The Runesmith

“You want me to request assistance from you? But… who are you? How did you get in here?”

“Sir, stand back!”

Two guards moved to shield the acting mayor, leveling their spears at the armored figure standing before them. It was Roland. He had barged into the partially deserted mayor’s mansion for a specific purpose, and he needed to fulfill one final requirement to truly begin his mission. Saving the city from monsters was only part of it. For his plan to succeed, he needed this man’s cooperation.

“Who am I? I am High Knight Commander Wayland. I serve under Lord Arthur Valerian, and I have come to aid you.”

“L-Lord Arthur Valerian? Not Lord Theodore Valerian?”

“Indeed.”

The young man was clearly confused. This land officially belonged to the older brother he was supposed to serve. Arthur was a new name that had only recently emerged. However, as the acting mayor, this man had the authority to act in the mayor’s absence and could legally fulfill his duties. That included granting permission to defend the city during a crisis.

There were many rules surrounding nobility, especially in times of political conflict like the current squabble between brothers. Normally, it would not be possible to seize a territory without open battle, but there was one exception. If a disaster occurred and the ruling lord failed to offer assistance, the city’s leader could request aid from another lord. Doing so would signify that the city was accepting the new lord’s protection and, in effect, changing sides.

It was an obscure law, rarely invoked, but now all the conditions had been met. The city was under attack, Theodore’s forces were tied up defending more important settlements within his territory, and reinforcements would not arrive for days. This was exactly what Roland and Arthur had planned for. Once the acting mayor gave his consent, all that remained was to turn the tide of battle, occupy the city, and announce that, due to Theodore’s failure to protect his people, the city was now under Arthur’s rule.

The acting mayor swallowed hard, his grip on the rapier trembling even more. His eyes darted toward the shattered windows, beyond which distant screams and the thunder of battle echoed. Yet still, he hesitated, the weight of the decision paralyzing him. Accepting aid from a new lord was tantamount to treason against Theodore. If reinforcements did arrive in time, he could be executed for betraying his rightful lord. But if he refused, there might not be a city left.

“I… I can’t.” 

The young man stammered, stepping back. 

“If I accept help from another lord without permission, it could mean my head! Lord Theodore will send soldiers! If I just wait…”

It seemed this man was aware of the law that Roland was trying to invoke. Even though he was only a temporary replacement, likely meant to be discarded later, he knew the rules. Roland had expected the mayor to immediately ask for help to save his life from the immediate danger, but this young man clearly understood the long-term consequences of agreeing to it here.

“Wait?”

Roland’s voice was cold, sharp enough to slice through the panic thick in the hall. He took a step forward, his armor gleaming with an eerie light. His drones hovered menacingly behind him, a silent threat as much as a defense.

“If you wait any longer, there won’t be a city left to protect.”

Roland said, his voice low and menacing. 

“Do you hear that? The gates are buckling. The walls are falling. The monsters will break through at any moment, and when they do, hundreds of people will die before Theodore’s soldiers can even cross half the distance here.”

The young acting mayor flinched visibly, the weight of Roland’s words crashing down on him harder than any sword. His guards glanced nervously at each other, their hands tightening on their weapons, but even they knew the truth of what was happening outside these walls.

“You have two choices.”

Roland continued, raising a gauntleted hand and clenching it into a fist. 

“Either you request my aid right now, or you can pray that your rapier will protect you when the monsters come clawing through those doors.”

For a moment, no one spoke. Only the sounds of death and battle in the distance filled the heavy silence. The acting mayor’s lip trembled. His fingers loosened around the hilt of his sword. His voice cracked when he finally spoke.

“But if I do this…”

It was clear he was still hesitant. Although the young man was clever enough to grasp the long-term consequences, he had missed one crucial detail.

“I think you are misunderstanding something.” 

Roland said, his voice cold. 

“You are already dead.”

“Huh?”

“The city will fall without our help. That is certain.”

As he spoke, he stepped forward. The runes on his armor pulsed, sending a wave of force that flung the two guards aside. They crashed into the walls, groaning, held in place by a strange, magical aura that paralyzed them. Roland approached the deputy mayor, who stumbled back, dropping his sword in his panic. The weapon clattered to the floor.

“And who do you think they will blame for all of this? Why do you think your mayor ran at the first sign of danger and left you behind?”

“N-no, the mayor would never…”

“He would not? You seem like a smart man. So tell me, who do you think they will blame? You, the man left behind to fail, or the mayor who is no longer here? I’m sure you’re smart enough to figure this out, your only chance at survival… is me.”

