Energy Runes

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Kei explained why he had come.

After hearing him out, Muzar smiled. "How could I not take Lord's instructions to heart? I've gathered quite a few things. I'll take you to have a look right away."

As he spoke, he shouted toward the middle of the tavern, "Ota, stop drinking and get over here!"

The beastman named Ota had already drunk his opponent under the table and was enjoying the cheers and flattery of the people around him.

Hearing Muzar's voice, he wiped his mouth and strode over.

When he drew near, Ota's gaze paused on Sunan for a moment, his pupils seeming to contract slightly before he looked at Muzar and grinned. "Boss, what is it?"

"Time to work." Muzar pointed toward the backyard, then smiled at Kei and Sunan. "Please follow me, gentlemen."

The Fire Fox Merchant Guild's carriages and goods had all been placed in the backyard, watched over by more than ten fully armed men.

Judging from their uniform clothing and weapons, they were not mercenaries but private soldiers trained by the Fire Fox Merchant Guild itself.

Sunan's eyes flickered.

In these times, any merchant guild with the strength to train private soldiers was a large one.

It seemed the Fire Fox Merchant Guild had considerable foundations.

At Muzar's instruction, Ota carried a heavy wooden chest from one of the carriages and set it on the ground with a bang.

When it was opened, it contained more than ten thick books and five small boxes.

"These are all the things Lord wanted," Muzar said with a smile.

To his surprise, however, Kei merely nodded without making any move.

Instead, Sunan walked over to the chest, crouched down, and began inspecting its contents.

There were fourteen books in total, four of which duplicated books Sunan already owned.

That could not be helped.

Ordinary people could not understand the writing in wizard books, so naturally they could not be expected to sort through them while collecting them. Duplicates were inevitable.

The remaining eight books were also the type that could not trigger Skills.

Still, Sunan was not disappointed.

Even if they could not trigger Skills, more new knowledge was always better.

After all, to wizards, knowledge represented power.

Moreover, with his player identity, as long as a book's reading progress reached 100%, he could completely master the knowledge within it.

On that point alone, he held an enormous advantage over other Wizard Apprentices.

One of the books did pique Sunan's interest.

"Extraction and Modification of Green Chameleon Abilities"!

Judging from the preface, the book described how to extract bloodline power containing color-changing abilities from a lizard called the Green Chameleon, then fuse it into the human body for modification, allowing a person to gain an 'invisibility ability' that adapted to the environment like a chameleon.

"Quite an interesting experiment."

Sunan set down the book, intending to read it carefully after returning, then opened the five small wooden boxes one by one.

Three of the boxes contained parchment scrolls.

The moment he opened the boxes, Sunan sensed the fluctuations of Energy Particles contained within the scrolls.

Clearly, all three scrolls were Spell Scrolls.

Moreover, they each recorded First-Circle Spells: Freezing Ray, Concealing Mist, and Level One Summon Monster.

"Good stuff!"

A trace of delight flashed through Sunan's eyes.

His Spirit Power was still insufficient for him to learn First-Circle Spells, but he had no problem using First-Circle Spell Scrolls.

Spell Scrolls could be activated by injecting a small amount of Spirit Power, and any Wizard Apprentice could use them.

Of course, if one lacked sufficient strength, using a Spell Scroll of too high a rank could easily result in injury from the energy fluctuations it triggered.

But First-Circle Spell Scrolls did not have that problem.

These three Spell Scrolls could play a considerable role in battle!

After savoring his delight for a moment, Sunan turned his attention to the remaining two wooden boxes.

They also contained parchment scrolls, but what was recorded on them was not spells, but other things.

To Sunan's surprise, the first scroll actually recorded the formula for an Activity Potion.

"Clarity Tree sap essence, Nether Serpent Bone Powder, Thousand Soul Grass, and Demon Sound Flower are all rare and precious materials."

Sunan secretly curled his lips.

On the present-day Starlight Continent, gathering all of these materials would not be easy.

Who knew how much manpower and resources it would take?

Even if he wanted to use the cube to synthesize suitable substitutes, it would require repeated experiments.

Compared to that, using Lesser Activity Potions to synthesize an Activity Potion was somewhat easier.

The second scroll recorded a technique called Energy Runes.

Sunan did remember this technique.

Energy Runes were a branch of enchanting. The method involved controlling Energy Particles to condense a rune with elemental properties, then attaching it to oneself or another object to grant the corresponding elemental effect.

For example, attaching a Lightning Rune to a weapon would allow it to temporarily gain lightning damage and a paralyzing effect.

Attaching a Gale Rune to one's body could make the body lighter and greatly enhance agility and flexibility.

Simply put, Energy Runes were a technique that could temporarily turn ordinary objects into Magical Items or temporarily grant oneself beneficial effects.

Because Energy Runes consumed very little Spirit Power, once mastered, they could display considerable combat power when combined with melee combat and were highly practical in battle.

"Put simply, it's an advanced technique of Energy Particle control. It places extremely high demands on the caster's ability to control Energy Particles, which is why it requires at least a Level Three Wizard Apprentice to use."

However, Sunan clearly remembered that in his previous life, players had developed a special method that allowed Level One and Level Two Wizard Apprentices to use Energy Runes as well.

If he used that method, perhaps he could master Energy Runes ahead of time.

I'll try it when I get back!

Having made up his mind, Sunan closed the wooden boxes, returned them to the chest, and slowly rose to his feet.

Muzar finally understood that Sunan was the one who truly wanted these things, so he smiled and said, "Do these items meet Lord Sunan's approval?"

"Not bad."

Sunan nodded slightly. Nothing showed on his face, but inwardly, he was extremely satisfied.

Leaving aside the books and Spell Scrolls, the Energy Runes alone made him feel that this trip had been well worthwhile.

Kei could tell that his younger brother was quite pleased with these items. He summoned two soldiers with a wave of his hand and had them carry the things back to the inner keep. He and Sunan then bid Muzar farewell and left.

Watching Kei and Sunan walk away, Muzar revealed a thoughtful expression.

Books and other items related to wizards were fine collectibles.

Many nobles enjoyed collecting such things.

Yet as far as he knew, the Kei brothers did not seem to be in a very good situation. Logically speaking, they should not have the inclination to collect treasures.

After all, these things were not cheap. A few dozen Gold Coins were enough to buy several sets of armor.

But if it was not for collecting, why was Sunan gathering these things?

After pondering for a long while without finding an answer, Muzar shook his head and stopped dwelling on it. Then he noticed Ota staring fixedly in the direction Sunan and Kei had left, and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Ota hesitated before saying, "That noble named Sunan gives me a very dangerous feeling!"

Very dangerous?

Muzar's expression shifted.

Because of his beastman bloodline, Ota possessed an instinct like that of a wild beast, allowing him to vaguely sense whether someone posed a threat to him.

But Ota was the captain of Muzar's guards and possessed the strength of an Intermediate Knight!

For someone to make him feel extremely dangerous, they had to be at least a Peak Knight.

Although Sunan did not look frail in the slightest, no matter how Muzar looked at him, he did not seem like a Peak Knight!

Muzar became even more puzzled.