The Runesmith

Chapter 698: More Special Chambers.

The heavy iron door creaked open, revealing an environment that looked radically different from the previous two rooms. Instead of the rather sterile spaces filled with little more than empty ground, this one was dense with trees and scattered boulders. Some of the rocks even contained hollow openings large enough to hide inside.

This had been the hardest room to create, and the illusion magic had continued shaping it while Roland presented the previous two rooms to the other youths. Leronʼs weaknesses could not be addressed with a generic training environment. His greatest strength lay in using terrain to conceal himself and attack from hidden vantage points. However, he was equally poor at recognizing the right moment to strike.

One of his biggest flaws was spending too much time searching for the perfect hiding place instead of anticipating where his teammates would move. He performed best when acting independently, shadowing the group from a distance before slipping into position and launching a surprise attack when the enemyʼs attention was elsewhere.

To address this, Roland had prepared a scenario filled with countless hiding places and two teams of puppets. One team represented Leronʼs allies, whom he needed to support and protect, while the other consisted of aggressive melee and caster constructs that represented the opposing force.

”Your objective here is to make every battle easier for your team.”

Roland began explaining as he pointed toward the four golem puppets representing Leronʼs teammates. To make them easier to distinguish, each had a different shape and size that loosely matched the members of his actual team. Creating training scenarios of this complexity while controlling so many golems was quite an achievement, but they were still only tier one and tier two creations, making them relatively inexpensive.

”First and foremost, you must learn to choose your targets wisely. You might think focusing on the most powerful mage or the greatest threat is always the right decision, but that will not always be the case.”

”I understand.”

Leron nodded confidently, as though he already knew the lesson. His previous performance, however, had shown that he did not.

”You do? We shall see.”

Roland had intended to explain the exercise in greater detail, but the young man seemed far too certain of himself. Target priority was important, but it was not everything. The opposing side could disguise its true intentions or even bait attackers into carefully prepared traps. Leron would have to face several different scenarios Roland had designed, and hopefully each one would chip away at that overconfidence.

”If you wish to begin, press the button on that tree. If even one of your teammates becomes incapable of fighting, you lose. Now begin.”

He pointed toward a bright red button embedded in the trunk of a tree, conspicuously out of place within the otherwise natural surroundings. It served as the control to begin the trial and restart it after each failure. Judging by what Roland had seen so far, there would likely be quite a few of those.

Once Leron pressed the button, Roland stepped outside and continued observing the exercise through the monitoring system. Just as expected, Leron immediately encountered his first obstacle. He spent too long searching for the ideal hiding spot. There were trees, bushes, trenches, and rocky hollows scattered throughout the field, each offering its own advantages. Yet while he hesitated, trying to find the perfect vantage point, the simulation had already begun.

The allied team puppets began advancing down the central path, and almost immediately, the enemy forces sprang an ambush. A massive, heavily armored vanguard puppet charged straight down the middle, drawing everyoneʼs attention, while two smaller caster puppets began chanting from the flanks.

Leron was slow to find the best angle, as he had been many times before, and when he finally reacted, he chose the wrong target. Just as he was sneaking around to attack from behind, an enemy puppet with a role similar to his was doing the same. While Leron targeted one of the caster puppets, his counterpart struck at their greatest weakness, the Lucienne puppet. Once it was taken down, the enemy did not press the attack. They simply retreated because with their main tracker eliminated, there was no longer any treasure hunt to win.

*Bzzz*

A strange sound filled the training chamber after the puppet collapsed. Just as Roland had explained, the simulation came to an immediate halt as soon as a single allied puppet was destroyed. Leron stared at the frozen constructs, seemingly confused as to why everything had ended when he still had plenty of time left.

Sometimes it was better to let these headstrong mages figure things out on their own instead of handing them the answer from the beginning. Still, if they failed to improve quickly enough, he might have to intervene.

”Now then, Lucienne Arden, you are next. Follow me.”

Out of the entire group, his sister was still the weakest link. The others did not require much guidance, nor did they need to learn any new skills or get better at them. Lucienne, however, was different. She had obtained the Clairvoyant class, one that was entirely new. She needed time to grow accustomed to its unique skills and spells.

”Of course, Deputy Professor.”

In settings like this, Lucienne had to behave as though she did not know him personally. The monitoring system could be accessed by other people, and if they ever revealed their true relationship, the secret would be out before long.

