Rune System: The Crimson Knight

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

“This is… incredible.”

Valeria rolled her eyes at the excited tone of the balding man sitting before her. “What is it now, Lucas?”

Wearing a dull-gray jumpsuit that matched his gray-blue eyes, Lucas Castillo turned in his chair and pushed his transparent-framed glasses up to the bridge of his nose with one hand. With the other, he pointed to the screen behind him, which displayed a flow chart with numerous data points and multiple red lines.

“His energy readings, ma’am,” he explained with a stunned expression creasing his pudgy features. “They’ve hit new heights already, in just a matter of minutes. At this rate, there’d be no space on the chart to measure his progression.”

As he rolled his revolving chair forward and began tapping away furiously on a white keyboard, he continued, “Thanks to the sensors within the arena, we can monitor his energy output and cross-reference it to the pent-up energy he has within, and the results are staggering.”

Valeria peered into the screen as well, observing a new image Lucas brought up. Even without a Ph.D in quantum mechanics—like Lucas—she immediately understood the implications of the heat map being shown. “So, in conclusion, I’ve been playing host to a walking volcano.”

“A walking volcano on steroids, ma’am,” Lucas corrected, though he appeared more exhilarated than horrified. “It’s a wonder he hasn’t turned the whole place into a giant furnace.”

“That hasn’t happened yet because he’s been exerting complete control over his powers,” supplied Andrea Giraldo. Seated next to Lucas, and also being part of Valeria’s team of specialists in the monitoring room, she donned an identical jumpsuit with her colleagues, although it gave a sharp contrast to her bright blue eyes and shiny blonde hair. She was much younger than the rest, regarded as a bright prodigy by her peers in the field of biomechanics and engineering. Valeria had wasted no time in snapping her up the moment she’d left Craig Tech Industries—or CTI, as it was popularly called—over a year ago.

Andrea’s screen had a different image on it, and Valeria could see a 3-D scan of a brain that had been divided into two hemispheres, with each half emitting a bright orange glow in some areas.

“Using the data I was able to extract from the android on the first day,” Andrea continued, also pointing to her screen, “I’ve been monitoring his brain activity in relation to his abilities. The orange patches are his neurons firing over time, even going as far as creating new pathways entirely. At this point, he’s thinking at the same speed as a supercomputer.”

Despite the rather impressive feats, Valeria seemed unfazed. “And that means what, exactly?”

Before Andrea had the chance to reply, a familiar baritone behind Valeria supplied a prompt response: “It means he’s adapting to his Rune System at an astonishing rate. He’s streamlining powerful magic into his abilities with deadly accuracy, and he’s being very creative with his strategy and attacks. Absolutely fascinating.”

Pausing briefly, Valeria glanced over her shoulder, nearly forgetting she had a visitor watching the events unfold as well. She looked at his brown hooded cloak—the same one he wore during their meeting days ago—and shook her head solemnly. “As much as I hate to admit it, Judgeman, I agree with Michael. You act a little too paranoid sometimes.”

Judgeman’s hologram crackled with a minor interference as he slightly tilted his head upwards, careful not to let his face show. “When you’ve seen the level of betrayal I’ve seen, Valeria, you’ll take even more cautious steps. I promise you that.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she simply replied, her tone heavy with sarcasm.

Just then, a muffled explosion rocked the arena, causing the lights in the monitoring room to flicker momentarily. Observing through the large, rectangular glass—which stretched out like an enormous screen—Valeria watched as Draàl stared down at the android, who lay twitching in a small crater. The fight went on as he wheeled around briskly, attacking two other robots that sprang at him. Despite being outnumbered, Draàl easily matched their skilled ferocity, and the markers on Lucas’ chart soared higher as he fought with incredible speed.

“This is insane!” Lucas cried, his grinning face red with excitement. “Look at this! Look at the numbers on his energy levels! He’s on the verge of a nuclear meltdown!”

Valeria barely heard him. Every ounce of her focus was on the battle before her. Draàl had finished off the robots and turned back to his original opponent, and the resulting battle showed a more aggressive side of him that was lacking in the previous days of training. So she wasn’t surprised when he finally defeated the android. However, she still felt something was amiss.

“Pay up, big guy,” Andrea told Lucas with an outstretched hand. “I told you he’d win this time.”

The latter chuckled as his hand dipped into his pocket, coming up with a crumpled fifty-dollar bill. “I’m not even mad I lost the bet. This is the best thing I’ve seen all week, and I don’t care that it’s only Monday.”

Valeria remained rooted in her position for a moment, staring blankly into the arena as she contemplated what she’d just witnessed. Then, without a word, she suddenly made her way to the elevator on her right.

“Going somewhere, Valeria?” Judgeman inquired calmly.

She didn’t respond. Instead, her slender fingers punched a combination code in the glowing dial next to the elevator doors. And when they slid open, she was greeted by the sight of a sleek, ancient Roman battle armor and its accessories hanging in separate compartments in the wall of the car.

“I’ve been alive for thousands of years,” she finally spoke, throwing the words over her shoulder. “And in the majority of that time, all I’ve known is how to survive. Before the dazzle of the soft life, before I finally embraced my Rune System in the last couple of centuries or so, I fought to live. Literally, in most cases. I bet you never knew I was once a gladiator in the Colosseum eons ago.”

“It’ll shock you to know I did,” Judgeman retorted. “I also know you were so skilled in combat that the emperor then offered you a place in his army, which you declined by putting an arrow through his skull. What’s your point, Valeria?”

“My point,” she continued without turning around, “is that if there’s anyone who’s going to determine the Crimson Knight’s readiness to undergo this mission, it should be me. Not some fancy robot fresh from the factory of a billionaire playboy. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to fight him.”

Andrea turned to Lucas the moment their boss disappeared behind the chrome elevator doors. He looked stunned for a second, then he adjusted his glasses and shrugged briefly. “Despite what I just witnessed, I think she might just win this one. Wanna bet?”

Andrea grinned. “Double the odds this time, big guy.”