Return of the Runebound Professor - Chapter 103 (Patreon)

Todd paused, then backed a few steps up. “You mind if I start over here?”

Noah shrugged. “It’s not a sanctioned fight or anything. If you think that’ll help you perform better, then I’m not going to stop you. You should figure out the best way to use your powers to start with. We can work on using them in less optimal ones later.”

Todd started to nod, but he stopped when he saw Noah pulling out his pipe and stuffing some Flashgrass into it.

“What are you doing?” Todd asked.

“Filling my pipe. I’m going to need smoke for this.”

“Why do you fight back against me when you didn’t fight back against Isabel?” Todd sent Isabel a smug glance. “Is it because you think I’m more of a threat?”

Noah chuckled and touched his finger to the grass, lighting it with a spark. He set the pipe between his teeth. “Whenever you’re ready, Todd.”

“You’re sure about this?” Todd confirmed. “I can use fire?”

“Try not to kill me, but yes.”

Todd didn’t need to be told twice. He pressed his hands together, rubbing the bracelets on his wrist against each other. With a shout, he pulled his hands apart and thrust them toward Noah. A spark erupted, turning into a beam of molten fire and launching for Noah’s chest.

Noah didn’t have a lot of smoke gathered yet, but he didn’t need a lot. He shifted it into the path of the flame, dropping down just in case his theory wasn’t correct. It would have been pretty awkward if he went down from the first attack.

The instant Todd’s fire touched the smoke, it combusted with a roar. Noah grabbed hold of it with Pyroclastic Resonance, ripping the fire from the air and pulling it into the shape of a snake. He let the extra heat dissipate and whistled, causing the flaming smoke to swirl around his hand.

I knew it. It’s just like the Hellreaver using what must have been a Wind Rune to stop me from using my own Wind Runes.. Pyroclastic Resonance has some degree of control over heat, and because my Runes are stronger than Todd’s, I can overwhelm his own magic – at least to a degree.

“What in the Damned Plains?” Todd asked, looking down at his hands and then back up at Noah. “Did you just steal my fire?”

“Repurposed it,” Noah corrected. The flaming wisps swirled around him and he directed them into the air, allowing them to dissipate. “I hope you’ve got more than that, Todd.”

Todd bared his teeth in a grin. “Let’s find out.”

He charged Noah, thrusting his hands out by his sides. Two sparks lit by his bracers, swirling out into small spheres of flame. Todd sent them out one after the other in two concentrated beams.

Noah sent the smoke rising from his pipe into the fire’s path, allowing it to ignite and once again stealing the energy from Todd’s magic for his own purposes. He felt his Pyroclastic Resonance Rune strain slightly as he dragged the power out of Todd’s magic. For whatever reason, it was harder the second time around.

“Seriously?” Todd complained, sending a kick for Noah’s chest.

Noah skipped back, and Todd’s fists both erupted in flames. He lunged forward, forcing Noah to set off a blast of wind between them. Todd stumbled backward, flailing his hands to keep his balance.

Todd glanced down at his hands, then grinned. The fire covering them doubled in intensity, traveling up his arms and curling off his back. He lowered his head and barreled toward Noah.

I can’t steal the fire on his hands unless I can touch it with my own magic. He figured that out as well. Nice, Todd.

Noah resisted the urge to shake the ground beneath Todd’s feet. He hadn’t directly attacked Isabel with the vibration aspects of Pyroclastic Resonance, and he’d already whipped out a new technique against Todd. It would have felt unfair if he’d used another.

Instead, Noah dashed to meet Todd. A flicker of surprise passed through the boy’s eyes – after watching his fight with Isabel, Todd hadn’t expected Noah to take the offensive.

Noah’s leg whipped out, and Todd dodged to the side to avoid taking a foot to the chest. Fire roared from his hands, washing toward Noah in a wave. It was remarkably similar to some of the moves the Hellreaver had used on Noah, but far less effective.

He grabbed the magic with his own, directing it into the air, only to find Todd’s fist hurtling at him. Todd had used the flame as a cover for his movements. Noah leaned back, letting the fist whistle past his nose, then stuck his leg out.

Todd stumbled over his leg, cursing as he fell to the ground. He threw himself into a roll, scorching the grass as his hands pressed against it, and came up with his fists raised.

“Not bad,” Noah said. “Good misdirection. More.”

Todd rolled his neck. Then a bolt of concentrated flame shot out of the tip of his shoe. Noah jerked his head back, but he hadn’t seen the spell coming in the slightest. It seared past his nose, slightly burning its tip.

Noah thrust his hand forward, and Todd braced himself for a gust of wind – but Noah wasn’t trying to push him away. He was pulling.

Todd yelped as he was pushed toward Noah. He stumbled, desperately trying to twist out of the way as Noah reached out to grab him. There was a loud whump and Noah yanked his hand back an instant before a ball of flame erupted around Todd, roaring up into the sky.

Noah hopped back and sent a tendril of smoke into Todd’s magic, siphoning the magic away from him. He could feel Todd’s Runes pressing against his, but Pyroclastic Resonance overpowered them and continued to drain their energy.

Not nearly as effective as the Hellreaver. It completely stonewalled me, but I can only take Todd’s magic away after he uses it, and not even that efficiently. I wonder why. Is it because I don’t control that much fire with the pyroclastic aspect of my Rune? Or is it some other reason alltogether?

Todd swore as the last sparks of the fire wall he’d erected around himself faded away. He flexed his fingers and reignited them, watching Noah through narrow eyes. Noah returned his gaze, then beckoned for Todd to attack again.

