Return of the Runebound Professor

Chapter 56: Tricks

Noah used his Greater Wind Rune to power his flying sword as he searched for the Hellreaver Ape’s ring of fire. Excitement, weariness, and hatred mixed in his stomach. He hadn’t hated anything more than the Hellreaver – ever, as far as he could remember. After thirty minutes of flying around, he spotted the ring of smoke curling into the air and landed beside it.

His Greater Rune, despite currently holding less energy than the Lesser one did, had taken him the entire way over and still had some to spare. It was refilling much slower than the former, but the improvement was impressively significant.

Noah gathered his belongings and set them all up in a tree a fair distance away – far enough that the Hellreaver’s flame ring wasn’t even in sight. He considered the Catchpaper for a moment. Then he picked one of the sheets up and tucked it into his pants. The risk of the Master Rune somehow interfering with his own if he absorbed it was too great for him to take. As much as he wanted the energy from the monster, he could always spend a few weeks killing other monkeys until he had enough to rank up.

Steadying himself, Noah turned toward the direction of the ring of fire and headed over to it, arriving after a few minutes of walking. He shook his hands off, shifting from foot to foot to make sure the blood was properly flowing, then charged forward. The flames sputtered in and out, and Noah dove through one of the gaps as soon as it appeared.

Heat seared him from every angle and he hit the dry ground in a roll, shooting straight to his feet and already pulling ash from the environment. A black spike ripped free from the trees and lanced toward the Hellreaver.

The monster’s eyes snapped open and it whipped an arm up, blocking the attack. Noah’s ash spike pierced into its skin, drawing blood. Snarling with rage, the monster clambered to its feet. Its eyes locked with Noah’s and it paused for a moment. Pure, smug hatred radiated off the monster. It knew what it had been doing, there was no doubt in Noah’s mind.

It didn’t seem to care that Noah could come back to life. It just enjoyed tormenting him.

Noah shot himself into the air with a burst of wind to avoid a wild swing, then launched himself back down as the Hellreaver breathed a sheet of fire toward him. Ash swirled from the spike in the large monster’s arm, slithering up toward its neck and sharpening into a point.

The Hellreaver roared and a wave of fire washed over its body, burning with such intensity that Noah was momentarily blinded. He instinctively threw himself to the side, and a violent thud behind him showed he’d done the right thing.

Noah forced his eyes open, squinting through the dots floating in his vision. The Hellreaver’s body was still completely alight, but it had somehow gotten hot enough to burn his ash away.

He staggered away, boosting himself with a burst of wind as flame washed toward him. Noah quickly dodged back as the Hellreaver’s fist smashed down directly before him, passing so close that the wind from the blow buffeted his hair back.

A furious roar ripped through the Scorched Acres and the Hellreaver beat its chest, hatred burning in its eyes. Noah took the momentary opportunity to gather more Ash and send it flying at the Hellreaver’s back.

The spike carved along the ape’s shoulder as it shifted its weight to avoid the attack. It stomped the ground and Noah nearly lost his footing as a tremor ran through the earth.

That’s my move. You can’t do that!

He launched himself into the air as the Hellreaver lunged forward, grabbing at him with both hands. Noah just barely cleared the monster and it slid for a few feet beneath him. One of its hands passed through the ring of fire and slammed into a stump of a charred tree beyond it, shattering it with a crash.

The Hellreaver rolled over, nearly batting Noah out of the air as he dropped back down with its other hand, and lurched upright. Noah landed back on the ground, stumbling slightly at the hard impact, then ripped more ash from the air and sent a dozen spikes whipping for the Hellreaver’s face.

It crossed its arms before it and the spikes slammed into the Hellreaver, biting deep through its fur and into its flesh. Dark blood seeped from the wounds and the Hellreaver ripped the spikes out with a snarl.

The ring of flame surrounding them surged in intensity. Heat licked at Noah’s back and he formed a barrier of ash behind him. Fire roared as it splashed against his shield. The Hellreaver reared back and kicked at Noah, but he dove forward and rolled past the monster’s foot.

He came up, sending another barrage of spikes into the beast’s side. Blood splattered and it staggered, howling in pain. Determination etched across Noah’s face, he dashed forward, calling on his Vibration rune.

