[MGM]: 79 - Rune

Our entrance into the infamous forest was met normally—and when I say normally, I mean the monsters welcomed us with open claws and snapping jaws. It was unlike the last time when Amara and I had cruised through the woodland, finding nary a monster until we had reached the periphery.

I had taken this opportunity to test out the fruits of my labor. Fighting monsters had never been this exciting, let me tell you. There was a different kind of emotion to the brutal bout, a sort of freedom that perhaps could only be experienced by those who have risen beyond the bounds of mere helpless concerns. Yet, the excitement of tearing through flesh couldn't be overlooked.

I laughed as I dodged, breathing in the bloody mists. The Dragon in me urged me to unleash the boundless brutality I harbored beneath. I reined it in, breathed a calm breath, and resumed my killing of the monsters. Indeed, as expected, I heard the sweet ring of the system notifying me of the long-expected level-up.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

You have slain a level 105 monster: Ashen Chimera (B)!

You have leveled up! (×1 times)

You have 15 unallocated stat points.

I pushed my hand outward, palm facing forward, and called upon my talent. Shadows pooled in my palm like dark mist curling around my fingers. Twisting and turning, they wound and unwound, then suddenly shot outward in a burst of binds. Each one, as if with a mind of its own, wrapped around one monster after another.

The horde of Ashen Chimera had been intimidating at first glance, but now bound and helpless, they were easy pickings.

Focusing inward, I called upon another of my talents and felt the veins throughout my body light up with magic. Crimson blood bubbled into existence within my hand and morphed into a sharp blade, which I swung with the full strength that over 700 attribute points promised.

The sharp blade cleaved through their heads like a hot knife through butter—without even a drop of blood erupting immediately. It was only seconds later that the blood began bubbling up from their severed necks, dyeing their bound and still bodies.

I let the blade in my hand collapse into a puff of mana that dispersed into the air and stepped back. The system notified me that I had leveled up yet another time.

"Nice work," Amara commented, moving closer.

The smile on my face grew wider at the compliment, delighted to hear that all the effort I had put in had not gone to waste. Amara walked past me to the bleeding monsters and crouched down.

"Odd little creatures," she said, waving her index finger just above the monsters.

"That they are," I said, moving to stand beside her. "Chimeras have always been a sort of unnatural existence, even among monster kind."

The vampire shook her head and stood. "It's not just that," she said. "I seem to remember little, if anything, about these monsters, which is odd because I understand every other monster."

"The same is true for me," Tania added. "They seemed kind of wrong to me—not like the usual corrupted mana monsters, more like wrong mana monsters—if that makes any sense."

Amara shook her head. "I think it’s more like their very existence is at odds with mana itself, like they came out the wrong end of this world."

I shrugged and said, "I’ve heard that Chimeras came into existence only some decades ago, but the truth of those rumors isn’t something I can attest to."

"Whatever. Let’s just keep moving."

We ventured deeper into the forest, overcoming stronger foes from time to time. I almost always took the front to test out all my talents, and using them practically allowed me to fill in the gaps of whatever I had been missing.

By the time we arrived in the vicinity of the ruin, I had leveled up one more time. I was level 65, with only a few points remaining to the next level—and I had 45 unallocated attribute points.

The ruin we found looked decidedly decrepit, without much change from the last time. Amara made a point to survey the surroundings anyway, and by the time we finally entered the cave, it was nearing evening.

"Wow," Tania remarked, glancing around. "I can already tell that the cave was designed this way to act as a natural reservoir. Genius idea."

I frowned and looked around. Finding nothing odd about the cave itself, I shot her a look and asked, "What's that supposed to mean? I don't see anything wrong with it."

Tania laughed lightly and said, "Of course there's nothing wrong with it. What I meant is that the way the cave is designed, it was meant to catch the currents of mana from the outside world. And since a Teleportation Rune exists here—then probably to recharge it."

I mouthed an "oh" and wandered off to one side. Though I couldn’t find any difference in the atmosphere of this place compared to the outside, since Tania sounded confident in her judgment, I knew better than to doubt her.

