Rune Inscriber

"Don't worry, Little Dean. This demon said the same thing to me back then. He hasn't changed a bit." Sanderson smiled and shook his head. Generally speaking, no matter how much a human extended his lifespan, he could never live past a thousand.

So whether the demon Stavago had only a little over a thousand years left to live didn't matter.

From Stavago's appearance to the signing of the contract, only half an hour had passed. But that half hour had scared Dean half to death. Too much had happened for a mere Level-One Magic Apprentice to take in, and in the end, he could only go along with it.

Still, Dean sensed a speck of light in his mind. It was so well hidden that even he had trouble seeing it clearly.

Dean understood that the speck held the boundless knowledge Stavago had spoken of. His first thought was of the magic Stavago had mentioned: the wondrous magic that could create storage items.

But what he drew from the speck was an introductory course—a guide to magic runes.

"Mentor Sanderson, what are magic runes?" Dean hurried to ask. Even if the speck contained every kind of knowledge, he still needed to learn the basics.

Stavago would surely say, "The great Lord Stavago's collection of knowledge contains only precious things. And you dare ask me about something so basic?"

"Oh, eager to look inside the Infinite Eye already?" Sanderson wasn't surprised. No Mage could resist its temptation. Endless knowledge lay right before them—let alone before a Level-One Magic Apprentice like Dean!

The Infinite Eye. Dean now knew the name of the speck in his mind. It was fitting. Endless knowledge was packed into that tiny point of light.

"I wanted to learn the storage magic Stavago mentioned," Dean said with an eager grin. "If I master it soon, I'll be able to make storage items myself."

"That depends on whether you have the talent. Come, my student. We still have plenty of time today, so I'll teach you the basics of magic runes. Whether you learn them is up to you." A faint smile touched Sanderson's lips.

Wasn't it storage magic that tempted me into dealing with Stavago back then? Unlike Dean, though, Sanderson hadn't had the willpower to resist. He had signed the contract under the lure of storage magic.

His student Little Dean had done well. He had even made that cunning Abyssal Demon part with a Demon Horn, though the horn was no longer precious to Stavago.

To a Mage, however, a Demon Horn was invaluable even at the rank of Ninth-Level Holy Mage Mentor.

Sanderson had misunderstood. Dean had been too stunned to react. His mind simply couldn't keep up with an event of this magnitude. For a Level-One Magic Apprentice, signing a contract with a demon was momentous indeed.

Dean had delayed so long that Stavago had nearly run out of time. The demon had been forced to give him a Demon Horn, and that gift had finally snapped Dean out of his daze. Then he had signed the contract.

Thus, Sanderson and Stavago both believed Dean had extraordinary willpower, while Dean wondered whether he had asked for too little—or whether Stavago was simply a generous demon.

But none of them cared how it had happened. The result was enough.

Stavago hadn't lost the coordinates to this world, which meant he still had a chance to seek out a suitable contractor here. Dean had gained boundless knowledge and needed only to absorb it bit by bit. Sanderson, too, had gained a faint glimmer of hope.

"Inscribing magic runes is a profound craft, a specialty exclusive to Mages. Its practitioners often work with smiths, though they don't have to." Sanderson began his lesson.

Magic runes could be inscribed on all kinds of weapons and items, and even on spells. Whatever carried them had to be capable of channeling magical power, though. At the very least, it had to be on the level of a damaged basic magical item. You couldn't just pick up any old cup and inscribe runes on it.

Magic runes were a special kind of magic that required an extremely precise sense for elements. Thanks to the Demon Horn, that was no longer a problem for Dean. With it, he could become a rune inscriber.

How far Dean could go as a rune inscriber, however, remained uncertain.

Put simply, magic runes were engraved on magical items. They could let the user draw out greater power or grant the item abilities it hadn't possessed before.

The explanation didn't take long. Dean began practicing the runes—on paper, with a pen, of course. He kept at it all afternoon.

"That's enough for today." Seeing that dusk had fallen, Sanderson said to Dean, "Come for an afternoon every three days from now on. I'll teach you how to inscribe magic runes. You should be able to manage an inscription within a month or so." Sanderson was pleased with him.

Dean's attitude and enthusiasm for learning both satisfied Sanderson. He wasn't one of those geniuses who could master something after a glance and a few attempts, but in Sanderson's eyes, he was a little genius nonetheless.

Dean left Sanderson's courtyard and headed for his shabby hut. So much had happened today. He had only meant to find a mentor and settle on Demon Hand, yet he had ended up signing a soul contract with a demon.

Back in his rundown room, Dean immediately began to meditate.

As a mere Level-One Magic Apprentice, Dean had yet to form a Magic Vortex, so he could only increase his magical power through free meditation.

"Free meditation" sounded impressive, but it was little more than letting his thoughts wander. Its effects were worlds apart from even the worst meditation method. Apprentices had no other choice, though.

Dean had already learned Basic Troll Vortex Meditation, so he leaned toward that method while practicing free meditation.

Using his sense for elements, his magical power drew the elements he needed from the surrounding air. Fortunately, there was plenty of dark element near his shabby hut.

After a night of meditation in place of sleep, Dean had replenished his magical power. It stood at seventy-nine points—up by one. To his surprise, he was now only one point away from the late stage of Level-One Magic Apprentice.

And Dean had a feeling that last point would come soon.

(End of chapter)