บท 7: Chapter 7: Rune Creation: Comprehension and Inscription

Ahh...

I woke up feeling refreshed, took a long yet relaxing bath, and had a hearty lunch before setting out of my house.

I was going to try and inscribe the 'Rune of tranquility' today for which I had already booked one of the cheapest 'Enchanted training rooms' which was used by awakeners to train their skills and meditate to absorb and assimilate the mana in the surrounding to increase the quantity of mana in their body. The quantity of mana in these enchanted training rooms was multiplied several times making these rooms famous amongst every awakener whether they were novices or veterans with years of experience.

The one I had booked had double the quantity of mana outside the room. I only booked this room as every 'Enchanted training room' had security mechanisms that prevented others from peering inside or entering the training rooms when occupied.

It was the basic feature implemented in these rooms as nobody wanted to get disturbed when they were training their skills or meditating, trying to increase the amount of mana in their body. Also, these rooms had several protective spells cast on them making them able to effectively nullify attacks from warriors below 'Elite'.

The highest ranked warrior active in this town is the 'transcendent' ranked one who is weaker than the 'Elite'.

Here is a general outline of ranks as recognized by the world and shown in the stats page belonging to every awakener. I only know the requirement up to transcendent ranked one.

[Awakened: These are generally new awakeners who have just started their journey. Those warriors who still don't have any of their attributes above E+ are collectively termed as Awakened ranked ones.

Attribute: Ranging from 'F-' to 'E+']

[Transcended: These are seasoned warriors with enough skills and abilities. Any transcended warrior, even the weakest one can destroy the novice party formed by Awakened warriors. They at least have one attribute above 'E+' as per their specialization.

Attribute: Ranging from 'D-' to 'C+']

[Elite: These are veteran warriors with enough prowess to suppress a seasoned party of transcended warriors. They at least have one attribute above 'C+' as per their specialization.

Attributes: Ranging from 'B-' to 'A+']

As for the warriors above 'Elite' I don't have any idea as the information related to warriors is tightly controlled by big organizations like the 'Adventurers guild' I was a part of. Even awakeners weren't given permission to look at those documents without enough contribution, which were of course earned by completing missions from the guild.

Actually, I was able to learn about these ranks as a remuneration for helping the lord of our town who was also an 'elite' ranked warrior himself. Although he was the weakest in the rank of 'Elite' with only his 'Mana' reaching 'B-'. He was able to become the lord of one of the prosperous towns commanding almost half the 'awakened' and 'transcended' warriors by himself.

It was the prestige and power given to any Elite warriors even if they were the weakest of the bunch.

"What mission did I complete to earn such a reward, you say?"

Hmm, Now I think about it, the mission I completed was regarding the collection of some common herbs that have great health benefits for mortals who have yet to go through the awakening ceremony. While collecting the herbs was tedious and wasn't even life-threatening, it raised more questions than it answered because of the reward, the invaluable information related to the ranks of awakeners.

Mind you, anything related to awakeners was a hot topic to be discussed by the general population who hadn't gone through the Awakening Ceremony and were still mortal.

As for me, I was the first person ever recorded to fail to awaken despite undergoing a ceremony that boasted a 100% success rate in awakening individuals.

This led to even greater disdain and mockery from those at the orphanage, as it meant that I was destined to live a mortal life without the ability to transcend the limitations of my mortal body. Unlike those who hadn't undergone the ceremony, who at least had the possibility of awakening naturally under certain conditions, I didn't have such a chance.

Failing to awaken during the ceremony that day was the final blow, sealing my fate as deemed by the world I lived in.

Enough with past experiences. Let's return to the topic I was talking about.

___________________________________

Monster subjugation, Dungeon raiding, Herbs collection, Searching for the missing cats. There were all kinds of missions one could complete to earn the contribution points from the guild.

The missions with higher requirements for strength and higher threat were paid handsomely, both in terms of money and contribution points by any guild.

Contribution points were strictly useful within the guilds, any kind of guild you went to. As for money, It was universally accepted. The money we used was made up of minerals or Monster cores that were valued as per their rarity.

_______________________________________

I'm getting sidetracked from the mission I had on my mind for coming into the training room.

I should have been contemplating and comprehending the 'Rune of Tranquility' but ended up talking about unnecessary things.

"Aren't I getting out of my usual, stoic and serious self?"

Yes, I was.

I mean, who wouldn't be after having awakened and transcended the mortal limitations that I was never supposed to transcend?

