Moxie was training the students again. Noah had offered to help, but she’d refused – and Noah was grateful for it. His mind had been on his Runes ever since the previous night. Now that he’d gotten his new Body Imbuement, it felt like he’d pushed down a domino in a long line that he’d been setting up for weeks.

I really want to reach Rank 3. Moxie and Lee are both there already. Even though my Master Runes help bridge and even overcome the gap, I’ve been Rank 2 for a while now – and once I hit Rank 3, I can help both of them fix their Runes.

Up until this point, I’ve just been collecting Runes, but I need to actually sit down and do some real thinking about exactly what my Rank 3 Rune will be.

Noah headed out of the camp while Moxie set about making the students use up all their energy again, nodding to Lee as he walked into the trees. He quickly made his way over to his spot from the previous day, using the new Body Imbuements on his feet to sense the vibrations of the life around him as he walked.

Once he reached the tree and launched himself up to sit in its branches, Noah leaned against the trunk and rested his chin in his palm as he thought. There were so many different paths that he could try to focus his Runes on that the possibilities almost felt overwhelming.

I’ve been really focused on the details up until now, but I need to take a step back and really look at the big picture. I have the unique ability to customize every single Rune I have, so I should really be thinking more about where I’m going. At the moment for Rank 2 Runes, I’ve got two Howling Cyclone Runes, a Focal Quake Rune, a Pyroclastic Resonance Rune, and a Broken Gale Rune. In addition, I’ve also got a Rank 1 Greater Wind Rune in my soul and a Rank 1 Greater Ash Rune in my Grimoire.

Then there’s the two Master Runes. Sunder is pretty much independent of all my other Runes, so I don’t need to take that directly into account. Combustion… it’s powerful, but I shouldn’t build myself around it. That’s too short-sighted. If it works out, great. If not, I can always find more Runes.

Noah drummed his fingers on his chin. That wasn’t even everything he had to work with. There was still the strange energy that had gathered around his Soul. He was confident that he could somehow form it into a Rune, but he just wasn’t quite there yet. Whatever it was, though, it would be powerful. He was sure of that.

Another thing I can’t plan on. For now, I’ll focus on my actual Runes. I’ve got a good spread of different kinds of magic with Fire and Ash from Pyroclastic Resonance, Wind from Howling Cyclone, and a mixture of Earth and Vibration from Focal Quake.

That… isn’t exactly what I was aiming for from the start. I’ve got quite the spread that can make sound, but I need to make sure I can effectively fight with my Rank 3 Rune. This isn’t just about me anymore. I need to be powerful enough to protect everyone.

Noah sat in thought, his legs swinging from the branch as a breeze rustled through his hair and the sun trekked through the sky. There were two main directions he could take his Runes in. The first would be focusing in on a single type of magic, such as Vibration, and really pushing deeper into it.

The other would be a more general approach that somehow bound everything he had – or would get – together and improved upon it. The latter idea appealed to Noah much more, but it had one gaping hole.

I have no idea what connects all of these things without making them weaker in combat. I can’t just make a music Rune out of this or something. That could end up weakening my offensive capabilities.

Something wet fell on Noah’s cheek. He blinked, looking up and realizing that a bank of heavy gray clouds had rolled in at some point, blocking out the sun and casting the forest into shadow.

Raindrops started to fall, pattering against his face. Noah shifted to try to get a bit better shelter under a branch overhead, then sat still and watched the rain.

You know, I basically already have most of the elements, just in destructive manners. The only basic one I’m missing is water. I wonder what the equivalent of water would be? Maybe Flood? That would be pretty cool, and water magic is one of the few that you can use almost anywhere because of the moisture in the air.

Noah paused. An errant thought had gotten stuck in the back of his head. It felt like a little bit of a stretch, but if he was going for destructive power, it seemed to line up perfectly with the path he was already heading toward.

What if my Rank 3 Rune had something to do with natural disasters? I’ve already got volcanoes, earthquakes, and Cyclones. Something like Flood or Tsunami or the like would fit this perfectly. Gale wouldn’t be that useful, but I could save it for later.

The idea was a bit of a stretch at best. It felt a little powerful for a mere Rank 3 Rune, but the more Noah thought about it, the more excited he got. Something about the ability to wield the forces of nature against his opponents hit the fantasies he’d had as a child.

Noah’s lips twitched in a smile. Moxie probably would have laughed at him for the source of his motivation, but what was the point of magic if it wasn’t interesting? And, as a cherry on top, he was pretty sure all of his initial goals with sound could be accomplished with the sounds of nature – especially when nature was angry.

Okay. I can’t get too ahead of myself. This is cool, but I still need to find a rune based on water and I might need to tweak the exact numbers in the combination. Then I’d need to fill my Runes up so I can combine them.

That all starts with a Water Rune, though, and I don’t have Catchpaper. But… I also know there’s a way to grab a Rune from a monster when you kill it, like in the Vision from Sunder. That should be the next thing I focus on. After that, I’ll find something with a Water Rune.

