114 Setting out II

A big pit in the center of the clearing still had several logs sticking out of it, though several of them were little more than charcoal.

"We'll rest here for the night," Brayden said, trudging over to the firepit. He raised a hand, running his thumb along a wide gold ring on his index finger. It shimmered purple. Brayden waved his hand through the air, leaving a streak of light behind.

A pile of dry grass poured out of the rift in the air, falling into the pit. The energy faded away a moment later and Brayden lowered his hand, sitting down with a yawn. "Does anyone have any fire magic to get this lit?"

"I can do it," Noah said, walking up to the edge of the pit and kneeling beside it. He touched his hand to the grass and used Combustion. The grass ignited instantly, and the flame quickly swept through the dry kindling. Within moments, a dull fire had roared to life and was steadily starting to consume the larger logs.

Edward and Allen stalked up to the side of the pit.

"You," Allen said, pointing at Isabel. "You've got a Stone Rune. Make housing, would you? I'd rather not sleep without any cover at all."

How the hell did he know?

Noah tensed, readying his magic, but something gave him pause. Allen hadn't spoken as if he'd caught Isabel in something. It was more like he was just speaking a fact. That wasn't how he would have approached it if she was in trouble.

A small smile flickered across Isabel's face. "That would probably be some good practice, though I'm not sure if you're confident enough in my abilities to sleep in any form of structure I create. I wouldn't ever want to disappoint a Magus, though."

Isabel knelt, pressing her hands to the dirt. It rumbled and a sheet of stone rose up from within it. Several more followed, molding themselves into a rough cone shape with a gap at the front.

A droplet of sweat rolled down Isabel's forehead and she pushed herself back to her feet, letting out a small sigh. "I don't have enough energy to make more than that right now. Maybe in ten minutes or so."

Allen let his gaze sweep over the cone, then ducked inside. He prodded at it, then stepped back out.

"Acceptable work, even if my Rune is completely wasted on someone of your stature."

Isabel, you sly girl. You took a second Greater Stone Rune to hide the fact that you got the first one from me if anyone questioned it? That's brilliant.

Isabel caught Noah's approving look and flashed him a quick grin. She turned her back on Allen and Edward, walking over to sit on the side of the firepit opposite to Brayden. Todd joined her.

"Lee, care to catch me up on what I missed on Body Imbuement?" Noah asked, rubbing his chin. "Tomorrow morning, I'm going to be doing some combat practice again. I'd imagine that there are probably some monsters in the area."

"There are," Brayden put in. "If you want to do any training against them, though, I'd recommend the hour before the sun rises. The most dangerous ones like the cover of the dark, but the scavengers pop out in the late evening and early morning."

Noah blinked, then nodded. "Early morning it is, then. Thank you."

"Nice to see you caring about something other than – well, you know," Brayden said, turning away and starting to wander off. "You needed a break after all that work you've been doing."

"So, Body Imbuement?" Noah prompted Lee. "Is it similar to normal Imbuement?"

"It is," Lee said with a nod. "But it's harder than Imbuing a lot of normal materials because you're working with organics that you actually care about. You're going to want to start just by using a very small amount of energy to trace your rune on the chosen body part. Then, every day, you retrace it. That'll steadily build up your body's relationship with the Imbued part instead of a sudden transition that does a lot of damage to your system."

Noah nodded his understanding. "That makes sense. It's a long term modification rather than just a sudden change. Clever."

"I had a good teacher," Lee said, her eyes darkening.

"You did?" Moxie asked, walking up to join them. "I thought–"

"Failure," Lee finished. "I blew my limbs off a few times."

Emily winced from behind Moxie.

"That's a lot of healing potions. Was your family very wealthy?"

Lee blinked, then giggled. "Rich in strength. How has your Imbuing been going?"

Emily screwed her face up and crossed her arms. "Badly. I can't get my Nature Rune to bind with my stomach. It just keeps fading away."

"Use a little more energy," Lee advised. "That's the Imbuement that Moxie has, isn't it?"

"It is," Moxie allowed. "But my Rune was Rank 2 when I Imbued it. More energy to work with. I didn't use your technique, though. I just did it in one go. Had some potions on standby in case I messed up."

"Did you?" Emily asked.

Moxie winced. "Yes. A lot."

"Body Imbuement is difficult," Allen said, speaking to Moxie directly for the first time since they'd left Arbitage. "Attempting it with Rank 1 Runes is dangerous. Why are you taking these risks with your student? Vermil, I understand. His pupils are not of worthy cloth. It doesn't matter if they're injured."

Noah's eyes narrowed.

Is he trying to bait me? Moxie mentioned that he might have been biding his time to get back at me, but there's no way Brayden would side against me… right?

Gah, I hate this prick. I'll just wait. Now isn't the time.

"Don't talk about my students like that," Noah said curtly. "They achieved results on the last exam, and that's all that matters."

Allen grunted. He ducked into the small shelter that Isabel had built him and turned his back on the rest of the group.

"Sour old man," Moxie muttered under her breath, drawing a snicker out of Lee.

Edward glared at her, but he didn't dare speak out against Moxie.

"Don't be too hard on him," Brayden said. "Father went to school together with Allen, even though Father hit Rank 4 well before he did. Allen typically means well, even if he isn't the best about showing it through words."

Brayden traced his hand through the air again. The ring on his finger twinkled. This time, he reached into the rift and pulled out a large wooden box. Brayden popped the top off, revealing an assortment of meat and cheeses.

"Shall we eat?" Brayden asked, setting the box down. "Actually, I don't care if you join me. I'm eating, though. Anyone else is welcome to as well."