The Legendary Fool

Chapter 94: The Rough Escape

Back in the real world, Tom staggered backwards Alaan’s unconscious, slumped over figure. It took a moment to reorient himself, another to confirm that he was panting, heavily at that.

Allowing himself time to recuperate from the sheer influx of information that had been flooding his mind up until moments ago, Tom took in his surroundings. The ‘repair work in progress’ sign he had hung on the dressing booth’s only entrance ended up being true in an ironic way.

Shattered tiles and broken glass were to be expected when two individuals with Uncommon cards battled it out. If anything, the damage was light considering the fight Alaan Zenari had managed to put up even when Tom had the ambusher’s advantage.

“Holy shit, man,” Tom muttered moments after regaining his breath, as he stared at his own palms with an incredulous expression.

The Greater Control Glyph had turned out to be beyond his wildest expectations. Unlike the base control glyph, he was certain that it would work on every card in his possession as long as it dealt with the manipulation of elements, whether it be flames or shadows. Even blood would work.

However, it was the degree of control being offered that made it a terrifying Glyph to contend with.

Tom had used the regular Control Glyph to modify The Flame’s Ember ability into letting him fire off flame lances at will.

Now though…

Tom’s lips curved up into a smile as he crossed his arms before him, until they were touching.

Two continuously shifting flame daggers were clenched in his arm, their heat while unable to reach Tom himself, enough to inflict damage in a much more targeted manner. Perhaps as he took on more and more dangerous opponents, Tom wouldn’t be able to use his common cards for much longer, but even powerful Nether Beasts had weaknesses.

The Greater Control Glyph would offer him use-cases for cards he had outlevelled, but that was not all.

Tom brought his palms together and watched as the two flaming daggers merged into a flaming greatsword with incredible range. Moreover, since the flames carried a negligible weight, Tom was unbothered by it’s size as he gently swung it forward.

Then he forcibly dissipated it, ending the impromptu testing session.

“Now, I need to get out of here,” He muttered, albeit with a relaxed expression. “But before that…,” Tom allowed himself a chuckle as he withdrew four different vials from his inventory, followed by a brush.

He had considered many ways to silence Alaan, but ultimately none were lines he was willing to cross. That had put him in a conundrum, as Alaan reporting the assault would mean increased security within the Academy given his status as a Noble, followed by investigation.

It might mean that the students would not be allowed to go outside for their practical examination, temporarily delaying the assassination only for it to be rearranged at a later date that Tom would be woefully unaware of.

The solution ended up being far more foolish than he thought, as he first painted Alaan’s face white. Then came red for the cheek diamond and teardrops before topping it off with an exaggerated smile. Finally, lines of black to contain the paint along his visage.

It was the best jester face Tom could draw with his limited artistic ability and this way, when Alaan woke up, he would indeed be enraged, quite enraged in fact but, he likely wouldn’t report the matter to the Academy’s authority.

The obvious conclusion would be that another student, most likely from a Noble Family, wanted to humiliate him. And really, who else but a Noble Scion possessed the raw force required to take down another member of Nobility?

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Tom hadn’t stolen anything of Alaan’s person… well, not anything that he would recognize as missing, anyway. On top of that, Alaan probably had done more damage to him than vice-versa. He had left the obvious conclusion within Alaan’s grasp and he would leave finding the culprit to Alaan’s imagination.

Because Tom planned on getting the heck out of the Syrelore Academy.

Night had fallen when Tom finally stepped outside Professor Neliel’s abandoned quarters. Tom was a bit annoyed, as despite his best efforts, there was still one flaw in his story that he could not avoid.

Using Maya on Alaan meant that Tom’s identity had shifted to his. It was a worthwhile trade for Tom, given what he had gained from the encounter. But it also meant that he had lost Neliel’s guise, which was the easiest way he had out of the Academy.

“I guess I’ll have to add a couple lines to Neliel’s note,” Tom whispered to himself as he stalked forward towards the staircase with his The Shadow card allowing him to blend in with the sides of the dimly lit corridor.

It was not as if Tom’s scheming had been particularly lacking. There were simply too many variables in his plan of infiltrating the Syrelore Academy and there were only so many scenarios he could consider.

Had Neliel’s identity not been so complicated, Tom intended to come up with a more elaborate, safer plan.

He would be lying if he claimed that knowledge of the assassination hadn’t weighed on his pscyhe, leading him down a rushed route. There were plenty of ways to knock someone out cold, many that did not require laying a hand on them. Fighting with Alaan had nearly cost him his cover.

Compared to that, telling Neliel to find his way back into the academy without leaving an official paper trail seemed easy enough— given that over half the Academy staff was owned by the Nottrakon Family. If Tom used Maya on enough people, he wouldn’t even be surprised if he discovered a hidden, secret exit.

Unfortunately, he did not have the luxury of time.

Deeming the rune-powered elevator too risky, Tom took the stairs down to the third floor.

His movements were blotted with tendrils of inky darkness as he opened the window and took stock of the view before him.

Not long after, Tom seated himself on the windowsill before gently dropping forward.

He wasn’t surprised to find himself on the roof of the two-storied, L-shaped building he had first taken in from afar, before infiltrating the academy. Now, he knew that it was built that way to house the mess, the practical combat training halls and the specialized training rooms.

In Neliel’s memories, he recalled students sitting here during the evening even after being warned multiple times not to and Tom could see why. It was quite the scenic spot, as he gazed upon the sprawl of the Noble District that stretched out before him, a gentle breeze brushing against his features.

“That’s quite the run-up too,” Tom muttered under his breath as he stared down the only escape method he had that avoided conflict.

He dropped The Shadow’s concealment and activated Lifeblood’s Augmentation. His pulse rate skyrocketed to what Tom estimated to be in the 200 beats per minute range, flooding him with unnatural strength.

“Oh man, this is going to hurt so much,” He thought as he broke out into a wild sprint, a manical grin spreading across his features as he approached the second story ledge at an angle and then leapt forward, with every ounce of strength he could mustre.

Tom flew.

For a few long seconds, he genuinely, truly flew.

Then his survival instincts kicked in, as he sensed impact against a hard surface. Tom rolled forward thrice in an attempt to slow down his momentum, but the roof’s angled surface meant that he was going downwards at a slope. Both his hands shot forward in an attempt to find purchase, causing tile after tile to shatter against his weight and arm strength.

Finally, he found himself dangling at the roof’s edge, a single tile finally managing to remain locked in place.

“I…was …right,” Tom wheezed between gasps, the grin on his face only growing wider.

Whatever mechanisms were installed on the Academy’s perimeter— and Tom was certain that there were measures— were designed to prevent things and people from the outside getting in. He couldn’t have been the first student to try and scale the academy’s perimeter and he doubted that a Noble Scion’s family would accept that as a reason for their ward to be peppered with ice lances or the like.

He might be the first one to actually have succeeded, though. The Academy didn’t seem equipped to deal with flying enemies, though Tom still suspected that they would’ve registered his presence somehow if he was trying to get inside instead of out.

“Time to get out of this place.”