Chapter 175: First Blade

Chapter 175: First Blade

Chapter 175 - First Blade

Not as painful or exhausting as his days at the estate, but infinitely more frustrating. Kai had to stretch his patience threefold to study under the gnome's tutelage.

Edgar made clear he had no desire to teach him. From abstruse explanations to tedious lessons on material composition and rune synchronization, the little gremlin put more effort into trying to make him quit their arrangement than teaching him.

His favorite assignment was to have Kai draw a rune combination three hundred times and ignore him for the rest of the day. It might have worked if it wasnt for a detail the gnome couldnt have predicted.

Mana Echo made any repetitive task trivial.

Kai grasped the true potential of his profession skill when paired with an obsessive teacher. He could rest his mind and let the ability take over his hands, improving the quality of the copy as he grew more familiar with the runes.

It was true, his progress was slower than doing it manually, but he also gained muscle memory with a lot less effort. If he had to do a hundred more repetitions to balance it out, it was still more than worth it.

Pulling on his ears, Edgar grunted something about cheating brats, but he couldnt deny the results.

Between a grumble and a curse, he pointed out each foolish mistake and what he needed to improve. Be it just to let him know how inept he was. You are supposed to draw runes, not abstract art. What are these sloppy angles? My great-great-great nephew could do better when he was five, and his mother had dropped him on the head in the crib.

Spirits, he makes it hard to be grateful.

There was value in figuring out things for himself, though Kai would always pick having a competent teacher if given the choice. The gnome could point him in the right direction and avoid pitfalls miles ahead, too prideful to give erroneous instructions. Kai had never progressed so rapidly since Dora left.

Itll all be worth it. Itll all be worth it. Itll all be worth it

Drawing perfect runes was the basic requirement, then he had to combine and tune them to the material he wanted to enchant. Kai couldnt complain, Mana Echo had drastically reduced the boring part, and he enjoyed the problem-solving aspect.

If he wanted to design the enchantment for the sea serpents fangs, he had to do it properly from start to finish. Edgar demanded the schematics meet his standards. No two pieces of steel or bone were the same, and so should each weapon or tool be uniquely fitted.

After two weeks, Edgar begrudgingly accepted that Kai wasnt going to quit, and they reached a sort of understanding. The runesmith would give him an hour of proper education if Kai didnt bother him for the rest of the day. An hour and a half if the gnome liked the baked bribes he brought.

***

Ive checked seven times and there are no mistakes.

Kai anxiously chewed his cheek, awaiting judgment on his latest dagger schematic. The previous twenty-two attempts had been deemed inadequate to be inscribed by the runesmith.

Too sloppy, too unbalanced, too ugly, drawn by a thousand-year-old grandma with dementia and trembling fingers. Kai had heard them all. He had taken every criticism without complaintwithin earshot of his teacherand adjusted.

His twenty-third design was the culmination of a month of learning and abuse. The design had been reduced to its most fundamental components, oceans away from his lofty dreams of flaming swords and invisible daggers. The gnome had made clear Kai had no business setting his sight on the stars if he couldnt make a proper knife, and so he did.

The dagger would cut really well and last for a lifetime without losing its edge. Simple and effective. What else did you need from a knife?

Each enchantment had been fitted for the three-palm crystal fang and its mana capacity. The stroke of each rune arranged according to the essence composition of the material.

Edgars bushy white eyebrows rose and fell as he examined the sheet of paper. The runesmith could judge the designs with a glance but enjoyed the torment of drawing out his verdict.

Stop being an ass and tell me.

With no small effort, Kai smoothed his features and commanded his hands to stay put at his sides. He wouldnt give the gnome the satisfaction of seeing him squirm.

Mhmm The bulging eyes left the schematics to land on him. I see youve finally listened and simplified your enchantment. Using a yellow-grade material is still beyond foolish, but Ive learned to temper my expectations. You cant beat sense into a rockhog, it will always gorge itself to death if given a choice.

