Return of the Runebound Professor-Chapter 674: Surpassing the Limits

Noah kept his promise to himself. When the following morning dawned, there was only one thing on his mind. The sun hadn’t even yet risen over the horizon when he rolled out of bed and started to pull on his clothes.

Moxie was already gone. She’d likely woken up well before him. As to exactly how, Noah was unsure. He didn’t think he was that heavy of a sleeper, but she’d never woken him up when she was leaving.

She must be using her plants to help her or something like that.

Noah grabbed his grimoire from where it leaned against the base of the bed and slung the large book over his shoulder. He attached his gourd to his hip and did one last cursory check of the room to make sure he hadn’t missed anything obvious before turning to the door.

There would be class today. Half of his students were stuck in Tim’s tower for the foreseeable future, and they didn’t exactly have the luxury of time to take classes every other day when both demon cultists and the noble families were breathing down on their necks.

I should have four or five hours until everyone has gathered. That should buy me enough time to get some good work in before I’m needed for the class. Wonder where I should go. Maybe Tim can send me to the Scorched Acres for a few hours? No reason to fix what isn’t broken.

Noah confidently strode up to the door and pulled it open, theories and plans drifting through his mind about the upcoming tests he planned to put his rune through. He strode out — and straight into something hard.

The breath left Noah’s lungs in a surprised grunt as he stumbled a step back. His eyes snapped into focus as his attention was torn back to the present. Magic had already raced to flood his fingertips by the time his gaze focused on the person that had been standing in his path.

“Not the most observant today, are we?” Garina asked, arching an eyebrow. She stood with her arms crossed in front of her chest and furrowed eyebrows that spoke of a considerable amount of annoyance. “Why isn’t your domain active?”

What the hell is Garina doing here? Wasn’t she off doing something with Revin? Oh, god. Please don’t tell me…

Noah rectified the domain problem immediately, sending it casting out to scan over his surroundings. A wave of relief washed over him. Revin was nowhere to be found. Then again, that really didn’t mean much. Revin had already proven he was capable of cloaking himself and slipping right under anyone’s nose.

“I just woke up. Give me a break,” Noah said. “Why are you here? I thought…”

“Do you really think I want to spend every waking moment I have with Revin?” Garina asked, open distaste playing across her features. “The mere thought of that makes me sick. I would rather rip out my own throat.”

“It kind of sounded like you were doing something important,” Noah said, clearing his throat. The absolute last thing he wanted right now was to have to deal with more Apostle bullshit. There was training to be done.

Garina’s expression didn’t so much as flicker. She was not amused. “Revin can handle on his own for some time. My sanity would not survive the experience were I subjected to an extended period of interaction with him. I need breaks — and you seem to have forgotten what lies at stake.”

“Trust me, I haven’t.” Noah’s jaw set. “I don’t fuck around when my students are involved. I’m not letting anyone — nutjob demons, idiot noble families, or the Apostles — threaten them.”

“I believe you’ve made it quite clear where you stand,” Garina said. “And Lee has informed me of the events that transpired last night.”

Despite himself, Noah blinked. “She did? When?”

“This morning. I took her to breakfast.”

Noah threw a glance over his shoulder. It was still pitch black outside. There were several hours until the sun rose. Calling any meal breakfast at this hour felt like a bit of a misnomer. Then again, he doubted Lee would have cared much.

“I see,” Noah said. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Garina seeking any of his friends out. The Apostle wasn’t exactly an enemy, but he wasn’t sure if they were allies either. She was dangerous — and anyone that forgot was liable to die a very painful death. “Perhaps you should cut to the chase, Garina.”

“We should speak,” Garina said. She nodded over Noah’s shoulder to the room and took a step forward.

Noah didn’t budge.

“Move,” Garina said. “Are you dense?”

“We’ll speak somewhere else.” Noah closed the door behind himself. “This is Moxie’s room. You don’t get to just barge in when she isn’t here.”

Garina stared at him. Then the corner of her lip twitched in what could have been either a smirk or a scowl. It was so fast that he didn’t have a chance to properly tell. “You’re bold. The Seven Apostles could be here for your head any day, and you don’t want to let another woman into your girlfriend’s room?”

“With all due respect, Vermil already has a reputation. I am not trying to add to it or give Moxie any premature gray hairs,” Noah said flatly.

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“A reputation, you say? You’ll have to fill me in about that,” Garina said. “Elsewhere, then.”

Her hand landed on Noah’s shoulder. The motion was so fast that, even with the Rune of Self, he barely had a moment to process the motion.

“Make sure we’re back by—”

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The world shifted. Noah’s stomach lurched up into his throat, changed its mind, and then hurtled back to the ground. There was a twang in his skull like a string had snapped. All color vanished, twisted itself up, and then exploded back into its proper postion within a fraction of an instant.

“—Class,” Noah finished, the word slipping from his numb lips.

They weren’t in the T building anymore.

A field of gray grass sprawled around Noah, curving up to reach for the sky. It was littered with dull-colored flowers easily the size of fully grown men. A single one of their petals was nearly the size of his chest.

The air was stagnant. Silence ruled it with such intensity that not even the wind dared blow. And yet, in spite of that, the flowers swayed in an invisible breeze. Wispy strands of white cloud lingered in the air all around them. They reached down from above like the fingers of a ghost trying to brush against the ground — but even they did not move. Their motion was frozen perfectly in place.

