The Runesmith

How could this have happened? Why was Agni dying on the ground in a pool of his own blood and why were these knights here? These questions he was asking himself while looking down at his canine friend. He could not understand how a situation like this arose, there was no reason for a noble to attack his home.

Roland was aware of all of Arthur’s brothers, Theodore Valerian included. It wasn’t strange for these men to arrive in this city, it was something that he actually expected. The thing that he didn’t expect was that they would actually attack his home and hurt the people living there. Agni was certainly not at fault here, he would not attack anyone without being provoked.

“It’s okay, I’m here.”

The knights that were around him were still a problem but there were more important things to worry about. Agni didn’t look good, he had multiple stab wounds all over his body. His hide was quite thick and the added protection from the rubies allowed him to live to this point, but it was already a miracle that he had managed to stay awake for this long. The net that was on top of his body was also strange as he could feel the metal having a peculiar mana-affecting quality to it.

He quickly kneeled down to grab it. Only thanks to being a tier 3 class holder with advanced mana was he able to counteract the effect. Without waiting he quickly used all of his power to tear through the metallic structure of this net to free Agni from within it. The people continued to shout something at him but they were not important. His hands were shaking with indignation but he needed to concentrate as Agni’s life was at risk.

This net that he tore through explained a lot. His entire compound was outfitted with sensors that would inform him about any danger arriving at his home. The people that came here were capable of disrupting mana to some extent. Only after they arrived at his doorstep where there were more sensors was the alarm triggered. This caused him to arrive late from the Black Market where he had to run back from. Even the potions that he was pouring on Agni’s wounds didn’t seem to be working fast enough, the situation was really dire.

“Elodia, there should be an elixir in the safe, please bring it over here.”

“But what about the…”

“...”

“I’ll go get it.”

Elodia finally ran up to Roland’s side after being able to process the situation. She quickly pushed the door open and ran through the shop to get the magical concoction to Agni. This didn’t sit well with the knights that were outside. Their leader had been hit by one of Roland’s spells and lost his arm in the process. Seemingly a commoner had injured a noble night in a scuffle, this was not something that would go down well with a group like this.

“What are you all waiting for… Kill him!”

While he was standing up with Agni in his arms the enraged Knight Lieutenant started shouting. He was grasping the stump of his right arm that had become dislodged from his body. There were still a lot of his men capable of fighting as his initial attack was not meant to eradicate them. It was a hastily produced solution to the problem of his tamed beast dying. Most of them were still standing and ready for round two. In their eyes, he was still only a magical craftsman that had probably used one of his many tricks

“Don’t think that I have forgotten about you, just wait here…”

Roland could see that all of his spider drones and magical turrets had been destroyed. Yet this was not the end for them, with the help of his skill he could activate them all again. The knights that were already charging forward noticed a strange semi-transparent burst of electricity shooting out from the center where he was standing.

It did not harm them in any way but when crossing through the damaged runic equipment it produced an interesting effect. All the runic turrets that were in the vicinity started glowing blue and shifting back to their previous forms. The same was for the destroyed magical golems, all of the parts started quickly flying at each other to recreate their old forms.

The Knights were clearly confused about all the flying metallic parts combining back into their previous forms. Even when trying to interfere with the mana-interfering powder it didn’t seem to work. All of the golems that numbered three had been restored and the turrets as well. This wasn’t all though as their bodies were constantly giving out a glow from within the runes.

All of the traces and runic symbols were visible to the naked eye and soon enough the Knights would realize that the automatons that they were facing were a lot tougher than before. Roland with his area of effect skill was able to use all of his runic enhancement skills on all golems and turrets. Even though this would cause the runes to deteriorate, he could quickly mend them back to health. As long as he had mana to spare the magical machines that he created could be put back into a working state.

“Argh, what are you doing, block the attacks!”

“T-the mana, it’s not getting dispersed fully, our shields can’t take it!”

The sounds of the men shouting outside were muffled by the door of the shop closing behind him. Agni was still the priority here, his secondary minds were controlling the golems and turrets outside so that his main one could focus on the problem here.

‘His HP… it’s still going down even after I gave them all those high-quality potions…’

Roland was Agni’s master which allowed him to see his status screen in more detail. His Health Points along with his stamina were dropping below critical levels. While this world was like a game there were a few differences. A person could not actually survive with one point of health left on their bar. It was similar to him getting headaches whenever his mana points dropped below a certain point.

There were a few persisting statuses that kept him from healing. One of them was familiar as he had just bought a weapon with the same effect. The weapons the knights were using seemed to have been specifically meant to kill beings with high vitality. Monsters tended to be able to last through a lot more punishment than humans even if their vitality stats were similar. They usually had some sort of healing factor but with the bleeding status and multiple organs failing, this passive skill would become overloaded.

