Chapter 45: Flaw on the runes

" What was that?" I had to ask my legacy about it as I had no information about getting influenced by the runes. I just had thought every rune only provided me with amazing abilities without any such negative impacts till now.

[ Pardon]

"The thirst for blood I was feeling just now." It was something I needed to get the answer to right now as I wasn't interested in killing for blood just because of some rune I was the master of.

[ It was the influence of the ' Rune of Blood' on your psyche. Don't worry about it, this influence will lessen as your proficiency with the rune increases. Almost every rune inscribed into your being has such a flaw that could create a problem if not handled properly.]

" What was the cause of such influence? And Can I eradicate such flaws?"

[ Negative emotions. The negative emotions of anger and frustration fueled the rune to influence your psyche.]

[ As for the flaws, it is almost impossible to eradicate. The flaws will be there but you can control such flaws by increasing the proficiency you have with runes.]

[The flaws will be there but its impact will be under your control as you work with the runes.]

" What about the other runes that I had inscribed into my being?? I don't feel anything wrong with them."

[ They do have flaws. Your ' Rune of Insight' had a flaw of not getting activated to your will. 'Rune of Inscription' made it hard for you to properly scribble the runes at the beginning of your training. 'Rune of Strength' and 'Rune of Agility' had made the coordination between your body and mind get flawed.]

[ Every rune has its own flaws, the only difference is the influence those flaws have on your being. Some negatively affect you while some do not and can be easily mitigated with training.]

No wonder I used to have problems while working with these runes. I had believed it was due to the process of acclimatization of the runes onto my being.

[ Some runes can be acclimatized like your ' Rune of Strength', ' Rune of Vitality', ' Rune of Defense', and 'Rune of Agility' as they have the basic effects of strengthening your basic attributes. While others can have their own flaws that could be learned after using for some time like the blood lust from the 'Rune of Blood'.]

"What if I create the rune that counters these flaws?" This was a million-dollar plan that could help me with dealing with the flaws.

[….]

 My proficiency with ' Rune of Blood'…. It is pitifully low as I was a novice at it. It was something I hadn't thought of increasing my proficiency till now because I had not been influenced by the rune, like it did today.

"Gotta increase it's proficiency."

"Ohh… How am I supposed to increase my proficiency for this rune??" I wasn't supposed to kill the monsters to increase my proficiency, was I?

[ Work with blood.]

"…." 

The reply from Legacy was something I already knew.

Guess, It was something I had to find by myself. This dungeon might be best for the rune to increase its proficiency as it had thousands of monsters literally made up of blood roaming in the chambers for me to play with.

With several thoughts in my mind, I returned to my place. I didn't bother returning to the guild. Just looking at the entrance of the guild hall would have made me lose my cool and thirst for blood once again.

The whole day I spent looking at the horizon, listening to the rustling leaves in the garden. I was trying to calm my mind, trying to control the bloodlust that was emanated by me while sitting in the chair.

I was manipulating my own blood to invoke the berserk form, trying to control myself while in the form. My aura was totally changed, the chaotic aura I always had when battling was mixed with bloodlust, making me look like a ferocious being ready to feast on the blood of anyone who came near it.

There were several messages that had been sent to me by both, the Guild master and The lord of the town, which were totally ignored by me.

"Why didn't you attend the meeting? Dang it, the youngsters these days."

"We are extremely sorry for our inability to attend the meeting on time. I will detail you about the topic of today's meeting by coming to your place tomorrow. Have a great time raiding the Dungeon fellow warrior."

There were around ten messages from these two Elites, one was blaming the young generation for not being patient enough while another was sorry for their inability to get to the guild in time.

They might have their own problems but I didn't have the time to bother with their messages as the flaws on the runes were the thing that was taking much of my mind right now. 

Activating the runes all the time was a feasible option now that I had the whole property to myself. However, I didn't want to be in berserk mode constantly just to increase the proficiency of my rune.

"I didn't like the blood thirst that increases exponentially while in berserk form."

Although my title may have canceled out other demerits, it couldn't eradicate the flaw of this rune, resulting in the bloodlust increasing several times while I remained in berserk mode.

Another method was to battle monsters while manipulating their blood, absorbing their vitality while in battle. This method was the one I favored more than sitting idle, activating the runes without doing anything.

Other runes were best suited to activating every time, gaining insight on them to increase the proficiency, but the 'Rune of Blood' was the rune requiring blood... an extreme amount of blood which required me to partake in bloody battles or be in those areas filled with blood.

And, the best place fulfilling both requirements was the Dungeon filled with fairies. Its environment was tinted with blood, the monsters were made up of blood, and everything about that place reeked of blood, making it the best place to increase my comprehension of the 'Rune of Blood' on me.

"I'm now getting backtracked by my own runes." The thought of having to deal with flaws on every rune was somewhat frightening.

I had been able to easily deal with the runes till now as their flaws were almost nonexistent but, ''if the ones that I was going to inscribe on my own being had pretty absurd flaws which could even destroy me.''

Just thinking about the consequences sends a shiver down my spine.

"Well, gotta take everything on as the life goes." 

This was something I had developed while living with the couple.

"Life might be harsh, your fate cruel, but never lose hope." It was something that had been ingrained in my psyche and I did think this outlook was the main reason I was an awakened individual today.

If I had not preserved...

If I had ended my life on the day I was deemed worthless, there wouldn't be a Grey today. The 'Grey' who had obtained a legacy that transformed someone living like a puppet into an awakened warrior, capable of easily defeating monsters two tiers above with the aid of runes inscribed on their being.

The legacy was the opportunity; the reward for my attitude towards life. And the flaw that came with it, it was the trial I had to face, for the legacy had given me the chance to live a life that would have been limited only to my dream.

The flaw wasn't going to hold me back from getting strength... the strength that lets me live as per my need. It was going to become my motivation that would push me forward till I reached the end, or die trying to reach that peak.

"Yosh, gotta train with the runes rather than loitering around."