The young man’s face was completely drained of color. Roland could see the exact moment the full horror of his situation settled onto his narrow shoulders. His rapier lay uselessly on the ground, forgotten. His trembling hands clutched at the fine silk of his ruined jacket as if trying to hold himself together.

Outside, another crash echoed through the city. A distant scream carried on the wind. The ground trembled beneath their feet, and dust fell from the cracked chandeliers above. The monsters were all around them, clawing at the gates and ready to kill anyone still inside.

“You were left here to die.”

Roland said, his voice softer now, but no less intense. He leaned in closer so that only the acting mayor could hear him.

“You are already the scapegoat. If you refuse me and survive by some miracle, you will be executed for incompetence. If you refuse me and die, no one will even remember your name. But if you accept my help, I will guarantee your safety. Lord Arthur and I will protect you.”

The acting mayor’s breathing turned ragged. His mouth opened once, closed, then opened again. His heart hammered so loudly in his ears that he almost missed the chaos raging outside. Roland watched him carefully, seeing the shift in his eyes as the words sank in.

“I… I… I, Joseph, Acting Mayor of Aldbourne, formally request aid from Lord Arthur Valerian and his forces. Please, save this city.”

He finally relented, sweat beading on his forehead. Roland gave a small nod at the request. Before moving out, he quickly produced a set of papers for Joseph to sign. Although he already had a recording of the conversation, it was always safer to have a written contract, complete with a signature and a mana fingerprint.

“T-this is?”

“Just a few documents you have to sign, acting mayor, just jolt your name on the dotted line and push your thumb down on that square.” 

Joseph stared at the parchment and the shimmering mana square at the bottom, his hands shaking uncontrollably. Every instinct screamed at him not to do it, but the cold, merciless logic in Roland’s voice left him no escape.

His thumb hovered over the mana square for a long, agonizing second. Then, with a choked sob, he pressed it down. His mana signature was quickly recorded and seeped into the contract like ink. Blue threads of magic wound themselves into the parchment to complete the contract and bind it to the man who was here. 

Roland carefully tucked the signed document away in one of his spatial runes. Now that the formalities were complete, it was official: Aldbourne was under Arthur Valerian’s protection and, by extension, under his. 

‘Maybe I should have become a villain instead?’

Roland examined the young man before him. Joseph’s hands were still shaking, and his heart was pounding so loudly it echoed through the silent room. It was clear he was terrified of what was to come.

“Do not worry, Mr. Joseph. Everything will be fine now. Just stay here and wait. Keep your men inside and stay out of the way. I will handle the rest. I will not let these monsters break through the walls.”

Without another word, Roland turned and strode toward the shattered doors of the mansion. His golems, still hovering ominously nearby, rotated in perfect synchronization to follow him. As he moved, Roland directed some of the golems to ascend into the night sky. This was not the end of the show. He needed to make it clear to everyone in the city who the true savior was.

One by one, they arranged themselves in a massive circular formation high above the center of Aldbourne. Runes etched into their bodies began to glow, first a dull blue, then brighter and brighter until they shimmered like stars against the darkness.

From the center of the formation, a pulse of mana spread outward. The air wavered like a mirage, and then, slowly, an enormous holographic image formed over the city. It was a towering, translucent projection of a man: Arthur Valerian himself, garbed in noble battle attire, his expression solemn but filled with conviction. The citizens who were hiding out in their homes started to peek outside and looked in awe at the image. 

Many of them were terrified. Although the monsters had not yet breached the walls, everyone inside was well aware of the situation. The noises outside grew louder and more violent with each passing moment. There was nowhere to run, as the monsters had surrounded the city completely.

When the figure of a noble appeared in the sky, carried by strange mechanical golems, it caused a ripple of confusion and hope among the people. They wondered if, at last, rescue had arrived.

“People of Aldbourne.”

Arthur’s voice, clear and powerful, resonated across the city, magnified by magic so that no ear could miss his words.

“I am Arthur Valerian, brother of Theodore Valerian, the lord who was entrusted with your safety. Yet, when the hour grew dark, he abandoned you. He left you to die, thinking your lives expendable.”

“But I…” 

Arthur’s hologram placed a hand over his heart, his gaze filled with something akin to resolve.

“…I will never abandon you. I have seen your courage. I have witnessed your struggle. And I promise you this: I will stand with you.”

‘He really played it up for this one…’

Roland made his way back toward the walls, heading for the section where his allies were not present. The monsters had surrounded the city completely, and it was better for him to deal with one of the areas that had been left undefended.

“Today, my knights fight alongside your brave soldiers. Today, we reclaim hope from despair!”

