Return of the Legendary Runesmith - Chapter 429

Chapter 429: Chapter 428- Changed rules
Being in management, Adrian held a few subtle levers of power—small privileges he could pull for someone’s benefit. And today, he had used one of those levers quietly, rearranging the order in which students would participate in the second round.

“Why am I… the sixth rank going first?” the boy asked, brows shooting up. “Shouldn’t I be at the end?”

That was how the rules normally worked. But—

“We decided to change the rule for the challenge,” Adrian said, his handsome smile settling effortlessly into place.

Even the other instructors blinked at that. But since the Headmistress didn’t so much as raise an eyebrow, no one considered the change important enough to question out loud.

Henry groaned. “Did I offend you somehow, Professor?”

Adrian chuckled. “You didn’t, Henry. I just trust your abilities—that’s why I suggested this change.”

The black-haired boy let out a strained smile. “You trust my skills over Elana’s, huh?”

Adrian simply gestured forward. “Alright, Henry. Take your mark whenever you’re ready.”

With a resigned exhale, Henry stepped toward the end of the hall under the collective gaze of the audience and the other students.

The challenge ahead consisted of two stages. The first was fixed—an opening trial that tested how well a student used their armament alone. After that, depending on their performance, the instructor—Adrian, in this case—would tailor a follow-up test on the spot.

As Henry took his mark, Gilbert’s voice rang through the gym.

“Student name: Henry. Rank: 6th. Element: Wind.”

Henry drew his dual axes, the gymnasium lights gleaming off their frosty-blue metal. Each axe carried two small spikes jutting from the back, its head curved with a stabbing point built for raw force. Tilt it, though, and it became a vicious slicing tool—precise and deadly.

Allen, Olivia, and Sylvie sat together in the stands, leaning forward eagerly. They wanted to witness the might of a third-year—one of the academy’s elite rankings.

The freshmen felt the same. Their eyes glowed with hope, envy, and excitement, imagining who they might become.

The stage was set.

The tension in the air tightened like a drawn bowstring as Gilbert asked, voice booming:

“Student, are you ready?”

Henry took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes, I am.”

Gilbert returned the nod and signaled toward the control administrators.

In the next breath, the entire gymnasium floor ignited with the glow of layered runic circuits—intricate, interlocked patterns shining beneath the polished tiles. Lines of light crawled outward like veins waking from slumber, and the wall before Henry sank into the ground with a heavy groan.

Behind it, the test awaited.

A swarm of dummies—man-shaped, metal-jointed, rune-driven—darted across the field with such speed that several students leaned forward in disbelief. Their motion was chaotic, unpredictable, far faster than anything used in earlier years.

“Target the red circle,” Gilbert announced, “or the entire doll will collapse and you will incur a penalty. Good luck, student.”

Henry didn’t waste a heartbeat. In a test like this, even a breath too long could spell failure.

He sprinted in—and immediately regretted it.

The instant his foot touched the lit floor, the ground vanished.

“What—?!” He gasped as the tiles dipped down like a collapsing illusion, and suddenly he was dropping through thin air. There was no way a pit like this existed under a ground-floor gym, yet here he was, falling straight into the abyss.

Allen shot to his feet. “Huh?! Did he fail already?”

“Is he going to be okay?” Olivia’s voice wavered.

Sylvie exhaled a half-laugh. “Wow… test ended before it began.”

The freshmen stared in stunned silence. The seniors frowned. Even instructors exchanged glances. The challenge looked brutal, borderline unfair.

But then—

*CLANG.*

A metallic ring echoed from the pit.

*CLANG.*

Another.

Before anyone could speak, Henry exploded upward from the darkness in a burst of wind, landing with a heavy thud and a spray of dust. His chest heaved, hair a mess, but he was very much alive.

“Haah… haah… for fuck’s sake…” He wiped the sheen of sweat from his brow and snapped his attention toward the moving dolls.

His eyes sharpened.

During his climb out of the pit, he’d realized something—just a flicker of movement, a strange sway. These dolls weren’t moving on preset tracks. They glided with the draft, their movements subtly obeying the rune-generated wind currents sweeping across the hall.

This wasn’t a test for a neutral fighter.

This was a test for him—a Wind user.

