Chapter 1981: Chapter 1981. Fusing with the Runestone of the Devil King

Chapter 1981: Chapter 1981. Fusing with the Runestone of the Devil King



Everyone dispersed to do their own things. Some took John's advice and headed straight to the training cave. Some preferred to cool their nerves by relaxing around the lake. Nobody blamed them. They had just fought a fierce battle against the devils, after all.

John stayed inside the lakeside pavilion. He was using the spying platform to monitor the situation. Chris operated the platform for him since only he could access it. Wilted stayed by their sides to make sure Chris followed John's instructions.

As for Jack, he went away to check on the Runestone of the Devil King.

"Anything I need to know before I fuse with this runestone?" Jack asked. "Don't make me waste time if you can give me clues."

"All right. I'll try to explain," Peniel said. "This runestone is special. Unlike normal runestones, you can't rely only on your willpower to endure tribulations. You need several factors to increase your chance of fusing with this runestone."

"And those factors are...?"

"Understanding of rune diagram," Peniel answered. "Which you lack. You have never learned the basics of creating a rune diagram. Thankfully, you have the experience of defusing several rune diagrams. Pretty high-level rune diagrams, I might add, so you are not exactly blind to it."

"What are the other factors?"

"Mana sense and mana manipulation, which you are superb at. The last factor is your runecraft level, which can also be considered top class."

Jack's runecraft was Advanced Master. There was still a higher tier, which was the Grandmaster level, but having the Master level could already be considered among the top. Jack could achieve this level because he constantly used the Runestone of Spellcasting during combat.

"Well, if you say it like that, I win three out of the four factors. I say my odds should be pretty good," Jack said.

Peniel rolled her eyes at that remark. "Go ahead and try it then. No need to worry. The runestone won't be gone even if you fail. You just need to start over again."

"Let's use the training cave," Jack said. "The time inside is sped up by twice. I can save time attempting the fusion inside there."

"But you will have to end the fusing process if you are under attack," Peniel warned.

Jack simply grinned at the warning.

Entering the training cave, Jack was sent to a different dimension for solo training. Inside this training dimension, he looked around. There was a choice to choose the terrain setup when entering the training cave. Normally, he chose plain terrain to maximize his killing spree. This time, he chose a mountainous terrain.

He heard Peniel giggling.

"Hey! What exactly happened just now?!" Jack yelled.

"Who asks you to underestimate this tribulation? I've already told you it will be difficult for you, didn't I?" Peniel returned. "Every time you make the wrong move, an elemental attack will assail you. That is your tribulation. If you can correctly connect all the lights without making a mistake, you can fuse with this runestone without suffering pain."

"What mistake? I'm certain the one I've connected just now was second in terms of mana intensity," Jack protested.

"You didn't make a mistake in identifying the targets. You made a mistake in the way you are

connecting them."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"Do you remember what the runic symbols within a spell formation look like? Do they consist

of only straight lines?"

"Do you mean... I need to form a particular shape when connecting the lights?" Jack asked.

"You catch on pretty quick," Peniel replied. "You can imagine these lights as the power nodes

of an enormous spell formation or rune diagram. These power nodes needed to be connected

into runic symbols to enable them to function."

"How do I know what the symbols should look like?"

"That's why I said your lack of the basics of creating a rune diagram will be the obstacle in fusing with this runestone."

"Then, what do you suggest? Don't tell me I have to go and join the Runecraft Society and learn their secrets before I can fuse with this runestone," Jack said nervously. "Not only does that take too long, but I am also vulnerable out there. You know Master is looking for me. His God Sense can detect me from a long distance while I can't tell for sure if he is around. If I'm not careful, he might catch me unaware. Once he does, he only needs an instant to end me. I can't take that risk just for the sake of fusing with this runestone."

"I did say it is difficult for you, but I never say it is impossible," Peniel said. "You just need to spend more time in the effort... You also need a great deal of luck, patience, and the willingness to suffer the tribulation."