The vines twisted and writhed around Roland, forming a protective barrier between him and Professor Fortuna. They seemed to emanate a soothing energy, countering the oppressive force that had been weighing him down moments before. Roland looked around in astonishment, unsure of where these vines had come from or how they were aiding him. Luckily, soon a small figure formed from within these vines and started speaking out.

“Old hag, what do you think you are trying to do?”

“Of course, it had to be you, ancient fossil.”

‘Old hag? Ancient fossil?’

It was instantly clear that these people knew each other and had some history. The Spiritualist lady wasn’t pleased with the appearance of the vines and was staring daggers at the small figure that was speaking. The facial features weren’t quite well but he could recognize that this person was the Institute Headmistress, Yavenna Arvandus. He was not sure how and why she decided to aid him but he was grateful nonetheless. Power seemed to be returning to his limbs and he could even use his mana now.

“I was just having a friendly chat with our young professor here, no reason to be rude and interrupt…”

Professor Fortuna leaned back in her chair while trying to act as if she didn’t just disable Roland’s whole body. It seemed like she was about to perform some strange experiments to see how his soul ended up in the state that it was.

“Friendly chat, you say? It seems to me that you were about to do something rather unpleasant to our young colleague.”

Yavenna retorted with her voice being stern while Roland remained silent. He was unsure how to interject in this conversation between two seemingly powerful tier 4 class holders. From his perspective, it was quite hard for a tier 3 to just disable him even if they were close to ascending further. His mana was like a toddler’s compared to these two and the atmosphere was growing increasingly more charged with magical energy.

“Is this how you repay an old friend, Yavenna? By interfering in matters that don’t concern you?”

Fortuna spat out her words in anger while the whole hut began to shake. The will-o'-wisps started turning red and shifting chaotically. It seemed that they were reacting to their master’s mood swings. Roland could feel the magical energies crackling around him as the two powerful mages faced off. However, it was clear that the witch-like lady Fortuna had the advantage as this was her lair they were in and not at the Institute.

“I'm not here to argue with you, Fortuna and if you continue, then I’ll be forced to intervene directly…”

Yavenna was probably feeling that her power was wavering but she didn’t relent. The vines around Roland started to shift to create a strange structure. They started to form something in the form of an oval with a magical surface within. Roland could feel what type of magic was taking form there and it was identical to the portal gate he had seen in one of the magical towers.

As the vines continued to weave together to form the portal-like structure, Professor Fortuna started to waver. Her expression which was scrunched up with animosity began to show signs of softening. At first, it seemed like the two were on equal footing but the moment Yavenna expressed her willingness to come here directly, the atmosphere in the room changed. The red soul orbs returned to their previous form and eventually, the hut also stopped shaking.

“Now now, my dear friend, don’t do anything hasty…”

Professor Fortuna’s tone had shifted from aggression to one of caution, her eyes darted between Roland and the portal forming before them. It was evident that she had weighed her options and concluded that having the headmistress arrive here in person, wouldn’t be wise.

“Have you come to your senses, Fortuna? Or must I pay you a visit to refresh your memory about who enabled you to exist in that humble swamp of yours?”

While Roland wasn’t sure about the history of these two powerful mages, it was clear that the Headmistress held more power. Considering Fortuna's status as a tier 4 class holder, it seemed plausible that she enjoyed certain privileges within the institute. It would also explain why she wasn’t reprimanded even when she didn’t attend the faculty meetings nor did she seem to hold any classes either.

He remained seated and silent as the situation was resolving itself by itself. It would be possible for him to activate his armor now and attempt to escape but he still needed something from this old woman. While he had been constantly scanning this area for spiritual energy, it would be better if he had some samples he could examine for a more prolonged time.

Eventually, the portal materialized and sprang to life. Within it, he could see the woman that he had met previously. Though uncertain of the mechanism, it seemed that during his visit to the Headmistress's tower, she had somehow marked him. Perhaps some plant matter the size of mushroom sports had made its way onto his armor and remained dormant. Through them, she was able to control the plants in this hut and created the portal thereafter. It was a magical feat beyond his current comprehension.

“Yes, yes… you have made your point, dear Headmistress… Don’t worry, I will treat your precious faculty member with respect…”

The portal remained in place while Fortuna scrambled around. She was clearly panicking at this point and fumbling her words around. The woman on the other side of the portal observed with a stern expression, not convinced by Fortuna's sudden change in demeanor.

