Return of the Runebound Professor

For all the attention that Noah’s antics had just drawn their balcony, the attention span of the demons in the auction house was far from long. As soon as the winged announcer started listing off the next runes for auction, the number of eyes remaining on them rapidly dropped.

A few of Sinclaire and Matis’ allies occasionally sent glares in Noah’s direction. Not a single one of them were brave enough to actually act on them. His primary goal had been accomplished. After trouncing two different demons, Spider’s reputation was even greater than it had been before.

Nobody knew exactly what rank he was, and nobody had given him so much as a challenge yet. That would go a very long way in making sure his consolidation of power in the city continued smoothly.

Noah rolled a glimmering crystal between his fingers as the auction continued on. Pirren sat to his side, her face and clothes still splattered with blood and a slightly shell-shocked expression on her face. She couldn’t seem to decide whether she wanted to watch Noah or Yoru. Her eyes flicked between them like pinballs stuck between two bouncers.

Yoru herself seemed completely bored. She’d wrapped her arms around her legs, which were still drawn up to her chest, and her chin rested on her knees. Noah tried not to stare too overtly, but it didn’t take a genius to realize that she was more than she wanted him to believe.

She’d used Pirren as a living shield multiple times, then had her take a deep breath in right before he’d activated Combustion. It almost seemed like she knew what he was going to do before he did it.

Having Pirren stand in front of her to block stuff might just be a good guess, but the instructions for how to avoid the magic… that shouldn’t be possible. Even if she’s realized that I’m using external magic, nobody in the Damned Plains would know I’ve got Combustion. Is it possible there’s some way to detect the magic someone is using before it leaves their body?

Noah tilted his head to the side in thought. That was an interesting idea. Magical energy was hardly all identical. He could feel the difference between Natural Disaster and Crumbling Space when he used them.

It wasn’t an impossible task to presume it was possible to do that to someone else’s body. After all, runes were just patterns. If Yoru could understand those patterns without actually seeing them, then she’d basically be able to predict the type of magic someone else was using.

A spark of interest lit in Noah’s chest. He had no idea how a demon would go about doing that, as they had no Domain, but the idea took root in his head like one of Moxie’s plants. He did have a Domain. Even if that wasn’t the technique that Yoru was doing, there was too much potential in the possibility to dismiss it.

“What’s up?” Moxie whispered, nudging him in the side of his leg with her knee. “I don’t think the Burning Brilliance Rune is what’s got your attention.”

Noah blinked, then shook his head. “Burning Brilliance?”

“I suppose that answers my question,” Moxie said dryly. “The rune up for auction right now.”

Noah glanced down at the announcer. Several demons around them were locked in a bidding war, and the price had reached the low 500s already. It came at no surprise to him that Rank 4 runes were considerably more expensive than their lower strength counterparts.

Well, most of their lower strength counterparts. For some reason, Sandy Gale is just a rune to die for. I sure hope that doesn’t mess with anyone when they’re trying to run some numbers on what Rank 3 runes sell for on average.

“No, it’s not that,” Noah agreed. He didn’t want to get into what his thoughts were while Yoru was right next to them, especially since he was basically planning to try and copy as many of her abilities as he could. “I’m only half listening right now. Just thinking. Nothing all that interesting has come up yet. Did you see something you wanted?”

“Not particularly.” Moxie shook her head. “I still need to figure out where I’m going to take things for the next rank, and I’m getting used to my current rune before I make any steps to get more of them. It’s still got a lot of energy to fill anyway.”

“Something tells me that won’t be too hard here,” Noah said, looking back to the other demons around them. Even if the ones in the auction had figured out trying him was generally a poor idea for their continued health, there were always more idiots. That was a universal truth back in Arbitage, and it was even more true in the Damned Plains.

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“Probably not,” Moxie agreed. “I think we should be getting to the more interesting stuff soon, though. Good thing we got all that extra gold.”

Noah nodded. He stopped fiddling with the Crystal and tossed it back into the bag. He didn’t want to somehow manage to break it and waste 100 gold.

The Burning Brilliance Rune eventually sold for 540 gold while they were distracted with their conversation. Even though it was a Rank 4 Rune, it was so poorly made that interest for it ended up drying up rather quickly. Another uninteresting Rank 4 Rune went up for sale, this one only at sixty percent full upon creation.

