290: A New Book

A New Book

The tea cup in Rosetta's hand disappeared as she stood up.  0

"Since my lovely apprentice dares to bare her fangs on her teacher, shall I not remind her why I am the teacher and not her?"

Oriana felt her entire body grow cold. It was a momentary lapse of judgment, a whimsical rebellious act, but she also knew her teacher was petty and she would show her no mercy. 

"I did not mean to—"

Zap!

Rosetta attacked her before she could finish her sentence. It was the black lightning attack the witch loved to use as punishment, because it brought tremendous pain but showed little to no injury on the outside. 

"Ahh!"

Oriana summoned a rune shield in haste, but since she was late to cast the spell, the attack reached her.

"Again," Rosetta said in a dry tone.

Oriana injected more magic to strengthen the defense of the black shield. 

Zap!

Oriana successfully defended it, much to her relief. Rosetta seemed to have given her some slack, not attacking her a third time. Oriana used this chance to attack Rosetta. However, the woman did not even  dodge. As her attack reached Rosetta, it disappeared like a bubble and not a single hair on the black-haired witch's head was shaken.

"Too slow. 

"Too weak.

"Too pathetic.

"Use your head, my stupid apprentice. You learned ancient runes, did you not? Augment your attack with them. 'Arrow' will make it swift, 'Burst' will expand its range, 'Bolt' will strengthen its damage, then there is 'Orb', 'Spear' and 'Spike'. among many others. 

"If this is a life-and-death scenario and you keep using the same attack pattern, you would be first to die," Rosetta said. 

Oriana recalled their respective spells and applied it in combat. 

Both teacher and student continued to exchange attacks until Oriana exhausted her magic reserves. While she panted, Rosetta continued to appear elegant and unruffled, standing as if she was merely a lady admiring an interesting flower in a garden. 

Oriana could not help but admit she was learning fast and learning well. Rosetta's contempt was intentionally stirring her desire to learn, pushing her repeatedly beyond her limits.

It was annoyingly effective.

'Shall I praise her for being a good teacher? Her personality is trash though. No need. This ruthless and stingy woman doesn't deserve a single praise. Even if I say something good about her, I'm sure she will ridicule me for trying to kiss her ass."

When they finally stopped, Oriana collapsed on the ground. It was as if she ran a mile nonstop. 

Rosetta spoke up, "Continue trying out different combinations of the ancient runes. Experiencing them in person is the best way to learn."

Oriana nodded, only to hear Rosetta say, "Saves my time." 

Then, she offered her student a bottle of elixir, the same one she gave her yesterday. Oriana accepted it and drank it without doubting her teacher. She felt better, and soon enough, regained enough strength to move.

"Practice and study. What you lack in intelligence, make up for it with diligence."

Oriana decisively ignored the ridicule in those words. "Teacher, do you have a more specialized book on rune spells? That book of witchcraft only covered the basics."

"Yet you struggle with the basics," Rosetta scoffed mockingly and offered her hand. 

Oriana accepted her hand with a disappointed face. It didn't seem like her teacher would give her a new book to read. 

Their figures soon reappeared inside  the guest mansion of Griven. Afterwards, Rosetta once again used a spell to get rid of traces of magic from Oriana's body. 

Even before Oriana could say a word, Rosetta disappeared. 

Thud!

Oriana looked at the table next to her and found there was an unfamiliar book. It was visibly thicker than the first book, despite looking equally old, with its pages more brown than yellow. From its leather cover, the words 'Arcane Runes and the Study of Formations' were engraved.

'She left me a new book?' Oriana was thrilled. She flipped a few pages and understood there were more detailed explanations written on it, along with new spells that were higher in level than the ones she learned. She closed the book and kept it in the drawer. As Arlan would be returning soon, she needed to be ready to welcome him. 

'I need to change into new clothes,' she bitterly laughed as her uniform was soiled once again.

As soon as the conference was adjourned, Arlan stepped out of the grand hall with Drayce. Both of them held serious expressions, as Othinia's response to the destruction of the illegal plantation was lukewarm at best. The matter was raised as part of the agenda, but the majority of the kingdoms vetoed imposing sanctions on Othinia and Thevailes for lack of solid evidence.

After they walked away from others, Imbert talked to Arlan in a low voice, "Your Highness, there is a message from Sir Alex."

Arlan offered him a light nod and looked at Drayce. "Seems like I won't be accompanying for the day. I need to head out."

Drayce was aware of who Alex was. Alexander Perryl, the head of Arlan's secret intelligence force. Though Drayce was a powerful king, it was because his kingdom was superior not only in territory size but also military might. 

When it came to secret underground forces, Arlan was stronger in this regard. After all, the prince had been nurturing the best people by his side since young. He had more than a decade to collect talented people who were loyal to him.

As for Drayce, he was never meant to inherit the throne in the first place. He was neither the firstborn nor the rightful Crown Prince. If not for his kingdom's circumstances, he would not even accept becoming the King of Megaris. That was why his intelligence forces were relatively weaker than Arlan.

"Is it about the Verners?" Drayce asked as he was aware of most of the matters in Arlan's life. 

"Seems like it," Arlan answered.

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