”Your problem lies in using your skills effectively alongside your team. You are not just the one who finds the treasure. You can do far more to support your allies. Tell me, what do you think is the most valuable resource on the battlefield? Magical power? Numbers?”

”Um...”

He led her into a smaller chamber, one similar to the area Leron had used, though much more compact. Trees, boulders, and shallow pits filled the space, but there were also far more distractions. Birds sang overhead, water flowed somewhere in the distance, and random gusts of wind rustled the leaves.

”Itʼs information. If you always know where your enemies are, they can never ambush you, and you can easily avoid any traps they try to set.”

Lucienne listened intently, her eyes darting across the hyper-realistic forest. The rustling leaves and distant rushing water felt remarkably real, but she knew the entire environment was an illusion.

”Information...”

She repeated the word softly, as though searching for its deeper meaning.

”I think I understand, Professor.”

”Good. Your task is simple. Find the hidden enemies within the forest while ignoring the unnecessary sounds and visual distractions. Several specialized camouflage puppets are concealed throughout this area. They will not attack you, but they will constantly shift positions to avoid detection. Your objective is to locate every hidden one before any of them reveal themselves.”

Lucienne nodded, her expression turning serious. She closed her eyes and focused her mana. The Clairvoyant class was tailor-made for finding the positions of others. It was far more precise than any other tracking class, and if she truly mastered it and raised her skill level, there would be no one at tier one capable of hiding from her.

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‘Her range is limited for now, but once she gains more levels and starts using the mana-boosting equipment, she should be comparable to a tier two tracking mage.’

Roland thought to himself as he left the training chamber where he had been alone with his sister.

”You can do it, Lucienne!”

The fifth member of the group was also waiting, though her training would be quite different from everyone elseʼs.

”I am ready, Professor! What do you want me to do? Where is my private training chamber? I didnʼt see another door... Oh, could that be part of the test? Do I have to find the door first?”

The girl was as chatty as ever, but she would probably be disappointed once she learned what he actually had planned for her.

”No, you wonʼt need a personal training room. Here, youʼll be studying this instead.”

Selphie looked up at Roland as he activated one of his spatial runes and pulled out a thick book before placing it into her hands. The moment he let go, she nearly toppled over under its weight.

”A... a magic tome?”

Selphie blinked, her large hat tilting precariously to one side as she struggled to keep her balance beneath the heavy book.

”Something like that. It contains various spells that might prove useful and will probably surprise your opponents.”

”Spells?”

The girl was clearly surprised by this turn of events. She already knew more spells than anyone else in the group. When it came to magical knowledge and applying spells effectively, she was by far the most accomplished caster among them. However, these spells were different.

”Professor... these spell formulae... You want me to cast these? But...”

She managed to open the first page while trying not to lose her balance. After pushing her hat back into place, she noticed something unusual. The spells were unlike anything she had seen before.

”Indeed. I want you to learn these. There isnʼt much else you need to improve when it comes to teamwork or your role within the group.”

”But Professor... I donʼt think Iʼll be able to use these...”

”Is that so? Are you worried about the amount of mana they require?”

She nodded as she closed the tome. It was a reasonable concern. The spells inside were modified tier one spells that incorporated tier two principles. They were significantly stronger than ordinary tier one spells, but as a tier one class holder, her mana pool was quite limited. What she did not know was how much freedom she would gain once she began using the support equipment.

”Yes, Professor.”

”Donʼt worry about your mana. That problem will be easy to solve. For now, just learn the theory behind these spells. Once youʼre familiar with them, report to the Runic Department.”

”Um... sure, Professor.”

Selphie still looked unconvinced, but she was also fascinated by the intricate magical theory spread across the pages. Her eyes widened as she grasped the complexity of the modifications. They were completely unlike the standard academic curriculum taught at the institute.

“This... this is quite complex.”

“It is, but someone like you should be able to do it.”

Roland replied, knowing that this girl was a maniac when it came to acquiring new knowledge. She was already ahead of the others, so this was the only thing she needed to focus on to make her utility spells more powerful.

“You may leave now. I will give you a weekʼs time to memorize as much as you can.”

“Only a week?”

She flinched at the timeframe, but they were running dangerously short on time, and their group was performing poorly during the live training exercises.

“Not enough?”

He asked, but she shook her head while looking toward the door Lucienne had gone through earlier.

“No... Iʼll try... leave it to me, Professor!”

He nodded at her response and allowed her to leave the training chamber.

‘The others are doing poorly now, but they should improve.’

