Chapter 37: Unleashing the Power of Runes

I practiced until lunch, feeling myself beginning to grasp the concept. I could form at least one rune with the ink method. It appeared that the professor had been running more practical exercises for the others. They were conducting simulations of 2 vs. 2 combat, and I was going to do the same after we ate lunch. I briefly watched as Lulith and Lysadra took on Professor Princeton and Quinn. It seemed they were trying to teach the girls more control, and the professor was giving Quinn some tips on how to work better in a group. I watched as Professor Princeton cast powerful wind magic at the girls while Quinn followed up with a swift punch of his own.

As we settled down for lunch, they provided us with subs of our choosing. I went with Tuna, with fresh fruits on the side. It was quite delicious, but we ate quickly, eager to get back to our individual training. Once I returned, Altaria stated, "Alright, now that you can at least perform one rune quickly, let's get started with the real training. Perfect the ink spell on your own. I want you to get used to fighting with the new ink magic. Yuna, your turn, play your role as a dummy." Yuna scoffed, "No? That sounds tedious. I can't kill you, but why would I help you?"

I smiled, "Because you have no choice." I commanded, "Spar with me." The rune on her neck made her rise to her feet, "What!? Seriously, you can command me like a puppet? When this is all over, I will make you pay for this." I mocked, "You can bark all you like; your leash is going to be held tight. Now, enough stalling, do as she says, play your part as my sparring partner." We walked away from each other, taking our stances as I was prepared to see just how much of a difference my new magic made. Altaria gave us the signal to begin as Yuna immediately began running forward, her katana glowing with purple light. I concentrated, ignoring her for a moment. I imagined the rune I wanted to create in my mind.

Once I felt the rune materialize in the real world, I simultaneously felt Yuna closing in with her blade. She used the move she had used on Lysandra as she closed her eyes, "Eyeless Slash!" Three strikes came down simultaneously, but they would never reach me because of the rune. Just before they could get close, I yelled, "Bacura!" An invisible barrier took shape in front of me, blocking Yuna's middle slash. She struck it with all her might, but it held strong. I laughed a little, "That came out so much faster than usual." The barrier quickly disappeared in front of me, and another slash came down, stopping before it reached my neck.

My heart beat in my chest as Altaria clapped, "You must not get distracted; your enemies will not wait for you in battle. Quickly start your next spell as soon as you gain the upper hand. Try again." I frowned, "Yes, ma'am." We restarted our duel. She did the exact same slash as before, but this time the one on the left struck at me. I used the same barrier spell, but this time I quickly thought of a fire rune to counter with. I yelled, "Casmodine!" A fire spell formed in my gauntlet, and I blasted Yuna at close range. It was quickly stopped by Altaria, who smiled. She stated, "That is the key; you need to use more runes much faster with the ink spell, but you'll get there with time." We did a few more sparring duels, and I won the majority of exchanges now between Yuna and me.

Once we were done, Yuna was huffing and puffing, "How pathetic. I can't even hit him now..." Altaria chimed in, "Well, I did call you a dummy for a reason, and you will always be a dummy if you don't use the magic I know you have. Plus, you are naïve if you think I don't realize you have more sword techniques than that eyeless slash." Yuna gave an annoyed look, "I will never use my magic ever again. You know nothing about me old lady. Hmph." She seemed to pout. I, for one, was happy that the eyeless slash almost one-shot Lysandra yesterday. I knew we were making good progress toward our goal now.

Altaria gathered everyone together again, "Alright, students, let me tell you what we have on the menu next. We will have a team sparring match here before dinner. Then we will have dinner, but after dinner, we have more specialized training to go over, and tomorrow your real test begins." I asked, "Real test? I thought this was the real test." Altaria laughed, "My dear boy, this is merely the appetizer; the main event is tomorrow. You will be fighting in teams of five against some of my finest in a mini-tournament setting." Quinn asked, "More practical training?" Altaria explained, "Exactly, but with a twist. I think I mentioned I made a bet with the king. I want to add some stakes to this tournament." She got deadly serious, "I expect you to win here; the king will also be attending. If you do not win, I'm afraid the knights will take over dealing with the covenant."

My heart dropped; it seemed that this was our test to see if we were truly ready. Lulith sighed, "I hope you didn't expect this to worry me. Fighting against some kids? Are you sure you don't want to up the wager?" Lysandra added, "Fine by me; we'll squash them." Altaria, clearly amused, suggested, "Who said the finest would only be the students? We have very talented teachers here at my academy, some of whom you have yet to meet. I am sure they will be a big hurdle for you students, should you not bring your best; you will lose." Quinn asked, "All on one team?" Altaria responded, "No, haha. I am not that cruel. They are my best, and they will be split up between students and teachers." I questioned, "I don't get it, though. With Quinn, Lulith, me, and Lysandra, that only adds up to four; we are missing one." Altaria responded, "I figured you should have guessed by now. Yuna will be joining us here as your fifth member; after all, she will be joining you on your mission."

