The Runesmith

Chapter 716 – Treasure Hunt Preliminaries.

“What is this? Xandar’s Institute, the underdog, takes the win in the Golem Battle! Is this the birth of a new Dark Horse in this competition!?”

The announcer continued to shout as the audience erupted into cheers. The Institute had managed to steal the show in the very first competition, with the precision spell-slinging made possible by the scoped staff Roland had prepared. Now, they had won the first bout against a golem that had seemed superior.

The crowd was cheering for the upset, something they always enjoyed seeing. After all, it was certainly more boring when the favorite won every time.

“You did well. How does it feel fighting a real opponent?”

Roland asked Robert as he made his way down from the podium, where he had been helping him predict the other golem’s movements.

“Truthfully? I think this golem was weaker than some of the training I had to go through…”

Robertʼs voice was filled with excitement as his golem was allowed to retreat into their hangar. According to Roland’s calculations, the golem had been operating at full capacity, and the attacks it had endured had given him plenty of data to crunch.

“Good. You didn’t suffer any damage, and none of the runic traces have been broken. We can continue to the next bout without needing any repairs. Stand by for now and relax. Lucienne’s competition will be starting soon. I’ll relay the feed into your golem, or you can watch it on the main screen outside. I’ll leave the choice to you.”

“Then send it into the golem.”

Robert replied, his tone becoming noticeably more nervous after Roland mentioned their sister.

“Our sister… she’ll be fine, right?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be close by. Besides, these competitions are rather safe. Powerful magic prevents anyone from suffering any serious injuries, so there’s no need to worry.”

“I’ll leave her in your competent hands, then.”

“I’ll try.”

Roland ended the transmission as he headed away from the golem storage area and toward one of the arenas in the distance. His sister would soon be taking part in the preliminary treasure hunt, and he didn’t want to miss it.

Soon, he found himself outside the arena, walking toward the entrance to the pocket dimension. This place was quite strange, and it made using his monitoring system more difficult than usual. There weren’t many people around, as most spectators had already made their way inside the various stadiums and colosseums scattered throughout the area.

Roland adjusted his robe as he stepped through the archway leading into the viewing stands of the secondary arena. The massive structure had been designed like an open amphitheater, built to accommodate thousands of spectators overlooking a shifting, enchanted forest ecosystem.

Deep within that artificial woodland, hundreds of student teams were preparing to begin the treasure hunt. It was a chaotic preliminary trial designed to test survival instincts, teamwork, and tactical spellcasting under severe pressure.

Through his glowing red visor, Roland analyzed the dense mana distortions weaving throughout the illusory forest. The spatial boundary of the pocket dimension amplified the ambient energy, making long-distance communication impossible.

“It’s similar…”

He noted the resemblance as he moved forward, recognizing the illusory magic as similar to the kind used within the Institute.

The world displayed on the main viewing orb looked remarkably real. The scenery constantly shifted between different groups of students, showing brief glimpses of their preparations before moving on to the next team. Eventually, the viewing orb focused on his sister and her team of five.

‘There they are… All of them look nervous.’

Without being able to do much else now, he decided to look for his school’s seats. Arion and some of the other professors were already there, ready to watch this grand competition, which was clearly one of the more popular events.

The flamboyant announcer was already hovering above the arena, speaking to the audience, and now one thing had become apparent to Roland. The man was not alone.

‘Is this some kind of cloning magic?’

The man seemed to be in almost every arena, speaking at the same time and commenting on various events in real time. At first, Roland wondered if he was some kind of intricate golem, a puppet being controlled by magic. However, he was clearly a being made of flesh and blood. Perhaps there was something else at work, as the mana surrounding him was quite peculiar.

“Now then, the treasure hunt is about to start! Which schools will be able to secure the required points to reach the main stage? Let us count together!”

The voice echoed across the open amphitheater, amplified by acoustic runes embedded into the stone steps. Roland took a seat next to Arion, pulling his cloak up as he sat down.

“How glorious! The students are doing so well!”

Arion, despite being in his small cat form, was sitting on a human-sized chair while a few curious onlookers peeked at them.

“Mhm. They should be able to qualify for the next round, but it’s hard to predict these things…”

He had personally trained the group of five, but he wasn’t sure how good the other students were. It was also possible for schools to work together to take out a stronger opponent.

Sometimes, groups of students who knew they didn’t stand a chance would form short-lived alliances to eliminate their competition. That could easily happen here once they saw how strong the team from Xandar’s Institute truly was.

“Hm? Those kids are also there…”

As the competition was about to start, the image in the orb shifted again, revealing a group he had seen before. One of them was from Starbloom Elemental Academy, one of the favorites for this event, along with many other promising teams.

‘It’s those mages of noble birth. If they come across Lucienne and her team, it might turn into a fight…’

This was a treasure hunt, but fighting and eliminating other groups was allowed. It was even possible to win without finding any of the hidden items or treasures.

