The Rune Weaver.

CHAPTER 2

{Jerry's POV}

What should I say about Amon?

Right, he was my savior who appeared to me at my lowest moment.

I was 19 years old when I met him in Fanrir City, south of Suran. At the time, I was just a guy who had inherited his father's cloth-selling business. I had piled up a massive amount of debt just to keep the business from shutting down...

Then, he came to me… a kid covered by a coat. He had ashen gray hair and dark gray eyes. That was Amon. He looked about ten years old, but he was actually eight.

Thinking about it now makes me laugh.

He asked me to teach him weaving. But of course, I didn't have the ability to teach him how to weave. All of my cloth products were made by artisans I had contracted, though those contracts were now void...

Still, I helped him by introducing him to the artisans I had worked with before.

I don't know what he said or gave to those artisans, but after seeing them agree to teach him, I could only guess that he paid them an amount of money they couldn't refuse.

And then, it happened...

He came to me again and offered to do business together.

Hearing all the conditions he proposed, I, of course, accepted. He even gave me five freaking gold coins! That was a fortune… two gold coins alone were enough to pay off all my debt. Amon was ridiculously rich for his age.

I always wondered where he got his money or what his origins were. So, one day, I asked him. He told me it was a secret. I didn't press him further… especially after I saw him take down an entire bandit base by himself.

I still remember how he easily broke the bones of a bandit leader.

It still gives me chills every time I remember it…

There were also times when he helped me with trading, business, and negotiations... Was he really an eight-year-old kid?

'Hey.'

He was a child, yet somehow mature enough to be an adult.

'Hey!'

It makes me wonder why he decided to learn weaving instead of other professions…

"Hey! Jerry!"

Amon's voice suddenly snapped me out of my reverie.

"Y-yes?"

"You were blanking out just now… did you even hear my words?"

"Oh… sorry, what was it again?"

Amon sighed and looked at me with a deadpan expression.

"N-never mind."

"Tsk! What I said was, how will we transfer all of this???"

Amon pointed his finger at a stack of luggage behind me.

"Oh, that? I have a solution for that!"

I took out a ring, which Amon observed curiously. I tossed it to him, and he easily caught it.

"What is this?"

He raised it for a better view to examine it.

"It's a ring."

"I know that. What I'm asking is, how will it help us with the luggage?"

Amon repeated his gesture, pointing his finger behind me where the luggage was currently placed.

"It's a Spatial Ring."

Spatial rings… They are rings made by skilled craftsmen of the dwarven race. They have the ability to store objects, except living beings. Their worth depends on their cubic meter capacity, ranging from a ring that can fit a car to one that can fit a whole continent.

But only awakeners can wear it.

"Oh? Isn't this expensive and rare? How the hell did you find this?"

Amon questioned as he looked at me with one of his eyebrows raised.

Well…

"I made connections, of course. It cost me a whole freaking 20 gold coins!"

It totally cost me 20 gold coins, but I pretty much profited.

"What's the cubic meter capacity of this ring?"

"I don't know, but it's supposed to fit a whole village inside. I'm not sure which village, though."

"Seriously? You bought this ring for only 20 gold coins? Your persuasive skills are really something. It's supposed to cost at least 60 gold coins…"

This is the reason why I said I profited.

"Of course, I'm quite skilled in the Art of Persuasion, after all."

"What a narcissist…"

Amon then focused his attention back on the ring.

"Alright, how does it work?"

"By wearing it."

"…"

Amon looked at me with a deadpan expression, as if to say, 'Very funny.'

I awkwardly coughed and rephrased my words.

"You can activate it by transferring your energy into the ring."

"By energy, you mean my Aura?"

"Yes, any magical energy will wor—"

Then it happened. All the luggage behind me turned into light particles and was absorbed by the ring.

"Spatial rings are really convenient…"

Too bad I don't have the ability to use one…

Anyways…

I then took out something from my bag.

"Amon."

