An Otherworldly Scholar - 272

“We’ll be fine!” Firana said, pushing me into the carriage.

Although she was at least fifteen levels below me, Wind Fencers had a greater strength growth than Runeweaver Sages.

The day of the anti-nobility rally arrived quickly. I wasn’t planning on taking any of the kids with me, and I had expected some resistance, especially from Firana and Ilya. Even if the girls disagreed on virtually everything, they were pretty much on the same page when it came to world-saving endeavors. However, they approved the plan without a single complaint.

Firana, Zaon, Wolf, and Ilya were to stand guard at locations owned by the Arcane Circle in case Byrne made a move tonight. They were to remain within the inner wall, far from the rally site. If my calculations were correct, all that was needed to interrupt Byrne’s teleportation circle was to mess with two enchanted slabs. The four kids and the handful of Prince Adrien’s loyal people were more than enough for the task.

Still, Firana’s compliance rubbed me the wrong way. 

I put my foot on the carriage’s doorway to prevent her from closing the door behind me.

“Don’t deviate from the plan and stay in contact. Most likely nothing will happen, but it never hurts to stay alert. If something happens, contact Prince Adrien’s men immediately,” I said, for the tenth time that afternoon.

The enchanted radio sat comfortably in a backpack on Wolf’s back.

“Yeah, yeah, we know already,” Firana said.

“We have been doing way more dangerous stuff during the last year than watching abandoned houses. We’ll be fine,” Ilya added, giving me the thumbs-up.

“Don’t do anything reck—”

Ilya pushed my foot into the carriage with an [Entangling Vine] and Firana closed the door in my face. As soon as the door closed, the carriage started moving. Despite having been monitoring Byrne’s for weeks with no apparent change, I felt this time was different. It was just a feeling, but I had to swallow my worries.

Holst raised an eyebrow, entertained by the situation. 

“Did they know all along?” he asked.

“Yes, since the Lich’s Monster Surge,” I replied, sitting down on the unpadded wooden seat.

He let out a dry laugh.

“You truly live up to your child soldier apologist reputation, Robert Clarke.”

I ignored him. 

Holst had taken the news about my Runeweaver Class with initial skepticism, but a quick use of [Identify] was sufficient to clear his doubts. Then, surprisingly enough, it was all smooth sailing. It shouldn’t have surprised me, given that Holst was a Scholar. He was curious by nature, and there was still a great deal of philosophical debate over the true nature of the System among the erudite circles at the Library. When I revealed that the System’s goals did not align with the well-being of the people of Ebros, he just accepted it at face value.

“The Ruthless System Hypothesis states that any true detractor of the System would automatically be suppressed by the Zealots,” Holst continued with the questionnaire. “That begs the question, why are we alive right now?”

Talindra shifted uncomfortably by my side. She had also agreed to help me, but for completely different reasons. Playing with Corruption was a huge no for Ebrosian standards. Playing with a new form of Corruption so close to her newborn baby was an even greater no.

“The System is not as infallible as you think.”

I knocked on wood just in case.

Neither of them knew what that gesture meant.

“So, the Faulty System Hypothesis is also true?” Holst asked.

“I’m getting the feeling you are farming me for titles,” I replied.

Holst crossed his arms and glanced at me, still entertained.

“I was under the impression that farming a teacher is totally acceptable behavior,” he said, his voice not showing whether he was joking or being serious.

I sighed. He had a point.

“The Faulty System Hypothesis is true. Corruption is a problem not only for living beings, but also for the System. The more Corruption, the more errors it collects,” I explained. “Also, the Finite Fountain Hypothesis is somewhat true. The Fountain’s life is cyclical, and its length seems to depend on the amount of mana used.”

Holst nodded.

“Marvelous.”

The carriage slowed down as a group of masked partygoers crossed the street ahead of us. The coronation was one week away, and the city was celebrating. Technically, it had been celebrating nonstop since the announcement of the former king's death, but today it was special. The High Priest had announced the Church’s support for Prince Adrien’s succession, so the nobles of all the corners of the kingdom had decided it was the moment for an even more massive celebration.

Everyone was trying to get their piece of the cake early.

As the coronation day approached, nobles’ delegations began arriving in Cadria, and the inner city was uncharacteristically lively.

The Academy was filled with Imperial Knights, and the usually placid inner city had become a boiler. Although it was obvious in retrospect, most of the empty houses and small manors were vacant because their owners had their first residences elsewhere or were detached where high-level combatants were needed. Other than the servants, every inhabitant of the inner city was a wealthy, high-level person.

Talindra remained silent, and although it wasn’t difficult to read her expression, she refrained from voicing her thoughts. She didn’t care about the truth about the System. Anything that could endanger Little Robert had to go.

