Chapter 8: Chapter 7 – New place old woe.

This is just a small announcement, I've gone back and changed a few things in chapter 4 as I might have done the time skip hastily. Hope that it clear's up a few things up, don't think it will change much in chapter 5 or 6 but will have to re-read and decide, also thanks for some people for pointing out the inconsistencies.

Also, sorry for arguing with some people over the small things. Think it actually helped me out on this occasion as after further consideration I did leave out a bit too much and just spearheaded the whole thing ahead. Wanted to force the progress a bit too fast there I think ;/

A ten-year-old with a sword in his right hand was standing in a dark damp dungeon. In front of him, two green humanoid looking monsters were glaring. These goblins gave out a loud high pitched sound and charged forward. The boy stood still, his sword arm lowered while the left one was raised up. He was mumbling something incoherent to himself, the more he did the louder he got.

"Source of all magic, heed my call!"

He had his index finger pointing at the charging monster, the other three clenched together tightly. Suddenly a bluish glow appeared in front of those fingers. It started out small as a grain of rice but soon the tiny speck expanded to the size of an egg. The furthermost goblin was now just a couple of steps away from the youth, its teeth were rattling as it was ready to feast on its prey.

"Gather before me and strike down my enemies, Mana Bolt!"

The boy shouted and the egg-sized energy ball shot forward. It collided with the monster's head, inserting itself right into the eye socket before exploding. The boy gazed at the humanoid being, part of its head exploding as it collapsed on the ground and slid forward due to the momentum of its charge.

The other monster didn't show much of a reaction after seeing its friends head partially exploding. It just charged on and tried clawing at the youth. Roland was counting on this and he just stepped to the side, the over-swing and forward momentum of the monsters attack giving him an opportunity for a counter.

There was no hesitation in his movement like a year before. His trusted short sword was plunged right into his enemy's throat. The goblin moved his hands to its neck as a reflex, the blade that was stuck in it getting pulled out instantly. A fountain of monster blood erupted, the creature fell down, dead and unmoving.

"Well... think I've killed all of them... I guess that's it for the easy XP. But do I really need to chant cringy stuff like that every time... maybe not being suited for a mage was a blessing in disguise?"

Roland was standing in the training dungeon, his old trainer nowhere to be seen. He had finished the last of the goblins. These creatures were captured for training purposes and it would be a shame to waste the experience. 

"Wonder where that old bastard will send me too... probably to some cheap backwater village where he can forget about his useless son."

Roland poked the first goblin that he killed with his mana bolt. The power of this spell was so-so, it was fine against weak spots like the eyes but took some time to aim and you couldn't fire them off in quick succession. He also needed to chant his spell, which lowered the speed and utility of this skill.

"I guess that's why mages are considered a backline class. Will I need to find myself a party of some sort? Will daddy dearest give me a servant for protection?"

He poked the other goblin with his sword as well, his eyes focusing more as he tried to feel for a mana signature.

"This one has a monster core..."

Monster cores or also called mana stones looked like gems or crystals. They formed in some creatures and were used as ingredients for various things. There was a low chance of finding them in a goblin, the stone inside this monster was the size of a grain of rice. 

"Best keep this for myself."

He didn't trust the people in this estate. He tried returning the monster core to one of the servants but instead of getting a reward, it was just snatched. They just gave him the excuse that this was the property of the Baron and would be used for the estate. He on the other hand was sure that the servants were probably pocketing things that could be sold for themselves. Thus the developed a habit of withholding items and information.

'These things are small enough for me to keep them in my pocket.'

He looked at the cold and dark dungeon and then quickly left. He was seen by some servants that were back to treating him coldly after the big reveal. He continued walking further finding a certain thick hedge wall. He squeezed through a certain spot and arrived at a small area with a large tree. He was surrounded by shrubs and greenery, on the other side was the flower garden where mostly the noble ladies had their tea parties.

He leaned up against the tree and took out a small box filled with some sandwiches. This type of food wasn't popular here as nobles mostly ate food prepared by the chefs. He had managed to convince Martha to make him some so that he could eat it on the way.

'Tomorrow is the day, finally leaving this shithole... got that going for me at least.'

He bit into the bread that had some cheese and meat in it and started eating it. While he was thinking about his future he heard something rustling in the bushes. Even without looking in the direction, he knew who that was.

"Big brothuer Rowand!"

He heard a child's voice, it was high pitched and the pronunciation wasn't quite there. This was his new younger sister, his dad couldn't keep it in his pants and the mistress gave birth to this child. 

"It's not Rowand but Roland, Lucienne."

For some reason, this kid liked to run around the compound looking for him. She had somehow found his hiding place, luckily the child knew how to keep a secret. She was even super happy when he told her that it would be a secret between the two.

"Lady Francine doesn't like it when you talk to me, she'll give you and me an earful if she finds out."

