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An Otherworldly Scholar - 197
🕑 Added 2025-01-24 23:18:21 +0000 UTCAfter sending the orphans to bed, we gathered in Elincia’s bedroom and rummaged through the stacks of letters the kids had sent over the past two years. The kids sent letters every month or every other month, depending on how busy they were. Sometimes, we got a group letter, but more often than not, each wrote a personal one. In two years, we collected more than fifty letters.
We read the letters from newest to oldest, expecting to find a clue to why Lord Astur summoned me. There were none. No trouble, complication, or even a small source of irritation was mentioned. Even Firana seemed too busy with lessons and training to get enough time to get in trouble.
“Do you think it’s a fake?” Elincia asked, pointing at Lord Astur’s official letter.
“It’s genuine,” Lyra replied, examining the seal for the tenth time. “And I’m sure this is Lord Astur’s writing, which is strange. Usually, it’s a Scribe who writes his letters. I always aspired to that position… but that’s irrelevant to the matter at hand.”
Lord Astur was Lyra’s crush from the Imperial Library and the reason why she had received her [Crush on Mentor] title.
I dismissed Lyra’s blushing and focused on the letter.
We kindly request your presence at the Imperial Knights Academy to discuss an important matter concerning your son and daughter’s Cadet activity.
The letter's content was rather sparse. However, ‘Cadet activity’ didn't necessarily have negative connotations. I wondered if the kids were even in trouble.
“Are parent-teacher conferences a thing in the Imperial Academy?” I asked.
Although Lyra assisted the Imperial Library, both institutions were complementary. Without going any further, Lord Astur was the Imperial Knight Academy's Grandmaster and held the title of Archivist of the Imperial Library, which was only second to the Great Archivist itself.
Lyra scratched her chin, deep in thought.
“I’ve seen a few angry parents demanding meetings with teachers, but everyone in the Imperial Academy is already an adult, so parents are generally outside the process,” Lyra said, handing me the letter. “This is unusual. Parents aren’t a relevant cog in the process. If you get in trouble, you are on your own unless you belong to one of the three big ducal houses, I guess.”
The bedroom fell into silence.
“Maybe they aren’t in trouble,” Astrid pointed out. She was sitting on the bed. “Maybe the lord grandmaster wants to congratulate you.”
Risha sighed.
“If Lord Astur wanted to congratulate Rob, he would’ve done it in the letter,” he said. “I don’t want to sound like a harbinger harpy, but the kids totally did something they shouldn’t have done.”
I read the letter for the hundredth time. Son and daughter.
If I could tell who the two kids in question were, I could take an educated guess.
“Who do you think Firana dragged with her?” Izabeka asked.
“Why do you assume Firana is to blame?” Elincia snapped back.
“Come on, sweetie. We know the kids. Ilya wouldn’t get in trouble even if someone tried to set her up, so the daughter has to be Firana. On the other hand, Zaon is a good egg, and Wolf is as loyal as a dog. They wouldn’t refuse Firana’s pleas even if she requested something… counterregulatory.”
Izabeka’s assessment was painfully accurate.
Whether the kids were in trouble or not, I saw no solution but attending the meeting. I wasn’t in a position to refuse the Grandmaster of the Imperial Academy, and I had to figure out what trouble the kids were into.
“I will depart tomorrow,” I said, interrupting the conversation. “If I hurry, I will be back before the beginning of the summer.”
Elincia gave me a worried glance, but it was Ginz who spoke.
“You will have to be careful, Rob. Prestige Classes are a scarce currency. If they discover your runeweaving bullshit, they will not stop until you are under their control,” he said.
I nodded. Identity checks were a common thing in the high spheres. Luckily, I didn’t have to submit to any of those since I got the Runeweaver Class, but I wasn’t sure to what extent I could hide my true Class from high-level System Users.
“Lyra,” I said. “Identify me.”
The girl nodded, and Elincia and Risha stepped away from me. Most Classes had detection skills, but only the Scholar line and a few others could access people’s Character Sheet. Mana surged through Lyra’s body, but the skill bounced against me, and Lyra closed her eyes in pain. Lyra was in her low thirties, so she wasn’t a pushover to any extent.