Yuna frowned, "God dammit, I should've just let the king take me when I had the chance. This is much worse than dying. Such humiliations can't go unanswered." I sighed, "Whatever, just don't completely get in our way. I know teamwork isn't what you do best." She didn't answer but rather sneered at me, the thought of working together souring her mood. With that in mind, we began our sparring match. Altaria explained, "The teams for this sparring match will be Lucius, Lulith, and Quinn vs. Lysandra, Yuna, and Princeton." Yuna begrudgingly took her battle stance as we dispersed a few dozen feet away from each other.

Quinn warned me before we began, "Princeton is quite strong. I think he was just caught off guard in the cave. Be careful of his wind magic; he can knock you off balance like that." He snapped his fingers in front of me, and I nodded, "I am still learning my new magic, but don't worry; you can count on me. I won't slow you down." Lulith smiled, her eyes glowing red, "The band's back together. Great, let me show you what I can do now." Quinn positioned himself in front of me as if to guard me, and I took my position in the center at the back with Lulith to my left. Similarly, Princeton was in the back for their team, and Yuna and Lysandra were in the front.

Lysandra called out, "No hard feelings, kid, but this will be fast." Altaria gave the signal, and we wasted no time as our strategy forming in real time. Lysandra bolted forward, jumping into the air, ready to aggressively smash her foot into Lulith's head. I quickly cast my barrier spell, "Bacura!" A small barrier formed, and I imagined it going in front of the kick from Lysandra. The barrier blocked her flaming kick, buying Lulith enough time for a counterattack. She used her new enhanced speed to roundhouse an unsuspecting Lysandra in the face. Altaria yelled out after stopping Lulith's kick, "Lysandra out!"

Quinn made his own offensive move toward Yuna as this happened, quickly striking with his hand forming into bear claws. Yuna nimbly blocked it, buying time for Princeton, who yelled out, "North Wind." A gust of wind blasted into Quinn, knocking him off balance momentarily, but it didn't count as a knockout. I yelled over to him, "Quinn, dodge back; we can combine our efforts." Quinn nodded and came back toward us. I focused for a moment, inserted one rune, and then thought of the other rune I wanted to cast. I thought of a spell to cast in my head, instinctively knowing it would work. I thought of Quinn's body getting stronger as I yelled out, "Arcanox! Lithora! Aegis of Gaea!" Rocks began cementing themselves to Quinn, giving him armor made from rocks and dirt.

Quinn, knowing what he had to do, charged ahead for Princeton. I gave him a slight nod as he rushed ahead. Yuna took her chance and rushed at Lulith, who focused on her attack to give herself an advantage. I cast two more runes as quickly as I could. I yelled out, "Cosmodine! Festora! Pyroclastic Windwall!" A fire wind barrier was placed in front of Yuna, which instinctively made her recoil a little. With her enhanced physical durability, Lulith flew through the firewall like it didn't even exist. She was about to punch Yuna in the stomach, and again Altaria yelled out, "Yuna out."

In a similar event, Professor Princeton tried to counter Quinn's attack with his own, "South Wind!" He yelled out as a more concentrated wind blast made its way toward Quinn. It pursued directly and would normally have knocked him out of the match, but instead, the rocky armor I made for him absorbed the blow. Quinn took out his now rocky claws, but before he could reach Yuna, a barrier was placed, and Altaria announced, "Professor Princeton out! Team Lucius is the winner!"

I laughed, "Amazing work, both of you." Both of them nodded at me with pleased smiles, and I high fived both of them my heart beating fast. Lulith said, "How did you put out that wall of fire so fast? I never expected that." Altaria added, "He did it by instinct. I knew this would be good for him. My dear, you cast the second rune without inserting another piece of paper." I was caught off guard I did?, "I didn't even know I was doing it. It was automatic; amazing," I gasped. Altaria clapped her hands, " That is the power of practical combat my dear sometimes our bodies know what are mind doesn't in heated battle. Alright, students, let's eat dinner, and after dinner, I have something to explain to you magic users then you can rest." Lysandra muttered, "Dammit, I couldn't show off." Altaria ignored her, adding, "I am very pleased with this match, but one thing is clear to me: you all still have a lot to learn." She looked at us with a piercing glare, "Those of you casting magic, you still have one vital correction to make with the way you cast spells. This next step will push you to new heights, and it is something even my students still struggle with, even my very best. Let's see if you can surpass even them after dinner."