Chapter 58: Go Back
You know the fight in the gym is a disappointment. It cannot be helped that Lucina and my team have the strength that can challenge the High-Stage gym battle. My team consisted of Jojo the Pidgeot, Leo the Arcanine, Tobi the Machamp, King the Tyranitar, Laus the Steelix, and Lulu the Absol.
My full team could challenge the High-stage gym battle and maybe win. However, we don't have time to challenge the Johto Pokemon Champion Lance, the Dragon Trainer.
Not only my pokemon that grow in size and strength. Lucina pokemon also grow from all the training we have in the pocket dimension. Uni the Crobat, Lasu the Azumarill, Kali the Mismagius, Rulo the Weavile, Vrasur the Tyranitar, and Zril the Hariyama.
The pokemon nurse also says that our pokemon is strong enough to challenge the high-stage gym battle.
Anyway, after getting ourselves a Zephyr badge, we decide it is time for us to go back to our world. However, before we go back to our world, I decide to go to the Suikoden world to attach a rune to Lucina's body.
When we arrive in front of the dimension-hopping room, I select the Suikoden world and a month from the last time I visited that world. As we walk toward the kaleidoscope portal, I can feel the world begin to change, and a second later, we arrive in the Suikoden world.
Before we get out of our pocket dimension, we release our pokemon inside the pocket dimension and let them roam around the pocket dimension. However, we order them not to go too far away from the mansion and go back to the mansion when the sun is setting.
After that, we walk out the pocket dimension and see that we arrive in front of a cave entrance. We then continue our journey to the South Window by foot. The journey takes us a few hours because we encounter many monsters on the way. Not only monsters, but there is also a group of bandits ambushing us from the nearby forest.
After killing all the bandits, we decide to burn their bodies up and take a unique-looking sword one of the bandits uses when they fight us. I don't know if those bandits are worth something, but it is good to inform the local soldier.
It is what I do if a well-known bandit is roaming in my land. I put a bounty on his/her head and demand proof of either their head or their unique weapon.
When we arrive in front of the South Window city, we are greeted by the city guard.
"Hello, Bob"
"Ah! Sir, Isaac! I am glad to see you again! How are you doing?"
"I'm fine. How are you?"
"I'm great! Who is this?"
Bob looked at Lucina and asked me.
"This is Lucina, My wife."
"Oh! Your wife! I'm sorry for my rudeness, my lady."
Lucina smiles at Bob before saying.
"It's okay, sir Bob."
"Just Bob will do it! Your husband is my saver! He saved my life not too long ago."
"Really? You never tell this story, dear husband."
I scratch my neck before saying.
"I forgot to tell you about it. Anyway, Bob. Can we come inside?"
"Of course, Sir Isaac."
"Oh, before I forget, Here. We get this from a bandit that we encounter in the forest near the Cave of Wind."
"This is…"
Bob looked at the sword with a shocked expression before bowing his head at me and shouting.
"Sir Isaac, on behalf of South Window City, I thank you!"
"Oh?"
"This sword is owned by the notorious Larius the Beheader! He is a leader of a group of bandits that terrorize South Window this past month. With Lord Riou busy making an alliance with the Two River City and Sir Viktor and Flik gathering men to join their ranks, there is no one strong enough to handle Larius and his band of bandits. That is why I thank you for your service to the City of South Window."
"It is not a problem."
"Please follow me, sir Isaac. We will give you the bounty for Larius immediately."
Lucina and I follow Bob to the building near the gate. Bob then talks to what looks like the city guard captain before the captain walks toward me with a smile on his face.
"Sir Isaac! It is good to see you. I never thank you for saving my life in the past."
"It was nothing. It is my pleasure to help you."
"Please wait for a second. I will take the bounty money immediately."
A few seconds later, Bob came back from the building bringing a medium-sized chest with him. Bob then gave the chest to the captain before the captain gave it to me.
"On behalf of the South Window city, I thank you for taking care of Larius the Beheader. If you need something, please do not hesitate to ask us. We owe you big time. With this, the merchant will release a relief breath when they know Larius is gone. Inside this box is 500.000 potch worth of money."
I smile at them before taking the chest from them and saying our goodbyes. After placing the chest inside my pocket dimension, we continue walking toward the Rune Store. When we arrive inside the Rune Store, we are greeted by a familiar woman.
Lunaria, the woman that served me the last time I came here.
"Ah! Sir Isaac! Welcome back! What can we do for you?"
"We come here to attach another Rune to our body. Can we see the catalog?"
"Of course. Please follow me. We will attach the rune in the private room."
Lucina raises her eyebrow at me but decides not to ask… for now. We follow the Runemistress to one of the rooms and sit down on the chair while Lunaria gives us the catalog for the rune they have.
After looking at it for a minute, Lucina says.
"What is your recommendation for a close combat fighter?"