Noah leapt, empowering his jump with wind, and shot for the Hellreaver’s shoulder, angling himself so that it could only try to block with its already injured arm. The monster instead dodged to the side, moving with more agility than Noah thought it still had.

He stopped his flight with a blast of wind and dropped to the ground. Noah unleashed the Vibration energy he’d gathered into the floor rather than the Hellreaver. A tremor shook the forest, ripping a gap open in line with the Hellreaver’s foot. The monster stumbled, slipping into it for a moment before it could catch its balance. Noah sent two blades of wind shooting for its throat, a grin starting to cross over his lips.

Gotcha.

Noah sprinted forward, calling on all the Vibration energy he could muster. The monster’s fur was too dense for him to be confident of a killing blow with wind, and it still had a chance of blocking his ash magic with its arms.

But Vibration was a different kind of attack. If he touched the monster, there wouldn’t be any blocking anything. Noah lunged, extending his hand for the Hellreaver as it struggled to rise. Malice burned in the monster’s eyes, catching his as he approached.

The fire all around them sputtered. Then it vanished. The flames covering the Hellreaver blinked out instantly and it threw itself back, whipping dirt at Noah and pelting him with small stones as it avoided his hand.

Noah turned to give chase, preparing to boost himself with the Wind Rune to catch the monster. He drew a breath – or at least, he tried to. As Noah tried to inhale, nothing entered his lungs.

His Wind Rune failed to activate. Noah could still feel the energy in it, but it stubbornly refused to do so much as budge. He tried to breath even harder, but his lungs failed to gather anything.

He’d been breathing heavily from the fight, and Noah had far from much breath stored up. His chest heaved and he staggered away from the Hellreaver as its bloodshot eyes narrowed and it took a step toward him.

All too late, Noah realized exactly what the passive effect of the Hellreaver Ape’s Master Rune was. It wasn’t controlling fire at all.

It was controlling air.

And the Hellreaver Ape had just sucked all of it out of the clearing.

Noah didn’t get any more time to think. The monster swung its arm down for him. Without any wind to increase his speed and nearly no air left in his lungs, all he could do was dive to the side. The ground trembled and he scrambled back to his feet, but another fist was already flying toward him.

This time, there was no way to dodge. Noah’s body crumpled beneath the blow and his soul ripped free. His corpse bounced across the clearing and slammed into a dry tree, smashing through it before coming to a stop several feet past it.

“Shit,” Noah swore. “I’m an idiot. I should have expected that.”

You know, a few of the Hellreaver’s moves weren’t all that different from the ones the monkeys used. I guess that makes sense, since the monkeys are basically imprinted by the Hellreaver. Unfortunately, it’s a whole lot smarter than they are.

The Hellreaver straightened back up. Fire sputtered to life along it again, and its ring of flame reignited as it sat back down to nurse its wounds. Noah gritted his teeth and let the pull of his gourd call to him.

His new body formed and Noah jerked upright beside his tree, his head pounding in pain. Irritably, Noah threw his spare clothes on and gathered his belongings before trudging over to where his body had landed. He wasn’t concerned about anything eating it now – he’d already reformed, so he wouldn’t take any more soul damage – but he didn’t want to leave a corpse sitting around for someone to find.

To Noah’s surprise, he wasn’t the first to make it. Lee sat in a tree branch above his body, swinging her legs. She raised an eyebrow as Noah approached.

“How’d it go?”

“What do you think?” Noah asked with a grimace as he massaged his temple. “I thought you stayed in Arbitage.”

Lee hopped to the ground and shrugged. “I wanted to watch.”

Noah grunted. “Not much to see. Just me being a moron.”

“I’d gathered that much. For someone who can’t die, you sure don’t value life much. I suppose that makes sense.”

Noah’s brow furrowed. “What’s that meant to mean? I’m not dying for no reason.”

“You talk about death like it’s some transactional exchange. I guess it is for you,” Lee said with a shrug. She knelt beside Noah’s corpse and nudged it. “Not for the rest of us, though.”

“That’s why I’m not making anyone else do it.”

“Isn’t it what you’re doing for your students?”

“That’s different,” Noah replied through a grimace. “Besides, I’m trying to find a better way to help. You heard them, though. They don’t have another choice. That’s how things are here. Besides… death isn’t–”

Lee raised an eyebrow. Noah shook his head.