The carriage abandoned the main road and crossed the gardens to a side entrance beneath Prince Adrien’s chambers. We were entering directly into the royal family's living quarters. Royal soldiers were everywhere, just enough to have a sizable force if something happened, but not enough to grossly catch people’s attention. Other nobles were overly keen about the number of armed forces at the host’s disposal.

A man with a captain's helm opened the door of the carriage and guided us inside. After crossing a couple of enchanted doors and magically reinforced walls, the presence of guards decreased. We climbed down a spiral staircase to the palace’s dungeons. The air grew damp and cold, and nobody was in the mood to talk. 

Finally, when it seemed we couldn’t get deeper, a corridor got us to an underground armory where a dozen people waited for us. On the farthest side of the room was Prince Adrien with Lord Vedras and Lord Jorn by his side. The three were dressed for the party that was about to take place in the gardens, a few meters above us. The other figures, dressed in commoner clothing, were members of Prince Adrien's intelligence network.

Given how relaxed everyone was, I assumed they had taken part in far more dangerous operations before.

“Robert,” Prince Adrien greeted me with a smile, signaling us to come near. “You look unremarkable today.”

As we were going incognito, I was wearing secondhand clothes I bought at the East Ward Market. 

“I have been a commoner my whole life. I was born for the role,” I replied, trying to sound casual.

Lord Vedras gave me a slight bow, and Sellen Jorn examined us with a keen eye.

“Too many untrained people,” Lord Jorn said, his voice devoid of any inflection as usual.

We had already discussed the operation beforehand, and I wasn’t going to give in on having loyal people by my side. Still, I understood his worries. Lord Jorn and Lord Vedras thought we were just busting the local anti-nobility rally. They didn’t know about the connection between them, the corrupted potions, and the Zealots. If the Quest subroutine marked me as hostile, I would rather have loyal people by my side rather than high-level spies from the most powerful dukedoms in the kingdom.

“They are essential,” I said.

“I will trust you, just because Prince Adrien and Lyra do,” he said, his voice cold as a slab of ice.

Lord Jorn looked at his pocket watch. I didn’t need one. [Foresight] counted the seconds until the start of the operation. Of course, Lord Jorn and Lord Vedras didn’t know about my true Class. Prince Adrien convinced them I was an extremely keen person who saw through the secrecy of the anti-nobility rally and connected them to certain elements inside the Church.

Prince Adrien also had hinted at the importance of the part I played in his ascent to the throne when Evelisse’s faction gained strength by the day, but perhaps what had allowed me such an important part in the operation was that Vedras and Jorn already had a good impression of me.

“Roderick, Sellen, let’s go over the plans one last time,” Prince Adrien said, then turned towards me. “Go and get equipped. You can use anything in the armory.”

I nodded.

Lord Vedras, Lord Jorn, and Prince Adrien’s agents were set to watch from the shadows, tag important people, and follow the members of the anti-nobility rally. Only Prince Adrien knew all the pieces of the plan. For security, each of us was only aware of the details of our own part.

“Let’s go,” I said, leading the way to the adjacent room.

The armory wasn’t as different as the one back at Farcrest, save for the quality of the equipment. Rows of swords, shields, spears, and halberds covered the wall. Chainmail, plate, and linen armors were piled in the corner. Everything unmarked. I expected more enchanted items, but there were none. That wouldn’t be a problem for me.

“One might expect a Runeweaver to command way more respect from a group of orphans,” Holst pointed out as he grabbed a rapier and cut the air. “Yet you seem to enjoy them pushing you around.”

I grabbed an arming sword with a rather broad blade and tested it.

“You seem set on knowing me better, don’t you?”

“I’m afraid it’s paramount I get to understand you, given the state of affairs,” Holst shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong. I will help you, but I’m not exactly flying your flag quite yet.”

Holst’s cynicism was what I needed the most. As much as he distrusted me, he also distrusted the System, the Church, and the anti-nobility rally. I just needed him to trust me slightly more.

“Would you trust me if I gave you enchanted gear?”

“A showcase of your powers would certainly help your case, yes,” Holst replied with a gleam of greed in his eyes.

“Have you gotten another skill since the last time I used [Identify] on you?”

“No. Same as that time at the feast when Enric Osgiria was poisoned. I have Mana Blade, Nimble Step, Puncture, Mirage, Ward, and Magical Ink.”

“Quite stacked for a Scholar.”

“I’ve been trying to become a Tactician since I was fifteen.”