From being shunned, mocked, tormented, and forced to live as a worthless creature being for unable to awaken and sense mana, to becoming an awakener by obtaining the legacy of some ancient magic, I was filled with hope, determination, and confidence for my future self, and wanted to take my life more positively from now on.

The positive outlook towards the life I had previously was because, I was forced to, as I wasn't able to awaken take my life in depression, even after having lived in the underbelly of a society filled with darkness.

Now, my positive outlook stems from genuine belief in the future I envision with the legacy in my hands. The road could be hard and even gruesome, but I had that hope and determination to conquer any challenges faced with the legacy on my hand.

"It's a good thing to have a dream for the future, one that I find within my capabilities to fulfill." That was on my mind right now.

Yosh!!

Let's start with the mission on hand.

------------------------------

It took me more than eight hours to comprehend the meaning of the 'Rune of Tranquility,' even with the aid of the Rune of Insight, which was of a higher rank than the Rune of Tranquility I was trying to understand. I had even used and seen the symbol of the rune that I was trying to comprehend.

You can tell that Runesmith isn't an easy class to master, as even the most basic rune, with the symbol that would form the framework of the whole rune, and the effect of this rune known to me, took me more than eight hours. Even, the 'Rune of Insight' was working in tandem, enlightening me whenever I felt like I had reached a bottleneck while trying to understand the basic meaning of the rune I was studying.

Let me explain, runes will have different meanings based on who creates and uses them. Some might use the Rune of Tranquility to help others calm their minds, while others might interpret its meaning differently, creating a rune that could instead disrupt others' minds. Some might use the rune for personal training purposes, strengthening their souls in the process.

Just one rune can have several effects and meanings based on the understanding of the person using it. This was the main reason I spent about three hours, as I was trying to understand the desired outcome I wanted with this rune, rather than merely copying the exact symbol I had seen while utilizing the rune.

The rune I used was originally designed for general use, but I wanted my rune to be specifically tailored for me. Therefore, I had to change my understanding of its meaning. Essentially, I created a new type of rune using the 'Rune of Tranquility' I had used earlier as a roadmap.

________________________________________

The process of Rune's creation was simple yet complicated at the same time. The first step was comprehension, and the second/ final step was inscription.

Comprehending the rune, refers to understanding the concept of the rune you want to create and the symbol that could store that understanding, empowering it in the process. It was also divided into 3 steps.

First and foremost, I had to decode the 'Rune of Tranquility' I had remembered from earlier. It would convert into an essence that would work as a roadmap for me. If I didn't have any runes to work with, it required me to visualize the effect I wanted to obtain with the help of the rune I was trying to create.

Then, create a new meaning by utilizing the essence of the rune from the decoded fragments, integrating my understanding of the concept of 'Tranquility' with this fragmented essence, creating a unique meaning in the process. I would have to entirely depend upon the comprehension of meaning that could grant me the desired effect in case of not having a rune to work with.

The final step was to visualize the constructs of mana (Symbol) which would act as a vessel holding onto my unique understanding of "Tranquility." The symbol for the 'Rune of Tranquility' I visualized was in the shape of a Lotus. I simplified the symbol of the rune I had used earlier, making it more straightforward, and finalizing the comprehension part.

And....

Inscribing the rune, refers to the act of engraving or writing the runic symbols onto a surface, such as a piece of parchment, a magical object, or even one's own body. It also required two steps.

First, draw the 'Symobl' of the rune you have visualized while comprehending the rune. This step requires using the mana drawn from the environment as ink to create the 'Symbol' on any surface you want.

The mana required to carve even the simplest rune symbol was significant, and the quality of the symbol carved was directly influenced by the quality of mana used during the carving process. This is precisely the reason why I had 'Mana Purity' on my stats page instead of just 'Mana' like normal awakeners did.

'Mana Purity' reflects not only the ability to harness mana from the environment but also its quality and purity. Higher mana purity ensures that the symbols I carve are clear, precise, and potent, enhancing the overall effect and the rank of the rune I was creating.

The final step was to imbue the meaning of the concept I had comprehended into the symbol I had just created. It also required mana as a medium to complete the step.

__________________________________________

After more than eight hours of deep meditation, I finally achieved the first step of rune creation: comprehending the meaning and visualizing the symbol that would serve as the vessel for imbuing the essence I had grasped.

"It was going to be a lengthy process."

I exited the training room with an empty stomach that was howling for food.