"Let’s not waste any time and get right to work," said Amara, moving with quiet efficiency and a determined face. We offered our nods and moved to where the Rune was.

"So," the vampire said, "what do you think?"

Tania pondered the question deeply, looking all over the Rune and moving around in circles. Sometimes she would trail her finger over the characters drawn; other times she would simply close her eyes and think. Just when her bizarre routine seemed to have no end, she stepped back and exhaled.

"Incredible," she said. "This isn’t just a simple Teleportation Rune—it's a work of art. The way it was designed suggests more complex functions at work than we can hope to determine. Honestly, it’s probably the single most complicated piece of work I’ve seen in my life."

"Do you think you can fix it?" I asked.

Tania offered me a grin and said, "Who do you think you’re talking to? Of course I can fix it. I just need a bit of time."

"How long?" Amara asked.

The dwarf shrugged. "A few hours, maybe," she said. "Can’t give you an accurate guess."

"That works," Amara replied. "We’ll rest here for the night. You can start working now and then get some rest when night falls."

"Sure." Tania nodded and found a corner to sit in.

I found myself a corner to laze in and think about the earlier fights. I had used nearly every talent—not related to summoning—and it had broadened my horizons on what it meant to fight for real.

You would think that a hunter like me, with as many run-ins as I’ve had with monsters, would be experienced in combat. And you would be right, of course. The only problem was my newly acquired skill set hadn’t yet been properly field-tested. Think of them like new shoes—they might look great on the surface, but comfort and ease would follow only after they’d been broken in.

While my proficiency in each of those talents was far from what Amara and the others could accomplish, I was learning and improving.

Time passed. Amara had disappeared off somewhere, and I found myself getting bored doing nothing. So, I decided to watch Tania work.

"This Void Mana," I said, "how does it make any sense? Like, how can Mana be Void?"

"Sure it does," Tania replied. "The same way Fire Mana or Ice Mana does."

I froze, taken aback. "Wait, there are Fire and Ice Mana too?"

"There's every sort of Mana. Why does that surprise you?"

"I mean," I said, pausing to consider my words, "Mana is supposed to fuel your talents, and nothing dictates that those have to be of one particular category. So how would Fire Mana power talents based on Ice?"

Tania stopped her work, paused, and then looked at me. "Wait, you don’t think I’m referring to the Mana inside the body, do you?"

I offered a shrug.

Tania sighed, her shoulders slumping. "Goodness me," she remarked, "I sometimes forget that you're not very knowledgeable on these matters."

"Enlighten me then," I said.

"It’s actually related to Arcane Arts," Tania explained. "By binding your talent to a specific Rune or other intermediary, you can give your Mana an attribute corresponding to that talent. You aren’t technically changing the Mana that's within you. It's an advanced application that causes the Mana you release to exhibit the attribute of a talent."

I nodded in understanding, then frowned as something occurred to me. "How does this Teleportation Rune use and create Void Mana then, if it doesn’t have a talent to bind to?" I asked.

"Simple," she replied. "It's not the Rune that changes the attribute of the Mana, but an intermediary. It can be a talent, indeed, but if you recall what Pyra once told you about the nature of Magic, then your question will be easily answered."

I tried remembering what Pyra might've mentioned in the past, but my recollection was dim and blurry. I shook my head and said, "Why don’t you just answer for convenience’s sake?"

"Symbolism," Tania answered. "If you need a binding agent—especially for Void Mana—then we can use a special kind of material called Star Ore. It’s an uncommon material found only near special sites. That’s the only reason why Teleportation Runes aren’t all over the world."

It was fascinating to my nascent mind, still new to the ways of knowledge, to suddenly learn about all these new terms and practices. I found myself absorbed in our conversation, asking one question after another, which continued until Amara returned. I would’ve kept asking had I not caught sight of what the vampire was carrying.

She had brought back a dead animal carcass—a wolf—and hauled it up. "I caught us some dinner. Who’s hungry?"

Learning could always wait until after I’d filled my stomach.