Crafting Runestones

Chapter 55 - Crafting Runestones

"Hephaestus-sama, the red, blue, and green stones have been polished."

The Hephaestus Familia's territory wasn't any less impressive than Loki Familia's. 

As a forging Familia, the Hephaestus Familia was one of the richest in all of Orario.

After Hephaestus gave the orders, Tsubaki got her subordinates to start working.

These were just upper-tier ores. Nothing fancy or particularly useful, but they had some value.

Still, Hephaestus wanted these otherwise useless ores polished and uniform in size. Weird request.

Tsubaki couldn't help but ask, "Hephaestus-sama, these ores aren't for crafting, right?"

"Even if we sell them... we're not using cheap crap like this to make accessories, yeah?"

"It's for a special purpose," Hephaestus replied casually.

She picked up a stone and tossed it at Tsubaki. "Crush this and tell me what you feel."

Confused but not one to argue, Tsubaki crushed the stone in her hand.

"!?"

A shock of raw power hit her, surging through her body.

Tsubaki wasn't just some weakling stuck behind an anvil. 

She was level 5 adventurer.

So when her strength suddenly skyrocketed out of nowhere, she was shocked.

"What the hell? Why do I feel like I could punch through a wall right now?"

"How does it feel?" Hephaestus asked, totally ignoring her question.

Tsubaki took a second to assess herself. 

Controlling her body felt harder than before.

"It feels... good, but this much power is ridiculous. It's hard to control," she admitted, her tone a mix of awe and frustration.

"Yeah, everything about it feels great—except for how clumsy it makes me," she added.

"Is this some kind of enchantment? And why is it so overpowered?"

Tsubaki wasn't a stranger to enhancements, but this was on a whole different level. 

The stone's boost wasn't just noticeable—it was absurd. 

Buff magic existed in Orario, but usually, it gave a little boost here and there. 

This, though? This was like flipping a switch and becoming a goddamn tank.

"The sheer amount of power is what makes it useful," Hephaestus said, smirking like she already knew how insane it was.

Tsubaki quickly pieced it together. "Wait a second... are all these ores buffed with magic?"

Her tone was slightly annoyed now. "Hephaestus-sama, are you trying to run us into the ground?"

Enchanting magic wasn't a walk in the park. 

It ate up tons of mana and mental energy. Making one of these crazy-powerful stones would probably leave a mage passed out for days.

"Tsubaki, shut up if you don't have anything useful to say," Hephaestus snapped, her patience clearly wearing thin. 

If Tsubaki weren't the captain of her Familia, she might've slapped her upside the head.

The room went silent after that.

"Isn't your guest here yet?" Tsubaki asked, looking around. 

She hadn't been told about any visitors, and it was starting to bug her.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Hephaestus."

"!?"

Tsubaki jumped at the sudden voice.

She turned and spotted two figures standing just a few meters away.

One was a white-haired boy with a cold expression. 

The other was Hestia, the goddess who'd recently hired by Hephaestus.

"When the hell did you two get here?" Tsubaki blurted out.

"Just now," Bell replied. 

Tsubaki: "..."

"Bell, the ores are ready. Will these do?" Hephaestus asked.

"Yeah," Bell said simply, crouching to pick up a redstone.

It was small, no bigger than his palm, and seemed like it would work perfectly for the runestone.

"This is enough," he said, nodding.

"The product only needs a single rune, so it doesn't require a super-durable carrier."

Even though they could've just used plain stones, polished ore felt a bit more... respectable. 

No adventurer wanted to walk around with a rock in their pocket, after all.

"How long will it take to finish these?" Hephaestus asked, glancing at the scattered ores.

"About an hour to get them all done," Bell replied.

Hephaestus raised an eyebrow, surprised but not questioning his speed.

"Alright, I'll leave it to you," she said.

"This is the Familia's backyard. I've made sure no one will bother you today. Do what you need to."

"Got it," Bell replied.

