The Runesmith

Chapter 719 – Round And Dangerous.

“Xandar Institute... ye think they’re pullin’ some trickery?” 

“Aye, there’s somethin’ off about them crafted items. We’d best have a look!”

“If we make too much of a fuss, that elf’ll take offense. His folk already checked the lot of ’em.”

“Ye think he could be in on it?”

“Nay. That man’s a strange one, sure enough, but he ain’t no cheat.” 

Two dwarven men who looked like craftsmen were muttering to each other. Their conversation was soon interrupted by a loud bang as a fist slammed down onto the table.

“Enough o’ yer yappin’, you two! Get yer heads down and concentrate on yer own competition!” 

The man was Thrain the Earthshaker. He wore an annoyed expression as he arrived to watch his school’s first match in the Golemic Battle Competition.

Ever since the competition had begun, he had heard little about the usual contenders. Instead, everyone seemed obsessed with Xandar Institute, a school that should not have even made it into the top five under normal circumstances. Yet here they were. The unexpected favorite to win it all.

“Of course, Archmagus! Aye, we won’t disappoint ye! Just watch! Our golem can not be defeated. As always, the Ironspire Collegium shall be victorious!” 

The dwarf spoke with complete confidence, but the Archmagus did not even turn toward him. He merely waved a hand, dismissing him, before making his way toward the box reserved for those controlling the golems.

Soon, the two dwarves entered the control booth. Their faces were grim as they prepared their towering construct for battle.

“It’s time for the Ironspire Collegium’s bout! They have emerged victorious in two of the last convocations. Can they win three times in a row?”

The announcer shouted into his magical amplifier, his voice carrying across the stadium as the crowd erupted into cheers.

“Their opponent today is no lightweight either! But can anyone truly breach the legendary golem of the dwarven champions? What have they prepared for this competition? It’s time for the reveal!”

The crowd roared. Everyone had been waiting for this moment. The Ironspire Collegium’s golem had remained a closely guarded secret until today. For the past year, numerous schools had tried to spy on the dwarves, desperate to discover what they were building and what they would have to face.

On the opposite side of the arena stood another golem. It resembled a gigantic scorpion, its broad body supported by powerful limbs and its enormous pincers forged from gleaming mithril. The claws looked capable of crushing anything caught between them. Yet this was no ordinary beast golem.

A humanoid upper torso had been attached near the creature’s head, though the construction looked almost like an afterthought. Two large staves rested in its hands, clearly intended to provide a ranged attack if an opponent attempted to flee from its pincers or escape the reach of its long tail and barbed stinger.

Then the large, round platform on the opposite side began to move. The ground rumbled as the Ironspire Collegium’s golem was finally revealed. At first, the crowd fell silent. It was a sphere. A perfectly round sphere covered in strange symbols.

“What is this?”

The announcer cried. 

“The Ironspire golem is a metal sphere! A huge metal sphere, what a twist!?”

Gasps swept through the stadium as the immense metallic ball came to a complete stop in the center of the arena. Smooth plates of dark dwarven metal fitted seamlessly together, forming a flawless orb that reflected the magical illumination shining down from above.

The scorpion golem hesitated for only a moment before its operators acted. The humanoid upper torso raised both staves, casting twin beams of blinding crimson energy directly at the sphere. Smoke curled into the air, yet when the magic faded, the dark metal remained utterly undamaged, without so much as a scorch mark from the attack.

Before the opposing team could reevaluate their strategy, mechanical thuds echoed from within the massive orb. Runic inscriptions across its spherical shell glowed with brilliant crimson light. The entire mass began to rotate, spinning upon the stone arena at a dizzying speed. A violent shockwave tore through the arena as it shot forward, spinning like a chariot wheel.

The scorpion golem snapped its mithril pincers shut and attempted to crush the approaching metal sphere. For a moment, it even seemed as though it would succeed. The massive pincers spread around the sphere, holding it firmly in place as it continued to spin. The golem's barbed tail swung forward, striking the rotating mass of metal. Instead of holding it back, however, it simply bounced off, the barbs snapping from the impact.

Then the sphere burst forward even faster. The pincers holding it in place began shaking violently, smoke pouring from their joints as they struggled against the immense rotational force. A moment later, they shattered completely.

The spinning sphere pulverized the scorpion golem's primary limbs before smashing straight through its lower chassis. Metal plates, gears, and severed magical conduits erupted into the air as the scorpion construct collapsed into a twisted heap of useless scrap.

The crowd roared in approval as the dwarven sphere smoothly decelerated, its crimson runes dimming to a soft glow as it came to a complete halt in the center of the arena floor.

“What absolute power!”