Some teams focused entirely on attacking other groups and stealing their loot. That was also one of the reasons this event was so popular. No one knew what could happen, and sometimes even one of the weaker teams could emerge victorious after the stronger ones came to blows.

‘Are they already fighting?’

Before the competition started, all the groups would be led into one main room. From there, they would each walk through something called a dimensional door, which worked in a similar way to a teleportation gate, though it was much more limited.

The door bent space within a pocket dimension, allowing a person to reach another area within the same realm, but not outside of it. Many such doors had been prepared throughout the area to make things more interesting and randomize the starting points of each treasure hunting team.

‘Well… I can’t do much more besides wish them luck now…’

Roland leaned back in his chair and watched the crystal ball. Inside, he saw a blond girl pointing directly at Lucienne and her group. She was saying something, but the sound did not travel through the orb. Still, Roland could imagine what they were saying.

******

“You country bumpkins better watch out. If we encounter you inside…”

Bianca from Starbloom grinned as she pointed a finger at them, but before she could finish her sentence, an annoyed Selphie interrupted her.

“Oh, just be quiet already! You’re so annoying!”

The big hat on her head almost toppled over again as she shouted, causing several of the other student teams to turn and look. Bianca, on the other hand, wore a shocked expression, clearly not used to being talked back to by people her own age.

“Leave those commoners be, Bianca. They’ll get what’s coming to them soon enough.”

Augustus folded his arms with a dismissive sneer before turning his back on them. At that moment, the heavy chime reverberated through the waiting hall once more.

Lucienne placed a steady hand on Selphie’s shoulder, keeping her annoyed friend from escalating the feud before the trial had even begun. They needed clear heads. Getting too emotional could affect their performance.

“It’s okay, Selphie. Just ignore them. They’re nothing but hot air. Let’s focus on the competition.”

Lucienne smiled as she tried to ease the tension in the room. Elian nodded in agreement, while Oxian remained quiet. Leron seemed more interested in the dimensional door that had begun to open before them.

“Contestants, please move to your previously assigned dimensional doors.”

A voice echoed through the waiting room, ordering the contestants to move toward their respective doors. Each one was numbered, and before arriving here, they had drawn a random number. Theirs was eleven. Lucienne took a deep breath and tightened her grip on the piece of paper before stepping forward with her team.

“Remember the plan, and most importantly, remember our training. We can do it!”

The culmination of nearly half a year of training was finally before them. Selphie looked quite nervous, and so did Elian. The only ones who seemed completely at ease were Oxian, who wore a grin as if he were hoping someone would challenge him, and Leron, whose face remained as devoid of emotion as usual.

“Yeah… let’s do it, everyone!”

Selphie adjusted her oversized hat one last time before moving forward. Oxian, acting as their tank, took the front position as they shifted into the formation they had drilled countless times during their training.

A blinding flash of spatial magic washed over them as they crossed the threshold. In an instant, the sterile air of the waiting hall vanished, replaced by the fresh atmosphere of the wilderness.

They materialized inside a dense forest filled with turquoise flora, with the strange pink light of the trapped sunset filtering through the thick branches overhead.

Oxian immediately smacked one of the trees with his fist, testing how solid the illusion felt. The moment his fist struck the bark, a flock of birds burst from the branches and fluttered away.

“This really looks convincing… but the colors are all off…”

Elian commented as he examined one of the flowers. Instead of being yellow, its petals had an unusual purple hue.

“Oh… this is so exciting! So, where are we going?”

Selphie looked around along with the others. Leron remained quiet, as he always did.

Once the question was posed, everyone turned toward Lucienne. She was their main tracker and probably the only person in the entire competition with access to the rare Clairvoyant class.

“Give me a second, I’ll check.”

Lucienne had trained and leveled up her skills as much as she could. Thanks to the mana restoring capabilities of Roland’s equipment, everyone here had been able to progress much faster than they would have by relying on costly mana potions.

“While Lucienne does her thing, let’s check all our items first. Remember what the Deputy said!”

Selphie said, and everyone made one final check of their support equipment. The items had gone through many changes, but eventually took the form of wristguards. The batteries could be easily slotted into the side of each brace, supplying a steady stream of auxiliary power whenever their reserves began to drop.

Besides those, they each had their own custom-made wands and staves, along with some hidden additional packs hidden under their clothes. All of them were made of metal and outfitted with the best runes, just like the equipment used by the schoolmate who had made such a show during the first competition.

Selphie, Elian, and Lucienne’s weapons were regular-looking one-handed wands, straight and designed to fit comfortably in their palms. Oxian, on the other hand, preferred to use his fists, so he had been outfitted with runic gauntlets that augmented his earth magic even further.