"Yes?"

"Catch."

I threw him a sword in a scabbard, which he caught easily.

"Oh? Where the hell did you get this sword? Seems to be high quality…"

I then smirked.

"Connections, of course."

…

{Amon's POV}

Now that the luggage problem had been solved, Jerry and I were traveling via horseback.

Vehicles, whether modern or medieval, weren't suitable for an environment like Suran's.

It would have been better if we could travel by train, but unfortunately, there was no rail connection between this country and others.

I just noticed this while traveling...

Suran was really poor in terms of finances, if you were to ask me.

It's a good thing I decided to leave...

"Hey, Jerry? How long do you think it will take us to reach the Republic?"

"Oh, it's about a few months if we travel on foot, so it'll take us a month by horse."

"That long?"

"Although Suran is the smallest country compared to the others, it's still a big country on the Human Continent."

"I see..."

Wait a minute...

Two years ago, I reached the Empire's northeastern border within a week using the warp gates made by the dwarves.

Are there no warp gates in this country?

"Are there no warp gates in Suran?"

"You've lived here for two years, and you don't know?"

"Just answer my question."

"There is one, but it's in the capital, which is farther than the distance to the Republic."

I contemplated again...

"What about airships?"

"Financial problems. They can't afford to hire skilled workers or skilled dwarves to make one for them."

"Seriously? This country is that poor? I hadn't noticed it until now that you mentioned it."

"This country may be rich in resources, but the royal family here is corrupt. That's why Suran is the smallest and the poorest out of the five countries."

"So… we can only travel via horse?"

"Yes."

"Oh, then I guess we have no choice..."

Jerry suddenly chuckled.

"What?"

"I have a consumable item that will instantly take one of us to the Republic."

Wait, really? That exists?

"That sort of thing exists, and you currently have one?"

Jerry then took out a glowing stone from his pocket. It was a warp stone.

How the hell?

"A warp stone?! How the hell did you get that?"

"Connections, of course,"

He replied straightforwardly, tossing and catching the warp stone.

Warp Stone... It is a stone that, once crushed, will teleport you to the warp gate it's connected to. It seemed the stone Jerry was holding was connected to the Republic.

This could instantly take us to our destination, but the problem is...

"You only have one warp stone???"

"Y-yes..."

Jerry awkwardly laughed as he hid the stone in his pocket.

"We travel by horse then..."

I sighed as we continued our journey.

Damn Suran's royal family! I'll remember this...

We traveled north for several days, with our horses marching on, resting at night, and continuing during the day.

We often encountered other people, weak monsters, and villages along the way, but they were only minor distractions, and we continued on our way...

Then, we suddenly came to a halt.

In front of us was one of the biggest forests on the Human Continent...

I was so distracted that I didn't notice my pendant, hidden in my clothes, pulsing with weak light.

I looked at the gigantic trees that reached the sky, their leaves forming a canopy so dense that almost no light could penetrate the forest floor.

"This is the Dark Forest… The trees here are 160 meters tall."

Jerry explained, pointing in several directions where entrances and paths in the forest existed.

"This is an area where many alchemists, craftsmen, blacksmiths, explorers, adventurers, and other professionals come to gather materials.

There are also several monsters here strong enough to fight Awakeners on equal footing, despite their lack of intelligence."

The Dark Forest... It was a place of opportunity but also immense risk.

If I were to enter here...

Then I guess I would be as good as lost… or worse… as good as dead...

We should avoid this place.

"We should go around and avoid this place. We'd be fools to enter the forest."

Like hell I'd risk it. I still have my life to live...

"Definitely agree with you..."

Jerry agreed with me, and we headed northwest to avoid the forest. I just felt weird when I looked deep into it...

I'm definitely not taking the risk of exploring that…

…

I should have decided to take that risk…

Thinking back on my decision was regrettable, but it is what it is.

I looked at the group of knights bearing the Penrose crest on their armor, especially their captain.

