that if you’re going to stick around forever, Aylin.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

“I see,” Linestra said, nodding along as if Noah’s explanation was the most logical thing in the universe. “That makes sense. I will do as you say.”

“Great. See you tomorrow. Three in the morning, sharp,” Jalen said. “Don’t worry about finding me. I’ll find you.”

“Actually, why don’t you just take her with you for now?” Noah asked. “That’ll save me the trouble of finding her housing.”

Linestra’s eyes went wide and she sent a horrified look in Noah’s direction. “What? I—”

“Would be thrilled,” Aylin said, his hand falling on Linestra’s shoulder. “You do not disobey an order from Spider.”

The demoness grimaced, then nodded. “Understood.”

“Great,” Noah said, clapping his hands together. “Now that’s all settled. Jalen, would you mind waiting around for a little? And Aylin — can you find the others? It’s just about time to head back.”

“Prepare?” Jalen asked. “What are we waiting for? And for how long?”

Noah smiled. He set his hand on his Grimoire. “Just about 12 hours. And you’re waiting for me. It’s about time for Vermil Linwick to make his return to Arbitage.”

I can already stand toe-to-toe with pretty much any noble. If the Nobles want to try to come after Isabel, then Rank 4 isn’t going to be sufficient to deal with them.

Normally, pushing all the way from halfway through Rank 4 to Rank 5 would be a great way to screw your growth completely… but I have every single rune I need from that auction, and I’ve got as many tries to get this combination right as I want.

If the nobles want to come for my students, then the gloves are coming off. Garina said there was a world outside this kingdom. There’s no reason for us to let these bastards throw their weight around any longer. I could already handle most of their stronger mages at Rank 4…

So let’s see how they like me at Rank 5.