The Runesmith

Chapter 689: Testing The Arcane.

“Now then, try it again. I adjusted the pen to better handle arcane energies.”

“Master really can do anything…”

“Ah… I’m not so sure about that…”

Roland shook his head when he saw Millie’s eyes sparkling again. The two were testing her new class inside the workshop. They were currently in the room his apprentice used for studying, which would likely become the main place where she practiced this craft. Sheets of reinforced parchment had already been stacked neatly beside Millie, along with several small bottles of shimmering dark blue ink.

The metallic pen Roland had created rested in his hands. The runes engraved across its surface still shimmered faintly as he performed some final runesmithing adjustments to attune it to the arcane energies she was using. It looked rather simple at first glance, but beneath the polished silver casing were dozens of miniature runes designed to stabilize the arcane flow. The nib itself had been forged from dwarven steel mixed with etherium to improve mana conduction.

“Still, be careful. Arcane energy is far more unstable than regular mana.”

“Of course, Master. Don’t worry!”

Millie carefully accepted the pen from his hands as though she had just been entrusted with a priceless artifact. The silver surface reflected the workshop lights faintly while the tiny runes hidden beneath the casing pulsed with a soft glow.

“It feels heavier compared to the old quill. I’ve never seen one like this before…”

“You’ll get used to it in no time. For now, try to infuse the magical ink with arcane energy, then we can move on to the next step.”

“I’ll give it my all, Master!”

Millie nodded seriously. Unlike yesterday’s excitement, she now looked completely focused. Roland stepped back from the desk and crossed his arms while observing her carefully.

The workshop had been prepared in advance for this experiment. Several layered barriers shimmered faintly along the walls beneath engraved metal plates. If the arcane energies spiraled out of control, the resulting explosion would at least remain contained within the room. Roland was also there to protect Millie if anything went haywire.

“Let’s start with the ink bottle first. Try using your ‘Arcane Ink Infusion’ skill on the vial. There isn’t much ink inside, but still be careful. Your bracelet will help compensate for any mana loss.”

“Here I go, Master…”

She picked up the small container of liquid. Though it resembled glass, it was made from a far more durable material. Roland had no intention of risking it shattering and injuring his apprentice. The moment Millie activated her skill, the ink inside the vial reacted.

A faint blue glow spread through the liquid. The ink itself was pitch black, making it appear as though tiny blue veins of mana were coursing through it. However, something soon happened that caused Roland’s brow to rise. The color of the energy shifted from blue to purple, and the vial began glowing red.

‘There is a clear increase in heat and…’

He glanced at Millie’s status, focusing mainly on her MP. It was dropping rapidly, to the point that her bracelet had to compensate for the loss. Under normal circumstances, she would have already run out of mana, which made him suspect this was not the intended use of her new skill. Then there was the heat produced by the concentrated mana, which would have caused a normal vial to burst long ago.

“That’s enough, Millie. Stop for now.”

“Uh…”

Millie was still holding the vial in one hand, and the moment he told her to stop, she obeyed. It was clear that the girl was exhausted. Even though the bracelet compensated for the lost mana, the skill was far more taxing than regular mana calligraphy.

“It seems that infusing the ink inside the bottle might not be possible, at least not for now. Instead, we’ll try using the pen directly.”

He picked the pen up from where Millie had set it down and showed her how to insert the vial into the side of the fountain pen. The cylindrical chamber clicked softly into place beneath the casing once secured.

“This compartment acts as both a reservoir and a regulator. The runes inside distribute the mana more evenly before it reaches the nib and, once it does, infuse it with arcane energy. After that, the ink flows through the smaller channels before reaching the tip through the final slit. At that point, you’ll probably need to activate your other skill, ‘Arcane Penmanship’ to guide the arcane-infused ink through the paper.”

Millie continued nodding as he explained the process, and soon they attempted it a second time. Now her main task was to infuse the ink once it reached the nib at the end of the pen.

The moment Millie activated the skill again, the runes hidden within the pen responded immediately. A faint silver light spread across the metallic casing while the dark ink inside the reservoir began to swirl and react. Just as Roland had instructed, the process continued, and this time it worked far better than before.

Instead of violently heating the entire vial at once, the arcane energy was infused while the ink traveled through the pen’s channels. With a much smaller amount of liquid to handle, the process became easier for Millie, and after a few tries, the pen finally responded.

“M-master, something is happening!”

Millie shouted as she saw a faint purplish aura forming around the pen tip. The silver metal trembled softly in her grasp while the ink inside glowed with streaks of deep violet light.

“The ink has absorbed the arcane energy. You should be able to put it on paper now. Why don’t you try one of the easier runes first?”

