Apprenticeship

Three days passed like this, with Cassian and Nico going through the 7-9th floors, mainly targeting pantries and killing large amounts of monsters.

Cassian decided to forego getting a new weapon for now as his fists were more than enough for those floors. He decided to gather funds for now and get a better overall weapon for a higher price later. Plus due to higher difficulty, he'd get more stats.

After three days their growth was quite satisfactory. They managed to earn around 180,000 valis from their dives and their basic abilities advanced further as well.

This was the result.

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Cassian Suncrest

Strength ~ I-48

Endurance ~ I-42

Dexterity ~ I-32

Agility ~ I-56

Magic ~ I-52

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Nikolaos Suncrest

Strength ~ I-12

Endurance ~ I-14

Dexterity ~ I-21

Agility ~ I-35

Magic ~ I-83

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The stat increases seemed small but they could already feel getting stronger and it was decent enough for the challenge level they were facing on those floors. They would go down deeper, but for now, they had other things to do.

"Alright, since we have economic stability and are not on the verge of homelessness let's figure out our plans for the future." The three of them were currently sitting at a table and eating dinner. Hecate had basically moved in with them, leaving her house empty.

They had to change suites from a two-bedroom one to a three-bedroom suite since so everyone had their own room.

"Well, first how long are we planning on remaining in this inn? While the place is amazing, paying 6,000 valis per day is not optimal." Answered Hecate after swallowing a bite of the fried chicken on her plate.

"Yeah you're right we should start searching for a house to buy." Said Cassian while pondering.

"Huh? Can we afford that?" Nico was surprised. 'Aren't houses super expensive?'

"We definitely will be able to soon. A decent house costs around 800,000 valis, if we go fancy and find a large mansion with plenty of space and amenities, we should be able to fit within 5-6 million. At the rate we're going, we'll have that in less than a month." They were earning a bit more than twice the amount an average level 1 party earned, and they were still on the 9th floor. Once they entered the middle floors, their earnings would skyrocket.

"True, it should be doable for you two. Although, we should look for one near this street since it is right on the path to the Guild and Babel." Hecate said, to which both brothers agreed with a nod. Neither wanted to waste time walking to these places from a faraway location in the city.

"Besides that, now that we have breathing room, I think it's time to start exploring and developing our talents." Declared Cassian and Nico gained a look of clarity after a brief moment of confusion.

"What's this about?" Hecate remained confused since she did not know about all of their abilities yet.

"Arcane Magic! I'm going to start researching and studying magic so that I can start making new spells!" Answered Nico enthusiastically. Hecate's eyes lit up with the same amount of enthusiasm at this.

"Perfect, I will teach you everything there is to know about magic, mind, and magical phenomena, and then we can collaborate on building Arcane Magic from the ground up into the best magic system in the world." She couldn't help it. This was her dream, her ultimate goal in her countless years of existence. Now it was finally before her eyes.

"Will you be joining us too brother?"

"No, I have different plans."

Oh? And what will those plans be?" Hecate's question made Cassian smile.

"It's about time I started learning blacksmithing." He said before cleaning up his plate and leaving. He decided against buying a high-class weapon. Why should he waste money on that, when he could make gear on a whole new level? It was about time he started making use of Runesmithing.

Rune magic is a profound and ancient art that taps into the latent power within special symbols and words. This mystical practice is rooted in the understanding that certain symbols and words hold inherent magical properties, capable of channeling and manipulating the natural and supernatural forces of the world. The origins of these runes date back to the primordial times, but no one truly understands the reason behind this power, despite many theories.

However, from the discussions Cassian has had with Hecate regarding his magic and powers, including Runesmithing. It turned out that the Runes held a very strong resemblance to the Hieroglyphs used by gods for all higher matters, including the creation and inscription of Falna. If Cassian remembered properly, Hestia Knife also had Hieroglyphs etched upon it by Hephaestus.

That was an immense discovery. It meant that the origins of the Runes could be tied to the divine, which would explain the spectacular power they held by default. Although it likely originated from a different set of gods, which opened up a slew of troubling possibilities that Cassian did not want to get into at this time.

To be able to utilize it, one must have a deep and profound understanding of each rune they wish to utilize. Comprehend the mystery and meaning behind them. Simply scribbling the symbols onto surfaces won't yield any results. No, one had to enter a meditative state during the process and imbue the carvings with their very intent. A very complicated task to accomplish, especially for the non-magically gifted.

In the Witcher media, the runes that were seen were nowhere near the true potential of what they could accomplish. Even the Runewright who handled the enhancement was severely limited in what he could accomplish due to being incapable of wielding magic. But here? Cassian? With Falna boosting him to potentially unheard-of levels? The possibilities were endless.

--- Tower of Babel ~ 8th floor ---

Cassian was currently making his way through the Hephaestus shops. Hephaestus familia practically owned floors 4 to 8 and it was filled with shops displaying the works of Hephaestus blacksmiths. The 4th floor was filled with the shops and works belonging to the best, and it got progressively lower as you went up, until the 8th floor was filled with the works of beginner smiths or those without much renown.

'Before I start practicing with runes, I should start learning blacksmithing. Only by combining those two will I have the best results. But for that, I will need a teacher.' Cassian smiled. 'And I know just where to find one.'

Making his way into the 13th shop already, he asked around for what he was looking for to the clerk.

"Welcome customer! How may I help you?" The clerk was a middle-aged man with a hat on his head.

"Hello, does this shop sell the works of a blacksmith called Welf Crozzo?"

"Oh, oh yes, we do, they are in the back. Would you like me to show them to you?"

"Actually no, I was hoping you could help me get in contact with him. I wish to commission work from him." At that, an unpleasant expression crossed the clerk's face.

"If you're planning on commissioning a magic sword then forget it, that fool refuses to make them no matter what." He said with an annoyed face. The kid could be making a fortune if he was not so bullheaded. It was irritating for him since he had to work in this crummy place to put food on the table and the guy who could be making millions easily, refuses to do so.

"That's okay, I wanted to commission a normal weapon anyway."

"Ah, really? Then he should come around here in a couple of hours to deliver a shipment of gear, you could meet him then." The clerk was surprised. Everyone who sought Welf out did so for his magic weapons.

"I see, thanks." Cassian then milled about for around 2 hours, checking out the various gear made by blacksmiths. Even if he had never done anything close to crafting, it felt like he could vaguely discern the rough quality of the pieces of equipment. He attributed it to his blacksmithing talent perk.

Soon he heard arguing coming from the front of the shop. He went there and saw a tall, red-headed young man arguing about the placement of his products.

Cassian made an appearance and the smith immediately turned to him with narrowed eyes.

"So you're the guy who wants to commission something from me. I'll tell you straight away that I do not and will not make magic swords." Welf spoke with irritation. It seemed he was fed up with all the people asking him to make them.

"Nah those are crap anyway, I want to commission a normal weapon and a little something else."

"C-Crap? What do you mean?! They could blow up entire buildings!" Who in their right mind would call magic swords crap? Especially when everyone desires to have one.

"They have decent power, but that's it. 'Magic Swords' is just a fancy name someone came up with for a consumable item with an offensive nature. You use it in a pinch to save your life, but even then it fails as a consumable item because of ludicrous prices on it. Low-level adventurers who may need it can't afford it and high-level ones don't need it anymore due to surpassing the power output of one already. An overall failure of a product." Cassian declared disinterestedly.

As Cassian said, magic swords were interesting but in the end, failed as a product. It would be much more effective to ask an alchemist to make a bomb that the adventurer can use to deal large amounts of damage to groups of monsters.

Add on top of that the fact that kills made with magic swords provided no Excelia and destroyed all the magic stones and the only use they had was to use as a last resort when overwhelmed.

Welf was openly gaping at this point. Everyone who came to him always wanted a magic sword, so to hear someone not interested in them, much less call them a failure was a great shock.

