Chapter 441: Patched up

Chapter 441: Patched up

The next two hours were ones that Noah did not care to remember. His prediction that the river would be the source of the monsters had been correct. And, out of everything that he could have been up against, of course the one that had been most populous had been giant, ridged octopi the size of small houses.

There were a number of outfits that Noah was willing to fight monsters with tentacles in. The ideal one probably would have been a tank, but hed have settled for full suit of airtight armor. Anything that gave him any protection from the squirming monsters would have been much appreciated.

Fighting them naked, however, was at the absolute bottom of his list of his bucket list. Nobody in their right mind was going to get anywhere near anything with tentacles when they didnt have clothes on. There was only one way something like that could go and Noah had absolutely no desire to tempt fate.

As far as he could tell, there was only a single way to handle the situation given the cards hed been dealt. He had to make sure there was absolutely no potential way that the octopi ever got so much as near him.

Thus, two hours later, Noah stood on the scorched remains of what had once been a pristine riverbank. Scores of lightning had turned the sand around the river to glass and huge gouges had been ripped out of the earth, leaving behind jagged holes.

Smoke twisted up from burnt pockmarks covering bodies riddled with enormous, seeping wounds. Piles of monsters had built up in the river, forming a makeshift dam that the raging water was still doing its best to break apart.

Noahs breath came out in short puffs as his head swiveled back and forth to scan the river, his hands curled and raised before him. Hed had a few chances to test out Crumbling Space throughout the fight as it had refilled from all the monsters he killed, but every usage of the Rune had gone nearly exactly the same.

Whenever he tried to make it stretch anywhere farther than the immediate area around him, it went rogue and collapsed in on itself. The rune just stubbornly refused to function at a range. But, even when he restrained its usage, it could only stretch about a foot in every direction.

Noah took note of every test, but his active mind was far more focused on making sure absolutely nothing wriggly got anywhere near him.

No more monsters showed their faces. Hed already mowed through enough of them to leave quite the message and earn himself a considerable amount of energy. That didnt mean the monsters would give up after all the power hed been putting out, though.

Noah kept his guard up and continued to use his senses to trawl through the area around him. Fortunately, the time he had left in the Bleached River was coming to an end. He made a beeline back to his clothes and belongings.

The only thing that would have been worse than getting himself caught by a massive octopus whilst naked would be popping back up in the transport cannon to greet Tim buck naked and without all his belongings.

Granted, the solution to that would have been killing himself, which tended to be the fastest track to most of his problems, but that was a state of mind he was actively doing his best to pull himself out of.

Noah tugged his clothes on and nodded to himself.

Moxie would be so proud of me.

Once he was fully clothed and protected from the elements and errant tentacles once more, Noah took a moment to actually process his findings. Something was keeping Crumbling Space from extending any considerable distance.

There was a pretty good chance a part of it was because the rune wasnt perfect, much less Flawless. It had a good way to go before it was at a point where hed be completely satisfied with it.

That said, the restrictions on the rune seemed a bit much, even for its quality. It drew so much power and was so limited in range that it felt more like a limitation of the Rune itself rather than his combination of it.

Its that Space Magic issue again. Theres something holding it back. Maybe its just because controlling space just needs so much energy, or maybe its something else. I dont know what it is, but Ill be damned if I dont figure it out.

Just in case, Ive already gone and scrambled the location I sent you to. I did it the moment you were gone, Tim said, rubbing the back of his neck with a shameful expression on his face. Twice people managed to follow you through the cannon because I never changed its direction. That isnt happening again.

Thank you. Thats definitely a smart move, Noah said with a nod of approval. He reached into his bag and pulled out the Mind Meld potion hed been carrying around. So, shall we get to using this? No need to lose time.

Tims eyes sparkled with delight and he nodded. He hooked a foot into the trapdoor and pulled it open, then gestured to Noah. After you. We shouldnt be interrupted down here for the time being. Nobody will enter an active investigation area.

Doesnt it being an active investigation area mean people will enter it?

Nope. They call it active, but theres no new information the Enforcers can get here. Tim shrugged. What could they do? See a missing artifact? All that remains is a normal energy storage, and the only people that visit are Space Mages that come by to fill it up every morning and night.

Perfect, Noah said with a grin. In that case, lead the way.

Tim clambered down the ladder and Noah followed after him, pulling the trapdoor shut behind him as they went. A few minutes later, they made it all the way down into the core of the cannon.

The metal was still scorched from where Barb had blasted everything, but most of the damage had been repaired. Tim sat down in the center of the room and Noah handed him the Mind Meld potion before taking a seat across from him.

Thanks again for this, Tim said. I dont think Ill ever be able to properly repay you.

Not every gift needs to be repaid. Thats why its a gift.

Tim smiled and raised the potion in a salute before breaking one of the seals and pouring half of it into his mouth. He handed the vial back to Noah, who broke the second seal and drained the rest of it. They both laid down as the potions effects took them into its arms and ripped both from the real world and into Tims mind.

Just moments later, Noah found himself standing in Tims welcoming soul. Seven runes floated around them but only one of them was worth anything. Aside from the Rank 2 True Earth Rune, the rest of Tims soul was full of rubbish. Even so, things had come a long way from the last time Noah had visited. Many of the cracks had healed. Tims soul was far from strong, but it had recovered by leaps and bounds.

Lets get right to it, Noah said, rubbing his palms together. What Rune are you thinking of next? And have you thought of what you want to go for with your Rank 3 Rune?

Perhaps another True Earth? Tim said after a second of contemplation. And Ive been doing a lot of thinking about the future. Perhaps Im overly optimistic, but Id like to combine the earth and wind somehow. Im not sure how Ill do it yet, but thats what Id like.

I can tell you from personal experience that you dont want to combine two different elements too early, Noah said, rubbing his chin. Maybe wait until you hit Rank 3 to start combining any wind related Runes, but Ill get one into your soul now so you can use it when the time comes. Itll also help keep you from unbalancing your soul too much with a ton of Earth Runes.

I suspect you know more than I, so Ill go with your suggestion.

Noah nodded. Sounds good. In that case, Ill start with a Rank 2 True Wind Rune. Your soul looks a lot better than it did before, so we might be able to get several runes replaced today. Just keep an eye on things and let me know how you feel. We dont want to push too hard and break something.

Tim matched Noahs nod. He held a hand out and called one of his poorly made Runes to himself, then turned away from Noah. Okay. Im ready.

Great, Noah said, baring his teeth in a grin and calling on Sunder until his veins turned black and power pumped through his veins like adrenaline. Then lets get you patched up.