The Runesmith

“Awooo!”

A howl resounded through the darkened cavern. It was not only loud, but carried the power of the sun itself. Everything within the vicinity lit up as though morning had arrived. The shadows retreated as several undead creatures slithering along the cavern walls were revealed.

“Quite the useful skill…”

Roland commented while raising the hammer staff in his hand. Energy gathered, and mana radiated with divine light as a burst shot toward the shadowy figure before him. One strike was enough, but Roland continued watching carefully as the creature slammed against the cavern wall. The undead monstrosity twitched violently while golden flames spread across its blackened flesh. Moments later, the corpse dissolved into ash that scattered across the damp stone floor.

Lesser Dragon Shade Stalker has been slain.

“Your holy power is becoming stronger and stronger.”

“Worf!”

Agni wagged his tail in delight at the praise from his master. Roland smiled beneath his helmet and stretched out a hand before moving on. The runes engraved into his gauntlet began glowing faintly, and the remains of the defeated creature drifted into a small vial he held.

“Can’t sell it on the main market, but Rastix and the thieves guild will be glad to have it.”

He glanced at the ashen remains of the phantom monster. The ‘Lesser Dragon Shade Stalker’ was not an easy creature to kill, at least by conventional means. It was completely resistant to physical attacks and most forms of magic, but holy energy left it nearly defenseless.

The creature could not be harmed while hidden within the shadows, and ordinary light did little to weaken it. Only powerful priests possessed enough divine magic to make it vulnerable to damage, but with Agni around, that problem no longer existed.

‘I’m almost out of time… I wish I could clone myself…’

Roland let out a disappointed sigh as he checked the time display within his helmet. Although he wanted to continue deeper into the ruins, his growing workload left him with little freedom. The massive golem he was constructing was progressing far too slowly, and there was barely enough time for anything else.

Soon, he and Agni made their way through the ruins toward the hidden teleportation gate at the main checkpoint, and they were not alone.

“Woof!”

“No, you can’t kill this one. We need it for the others.”

“Worf!”

“No, you can’t go after the other one either. Just let me work here, okay?”

Agni snorted while Roland looked toward an unmoving Undead Amphiptere. The monster stood beside an Undead Draconic Lord that had already been restrained with thick metallic bindings and locked inside a cage. Both creatures were under the effects of his necrotic energy emulation and remained stationed at the teleportation checkpoint he had established within the hidden Draconic Ruins.

The underground chamber was quiet aside from the occasional growl echoing from the restrained monsters and the scratching of Roland’s tools against metal plating. Pale blue crystals were embedded in the walls now, placed there by Roland himself. They resembled the tube lights from his previous life and had been fixed to the ceiling to brighten the room.

Embedding objects into dungeon walls usually caused the dungeon to slowly seal the gaps with stone and restore itself to its original shape. However, there were ways around this. One method involved using inorganic materials or, as in this case, special glowing crystals capable of absorbing ambient mana from their surroundings. These crystals were common in many regions and especially useful in dungeons, where they served as reliable light sources.

The added light made navigating the area much easier. Normally, undead creatures were drawn to light and certain mana wavelengths, but Roland could suppress and conceal those signals with ease. Even if the crystals remained active, the undead would not wander through. A heavy door had been installed to block both the light and the mana wavelengths from spreading beyond the chamber.

“Awoo!”

“Can you be quiet for once? I know you’re eager, but give me some time to focus.”

Agni was restless, pacing around with twitching legs, and for good reason. Some time had passed since Julius had arrived and discovered this place. Nearly half a year had also passed since Roland had made his deal with the Headmistress.

During that time, Agni’s level had risen dramatically, bringing him closer and closer to a new evolution. The wolf wanted nothing more than to grind through the ruins and hunt the high-level undead lurking within, but Roland rarely had the time. Other responsibilities constantly dragged him away from the dungeon.

Roland pressed his fingers against the metallic collar wrapped around the Undead Amphiptere’s neck while thin streams of mana flowed through the engraved runes. The creature trembled as the restraints glowed brightly. A moment later, it began thrashing violently when the effect of the emulated necromancy was removed.

“Seems to be holding steady…”

The monster slammed against the ground with a heavy thud, but it could not move far. Thick metallic shackles forged from the same material found within the ruins tightly restrained its body.

“Grrr.”

“It’s fine, Agni, it can’t get free.”

Roland stopped Agni from attacking and activated the necrotic runes to disable the creature once more. The metallic collar glowed with a greenish hue and, within seconds, the Amphiptere stopped struggling. The test had been successful. Even without the spell active, the restraints could keep the creature contained. The monster returned to its docile state, confirming that Roland’s efforts had not been wasted. Soon, Arthur and the others would have durable training dummies they could strike again and again.

