Four Basic Elements

The old dealer dispersed the Rune, "Have you looked enough?"

A light of disappointment briefly flashed within the duo's eyes. Regaining their calm, they nodded their head and the old dealer placed the Rune Decipherer back and transformed the white room into a normal one.

Khan inquired, "Sir, just how did you overlap the Runes without damaging the other Runes' energy grids?"

The old dealer sighed, "Young man, I don't think It's polite to ask about a person's trade secret." The former awkwardly scratched his head and realized his mistake.

"Well, I won't tell you the exact method, but I will give you a clue."

Khan's focus perked and he intently stared at the old dealer.

"The Runes with the same affinities can be overlapped." He left these words before deeply bowing towards Barhan's direction and moved towards the exit.

After this affair, the two left the casino and returned to their mansion, with two purple cards filled with several millions of Crons as their reward. The duo went back towards the mansion with satisfaction evident on their expressions.

Their current liquid assets were about fourteen million, including the purple card that the Sect Master gave and the compensation that they received from Caesar and Barhan. Since Khan still doesn't have any stable source of income, receiving this amount made him somewhat mirthful. And with their daily expenditure of several thousands of Crons, it would take them a while to run out of funds.

Arriving at the mansion, the two separated and went on with their work. Lily proceeded to make the dishes listed on her palm-sized notebook while Khan took several silver papers and a fountain pen as he sat and started to write a Rune.

Soon enough, the smell of sweet soy sauce wafted in the air, accompanied by the fragrance of mead which incited the hunger hidden within Khan's body. Despite the fact that his fleshly body didn't really need the nourishment that comes from food, after tasting those flavorful dishes back at the Culinary Bowl of Muspelheim, he felt that he should try and eat, three meals a day. Especially if the dishes were as delightful as those.

He calmed his mind and focused on his task, his right hand, that held the fountain pen, faintly shone in a golden light as he infused his Qi towards the ink that constantly ran through the silver paper, shortly afterward, a complete Rune appeared before him, that gave off a pulsating golden light.

Judging from the simple design and the high temperature that surrounded the paper itself, it could be deduced that the Rune he made had an affinity with the Fire Element.

Indeed, the Rune that he made was a basic lightning Rune. However, he also included his own understanding towards the Diamond Class Rune that he saw, back at Barhan's casino.

Memories of the Rune flashed within Khan's mind. Earlier, he had deduced that the Rune contained several complex instructions regarding the mixture of Earth, Wind, Water and Fire Elements to perform a certain task of which, to the current him, was still a mystery.

But for now, he concentrated on the task of mixing two of the four basic elements to create an element at a higher realm.

Khan's hand stretched out and the Rune on his palm shone in a resplendent light that enveloped the entire living room. Lily startled, turned around and found a brightly shining paper floating in the air.

"Hah!" With a grunt, the light from the Rune reached its peak as a blue snake materialized into existence, followed by a crackling sound which ravaged the entire mansion, sending it into a temporary blackout.

"Ah."

Khan facepalmed, 'Why in the hell did I use that here?' His eyes landed on Lily's whose eyes faintly shone in a green light. Due to her affiliation with the Dragon Race, her night vision was better than most humans and she could see through the night as if it was the day.

She spoke with a tone filled with a threatening vibe, "Khan... Just what did you do...?" Her eyes momentarily landed on the kitchen, specifically at the turned off stove which ran on electricity.

"Ahem, don't worry, power will soon be b-" Before he could finish his sentence, light returned and the fire under the wok rekindled. Lily immediately ran towards the kitchen and didn't bother about Khan anymore which made the latter heave in relief.

'So far, I can create Lightning by mixing Fire, Water, and Air Elements, I instructed the Water Element to create several bumps of ice and rub them to each other so that I can create an electric charge, and then. I utilized the Air Element to manipulate the negative and positive charges to form the shape of a snake and with the Fire Element as a medium, I increased its explosiveness.'

'However, there's no more space to overlap another Rune.' He wryly smiled, 'It seems like even I has a limit when it comes to creating Runes.'

The concept of Rune and Talisman creation was closely intertwined to each other to the point that they could be interchanged, The only difference between the two was that Runes cannot create certain phenomenon without mixing the four basic elements to create the basis of that phenomenon.

In short, Khan could easily create an Escape Talisman, of which, he could use to create a tear in the space to escape. However, when it comes to Runes, he found that it didn't recognize the instructions that he wrote as a legitimate instruction and threw an error towards it.

Which means, Khan still needs to find out about how he could reproduce the Element of Space using the four basic elements, which greatly baffled and at the same time, excited him.

He took a deep breath and glanced at the Rune Decipherer on his arm that the Sect Master gave, specifically at the small camera like protrusion on its underside which could scan small-scale Runes like the lightning Rune that he had just created.

With a tap, he activated the Mini Rune Scanner and placed two silver papers on the table and with a fountain pen on each hand, he started his work, concentration suffused on his expression as his hand repeatedly blurred.

In each movement, a small part of the Rune would be drawn and just within a minute, the two Runes were completed.

Giving a satisfied smile, he scanned the silver paper and carried the other one as he walked towards the outside.

