楼上的上瘾女士

Hal sighed as he felt the question was to be expected and shook his head,

"No, I am not" 

Roxy furrowed his brows, 

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure" Hal said and Roxy sighed, 

"I have to say, it's a bit strange to have those eyes and yet not be a Doxon" he said and there was something about the look on his eyes that caused Hal to say, 

"Don't tell me you are some big fan of the family" he said and the Runemaster shook his head, 

"A fan of the family? No I just like the Duchess" he said and Hal resisted the urge to facepalm himself but Roxy was not done, 

"No self-respecting, talent-loving Runemaster would not like the Duchess, so why wouldn't I?"

Hal then asked, 

"Between the Princess and the Duchess, who would you say is more talented in Runemastering?"

Roxy went into deep contemplation, 

"It might be a little presumptuous of me to pick but I would lean on the Duchess. There's something about her when she cast Runes that makes her feel unparalleled.

And that was before she got the Orb that she is now famous for" Roxy said.

Hal's eyes widened a little bit, 

"Wait, you're talking about before she became Duchess?" Hal asked. It was his opinion that all Roxy had said so far was an assessment based on Svetlana coming into power which was nineteen years ago when she annihilated the family that wished to take over the Duchy.

Roxy nodded, 

"Oh yes. I knew her long before she became a Duchess. She never spent too much time outside of the Doxon Duchy palace and on the rare occasion that she did go out, it was to further her knowledge in Runemastering.

After all, my master might have been old but he had a lot of pride which was to be expected as he was considered the best. If Svetlana truly wished to learn from him, then she needed to meet him outside of the palace and not the other way around." He said.

"And where is your master now?" Hal asked.

Roxy shook his head, 

"Talented as he was, my master reached the end of his lifespan years ago after being unable to advance to the Saint Realm. Although, to be quite honest that was mostly because he was more focused on developing and improving his Astral sense instead of his cultivation.

Svetlana was his favorite student while I was the most troublesome."

Roxy took a few moments to reminisce before he seemed to snap back to his senses, 

"Alright, enough talk of the past" He said and made his way over to his workable which was littered with Runesheets and Rune scrolls with none of them blank. 

Hal on the other hand was thinking of something and he asked, 

"Roxy, what was your master's area of expertise?" He asked.

He knew that at some point, the stronger and more adept an individual's Astral sense becomes, the range of Astral runes became much too wide for one Runemaster to study in its entirety despite their potentially long lifespan.

And that was why a lot of people specialized. Take Roxy for example. He was focusing on teleportation which was the combination of spatial and void runes and despite that specialization and the many years he had spent studying these, he could not say he had learned it all.

It was why his workbench was so littered with his research and why the manic glow still burned brightly in his eyes.

Of course, a Runemaster could still attempt to be adept in all aspects and might actually be successful but it was much more likely he or she would end up as a jack of all trades, master of none.

Should they meet someone who specializes in a particular aspect and attempt to battle with said Runemaster's specialization, they were almost certain to lose.

Of course, the advantage of attempting to learn it all was that there would be so much more to choose from and they were lore versatile in different situations.

"He was an Inscriptionist. The best of the best." Roxy said.

'I see' Hal thought and as though he had read his mind, Roxy said, 

"He thought Svetlana all he knew. She was adept at inscribing and it was probably why they bonded so well and she became his favorite student. Of course, the fact that she was much more elegant than I was couldn't have hurt." 

Hal frowned lightly and decided to probe further,

"The orb Svetlana is known for, do you think she inscribed it herself?" He asked.

Roxy shook his head immediately, 

"No, I don't. I feel it's far more likely she found the Artifact while on the run. 

There are so many things involved with the creation of such a powerful Artifact that I highly doubt she could have done it. Even my master couldn't." He said.

Hal smiled inwardly as he was sure Roxy was wrong but said nothing about it anymore. Instead, he asked, 

"Did you help her? When she was on the run, I mean."

Something changed about Roxy expression but he then focused on the scrolls on the desk, 

"Not enough" he said quietly before perking with a bright smile,

"So, you're going to rob the Kruger family? You must be insane to even consider it" he said.

Hal feeling that there was nothing else he would get out of the Runemaster returned his attention to the matter at hand, 

"The princess assigned me to it." 

'But I could have said no' he added in his mind.

"She must be crazy as well. But oh well, I guess I will help you as best I can." 

Then he waved his hand towards the wall where so many scrolls were shelved and one of them was lifted with cosmic energy to his hand and then he rolled that one open on the desk, 

"This is a map of the Kruger Estate. The Princess contacted me this afternoon and I had enough time to get this beforehand. Let me just tell you it was not easy."

Hal, knowing the Runemaster was fishing for compliments said nothing.

Roxy continued with a disappointed sigh,

"Normally, the map will be kept in a vault but we are not the only ones interested in it and the other party is going through the front door for it so it would be taken out pending the transaction.

It's going to happen tonight and as it is common among high society, there would be dinner.

You will need to get it while it makes its way from the vault to the dining hall."

Hal frowned, 

"What's the strength of the guards and all others I am bound to meet on my way?" He asked.

"The guards at the front gate are at the peak stage of the Cosmic phenomenon realm and the further in you go, the more powerful they become. The guards closest to the patriarch of the Kruger family are all at the Cosmic Pagoda realm.

Boy, you are at the Cosmic phenomenon realm aren't you?" Roxy asked and Hal nodded, 

"Yes, I'm at the mid-stage." He said while studying the map and was half expecting the runemaster to go hysterical but Roxy simply nodded and then sighed in contemplation, 

"I see. You must have some techniques to get past the guards then" he said.

"In a sense" Hal said.

Roxy then took a deep breath, 

"Very well. Getting you inside is not really any of my concern. Since it's a private residence, you won't be able to use a Teleportation circle to get inside. And even after entry, you can't attempt to use the ones inside the estate or you will only make it easier for them to catch you.

My job is to get you out" Roxy said with a wide smile and then rummaged through the scrolls on his desk to pull one out and he showed it to Hal, 

"Do you know what this is?" He asked.

Hal shook his head, 

"This is a Teleportation scroll. Or more accurately, it's a temporary teleportation scroll. which only has one use but it is portable and could be used for a quick getaway. 

Of course, in a volatile situation, there is no time to input coordinates and so the scroll already has coordinates imputed and it will bring you here" 

As Roxy said that, he went over to a part of his workshop covered by a tarp and pulled off the tarp to reveal his own personal Teleportation circle.

Hal took the scroll from him and then the Runemaster pulled another one out of the rummage.

"However, the Teleportation scroll while drawn by me was not discovered by me. Someone else came up with the use and was stupid enough to spread it out so he could make money. He was a complete Idiot"

Hal could not help but smile, 

"If he had not put it out, how would we have been able to use it?" He asked but Roxy dismissed his words, 

"Runemastering is open to all. If he could come up with such an ingenious use for Teleportation technology then someone else would eventually discover it as well. I would have discovered it myself.

In fact, I am sure there were others who came up with the idea but used it sparingly and secretly to help further their cause.

As for that idiot, his 'invention' was used to ambush and rob him of all his wealth, and then he was killed. In quite a violent manner,

*sigh* It's the way of the world I guess.

Me though..." Roxy said and cradled the scroll in his hand, 

"... I'm not so foolish"