“Here, I’ve gotten the elixir.”

After placing Agni down on the floor of his runic shop Elodia finally showed up with the high-quality elixir. In actuality Roland wasn’t sure if this would work, the concoction wasn’t really made for monsters or animals. It was a holy elixir from the Sun Church that was capable of alleviating many of the status effects Agni was under. He could only pray that it would work, otherwise, none of the health potions he had would be of any use.

“It’s okay, everything is going to be okay…”

Elodia placed her hand on Agni’s head and started stroking his rubified mane. Even though her hand became bloody instantly he continued to pet the wolf that she grew to love. Roland quickly poured part of the elixir into Agni's mouth and then the rest onto some of the larger wounds until it was all gone.

Agni’s whole body started to faint glow with a golden hue as the magical concoction started to work. He could see some of the statuses vanish with the poison one being the first. The wounds were getting smaller and the bleeding was beginning to stop.

“It’s working!”

Elodia shouted out with a smile on her face but it wasn’t long-lived.

“No… something is wrong, the glow is fading… the wounds aren’t closing.”

Roland shook his head while glancing at the hole-riddled ruby wolf. The wounds that were just about to shut themselves didn’t fully close. Even though the bleeding effect had vanished along with some of the others, he had just lost too much blood.

“No… I… I’ll get more potions.”

Elodia was the first one to go grab a few more bottles. Yet Roland knew, he was aware of the fact that nothing that they had here would work on Agni to keep him from dying. The regular potions only boosted a person’s natural vitality and regenerative capabilities. They could not counter the effect of organs and brain functions shutting down. If a high-grade elixir didn’t work then there was nothing much he could do.

Even though he didn’t show it on the outside, inside his mind was racing. Memories of the strange egg that he found in the dungeon came rushing in. The strange puppy that appeared in his bathtub and his first thoughts of selling it off to a proper tamer were all there. The many times he visited the dungeon in Agni’s company and the close calls that both of them had. His first real companion that he grew a bond with was dying and he couldn’t do anything about it.

Roland didn’t know what to do, his arms wrapped around the large wolf’s trembling body. The whimpers were slowly fading away and he could only hear his panting slowing down. The blood along with the red potion mixture seeped into his body as his heart raced. He didn’t even care about the shouting knights that were outside. What could he do, was this really it? Would Agni just die here in his arms without him being capable of doing anything?

“No…there is a way, I won’t let you die.”

His hand hit the wooden floor and went through it like cardboard. Soon he realized there was a possibility of saving Agni. There were holy spells that were capable of even regenerating limbs that were severed and bringing people back from the dead.

‘If I can generate enough divine energy then it might be possible…’

There was a problem with Roland’s plan, he lacked divine crystals from the church. All the ones that he had were destroyed during the Lich attack. Due to the stock being extremely low afterward he was incapable of getting any replacements and didn’t push hard enough to get any. Even if he had one or two, they would probably not have enough divine energy inside for this to work. However, not everything was lost, there was still another way.

“What are you doing?”

“Elodia? Give me some space, this might be dangerous.”

When Elodia returned with more potions she saw a strange scene. Roland had placed multiple runic daggers and swords around Agni who was at death’s door. She wasn’t sure what he was doing but the runes on the blades were constantly shifting into something else. It was as if he was constructing a new runic device before her eyes. Arcs of magical energy started shooting between all of these magical objects which caused her to finally back off.

‘This has to work…. no it will work…’

A spectacle of unprecedented proportions started taking shape. The runic weapons that were shooting arcs that looked like blue lightning bolts started changing color. From a pale blue, they were transformed to white and then began to shift to a yellowish tint. All of this energy was concentrated on the injured canine in the middle whose body started getting bombarded by this energy.

Roland gritted his teeth while bleeding from his nose. The amount of concentration that was required for this feat was truly tremendous. He was unable to keep control over the runic turrets and golems that were fighting outside but that didn’t matter, the only thing that was important was to save his first friend.

Soon the entire place was bathed in deep gold. The knights outside could see all of the windows shattering while the light escaped through all the cracks. A massive explosion of holy energy rocked the whole place and caused everyone to be pushed to the side. The massive surge of energy persisted for a good ten seconds while enraged shouting was heard from the inside.

For a moment he could not see anything, the bright golden light that he produced was just too overwhelming. In his state of emotional turmoil, he gave his all to recreate a runic version of a holy healing spell. He had never really attempted something on this scale but there was no time to deliberate, he needed to act.

“...”

“......”

“.........”

There was no response to the treatment, the wolf continued to lay there without moving or reacting. His body had been healed by the divine healing energy but something was wrong. Yet he did not give up, his hand was placed on Agni's chest. The armor plating on his gauntlet was already falling off but with the help of his skill, it was instantly restored. Quickly after blue arcs of electricity flew forward as he injected it into his body.