“We’re done here for now, Agni. Let’s go.”

With that, Roland prepared to leave. He had an appointment waiting for him elsewhere. Agni looked thoroughly displeased, still eager to continue training. One glance at his status screen told Roland exactly why the wolf was so restless, but leveling would have to wait a little longer.

Name :

Sunlight Wolf [Divine Form] [ L 241 ]

Type :

Fire/Earth/Divine Beast

HP

61442/60441

MP

55480/49341

SP

85538/75522

Strength

456

Agility

612

Dexterity

357

Vitality

529

Endurance

580

Intelligence

526

Willpower

510

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Charisma

22

Luck

18

There wasn’t much left of the journey, and along the way, Agni had managed to learn a few useful skills.

Solar Howl

Active Skill

Releases a resonant howl that channels concentrated sunlight, dealing massive divine and fire damage in a cone or wide area. Particularly devastating against undead, demons, and shadow-based creatures. It can also dispel darkness effects and cleanse lesser curses.

It was the skill he had used to help defeat the phantom of the undead lesser dragon. While it lacked power against ordinary foes, there was nothing better in Agni’s repertoire when it came to fighting hordes of undead or phantoms. The attack could be unleashed in every direction, and it would not harm Agni or anyone the wolf considered an ally.

Aegis of Dawn

Active Skill

Generates a shimmering shield of solidified sunlight around the user or an ally. Absorbs dark, shadow, or necrotic damage and converts part of it into healing.

This was another handy skill. It created bubbles of radiant energy around Agni or his allies. Ordinary people would quickly grow sick from the necrotic mana in the air, but while protected by the divine barrier, they remained unaffected. The skill could be used on multiple allies at once, though sustaining the shields reduced Agni’s maximum mana capacity.

Blessing of the Sun

Active Skill

Grants nearby allies increased strength, speed, and resistance to fear and dark energies. Their weapons and attacks gain temporary holy and fire damage that gradually fades as it is used.

The last notable skill was a support ability. It functioned like a blessing similar to many priest spells, but with a dual elemental aspect that made it especially effective. After seeing these abilities, it was no surprise that the Solarian Church wanted control over his wolven companion. Agni was essentially a walking support unit that could create shields to repel unholy energies while strengthening allies from a distance.

‘I wonder if that was why she wanted him… They probably know every skill a Sunlight Wolf can gain and all its possible future evolutions.’

The Solarian Church was an organization that had existed for hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of years. They undoubtedly understood the full potential Agni possessed. While their doctrine claimed that the holy beast should remain free to choose its own path, there were likely those within the church who did not entirely agree with that belief.

Then there was his own status window, which had also grown immensely but was becoming increasingly difficult to advance. He had spent twenty-five levels in a tier one class, and now he was beginning to feel the effects of that sluggish progression.

Name

Roland Arden L 252

Classes:

T3 Runesmith Overlord L77 [ Primary ]

T2 Runesmith Lord L50 [ Tertiary ]

T2 Runic Engineer L50 [Secondary]

T1 Mage L25 [ X ]

T1 Runic Mana Scribe L 25 [ X ]

T1 Runic Blacksmith L 25 [ X ]

HP

71291/71291

MP

99895/133677

SP

89543/96774

Strength

475

Agility

390

Dexterity

527

Vitality

499

Endurance

537

Intelligence

621

Willpower

601

Charisma

21

Luck

12

Even though he was above the regular threshold, he still needed more than twenty levels to get there, and for some people, that could mean years of crafting and training. The creatures within this dungeon did not exceed level two hundred sixty, so progressing beyond that point would probably become difficult. Agni, on the other hand, still had plenty of room to grow since his level had not even reached the middle of the two hundreds yet.

The most noticeable skill he had gained was ‘Overlord's Indomitable Will’, which had saved him from certain doom the last time. Its level had not increased much, as he realised that leveling it was an incredibly tedious process.

The skill regenerated his health whenever it dropped below twenty-five percent, but triggering it meant injuring himself on purpose. He was not much of a masochist, so stabbing himself or exposing himself to poison was not exactly appealing. Poison would probably be the more humane option, but it would also take much longer since he had already built up resistance to most harmful substances.

Rune Brand L1

Active Skill

Inscribe a powerful runic brand on an enemy. Branded targets take increased damage from all your runes, and you can easily track their position.

This was one of the new skills he had gained, though it did not seem particularly powerful at first glance. Still, it had its uses. After running a few tests, he discovered that he could place the brand on living beings without causing them any discomfort. The mark was undetectable through normal means and did not appear on a person’s status screen.

