Chapter 428: Wealthy

Chapter 428: Wealthy

Noahs bare back hit the metal of the transport cannon and he furiously tugged his pants the rest of the way up, even as the light of his arrival faded. He managed to pull them up just in time to avoid traumatizing both himself and Bird. Unfortunately, by the look on her face, she definitely hadnt missed the motion even if shed been spared a look into the void.

Noah sat up and cleared his throat. He pulled his spare jacket out from his bag and slung it over his shoulders while Bird stared on in silent, entirely unconcealed judgement.

I didnt realize youd be waiting here, Noah said in what he desperately hoped was a casual tone.

Were you naked when the transport cannon re-activated? Bird asked, squinting at Noah.

Seriously? This is the part where were both meant to pretend nothing happened. You arent supposed to start asking questions. Whats wrong with you?

More aerodynamic.

More what? Befuddlement washed over her expression and she shook her head in disbelief. Were you trying to do things to the monsters?

Are you insane? Noah asked. He pumped his voice as full of false confidence as he could. His head pulsed with pain, but he ignored it. Hed just blurted out the last line, but now he had to run with it. At least the bear hadnt eaten his corpse, so the damage to his soul wasnt as bad as it could have been. Of course not. Less clothes means its harder to get hit. Smaller surface area. Its only logical.

How heavy are your clothes? Bird asked incredulously.

Its got nothing to do with weight. Havent you ever gotten a pocket stuck on a door when you were walking past it? Imagine that in a fight. Clothes only get in your way. Moving around without them gives my enemies less things to it. It also brings me closer to nature.

Right. Bird gave him a flat stare. Well, Im glad you managed to get your pants on before I saw anything. Id have killed you and then myself if I had. Possibly not in that order.

The headache wrapped around Noahs skull pulsed again and he grimaced, massaging his forehead. Thats generally my solution to most problems as well.

What?

Noah shook his head. Never mind. Thanks for the trip. Ill be off now.

Hold on, Bird shifted to stand in front of the lift. Youve still got my Catchpaper. Take your runes off it and hand it back over. And dont touch me when you do. I dont want to think about where your hands have been.

Ah, yes. The Catchpaper. Noah coughed into a fist, then nudged his grimoire. Ive got that. Right in here. The book didnt budge. Bird arched an eyebrow and held a hand out expectantly. Noah nudged the grimoire again, then gave her a sheepish grin. Give me one moment.

He knelt beside the grimoire and pulled at it. They didnt budge. It was like the book had been welded shut. His eyes narrowed and he leaned in close to whisper into its leather covers.

If you dont give me the damn Catchpaper, Im cutting you open like one of those lizards and taking every damn rune I gave you. Then Im going to put them in other grimoires while you watch. Do you hear me?

The grimoire bucked, shooting several sheets of thick Catchpaper out of it as if it were sneezing. Noah grabbed them and rose back to his feet, giving Bird a winning grin as he held them out.

The travel was familiar to her at this point. Shed used transport cannons so many times that she barely even flinched at the sensation of being pressed through space. By the time she registered the purple grass poking into her back and surrounding her, shed already started to sit up but she didnt make it far.

What the fuck? Bird whispered.

Corpses littered the ground, ripped to shreds and blackened. There must have been easily twenty or thirty of them, but the signs of battle on the grass spoke of a much larger fight. Massive portions of it were matted completely flat.

What kind of massive monster could have done that? And did Vermil seriously kill all of these monsters and come out without a single scratch on him? If there were this many of them in the area, there must have been a near limitless army attacking him. He drew way too much attention but he barely even looked winded. It just looked like he had a slight headache or something.

Bird swallowed. If the scene before her wasnt some form of misdirection, then Vermil had somehow not only killed all of these monsters, but hed managed to either kill or evade something far larger than the rest of them.

And he did that while he was naked?

Bird pulled at the lapel of her coat subconsciously.

Theres no way that strategy actually works, is there?

The thought slipped into her mind before she could stop it. She shook her head furiously to throw it free before it could take root. Vermil was screwing with her. That much was evident. There was no way anybody intentionally fought naked. There couldnt be.

I have gotten my shirt caught on the doors sometimes, though. Is it possible he was actually telling the truth? That wouldnt explain how a Rank 4 would be able to do something like this, but I dont know where else to start. Maybe this is some form of old fighting style that Im completely unaware of. Im going to have to look into this.

***

Noahs embarrassment faded quickly as he hurried down the streets on his way back to the T building. Bird could think of him what she wanted. He had an indeterminate amount of powerful runes stored within his ornery grimoire, just waiting for him to play with.

If I wanted to, I could probably just straight up make the Rank 4 Rune here and now by sacrificing all the energy stored up in them. That would probably be a waste, but theres no way Im not going to see what Ive got to work with and start figuring out exactly what kind of Rank 4 Rune Ill make them into.

He made it back to Moxies room and slipped inside. It was empty. A flicker of disappointment passed over him. Moxie wasnt there to see all the fruits of his labor. In a way, that was probably for the best. It would let him focus on actually figuring out what hed gotten.

Ill just have to show her later. If the grimoire was grabbing runes the whole time I was fighting, I should have enough for everyone that wants one. Sunder is so unbelievably useful. Its got to be the best Master Rune in existence.

Noah pulled the grimoire off his back and set it down on the bed. He brushed his hands off and took a step back, a grin pulling across his lips as he gestured impatiently to it.

Come on, then. Lets see what you got. You can eat the stuff I decide we dont need.

That caught the grimoires attention. It snapped open, pages fluttering, and runes blossomed across its surface. Noahs smile stretched wider still as he studied the book. There were dozens of new runes upon its pages. If Otto had known just how many of them hed gotten out of this, the mage probably would have pulled his ears straight off his head in disbelief.

Now thats what I like to see, Noah breathed. Lets get this a bit more organized, shall we? I think Ive just become a very wealthy man.