Rune

I look at the city of South Window. Previously, this city was closed to the other by order of General Solon Jhee, but now when the Highland army is making a full retreat, South Window opens up once again.

The city opened up two days after the defeat of Solon Jhee in North Window city. When I arrived in the South Window city for the first time yesterday, it was still closed up by the Highland Army. So I spent a day inside my pocket dimension before once again walking toward the South Window city.

I walk toward the South Window, and to my surprise, one of the guards greets me.

"Welcome to South Window, Sir Isaac!"

I look at the guard with a shocked expression. The guard looked at me and decided to explain it.

"I'm one of the soldiers under your command, sir! Not only that, but you are also the one to heal my friend and me."

"Ah! I see, and your name is?"

"Bob, sir! Bob, son of Raul!"

"I see. Then Bob, can I walk inside the South Window? I don't know if the city will accept a guest yet."

"Oh! Of course, sir. Please come inside!"

"Thank you. Nice to meet you, Bob."

"Yes, sir!"

I walked toward the city, but before I could walk far from the gate, I walked toward Bob and asked him a question.

"Errrrr Bob, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, Sir Isaac!"

"Where can I find the runemaster?"

"Oh! You can find her on the south side of the city. Just follow the road in front of you, and when you meet a dead end, her store is in your right."

"I see. Thank you, Bob."

"It is my pleasure, sir!"

I nod at him and then walk toward the runemaster store. After a minute or so walking, I arrive at a two-story-tall building with a symbol of rune crystal attached to the building's front door.

I walk inside the store and see four people sitting on a chair with four other women who touch their hands and massage their hands. Some of the women take a rune crystal and make it float above the hand of their customer. It looks like massaging the customer's hand is the process of attaching the rune.

"Welcome to our store. What can I do for you, stranger?"

I snap from my thoughts when one of the workers walks toward me.

"Ah! I come here to attach some rune into myself."

"I see. Then please sit down, and I will go back to you in a second."

I sit down on one of the empty chairs in the room. A few seconds later, the woman came back from the backroom and sat down in front of me.

"So! Do you want to buy a rune crystal first, or do you bring your own crystal?"

"I bring my own crystal, but before we begin, can I ask how much do I need to pay for this process?"

"If you bring your own crystal, then you only need to pay two thousand potch. If you want to buy and attach a rune, then it will have a different cost. Fire rune will cost you twelve thousand potch, ten thousand potch for the crystal, and two thousand potch for the attachment process. Lightning rune will cost you fourteen thousand potch. Water rune will cost you eight thousand potch."

"I see. I will need two runes attached to me for now. I will come back here to buy the Water Rune. I need to take more money from the inn first."

"Of course."

Right now, I only have ten thousand potch from the monster drop I killed not too long ago. I either need to sell some gold to the trader or hunt some monster and hope they drop some money.

Right now, I'm in a hurry, so I guess selling some gold is needed.

"Can I have your right hand?"

I snap from my thoughts and nod at her before giving her my right hand. When she gets my hand, the woman begins to massage my hand like she is searching for something.

"Hmmm, Can I ask what you are doing?"

"Ah! We do this because we need to create a path to connect the rune to your magic. You will feel like an ant crawling around your body in a second. Please ignore it for a second."

True to her word, I can feel a hundred or so ants crawling on my body. It was not hurt but rather uncomfortable. After a few seconds, the uncomfortable feeling began to disappear, and the woman stopped massaging my hand.

"Good. Now please give me the rune crystal so we can begin the process."

"Of course."

I take out the crystal from my 'pocket' and give it to the woman in front of me. The first crystal she takes is the Pale Gate Rune. When she looked at the rune crystal, she widened her eyes for a second before looking at me.

"You have a rare crystal in here."

"Yeah, I'm a traveler and treasure hunter. This is one of the few things I encounter in my travels."

"I see. Is there anything rare you can sell to us? As long as it was magic related, we will buy it."

"Maybe later, first thing first, let's finish this. I will come back after I take my item from the inn."

"Of course. Please come to our store first, okay?"

"I promise."

"Thank you. Please follow me to the other room. Pale Gate Rune can only be attached to your forehead. I cannot do it if you are sitting on the chair."

"Of course."

I take the darkness rune back and follow the woman to the next room, where the woman tells me to lie down on the bed. When I lie down on the bed, the woman walks toward me and makes the rune float above my head.

"Please don't move too much. The process will be uncomfortable, but please don't move too much."

"Okay"

Lucky for me, the women already told me the process would be uncomfortable, but I never thought that I would get a massive headache when the rune crystal touched my head. The headache lasts for a few seconds before it slowly goes away, leaving only a numbing sensation.

However, before I could release a relief breath, a rush of knowledge appeared in my head. It was the information of how many attacks the Pale Gate Rune had with the current me. Right now, I can summon a firefox for an hour from the Void to do my bidding. It can cast a fire-based attack and an illusion. There is also a massive centaur knight I summon for five minutes before it gets back to the void.

There is also another summon I can access, but I cannot reach it just yet.

"It is done. The rune will grow the more you use it. The rune also gives you a boost. Pale Gate Rune will boost your mana density by a hundred percent, so you need to train your magic control."

"I see."

Yeah, I can feel my mana has changed if my previous mana is like water, then this time it was like honey, thick and hard to move. However, it also packs more punch than before. I need to test this out later.

Also, did she say that I can increase my summon duration just by using it over and over again? It is time for grinding then.

"Now for the next rune. Please give me the rune."

I nod at her and take out the rune crystal, then give it to her. Just like before, her eyes widen up, and she begins to imitate a fish out of water. A second later, she shakes her head and says.

"You must be a fortunate treasure hunter, huh? Darkness rune, the rune that governs darkness and death. If you sell this to the other kingdom, you will be given land and nobility by them."

"Meh."

"Meh? That's it? You can get a title and land, you know?"

"Yeah, meh. I'm a traveler, and I prefer to travel around the world."

And I already have a title and land to govern. I cannot govern a land that I will permanently leave.

"You are a weird man."

"That I am. Anyway, can you attach this rune in my right hand?"

"Of course. In your journey, have you encountered a raw magical crystal?"

What is a raw magical crystal? I don't know what it is, so I decided to ask about it to my power. A second later, a piece of knowledge about it appeared in my head.

A raw magical crystal is a material to contain the rune power. It was needed to create a common rune. It was not a rare material but rather an uncommon material used by the Runemaster. This crystal can be found in the monster that eats that crystal or in the crystal mine.

Because it is a material, I can summon it with my power.

"I do. I have ten kilograms of it in my belongings."

"Then will you sell it to us?"

"How much do you offer for this crystal? It was one big crystal, not a bunch of cristal."

"Realy?"

"Yes."

"Then can we look at it first? We will, of course, offer you a fair price."

"Then I will bring the crystal here after we finish this business first."

"Of course!"

I guess I need to rent a room in the local inn to 'take out' the crystal. I don't want to go outside the city to summon the crystal.