The announcer shouted through his magical speakers, his voice filled with amazement.

“Ironspire Collegium proves once again why they have held the championship title for two consecutive terms! A crushing victory!”

In his private box, Thrain the Earthshaker grunted with mild satisfaction, his thick arms crossed over his broad chest. He glanced toward the box where the golem's operators were seated and gave them a reassuring nod.

“That’s the spirit.” 

He muttered to himself as he watched a nearby orb, where the golem from Xandar's Institute had just cleaved through a centaur without any difficulty.

“This might be more interesting than I thought... If they make it to the finals, that is.”

The old archmage rubbed his beard, seemingly lost in thought. After a moment, he turned toward one of the attending mages.

“You. Contact that elf. I need to talk to him.”

“Archmagus, by that elf, do you mean... Archmagus Vaelen?”

“Who else could it be? Tell him we need to talk.”

The old man grinned as he watched his attendant bow and leave.

******

‘That’s an unexpected model…’

Roland had watched the entire battle, which had lasted little more than a minute. He had expected something impressive from the Ironspire Collegium, but not something this impressive. It was a gigantic sphere of metal that reached the height limit, but that wasn’t even the worst part.

It was clearly made from the best alloys they could get their hands on, and the metal was thick. Even that large scorpion golem had failed to leave a dent in it, so its defensive capabilities were quite high. Its spinning movement was another problem, as it made penetrating the shell even harder. Yet even with all that, there was much more to the golem than most people had noticed.

‘It was hovering slightly above the ground. Did they put a flotation stone inside? And that mana signature… the power output must be massive.’

He was sure of one thing. That golem was state-of-the-art for dwarven craftsmanship at that level. It had a high-quality mana engine inside and probably several other secrets that would only reveal themselves later.

‘The attack pattern will be too simple if it’s just a regular ball, but what is its true combat ability?’

Roland wondered about that. He didn’t believe that being a highly resistant sphere was the only thing it had going for it. There was a possibility that the dwarven craftsmen had simply created something that they believed could not be damaged. Their strategy could be to outlast their opponent, especially since there was a time limit for each bout. The golem that suffered less damage would be declared the winner.

Still, Roland was quite certain there was more to the sphere than simply being a massive round object designed to bulldoze everything in its path. If it could float above the ground, then there were probably other ways it could attack as well. It would be better to discover them before they had to fight it themselves.

‘I just hope we don’t meet them anytime soon…’

There was one main issue. The brackets for the golem fights were undisclosed. No one truly knew who their opponent would be until the later bouts, which would be one of the main attractions toward the end of the convocation. The probability of encountering the orb during their rise through the tournament wasn’t particularly high, but it wasn’t low either.

“I’ll have to fight that thing?”

Robert asked as he climbed out of the golem’s cockpit. The two had already finished their battle against the centaur and could rest for the time being.

“Eventually, unless they lose along the way, which I don’t think they will.”

Roland replied to his older brother, who was still stuck wearing the pilot suit. It was very form-fitting, something they hadn’t truly accounted for when designing it. The suit had been created for a new type of golem that neither of them had ever seen before, and one that probably wouldn’t make it onto the market. It seemed far too expensive to manufacture.

“How do you fight a spinning orb, bro… I mean, Deputy Professor Wayland?”

“I’m not sure. We’ll need more data, since that fight ended too quickly. It might have trouble turning if it’s spinning in one direction, though, so that might be something we could exploit.”

In his head, Roland was already trying to come up with various countermeasures. While the defense of this ‘golem’ seemed impenetrable, there was always a weakness that could be exploited. There were several possibilities, as well as weapons from their toolkit that they hadn’t used yet.

“For now, let go and take this. You probably don’t want to be seen in that suit.”

Roland handed Robert a robe bearing the emblem of the Xandar Institute.

“You want me to go somewhere?”

“Yes, to meet your sister.”

He said it before turning around and walking away. Robert looked genuinely surprised that the time had finally come and quickly put on the robe.

“Truly?”

“Well... it depends. More people are coming from the other schools, and the kids have some free time until the next competition. After what they did, I have an excuse to talk to them. Just act as my assistant around them, and maybe an opportunity will present itself.”

Roland did not want to raise Robert’s hopes too much, but he knew how much this meant to his brother. If they timed it right, they could slip away somewhere private. Roland could then distract the other students with a lengthy lecture about how to avoid standing out during the events. He could also give them a new battle plan and warn them that they should expect people to target them once they reached the semifinals.

They left the golem storage chamber behind, as their next battle was still about two hours away. Outside, they were greeted by a flurry of activity. All sorts of magic were on display. Summoned creatures wandered through the area, people rode atop them, and others traveled through the pocket dimension on floating platforms or simply flew through the sky.