The biggest drawback was that the skill required direct physical contact to apply. In addition, if he used a damaging spell on a branded target, the mark would instantly dissolve after amplifying the damage by roughly twenty-five percent.

While the damage boost was decent, the fact that it only worked once made the skill feel somewhat impractical. In the time it took him to apply the brand and follow up with an attack spell, he could probably do something more useful in actual combat. Even so, the tracking capability was difficult to ignore.

The tracking itself was somewhat vague. He could sense the brand within a range of about a kilometer, but the farther away the target moved, the weaker the connection became. The test subject he had branded was now in Albrook, and since he was currently inside the dungeon, he could no longer sense them at all.

‘Maybe the range will increase if I level it further. If someone uses illusion magic or some kind of escape skill, this could become very useful.’

Some classes could transform into shadows, create magical clones that scattered in different directions, or use countless other methods to escape detection. If he managed to place this runic brand on someone, he would be able to track them easily during a fight or even follow them without their knowledge. The skill’s greatest strength was how difficult it was to detect through ordinary identification methods. Even powerful mages were unable to see through it.

Then there was another skill he had received. Considering everything he had already managed to learn on his own, it was not particularly enticing. Still, it had its uses, as it allowed him to achieve an effect similar to True Runic Sigh without the migraine and bleeding eyes.

Runic Mimicry L1

Active Skill

Copy a target’s active spell or enchantment as a rune, which can then be instantly imbued onto a piece of equipment of your choosing. How closely the spell or enchantment resembles the original depends on the skill level and the user’s intelligence.

Roland could already copy the spells of others and even emulate the energies used by magical classes he should not have been capable of replicating. This skill granted him a similar ability, though it came with both advantages and drawbacks.

One advantage was that he could perform it instantly without needing to analyze the spell beforehand. Once he placed the rune onto a piece of equipment, he was given the complete runic structure, which he could then copy onto something that could carry the rune.

It was also something that could be used in the middle of battle, though he was not entirely sure what the point of copying another person’s spell would be. He could already modify his runic equipment on the fly, and doing so consumed far less MP than this skill. However, if he encountered a particularly difficult spell that was hard to grasp, he could see himself relying on this skill instead of his usual process of deduction and experimentation.

“About the titles…”

“Awooo!”

“Fine, let’s just go then, Agni. You were exceptionally good today, so you can have your fill of mana crystals.”

Agni wagged his tail instantly after hearing that he would be allowed to munch on magical crystals. Once everything was prepared and the gate activated, Roland pushed the two bound undead through it. Then he and Agni stepped through as well, arriving at his workshop once again.

As soon as he got there, he quickly moved the two monsters into the contamination cells that had been prepared for them. One was located within his own compound, while the other was closer to Arthur’s mansion, where he intended to continue training his skills. With that done, he was ready to return to work, and it seemed the man he had called for had already arrived.

‘Agni is back to playing outside, the city is secure, and now I finally have time to gather some valuable combat data.’

The halfway point of the competition was finally upon him. In just a week, he would need to visit the school, where the students’ test results would be posted. From that group, participants for the various competitions would be selected, and he would then need to analyze their strengths and weaknesses, as he was responsible for providing them with support items for their bouts.

There were various competitions. Some were as simple as races on magical beasts, while others were far more elaborate, like cooking contests that used alchemical ingredients alongside regular food and meat from rare animal breeds.

‘I could probably construct a runic cooking pot or stove for them. The concept of a microwave doesn’t exist here either…’

As ideas flooded his mind, he headed for the elevator where the guest he had summoned was already waiting outside. When he arrived, he raised a hand in greeting.

“High Commander Wayland.”

The man wore heavy armor covered in runes, though not nearly as many as the set Roland usually wore.

“You don’t need to do that here. No one can hear or see us, Robert.”

Roland pointed to his exposed face. Robert responded by removing his helmet and letting out a sigh.

“I don’t mind wearing armor, but being forced to keep it on all the time is somewhat bothersome…”

Robert complained as he approached. Roland smiled slightly.

“Then you can relax. You won’t need heavy armor today. First, we need to get you into a silvergrace suit, and then we can begin.”

Robert nodded, though he still looked confused.

“You told me to come here, but you never explained what we’d be doing.”

“Oh, nothing much. You’ll just be piloting a golem.”

“Piloting?”

Roland smiled again but offered no explanation. Instead, he gestured toward the elevator entrance, and the two stepped inside. Agni remained outside, munching on magical rocks while his entire stable shook from the heavy thumping of his tail.