Leron, meanwhile, focused on sneak attacks and illusory magic. He had not one, but two wands, making him look somewhat like a rogue wielding twin daggers. After another quick check, they were ready, and Lucienne’s chants finally ended.

“I feel something... in that direction!”

She pointed to the west. Oxian, acting as the tank, took the lead, his heavy boots crushing the strange purple grass beneath their feet. The rest of the team fell into formation behind him, keeping their senses sharp as they navigated through the dense turquoise trees.

Leron remained a few steps behind, using the training he had recently received to watch out for potential ambushes and opportunities to ambush other groups.

“Is it far?” Selphie asked in a low whisper, scanning the branches above for hidden traps or wild beasts.

“Not too far,” Lucienne replied, keeping her focus steady. “The mana signature is strong, but there are three other signatures surrounding it. Probably meant to confuse our mana senses.”

Elian, the main damage dealer, readied his wand, holding it loosely in his right hand.

“It could also be Guardians. The organizers would not leave high-value targets completely unguarded.”

“You’re right, Elian. Get ready. This is going to be a fight.”

Lucienne corrected her first assumption as she continued to monitor the situation. While her specialized class did not give her many bonuses in combat, when it came to reconnaissance and prediction, it was unmatched. Even before they reached their destination, she already had a good idea of what they would be facing, and she quickly informed her team.

They broke through a dense thicket of pale vines and found a small clearing. In the center stood an ancient stone pillar topped with a glowing blue orb. Encircling the pillar were three heavy constructs made of animated stone. Their glowing red eyes fixed upon the group the moment they stepped into the open area.

“Oxian!”

Elian shouted to the tank. Oxian simply nodded and moved forward, making sure all three stone golems focused their attention solely on him.

Oxian slammed his runic gauntlets together with a resonant metallic thud, channeling his earth mana directly into the ground. A heavy wave of compressed stone erupted beneath the foremost construct, staggering the massive guardian before its heavy fist could smash into the soil. The runic symbols along his armguards burned brightly, lowering the mana cost of a spell that would normally consume a third of his reserves to less than ten percent.

“Keep them there!”

Elian pulled out his wand and began casting a fire spell. He chanted much faster than he had in the past before aiming a powerful Flame Arrow at the golems, which were struggling to remain upright as Oxian kept them occupied.

“Where are the cores?”

The copper-haired youth asked Lucienne, who immediately pointed toward the first golem. Her clairvoyance did not merely allow her to find items. It could also reveal weak points in constructs and monsters.

“It’s right there, on the left side of its abdomen.”

Normally, a mage would need to use their mana sense to determine where a golem’s core was hidden. Some constructs even contained multiple dummy cores, either inside or on the surface of their bodies, making it difficult to identify the real one in the heat of battle. With Lucienne’s help, however, finding it was simple.

Elian released his spell without hesitation. The flaming projectile streaked through the turquoise forest clearing, leaving a shimmering trail of sparks before slamming directly into the left side of the golem’s waist. The targeted strike pierced the hidden core with absolute accuracy.

Bright red runes along the stone body shone once before shattering, causing the massive guardian to collapse into a harmless pile of inert rubble.

“One down!”

Selphie cheered as she stepped forward, brandishing her own customized wand. She quickly channeled a gust of compressed wind magic to knock back the second construct, preventing it from stepping into Oxian’s defensive perimeter.

At the same time, Leron moved like a ghost through the shadows, flicking his twin wands to cast a dark illusion that disoriented the final construct.

Lucienne’s eyes glowed as she pointed out the weak points in the golem’s defenses. In less than two minutes, the first battle was over, and the orb resting on the stone altar was theirs for the taking.

“Ha, that was easy!”

Elian said, rubbing his nose.

“Don’t get too confident. Remember what the Deputy said.”

Selphie adjusted her hat as she tapped Elian on the shoulder.

“Yes... I remember.”

He answered as the group approached the altar. Before touching the orb, they all looked toward the girl wearing the large hat.

“Hm... It has a protective enchantment on it. I think if we just take it, those golems might reform themselves and attack us again. But don’t worry. It can be broken!”

Selphie stepped closer to inspect the stone pillar. She raised her wand, allowing a soft blue light to wash over the runic carvings at its base.

“Give me thirty seconds.”

Her fingers moved in delicate, practiced motions as she worked.

“The Deputy showed us how to interrupt this exact sequence during our trap disarming drills.”

Oxian kept his guard up, watching the lingering remains of the stone golems. Leron melted back into the surrounding thicket and waited. Just as Selphie broke the enchantment, Lucienne suddenly noticed something.

“Get ready. Someone is coming...”

They had started easily enough, but this was a competition involving many groups of young mages. Encountering another group this soon was hardly unusual. They could not simply give up the treasure they had found, not after going through all that trouble to defeat the golems.