With that, Noah’s plans were decided, at least for the time being. Moxie had previously mentioned that there was a way to directly gain Runes from monsters, even without Catchpaper. Now was as good a time to work on that as any.

I’ve got room for some Rank 1s, but just in case, I should remove Broken Gale. I’m going to be taking it apart, so there’s no point letting it soak up energy from my actually useful Runes. Sorry, Broken Gale. I’ll come back to you and pick you apart later.

Noah rifled through his bag and pulled out the half of Dayton’s scroll that he’d kept. Unfurling it, he located an open spot on the paper and pressed his hand against it, wrapping Broken Gale with his energy and drawing it out.

The rune flowed out through his palm, offering little resistance as he pressed it into the scroll and Imbued it. He didn’t feel much in the way of a reduction in his soul from the process. Broken Gale hadn’t been a very strong Rank 2 Rune in its current state, and he hadn’t even been using it for anything.

Okay. Moxie’s got the kids occupied. That means I’ve got some free time to practice. Let’s go test Sunder out on some monsters and see if I can yoink the Runes out of them.

Noah dropped from the tree, a huge grin on his face, and cushioned his fall with a blast of wind right before he hit the ground. After a quick adjustment to the Imbuements in his feet to account for the patter of the rainfall, Noah set off.

Damp grass squelched beneath Noah’s feet with every step he took. It was far from what he’d consider pleasant, but the ability to feel everything on the ground around him was too useful to discount.

It didn’t take long for Noah’s vibration sense to pick something up. He paused mid-step as a rough outline of a blobby snake formed in his mind, hidden in a bush near the base of a tree to his side.

He squinted at the bush, but his eyes couldn’t pick anything out. The snake was perfectly hidden behind it.

Damn, I love this. It’s like I took off a blindfold.

Noah drew a slow breath, calling on the faintest traces of Sunder’s power and bringing it to his fingertips. After a moment of concentration, his veins turned a dark grey. The Master Rune filled his body eagerly.

The rest of Noah’s Runes all groaned in protest as they pushed back against the immense might of Sunder. Even though it was getting easier to call on Sunder, it still put his entire body under a significant amount of stress – which meant sitting around and thinking about things with it out was a terrible idea.

Noah lunged forward and slapped his hand against the outline of the snake in the bush. The snake snapped out at him, shocked by the surprise attack, but Noah saw the blow coming and twisted to the side, even as Sunder’s magic flowed out from his palm and into the monster’s cold body.

As it left, Noah tried to focus on the vision Sunder had given him. He didn’t just want to cut it. He wanted to split the snake from its Runes.

The bush carved apart as a black line ran down through it, cutting through both it and the snake. Energy swirled at Noah’s fingertips. His eyes lit up as faint lights started to form above the two halves of the dead monster.

But, as he reached out for it, the energy vanished. Noah’s runes warmed as power slipped in, filling them slightly.

“Damn,” Noah said, straightening his back. “That didn’t quite work, but I feel like I was almost there.”

He rubbed his chin, then shrugged. His Runes were stronger now. He could handle Sunder’s effects for longer, and that meant he had quite a few more tries to go through. It was time to find some more monsters to practice on.

The day blurred by. Over a dozen monsters, ranging from snakes to Arcfists – the gorilla monster that they’d lured to push the kids to work together – fell to Sunder. Noah hunted them relentlessly, either by sound or through the vibrations running through the forest floor.

At first, Noah had little luck actually pulling the Runes out of their bodies. He had to take several breaks throughout the day to let all his Runes, which had been drained holding back Sunder, recharge.

But, as time went on, the feeling grew closer and closer to the surface. Noah could feel the energy right before it left the monsters’ bodies. If he could just manage to snag it before it entered his own, he was confident he could pull the Runes out.

Night had already fallen, but Noah wasn’t ready to be done yet. Yet another snake had caught his attention as it crawled across the forest floor. And, this time, Noah was determined to get results.

Sunder’s power coursing through his veins, Noah shot forward and slapped his hand against the snake. A black line carved through it. Noah tensed, waiting for the familiar sensation of energy rising up from the snake’s body.

His fingers tingled.

Now!

Noah called on Sunder’s strength once more and swept his hand through the air where the energy was. It shimmered, and Noah held his breath.

Then, in the darkness of the night, light bloomed. Runes swirled into the air before Noah, each one glittering with faint energy. No energy entered his body. The Runes just floated before him, ripe for the picking.

Noah couldn’t help himself. He started to laugh.

He’d Sundered the monster’s soul.

***

In the shadow of a tree in the distance, two yellow eyes gleamed in the darkness. They were the eyes of a predator – one awoken from its long slumber by a deluge of rain that had flooded its deep, underground burrow.

They watched Noah as he looked down on the Runes floating before him, and they were hungry.

So, very hungry.