“I know, this fine young man had come here to research the spirits, how about…”

After thinking for a moment, Fortuna conjured up a spell to order one of the spirit orbs to fly over to the table. Along with it was a large flash into which the soul orb squeezed into. This wasn’t all as various other old books and texts about the subject matter Roland was researching flew over.

“How about this my lad, it should be enough right?”

It was as if the old lady was now pleading with him instead. Roland remained silent for a moment while looking at the items on the table. There was a lot of research material there and along with it a will-o'-wisp in a flash. With all of this, he was certain that he would be able to make a big leap in his research of analyzing the soul and mana relation. There wasn’t really more that she could offer him and it was better to get out of here before these two powerful mages changed their mind.

“Yes, this will suffice, Professor Fortuna.”

“See? The young lad thinks it’s enough? Now can you just leave me alone!”

The old lady was quite annoyed with this situation but had also resigned herself to her fate. The tension inside this wooden hut was starting to dissipate. The portal through which the Headmistress was peeking in started to tremble and it would probably close soon. Yavenna Arvandus watched the exchange with a scrutinizing gaze but she seemed satisfied with the outcome.

“I’m glad that we could clear this matter up and… I expect you to attend the next meeting at the Institute, we need to speak about a few things, understood?”

“You want me to attend that boring…”

Fortuna frowned and returned to her previous self but quickly resumed her docile act the moment she saw the Institute leader frowning through the portal.

“Yes, of course, I’ll be sure to be there! Not a problem at all!”

“... Good, I’m glad that we could resolve this issue. Now, I’ll be taking my leave. But remember, Fortuna, I'll be keeping an eye on you and as for you, Assistant Professor Wayland, please come to my office when you return.”If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“Ah yes, of course, Headmistress.”

He wasn’t that taken aback by this order as he was certain that the Headmistress wanted to know about what happened in the swamp area. It was also something that could perhaps keep him safe again as Fortuna needed to let him be if he ever was to reach Yavenna’s tower.

With that warning, the Headmistress withdrew from the portal and it dissipated soon after. The wooden plant matter that it was created from wilted away into dried-out husks of its former self. He was now left alone with the woman who tried to use him as a lab rat. After glancing at her he could hear her awkwardly clearing her throat.

“Ahem, well then, young man, it seems we've come to the end of our little adventure… It would probably be better if you left now.”

“I think so too…”

After slowly standing up without making any sudden movements, he took the research material that he had come here for. The old woman raised an eyebrow as he slid the items into his armor where he was hiding a spatial compartment in. However, right before he left the woman left him with a few words.

“I don’t know what you are hiding young man but your soul is certainly unordinary and its not only the color, there is something underneath it…”

“Underneath it?”

“Indeed, if you wish, you could stay here and we could get to the bottom of this very interesting issue…”

“No… I think I should go back and make a report to the Headmistress…”

The old woman had a strange glint in her eyes as she continued to mention his soul. She was probably not willing to prod any further without his consent but he could always stay here and have her do it willingly. Roland knew that he was a denizen from another world and would rather keep that secret. There was a possibility that he would be turned into some sort of lab rat if this truth came out.

“Are you sure? Well, you can come back here if you change your mind~”

“I’ll keep that in mind…”

So did his strange journey to get more research material for the runic prosthesis finally end. Once he found himself outside the witch hut, everything started to fade away into fog. After walking for a few minutes he recovered the connection to his golems that quickly rallied around him. The bodies of the three knights he defeated had begun to be absorbed by the swamp, which would hinder him in recovering their gear.

‘Well… that happened…’

The battle was over and he had managed to level up multiple times as his three enemies were many levels above his. While it wasn’t as much as he had received from battling the pseudo-tier 4 horror at his home, it was enough to make him progress fast.

Name

Roland Arden L 196

Classes:

T3 Runesmith Overlord L21 [ Primary ]

T2 Runesmith Lord L50 [ Tertiary ]

T2 Runic Engineer L50 [Secondary]

T1 Mage L25 [ X ]

T1 Runic Mana Scribe L 25 [ X ]

T1 Runic Blacksmith L 25 [ X ]

HP

/46278

MP

/89275

SP

/63544

Strength

Agility

Dexterity

Vitality

Endurance

Intelligence

Willpower

Charisma

Luck