New Runes

Abel took out the Rune Tablet he had obtained from Knight Marshall's secret chamber earlier that day. According to Knight Marshall, the Rune Tablet's function was to repel enemies, and only the 4# rune Nef matched that description.

4# Nef repelled enemies and provided +30 Defense against ranged attacks.

This was the first time Abel had seen runes exist in this form. They were very similar to the runestones in Diablo 2, but the runestones in Diablo 2 only worked when socketed into equipment, whereas the Rune Tablet before him had to be crushed before it could take effect. The two methods were entirely different.

Abel picked up the Rune Tablet and studied it carefully. He had no idea what material it was made of. It was like neither stone nor wood, and with no one to ask, he could only remain ignorant of its composition.

The way the runes above were written was broadly similar to that in the dwarves' Magic Weapon Forging Book. However, some rune circuits were missing, and there were no gems to activate them. He had no idea what method was being used to provide energy.

When Abel had forged weapons and crafted various items, he had looked down somewhat on this world's technology. Now that he had once again witnessed the use of runes, along with the Sorceress's legendary three-hundred-year lifespan, he finally understood that this world's civilization had developed along a different path.

According to Abel's way of thinking, the smartest researchers in this world probably had no intention of studying equipment for ordinary people, let alone items that could improve their daily lives.

Consider lighters. On Earth, virtually everyone had one, but in this world, a Sorceress could probably produce a flame simply by raising her hand. Why would she bother researching something like a lighter? Even if one were developed, it would only be for their own convenience. From what Abel had heard from Knight Marshall, Sorceresses basically never concerned themselves with ordinary people, and ordinary people found it very difficult to contact them.

What Abel did not realize was that the seemingly unimpressive Rune Tablet in his hand was also an extremely valuable item to an Apprentice Wizard. The things Sorceresses used were all extraordinarily expensive.

Abel slowly copied the runes on the Rune Tablet onto parchment with the Rune Brush. He carefully compared every detail, striving for perfection.

The next morning, after completing his Knight Basics training and eating breakfast, Abel entrusted Black Wind to Steward Linsey and headed for the temporary Blacksmith Shop.

Knight Marshall had already decided to wait until the orc-gathering period shown on the map had passed before announcing the end of the orc attack. As a result, the castle was filled with subjects. The servants had been extremely busy these past few days, since they had to prepare two meals for so many people.

In this world, aside from the wealthy and nobles, most people ate only two meals a day. After paying heavy taxes on their land's produce, little remained. As the lord, Knight Marshall also had to hand over a large amount of grain to the duchy every year. Harvest City was the duchy's granary to begin with.

As Abel crossed the square, people beside the temporary tents occasionally bowed to him in greeting. Abel smiled and nodded at them. This gesture led the subjects to spread the word that Lord's heir Young Master Abel was kind, gentle, and protective of his subjects, filling them with hope for the future.

After entering his own workshop, Abel took out a Hundred Refinements Greatsword he had already forged. A groove had been prepared in its hilt.

Abel analyzed the ingredients of the four types of rune ink recorded in the Magic Weapon Forging Book. Most of the basic materials were identical. The fire magic rune ink merely added fire-aspected plants, the ice magic rune ink added some ice-aspected plants, the lightning magic rune ink added electric eel blood, and the poison magic rune ink added the venom of a highly poisonous snake.

For the rune's repelling function, Abel wanted to retain the common basic materials among the four types of rune ink while removing all the other materials with special attributes.

All the materials were available here. Master Bentham had collected various materials for many years. Especially after Abel successfully forged a magic weapon, Master Bentham had posted requests for all kinds of materials at the Mercenary Guild. Materials obtained through requests at the Mercenary Guild were even fresher.

This was not Abel's first time preparing rune ink, but there were no detailed instructions for this mixture. He could only feel his way forward based on his previous experience. Removing several materials had changed the balance of the preparation process. To correctly prepare the new rune ink, he had to find a new balance among the materials.

One portion of Soul-Lost Grass, one portion of Bread Tree Fruit, 20 drops of Bitter Almond Oil, 12 drops of Holly Oil, 10 drops of Jungle Frog Blood, eight drops of rosemary, 12 drops of eucalyptus, five drops of Lemon Essence, and Pure Water.

He took out all the materials. Before adding each one, Abel considered it again and again: how long the previous materials should fuse, when to add the next ones, and how high the heat should be.

Determining whether the rune ink had succeeded was simple. The world's wizard-related recipes, such as the magic rune ink in Abel's hands, would emit a faint white glow the instant they were successfully prepared. As long as he saw the white light flash, he knew the rune ink was complete.

After experiment upon experiment, Abel adopted a method commonly used by scientists in his previous life: record-keeping. He used an hourglass to time the process, then recorded the timing of every step and all relevant details in each experiment.

In the next experiment, he made small adjustments based on the previous record. Abel was very patient. Although the rune ink was not successfully prepared during the day, his skill in preparing it had already improved by leaps and bounds.

Seeing that he had only enough materials for one more day of experiments, Abel found Steward Linsey and had him arrange for someone to fetch more materials from the Mercenary Guild.

The preparation went more smoothly on the second day. During Abel's 86th recorded experiment, the rune ink flashed with white light. Abel could not help feeling sincere admiration for the people who had developed the four types of rune ink. This was not even an entirely new recipe; he had merely removed several materials from an existing one, had earlier recipes for comparison, and had used scientific experimental methods. Yet it had still taken him 86 attempts to succeed. He could hardly imagine how long it had taken to develop recipes that used more materials and had no reference for comparison.

Looking at the rune ink in his hand, Abel was filled with a sense of accomplishment. If the experiment succeeded, the rune ink in his hand would be more valuable than those four types of rune ink, because it had no special attributes and should have broader applications.

Taking out the Rune Brush, Abel began drawing the runes. He knew every stroke by heart. He released his spiritual force, magnifying every detail of the Hundred Refinements Greatsword many times over. The Rune Brush moved smoothly across the back of the sword. As for the rune circuits connecting to the gems' energy that were missing from the original rune, Abel added them himself based on the four complete rune diagrams.

Abel discovered that, from frequently using his spiritual force while writing runes and forging the Hundred Refinements Greatsword, his spiritual force had now grown slightly. Ordinary people could not detect their own spiritual growth, especially when it was as tiny as this. However, after writing runes, Abel's spiritual force had always been depleted in the past. This time, a little remained after he finished.

This discovery greatly excited Abel. He had always relied on the aid of the spiritual force he had somehow acquired, yet he had never found a method for training it. As his research into runes progressed, his spiritual force had also become increasingly insufficient.

This was especially true after Abel discovered that the runes in his hands could be combined into the Word of Power "Ancient's Oath." Since the runes had to be drawn in a single session, his spiritual force was nowhere near enough to draw the three runes that formed Ancient's Oath. Now, at last, there was a glimmer of hope.

Abel understood that he was only 13 years old. His spiritual force should naturally grow as he aged. Now that he had also found a way to train it, he would definitely be able to draw the Word of Power "Ancient's Oath."

When choosing the gems to place in the grooves, Abel selected diamonds formed by combining three diamonds. This gemstone, which was the most beloved by women in this world, symbolized love and fidelity.

Abel chose diamonds because they had no attributes and were the most neutral of all gemstones.