Roland instructed her to attempt one of the old enchantments she already knew. Curious about what would happen if she tried creating a runic structure with the altered ink, he watched closely as she obeyed.

“Right… here I go…”

Just as advised, she began slowly. Arcane Penmanship guided her hand across the paper. The signs of arcane mana were unmistakable as the ink glowed purple and pulsed like living veins. Yet Roland immediately noticed that something was wrong. The moment she completed the structure, the glow faded almost instantly, and all the energy he had sensed moments before vanished.

“A… failure?”

“I’m sorry, Master… let me try again!”

“You did well, Millie. It’s not really your fault. The rune structure itself needs adjustments to function properly.”

Roland’s multiple minds quickly worked through what had just happened. The spell he had created was quite simple, only a magical light meant to shine above the scroll once activated. However, the moment arcane energy was introduced, the runes stopped functioning correctly. The mana density was far higher than usual, and it seemed to clog both the traces and the runic structures themselves. For this to work, he would need to adapt the design to the new magical wavelength and make multiple adjustments.

“How about you try recreating the spell you learned during the ascension trial?”

“That one? Sure, I have it right here, Master!”

Millie pointed to the notebook resting on the table. Inside was a sketch of the arcane enchantment she had used during the trial. It looked like a fusion of runic language and magical circles. The usual runic traces had been replaced with circular formations along with several unfamiliar components.

Stolen novel; please report.

Roland watched as his apprentice carefully recreated the drawing. Earlier, he had intended her to fail the first rune so he could observe how the arcane energy reacted to it. Now that he could study the correct structure properly, he finally understood why the previous rune had collapsed. As Millie continued, he also began to grasp the underlying logic and how the runes could be adapted accordingly.

‘Interesting…’

The construct looked unstable, yet he could feel the magic within it surpassing what a tier one spell scroll should normally contain. It was far more potent than the runic scrolls he had learned to scribe at the beginning.

‘The destructive potential of arcane spells is well known, and this is why…’

The moment the scroll was completed, it activated on its own. Just as Millie had described earlier, a brilliant flash erupted from the center of the parchment. During her trial, she had only seen the blinding light at the very end, but now Roland witnessed it himself.

The spell was some form of light magic, intense enough to flood the room with brilliant white radiance for several seconds. Roland quickly covered both his own eyes and Millie’s before the glare could blind them.

“Ack…”

“Quite the light show…”

“W-wait, was that it?”

Millie peeked out from beneath Roland’s hand, staring at the burnt page she had just finished. The ink had burst apart the moment the spell activated, revealing yet another flaw in this style of scribing.

“That’s not a bad start, but you’ll need to work on your finishing technique. The scroll shouldn’t activate so easily on its own.”

Millie lowered the smoking parchment and stared at the charred center in disbelief.

“But it worked, didn’t it?”

“It did.”

Roland stepped closer and picked up the ruined sheet before the remaining ash could crumble across the desk. Despite the spreading burn marks, parts of the circular arcane structure were still visible. Thin traces of violet energy lingered for a moment before fading completely.

“The spell formation itself succeeded. The problem lies in its stability and spell grade.”

“Grade?”

She looked up at him, and he nodded.

“Yes. It simply means you need more practice. Start by creating a stable version of this spell first.”

“I can do that!”

Millie was already brimming with energy and eager to continue. Roland did not stop her, though he did hand her a pair of protective glasses to shield her eyes from the blinding flashes. The spell was stable enough that she could work alone, but he still instructed Sebastian to keep watch while he turned his attention to another matter.

‘I need to convert some of the runic spells and figure out the logic behind their components…’

It was all too similar to when he had become a runic mana scribe. Back then, he had used his debugging skill to steal various runic enchantments and catalogue their components into groups. He could do the same here by reverse engineering the initial spell Millie had created. His True Runic Sight skill had already helped him transform the arcane enchantment into a runic one, and with both versions in mind, he could begin deducing how everything worked.

Thankfully, this was only a tier one enchantment, something he could analyze rather quickly. When he had been a tier one class holder himself, it had taken him half a year to figure out which component did what, but after that, his runic creation skills had soared.

‘What she needs are a few simple spells to help her get used to arcane energies.’

While his student worked, he started devising a way to repurpose simple runic enchantments into arcane ones. She had no way of creating new spells without blindly experimenting on her own. Neither did he know of any place that stored such magical enchantments, but there were ordinary arcane magicians out there, along with books detailing their spells and techniques.

From what he knew, there had once been people who crafted arcane scrolls. However, they were quickly overshadowed by regular enchanted scrolls and runic ones. Arcane scrolls were simply too unstable to be practical for monster hunting, so the craft gradually faded away as people turned to more reliable forms of magic. In the end, raw power meant little if it could not be used effectively.