I clapped my hands and got to work. Wearing armor would be a big indicator that we weren’t just spectators at the anti-nobility rally, so Reinforced Shirts will have to do. I stretched my arms and placed them on Holst’s shoulders. Mana surged through my body, and the runes came naturally. I pushed mana into the Reinforce rune until it reached the threshold. For Holst’s jacket, I used Fortify instead. Fortify was twice as strong as Reinforce, but it required a threshold four times higher. 

I couldn’t help but ask myself why Byrne had taught me so many useful runes.

You still have a part to play.

Pushing those thoughts aside, I enchanted the Detect-Resonate-Release string to add the stealth effect to the garments. For anyone using detection skills, the shirt and jacket would have the same mana signature as the environmental mana, rendering them invisible.

“How does it feel?” I asked.

“Stiff,” Holst replied.

“Good.”

I added another layer of reinforcement and stealth to Holst’s cloak just in case. 

The plan was just to observe and tag the organizers, but there was always a chance that things would go south. Lately, nothing was going my way, so I wanted to be in control of the situation. Having three high-level combatants with overly enchanted equipment was just the first step.

Holst’s skillset needed more variety.

“Are you right-handed or left-handed?”

“Left-handed,” Holst replied.

I grabbed a right-hand leather glove and put a fire enchantment on it. There was no need for a detailed explanation. Holst was using [Identify] on every piece of equipment I touched.

“Point and shoot. It’s not the strongest, but it will startle and zone out any opponent. It won’t burn your hand,” I said, picking a longer ‘masterwork’ rapier from a rack and enchanting an Instantaneous-Wind circuit on the blade. I also added a reinforcement and a ‘recall’ function. “I need a drop of your blood.”

Holst paled if only slightly.

“I’m not giving you my blood.”

“It will be like a wind-flavored Aias Sword but for the Holst Family,” I replied.

Holst massaged his temples.

“I guess we don’t want random brigands using our weapons against us.”

“That’s the idea.”

In the end, Holst complied and squeezed a drop of his blood on the blade. I was done with offensive equipment against regular enemies. Holst would need something against Corrupted Monsters, and the best solution was the Vampiric Rune.

I grabbed a masterwork dagger and examined it. The enchantment threshold was lower than the rapier. Size and threshold were directly proportional, but unlike the Wind Rapier, I wanted to make a single-use item. Threshold didn’t matter if the enchantment was made to be broken.

I used a self-sustaining full-power Vampiric-Release enchantment and used the space power to add a Reinforcement rune so the item wouldn’t break instantly. The Rune Debugger gave me the green light, and I proceeded to enchant half a dozen knives.

“Stab someone with this and it will syphon their mana until they become exhausted,” I said, giving three to Holst and another three to Talindra. “Keep them under your stealth cloak at all times. These will attract attention.”

By the end of Holst’s wardrobe makeover, he was speechless.

“Do you know how expensive all of this is?” he asked when he finally found his voice.

“If I enchant something for you and I find it at the market, when you go home, I will be under your bed,” I replied, using [Foresight] to maintain my composure.

Holst gave me a suspicious look but said nothing. He walked to the corner of the room and tested his new sword while I approached Talindra.

“You still can turn back,” I said.

“I won’t let a bunch of evil bastards endanger my son,” she said. “Besides, we watch each other’s backs. We are a team.”

I nodded and gave Talindra a similar set of armor, with Reinforce, Fortify, and the stealth function. Unlike Holst, Talindra had a more varied skillset. Besides her ‘spider form’, her core set consisted of [Silvan Dominion], which temporarily turned a wide area into a forest, [Gloom Hex], which slowed down and confused people inside her dominion, [Entangling Vine] for offense, and [Heartwood Skin] for physical and magical defense. Most of her skills worked better within a forestry area. 

As Talindra already had a defensive spell, I turned her jacket into a momentum trap similar to Althea’s dress, so even if she was hit with a piercing spell, the remaining force would not be enough to harm her.

Unlike Althea’s dress, I had no enchantment threshold to add a Force Ring.

“The momentum will be released in the opposite direction of the blow,” I explained.

“My spider legs should be enough to maintain balance,” she replied.

The truth was, we were over-equipped for a mere scouting mission.

It made me feel better.

Prince Adrien knocked on the door and peeked inside. “It’s time.”

We exited the armory and followed one of the royal spies deeper into the underground chambers. At the end of the corridor, concealed beneath a camouflage spell, was a hole in the wall that led into a tunnel, bringing us close to the rally.

Lord Vedras handed each of us a small potions satchel. I noticed that the potion’s placement was the same as Elincia used: health, health, mana, stamina, stealth. All of them were high grade, with null toxicity.

“Let’s get this done,” I said, letting Ebrosian Rob gain more ground.