Arthur’s hologram played above him, projecting the young lord’s voice clearly across the city. It was a speech Arthur had rehearsed many times, spending nearly an entire day recording it. Roland had to give him credit. His ally was taking his role as a noble very seriously.

Ever since Arthur had declared his intent to compete against his brothers, he had changed. In the past, he paid little attention to how a proper noble should act. Now, he embodied the role more fully than many born into it. It had taken him almost a year to master the speech patterns and courtly mannerisms, but now, no one could deny that he sounded like a true noble.

“By your bravery and our strength combined, Aldbourne will not fall. Under my banner, you will know safety, prosperity, and honor once more. I swear it, upon my blood and upon house Valerian.”

The massive image of Arthur raised his sword high, the blade gleaming with a golden light that cascaded over the city, pushing back the heavy darkness that clung to the streets. It looked truly magnificent, a vision of hope and strength, but in truth, it was nothing more than a carefully crafted parlor trick.

To the desperate citizens below, Arthur appeared as a noble savior, almost divine in his presence. In reality, he was a meticulously crafted illusion, carefully designed to portray him as the hero of the people. He had even enhanced it afterward, adding countless sparkling effects to make the image more convincing. In a sense, he was probably one of the first magical editors that this world had ever seen. Now, all that remained was to save the city from the onslaught — and to do it before Theodore could muster a retaliation force.

As the speech ended, the golems moved in formation once more, sending shimmering trails of light into the sky, sketching a glowing sigil of Arthur’s House—a standing stag with a crown on its head and now It hovered over the city like a beacon of hope.

The people were silent for a long moment. It started small, almost lost in the wind, but it grew, spreading from house to house, street to street. A cheer. A desperate, grateful cheer, as the people of Aldbourne raised their voices together in ragged unity.

“Hail Lord Arthur!”

“Save us!”

“Hail the Valerian Stag!”

From his position atop the wall, Roland listened. He could hear it even over the groaning city gates and the screech of the monsters battering against the barriers. It was working, they had the people on their side.

‘They sound desperate but this is where it starts.’

Roland floated over the gate, his eyes scanning the area. On either side, he could see the destroyed ballistae that had overheated from overuse. To most people, they would have been considered nothing more than scrap. However, thanks to their runic enchantments and the many metal components they were built with, Roland saw an opportunity.

With his current skill level, he was still able to restore them to working order. Not all of them had been completely destroyed; some had merely suffered from damaged runes, a problem he could mend with ease.

As he descended onto the damaged battlements, he spread his hands wide in both directions. His skill activated, and the mending process began. The soldiers stationed there had no idea what they were witnessing. Metal groaned and shifted, repairing itself under his command. Where the runes had cracked, they stitched themselves back together by magical means. In seconds, the first ballista stood fully restored, leaving the nearby soldiers baffled by what they had just seen.

“Don’t just stand there.”

Roland barked, his voice aided by ‘Overlord’s Intimidation’ and ‘Lordly Articulation’ to bring his point across rather easily. 

“Load it. Aim for the largest cluster of monsters near the main gate. Fire at will.”

The men scrambled to obey, adrenaline replacing their awe. Roland moved swiftly down the battlements, restoring more siege weapons as he went. Each mended ballista shimmered briefly with residual magic before settling into full operational readiness. The defenders, sensing a sudden shift in momentum, rallied behind Roland. They to have watched Arthur’s speech and the Valerian crest was shimmering on his armor to showcase his position. 

Below the walls, the monsters were beginning to gather and climb, but Roland would not allow it. Just as Lucille commanded her golem forces, so did he. As he moved along the battlements, restoring the monster defenses, he used his spatial runes to summon some of his heavier golems. They resembled his usual spider golems but were larger, each carrying a massive cannon strapped to its back.

The first one appeared and quickly moved into position along the wall. Its legs clicked sharply against the stone as it fastened itself securely to the ramparts. Each leg was equipped with latches that locked onto the stone, anchoring it firmly in place. Once secured, the cannon on its back roared to life, firing down at the monsters below. More golems continued to emerge with each step Roland took. Soldiers stepped aside clearly surprised by the mechanical cannon arachnids.

‘We need to hold out for at least two days… or even three.’

Roland’s gaze swept over the battlefield, where endless waves of monsters surged toward the walls. Among them were creatures as dangerous as the tier-3 wyvern they had slain upon arrival, and others that looked even more problematic. Still, they had to endure. They needed to hold the line and set the stage for Arthur’s arrival. Only then could they unveil him as a true Valerian, a leader potentially destined to shape the future of this island.