Chapter 34: A Trail of Destruction

It is difficult to describe the expression on Roland’s face after he clearly read the name of the new mission issued by the system.

It was a calm mixed with struggle and despair.

After a moment of contemplation, he adjusted his posture, sitting on the bed, before leaning toward the window with a slight frown, his body then going limp.

"Damn it!"

The ancient, refined Eastern expression slipped out of Roland’s mouth.

He had thought the plague in the demon city of Riscam was already a once-in-a-lifetime major event, but he hadn't expected there to be an even bigger expert waiting in the wings!

Which idiot was stirring up trouble this time?

He just wanted to attend school in peace, then take his diploma from the Royal Academy of Magic and land a job at the Ministry of War or simply stay on to teach!

He had thought that meeting someone like Kalia was already enough to complicate his otherwise peaceful campus life, but little did he know—little did he know—that even the capital, which should have been the most stable and secure place, was on the brink of a storm.

After calming down for a moment, Roland opened the mission brief provided by the system.

【Mission Objective】
【Phase I: Locate the remains of the Archmage Flam within the capital and determine the cause of her death.】
【Upon completion, the second phase of the mission will be issued.】

Boom!

Seeing this mission, Roland’s first thought was whether it was too late to jump off this carriage and abandon his plans for schooling.

As the Riscam incident had shown, although the "System-brother" was a bit sharp-headed, the information it provided had never been wrong.

If it said it would happen, it was highly likely to be true.

The good news was that this intelligence certainly didn't come from the present; after all, Master Flam had just left his room two minutes ago, clearly alive and well.

Besides, they hadn't even arrived at the capital yet.

"System, tell me the current date."

【The current date is Imperial Calendar 1039, December 9th... Error, error... Detecting...】
【Correction, the current date is Imperial Calendar 1040, December 1st.】

"Is there a detailed mission briefing?"

【Newbie tutorial has concluded; please investigate on your own, Host.】
【Friendly reminder: After the fall of the capital, unknown changes occurred. No one who has entered since has ever returned.】

"Does Lady Flam count among those who never returned?"

【Archmage Flam’s time of death predates the fall of the capital.】

"Then..."

【Please explore on your own, Host.】

No matter what Roland asked afterward, the system offered only that single sentence.

Well, it seemed the trick of prying for information only worked once; perhaps the system’s head wasn't as sharp as it looked.

"At least I managed to squeeze some intel out of it."

"As it stands, there is still time."

"Today is December 1st, 1040... wait, that might be the start of the mission, not the time of the capital's disaster."

Roland quickly faced his first major hurdle.

He did not know when the fall of the capital occurred, or how it had happened.

Just as the system said, he would have to find the clues himself this time. The key was that the mission wasn't even fully unlocked; judging by the situation, he would likely have to complete one task to unlock the next.

He couldn't even use the method of reverse-engineering the mission details.

Moreover, even someone like Flam, who had lived for a thousand years, experienced the Demon King War, and even faced the Demon King directly, had perished. It was hard to imagine what could have happened in the capital to cause the death of such a legendary Archmage.

Roland thought for a while, then gave up on thinking.

If he couldn't figure it out, he would deal with it when he reached the capital.

There was still one night left; he should think about how to use the rewards he had just obtained. After all, with the timing and cause of the capital's fall unknown, he should prepare more defensive measures just in case.

"Speaking of that Primordial Rune Stone..."

"EIWAZ."

Roland tried chanting the pronunciation again.

Soon, the mysterious symbol appeared on the back of Roland’s hand. Then, a gentle green light covered his body, flickering briefly before vanishing.

This time, Roland finally understood the use of this mysterious item and realized what role it played within his body.

The moment Roland activated the power of the rune stone, a new spell appeared in the spell section of his system attribute panel.

【Rune Skill - Shelter of the World Tree: Consumes a certain amount of mana to activate "Nullification," rendering any spell targeting the Host ineffective.】
【Consuming a large amount of mana allows the user to enter a state of invincibility for 1 second. During this time, the user ignores all attacks and abnormal status effects, and cannot be touched by any means. This effect applies only to the user.】
【When the Host fails to actively detect an incoming attack, the Nullification skill will trigger automatically, granting the Host 5 seconds of invincibility without consuming the Host’s own mana.】
【However, after a passive trigger, the Rune Skill will enter a cooldown of at least 24 hours, during which the skill cannot be used.】
【The roots of the World Tree form the spinning wheel of fate, and its branches weave the cycle of the four seasons...】

"I knew it!"

Seeing the effects of the Primordial Rune Stone, Roland mused that the name certainly lived up to the skill's power.

The Nullification of the rune skill was unconditional.

As long as he could react in time, he could spend a quarter of his mana to nullify a spell. Even if he were only at the third circle and his opponent at the ninth, he could trade a quarter of his mana to negate the attack.

Even if he didn't react, and the opponent played dirty with a sneak attack, this rune could help him block one fatal blow.

Five seconds of invincibility was enough for him to use a blink spell to escape to a relatively safe position.

If he added the Insight Badge he had just obtained... Roland’s survival probability had increased significantly!

"System, use the Random Skill Card."

【Congratulations to the Host for obtaining the skill: Beginner Alchemy (Lv1/Lv10)】

"Alchemy?!"

Seeing the skill he had obtained and the knowledge flooding his mind, Roland was somewhat surprised.

It wasn't that he hadn't studied alchemy; he had a minor understanding and could even craft some basic healing potions. However, the system had never added alchemy to his skill list before.

Only now, after integrating the knowledge that the system deemed appropriate for a "Beginner Alchemy" skill, did Roland realize how superficial his previous studies had been.

It was as superficial as learning English by only knowing how to recite the 26 letters.

But he couldn't blame himself entirely; there were no alchemy masters in Riscam, though they did produce plenty of trade goods. The cost of studying alchemy properly was far beyond what his "useless father" Lance could afford.

He had only learned to make healing potions thanks to his own sharp intellect—flipping through introductory books in the library and experimenting slowly after grasping a few basics.

But in an open library like the Great Library of Riscam, there were no profound texts or books used for true alchemical training. Those alchemy masters had invested heavily to monopolize such knowledge.

But now it seemed Roland might save himself a tuition fee.