...To the hands of Wentworth

“Newman… Newman? Time to wake up, Mr. Newman…”

John murmured in his sleep, asking his mom for another 5 minutes of rest. He always did this when his mom told him it was time to get up for school, always pleading for a few more moments of shut eye.

“Mr. Newman. Wake up.”

“Mrrrmmminutes. Plllssseee…” he muttered, trying to turn over in his bed to ignore his need to wake up. Except, he couldn’t turn. Well, he could turn his head, but his body refused to move. Wait… he wasn’t lying in bed. He was sitting upright. And he was not even in a bed, he was sitting in a wooden chair, bound by his wrists and ankles. And for that matter, his mother never called him “Mr. Newman.”

Finally, John opened his eyes. Thankfully, the lights in whatever room he was in were dim enough to be comfortable to him, but still bright enough that he could see where he was. He instantly could tell he was at school, revealed by the stone walls in the background and the fact that Mrs. Wentworth was standing in front of him.

Oh, shit. Right. It started to slowly come back to John. He recalled what had happened this day before his nap. Quickly flooding his mind were memories of the glow spell, Rune Magic, fighting an ice mage, broiling an ice mage alive, and meeting with a god-slaying giant.

“Well, looks like you finally decided to wake up, Mr. Newman.”

He looked back up at Mrs Wentworth. In many ways, she was probably one of the best teachers in Ashcroft. She was stern, but understanding. She did not tolerate failure, but helped students out when they needed it. She insisted that students should be able to pick themselves up by their own bootstraps, but always ensured they had resources for success. Those who took her class always admitted to learning a great deal under her tutelage.

That being said, no one would ever take a Wentworth class twice. She was the teacher who made you understood what a real workload was like. Those who managed to get full marks in her class either were obsessive in studying or forever scarred by her teaching method. In addition, she was actually rather intimidating. She had a glare that made her look less like a disappointed grandmother and more like the world’s oldest MMA fighter about to knock your lights out. John recalled someone once described her as “If McGonagall from Harry Potter had decided to become the Dark Lord instead of Voldemort.”

As she stood in front of him, arms crossed and giving him a **** glare, John had to agree with that student’s description.

“G-good morning, Mrs. Wentworth.”

“Afternoon, Mr. Newman. You’ve been asleep for nearly an hour.”

Shit. No wonder John was hungry.

“Right, um, I-I can explain.”

“What you can explain, Mr. Newman, is why you decided to exit an illusion barrier right in my classroom. You can also explain how I haven’t detected your magic before today, and why I shouldn’t make you disappear. You are frankly rather lucky that no other students were in my classroom, or you might have not ended up waking up ever again.”

… What?

“What?”

“Mr. Newman, do not think me a fool. I’ve been peddling in magic for far longer than you have, so you will start talking or else I will see to it you never talk again.”

“R-right. I… I, um…” John took in a deep breath. He needed to calm down; it seemed that his life depended on him being able to properly and coherently say what he needed to. He needed to calm down.

John exhaled slowly before looking up at Wentworth, still giving him the **** glare. “Right. So… This morning when I woke up…”

John then proceeded to tell Wentworth about everything that had happened this day, from finding out he had video game like powers, to his creation of his skill Glow, to learning his Runic Magic, to fighting off Brett, even telling her about his little vision/dream thing with Surtr. She asked very few questions and offered little reactions, though she did seem to hold in a small laugh when he mentioned that it was Enkleman’s class that John learned how to use Glow in. She did raise an eyebrow when he mentioned using the Viking Runes of Kenaz and invoking the name of Surtr, but once again she said nothing.

“... So then I woke up in this chair and you were giving me a look like I just pissed on all of your favorite flowers. And that’s what happened.” John sighed and relaxed as he finished his story. Well, at least his body relaxed. His mind was moving at about a million miles per hour with questions and fears. Hell, he was so scared that he didn’t even realized till about halfway through his tale that he never even tried to use Observe on Wentworth. However, he was not eager to try as he was sure that, if she was as powerful as she was making herself appear to be, the second he used any spell on her she would vaporize him.

“Mr. Newman. I do seriously hope that story was worth it, because mages who lie to me do not live to get to tell another one.” Mrs. Wentworth raised her hand, dark energy swirling on the palm.

“I-I I’m not lying! That all really happened!” John exclaimed, alarm bells going off in his head as he looked at the energy forming for Wentworth’s spell.

“Mr. Newman, Viking magic has been dead for over millenium now. You cannot seriously think that you, a fledgling mage who just awoke to his mana this morning, would be able to somehow bring it back when mages far more powerful than you could not.”

“W-wait! What… what if I were to show you! I can cast my Kenaz rune for you! Then you’ll have to believe me.”

Wentworth looked at him with a gaze of disdain, but after a few moments lowered her outstretched hand. “I don't HAVE to do anything, but alright, Mr. Newman. Let’s give you a chance to prove yourself. Let’s see if you can really cast dead magic. However!” Mrs. Wentworth’s gaze turned hard again. “If it does turn out this whole story of yours was a lie and you cannot prove your story true… well… I was going to get rid of you quickly and painlessly. I shan't be so kind if you try to fool me twice. Understood?”

John nodded. Even without using Observe to see her stats, John knew that Wentworth was not one to be trifled with. Mrs. Wentworth waved her hand in a dismissive motion, and in an instant the ropes binding John came loose and fell to the ground. John brought his hands in front of him and rubbed his wrists.