Inspect (lv63>68)Runes (lv47>55)

While there were a thousand shiny distractions in the underground hall, his eyes were firmly on his teachers work. The engraving needle glowed with hundreds of runes, distorted to protect its secrets. And the ink shone brighter still, leaving behind incandescent lines that bent the mana of the fang.

Huh, is he?

Amidst the spectacle of light, it took some tuning to notice a more subtle display: a hundred delicate filaments melting into the fang. Kai thought it was part of the tool function before he retraced them to the gnomes hand. His attention immediately sharpened, he stared intently to not miss a fraction of the process.

There are many ways to enchant a weapon. Id advise using one that leaves a physical mark for a novice, but thats not the most important aspect. Edgar talked without diverting his eyes from his work. The only way to ensure an enchantment will hold is to shape the runes directly into the mana of the material. So the structure wont crumble if the runes get damaged.

You only get one chance at this when you are inscribing. You can do without a skill for the physical etching, but you need one to engrave the mana of the substrate. The runesmith molded the essence of the fang before the ink arrived to fix it in place. Depending on your skill, the runes will be able to endure more damage before cracking. You can still break mine with a scalpel, but wont have to worry about them getting chipped in battle.

I suppose I can let him do it

I dont think Ive seen many enchantments made like this. The difference became obvious as the work proceeded. Instead of simply linking them, the runes and the essence of the fang fused to become one.

You can only do it with mana-rich materials, and its a lot of extra work. If the runes are safe inside the walls of your house, or on a self-heating pillow, most dont think its worth the effort. Edgar said with disdain. They always laugh right till something breaks. Can you imagine having an itchy back when your favorite automated backscratcher stops working? Absolutely dreadful.

I cant imagine the horror, Kai agreed. Even red-graded materials were rare in the archipelago. And if his heating mug broke, he could just fix it. Most weapons I saw werent made like this either.

In his wanderings through the stores of Higharbor, he could hardly remember any sword engraved that way, and those always came for three times the price.

Why make a weapon that will last a lifetime when you can have it break after a year and sell it again? Especially if your customers cant tell the difference, Edgar sneered. Listen to me, kid. The world is full of people with no integrity who will sell you garbage if you let them get away with it. Not everyone is a virtuous gnome like me.

More like prideful, though I guess it works the same.

Ill remember your advice. Kai painted his face with sincerity. Whether for pride or honesty, Edgard would never sell something half-baked.

You should. This is done. The gnome wiped the excess ink off the fang to reveal a network of dark runes, the lines so fine they looked braided from threads of spider silk. Admire, this is how a proper enchantment is made.

The blade shone with a dangerous blue light. The mana of the fang had grown stronger, and Kai had no idea how that was possible.

Edgard relished in his awe, grinning gleefully. He pulled a piece of carved wood and a leather string from his pockets. His fingers moved in a blur and fastened the handle with incredible Dexterity. Here, keep it away from strong mana sources for a day to give the runes time to settle.

Thank you.

Youre welcome. Now scram, and see if you can avoid stabbing yourself while youre out of my house. I dont want any blood on my carpet.

Ill do my best, Kai said dryly. He left without complaining that the gnome had hardly given him half an hour of his time. It didnt matter, not when he gained something so much more valuable.

The day was bright and chilly outside. He greeted every passerby with a smile on the way home. It had been a close call, but Mana Echo had managed to create a copy of the inscribing skill.

It was a rough cumbersome thing that occupied more than half the space in his mind, but Kai would give it up for nothing in the world. The gnome had never seen him copy anything but runes and presumed that was the extent of his ability.

Indeed, it was much harder to copy skills, his echoes a shadow of the real thing. That was unless he had time to refine them. With two dozen other fangs and a teacher who loved to show off, Kai couldnt wait to finish his next design.

My evil schemes are coming to fruition!

The bells of Higharbor filled the streets with their festive clangs as if to celebrate his success. He didnt mind their clamor. The sounds continued past the fifteen rings for the hour, though he didnt worry since they didnt follow any of the warning rhythms.

Probably they are just testing something, or someone is pulling a joke.

Did you hear? a girl loudly whispered to her friends. The temple of the Seven announced the Moons are going to align in seven days.