The Runesmith

‘It would be nice to know just how much time I have...’

Roland was at an impasse. Before him lay two paths he could take. It seemed like the guards were finally fed up with his stepmother’s antics. She had probably been bothering them for at least two days and refusing to take no for an answer. The sun was starting to set, and it was possible she had been shouting at them since early morning. It was commendable that she would do this to save her son, but these people didn’t care; they just wanted to be left alone.

In this situation, he was seen as nothing more than an outsider. His identity was probably being researched, as the guards had seen them all enter through the main gate. He had some power thanks to his Institute emblem, but he couldn’t do anything too drastic without probable cause. The big question remained: how much time did Robert truly have? The timeline was muddied, and he had no idea if his older brother was fine. Luckily, there was a way for him to find out, and then he would decide whether to push or retreat.

‘They didn’t notice it, the improved camouflage runes are working as intended…’

While the guards focused on him, pointing their spears, he used his refined runic cubes for a secret mission. A few special ones were equipped with an altered invisibility spell that allowed them to go unnoticed. This estate had its own protective magical barrier, and there was probably at least one mage on the premises.

Inside the Institute, he had spent days not only researching magic needed for the runic prosthesis but also delving deeper into spells that could be added to his arsenal. With Arion’s help, he had access to a vast quantity of tier 3 runes he had never seen before. With the help of the debugging skill and his current knowledge, he was confident that no mage close to tier 4 could compete with his technology. However, it was still better to keep his floating devices at a distance while he scanned the area for Robert.

His brother, along with Lucille De Vere, had visited his home before. While he had been a much worse runesmith back then, he had still managed to keep both their mana patterns. With the help of his mapping device, he just needed to find them, and with his enhanced scanning range, it shouldn’t take long.

‘There she is... Lucille.’

The first person that appeared was the woman his brother had an affair with. She was hidden away in one of the large mansion rooms. Close to her was a group of guards and even a tier 3 knight. Her health was good and she was not harmed. His sensors had been upgraded to the point of him being able to identify someone’s whole status from even his current location.