novelraw Chapter 187: Divinity In Gold
Chapter 187: Divinity In Gold
***
Short While Later...
"Now that things have calmed down..."
Dante took off a ring and put it on the desk, returning his true face to light.
"...the students will need something to slap them awake."
He was using Divine Relics that many Runebearers would kill for as paperweights.
Paperweights to hold down the drawing of a Rune.
"They do. That’s why we’re going with something so unorthodox."
John Tzetzes, who stood before his desk, nodded his head.
"Indeed. But judging by what we saw today, do you think we should switch the plan up a little? Ignotus might just do it."
Dante shook his head.
"Yes, he’s good, but you give him too much credit. He, much like the rest, is still young."
John raised a brow.
"He did what an entire team would struggle with in a single day and cut down three Demons."
"Yes, that’s impressive. And?"
Dante waved a hand.
"This test isn’t something strength or wit can bully. This’ll be close to impossible to do. Especially within the time frame they have."
He flicked his right hand up, materializing a projection. There, a string of Arcane could be seen, a convoluted and jumbled mess.
It was the opposite of what Arcane in Divine Relics of Runes usually resulted in. Simply inefficient, wasteful, and damned confusing.
In preparation for this tes, Dante wanted to spring on them, a test that would perhaps take their minds off the attack; he’d created this very Rune.
It was what most Runebearers would see as a wall. Whether of Fire or Ice, whether Dark or Light, all would react the same to this Rune.
None had experience with such a convolution.
So that was why he created it the way he did.
And yes, Dante ’created’ this Rune.
Though it wouldn’t conjure any spell, if... mimicked correctly within a Runebearer’s body, their very Soul, Divinity would coalesce in its makeup.
That was enough of an output, after all, only Gods could truly create Runes, their Followers could only vaguely mimic them.
"Actually, I think it might be too much for them to handle... even I struggle with it."
John stepped closer to the projection and ran a hand along the lines, envisioning the forming shapes.
"Yes, it’s a bit tough."
Dante chuckled, his eyes locking in on one certain section of the Arcane where the lines branched and folded back on themselves.
He wanted something close to the complexity of Great Runes, and he had succeeded almost too well.
This Arcane was one with lines that shifted like threads in the wind, going everywhere, seemingly randomly. In and out, up and down, left and right, inputting Divinity in ways most middle-class Runebearers wouldn’t dare attempt, never mind a mere student.
It was simply unneeded.
Dante took any concept of linearity the Rune might’ve had and threw it out the window, way off into the Deep, making it the epitome of non-linearity and complexity.
Essentially, he had made a blueprint of how not to optimize a Rune, making it so that if one did the opposite of what he had done, the result would turn out perfect.
But, even then, this Rune wasn’t impossible.
It could be mimicked, and all of it depended on following the flow of Divinity, something that wouldn’t change no matter the rank of ability.
Always, the Divinity sat in the Soul like a second pulse, waiting to be released.
Once it was released, Divinity would meet the heart first of all the organs in the body. That was why it was so respected. Why soldiers, or any Runebearers for that matter, saluted the way they did, displaying the value they placed on its existence beyond that of supplying blood.
Now the heart only met the final result, as before then, it would, of course, go through a Rune. And this Rune, made up of many Arcane, was what changed completely.
This wasn’t a simple rework of a Normal Rune, a layered complexity, no. It was nearly unrecognizable from what was ’normal.’ Even most Runebearers who memorized the Arcane of this Rune would most likely take some time to realize what they were seeing.
It was that different.
The lines on the projection looked like an art piece: chaotic, sure, but alive. And that wouldn’t be the only beautiful thing about this test.
Dante hid a little secret...
One that he hoped to see revealed.
There was no rhyme, but there was reason.
"...that’s perfect then."
John smiled at his Lord.
"So this is where you’ll make your mark."
Dante nodded.
"Exactly."
***
"As a mule is neither donkey nor horse yet has traits of both, so are you students—neither true Runebearers nor common men."
Most of the students perked up, unsure what John was getting at, while others gave each other blank looks.
The Inquistor liked dropping lines like this; it kept the students on their toes and reminded them of what they were...
What they needed to strive to be.
He was always adamant about them remembering where they started, about revisiting the core of their still-building foundation.
His students were now people halfway between worlds, a confusing phase that likely kept many Runebearers beneath its shades, unable to adapt and proceed.
"Now... a simple way for you to understand the difference is..."
Quietly, John pulled out many small objects from his pockets, and all looked the same.
They were coins, more specifically, gold coins, affirming how he really wasn’t a normal teacher.
At that moment, he was holding an amount of wealth so substantial that it could cripple an entire village if lost.
The students weren’t surprised by the amount, at least not most of them, as the Nameless weren’t exactly familiar with such lavishness.
While the nobles might not seem like it when in front of John, they were special, and they, too, had a full pouch of gold.
So, instead of staring at him in surprise, they saw it as something natural, expected, and focused on his actions, curious.
"The difference is this."
At the back of the hall, Ignotus smiled, having realized where this was headed.
’Bring it on.’