"Hmmm. What kind of fighter are you? Wind Rune is good for support and aggressive fighters. It can enchant your physical capabilities and also use the offensive spell to shred the enemy. It also has a healing spell that you can use to self or your ally."
"I see. In here, it says that the Wind Rune has the more powerful version of it?"
"Ah! The Cyclone Rune. Yes, it is the more powerful version of Wind Rune."
"I see. Then I will take that. Is it okay, Isaac?"
I nod my head and say.
"Sure. However, before we buy it, I want to ask Lunaria something."
"What is it, Sir Isaac?"
"Will accept another Raw Magical Crystal?"
"Of course! Is it the same quality as before?"
"Yes. However, I only have a little bit of it with me."
"Then it is our honor for you to choose our establishment to sell such top-tier Raw Magical Crystal."
I nod my head and take two kilos worth of Raw Magical Crystal out of my pocket dimension and place it on the table. Lunaria began inspecting the crystal, and after a minute of examining the crystal, she smiled at me before saying.
"We will give you one million potch for this crystal."
The last time I sold them ten kilos worth of Raw Magical Crystal, it was worth more than five million pounds. Meaning that one kilo Raw Magical Crystal worth five hundred thousand potch. Not bad.
"Deal. Now for the rune…. Lucina, do you want another rune?"
Lucina thinks for a few seconds before saying.
"Any more recommendations?"
"Hmmm. For melee combat, I recommend a barrier rune. This rune gives a passive ability to decrease any magic and physical damage dealt by the enemy. Not only that, but this rune also gives resistance to poison and curses like mind control or insanity."
"I see. I will take that as well. Isaac says that a person can only attach three runes into their body for the first time?"
"That is the recommended amount, yes. You can attach more, but we do not recommend it as it will make the mana inside your body become chaotic."
"I see. Then please recommend another rune for me."
"With pleasure. Do you want to enchant your physical attack, or do you want to have a long-range attack?"
"Hmmm. I guess I need a long-range attack. With a close combat fight being taken care of by the Barrier Rune and Wind Rune, I need a powerful long-range attack."
"Then I recommend a Fire Rune or Rage Rune if you want the more powerful version of it. This rune lets you use a fire spell that you can use to attack a few hundred meters enemy. You also can control the fire with your thoughts. You can make the fire never hurt you or your ally."
"What about the passive ability? Isaac says that every rune has a passive ability."
"That is true. However, the rarer runes, the more passive power they give. The Rage Rune makes you immune to fire. However, it did not make you immune to all kinds of fire. A special kind of fire can still hurt you, like a fire created from the sun."
"I see."
"Not only that, but this rune will also increase your mana reserve the more you use the rune. Another passive ability this rune gives you is that it lets you control fire to a certain degree. The stronger your mastery in the Rage Rune the stronger your control over fire. Like Sir Isaac Flowing Rune that let him control water, Rage Rune let you control fire."
I can control water? I never knew that. Huh, I guess I did not explore the power of my rune to the fullest.
"I will take that."
"Then it will cost you 120.000 potch."
"Ok"
"Please lay down on the bed. I will attach the rune to your body."
When Lucina lay down on the bed, Lunaria began to do her usual massaging thing. The process takes ten minutes, longer than my own process.
"What took it so long?"
"Lady…."
"Lucina Lionheart, My wife."
"Lady Lucina mana reserve is different from you, sir Isaac. Her mana did not come from inside her body but rather her mana coat her to create a second skin. A little bit of mana inside her body creates a VERY small core, but it was not enough to create a path for the rune. Not only that, but her mana is also different from any normal mage. She has mana that is excellent for a physical enchantment rather than creating a magical spell."
I see. What Lunaria feels is the Physical Energy Lucina has inside her body. I guess in this world; it is still called mana.
"I see. Will it cause a problem?"
"No. It will not. I already encounter many people that have the same mana Lady Lucina has inside her body. However, it takes more time to create the rune path than your normal magician as I need to stabilize the mana before I could create the path."
"I see. That is good then."
"Yes. Shall we continue, Lady Lucina?"
Seeing her nod, Lunaria takes a small box with a fire emblem from the drawer and takes a red crystal inside the box.
"We will start with the Rage Rune as this rune is the most difficult rune to attach because of its chaotic nature. Where do you want to attach this rune? Forehead, Left hand or Right hand?"
"Forehead."
"Very well."
Lunaria begins to attach the rune to Lucina's body. Rage rune to her forehead, Cyclone Rune to her right hand, and Barrier Rune into her left hand. The process takes another five minutes before Lunaria lets Lucina sit down on the bed.
I can see Lucina examining all the spells she can do inside her head. I leave her alone and look at Lunaria before saying.
"Lunaria, can I ask you a question?"
"Of course, Sir Isaac."
"Is there any rare Rune you have? The one that you cannot find in a normal rune store."
