The Study of Talismans

After Fran avoided being confined for several days thanks to Elan's help, she returned to her dormitory, lost in thought.

She remembered seeing in her Star Gazing Art that she would kill Richter in the future, and today's events made her notice even more matters that needed to be addressed.

For instance, how to handle the aftermath of killing Richter? High-level apprentices were not the same as ordinary ones; could she still resolve it easily through connections like she did today?

Then there was the issue of combat power. Based on the performance in that future scene, Fran felt that even twenty of her current self wouldn't be able to win.

In that vision, he had killed a high-level apprentice in seconds after using a breathing technique, something she was completely incapable of doing right now.

Furthermore, Fran felt that the day of that scene was drawing closer, and she suspected that Richter might have noticed her long ago.

The fact that the apprentice ran away the moment he saw her was the best proof; it was just that something might have been obstructing Richter, preventing him from coming for her immediately.

That matter was likely the year-end assessment. Richter was probably preparing for it, and it was too important for him to make a move on her right now.

Once the assessment concluded, that would likely be the moment Richter made his move.

She checked her various skills, confident that she could reach the mastery level in all of them within three months, but there was one she wasn't very confident about.

That was the Swift Wind Breathing Technique. This skill provided her with a significant boost, but the current progress was extremely slow. If she only practiced it daily, it would be impossible to reach mastery within three months.

However, she noticed that the breathing technique granted a lot of experience during combat.

Therefore, she would have to go find Bella for "sparring" frequently.

Looking at the "Second Weapon Smith" sign in front of her, Fran knew the club she was looking for was right here.

The club she sought was one that enchanted weapons and equipment, and she wanted to see if she could acquire the Enchanter profession here.

Fran pushed the door open and entered. The receptionist was an apprentice in robes, lying on a chair and looking quite sleepy, but he forced himself to perk up when he saw someone arrive.

"Hello, are you looking to enchant a weapon? Do you have a specific enchanter in mind?"

The receptionist keenly spotted the longsword on Fran's person, knowing there might be business, and spoke directly.

"No, I'm here to learn enchantment techniques."

"Ah... you'll have to wait a moment, let me find someone..."

The receptionist knew he couldn't make the call on this, so he simply went to find someone else.

After a while, the receptionist came running back, pulling someone along. The person who arrived was a tall male who looked very much like a blacksmith.

"Hello, I am Hall, the vice president of the club. Are you the one who wants to learn enchantment?"

Hall frowned. He had been quite expectant when he heard someone wanted to learn enchantment, as the club hadn't seen a new member in nearly half a year.

However, looking at Fran, who was very petite compared to him with her thin arms and legs, he wondered if she could really master enchantment.

Just as the club's name suggested, an enchanter was essentially a "Second Weapon Smith."

Although, in theory, an enchanter only needed to carve runes and check that they functioned properly.

But reality was never that convenient. Not to mention that every weapon had a different shape, meaning the size of the runes that could be carved naturally varied.

Furthermore, not every weapon was forged from metal suitable for carving runes.

This meant an enchanter had to possess exquisite blacksmithing skills to make adjustments for various situations.

For example, he often had to coat a weapon in a layer of adamantine or mithril and then draw the runes on that layer.

Not to mention that many advanced enchantment techniques required specific locations to be reserved while the weapon was being forged, so it was absolutely impossible to be a good enchanter without knowing blacksmithing.

He tried to tactfully dissuade Fran:

"Well, you might not be very well-suited for enchantment..."

Fran, however, did not want to give up.

"I can pay to learn enchantment."

"It's not a matter of money..."

Then, Fran took fifty silver coins out of her pocket and said:

"Is this enough?"

She had plenty of money now, and as the saying went, money could solve most problems...

"No problem at all! I believe you can definitely break the norm and master enchantment!"

Hall happily took the silver coins from the table; to them, this was a huge sum.

Since the City of Apprentices was filled with apprentices, everyone used magic staves, and the effects of runes were negligible, so naturally, there wasn't much business.

The places with real business were the other large cities; not only did the territorial nobles need them, but many mages also required decorative items, and a rune-decorated sword was undoubtedly very suitable.

Additionally, the apprentices in the City of Apprentices were truly eager to learn, and many wanted to study enchantment, which led to the creation of many related clubs. Their Cuilan Academy alone had six.

Usually, having three or four jobs a month was considered good, totaling a dozen or so silver coins. That wasn't even counting the costs of materials and the maintenance and wear-and-tear of various tools. By the end of the year, they might earn less than sixty silver coins.

So, these fifty silver coins were nearly his annual income; how could he not be excited?

Hall had no objections to Fran's request to start teaching immediately.

Hall handed a somewhat creased and damaged book to Fran. After taking it, Fran rubbed it carefully and found that the material of the paper felt very familiar.

The cover of the book read Runic Applications in Weaponry, and Fran flipped it open to take a look.

It essentially covered how a rune should be carved onto a weapon and where it should be placed for maximum effect; because it detailed so many runes, the book was quite thick.

Upon seeing the familiar typeface, Fran shifted her gaze toward Hall.

Hall smiled.

"Our club president exchanged points for this at the exchange hall. It's been with us for three years now; every newcomer starts their study of enchanting by reading this book."

After skimming through the first rune, Fran immediately asked Hall to let her try it out.

If it were any other newcomer who had just arrived, Hall would have absolutely slapped them a few times for being so impatient.

Normally, Hall would make newcomers read for a day, observe how others drew inscriptions for the next few days, and only allow them to attempt it after they answered his questions correctly.

But things were different when money was involved. Upholding the spirit of the service industry, Hall laid out the materials and explained:

"The materials here aren't all free. I'll give you ten portions for free right now, but after that, you'll have to pay for each one yourself."

Fran nodded, signaling for him to hurry up and start.

With his practiced technique, Hall quickly inscribed a rune onto a specially crafted rune practice board.

Then, under Hall's guidance, Fran used her mental energy to draw on the practice board. As her mental energy moved, the rune gradually began to manifest.

However, being inexperienced, Fran failed when she was a quarter of the way from the end, yet she smiled happily.

[Runic Studies (Uninitiated) (Proficiency: 0/10): This is a field of study concerning the use of runes.]