“I can’t break your innate magical defense,” she said.
Elincia gave Lyra a mana potion, and we repeated the test. No matter how much mana Lyra pushed, she couldn’t bypass my defenses. She pushed herself to the limit, and I felt the intrusion for an instant, but it wasn’t enough. Ultimately, the result was similar to my [Stun Gaze] bouncing off high-level monsters. Lyra sat down, prey to nausea. Her face was green, and her brow was sweaty.
“That’s enough. Thanks, Lyra,” I said.
The girl gave me a thumbs-up. Elincia gave her a remedy for the dizziness, and Izabeka helped her walk back to her bedroom.
There wasn’t much else to discuss.
“Let’s call it a day. We all have to be up early tomorrow,” I said.
Risha and Ginz walked to the door, deep in thought.
“I can go with you. I know the capital like the palm of my hand,” Astrid pointed out.
“I would rather you stay at the orphanage, Astrid. Our main goal is to give the orphans a good environment, so let’s focus on that. They depend on us,” I replied. “I will return as fast as possible.”
Astrid and Risha nodded.
We said our goodnights and the group exited the bedroom until only Elincia and I were left. We sat on the bed, looking at the letter from the Imperial Academy. I couldn’t help but feel something suspicious about it, but I couldn’t turn my back on the kids.
“At least your secret is safe from anyone level thirty and below,” Elincia said, standing up and collecting the old letters.
That ruled out eighty percent of the population—maybe more. However, what worried me were the remaining twenty and the identification artifacts like the System Shrine Fragment. They wouldn't let me go if they realized I was a Runeweaver.
Elincia put the kid’s letters away and unbuttoned her blouse, deep in thought.
“Wait,” I said.
I had an idea.
Elincia grinned.
“You don’t want to get naked? That’s new.”
At least her sense of humor stayed intact.
I rolled my eyes.
“I wanted to ask you out, but if you want to go naked, I won’t object.”
“Now? The sun is down,” Elincia asked, confused.
“Yes, now.”
“Should I put a jacket on?”
Elincia changed her dress for her ‘adventurer’s attire’: high boots, tight riding pants, and a leather jacket. Then, she threw a short cloak over her shoulders. I handed her a fabric scarf to protect her face from the cold. It was going to be a windy adventure.
“Enjoying the show?” Elincia asked as she adjusted her belt.
“You wouldn’t imagine,” I replied. “Are you ready?”
Elincia nodded. She looked just like the first time we met.
I opened the window and invited her over. It was dark as a wolf’s mouth.
“Where are we going?” Elincia asked.
“To break the law,” I replied with a mysterious smile.
“Exciting.”
I picked Elincia up and channeled my mana. She held on tight to my neck, and we took off. [Minor Aerokinesis] sent us high above the manor. We stood suspended in the air for a few seconds and landed on the bridge down the manor’s path. Not the progress I expected.
I closed my eyes and entered into my mana pool. A moment later, I was surrounded by a circular wall covered in runes. I located the section that activated [Minor Aerokinesis] and edited the skill parameters to increase the power output.
“Why did we stop?” Elincia asked, her heart beating against her chest.
“I was adjusting my [Minor Aerokinesis],” I replied.
Elincia stiffened in my arms.
“Adjusting how—?!”
I didn’t give her time to finish the sentence, and I shot us high into the sky. Green and turquoise mana sparkled around my feet as I pushed the skill to the limit. Elincia screamed, her hair fluttering wildly. My mana pool complained about the sudden discharge, but I had mana to spare.
“I should’ve brought the camera!” Elincia shouted above the whistling wind as we reached the jump’s peak.
We still had a few pictures left in the cartridge.
I adjusted the landing to avoid a tree, and we fell as light as a feather.
Elincia laughed, although my brain brought darker implications to my spell usage. Technically speaking, I could fling a person dozens of meters into the air. The more I used high-level magic, the more I understood how dangerous high-level System Users were. Elincia didn't seem to have the same apprehensions.
“Higher,” she said.
