Return of the Runebound Professor-Chapter 818: Upgrades, people.
Noah kept his eyes firmly on the mountains on the horizon as he directed the flying sword through the sky. The howl of the wind had faded to a distant whistle at the back of his head. It had been a day since Lee had found him.
They’d been traveling pretty much ever since, only stopping briefly to kill a few insignificant monsters that she spotted on the way. That had been just enough to stave off Noah’s weariness and need to eat. That was good, because Lee had unsurprisingly already liberated him of the majority of the jerky he’d brought from the Citadel. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
A part of him still couldn’t believe that Lee had found him so fast. But it was Lee that he was thinking about. If there was anyone in the world that could track him down easily, it was her. Garina probably wasn’t too far behind on that list.
The Apostle’s senses were enormous. Even if Obsidia was far larger than Arbalest, there was a good chance she’d be able to find him if he drew too deeply on Sunder. The thought had occurred to Noah more than once, but he’d resisted the urge.
Garina wasn’t the only one with powerful senses. He wasn’t too keen on broadcasting his location to every single Apostle — or anyone else who might have been paying attention. There were too many things he still didn’t know about Obsidia.
It would be best to keep a slightly lower profile for the time being. Noah had no plans of staying entirely under anyone’s radar, though. He was going to have to make at least a little noise if he wanted to draw his students back to him. But that didn’t mean he had to pull a proverbial mountain down on top of himself in the process.
Restraint, Noah. Restraint. A well placed push will do just as much damage as a massive explosion. No need to somehow alienate a bunch of random major factions out of nowhere. I’ll save that for when I really want to piss someone off.
He caught sight of a wide clearing near the base of the mountains. They’d been flying for quite some time now, and Noah still hadn’t really had a time to investigate the new runes he’d gotten. None of them were anything he would use in their current state… but he was pretty sure he could make something good by taking them apart.
There was definitely no point charging ahead without at least trying to make a new Rank 5. This wasn’t Arbalest anymore. He couldn’t afford to wait around twiddling his thumbs when any enemy could be two ranks higher than him. Every rune counted.
Noah brought the flying sword down, slowing as they approached the open patch of land.
“You know what you need?” Lee asked as they descended “A mask.”
“What?” Noah asked. “Why? I don’t need to hide anymore. It’s not like the Apostles are actively hunting for me. And even if they were, they’re definitely not going to be doing it by looking for my face. The only other person that knows what I look like is the Prophet. There’s no way in hell she goes wandering around and just happens to walk into me on a street.”
“No,” Lee said. “Not because of any of that. It’s your face.”
“What’s wrong with my face?” Noah asked. He landed gently on the grass and pulled his power from the sword. They stepped off it and he kicked it into the air, sliding the blade into its sheath before turning to look at Lee. “It’s a perfectly fine face.”
“I like it,” Lee said with a nod. She put a hand on his shoulder in the manner of a father about to break the news to his daughter that her favorite pet hamster had gotten snatched by an eagle. “But it’s kinda boring. I would know. I wore it.”
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Noah stared at Lee. “Don’t phrase it like that. It’s creepy. And where is this coming from? My face has done my just fine until now.”
“Yeah. But you gotta get attention so we can find everyone again,” Lee said. “That means you have to stand out.”
“Can’t you just sniff them out once we get to Aqua Terra?” Noah asked. “Everyone should be in the same city.”
“Maybe,” Lee said as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and frowned pensively. “But Obsidia is huge. And if Aqua Terra is the capital of the Coral Empire… it’s going to be enormous, right?”
“Probably,” Noah said.
“Then even my nose might not be enough,” Lee said. “There will be so many powerful mages… I don’t know. The scents might be really, really mixed up. And everyone is sure to have grown. Changed. I’m sure I’ll be able to find some of them. But some isn’t enough. We have to find everyone. There have been so many missed classes, Noah. We have to catch up. Together.”
A shiver ran down Noah’s spine at that.
“I don’t disagree with that. But how will a mask help with that? Wouldn’t covering my face make it harder?”
“You’re Noah,” Lee said, as if that answered his question. “Anyone who knows you will know who you are instantly, face or not. But if you want people to hear about you and spread rumors… well, you’ve got to work on your image.”
Noah blinked. “I — what? My image? What are you, a PR consultant?”
“What’s that?” Lee asked.
“Never mind,” Noah said. “Where did you hear any of that? This has to be coming from something.”
“Carmen taught me a bunch of stuff,” Lee said with a proud grin. She jabbed a finger into her chest. “More than just fighting. She showed me how to spot things that I’ve never noticed before.”
“I see,” Noah said slowly. Then he shook his head. “Actually, no. I don’t. I’m not getting it.”
“You have no aura,” Lee said.
Noah choked. “What?”
“When you aren’t fighting, I mean,” Lee said. She poked Noah in the cheek. “You look too normal when you aren’t murdering stuff. So you have to look cooler. That’ll make people talk about you, and it’ll make other people try to look cool by fighting you. Then you’ll have a chance to kill them and look cooler yourself.”
Noah stared at Lee. “I think you might have slightly misunderstood whatever it was Carmen was trying to teach you.”
Lee tilted her head to the side. “Mm. No. I don’t think I did. You need to look cooler. Especially for the tournament. You can’t show up in a ratty old uniform with a scruffy beard. That’ll be lame.”
What kind of rot was Carmen filling Lee’s head with? We’re going to have a firm talk the next time we meet. Then again, there’s a very good chance Lee completely missed the point of whatever it was that Carmen was trying to get across. There’s no way this was what she meant to pass along.
“We’ll look into finding something at the next city we find,” Noah allowed with a small sigh. “I can agree that a wardrobe upgrade would probably be nice.”
Lee nodded in approval. Then she flopped down on the grass and stretched out, rolling over to look up at the darkening night sky without another word.
Noah sat down beside her. He crossed his legs and leaned back on his arms. The two of them fell silent. A gentle wind coiled past them, and it struck Noah that the sky didn’t even look the same as it had in Arbitage.
The stars seemed brighter. More numerous. It was like someone had spilled thousands of glistening gold pieces through the dark blanket overhead. He’d never really taken a proper look at them until now.
It was beautiful.
But the stars would be a lot more beautiful when everyone else was there to appreciate them with him.
A shimmer of gold light wove through the stars above — but it wasn’t from the stars. Noah’s lips pressed thin. The Line was still there. It would never leave. The very instant his resolve faltered for even an instant, that little splotch of darkness in the center of the golden sea would be no more.
But so long as Lee was here — so long as Moxie and Todd and Isabel and everyone was still out there — the Line would find that that he would give no ground. After all, the Line was in his mind. And as far as that was concerned, he had been around for just as long as the Line had.
“I’m going to work on my runes,” Noah said. “I got a few new ones recently. Keep watch for me?”
“Sure thing,” Lee replied. “Have fun.”
“That’s the plan,” Noah replied with a faint grin. Then he sent his consciousness plunging into his Mindspace.
It was just about time he made his fourth Flawless Rank 5 Rune.