There were only three types of runestones that needed crafting: Weapon Sharpening, Status-Enhancement, and Flame Bullet.

Bell had mastered a ridiculous variety of rune applications, but flooding Orario with too many options would be asking for trouble.

Three types were more than enough to turn heads.

Of course, there were also upgraded versions of these runes. 

But those were crazy expensive, custom-made, and only crafted upon request.

Bell hoped for pre-orders on the upgraded versions eventually. 

After all, making these runes was part of his daily training, and selling them afterward was just icing on the cake. 

Easy money and free practice? No complaints here.

What made it even sweeter was the deal with the Hephaestus Familia. 

By trading runestones with minimal effort, Bell had not only built an unshakable bond with them but was also pocketing a fat profit. 

Half the sales went to them at a discount, but that still left him with nearly pure profit.

This monopoly on rune magecraft was his secret weapon. 

In Orario—or any world, for that matter—monopoly was king when it came to raking in wealth.

Bell grabbed a blue ore and got to work inscribing a Weapon Sharpening rune on it. 

When the rune was complete, a glowing symbol appeared on the ore's surface.

The inscription wasn't functional yet—just decorative text. 

But thanks to Hephaestus refining the ores, the polished appearance added a certain mystique. 

Adventurers were suckers for mysterious stuff, and this would help sales.

After finishing the rune, Bell casually tossed the completed stone aside and moved on to the next.

Tsubaki, who had been watching the whole process, crouched down to inspect the blue runestone.

"Is this it? Does it have the same effect as body strengthening?" she asked, her voice skeptical.

Bell glanced at her and shrugged. "The blue ones are Weapon Sharpening. They make weapons sharper for a limited time."

Tsubaki's eyes widened. "Wait, seriously? How sharp are we talking?"

Bell paused briefly, finishing a red rune before answering. "I haven't tested it much, but Hephaestus used it on a sword and some other weapon."

"And?" Tsubaki pressed.

"The sword with the rune could slice clean through that weapon. It basically raises sharpness by a whole tier."

"A tier up?!" 

Tsubaki trembled. 

If this rune could do the same for top-tier weapons, it'd blow up the market. 

Hell, it might even rival magic swords in value.

She watched Bell crank out rune after rune with mechanical efficiency, disbelief plastered on her face.

"How the hell are you doing this so fast? Buff magic that boosts a weapon's sharpness by a tier should take forever to make!"

Bell smirked. "It's only easy for me."

For anyone who doesn't know rune magecraft, they wouldn't even get one done, no matter how long they tried.

Runes weren't just some parlor trick. They were derived from the World Tree by Odin.

Bell's mastery came from the system. It wasn't something he'd learned—it was something he'd been given.

Watching him churn out runes like a machine left Tsubaki stunned.

"And the other two runestones?" she asked, shaking off her amazement.

"The red ones are Flame Bullet, and the green ones are Status-Enhancement."

"The green runes have the same buff you're feeling right now," Bell explained.

Tsubaki blinked, holding up a green runestone. "This crazy buff I'm feeling is the same as what's in this stone?"

"Yeah, but it only lasts five minutes," Bell replied.

Tsubaki nodded slowly. "Five minutes, huh... that's fair."

A longer duration would've felt overpowered, even to her. 

But five minutes? That was perfect for tight situations.

Even with the time limit, the potential was insane. 

Five minutes of enhanced stats could mean the difference between life and death in the dungeon.

For most adventurers, five minutes was all they needed to win a fight or escape if things went sideways.

"And the Flame Bullet?" she asked.

"It's a small fireball. Explodes on impact," Bell said without looking up.

The Flame Bullet was essentially a magic grenade. 

The explosion generated intense flames and heat, making it ideal for finishing off tough monsters.

Unlike the other runes, it was dirt cheap. Even Level 1 adventurers could afford to stockpile a few for emergencies.

Tsubaki smirked, imagining the chaos these runestones would cause in Orario.

Bell, on the other hand, just kept working.

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