What? I Became a Rune Inventor?

"Are runes really real?"

Shen Congzhi stared at Lincon, his voice trembling with a trace of disbelief.

Even before coming here, he had learned about runes from Zhang Rui. He had even spent the entire night studying this Reinforced Rune Stone.

That was right. He had not slept all night, constantly researching the Rune Stone.

Although his field was not the kind of engineering involved in scientific research, as a mathematics professor, the emergence of an unknown thing still aroused immense interest in him.

After thinking it over for an entire night, he realized that the Rune Stone itself possessed no power. What held extraordinary power were the runes inscribed upon it.

He had tried finding a stone himself and carving it exactly according to the runes on the Rune Stone. Yet the finished product had none of the Rune Stone's essence. It was merely a stone, let alone one containing rune power.

That was why Shen Congzhi had come to see Lincon today with a thirst for knowledge.

He was very curious. Did runes truly exist, or were they merely things created by this Ability User before him through his powers?

Lincon said nothing. Runes were difficult to explain through words alone; it would be better to let them see for themselves.

Meeting Shen Congzhi's probing gaze, he took out a carving knife and handed it over.

"This is an ordinary carving knife. You can find something first and note down how sharp it is."

Hearing this, Shen Congzhi accepted the knife, found a piece of stone from the corner, and slashed it hard several times.

He then prepared to return the knife, but Lincon shook his head.

His spiritual power slowly wound around his fingertips like invisible ribbons. Raising his hand, he drew a Reinforcement Rune in the air.

A deep blue halo rippled like waves spreading across water, flickering in and out. An energy fluctuation completely unlike that of an Ability User emerged in the air.

Guided by Lincon's spiritual power, the rune slowly drifted down onto the carving knife in Shen Congzhi's hand.

In an instant, the carving knife was enveloped in light.

Shen Congzhi stared fixedly at the knife, not daring to miss the slightest detail.

Beneath the rune's glow, he felt the carving knife in his hand grow lighter from its original weight, then return to normal. Once the light faded, he brought the knife down on the stone again.

"Chi..."

The carving knife easily pierced the stone. With a light stroke, the entire piece split apart, its cut as smooth as if it had been sliced by a machine.

Su Yunqing, standing nearby, also widened her eyes at the scene, finding it hard to believe.

Before either of them could react, Lincon tossed another Rune Stone to them.

"This is a Rune Stone. The rune inscribed on it is the one I just drew. Place it against an ordinary carving knife, and you can likewise obtain a reinforced carving knife."

Su Yunqing's eyes shone as she carefully examined the rune on the Rune Stone, muttering, "This kind of writing has never appeared in any Eastern or Western texts. Is it carrying energy through the writing, or does the writing itself possess energy?"

She had not received the same treatment as Shen Congzhi, so she had never encountered a Rune Stone before. Holding it in her hand, she examined it with boundless curiosity.

As a museum researcher, she had come into contact with many ancient artifacts and possessed considerable knowledge. She had even been fortunate enough to participate in the excavation of the Three-Star Ruins.

Yet the rune before her belonged to no era. She could not even discern any informational characteristics from its structure, as though it were simply a symbol casually drawn by a child.

Following Lincon's instructions, she found a new carving knife and pressed the Rune Stone against it. A few seconds later, the knife was indeed reinforced just as Lincon had said.

"What exactly is the reason for this?" Shen Congzhi withdrew his gaze and looked at Lincon in confusion.

Lincon gave a dry cough and began explaining it to them.

"Runes themselves do not possess power, but they are vessels that guide and carry power.

They are like empty shells with models of their own. Once filled, they express that power in the form of runes.

And runes naturally do exist. It is simply that ordinary people cannot inscribe ones that truly possess rune power. Only certain special groups can do that."

"Ability Users?" Su Yunqing asked.

Lincon nodded. "More or less, but I don't think every Ability User can inscribe runes."

Lincon recalled the scene when he had first drawn a rune. Only when his spiritual power resonated with the rune had he been able to draw it.

By now, Shen Congzhi had also roughly understood what runes were.

In his mind, he gradually began connecting the runes before him with the field he had studied.

The runes twisted and shifted in his mind as he began calculating their structure, shape, and the way energy flowed through them—how they formed arrays, transitioned from static to dynamic states, and where their methods of guidance came from...

Unlike Shen Congzhi, Su Yunqing tried to understand the meaning contained within runes as a form of writing.

The two stood where they were, lost in thought. Lincon did not disturb them. Instead, he sat on a small stool and quietly carved a shrine.

After a long while, Shen Congzhi took a deep breath, an unprecedented thirst for knowledge appearing in his eyes.

Su Yunqing was also startled awake then. She seemed to have thought of something, and her face was likewise filled with excitement and joy.

"Sir, did you create these runes?"

Hearing that question, Lincon did not know how to reasonably explain the origin of the runes. He could hardly tell them they were rewards he had obtained after completing tasks.

After hesitating for a moment, Lincon nodded, tacitly admitting it.

"Hiss..."

Shen Congzhi and Su Yunqing looked at each other and saw the same shock in one another's eyes.

From just one Reinforcement Rune, they could already imagine how mysterious, vast, and pioneering the possibilities behind runes were.

From this single rune, two, four, and more could be derived and evolved...

For now, there was only reinforcement. But in the future, could there be Flame Rune Stones with extraordinary powers like those of Ability Users, or Dark Rune Stones of the dark-creature type?

Just thinking about it made Su Yunqing tremble all over, and she could not help squeezing her thighs together.

Her glistening eyes looked toward Lincon, an uncontrollable flush rising to her cheeks as her heart began pounding as never before.

This was not merely the creation of a form of writing from nothing.

It was the living creation of an entire system.

A system that could truly be developed through experimentation.

Just as Su Yunqing opened her mouth to speak, she saw Lincon take out two more Rune Stones and hold them out before her and Shen Congzhi.

"Besides the Reinforcement Rune, I have also explored the Purification Rune and the Infusion Rune. Though these three types of runes are unrelated to one another, they can be connected in various ways. In my view, they form the foundation of the Rune System."

"The purpose of establishing the Rune Workshop is to draw upon your perspectives and suggestions, allowing these three types of runes to expand into broader directions and ideas for runes..."

Lincon was completely immersed in his thoughts and plans for runes.

He did not notice at all that Shen Congzhi and Su Yunqing's gazes had gradually shifted from admiration to fervor.

At first, Lincon had been the defender of Longwind Fortress in their hearts, the benefactor who had saved their lives.

But all of that had already been cast to the back of their minds.

Now, Lincon was the founder of the Rune System, the towering mountain that had turned runes from zero into one.

Being able to help Lincon develop the Rune Industry would be the honor of their lives.

PS: It's reached one hundred thousand words. I humbly beg all you readers for continued reading and monthly votes. If this story suits your tastes, please finish the latest chapter and turn to the final page, because only that counts as valid continued reading.