Chapter 149: Hungry

Chapter 149: Hungry

Moxie was training the students again. Noah had offered to help, but she’d refused – and Noah was grateful for it. His mind had been on his Runes ever since the previous night. Now that he’d gotten his new Body Imbuement, it felt like he’d pushed down a domino in a long line that he’d been setting up for weeks.

I really want to reach Rank 3. Moxie and Lee are both there already. Even though my Master Runes help bridge and even overcome the gap, I’ve been Rank 2 for a while now – and once I hit Rank 3, I can help both of them fix their Runes.

Up until this point, I’ve just been collecting Runes, but I need to actually sit down and do some real thinking about exactly what my Rank 3 Rune will be.

Noah headed out of the camp while Moxie set about making the students use up all their energy again, nodding to Lee as he walked into the trees. He quickly made his way over to his spot from the previous day, using the new Body Imbuements on his feet to sense the vibrations of the life around him as he walked.

Once he reached the tree and launched himself up to sit in its branches, Noah leaned against the trunk and rested his chin in his palm as he thought. There were so many different paths that he could try to focus his Runes on that the possibilities almost felt overwhelming.

I’ve been really focused on the details up until now, but I need to take a step back and really look at the big picture. I have the unique ability to customize every single Rune I have, so I should really be thinking more about where I’m going. At the moment for Rank 2 Runes, I’ve got two Howling Maelstrom Runes, a Focal Quake Rune, a Pyroclastic Resonance Rune, and a Broken Gale Rune. In addition, I’ve also got a Rank 1 Greater Wind Rune in my soul and a Rank 1 Greater Ash Rune in my Grimoire.

Then there’s the two Master Runes. Sunder is pretty much independent of all my other Runes, so I don’t need to take that directly into account. Combustion... it’s powerful, but I shouldn’t build myself around it. That’s too short-sighted. If it works out, great. If not, I can always find more Runes.

Noah drummed his fingers on his chin. That wasn’t even everything he had to work with. There was still the strange energy that had gathered around his Soul. He was confident that he could somehow form it into a Rune, but he just wasn’t quite there yet. Whatever it was, though, it would be powerful. He was sure of that.This chapter was first shared on the Ñøv€lß1n platform.

Another thing I can’t plan on. For now, I’ll focus on my actual Runes. I’ve got a good spread of different kinds of magic with Fire and Ash from Pyroclastic Resonance, Wind from Howling Maelstrom, and a mixture of Earth and Vibration from Focal Quake.

That... isn’t exactly what I was aiming for from the start. I’ve got quite the spread that can make sound, but I need to make sure I can effectively fight with my Rank 3 Rune. This isn’t just about me anymore. I need to be powerful enough to protect everyone.

Noah sat in thought, his legs swinging from the branch as a breeze rustled through his hair and the sun trekked through the sky. There were two main directions he could take his Runes in. The first would be focusing in on a single type of magic, such as Vibration, and really pushing deeper into it.

The other would be a more general approach that somehow bound everything he had – or would get – together and improved upon it. The latter idea appealed to Noah much more, but it had one gaping hole.

I have no idea what connects all of these things without making them weaker in combat. I can’t just make a music rune out of this or something. That could end up weakening my offensive capabilities.

Something wet fell on Noah’s cheek. He blinked, looking up and realizing that a bank of heavy gray clouds had rolled in at some point, blocking out the sun and casting the forest into shadow.

Raindrops started to fall, pattering against his face. Noah shifted to try to get a bit better shelter under a branch overhead, then sat still and watched the rain.

You know, I basically already have most of the elements, just in destructive manners. The only basic one I’m missing is water. I wonder what the equivalent of water would be? Maybe Flood? That would be pretty cool, and water magic is one of the few that you can use almost anywhere because of the moisture in the air.

Noah paused. An errant thought had gotten stuck in the back of his head. It felt like a little bit of a stretch, but if he was going for destructive power, it seemed to line up perfectly with the path he was already heading toward.

What if my Rank 3 Rune had something to do with natural disasters? I’ve already got volcanoes, earthquakes, and maelstroms. Something like Flood or Tsunami or the like would fit this perfectly. Gale wouldn’t be that useful, but I could save it for later.

But, as he reached out for it, the energy vanished. Noah’s runes warmed as power slipped in, filling them slightly.

“Damn,” Noah said, straightening his back. “That didn’t quite work, but I feel like I was almost there.”

He rubbed his chin, then shrugged. His Runes were stronger now. He could handle Sunder’s effects for longer, and that meant he had quite a few more tries to go through. It was time to find some more monsters to practice on.

The day blurred by. Over a dozen monsters, ranging from snakes to Arcfists – the gorilla monster that they’d lured to push the kids to work together – fell to Sunder. Noah hunted them relentlessly, either by sound or through the vibrations running through the forest floor.

At first, Noah had little luck actually pulling the Runes out of their bodies. He had to take several breaks throughout the day to let all his Runes, which had been drained holding back Sunder, recharge.

But, as time went on, the feeling grew closer and closer to the surface. Noah could feel the energy right before it left the monsters’ bodies. If he could just manage to snag it before it entered his own, he was confident he could pull the Runes out.

Night had already fallen, but Noah wasn’t ready to be done yet. Yet another snake had caught his attention as it crawled across the forest floor. And, this time, Noah was determined to get results.

Sunder’s power coursing through his veins, Noah shot forward and slapped his hand against the snake. A black line carved through it. Noah tensed, waiting for the familiar sensation of energy rising up from the snake’s body.

His fingers tingled.

Now!

Noah called on Sunder’s strength once more and swept his hand through the air where the energy was. It shimmered, and Noah held his breath.

Then, in the darkness of the night, light bloomed. Runes swirled into the air before Noah, each one glittering with faint energy. No energy entered his body. The Runes just floated before him, ripe for the picking.

Noah couldn’t help himself. He started to laugh.

He’d Sundered the monster’s soul.

***

In the shadow of a tree in the distance, two yellow eyes gleamed in the darkness. They were the eyes of a predator – one awoken from its long slumber by a deluge of rain that had flooded its deep, underground burrow.

They watched Noah as he looked down on the Runes floating before him, and they were hungry.

So, very hungry.