"We do have it. However…. It will cost you a lot of money."
"How much?"
"A hundred million rune."
"What rune is that?"
"Star Rune."
"Star Rune?"
"Star Rune is a rune that lets you use the power of the star. It can enchant all your items, heal you and your ally or destroy your enemy. This rune can be compared to your Darkness Rune."
That sounds like a good rune.
"Then why don't you sell it to the nobles?"
"Sadly, while it was a powerful rune, it also had a high requirement. It needs the user to have a massive amount of mana inside their body as it will suck that mana before the rune could be attached. The chance of the user dying from their mana gets sucked dry by the star rune. That is why not many nobles want to buy this rune. It will only become a useless item in their possession and gather envy from their neighbor from possessing such a powerful rune."
"I see. Then why do you tell me about this rune? Do you want me dead from my mana get sucked by the Star Rune?"
"NO! I never thought about that!! The reason why I tell you about this rune's existence is that I know that you have enough mana to handle it."
I nod my head and begin to search for the most valuable thing in the Suikoden world. A second later, my power gave me the answer. It was called Null Crystal. I take out one kilo worth of Null Crystal and place it on top of the table.
"I hear this crystal is worth something. I think exchanging this crystal with the Star Rune is worth it, no?"
Lunaria looks at the crystal with a shocked expression before touching the crystal with her hand. A few seconds later, she places it down on the table and says.
"We cannot accept this. Do you know this crystal, right?"
"Null Crystal"
"Yes. Null Crystal is a crystal that can be used to nullify any rune! Any kingdom will pay you a few hundred million potch for this thing! Not only that, but they will also give you their daughter and any land you want if you give them this crystal! Even one kilo of this crystal can create a barrier that can protect that kingdom for at least a millennia, and you want to exchange this thing for a Star Rune?"
"Yes."
"You…. You are serious about this?"
"Yes."
"... I need to ask my superior about this."
Lunaria walked away from the room, leaving Lucina and me alone inside the room. A few minutes later, Lunaria comes back, but this time, she is not alone. Walking inside the room with her is another woman wearing a Chinese dress that reveals a long of her tight and breast. The woman has long crimson hair that flows to her waist. She has green alluring eyes that can charm a normal man in an instant.
"My name is Rose. The owner of this establishment."
"Isaac Lionheart and my wife, Lucina Lionheart."
"I know who you are. Isaac, the healer. Isaac the Silver Spearman. You gain a good amount of reputation in a short amount of time."
"Thank you."
Lady Rose sat down on the chair in front of me and placed the Null Crystal on top of the table. She looks at me in the eyes and says.
"Do you want to sell this item to us?"
"Trade it with Star Rune, Yes."
"You know you can buy three or five Star Rune with this amount of Null Crystal, right?"
"Meh"
Rose looked at me for a few seconds before she suddenly laughed.
"Fufufufu… Hahahahaha"
She continues to laugh for a few seconds before she stops and says.
"You are an interesting individual. Very well. We accept this trade. If you want anything in this trade, please tell us."
"Hmmmmm. I want a book teaching us how to be a runemaster. A few dozen of the basic runes. Water, Earth, Wind, Fire and Lightning."
"Heh. Agreed. Anything else?"
"A book about how to enchant weapons using the rune. Any book about crafting you have. I hope you throw in the basic book as well."
"Is that all?"
"Yes. That is all."
"Very well. I will grant all your requests. Lay down on the bed. I will be the one attaching the rune into your body. Also, take off your clothes."
I take off my clothes and lay down on the bed. Lady Rose begins to touch my chest with her hand, and I can feel unknown energy get inside my body. After a few seconds, Lady Rose nodded her head and asked me to turn around and show her my back.
She does the same thing to my back, but I can feel a cold surface touch my back this time. A second later, I feel my mana get sucked out of my body. The feeling of my mana getting sucked out from my body continues to happen for a few seconds, almost a minute, before suddenly it stops after it has sucked almost all of my mana.
I feel light-headed before suddenly my head is filled with knowledge about the Star Rune usage. Not only that, I can feel my mana core begin to double up in size, and the quality of it is also enchanted by a large margin.
"It is done. Train that Rune well, and you will become one of the strongest Rune Users in the world. Lunaria, please be a dear and prepare our honorable guest item. I will be the one serving them the tea."
"Of course, Madame."
We spend an hour with Lady Rose drinking tea and talking about the situation in the City-State of Jowston. After an hour, Lunaria came back with a few guys bringing the item I requested. I store them inside my pocket dimension and say goodbye to them.
After doing that, we decide it is time to go back to the pocket dimension and train our newest rune.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
LuxVonDeux
LuxVonDeux The advanced chapter can be found here:
Pa(t)reon.com/luxvondeux
Or if you want to give me some coffee
Ko-Fi.com/luxvondeux
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone