Power of Runes

-CLANG!!!!

-CLANG!!!

-CLANG!!!

A continuous sound of hammering echoed through the small, closed room, each strike ringing with stubborn persistence. The temperature inside was suffocatingly high; the blazing heat radiating from the furnace in the center of the room made the air heavy and thick, almost making it difficult to breathe.

-CLANG!!!

-CLANG!!!

-CLANG!!!

A young teenage boy with a bulky build was striking a molten piece of red metal again and again, trying to shape it into something more refined. Sweat poured down from every part of his body, rolling along the lines of his muscles that gleamed under the heat and the flickering glow of the furnace fire. His brown hair was tied back neatly with a headband, though strands had slipped free and clung to his forehead. His eyes, dark and sharp as obsidian, did not waver from the metal before him.

He was Irvin Earthrend, heir of Saint Maelis.

-CLANG!!

-CLANG!!

I need to talk with the metal….. I need to understand its feelings…..

Irvin's hammer never stopped moving, his arms rising and falling with mechanical rhythm. The floor and the racks along the walls were already filled with countless weapons of his own making, forged during the short span of his vacation. Most of them were of fine quality, already above the standard of what was commonly found in the market, yet that still was not enough.

As the heir of the greatest blacksmith family of the continent, he could not afford to be content with above average. Every weapon he made had to bear the weight of his family's name, and anything less than excellence was failure.

And now, with dungeon breaks appearing so frequently, the need for weapons has never been greater. Awakened hunters, guilds, mercenaries, and every kind of organization relied on the Blacksmith Guild for supplies, both new and reforged. Teams of skilled smiths worked tirelessly to meet the demand, yet Irvin had no role among them. Even Saint Maelis himself only forged weapons for Saints, his friends, or those closest to him.

Irvin's own fighting and smithing skills were still far from his father's level, and that truth weighed heavily on him, which was why he pushed himself harder, forcing his body and will to the limit.

-CLANG!!

-CLANG!!

Father said that if I understand how a metal feels and what the earth itself wants to convey, I will become far stronger than I am now…..

-CLANG!!

-CLANG!!

Yet, he heard nothing. No whispers. No pull. No voice of the earth beneath his hands. Only the deafening silence of failure.

But this… I can't feel anything at all. Nor am I hearing anything… He should have at least given me some kind of hint…

Frustration flickered across his expression, yet his hammering never slowed. The strikes continued with relentless rhythm, filling the room with the sound of metal against metal.

The piece of ore before him was no ordinary metal. It was rare and notoriously difficult to shape. To mold it required precise strikes at exact angles, in a specific rhythm, and only by listening to the essence of the metal could one succeed.

Yet no matter how he tried, Irvin could not hear it. No whispers. No faint song of the earth. Only silence.

Even for him, with such a high affinity for metal and earth, this task was proving far more difficult than he expected.

-CLANG!!

-CLANG!!!

But I can't give up….. I will learn it. I will understand the feelings of the metal and the will of the earth. If not me, then nobody can…..

He tightened his grip, gritting his teeth as he forced himself to continue. His hammer rose once more, crashing down against the glowing metal with the same stubborn determination, each strike carrying his vow.

-CLANG!!!

-CLANG!!!

-CLANG!!!

***

While this hammering session was happening on one side, somewhere else far from the crowded cities, situated near a mountainous region, atop a hill, in the basement of a small beautiful house, another hammering session was being conducted.

-CLANG!!!

-CLANG!!!

Another boy with a slender build and well-packed muscles, wearing only simple pants with his upper body bare, was also hammering a piece of glowing metal without pause. His long white hair was tied behind his back, and his piercing blue eyes were solely focused on the steady strikes of his hammer. His body was covered in sweat, and from his skin, faint traces of smoke seemed to rise under the heat of the forge.

Though the basement had no windows, the heat and smoke were slowly being vented outside through runic arrays carved into the walls.

The basement itself was far larger than the house above, expanded by space magic. The central area was an open training ground that occupied most of the basement, while two smaller chambers in the corners led to the alchemy and blacksmithing sections.

The walls and roof were built from thick alloys, strong enough to withstand the blows of a Mythical Rank warrior. Constructing this underground facility had consumed most of the military credits Ash had earned after clearing the entire military site in the Untamed Forest.

The remaining credits had gone into acquiring equipment for the training area, along with tools for blacksmithing and alchemy.

Ash had carefully checked the outlet list given to him by the military. It contained almost everything present in the Military treasury, except for a few personal possessions kept by the military, such as the Mist of Illusion Artifact, etc.

Yet even with what he was offered, he found little of real value. After seeing the Dragon's treasure hoard with his own eyes, the military's vault felt like nothing more than scraps in comparison.

There had been countless skill books he could have chosen as well, but none of them worked for him. He still did not know whether it was because of his Trait, the Codex of Creation, or the Primordial Core that prevented him from absorbing a skill book.

And so, while many others would have treasured such rewards, for him they held little meaning. He had chosen instead to take credits, and with them he built his home.

-CLANG!!!!

At present, Ash was focused on molding a red-hot piece of metal into the rough shape of a dagger.

