Return of the Runebound Professor

“Jalen!” Noah exclaimed. “What are you doing here? I didn’t think we were going to meet for a few more days.”

“We weren’t. I got bored,” Jalen said. “And that didn’t answer my question. Where’d a kid like you learn Formations well enough to start teaching them to other people? I know for a fact that there wasn’t anything of the sort in the catacombs.”

Letting on just how much I know about Formations is a pretty bad idea. I don’t dislike Jalen, but if he gets too suspicious about what I can do, he may start looking a little closer than I’d prefer. But, if I don’t give him a satisfying answer, I end up in the same spot.

“We aren’t working on Formations,” Noah said, opting to go for the safest answer he could – the truth. Part of it, at least. “We’re working on patterns. They aren’t exactly the same thing.”

Moxie and Lee nodded, but none of the students made any moves. They all watched Jalen warily, ready to burst into motion at an instant’s notice. Noah didn’t blame them – even though Jalen wasn’t doing anything and his domain was suppressed, he could feel the danger practically enveloping the man.

Jalen didn’t miss the way they’d reacted. His gaze swept over everyone, lingering on each of the students.

“Are they not? I was unaware,” Jalen said. “Never had much interest in Formations myself. Lots of work and you usually get squished midway through trying to cast them. Why are you teaching kids about them?”

“They’re useful,” Noah replied with a shrug. “Knowledge never hurts. And, as I said, we aren’t exactly doing Formations. This is more about their coordination and understanding of their fighting styles.”

“Curious,” Jalen said slowly, his eyes twinkling faintly. “I don’t think I’ve met other professors that employ similar methods. This wouldn’t happen to be from the Torrin family, would it, Moxie?”

“Is that any of your concern?” Emily asked, her eyes narrowing as she took a step forward. “How is it any of your concern what they teach us?”

Jalen let out a chuckle. “Feisty. I was only asking a question, lass. You should learn that anger can often be just as much of a declaration of guilt as any other emotion. If you can’t control it, you’re going to give away more than you want to.”

“Maybe we should talk somewhere more private,” Noah suggested, intervening before any of the students could draw any more of Jalen’s attention. He highly doubted Jalen would actually hurt any of them, but Jalen’s interest was possibly just as dangerous as his ire.

Jalen shrugged. “Perhaps.”

“Moxie, can you take over for a bit?” Noah asked. “Just have them keep at it. I’ll catch up with all of you shortly.”

She nodded, and Noah beckoned to Jalen before tossing his flying sword to the ground and taking off. He didn’t have any concerns of the other man keeping up with him, so he flew several plateaus away before touching down once more.

No sooner than Noah had stepped off his sword did Jalen materialize in the air beside him, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“What?” Noah asked. “And was there an actual reason you came to visit early? I can’t have my students getting traumatized by the head of the Linwick Family staring them down.”

“I was bored, I told you. I wanted to see how things were playing out in Arbitage,” Jalen replied with a chuckle. “And don’t worry. I’m not going to screw with the kids. You’ve certainly got an interesting lot, though. Not a single one of them was scared of me. Why would that be?”

“Maybe they just didn’t know who you were. It’s not like you broadcast your identity,” Noah pointed out.

“That is true,” Jalen allowed, tapping a finger on the side of his chin before shaking his head. “But I don’t think that was why. They weren’t scared because they seemed convinced they were safe.”

“They certainly shouldn’t be. I’ve nearly gotten them killed more times than I can count.”

“And yet, convinced they were. You continue to fascinate me. Why is it that they believed a mere Rank 4 strong enough to contend with someone that was clearly of a higher power?”

“Stupidity?”

Jalen let out a bark of laughter and slapped Noah on the shoulder. “Your attempts to deflect my attention are amusing and entirely pointless. No bullshit can overcome the sheer agony of boredom.”

Trust me. You’ve got absolutely no idea how true that statement is.

“Well, just don’t’ go screwing with their education. They’ve gotten shafted enough by the noble families as it is,” Noah said with a sigh and a shake of his head. “I’ve just been trying to do right by them in the ways that I can. But – now that you’re here, I’ve actually got a question for you.”

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“Oh?” Jalen tilted his head to the side.

Noah was pretty sure it was pointless, but he still took a moment to confirm that Jalen had a heartbeat with his domain. If Jalen had somehow been taken out by Wizen, he was pretty sure literally all of them were dead. It was difficult to get a good read on the man because of how much power was packed within his body, even with his domain suppressed, but Noah was able to just barely pick up on the muted thumps within Jalen’s chest.

“Do you know of somebody by the name of Wizen?” Noah asked.

“Wizen?” Jalen tilted his head to the side in thought, not speaking for several seconds. “No. I don’t believe I do.”

“He’s some kind of Mind Mage that had a plant puppet of another Arbitage professor wandering around campus. He nearly killed another professor and seemed to be interested in the Torrin family,” Noah said. “I think he also replaced Evergreen’s construct at one point. None of that sounds familiar?”