“Higher it is,” I replied, channeling even more mana.
Arcs of magic crackled around me, but we were far from the hamlet, and no one could see us.
Elincia howled as we soared through the Farland's skies above the sea of trees.
I squeezed her body against mine and enjoyed the trip.
The regular path from Whiteleaf Manor to Farcrest required a huge roundabout around the mountains, but [Minor Aerokinesis] avoided that problem. We took the direct route, and half an hour later, we landed on the farmlands north of Farcrest. I put Elincia down, but her legs trembled too much to stand.
“Jokes about spaghetti legs are strictly forbidden,” Elincia said, taking a deep breath.
I gave her a moment to regain strength.
“When does the law-breaking start?” Elincia asked as she caught her breath.
“Now,” I replied, casting [Mirage] and [Silence Dome] around us.
An invisibility sphere surrounded us. If my hunch was correct, we were invisible to anyone except a select group of high-level Sentinels. [Mirage] was guzzling mana at a worrying pace. We only had a few minutes of invisibility.
Elincia jumped into my arms, and I sent us above the outer wall. The guardsmen detected the sound of [Minor Aerokinesis], but after a quick inspection of the empty farm plot, they blamed the wind from the mountains. [Foresight] showed me a suitable landing spot, and I steered using the wind. We landed on top of a two-story workshop inside the city.
“Run,” I said, grabbing Elincia’s arm and heading toward the Great Hall.
We used [Minor Aerokinesis] sparsely, just to cover the gaps between buildings.
“You are in very good shape for an Alchemist.” I taunted Elincia.
“Elven blood runs strong through my veins,” she replied.
It was a shame the pastry shops were closed. We might’ve tried a tavern, but I didn’t trust my ability to jump our way back into the manor under the influence of alcohol.
We reached the inner wall well past midnight. Farcrest was sleeping, but there was still movement on the Great Hall’s grounds. Porters carried crates and loaded carts while crews of workers returned to their houses after weeks away from home. The royal army was about to break into Tagabirian soil, and the Marquis was extending the royal road to connect both kingdoms, of course, with Farcrest in between.
Adrenaline rushed through my veins. I would be in big trouble if Lord Alton were in the Great Hall. He was Farcrest’s only Prestige Class until my promotion. He started as a Hunter, got the Advanced Class Ranger, and finally turned into a Marksman a few decades ago after defeating the boss of a Monster Surge. If there was a person who can catch me, it was him. However, Lord Alton spent most of his time inside the Farlands with his Sentinels.
We circled the outer wall, jumping from roof to roof.
“Do you have an idea where we are going?” I asked.
“I have an idea,” she replied as we landed a big jump. [Light-footed] helped a lot. “We are sneaking into Abei’s studio.”
We lined up with the Scholar’s Tower on the eastern side of the Great Hall and jumped over the wall directly into the Great Hall’s roof. Elincia pressed her face against my chest so as not to yell. We landed softly, and no alarm went off. Underneath us, porters and guardsmen continued with their routines. I let the illusion drop, and the cloak of darkness around us disappeared. A shiver ran down my shoulders.
“There’s an open window over there,” Elincia pointed to the Scholar’s Tower.
Her eyes gleamed in the darkness.
“Good. I planned to melt the lock,” I replied.
We jumped on the tiny balconette outside the window. We would have fallen without [Light-footed] helping us balance on the small surface, but luckily, we shared the skill. Elincia pushed the window with her foot, and we entered Abei’s study.
I hadn’t stepped foot into Abei’s chambers for half a year, but everything remained the same. The tall bookshelves perpendicular to the wall occupied all the opposite walls, while the wide desks were placed under the windows. The strange brass solar system had been disassembled and rested on a table in the corner.
There was no Scholar or Scribe in sight.
We used a desk as a stepping stone and dropped to the floor.
My hunch was correct. It took a high-level combatant to detect my presence. Veteran guardsmen were usually in their lower 30s, with a few outliers about to reach Lv.40. I couldn't tell whether we met one of the higher ones, but it was safe to assume I could pass unnoticed to everyone below Lv.40.