"Where are you going?" Lily noticed him and inquired.

"I'm gonna test this for a bit, Just call me when dinner's done." Khan slightly turned his head and smiled before closing the door and walking towards the backyard.

There, he sat on the grass and stared at the Rune that he made.

By using his Qi to power the Rune, it would become a talisman.

And by using his Mana to power the Talisman, it would become a Rune.

Two different concepts yet closely intertwined with each other.

Khan leaked a small smile, he first tapped on the Rune Decipherer as a surge of Mana came out from his soul and streamed towards the device on his arm.

A whizzing sound followed suit, as a small Rune the size of a plate appeared on his stretched palm.

"Siga!" With his shout, lightning crackled and struck the grasses that surrounded the mansion and as the smoke cleared up. Khan noticed that a small patch of land was scorched black.

Satisfied by the power, his attention turned towards the silver paper in his hand and with his Qi, he made it float in the air and slowly infused it with his power.

The silver paper shone in a brilliant golden light, which became a beacon in the dark, illuminating the surroundings. Thankfully, it was already late in the night and the mansion where they lived was inside a village compound, quite away from the prying eyes of the public.

"Siga!"

BOOM!

A booming sound echoed as the ground itself trembled, a deep blue snake that almost looked like a dragon struck the earth and Khan almost lost his footing as he staggered backward. His gaze landed back on the mansion as he could somewhat hear Lily cursing inside as she cooked.

With a wry smile on his face, Khan glanced at the distance and found that a hole that was at least three meters deep and two meters wide, gaped before him.

"Ah..."

A cry uttered from his mouth, awkwardly scratching his head, he walked towards the hole and instilled the surrounding greeneries with the might of his cultivation base so that it could heal itself.

And sure enough, the gaping hole slowly disappeared as the grasses covered it. Eventually, there were no more traces of evidence, making Khan heave a sigh of relief as he returned back to the mansion.

When he entered, he found a Lily whose cheeks puffed and arms crossed together, on the table before her, were several dishes of vegetables and meat. But in the center, a particular dish stood out.

Khan gulped a mouthful of saliva as he stared at the Red-braised Pork with Soy Sauce, for the faint fragrance that it emanated was quite strong, which contained a scent of sugar and roast, as well as a hint of exquisite fragrance, and with the combination, the mixed scents almost made the hundred thousand years old ancestor, drool.

She smugly smiled upon noticing his expression, "What do you think, quite good for a beginner, right?"

Khan's eyes shone in a strange light, although the dishes that she made were good, it couldn't be compared to those meals that he tasted in the Culinary Bowl of Muspelheim. But seeing her smug and satisfied expression, he couldn't help but feel a warmth permeating through his body.

He revealed a teasing smile and said: "Did you really make this by yourself without any help?" His tone lengthened when it reached the latter part of his sentence.

"Of course, I did! It's just Red-braised Pork with Soy Sauce, what's so special about that? It's only basic, basic." Lily's expression flushed, and she didn't dare to meet Khan's gaze. However, she still maintained her stoic expression and retorted.

In her hand that she hid on her back, a thick book could be seen. Her grip on it was tight and if you looked closely, you would notice her sweat drenching the cover of the book, especially with a glaring title accompanied by pictures of several mouthwatering dishes that said, [THE FASTEST WAY TO HIS HEART!]

Khan only smiled towards her and proceeded to take a bite of the Red-Braised Pork with Soy Sauce, and indeed, he wasn't disappointed, for, in each bite, the fragrance of pork instantly occupied his entire mouth, and it was not greasy at all. The lean meat carried a little chewy texture while the fat meat sandwiched in between instantly melted in his mouth, carrying the glamor of sweetness.

And when he reached the skin, he found that it was surprisingly too well-cooked, carrying the slight colloid texture of pork skin that with a simple bite, it brought Khan to the peak of happiness.

Lily's vanity in her cooking prowess became satisfied as her lips leaked a silly smile while she stared at Khan who enjoyed himself.

It took them about an hour to finish their dinner for Khan was reluctant to take that last bite of the Red-Braised Pork, saying that it was too precious to be eaten.

But eventually, with Lily's urging and promise that she would make it every night. Khan finally relented and the two proceeded towards their bedroom.

Back then, they would sleep separately, but now that Lily started to accept Khan's existence and towards her position as his wife, she consented towards his advances about sleeping together.

But contrary to her expectations, when Khan struck the bed, he suddenly fell in deep thought to the point that he didn't even bother about Lily anymore who pouted at the side, she stuck her body closer towards him. Her chest revealed its might that could weaken any other male.

However, to the pondering Khan, it was useless.

In the end, Lily slept with a sullen expression, her back faced towards Khan as she hugged a pillow while Khan continued on his reflection towards the Four Basic Elements and how he could interchange them to create a phenomenon of a higher realm.

After about several hours, he finally awoke from his trance and when he turned his head, he found a Lily with a sullen sleeping expression.

Kissing his little wife on her lips, Khan embraced her and closed his eyes, he didn't even bother to hide his excitement towards the progress that he made as his mind, slowly drifted into unconsciousness.