“What about you, Aylin? See anything you want?” Noah asked, looking to the boy. He normally wasn’t a fan of just handing dozens of runes to his students, but Aylin was in a very different position than the others back in Arbitage. For them, rapid advancement was a hinderance and something they’d have to hide. It would also keep them from focusing on their patterns. But Aylin — Aylin was a demonstration of Spider’s power. There was a target on his back, Noah was less concerned with his long term growth than he was with making sure the kid didn’t get killed in his sleep.

Aylin nearly choked. “What? Me? I couldn’t possibly take anything. You’ve done so much already, and I’m still learning how to use my Rank 3 Rune. I’m a little worried about what would happen if I reached Rank 4 without getting a grasp over my… uh, other abilities.”

“A very wise fear,” Noah said, his expression tightening at the reminder. He still hadn’t made progress in figuring out what changed demons so extensively at Rank 4. Both Pirren and Yoru had passed that point, and even though Noah had no clue what Yoru’s runes were, it was pretty clear they’d both been heavily influenced by them.

Maybe I can get some information out of Yoru when we meet after the auction.

“Up next is yet another unique rune that I’m delighted to share with you all,” the announcer called, punctuating his words with a practiced snap of his wings that ripped through the air like a gunshot. He rubbed his hands together, a greedy smile crossing over his lips. “Our first of two Runes from the Black Reaches, this Rank 4 Rune is called Unstable Corrupted Mass. It may have been 70 percent full at conception, but the strength of this rune should be enough to more than make up for that. It will be starting at 400 gold.”

It didn’t seem like the rest of the room agreed. The murmurs that had broken out at the mention of the Black Reaches instantly fell away the moment the announcer revealed just how poor quality the rune actually was.

“Where are the Black Reaches?” Noah asked. The announcer had put too much focus on the location for it to just be a random part of the Damned Plains.

“They’re toward the City of Gold,” Pirren said. “An area of the Damned Plains that got destroyed in a fight between two Rank 8s a long time ago. It’s very dangerous to enter. I’ve heard rumors that the barrier between planes is weaker there than anywhere else.”

“The rumors are correct,” Yoru said. “That is why Sievan resides within the City of Gold. It is steeped within death energy. No other Archdemon can challenge him there. Are you not aware of him?”

What, is his feeling Death or something? That does not sound like someone I want to get to know. Given how much runes change demons, someone that represents death itself is probably going to be batshit insane and comically evil. I’ll pass.

“Just, uh, slipped my mind,” Noah said, clearing his throat. Though many demons were talking around them, only one other demon had bid on the Unstable Corrupted Mass Rune, and its price was at a mere 400 gold. It sounded like there was a good chance it would have some degree of Matter or Space in it given where it had come from, so Noah shrugged and raised his voice. “410 gold.”

The demon that had bid on the rune glanced over to Noah. He had skin like a craggy cliffside and a dour expression on his face, but the moment he realized who had spoken, the demon hurriedly sat back down and averted his gaze, not saying another word. Nobody else said anything. The poor quality rune just wasn’t worth the hassle.

“Sold,” the announcer proclaimed, not even bothering to hide his disappointment. He’d definitely been hoping for a higher price. The auction house — and he — obviously got a cut of sales. It didn’t take him long to get over it, though. No sooner than he had spoken did the announcer’s eyes flash with excitement. “Coming from the same demon is a second rune from the Black Reaches. This one is a Rank 4 Unstable Mass Rune, and at a very respectable 50% full upon creation. Bids will start at 500 gold.”

So a better version of the rune that just sold. More certainly couldn’t hurt.

“500,” a demon called without a second of hesitation.

“550,” another added, speaking before the first had even had a chance to close their mouth.

Several more demons added their own voices into the mix. It wasn’t long before the price quickly shot up to 650 gold, and it didn’t look like it showed any signs of slowing.

I need to cut this off at the head before I end up having to waste too much money.

“1000 gold,” Noah called. His voice projected through the auction house like a wave of rolling thunder, cutting through the other demons’ clamoring cries. A second of silence ticked by. Several demons considered him, clearly trying to figure out if it was worth trying to fight him on the rune.

He didn’t know if it was the reputation he’d built up or the huge price jump he’d made, but the silence dragged on. The announcer couldn’t even be annoyed. 1000 gold for a Rank 4 that had only been 50 percent full upon creation was a good price in the Damned Plains.

Noah had just started to let a smug grin form beneath the wrappings on his face when a new voice rose up into the air — not from another balcony, but from right beside him.

“1100 gold,” Yoru said, her quiet words cutting through the silence. “This rune is mine.”

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