Return of the Runebound Professor

Both Todd and Isabel closed their eyes. Their breathing stilled and their heads lowered, as if in deep meditation. Noah sat down at a desk, chewing his lower lip. It was one thing to talk, but it was another to just… feel magic.

He closed his eyes.

Right. Magic. Runes. Where would those be?

Noah’s brow creased slightly in concentration. He pictured the runes he’d drawn on the board, but nothing happened. Pursing his lips, he dug deeper inside of himself, trying to see if something felt magical.

 Some part deep inside himself didn’t expect to find anything. After all, he’d tried to meditate more than a few times in his life. Sure, there was no doubt in his mind that magic existed. But even if he was in someone else’s body in another world, it was another thing to actually do said magic himself.

There should have been nothing to find. Just his own company and silence. Instead, there was more. A tiny marble, deep in the core of his consciousness. It felt like a slightly sore thumb, completely unnoticeable until he was focused on it. But, now that he was, it was impossible to ignore.

Energy bloomed in the darkness. Even though Noah’s eyes were closed, he could see. In the endless black of his mind, glowing sigils carved themselves through the air. One by one, they slammed into him like a punch to the gut, forcibly announcing their presence.

The first five of them were Wind runes. They were formed of swirling white and blue energy that cut through the shadows like sun on a cloudy day. The runes were exactly the same as the rune that had materialized before him in the monkey forest. All of them were lesser, according to what Vermil’s book had said.

The next two runes were considerably more complex. Instead of white and blue, they glowed a dull grey. Noah recognized these from the book as well – Ash runes.

So I’ve got five Wind and two Ash. The Wind runes aren’t very good, but the Ash ones seem to be. I wonder if I can upgrade or change the Wind runes. God, there’s just so many things I need to find out. What if –

Noah staggered as a wave of force slammed into his chest and constricted around his heart. Primal fear welled up in his throat and his hands shot up to his throat as an invisible force tightened around it.

In the air above him, black lines infused with faint purple light slithered across the sky. They formed into one final rune, hundreds of times larger than the other seven. The sheer force of its presence threatened to crush Noah beneath its weight, but he gritted his teeth and refused to let himself fall.

The rune finished drawing itself, and its meaning slipped into Noah’s mind as he instinctively translated it.

Sunder.

A tremor ran down Noah’s spine, almost as if the rune was glad that he’d recognized it. The overwhelming force pulled back, but the enormous rune remained in the air above him. More than anything else, it reminded him of the monster that had attacked the Waters of Life and Renewal.

I wonder if that’s the reason I keep getting new bodies when I die.

Noah swallowed. He peeled his eyes away from the massive rune above him. A few tiny specks of light at the edges of the darkness around him caught his eye. Noah mentally willed himself toward them.

Small portions of what he assumed to be his mind had chipped and broken away, revealing an empty white void. A faint buzzing noise filled Noah’s mind as he grew closer. He stopped, squinting at the strange scene. They filled him with a sense of wrongness, like something that should have been there was missing.

As he watched, a single speck of darkness reappeared at the edge of one of the white chips, sealing over a miniscule portion of it. He let out a faint sigh. Whatever the damage was, it was healing – just very, very slowly.

Noah peeled his eyes away. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, and it would be awkward if he was zoned out through the rest of class. The darkness faded, and he opened his eyes to find himself standing in the classroom once again. His students both stared at him with rapt attention.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I got caught up,” Noah said, gathering himself and straightening his lapel. “How did your experiences go?”

“It just felt like looking at my runes,” Isabel said, glancing at Todd. He nodded.

“Yeah. But you – ah, never mind,” Todd muttered.

“That’s quite all right. Please continue to ponder on your runes in your free time before next class,” Noah said, slipping back into his teacher voice. “Now, one last question for today. While we’re on the topic of runes, let’s discuss why having good ones is so important. We can only have seven per level, yes?”

Both students nodded.

“So, what happens when we go up to the next Rank?” Noah asked, watching their expressions carefully to make sure he’d read the situation correctly. When neither of them looked overly confused, he gave himself a mental pat on the back.

“You combine your runes into a single one,” Todd said slowly, choosing each word with care. “Or you try to, I guess. If you succeed, you get to become the next Rank and can start making runes of that Rank from scratch. That’s how you go from general runes like Fire or Wind to specialized ones like Mist.”

“But if the combination doesn’t work, your runes can shatter,” Isabel added. “Then you’ll be permanently crippled until you can fix them, which can take years. It’s why combinations that actually work are guarded so closely

“Is that all?” Noah asked with a grin. He raised a finger. “Don’t answer that yet. We’ve had a great discussion so far, and I don’t want to overload anybody. Let’s call class here for today. When we reconvene for our next class, we’ll resume our discussion.”

Todd and Isabel both blinked. Isabel squinted at Noah like he’d grown an ear from his forehead.

“Okay,” she said, drawing the word out. “Just how hard did you get injured? You’re nothing like what you were.”

Noah cleared his throat. “That’s hardly relevant. I think I quite like myself right now.”

“Yeah, me too,” Todd said under his breath. “You almost seem respectable.”

Noah shot him a sharp glare, and Todd just shrugged in response. Todd and Isabel rose from their desks and headed toward the door.

“Oh, one last thing,” Noah said before they left. They both turned back to him. “When’s our next class? I can’t remember.”

Isabel let out a snort of laughter. “In two days, at the same time.”

“Right. Thanks,” Noah said. “See you then. On time. Don’t be late. I won’t be either.”

She studied Noah for a moment, then gave him a small nod. She and Todd left the room. Noah waited for several seconds, then leaned on the podium and ran a hand through his hair as he mentally reviewed everything he’d learned.

There’s so much to consider. So many options. I need to know more.

A grin stretched across Noah’s lips and he rubbed his hands together despite himself.

Oh man, I’m excited. Magic, huh? This is going to be fun.