Now that he had assigned everyone their tasks, he glanced toward the training chambers where the students were hard at work. Oxian was already on his fourth attempt with little progress to show for it. Elian lay on the ground, twitching after being paralyzed, while Leron was already pressing the red button again to restart after another failure. Roland sighed quietly inside his helmet, realizing that breaking their bad habits would probably take time and consume a great deal of materials in the process.

‘Well, Rome wasnʼt built in a day…’

He pushed the thought aside and removed himself from the situation. The other members of the Runic Department had already been briefed on the purpose of the trials, but that did not mean he was free to leave just yet.

“Professor Wayland, how did you come up with such innovative ways of using those puppets and the illusory chamber? This has to be added to the Institute curriculum!”

“I just did...”

Once he returned to the control room where Arion and the others were waiting, he was greeted with applause from every assistant teacher and professor present. Stephen was there as well, and for some reason, his glasses were completely fogged up, as though he had been panting for quite some time.

“You hear that, everyone? He just did! Oh, Professor Wayland!”

Arion chuckled, clearly unconvinced by his explanation. Roland was hardly about to admit that he had drawn upon knowledge from his old world along with everything he had learned in this one. However, the five students he had helped were not the only ones who needed guidance. Now that he had demonstrated what could be accomplished with the illusory chambers, even more work was piled onto his shoulders.

Over the next few days, he spent his time traveling back and forth between the institute and the teleportation chamber. He was tasked with developing helpful training programs for other students, including those who had already reached tier two, which only made the work more challenging.

The week passed in a blur as he juggled his responsibilities at the institute with his work back home. Every other day, he had to venture into the dungeon with Agni to level up. During the days in between, he either worked on the mobile runic armor or returned to the institute, where everyone seemed to be asking for his opinion on nearly every aspect of the upcoming competition.

Roland stood before the main observation console. He had been keeping up with their progress and was pleasantly surprised when he returned two days later to check on them. Things looked very different now.

Oxian finally seemed to understand the core principle of his role. On the screen, the large youth was no longer charging ahead blindly. Instead, he positioned himself like a solid wall in front of the fragile puppet constructs.

When a combat puppet lunged forward, Oxian simply deflected the blow with a controlled bash of his rocky fist. He had even begun incorporating other defensive spells, raising shields of earth around himself and creating earthen barriers that protected the group from attacks coming from the front.

He let his rocky armor absorb the impacts without abandoning the group. From time to time, however, he still made a few blunders, allowing enemies to slip through the defensive perimeter he was trying to maintain.

His gaze then shifted to the other young man, Leron, who was currently crouching motionless inside a hollow tree trunk.

Previously, Leron had only used these hiding spots to launch quick attacks or avoid combat, but this time he was using them defensively. This particular hiding place was close to his team, and instead of targeting the puppets attacking them directly, he waited for one that tried to sneak around their position. The moment it revealed itself, he leaped from the tree, cast a binding spell to halt its advance, and then worked together with the puppet constructs to destroy it.

ʼThese two are getting there but...ʼ

While Oxian and Leron had made big strides, the same could not be said for Elian. His form had improved slightly, but he still struggled to predict where attacks were coming from and to concentrate on casting his spells under pressure. His progress remained slow, and perhaps Roland would need to find a better way to help him overcome his fear.

Then there was Lucienne, who had neither surged ahead nor fallen behind. Her progress was steady and roughly where Roland had expected it to be. Her skills still needed considerable improvement, but with the help of the mana recovery devices and continued practice, he knew she could make even greater progress.

ʼIʼll need to introduce this sooner rather than later.ʼ

While he had originally planned to wait another month before handing out the new devices, the problems these students were facing called for an extra push. He wanted them to develop at their own pace to some extent, but time was beginning to run short.

Selphie had also grasped the concepts behind the spells he had rewritten. However, he had underestimated her eagerness to cast them. She had pushed herself so hard that she nearly suffered a mana backlash and upset her stomach by drinking too many mana potions in an attempt to keep casting.

ʼI suppose this is also an opportunity for me to learn...ʼ

Roland almost chuckled to himself as he walked away from the control room. He was not a teacher and knew little about explaining concepts or guiding young minds. Although he had recently taken on his own disciple, he was discovering just how difficult it was to teach others when every mind worked differently.

He made his way through the corridors toward the training area. The time had come to give the youths the customized items he had been preparing and teach them how to handle their newfound power responsibly.