“Never mind. I don’t want anyone to die. That’s why I’m doing this. To get strong. Also, the Hellreaver cursed me or something. I’m going insane every day this damn thing is alive. It needs to go before I do – or worse, someone else realizes that I can come back to life after I slip up when the Hellreaver sends me a vision at the wrong time.”

“What are you talking about? Can’t you just hold off until you’re stronger?”

I can’t explain that without talking about the soul damage, and I’m not sure if I want to share that quite yet.

Noah just shook his head. “I can’t explain it. I won’t deny that I’ve not made the best decisions at every turn, but anything is better than nothing – and I don’t think I’ll survive another month in this way. The Hellreaver has to die.”

“If you say so. You going to eat this?” Lee nodded to his body.

“Help yourself.”

Lee hunched over the corpse and Noah turned away. He wasn’t particularly interested in watching Lee eat his body. Something about that just felt wrong on multiple levels. There were a few loud crunches, followed by a satisfied sigh. Noah turned back as Lee wiped her mouth and offered Noah the blank piece of Catchpaper he’d had in his pocket.

“Here.”

Noah took it from her, then glanced around. “Where are my clothes?”

“Ate ‘em. I’ve got a strong stomach. I hope you didn’t want those.”

Noah sighed and shook his head. “Better this way. Saves me from trying to find out how to clean them from a gallon of blood.”

His head pulsated and he rubbed at it with a sigh. Fog still blocked his mind from magic, which was almost more annoying than the actual headache.

“So, what now?” Lee asked.

Noah leaned against a tree and gave her a shrug. “You trying to get me to say something? Like I should stop?”

“Nah. I’m having fun, so I don’t care much what you do. I just don’t want you getting your students killed or deciding to wander off without me. I’d have to leave Arbitage if you did.”

Noah grunted. “I guess a selfish motivation is as good as any. I can’t say I’m any better. What do you think I should do? There are too many powerful players, and I’m already drawing their attention. If I’m not strong enough to hold my own, things could go very poorly for all of us.”

“Do what you do. I eat people. I don’t think I’m the moral advice you’re looking for. Ask Moxie, if you trust her enough. It’s clear you care about those kids just as much as you care about… whatever it is that motivates you. I’m just making sure you aren’t losing your mind.”

“I appreciate it,” Noah said. “I think I can get the Hellreaver the next time around.”

“That’s what you said this time. Maybe you are losing your mind.”

“It had a trick.”

“What if it has more?”

Noah scrunched his nose. “Then I’ll get it the time after that.”

“The scary thing is that I believe you,” Lee said. “You’re like a cockroach, but you get stronger every time someone kills you. Kind of scary, honestly.”

“I’m not sure getting called scary by something that just ate my corpse in front of me is reassuring.”

“It’ s a compliment.”

Noah grunted. “Thanks.”

Lee shrugged. “Just keep leaving me corpses. It’s a good replacement for eating other people. You’d be really popular with Skinwalkers. Infinite snacks.”

“The moment you start looking at me like nothing more than an infinite food source, we’re going to have problems. And I don’t plan on making deals with any other Skinwalkers.”

“Good,” Lee said. “You don’t die too often, so there wouldn’t be enough food for both of us – and I hate sharing. I’ll stop by the Hellreaver’s area after class for as long as you insist on doing this. Who knows, maybe you’ll actually succeed.”

“I’ll turn my attention to other things if this goes on longer than a week,” Noah promised. “At that point, there are better ways to spend my time.”

“A week of good food. Not bad. I’ll take it,” Lee said with a wry grin. “I’m going to get pulled back to Arbitage soon. I asked Tim to only send me over for an hour, and it took me a bit to find you. I’m gonna go run around until it happens. The only thing that I don’t like about cities is that I can’t move at full speed.”

“Have fun,” Noah said, raising a hand in farewell as Lee slipped into the trees and vanished. Then he sat down and waited, running back over the fight in his mind to identify all the spots he’d gone wrong in.

The mistakes wouldn’t happen again. Eventually, the Hellreaver would run out of surprises. Then it would fall, and Noah would have his revenge on the Scorched Acres – and his sanity back.