The small girl with golden locks didn't seem to care, as she just ran up and gave her big brother a hug. Roland felt a bit uncomfortable from the show of affection and reluctantly petted her head.

"Ith'sh owayth mwommy won'th find outh!"

The small girl proclaimed while looking at the sandwich that was in Roland's mouth. The brother reluctantly gave up his breakfast to the child. 

"Ah, have it your way, you little squirt."

"Brothuer my birthhday ith shoon don'th forgeth tho come."

Roland looked at the girl and gave her chubby cheeks a little pinch. 

"Your birthday, yes it should be in a couple of weeks..."

It would be her 3rd Birthday this time. While he was in the family's good graces he was allowed to take part in it, even though he mostly just sat in the corner not doing much. 

"I will see what I can do... now run along before your mother catches you here."

You are reading story The Runesmith at novel35.com

He ruffled up his sister's head before escaping her big green eyes. He didn't want to lie to a child of this age, but it was better than making her cause a scene. He would be leaving tomorrow and he couldn't do much about it.

'She'll forget me after a few months, not sure if I'll ever return to this mansion after I leave anyway.'

He left towards his room, he was mostly packed all thanks to his trusted maid Martha. The same woman was now hugging while weeping.

"Calm down Martha, I will be fine..."

"No young master, I will go to the Lord and ask for permission to come with you, how can he send you away unattended!"

The woman was quite attached to him, but he wouldn't be allowed to take any servants with him.

"Adam said that I will be looked after there, don't need to worry about anything, this was bound to happen."

The woman dried her tears with a handkerchief while looking at the smaller boy.

"Young Master, be sure to write a letter if there is something bothering you. You're such a brave young lad, you never did cry or complain about anything, such an obedient child."

She continued hugging him while sobbing, in the end, he had to push her out of his room. He needed to check if he took everything that he could. He decided to take some blank papers and some calligraphy books, he needed to heighten this skill to the maximum sooner or later. 

The night went by fast and he was ready to leave. The only person to send him of was of course his personal Maid that looked like she didn't sleep too well. 

'She sure loved this Roland boy, didn't she?'

The new Roland didn't feel like this woman's affection was focused on him. She was probably just a gentle soul that cared for the child that once was inhabiting this body. From his perspective, if she ever found out that it was occupied by some weird nerd from Earth, she would probably do a quick 180. Still, he felt a bit sad to leave her here with these posh assholes.

'Maybe in the future if I have enough money I can hire her myself...'

He stepped into the coach, his bags were ready. He waved at the friendly lady and was finally able to leave, the next destination was the train station. Yes, this world had trains, there were also flying airships but they were above the Baron's paygrade. Roland had once visited one of these magic stations, the contraptions looked like old fashioned steam trains but instead of steam, they run on mana stones.

There was no one to send him of, the coachman and his helper just carried his bags to the train and that was it. He waited there for the mana engine train to arrive, compared to the Earthly counterparts there were a lot more wagons getting pulled behind it. Besides transporting people it was used for moving various goods.

"Well then, I'll be off..."

He muttered to himself, he had slowly gotten used to the solitude that this world provided him with. He sat down at his designated seat and looked at other families sending their loved ones off with hugs. He could see some of them smile and others were even crying while waving at the train that was leaving.

 'Family huh?'

He turned away not sure what to make of this, his eyes closing as he tried taking a nap the ride was going to be a long one.

Back at the  Arden Estate, Adam was getting called in by the Baron for a little chat. 

"Did he leave?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"He didn't reject the offer? Did you make it clear?"

"Yes my lord, he knows the destination."

The muscly man tapped the desk he was sitting on while looking out the window.

"He is surprisingly headstrong, his performance against the lesser monsters was... satisfactory."

The butler nodded. If you compared the boy to the other young masters he lacked the stats of a warrior, but he was very resolute and clear-headed. Even during the first fight, he didn't suffer much of a setback. His brothers on the other hand mostly failed and had to be rescued by their helpers.

"With some training, he could pass for a knight. He wishes to be a lowly smith though..."

The man frowned, he couldn't let the other nobles know what he had a son working as a blacksmith.

"Don't worry sir, everything was prepared. The boy will probably ask for assistance in due time."

The Baron nodded and waved his servant away, he was smoking quite a large cigar. He blew out some smoke through his nostrils before speaking out to himself.

"If he doesn't... then so be it...It's will be his choice, he is old enough to make his own mistakes."

He placed the cigar to the side and then focused back on the military papers in his hand, he was still lagging behind schedule.

Roland had no idea what his parent was plotting back home but soon he would discover it. The train ride would take a couple of days, the speed of this machine wasn't great and it was pulling a lot of weight. The seats were uncomfortable and the constant sounds of heavy machinery were keeping the young man awake.

He shook his head and looked outside at the constantly changing scenery. He also took a glance at some of the skills he had learned during the almost five year period he was at the noble house.

---