“There,” Garina said. Her word cut through the morning air like a blade. “Much better. Now we can talk freely. Nobody else will be around to overhear us.”

“Where are we?” Noah asked, turning in a circle to draw in his surroundings. There was something surreal about the gray field. Like it had been completely frozen in time, cut away from the rest of the world.

Even the clouds overhead were utterly still. They completely blocked the sky out in a thick wall, making it impossible to see the sky, much less the sun. Noah had absolutely no idea where the dim light that he saw by was even coming from. The moon was nowhere near strong enough to penetrate the wall of clouds.

“Dunno,” Garina replied. “I never bothered giving this place a name. I just call it the Meadow. It’s sufficiently far from just about everything that would give a shit about you. That means we can talk freely.”

That name sucks.

“Right,” Noah said. “What do you want, then?”

“What do you think I want? I’m supposed to pretend to be your mentor,” Garina said flatly. “And, despite that, I know nothing about you. You’re an enigma to me. To me. Do you know how many people there exist in the Empire that I don’t understand at all? It’s a very, very small amount.”

“Sorry?”

“Don’t apologize,” Garina said. “I don’t care about apologies. I want answers. How do you have the runes of two different gods?”

Noah nearly choked. He’d known his little suicide stunt with Crone had probably revealed a few too many cards for Garina to not start connecting dots, but he didn’t know she’d pinned down his second Master Rune as well.

“Answers weren’t part of our agreement,” Noah said, gathering himself and banishing his surprise. “We’re helping each other, here. I’m not about to go spilling all my secrets for nothing in return.”

“My protection is nothing to you? Have you forgotten who I am?”

“You aren’t protecting me,” Noah countered. “The Apostles would kill me if they figured out what I am. You couldn’t do anything about that. If anything, I’ve bailed your ass out. Now Crone has to call you ma’am. Seems like the scales are in my favor.”

Garina’s lips thinned. “You’re an arrogant little shit, aren’t you?”

“Guilty.”

“I can respect that,” Garina said. She blurred forward, suddenly appearing an inch away from Noah as she prodded him in the chest with a very sharp fingernail. It cut clean through his jacket and drove into his skin like a miniture blade. “So long as you are not both arrogant and an idiot.”

“That’s fair enough,” Noah allowed. He didn’t let himself so much as flinch as blood trickled down the front of his chest. Garina was not the type of woman that one could show any weakness to and still hope to come out ahead in the encounter. “Then let’s start treating each other as equals, shall we?”

“You are not my equal.”

“That’s why I said treating.” Noah smiled. “I know you’re not half bad at acting. That performance with Crone wasn’t half bad, Ma’am.”

Garina pulled her hand back and cleared her throat. “I will admit that you have garnered a considerable amount of amusement for me. Crone is an insufferable idiot. Very well, Vermil. I will pretend that you are worthy of being treated with respect. In turn, you will do the same to me.”

“Seems fair enough,” Noah said.

“Then start from the beginning. Tell me of your origin.”

“Would you tell me of yours?”

“Of course not. Why would…” Garina cut herself off. Then her lips pursed. “I see. This is displeasing. Vermil—”

“Noah.”

Garina blinked. “What?”

“Consider that my peace offering. It’s the only free information you’re getting from me,” Noah said. He wasn’t keen on revealing his whole history to anyone, much less someone as dangerous as Garina, but he was going to need her on his side if he wanted to survive the Apostles. That was just a fact. He couldn’t deal with them on his own — and as brash as she was, Garina seemed trustworthy. She was strong enough that she just had no reason to lie or try to cheat him. “My name isn’t Vermil. It’s Noah.”

Garina stared at him for several long seconds. “I see. Very well, Noah. We’re trading information, then. Is that what you want?”

“In a manner of speaking,” Noah replied. He flexed his fingers and drew upon the power of Unstable Pandemonium.

Garina noticed instantly. Her eyes narrowed and she tilted her head to the side. “What are you doing?”

“Information is great, but I think there’s something more interesting I could learn from you right now,” Noah replied with a grin. “Spar with me.”

“I would kill you in an instant.”

“That’s why it’s a spar and not a proper fight. I’ve got a Rune I’m trying to work on. I was heading out to do some practice when you interrupted me… but who better to help me forge it than you? We will speak while we fight. You’ve got more experience with Runes than I do. I’m sure your insight to my Rune’s abilities will drastically speed things up for me.”

Garina considered Noah for a moment. Then a slow, dangerous smile spread over her lips. She lowered into a fighting stance. “I suspect you will regret this request, but very well. After all… we are pretending to respect each other.”

“What’s that meant to mean?” Noah asked.

“It means I will not be going easy on you. You will get your requested training, but this match will not stop until I have gotten all the answers I seek.”

“It’s training, Garina. Not a fight to the death.”

“Ah, but I have seen what you’re capable of.” Garina’s smile pulled back to reveal her razor-sharp teeth. “I know that death has no grip on you. Thus, demonstrating true respect would be pushing your abilities to their limits. Make the first move, Noah. We will see how far your power can stretch. And then — once you have surpassed that limit — I will kill you.”