Chapter 257 – Youngsters.

“Sorry, it was just a slip of the tongue…”

“What do you mean, a slip of a tongue? Do you know how long those idiots from the Inquisition delayed my own research! Why would I know anything about some devilish relics?”

“…”

Roland was just sitting there without replying to the angry-looking cat face that was shouting at him through the crystal ball. It had been some months since his return from his gold rank mission. There he let it slip that it might be worthwhile to search for a certain runic mage instead of seeking help from him. At that point in time, he just did it to avoid being scrutinized but this also caused his associate to disappear for a while.

“Those idiots tried to force me to examine some damn etching of this so-called relic of theirs, those damn fools didn’t even prepare it well so much of the runic structures was lost in the process… it took me weeks to restore all of it and even then…”

The cat professor continued to vent at him while describing the process he went through. It seemed that the relic had truly been lost. The only thing that remained was a magical etching that had either been either damaged or wrongly produced by whoever the mage on the side of the inquisition was.

This magical impression could copy runic structures or off other various non-runic enchantments. If done right it could produce something akin to a detailed blueprint of the magical device. It was somewhat similar to his debugging skill but took a lot more preparation and was very delicate.

“Professor, are you sure you should be yelling out delicate information like this? What if there is a cultist spy at the Academy?.”

“A spy? Now that you mention it, there was actually one of them here but they had at least one competent inquisitor there that could see through their allegiance. Quite the handy skill he had, very troublesome he was able to see through all of my concealment magics ….”

‘Wait, could it have been that guy…’

Roland wanted to ask the cat if it was perhaps the same inquisitor that he had a run-in after escaping from the village but he decided against it. It would be better if people didn’t know that the old inquisitor had a relationship with the Arden estate and his father in particular. What if the kitty started asking about his origins and his secret got out in the process?

“So… were you successful in your research? Is there a way to counter that relics illusion magic?”

“Hah, even if I found something out I wouldn’t be able to tell you anything!”

“Did they force you to sign a contract?”

“A contract? No. The Inquisitors have different ways of restriction but in any case, my mouth is sealed…. that is unless you wish to come over here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Hah, you can become my assistant! Aren’t you bored in that tiny village? Your talents are wasted there, ever thought about becoming a proper scholar?”

“A scholar?”

Roland was taken aback by the offer of working at the magical academy. The one the cat professor was working in was quite prestigious and had many tier 3 mages working there. Most of them followed the standard teachings but this didn’t mean that he wouldn’t be able to learn a thing or two. They probably had some superior mana-related skill books sealed away in their libraries along with special spells. These all could be converted into runic versions with the help of his own skill which made the offer quite alluring.

“That’s right, don’t you want to learn the secrets that this world holds? Discover new magic or learn the long-lost secrets of lost civilizations!”

“Um…I think I’ll have to pass on that.”

“Just imagine all that power at your fingertips… wait, you’ll pass?”

“Yeah, I still have a lot of things that I need to do here.”

The cat’s mouth was wide open as he was quickly dismissed. To the small runic magician, it was strange that someone like Roland was fine bumbling away in his forge. Yet the man in question didn’t really like the whole studying part that scholars needed to go through. If he could have the knowledge be injected into his brain instead then he would prefer that solution.

“But don’t you want to study the ancient runes? Think about the possibilities!”

“I’m more interested in their practical use, if they had been forgotten perhaps they were inefficient or lacked usefulness.”

He was not really a researcher, his preferred work was in the field. The runic machines that he created needed to help him achieve his goal which was freedom in the end. Staying cooped up in a library was not something he liked doing. Instead, he favored fiddling with the runic programming and working with his hands over going through ancient texts. Testing new theories was vastly more interesting to him than coming up with them.

“Lacked usefulness?”

The cat’s face scrunched up as if he wasn’t sure what he had heard. To a hardened researcher like him, there was no such thing as a useless magical instrument or spell. Everything was interesting and discovering these lost magical techniques was what he strived for.

“But this doesn’t mean that I’m totally against it, I just need to get through a few things here… give me a few months and I’ll see what I can do.”

“Hah, are you playing hard to get?”

After rolling his eyes the two talked for a little bit more before Roland decided to end the conversation. This confirmed that the relic was destroyed and that the church was working on decoding part of the runic code. This was not the only magical academy that they went to as what survived from the etching could be copied over.

In reality, he was interested in what that code showed and wanted to head out to help his kitty associate with the research. However, getting involved with a hot potato like that while he was this week was not smart. The cult would have probably already made moves to try and remove anyone working on this research.

Only in a place like the magic academy would he actually be safe as it had various protective spells that would probably be even effective against that illusion. Even without examining the monolith, there were spells that could counter it. The only problem was that such spells required a lot of magical energy which could only be provided in select locations. Thus for the time being he could not involve himself in this matter and could only hope that someone made a breakthrough.

‘I don’t think the church will make it public even if they manage to crack the code. It wouldn’t be strange if they only distributed the knowledge to their most trusted paladins.’

It wouldn’t be smart for the church to point out their countermeasures to their enemies. The cult might be able to quickly change their relics and patch up the loophole. Then it would be back to square one and the dance between the two religious groups would continue again.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

‘The cult decided to go with the nuclear option just to destroy their traces. It wouldn’t be strange if they did something drastic again… but that is if they actually know of the existence of those etchings.’

Perhaps the church had learned from their mistake and they took the right steps to protect their only clue. If that scary inquisitor arrived at the magical academy then it was a sign of them taking things seriously. Roland had been able to escape the illusion twice already and was probably the best person for the job. Together with the etching and his memory of the original code that he saw through his debugging skill he might be able to decipher the mystery.

‘That is, after I get to tier 3 and get a full understanding of greater runes.’

After the conversation was over he decided to pay his workshop a visit. There he continued with his work and also training. His increase in levels was not the only thing he needed to work on. All of his skills were quickly falling behind and he had to keep up. At a bare minimum, his Runic Eye of Truth needed to be maxed out before he attempted a class change again. Without it being at its highest he did not expect getting a prestige class at the rank of his Runesmith Lord.

Thus the hours ticked and the next day arrived while Roland achieved a whole four hours of sleep. This day was a bit special as some of the Orphans had turned ten within this month. Three of them were ready to receive their first class and he was going to be their sponsor.

Thanks to his work with Sister Kassia and the local church he was given a discount when buying the class change crystals. He would use it to elevate the children that he had somewhat grown accustomed to. After visiting the orphanage several times the little guys were growing on him. Money was not really a problem for him anymore and if these kids felt indebted to him, then he could actually receive a return on his investment.

“Good Morning.”

“G..good m-morning…”

“GOOD MORNIN!”