“What the—” Elder Karl is stunned. “How did you do that?”
"Puzzles are my specialty. How many points was that worth?" I ask.
"Ten points..." Elder Karl is still staring at the projection. "I don't think I can offer you more puzzles than. It would violate my Oath now that I know how good you are at them. Well, there might be a few retrieval tasks that might be at your level, but I have to check the board later. I'll let you know. Why don't you start with the Runic Notation? I've brought a few Skills for you to work on that are very high in demand at Platinum Rank and will fetch several hundred of Platinums each."
* * *
After three days of painstaking work on the Runic Notation--which took all the free ti I had--I finally managed to compile the perfect Platinum Runic Notation and I easily compiled three perfect Skill progressions with it for Elder Karl to sell.
This should, hopefully, cover my debt for the ti being and, soon enough, give
enough funds to buy Skill Crystals on the Hidden Market.
There's so much that I need that it's going to be a massive pain in the ass.
However, as I get out of the Astral Library with bloodshot eyes and a severe need for sleep, I find a woman with purple hair looking at
like a predator stalking their prey.
"Oh my, I finally et you, Jacob Cloud."
Who the hell is this, now?
"Hi," I say. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"
She's with the Cryptic Souls Cult, King Baalrek says.
"You don't," the woman says in a high-pitched voice. "But you shall, soon. I'm Lavrine Nyxmoor, Orrivane's Aunt. I wanted to ask you a few questions in private if you don't mind."
Indeed, she is.
"Sure thing," I say with a smile and she looks taken aback by my reply. She probably expected
to question it more.
"You... you're just coming with ?" she asks.
"Yeah, why? Are you dangerous and not to be trusted?" I ask innocently.
She laughs nervously.
"No, of course not! I'm just surprised you trust a stranger like this!"
"Well, this is the Academy. Everything is monitored by the Headmaster. So."
"Right, right!" Lavrine says. "I forget. Well, then, I know a secluded room covered in wards. I just wanted to ask a few questions about my dear Orrivane. I'm so worried about him."
She wants to fish for information about Orrivane. Even though they don't know about his Rainbow Skill, there's sothing that they clearly suspect him of. Or maybe they just keep tabs on him. Hard to be sure either way.
We walk inside a room and I hear King Baalrek talk to .
She's already prodded your soul. I've let her take a brief glance at it. Her guard will be extrely low now.
No idea what that ans in practical terms.
Your friend's soul is bound by these monsters. If you provoke her, she will definitely want to steal your Rainbow Skill. To do so, she'd need to enter your soul space. If she does, she'll be powerless against .
Will you be able to help Orrivane?
If she's got a strong tether to the boy, I can destroy the dead man's switch inside his soul through her. But you need to lure her in first. I could just hide everything from her and show her a mundane battle if you want
to. If she got a whiff of what you're trying to do, she might just kill you on the spot and flee the Academy. The room she's bringing you to is most likely enchanted so that not even the Headmaster would feel your presence disappearing. Not imdiately, at least. What do you want to do?
I'm a Knight. This woman is a Cultist. I'll gladly risk my life to take her out.
* * *
Lavrine Nyxmoor was beyond ecstatic. She couldn't believe her luck. The boy, the Guide, the Fake Champion had accepted to co with her without even protesting. If he had made a scene in public, that would have caught the attention of the Headmaster, and that would have been real trouble. Instead, she had managed to sneak the boy into an enchanted room, where she would simply pry his soul without him even realizing it.
Now, she would finally see what Orrivane is up to. She knows that the boy is hiding sothing. Not many in her family believe her since Orrivane chose Void Magic instead of Soul Magic, making him an outcast in the family. But the boy's talent and the fact that he managed to infiltrate the Academy allowed her to convince the Patriarch to test the waters. She had co with the excuse of seeing Orrivane and asked him about the fight they had with the Cult of Asmodeus. Orrivane had been unable to lie and had to confess that he had fought alongside Jacob Cloud, the boy she's leading to the room, and Iskara Drazhal.
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Lavrine is not fearless enough to try and use Soul Magic on an Infernal Princess--not even the Cryptic Souls are bold enough to try and start a major conflict with one of the three Great Races.
But a boy with no background if not so vague ties to the Valemont Family? She could scramble his head a little and just have him forget that he ever t her. Well, that was the best case scenario for him. If Lavrine found out that Orrivane was hiding sothing as she has been suspecting, then she'd be forced to kill the boy.
Lavrine looks at the unassuming Jacob Cloud. He doesn't stand out much for anything other than his deep eyes.
He's so plain. Yet, he was made Guide of the Champions. Orrivane said it was unanimous. He must hide sothing juicy... and I'm about to find out! AH!
Lavrine opens a door for Jacob and licks her lips.
"Well, there you--"
Jacob enters without even looking back and she looks puzzled at his back.
What kind of instinct of survival does this boy have? No noble or royal ever would have co with
like this without an escort. Not that an escort would have been very useful to him, but does he not know anything about threats? How did he even survive this long? And how did he end up becoming the Champions' Guide?