"I-I see. Magic swords are a rot, they stagnate the user and become a liability due to always breaking after a few uses. It is a stain on a smith's pride! I make weapons that will accompany the adventurers to their direst moments, not stuff that breaks after a couple of uses. How can I, as a blacksmith, not be ashamed when something I make shatters like glass?!" Welf's speech got more and more heated.

Cassian didn't know how much he agreed with Welf's words, but he let it go as it was unimportant. Welf's trauma was not his to resolve.

/Cough/

Welf was brought down to Gekai with a cough and rubbed his head a little embarrassedly. "Sorry, got a bit carried away there. Anyway, if you don't want magic swords, what do you need?"

They had moved away from the clerk and were talking in the back of the shop by now.

"Well, first of all, I want a sword. One that can handle the middle floors and the monsters there. Durable and sharp enough to withstand impacts with the Hard Armored's shell and cut through it with ease. Can you make that?" Cassian then provided further details about the sword's shape, size, weight, and so on.

"Hmm, I definitely can, but I don't have the materials needed for it." He was skilled enough to make weapons for even level 2 adventurers with the right materials.

"You're the expert here so I'll pay for the materials needed for it and you can go buy them. How much will it cost in total?"

"With the material costs, it should be around 65,000 valis. And it'll take me a couple of days."

"Great, we have a deal then."

"Agreed. What was that other thing you wanted?"

"Oh, I want to apprentice under you and for you to teach me blacksmithing." Cassian said with a grin and was met with a baffled look from Welf.

"What?! What do you mean apprentice under me? We're the same age! Wait aren't you an adventurer to begin with? Why the hell do you want to learn blacksmithing?" Welf was in disbelief. Someone randomly asking him to teach them blacksmithing was not what he expected.

"I've always been interested in smithing and I think I've got a talent for it. I want to make my own gear in the future to arm myself and my familia. Plus, nothing says I can't be both. Look at your familia captain for example."

"I guess that's reasonable. But I don't have time for that. I'm already barely getting by due to a lack of customers. Most people want me to make them a magic sword and storm away in anger when I refuse, so I'm already having a hard time with time and funds anyway-" Welf continued his refusal but Cassian interrupted.

"I'm not asking you to do this for free. I'll pay 50,000 valis a week for lessons. You decide the schedule." That stopped Welf in his tracks and made his eyes widen. The 65,000 order from before was already huge, one of his best sales, and would set him up for a while, but 50,000 weekly income for lessons sounded almost too good to be true.

"Are you sure? That's a lot of money for lessons and I'm just some nameless smith outside of being a Crozzo." Weld added a bit subduedly. It seemed he had a bit of an insecurity regarding his status.

"Yeah, I'm sure you seem trustworthy from what I've seen and skilled enough to not even consider the difficulty of my commission." The certainty in his voice seemed to be the final push for Welf, as he smiled.

"Alright then! I'll take you on! Five lessons per week, I work from morning till sunset so you decide when to come, I'll teach you on the job. My smithy is located in the Hephaestus familia workshops in the Northeast of Orario. Ask around and the people there will point you to me." Welf declared enthusiastically. He was kinda excited at the prospect of training another, as well as flattered that someone would seek him out for this.

"Good, it's settled then, I'll come to see you tomorrow for the first lesson." Cassian was equally excited at starting to learn smithing.

Welf extended his hand for a handshake but suddenly remembered who he was speaking to.

"Ah sorry about that. Forgot about the elves' no touching policy." He started withdrawing his hand a bit embarrassed, but before he could, Cassian clasped it and shook hands with him.

"Don't worry about that with me. I don't have a problem with touching." This dispelled Welf's embarrassment and he returned the shake before it suddenly hit him.

"Oh! I forgot to ask your name."

"Cassian, my name is Cassian Suncrest. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Heh, likewise. Let's make sure we get along."

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For simplicity's sake, I will be combining all of the various features like Runes, Runestones, Glyphs, Runewords, and Glyphwords, into one and calling them all Runes. It will be easier to understand and follow for the readers and easier for me to write.