Return of the Runebound Professor Chapter 859: Familiar

Through the window, the Mistress gazed upward at the clouds veiling the moon. Yet another day had slipped by. And for the second straight night, darkness had engulfed her domain. The warning being delivered was impossible to ignore.

A bold challenger was targeting her.

They made no effort to hide their actions either. A dozen additional deaths had occurred over the last day. Nearly every black badge had been abandoned at those scenes. Yet this wasn't the work of a thrill-seeking hunter. The strikes were precise. Methodical. As if carried out by someone fulfilling a duty, not deriving pleasure from it.

That irritated the Mistress more than any other act by this enigmatic culprit. The slain men posed no true threat. They scarcely qualified as men anyway, already being lifeless husks well before their final downfall.

Stealing her instruments without purpose... that struck her as outright impolite. This intruder was simply harassing her pointlessly. Gaining nothing from it. Just hurling insults for no reason. It showed a profound lack of respect. Above all, the Mistress despised those devoid of proper etiquette.

But if their goal was to draw her into the open for a confrontation, they'd face bitter failure. Precious few possessed the strength to confront the Mistress head-on—and even fewer the folly to attempt it.

Whoever dared such provocation aimed to force her hand. To provoke a rash decision exposing her or her resources to danger. She had to concede, it was a clever scheme. The surest way to undermine mighty mages was to toy with their pride.

It remained the universal flaw among the mighty. The Mistress wasn't immune—but she possessed the wisdom to spot when strings were being tugged before her very eyes. Ego didn't demand impulsiveness... although several peers of her Rank had yet to grasp that lesson.

The Mistress stifled a frustrated sigh. Such displays ill-suited her, even in solitude. This hardly warranted real concern anyway. Just a trivial irritation. In the grand scheme, it amounted to little.

And while jumping to conclusions without evidence was unwise, she strongly suspected her harasser's true aim. Though unverified, the tournament fulfilled three key roles. One for participants. One for spectators. And the most vital—for its overseers.

The tournament loomed mere days ahead. Despite these unforeseen disturbances, nearly all her arrangements stood complete. Promising prospects had been strategically placed. But potential meant nothing. Many would perish before sprouting. Of those that did, only a handful would endure to develop foliage. To bloom, to yield fruit.

Yet she possessed patience. A hasty farmer reaps empty fields. Her setups were finalized. Now she merely needed to bide her time. Observe, and seize any standout talent before rivals could claim it.

***

Noah and Lee perched on their beds, eyes fixed on the black badges rattling furiously on the floor between them.

This wasn't a subtle tremor or mild hum. The badges thrashed wildly, as though desperate to shatter from the inside.

Noah couldn't shake the feeling that this was inevitable. Lately, things had grown suspiciously calm. He'd sidestepped any further unintended killings or mishaps. Following their separate mishaps with accidental slayings, he and Lee had excelled at laying low.

Their days passed in meals, aimless strolls through Aqua Terra seeking familiar faces, and idle waiting for the tournament's kickoff.

With the event just one day out—set to launch tomorrow—both Noah and Lee had resolved to exert extra caution today, steering clear of any drama that might derail their plans.

That resolve held firm until they rose from bed, when the badges they'd stashed on the floor to prevent mishaps began convulsing toward oblivion.

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“What do we do?” Lee asked.

“I don’t know,” Noah replied. “I really wish I’d gotten that Imbued case now. These stupid things are definitely cursed.”

“I could destroy them,” Lee offered.

Noah shook his head. “And then we lose our way into the tournament. No. Not unless we have to. That tournament is definitely the only way we’ve got any chance at all of finding everyone again. We have to put on a good performance to get their attention. Unless your nose is working again?”

Lee let out a reluctant sigh. “No. It isn’t. It still sucks. So do we just wait until they stop… oh, hey. They stopped.”

Indeed, they had. The badges rested motionless on the ground now. They lay as still as ordinary badges should. Yet, a transformation was underway beneath their matte exteriors.

Dull golden lines etched themselves across the badges' surfaces. Noah and Lee observed as an arrow materialized on each of their badges. Both arrows indicated precisely the same direction, regardless of how the badges were positioned.