The place looked more like a magical theme park now than a competition between rival schools. Banners bearing the crests of various academies fluttered beneath the enchanted artificial sky, while hovering crystals broadcast highlights from recent matches.

Roland led the way, his gaze constantly sweeping across the surroundings as he searched for potential observers or spies from rival factions such as Starbloom Elemental Academy. By now, everyone was paying attention to them.

Behind him, Robert pulled the hood of his Xandar robe lower over his helmet. Though the heavy fabric concealed his pilot suit, his tense posture betrayed his anxiety. It had been quite some time since he had spoken directly with his sister, and the anticipation made every step feel unnaturally heavy.

They soon reached the designated resting pavilions, where the participants from the treasure hunt preliminary rounds were recovering.

Roland spotted Lucienne sitting on a wooden bench near the edge of the courtyard. She was engaged in a quiet conversation with her teammates. The young mages around her were still animatedly discussing their recent success, seemingly unaware of the growing number of targets on their backs.

‘Oh, just as expected. We have some new arrivals.’

They were not alone, though. There were several other students with them, including two Roland knew directly: Atasuna and Marlein, Lucienne’s two roommates.

They were not the only ones who had come to visit. Friends and acquaintances of the other participants were scattered throughout the pavilion as well. Elian had someone talking to him too, another boy around his age. Oxian stood beside two girls who seemed surprisingly interested in him, their eyes sparkling as they eagerly asked him questions. Selphie was with some friends as well.

The only one missing was Leron. This was quite normal at this stage of the convocation. Other students were now allowed to interact with the participants. These were the people who made up the audience in the stands, having arrived with their respective schools a little later, after the competition had already begun.

“There she is, but… are you sure we should interrupt them? She looks so happy.”

Robert’s usually steady voice had fallen to a whisper.

“You don’t need to whisper. I’m the only one who can hear you when you talk through that helmet, and soon Lucienne will be able to as well, so get ready.”

Thanks to the golem pilot helmet, Robert’s face was fully covered, so no one would even know that he was talking. While this was far from the heartfelt reunion the two of them had probably dreamed about, given the circumstances, this was the best option he could offer them for now.

“Ah… It’s the Deputy Professor!”

Soon, one of the children noticed him approaching. His figure was easy to pick out from the crowd. With his armor and robe on, he stood close to two meters tall and was considerably bulkier than most of those around him.

“Where is Leron? Find him. I need to talk to him and all of you. You have five minutes, then join me over there.”

He pointed toward a quiet stone gazebo nestled at the edge of the garden. Strangely, it reminded him of one at the institute. The trees and plants were similar as well, only in different colors. It made him wonder if their Archmagus had simply borrowed the design from here.

The group of students immediately straightened at the authority in his voice. Their visiting friends quickly said their goodbyes and drifted away, while Sylphie hurried off to retrieve Leron from the nearby stalls where he had been hiding.

Lucienne blinked in surprise, her bright eyes lingering for a moment on the towering, hooded figure standing right beside the Deputy Professor. She knew instantly that it was Robert. Roland had already informed her who the golem’s pilot was and that he would be coming here.

‘Now, as we practiced…’

Roland raised a hand and pointed a finger toward his own ear, tapping the spot behind his helmet. As soon as Lucienne saw the gesture, she perked up and slipped a hand into her uniform pocket. From it, she pulled out a small, round object that looked like an earpiece, the one Roland had given her a few days before the competition had even started.

“I’ll connect you two soon, but I don’t know how much time I’ll have, so make it count.”

“I have him, Deputy Professor!”

Sylphie returned, nearly tripping over her own feet. Now that Roland looked at the five students together, it seemed he had already left quite an impression. All of them were avoiding his gaze, like children who had just been caught misbehaving by their parents.

"Follow me." 

Roland said, his deep voice leaving no room for argument. He led the five students into the stone gazebo, where the surrounding pillars offered a modest degree of privacy from the bustling crowds outside. Once everyone was inside, Roland began his plan. 

“You were supposed not to stand out. Why didn’t you follow my instructions?”

“Um… that is…”

Sylphie mumbled while averting her gaze.

“Uhhh…”

Elian did the same. While the two were busy trying to come up with an excuse, Lucienne moved her bracelet closer to her mouth.

The sounds around her had been muted by Roland’s spell, and the other teenagers weren’t paying much attention. Robert was standing there looking rather menacing, leaning against one of the pillars, which was more than enough to keep them from getting curious. Soon, the two siblings heard each other's voices, and their long-awaited reunion could finally begin.