By contrast, only Dimitri managed to recover the fastest for obvious reasons, though now he was ogling at another object, almost salivating at the thoughts of it. Thankfully, it wasn't the gorgeous elf maiden, as Arden feared. He was gawking at the boots she was holding so close to her chest.
Thankfully, I didn't bring a creep, Arden thought.
"That's a Tier-VI script formation?" he said aloud, unable to keep his interest in check. "Would you care if I take a look?"
The elf blinked and then smiled sweetly. "Be my guest." She handed the item to Dimitri, who ignored the breathtaking elf maiden to put all his attention into the boot.
"So intricate, but my eyes hadn't failed me," Dimitri shouted a moment later. "It truly is a Tier-VI script formation..."
"Wait, does that mean Master Warden advanced to Tier-VI Runesmith?" Arden asked, looking up at the elf maiden.
"Naturally," June said with a sigh, "though he didn't believe it himself before today."
Arden took the boot from Dimitri and examined it. The runes were hidden under many layers of camouflage, but even so, the designs and shells were something she didn't recognise from any master's work. Truly a unique design, and even the runes looked something else altogether.
Arden may not be great at runemsithing, but even she could tell the excellence of the work. Of course, she couldn't tell what it did, but that was why Dimitry was here with her. Unfortunately, the old runesmith was too entranced with the work to remember his job.
"He was succeeding in making Tier-VI runes half the time before," the elf continued. "But so far, for the last couple of days, he has succeeded eight out of eight times."
She couldn't help but turn towards the lake to see a glimpse of his figure. Arden followed suit. Before their eyes could find him, they saw two figures flying towards them from there...
"No," the young woman said. "Those are still above my capability."
"This is Jenni," June introduced. "She's an aspiring runesmith with a very creative mind. Warden has stated very highly of her, that her future accomplishments might even surpass his."
Arden clearly didn't believe the elf, and it appeared the woman in question felt the same.
"Did he really say that?" Jenni asked. "Or are you just boosting my stocks in front of them?"
"I speak no lies," June said curtly.
"Okay, I believe you," Jenni said sweetly, hugging her side.
"I do remember saying something like that, yes," the master runesmith's voice sounded out as he came out of the lake. Everyone's eyes flashed towards him. "Just don't get your head full of it. You still have a long way to go."
Arden's eyes bulged as she caught sight of the figure. She didn't think he was that rugged. All toned muscles on his upper body, with a peculiar golden ring in the centre of his chest. Arden would have liked to inspect the runic symbols on them more, but soon the long scars that moved down his back caught her attention.
Arden knew very well that it was easy for rankers to get wounded, especially for those who dungeon dive often. While that might be the case, she didn't believe rankers accumulate a lot of scars. Most of them healed accordingly, not to mention there were so many elixirs and concoctions to solve something like that.
Moreover, the scar looked old, probably a decade old... As she ogled at the scar, all the water lingering on his body vaporised before a tunic appeared on his body out of nowhere.
No, Arden hadn't missed anything in her trance. The tunic appeared on his body like a magic trick.
"Sorry for keeping you all waiting... Now let's begin the discussion."