A glance passed between the pair.

“Suspicious,” Lee remarked.

“Quite,” Noah concurred. He slid from the bed and approached the badges cautiously. With his foot's tip, he prodded his badge. It spun in place — yet the arrow stayed fixed in its direction. Magic was at work. No surprise there. Regular badges didn't sprout arrows from nowhere.

“I think they’re telling us to go somewhere,” Lee observed.

“Astute observation,” Noah drawled. He knelt by his badge. Though the eerie basement woman hadn't attempted another abduction since last time, he had no desire to test if she lingered in wait.

“It might be to finish registration for the tournament,” Lee suggested. “Maybe we’ve got to prove that we’re still here or something.”

“Yeah,” Noah replied. He pressed his lips together. “Maybe.”

Silence hung between them briefly. Then Lee rubbed the side of her neck.

“So… are we going to go find out what it’s pointing at?”

“Yeah,” Noah sighed. He picked up the cloth he'd used to wrap his badge and secured it once more, standing up. “But use yours. They’re pointing in the same direction, and my badge is cursed. At least yours came from one of the official vendors. Not that I trust them all that much more… but I didn’t get the sense that the kidnapper lady was snatching people in broad daylight. She seemed too polite for that.”

“That isn’t a very good reason,” Lee said. “But it’s good enough for me. I’m bored and curious, so I’ll accept anything.”

“Then lead the way.”

She snatched her badge and lifted it high, swinging it side to side. The arrow held its unwavering direction. She shifted sideways. The arrow adjusted faintly.

“I think it should be pretty close,” Lee noted, heading for the door while keeping her gaze on the arrow. “It wouldn’t have moved much at all if we were far.”

“Lucky us,” Noah muttered, matching her stride. Together, they left the tavern and ventured into Aqua Terra's twisting streets.

Lee guided them along the path toward the city's central districts, navigating the alleys with her focus locked on the enchanted arrow in her badge.

Musings churned in Noah’s mind as he followed beside Lee. Reunion was near at hand. Soon, they'd see everyone again. He just needed to excel in the tournament to seize their notice.

He hadn't acquired every rune he'd aimed for. Rank 5 remained his level. Far from perfect. Advancing to the next rank would have been preferable. Rank 6s populated his bracket. This wasn't Arbalest any longer. The Rank 6s at this event would pack real power. Many of them, anyway.

A thudding impact jolted Noah from his reverie. His gaze shot upward as Lee staggered backward. She'd collided straight into a towering man's rear. He towered a head above them, his bulky muscles barely concealed beneath the ragged black cloak draped over his frame. A lengthy, curved obsidian sword hung across his back. Purple ore veins throbbed inside it, radiating an ominous energy.

“Sorry about that,” Noah apologized, placing a hand on Lee’s shoulder to guide her aside. He subtly tapped into his runes while speaking. A potent aura cloaked the man, utterly unrelated to magic — and it bellowed peril. “We didn’t see you there.”

The man pivoted to face them.

He remained wordless for several heartbeats. His hood shadowed his face deeply, hiding his traits. Noah almost exhaled in frustration. That's when he noticed their location in the deserted side alleys, devoid of other souls. Ample room flanked the man on both sides.

They could have slipped past effortlessly with minimal awareness. It appeared entirely as if they sought confrontation.

“Hold on,” the man uttered, his voice gravelly and deep.

“Lee?” the man inquired.

Noah went rigid.

“Huh?” Lee uttered. Frustration flashed across her face as she sniffed again, her nose failing her yet once more. “Who are you? Do I know you?”

“Gods,” the man declared, a hearty laugh rising from deep within his chest. He pulled back his hood with a quick flick, unveiling his rugged, recognizable features. “Lee! It’s you! I should have known you’d be able to sniff me out!”

Noah’s eyes went wide. The man was one he knew intimately, even though he’d transformed dramatically since their last meeting. He’d grown larger. His voice had turned gruffer—but no one like him could simply slip from memory. Family, whatever the kind, never did.

“Brayden?” Noah whispered. “Is that you?”