For the rest of the day, he worked on a system for his apprentice. It consumed much of his time, but after several hours, he finally managed to crack the code. Once he understood the underlying structure, it became much easier to transcribe old runic spell schematics and create a simple study guide for her.

By the time evening arrived, Millie had already burned through an entire stack of reinforced parchment. The room smelled faintly of scorched paper and magical smoke. Thin curls of smoke still drifted upward from her latest failed attempt when Roland entered carrying a notebook.

“That should be enough for now. Go through these notes, and you can try again tomorrow.”

“Mm… I think I’m starting to get the hang of this, master…”

Millie sounded somewhat disappointed, as most of her attempts had ended in failure. Even so, while she only gained experience from successfully completing a scroll, her skill levels still improved through repeated arcane calligraphy practice.

“You’re improving, but don’t get ahead of yourself. Study the material in the notebook first, then try again.”

“Yes, master!”

With that, Millie headed home. Two guards waited for her outside to escort her back, and Roland finally had time to focus on other matters.

‘When I’m at the institute, I should go through the library and gather everything I can on arcane magic.’

He had been postponing the visit for quite some time, wanting to make the most of his days in Albrook, especially since the Headmistress no longer asked him to lecture there regularly. Still, the time had finally come for him to return and deal with the teenage students again.

After eating dinner and spending some more time working on the mobile armor, he went to bed beside his wife. Early the next morning, he handed Millie another notebook to study.

“I might not be able to come here as often anymore, so if you don’t see me in the workshop, ask Sebastian for advice.”

“Oh? Where are you going, Master?”

Millie stretched and rubbed her eyes as she spoke. Her gaze had already been fixed on the notebook, but the moment he mentioned where he was headed, her attention snapped to him almost instantly.

“For now, I’m heading to Xandar’s Institute of Wizardry through the gate. After that, I have a few other matters to attend to…”

There were two main things he wanted to take care of. One was finishing the large golem for the competition, and the other was helping both himself and Agni grow stronger. However, he still needed to create several magical items for other students, which would likely take a few more days.

“Xandar’s Institute of Wizardry… that sounds like a magic school!”

“Ah, yes, it is.”

His assistant, who had been focused on her work moments ago, now seemed completely captivated by the idea. The fascination was written plainly across her face. He had no intention of bringing her along since she would probably slow him down, but it was also a place where she could learn a great deal through the library alone.

While he could always create guides and notebooks that got straight to the point, there were benefits to broadening one’s knowledge through reading. Titles could be gained that way, and the mind was much like a muscle. The more information it absorbed, the stronger it became.

“Hm… perhaps if you work hard enough, I’ll show you the institute library.”

“Really!?”

She nearly jumped from her seat in excitement, and he immediately regretted saying it. The promise had already been made, though in truth, it would probably be good for her to experience the world of magic and meet mentors like Arion.

“Yes, of course. I’ll need to ask if your parents are comfortable with it. We would be traveling through the gate into the kingdom proper.”

“Oh, I’m sure Mama and Papa will agree. I’ll make certain of it!”

Roland could only sigh as he watched her enthusiasm rise once again. She already looked ready to drag her parents to the gate herself if necessary.

“Do not pressure them too much. Allowing their daughter to travel alone into the kingdom is no small matter. Anything could happen.”

“I know, I know… but I also know I can count on you, Master!”

“Is that so…”

Roland was not entirely sure where her confidence came from, but if he ever decided to take her along, he would need to live up to it. Traveling alone was one thing. Bringing his disciple with him was another entirely. Constructing a few tier three golemic defenders for her protection might be a good idea.

‘With those schematics I received from Master Hasim, it should not be too difficult… but first.’

With that, the two parted ways, and he headed toward the teleportation gate in his workshop. The trip had become routine after so many journeys, and the discomfort he once felt around the students there had almost disappeared.

Even so, he still paused for a moment to gather himself before stepping through. His introverted tendencies had not vanished completely, but he understood that this was necessary.

On the other side, he was greeted by the familiar magician and one of his closest allies, Arion the Rune Mage.

“My friend, you are here! It feels as though we have not spoken in ages!”

“In person, perhaps… so, how are things? Have the students gathered?”

“They are gathering as we speak. Why don’t we head over and see what the institute’s brightest young minds are like?”

Roland needed to determine which students were best suited for which runic aid devices. There would be many candidates, and some would benefit more than others. Those decisions would ultimately fall to him and Arion.

Soon, the two moved through the halls together: one armored man and a floating black cat at his side.