The room looked bigger without the Scribes running around.
Elincia pulled the fabric covering a table, revealing the Shrine Fragment embedded in its copper nest. The Fragment's surface was bright blue, but its core had remained dull since I first touched it. My hand graced its surface, but the System Avatar didn’t appear. I wasn’t expecting him to.
“This has to be our strangest date,” Elincia pointed out.
“It isn’t a date unless we make out,” I replied.
Elincia grinned.
“Do you know how to operate the Shrine Fragment?” I asked.
“These things are usually foolproof,” Elincia replied, pouring a bit of mana into the shattered orb.
The Shrine Fragment gleamed.
“Put your hand above it,” Elincia said.
I obeyed. Like the first time I entered the Great Hall, I put my hand over the orb, and my Character Sheet appeared before my eyes. The gizmo didn’t give me time to try to hide my Class or my shared ‘race’ traits.
Name: Robert Clarke, Human. (Light-Footed, Night Vision)
Class: Runeweaver Sage Lv.44
Titles: Out of your League, Hot for Teacher, Consultant Detective, Researcher of the Hidden, Headmaster, Classroom Overlord, Golden Sage, Silver Runeweaver, +15 others.
Passive: Lv.6 Swordsmanship, Lv.1 Polearm Mastery, Lv.1 Riding, Mana Mastery, Foresight, Master of Languages.
Skills: Identify, Magical Ink, Silence Dome, Invigoration, Stun Gaze, Intimidate, Mirage, Runeweaver Encyclopedia, Rune Debugger, Rune Identification, Minor Aerokinesis, Minor Pyrokinesis, Minor Geokinesis, Minor Hydrokinesis.
I grimaced.
“You can’t go around the capital showing that,” Elincia sighed. “Runeweaver Sage is just the main offender, but there are other strange things. [Light-Footed] and [Night Vision] aren’t human traits. [Runeweaver Encyclopedia], [Rune Debugger], and [Rune Encyclopedia] are as telling as your Class. You will have to avoid System Shrines at all costs.”
I examined the prompt one last time before removing my hand.
There was a lot to fix. I closed my eyes and dived into my mana pool. The runes greeted me like old friends. I located the section designated to racial traits. Unlike skills, [Light-Footed] and [Night-Vision] lacked parameters I could edit. The section was comprised of an identification, a name, and a function call. Identificators and functions operated on the System side, so I couldn’t edit them.
I selected the name section instead and left it empty.
My mana pool didn’t crumble, and I could still see in darkness when I opened my eyes. I summoned my Character Sheet. [Night Vision] and [Light-Footed] were nowhere to be found. With a wide grin, I did the same for my Class, Titles, and Skills. [Runeweaver], [Silver Runeweaver], [Runeweaver Encyclopedia], [Rune Debugger], and [Rune Encyclopedia] were all gone. Invisible.
I erased [Intimidate] and [Stun Gaze] for good measure.
It was better to pass as someone weaker and keep a few tricks up my sleeve.
“Let’s do it,” I said.
“Here? How adventurous,” Elincia jokingly said as she powered the Shrine Fragment.
Name: Robert Clarke, Human.
Class: Sage Lv.44
Titles: Out of your League, Hot for Teacher, Consultant Detective, Researcher of the Hidden, Headmaster, Classroom Overlord, Golden Sage, and +15 others.
Passive: Lv.6 Swordsmanship, Lv.1 Riding, Mana Mastery, Foresight, Master of Languages.
Skills: Identify, Magical Ink, Silence Dome, Invigoration, Mirage, Minor Aerokinesis, Minor Pyrokinesis, Minor Geokinesis, Minor Hydrokinesis.
Elincia froze like a deer before a sixteen-wheeler.
“Before you freak out,” I said. “This is just a visual effect.”
Comments
Ben Bass
TYFTC! Ahh, having a basic understanding of programing and how computers work, along with the willingness to try odd things (Rob would have been good a tester) seems to be a way around the System. Now what if he changed the names of his skills instead of just making the name blank?
andreas
Root access is just so broken!
Emmanuel Dixon
Hmmm...must've been the wind