"So, Jacob--can I call you Jacob?"
"Sure, Lady Lavrine."
How polite for a peasant, Lavrine smiles to herself.
"Before I ask my questions, would you mind telling
why you ca to the Academy?"
He doesn't know it's a tactic, Lavrine smiles. I'm just trying to distract him.
"Won," Jacob replies right when Lavrine's about to prod his soul.
"What?" Lavrine asks, her concentration broken. "Did you just say won?"
"Yes. Won. I love... boobs?"
Lavrine deadpans at the boy.
Is his head empty? Is he just a cover for the Champions, so kind of scapegoat they want to use for so Knightly business?
"You love... boobs," she slowly repeats what Jacob just said.
"Yes. Large boobs. Very large."
Lavrine, starting to lose her patience, prepares to actually attack Jacob Cloud's soul. Being a woman who had to deal with her fair share of lustful n, she doesn't appreciate such a comnt at all.
Your day just got much, much worse than you even realize, Cloud. I initially planned on just taking a look and erasing my presence from it. But now? Now I'm here to make you suffer.
Right when Lavrine is about to attack, Jacob speaks again.
"But asses, wow, asses too are great."
"Jacob, are you having a stroke?" Lavrine, unnerved, asks. "Why would you tell a Lady sothing like that?"
"I an, you're pretty old, no? I was thinking of asking so grandmas to be my matchmakers with their grandchildren. Wait, your grandchildren might be too old for , though. And is that a bald spot on top of your head?"
Lavrine starts trembling in abject fury.
GRANDCHILDREN! I'M ORRIVANE'S AUNT! I'M NOT EVEN FORTY!
Then, she puts a hand on top of her head.
AM I STILL LOSING HAIR?! DAMMIT, SOUL MAGIC IS STRESSING, ALRIGHT?!
"You look like a very simple guy for soone who beca the Champions' Guide," Lavrine says between her teeth, ready to lt the boy's soul without even bothering to check on Orrivane anymore. She just wants this Jacob Cloud to suffer before she leaves the Academy. She'll interrogate Orrivane directly and force the boy to bare his innermost soul. "Maybe you shouldn't speak your mind so much, Jacob. I can't imagine the other Champions like that."
"They don't. But my Rainbow Skill is sothing they really like. Have you ever heard of The Grimoire Extraordinaire?"
Lavrine's brain suddenly shortcircuits.
THIS PEASANT HAS A RAINBOW SKILL! THIS IS MY LUCKY DAY!
Rainbow Skills were uniquely rare, almost impossible to find. Any one of them could cause an entire Kingdom to go to war for its control. They were so stupidly strong that so Cults like hers had developed entire branches of magic in order to steal them. In fact, the Cryptic Souls were, among the many Cults of this world, the one who specialized in removing Rainbow Skills from one's soul and implanting them in soone else's soul.
Even though Lavrine had never heard about this specific Rainbow Skill, she's absolutely sure it must be extrely valuable if the Champions put up for this fool for so long.
But, curious, she asks one more question.
"Why do you tell
about your Rainbow Skill?" she asks, suspicious. "Has no one told you not to reveal them?"
"Well, all the Champions already know and the Headmaster is going to protect
anyway, right? Plus, you're Orrivane's aunt and he saved my life back in the Dungeon. You must be as trustworthy as him."
Poor, simple bastard, Lavrine thinks. This is literally the worst day of your life. You think that the Headmaster is so omnipotent entity? You just spelled your end in capital letters.
"I'm glad I get to kill a peasant brute who lucked into a Rainbow Skill," Lavrine says out loud, seeing Jacob beco confused. "And that I'm going to get a Rainbow Skill for myself. I'm about to beco one of the most powerful won in the world! HAHAHA!"
Lavrine's Mana explodes forward, restraining Jacob, and her body becos transparent as she activates the Primordial Skill of the Cult of Lazhardrak, allowing her to enter Jacob Cloud's soul.
She salivates as her body slowly phases into Jacob's soul realm, ready to put this ancient skill to use in order to steal from the boy.
Who said that peasants are useless?! I finally found a use to them! Food for my power and--
Her stream of thoughts is interrupted as she enters the soul realm proper. Usually, especially for soone at a low-level like Jacob, untrained in Soul Magic, a soul realm is barely as big as a large room. In rare cases, it might be as big as a ballroom if the host has a great talent for Soul Magic.
Lavrine's own soul realm is as big as a castle.
That's why she feels a deep fear as she looks around.
There's a hellish landscape full of magma and sulphuric fus that stretches beyond what the eye can see. On top of a giant cliff there's an entire citadel made of obsidian and surrounded by rivers of lava.
"I need to get out!" Lavrine says alard, starting to cast. Yet, she finds her Mana completely cut off.
When she turns, she sees a massive Infernal, ten feet tall, looking down at her. He has a crooked crown on his head and a skull painted over his face.
“You’re not going anywhere,” the Infernal smiles. “It’s been a long ti since soone had the honor of looking at
like this.”
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