-CLANG!!

The blade was beginning to take form under his steady strikes, little by little. Of course, this was not the same metal that Irvin was using.

Ash had never liked the prospect of relying on others. Assuming that the dwarves might not be able to help him forge what he would one day require, especially since their very survival was uncertain, he had resolved to learn blacksmithing on his own. The same determination had also led him toward alchemy.

He could have asked for help from human blacksmiths, or even Saint Maelis himself, yet Ash being Ash, such dependence was something he disliked deeply.

Still, he was not foolish enough to waste the opportunities before him. Using the privileges granted to him, he had persistently sought out academy instructors, pestering them even during vacation whenever he was stuck.

Like a ghost, he would appear suddenly with a question, and vanish just as swiftly once he had his answer.

...It's coming into shape...

The heated metal finally resembled a dagger. While it was still glowing faintly, Ash moved his finger toward it and closed his eyes, shifting his focus inward.

This was the most important part, the step he wanted to master more than anything else. Enchanting the weapon with Runes.

***

What are Enchantments?

The meaning was already hidden in the name itself, for anything that could enhance the property of an object was called an Enchantment.

They were, however, notoriously difficult to perform. Sometimes the metal shattered if the process was not carried out correctly, sometimes the magic circle wavered and collapsed, and at other times the magic ink failed to show potency.

This, though, was only true for the common enchantments practiced by most. There also existed Ancient Enchantments, long lost to time, which were performed through the use of Runes.

Humans, being ever adaptable, had tried to mimic these enchantments, but what they created was of terrible quality, far worse than the enchantments made through ordinary magic circles. The same held for alchemy, where runes produced only unstable and disappointing results in most hands. The only exception that showed any promise beyond magic circles was the use of Runic Arrays devised by humans.

Still, the weakness did not lie in the runes themselves. The truth was simple: no one possessed the skill or comprehension to bring out their true potential, and so they appeared fragile and incomplete in comparison to other methods.

And right now, Ash was attempting to enchant a piece of metal with Runes. He had tried countless times and failed just as many. This was already his forty-fifth attempt. Sometimes the metals he used were too weak to withstand the process, and sometimes he failed at producing a proper magic ink for the enchantments.

After repeated failures, he began replacing magic ink with his own blood. To his surprise, it worked far better, as if his essence resonated with the very symbols.

A small cluster of liquid blood trickled from his finger as he grazed his hand across the heated metal. He used his willpower to suppress the natural healing of his burnt flesh, forcing the blood to remain, and began inscribing the runes with deliberate strokes.

His mind was sharpened, focusing on nothing but the rune before him. His hand moved with precision, almost like a calligrapher putting brush to paper, one stroke flowing seamlessly into another.

The most difficult problem he encountered was that he did not know what rune to write and what its effect would be. After all, the runes in his soul were everchanging, never stopping at one symbol.

Thus, he focused on his primordial core. After all, it had runes etched on its surface which were clearly visible, and as they only contained one runic symbol of each rune, it became easier for him to remember their shape.

He chose the first symbol that ever appeared on his core, the runic symbol that came from the Rune of Stability, though what its effects were, even he didn't know.

He had a lot of things to do, so he never got enough time to comprehend the Runes in his Soul Space. But comprehension needed time. Although time flowed slowly in his soul space, there was a constant reminder of the outside world, which always distracted him, and he wanted to complete the comprehension in one sitting if he was going to do it.

Thus, he was waiting for a stable period of time in the outside world. Right now, there was no stability, only chaos. The dungeons were popping out everywhere, and although most were not breaking, the danger loomed above their heads.

Just one more stroke.....

As his finger completed the final curve of the rune, the entire artifact flared with light. The rune glowed brilliantly, alive for a brief instant, before the metal crumbled and disintegrated as though erased from existence.

Another failure.....

Ash wiped the sweat from his forehead and stepped back, his eyes narrowing in thought.

Let's try one more time.....

He reached for another raw piece of metal, placed it carefully into the furnace, and watched it begin to melt.

And once again, the rhythmic sound of hammering filled the room.

****

A/N:

How are you doing, readers? Feeling like some action has been missing lately? Don't worry—the next volume, and the ones after that, are going to be packed with plenty of battles.

Anyway, today marks the 300th chapter, which I think is quite a milestone. To celebrate, I'm bringing back the Power Stone extra chapter event. And this time, I'll definitely keep my word—no empty promises.

Here's how it will work:

Minimum Rewards:

200 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter

100 Golden Tickets = 1 extra chapter

Maximum Rewards: (weekly)

1000 Power Stones = 10 extra chapters

500 Golden Tickets = 10 extra chapters

The [Min] rewards will apply normally, but if you reach the [Max] milestone, there will be a mass release the following week.

For example, If you reach 1000 Power Stones in the first week of October, there will be a mass release of 10 chapters before the end of the second week of October.

(Note 1: The [Max] scheme will only be valid until I finish covering the backlog of chapters I missed in September, so try to reach the milestone as soon as possible.)

(Note 2: If you reach [Max] milestone, then there will be no rewards for [Min] that week, instead mass release next week.)

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you continue enjoying the story!