All of them were B-ranked knights, except the captain, who was an A-rank knight.

This was why I regretted my decision to avoid the forest.

Jerry and I had been camped earlier when they suddenly appeared.

I knew them.

Just looking at them made my head ache.

But how did they find me?

"How did you find me? I swear I covered my tracks so well that you couldn't even find a single trace of me… Fourth Knight Division Captain Cassian."

Cassian… my sword instructor. I never thought this day would come.

He was the Fourth Knight Division Captain of the Imperial Knights, having reached A-rank...

I hate him.

Cassian...

It seemed he had come here himself to escort me back.

"Your Highness, the influence of the Imperials is not to be underestimated."

Influence? Was he talking about the connections of the Imperials? Or...

"I see… so Father finally used those damn Imperial stalkers?"

The Shadows of the Emperor… or should I say his hands themselves.

The Emperor's Hands.

A group of informants, assassins, and spies, working only under the Emperor's orders.

Those damn stalkers…

"Am I right, Cassian?"

"…"

He didn't reply, but his silence was enough of an answer.

"Just for me? I already stated in my letter that I will not return to that hell of a place!"

I glanced at the unconscious Jerry beside me. I had knocked him out after noticing the presence of the knights.

Why did I do it?

For his own good.

I picked him up from his spot and carried him to my horse.

Looking at the knights again made my head ache even more.

I remembered…

They were the knights who were supposed to guard me and my mother.

"Your Highness… it wasn't your fault."

Cassian's words caused something to snap inside me.

Wasn't my fault?

He must be talking about that day...

How funny.

"Wasn't my fault? Really saying that now?"

Of course, it wasn't my fault! It was Father's fault!

The Imperials were aware of that.

It was because of him that my mother died.

But somehow, it wasn't my fault?

Were they saying I was at fault in the eyes of others that day?

"You... you're really funny, aren't you?"

It wasn't funny, but I couldn't help myself—I laughed painfully.

"Your Highness…"

"Stop with that damn 'Your Highness'! I'm not the Third Prince anymore!"

Your Highness...

Your Highness...

Your Highness...

I'm fucking sick of it! I'm tired of hearing that word.

"Your—"

Stop it!

Their useless words wouldn't work on me. I wouldn't return to that puppet stage.

The Empire… it's all hell for me. The environment, the people—it's all hell.

"Leave!"

Please, just leave.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but we have orders to take you back to the Imperial Palace. If you refuse, then we will have no choice but to force you."

Can't they just leave me alone? What's the point of returning to the palace? What's the use of a prince who isn't even going to succeed the throne?

Why?

"Why? Can't you all just leave me alone?"

I'm tired of this...

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but it was the Emperor's order."

Father… you were never a father to me back then. Why do you want me to return now?

I still remember the time you looked at me with those indifferent eyes of yours.

The time you only looked down on me.

Why must I return to your presence?

Again and again, I ask myself the same question: Why?

Does he care now?

Is he guilty?

Has he finally noticed me?

Regardless... I will not return.

"I will not go."

I had the ability to defeat one of the knights here, but... I didn't have the ability to fight all of them, especially with Cassian here.

I couldn't believe what I was about to do.

I unsheathed my sword from its scabbard and raised it near my neck.

"Your Highness! What are you doing!?!"

"Back off, or else..."

The sword's tip touched my neck.

"...I'll end it all here."

It was a crazy gamble.

"Your Highness! Stop this!"

"You think I'm joking? You think I will hesitate?"

The sword in my hand slowly dug deeper into my neck, causing blood to flow.

It hurt, but I had to do this to force them to back off.

"Y-Your Highness!"

"Your Highness…"

The knights and their captain looked at me with terrified and worried expressions.

I'm glad they're worried...

But...

"Now leave..."

My words were final.

[A/N: Don't trust me with updates lmao, I'm still a highschooler. I might not update a day, week, month, or year. lmao]