“R-right. C-can I have a moment to prepare myself?”

Wentworth nodded, and John sighed in relief. He brought up his character sheet to take a quick look to see if he had the mana to even cast Kenaz. If he did not… well, he could recall how it felt to pour his health into a rune when he summoned Surtr. He was not keen on nearly killing himself again using magic.

The moment he opened his sheet, though, popup after popup appeared before him, nearly overwhelming him.

‘Well, at least whoever’s in charge was nice enough to wait till I was conscious before she flooded me with popups’

Achievement Unlocked!
Now All You Need is the Power of Anime!
Utilize the power of a god or god-like deity.
No rewards for you this time. Tapping into the power divine is enough.

Achievement Unlocked!
He Don’t Need No Water, Let the Motherfucker Burn!
Destroy someone with a fire spell till not even their ashes remain! I’m more surprised you didn’t send yourself to a fiery grave too. Here's some points hoping you won’t do that again.
+1 Intellect
+1 Wisdom
+150xp (From Killing Brett)

Achievement Unlocked!
May the Odds be Ever in Your Favor.
Survive and win an encounter with a mage 3 times your level.
3% Increase to Health
3% Increase to Mana

Achievement Unlocked!
That was Even Closer!
Nearly kill yourself using a spell way too powerful for you to use yet. Seriously, Newman. That was a tad too risky. I would have thought the giant ass cost and question marks would have made you avoid it.
+1 Wisdom (so you don’t do that again!)

New Skill Unlocked!
Desperation Lvl 1
When you cast a spell that dips into your health, reduce the health drained by up to an amount equivalent to 1/10th of the spell’s total cost.

New Rune Unlocked!
Kenaz: Destruction Form Lvl 1
6mp to cast. 2mp per minute to keep lit.
A classic Norse rune, but with intent to destroy rather than illuminate. Summons a small fire, about the size of a Zippo lighter flame, in your hands that you cannot be harmed by. Can catch other things alight. Must be crushed in one of your hands to be fully cast.

“Is there a problem, Mr. Newman?”

John shook his head, dismissing popup after popup. “No ma’am. Just part of my powers.”

“Speaking of, I would like to see you use these mysterious powers, Mr. Newman. Or would you prefer I just kill you now?”

John shook his head again, this time a bit more adamantly. “No no, I’ll… I’ll cast the rune now. I… I won’t get smited for this, will I?”

“What are you… Oh. No no, Mr. Newman. If you are being truthful about your magic, neither I nor Gaia will smite you. If you are lying, only I will smite you. No non-mages are watching. You are fine.”

‘Huh. Gaia. Alright. So thats who is in charge.’

Indeed, Mr. Newman.

John looked up to see another popup, this one just saying those three words. He quickly dismissed it, figuring he would address the goddess in his head after his life was a bit more secure.

‘Alright, John. You can do this. You cast Kenaz a bunch of times before. This time you just happen to have a dangerous teacher watching you. Because reasons. Just… don’t think about it. Just think about torch. Torch. Torch.’

John raised his hands before himself, feeling the familiar sensation of mana flowing through his body. With a couple quick strokes of his fingers, causing glowing symbols to appear midair, he said the words that caused Mrs. Wentworth’s jaw to drop in disbelief.

“Kenaz, the Torch.”

Just as before, the symbol glowed before him for a moment before catching alight, burning brightly in the room illuminating a proud John and a surprised Wentworth.

“Viking Runic Magic. I… I can barely believe it. It's been so long…”

Mrs. Wentworth stayed silent for a moment or two, looking at John’s glowing rune. John knew he could only keep the rune up for so long. Thankfully, after a minute or two, Wentworth nodded to him, allowing him to dispel his rune.

“Well, Mr. Newman, it appears I owe you an apology. You truly have unlocked the hidden secrets of Norse Runic Magic. I am sorry I threatened to kill you over thinking this was a lie.”

John muttered a quick thank you before sinking back into the chair. His body was still a bit tired from nearly dying after fighting for his life after learning magic all on his own. And all of that in just a few hours.

Mrs. Wentworth walked around the room before moving to sit in the chair at her desk across from John. “Mr. Newman, I would like to… propose a deal to you.” Her hand lowered to a drawer in her desk before returning, pulling out a small cloth bag, big enough to hold a few dice and nothing more. “Mr. Newman, it has been a very long time since Norse Rune Magic has been used. Now, according to your story you said you learned the rune to tap into Surtr’s power by observing a runestone and using a skill. Well, I would like to offer these to you.” Mrs. Wentworth opened the bag, dumping it onto her desk. Out of it, John could see three stones fall to the desk, similar to the one that had once sat in his inventory.

“I am willing to part with these three runestones. I never had a taste for Runic Magic and I figure you could get more use from them. However, there is a price, like with anything in the Abyss.” She raised her hand, holding up a finger. “One, you will show me the runes you can cast after you learn them. You will do this during Enkleman’s class. I will talk with him and smooth out the details. Two, when you can you will recreate these three runestones for me and give them back. When you do this, I will consider our deal closed and you will no longer be in my debt. Understood?”

John looked down and thought about her proposal. On one hand, he really wanted to learn as many runes as he could and this was a fast way to learn three new ones, ones he could possibly use. But… He wasn’t sure about being in debt to someone who not five minutes ago was about to kill him because she thought he was lying.

‘Am I even in a position to say no at this point?’

John sighed for a moment before looking back up to her.

“Deal.”