Jalen, to his credit, didn’t say no immediately. He paused again, clearly digging through stacks of memories that he hadn’t accessed in years. Eventually, he shook his head once more.

“Afraid not. Never heard of him. I’m not particularly up to date with anyone of the newer generations,” Jalen said with a shrug. “If you’re asking about him, I take it you’re concerned.”

“I am,” Noah said. “He’s probably a Rank 6, and a pretty strong one at that. It looks like he might attack Arbitage as a whole. I don’t suppose you’re interested?”

“Depends on the context.” Jalen sent Noah a wry smile and adjusted his shirt. “I don’t care about Arbitage, but I’m looking forward to seeing how you handle this. You’ve already killed one Rank 6, so I don’t imagine this is beyond your capabilities. If I stepped in, I’d completely ruin the show.”

Somehow I saw that coming. Honestly, that isn’t the worst case scenario. Jalen isn’t going to act against us, but he won’t act to help us either. He’s just going to sit on the sidelines and watch, possibly tossing in a little bit of aid if he thinks it’ll make things more interesting. It’s too bad he didn’t know anything about Wizen, but that does tell me one thing – Wizen isn’t some super powerful old bastard.

Jalen doesn’t know who he is, so Wizen is probably somewhere around Evergreen’s level of power, likely a little stronger.

“Yeah, I didn’t expect you’d be particularly motivated to kill off your entertainment,” Noah said with a chuckle. “Although I should remind you that if Wizen manages to get the upper hand over me, you’re still losing your entertainment.”

“I would be, but it would be a worthwhile sacrifice. The nobles fiddle in their children’s affairs far too much and stunt their growth. Better to break a few bones learning a lesson than to baby someone until they turn into a pathetic wretch like Dayton.”

Noah blinked in surprise. “Wait. You know about Dayton?”

“I’m not entirely removed from my family’s affairs, despite how much I would like to be,” Jalen said dryly. “Even I occasionally hear things. And, speaking of which, it’s my turn for a question. What is your relationship with Father?”

“Enemies,” Noah said without a second of hesitation. “Enemies who have recognized we both have bigger problems than each other and occasionally work together. I don’t trust him in the slightest, and he offers me the same respect. Why do you ask?”

Should I tell him that Father isn’t even who we think he is? The real Father is dead. What would I get out of sharing that information, though? I suspect the only Father I ever knew has been the fake, and I’ve been benefiting from working with him. If Jalen decides to kill him, all I’ve done is weaken myself.

“He was unusually interesting,” Jalen replied. “More intelligent than most of the other idiots vying to get into the Main Branch. I’m pretty sure he’s after something, but I’ve yet to figure out what it is. I’ve been having some fun watching him tug people around like toys, but he’s no different than anyone else. Only concerned with control and power.”

At least it doesn’t sound like Jalen has any plans of helping Father out. Good. The last thing I need is these two teaming up.

“Most people seem to be. Control and power tend to mean you can live comfortably,” Noah pointed out. He glanced over his shoulder in the direction of where they’d come from. “I’d be more than willing to entertain you, but I’ve got a pretty busy day today. I need to finish my lesson for my students and then let them know we’ll be attending a meeting with the advanced track professors tonight – that will probably be pretty interesting, actually.”

“Oh?” Jalen tilted his head to the side, a sparkle of interest flashing through his eyes. “Why do you say that?”

“There’s going to be a bit of a game afoot. I won’t be showing up as myself,” Noah said with a grin. “If I boil it down, the whole thing is basically going to be a big dick measuring contest. Everyone will be trying to show off how strong they are. I imagine it’s going to go awry pretty quickly.”

“That does sound interesting.” A grin pulled across Jalen’s features. “Perhaps I’ll attend.”

“Just don’t blow my cover,” Noah said. “Entertainment is great, but this is about the kids, not me.”

“I’ll do nothing of the sort, I assure you. It’s much more interesting to watch the dominos fall on their own volition – and fall they will. I’ll tail you for a bit longer. I’m rather interested to see what else you’re going to be teaching those students of yours. Just don’t expect me to interfere if things go south.”

“I don’t,” Noah said, stepping back onto his flying sword. “By the way, where’d you even come from? Did you just teleport right to us?”

“I followed you through the transport cannon,” Jalen replied. “Interesting little place. Haven’t used transportation like that in some time.”

“Tim sent you after us?”

“Tim?” Jalen laughed. “Ah. Yes, I suppose so. He needed a little persuading.”

“You didn’t hurt him, did you?” Noah’s tone darkened, and Jalen didn’t miss the shift in his stance.

“I don’t go around assaulting people for fun,” Jalen said through a derisive snort. “The old man is fine. I’m far more interested in these students of yours, Vermil. I’m very curious to see what they’re capable of.”

“Just don’t go breaking anything,” Noah warned. “I like them in one piece, but I’ve got some more I need to cover before the training for today is done.”

“Me? Break something?” Jalen flashed Noah a sharklike grin. “I’d never do anything of the sort.”

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