Either the instructor set this up specifically for his strength… or this change Adrian brought was in his favor.

Henry tightened his grip.

Then he moved.

He twirled his left axe, and the curved blade sliced through the air, generating a concentrated twist of wind. The miniature whirlwind spiraled outward, breaking the synchronized rhythm of the nearest dolls. Their steps faltered—small, but enough.

*There.*

Henry kicked off the ground.

A sharp gale erupted beneath his heel, launching him forward. The first doll approached on the right—leaned too heavily in the direction of the artificial wind.

He used it.

With a sweeping slash, Henry sent a sudden gust crashing into its side, shoving the doll off balance. Its red target flashed into view.

At the same time, another doll lunged toward him from the front—

Henry’s right arm moved faster than his breath.

He hurled his second axe in a spinning arc. The frosty-blue weapon cut through the air like a streak of light and drilled straight into the marking on the doll’s forehead.

*THUNK.*

The construct didn’t get destroyed but the mark lost its brilliance once stabbed.

Henry didn’t pause. His left axe was still in hand, the dolls were recovering their rhythm, and the winds in the hall were changing yet again.

He inhaled sharply, feet sliding into stance.

“Alright,” he muttered under his breath, a grin tugging despite the sweat on his face. “Let’s dance properly.”

He moved like a wave—fluid, controlled, every step measured to the fraction.

As he advanced, the ground trembled beneath him. Runes flared, and a curtain of sizzling droplets began to fall from above. The moment the hissing rain touched his skin, it burned like acid, but Henry didn’t flinch. His muscles tightened, his pace sharpened, and he pushed through without breaking rhythm.

“Elemental Cast: Wind Dash!”

A burst of air detonated beneath his feet. His silhouette blurred, cutting sharp across the battlefield as he reappeared on the left flank of the fourth doll. Before the construct could register his presence, Henry’s axe swept upward in a clean, ruthless arc.

*SHNK.*

The head separated cleanly. The red circle shattered.

The doll froze mid-motion, runes flickering out as its body collapsed.

Henry was already moving again.

Straight from the battlefield, Adrian leaned forward slightly, the corner of his lips quirking with genuine admiration.

He hadn’t personally tuned Henry’s armament—someone else had handled the delicate work—but Adrian had watched the entire process. And now, seeing Henry in motion, it was obvious:

The boy had synchronized with his axes perfectly.

*He’s not just using wind as a weapon,* Adrian thought.

*He’s using it as bone, as breath, as rhythm.*

Every step was propelled by a controlled gust.

Every swing subtly redirected air flow around the dolls.

Every throw of the axe borrowed momentum from the currents in the room.

Henry wasn’t just fighting. He was surfing the battlefield.

Gilbert glanced toward Adrian, and the brief exchange said everything—

He was impressed too.

Down below, Henry carved through another rune-current, his figure weaving between dummies like a shadow dancing through storm winds. Each blow was precise. Each dodge was instinctive. Each movement threaded perfectly into the next.

Naturally, the watching third-years felt their throats tightening.

Nervous whispers broke out among them.

A few clenched their fists.

Some swallowed hard.

The bitter truth was impossible to ignore:

Many of them couldn’t pull off what Henry was doing even if they were given double the time.

*CLANG*

The final doll fell to the ground and Henry reached the threshold of the second part of the test.

Across him stood Adrian, his expression calm as he said, “You did quite well, Henry. The challenge I initially thought needs to be modified for you.”

Henry, while panting, gave a brief nod.

He clutched his axes tightly in his hands, ready to face anything he throws at him.

Adrian pointed at the cross in the middle of the ground before saying, “Your challenge is to reach that cross and this test will be over.”

Henry bolted, in an instant.

He didn’t need to think about rules or what the Professor might have to say after that.

His goal was the cross.

With every step, he saw the cross growing closer and closer. The win seemed just in his grasp…but then,

**DOO*BOOOONG**

Something lifted him off the ground and threw him back.

Many gasped and many seemed surprised.

Not because of the spell itself but how effortlessly Adrian chanted it.

But for Henry the biggest problem to be concerned about was the ten feet tall water dragon glaring down at him.

With a wry smile he muttered, “He isn’t holding back, is he?”

°°°°°°°°°

A/N:- thanks for reading.