Agni's body jolted from the shock but remained without motion just like before. Roland wasn't sure what he was doing, he was not a doctor but at this point, he was willing to try everything. Considering that Agni was a monster with high vitality he decided to increase the output. The second and third jolts were a lot stronger than the previous ones. They caused the wolf's body to twitch and finally, something happened.

“....Thump…”

“Thump … … … Thump.”

A heartbeat, it was there! He could hear it, Agni’s heart beating . The status screen that for a moment had gone gray returned. His health pool started shooting back up and now with all of his internal organs mended it would not fall down again. The life that had almost slipped out from between his fingers was slowly returning.

Roland recalled the moment that he was finishing the divine rune. Agni's HP had clearly gone below zero and his name on the status screen had become grayed out. Due to this fact, Roland found himself overloading his healing rune in hopes of somehow going beyond regular healing. The entire inside of the store had been blasted into smithereens in the process, even Elodia needed to hide behind the counter to not get injured.

“Is he?”

“He is weak but it should be fine now.”

Elodia removed herself from behind the counter. The floor had been destroyed and all of the runic equipment that he used had melted. This made it hard for her to approach the lying ruby wolf but only after getting closer and noticing the faint breathing motions of his chest was her heart at peace.

“Thank the gods… but what about.”

“Them? Don’t worry, stay here, I’ll take care of it.”

“W-what are you going to do? They are the men of Theodore Valerian.”

“Yes, I know… it doesn’t change anything, please just stay here with Agni, this won’t take long.”

She wasn’t sure what to say. The expression on Roland’s face was strange, it was not something familiar to her. His gaze was cold, extremely cold. She was not sure what he was about to do. When looking at Agni who had barely come out of this alive, it was hard to stop him. They had crossed the line and deep down inside she also wanted them to pay for it.

“Okay, be careful.”

“Mhm.”

Roland nodded while slowly walking outside where the Knights were finishing up his golems and turrets. After he changed his focus on the divine rune they made quick work of the damaged automatons. The door outside was holding on to the upper hinge but after a little tap from him, it flew outside.

“It’s that bastard, kill him!”

“Hah, I’m the bastard?”

When he arrived outside he saw fifteen knights that had managed to survive through his turrets and golems. After what the Lich had done to this place he didn’t have enough time to recreate it all. His focus on attaining the tier 3 class had lessened the defenses of his home and he was already blaming himself for that. Yet he was not really the one that had chosen to strike first, it was their fault and he finally came to a realization.

“Yes, you are the bastards… there will always be people like you, hiding behind a veil of righteousness or aristocracy. I bet you still think that you were right? There is only one way for people like you to go away…”

“What nonsense are you spouting, a mere runesmith.”

“I see… you must be still delirious from losing that arm… otherwise you probably would have fled by now…”

“What are you…”

For a moment Roland stopped carrying, he would have perhaps not even pursued the soldiers if they chose to flee. Yet the knight leader decided to remain here, the mage behind him was already preparing to cast a spell. The other soldiers were also in formation and even those pouches with powder were already heading his way. However, all of them had not yet realized the discrepancy between their levels. They still considered him only a high-level tier 2 class holder.

A simple barrier of mana appeared around his body. It spread in all directions to deflect all of the powder that interfered with mana before it could even be utilized. The follow-up flame blast spell that flew in his direction was unable to pierce through it and instead rebounded against the knights. Some of them were sent flying back by the blast while others lasted through it with minor injuries.

He did not really care about the minions as the person that caused the most harm was still very lively. It was quite commendable for him to be able to stand up with such an injury. He had probably drunk some type of elixir but it would take a higher-ranked one for the whole arm to grow back.

“If you aren’t willing to show any remorse, then why should I?”

“Huh?”

The Knight Lieutenant found himself flying through the air. A mass of blue light gathered around his neck and pulled him back. It had a faint appearance of a hand but he couldn’t really tell. Something was pulling him back through the air, and like a ragdoll, he flew towards the man responsible. There was not much he could do nor did he have any strength left to react. The last thing he saw was a large fist flying at his face before everything went dark.

Only the other knights around the area could see what really happened. The scene was truly gruesome as their leader was pulled back only to receive a haymaker to the face. The moment the fist collided with his face it was instantly crushed. Even though he was wearing a helmet his entire head was dislodged from the rest of his body along with parts of his spine.

It flew far and wide in a nice arc and lodged itself into one of the nearby trees without them being able to move a muscle. At this point, they finally realized. The man that they were fighting against was not what they thought he was. Their fate looked grim and their knight commander that could contend with this person was not here. They could only slowly turn their heads from the crushed head to the man's bloodied fist and hope that there was still some reason left in him...