It didn’t look like Todd had noticed he’d managed to land a blow on Noah yet, and he wasn’t about to interrupt the session to tell him.

Todd pulled his lips back. His stance shifted, moving into something closer to that of a runner’s. Noah’s brow furrowed and he tensed, preparing to react. Either Todd was trying to throw him off with his stance, or he was trying something else.

A thin stream of steam slipped out of Todd’s lips. He erupted into motion, moving easily twice as fast as he had been before and crossing the distance between them in an instant. If it hadn’t been for Noah’s heightened attention and experience in fighting faster opponents, he probably would have caught him.

Instead, Noah leaned back, calling on Lee’s stretching lessons to contort his body and fall backward, letting Todd’s fist pass through the air where his chest had been harmlessly. Noah spun, whipping a foot around and hooking it into the back of Todd’s legs.

Todd tried to keep his balance, but Noah sent a tiny pulse of vibration magic out through his heel. Todd’s legs buckled as the magic ruined his balance. He rolled as he hit the ground, darting back to his feet faster than Noah could.

Noah rolled out of the way as Todd lunged at him, then shot himself back upright with a blast of wind. Gathering all the smoke that had accumulated in the air, Noah encircled Todd with it like a blanket.

“Hey!” Todd exclaimed. “This isn’t fair!”

“Going by the rules of the fight I had with Isabel, you already lost,” Noah replied. “The moment my foot hit you with the vibration magic, you were down. I could have done a lot more.”

Todd cursed. Noah released his hold on the smoke, expelling it from his lungs and directing it into the air to make sure nobody accidentally inhaled it. He snuffed the Flashgrass out and gave Todd a grin.

“That was pretty impressive, Todd. You’ve been practicing.”

Todd grunted. “Thought I’d get you.”

“Body Imbuement at the end?”

“Yeah. Heat. Makes stuff expand and contract. Do that really aggressively and you can increase the speed and power that your muscles contract with.”

Noah let out an impressed whistle. “That sounds pretty damn complicated. What did you Imbue?”

“Both of my legs. I can’t believe you were screwing with my magic, though. You didn’t do that to Isabel.”

“I don’t have control over stone.”

Yet.

“Todd, why are you whining? You got him!” Isabel exclaimed.

Todd blinked. “What?”

“His nose,” Isabel said. “I saw that attack you sent out of your foot graze it.”

Noah rubbed his nose with a grimace. “Yep. Singed me a bit.”

Todd’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Ha! I’m the best!”

“You went down like ten seconds later,” Isabel said, rolling her eyes. “Don’t get too ahead of yourself. If I had Body Imbuements, then I’d be able to take him on twice as good as you.”

“Actually, it wasn’t Body Imbuements that Todd got me with, though those are a huge benefit.” Noah crossed his arms. “This brings up a pretty good point, actually. Isabel, why do you only use close range attacks? I don’t know what Rune you’re using to make your blue weapons, but I know you could be lobbing stones or something.”

“Lobbing stones?” Isabel repeated incredulously. “That doesn’t sound intimidating at all.”

Noah looked down the bridge of his nose at her. “Is that really the reason you aren’t trying to fight at a range at all? Todd is doing both, and – no offense Todd, you’re doing incredible – but I also saw you handily defeat Todd when you sparred.”

Isabel’s lips pressed thin and her eyes shifted away from Noah’s. “I just haven’t really tried it. I’m not used to it.”

“But you’re trying to learn how to do Body Imbuements. Life is about learning and improving,” Noah said. “That doesn’t seem like the whole story.”

“It’s–”

“It’s because she wants to fight the same way her dad did,” Todd said, cutting Isabel off.

Isabel shot Todd a betrayed glare and he shrugged his shoulders.

“Come on, Isa. After all this, I feel like it’s fine to admit. How’s he supposed to help you if you don’t give him information to work with? It’s not like I’m any different.”

“I didn’t see you telling the professor you’re emulating anyone.”

“That’s because my dad’s fighting style actually works for me,” Todd snapped. “You beat my ass whenever you actually fight on your own.”

“Yeah, well–”

“Guys,” Noah said, raising a hand. “Stop. Care to tell me what you’re talking about before we devolve any further?”

Isabel let her shoulders drop. “Fine. I want to fight the same way my dad did. He was a soldier, and a really good one. He didn’t used any ranged techniques.”

“Why not?” Noah asked with a small frown. “Was there some sort of benefit to only using close range stuff?”

“No,” Todd said.

“Yes,” Isabel said.

They glared at each other. Isabel sighed.

“Not really. He just didn’t like it.”

“Interesting,” Noah said. “Well, I won’t tell you how to fight.”

Isabel blinked. “Really?”

“Doesn’t mean you aren’t holding yourself back, but I already told you that I’m here to try to help you achieve your goals. If those are your goals, then who am I to stand in your way? But I would have assumed your father would want you to more than just copy his style. He’d want you to surpass it.”

Isabel opened her mouth, then paused as she considered Noah’s words.

“Not like I knew the guy, though,” Noah said with a shrug. “Either way, you both did great today. I think you’ve got a good amount to think on, and I’ve got some training of my own I need to get in.”

“Do I get to teach as well?” Lee asked. “I haven’t taught recently. Please?”

Noah looked from her to his students. Then he scrunched his nose in defeat. “Whelp. Guess we’re not done yet. Go on, Lee. You’re up.”

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AN: We've been away from Arbitage for a little while now. How's everyone liking the arc? (I plan to have them returning pretty soon, but a little variance is always nice for me as the author).