The Arcane Guild's main tower rose high above the streets of Falrem, its polished obsidian exterior reflecting the morning sun in a cascade of violet hues. Sellas walked beside Lyra, the hand-cranked fan prototype tucked neatly in a cloth wrap, along with the blueprint.
The guild's emblem—a tri-ringed circle of flame, stone, and arcana—loomed above the double doors as they stepped inside.
Unlike the public showroom Sellas had visited before, this time Lyra led him deeper, past enchanted elevators and stone-scribed sigils, until they arrived at a warded staircase leading to the third floor—reserved for senior guild officials.
The guard at the bottom stepped aside at Lyra's nod, and they ascended in silence.
The third floor was quieter. Richer. More refined. Velvet-draped walls muffled sound. At the end of the corridor, an ornate door bore the engraved name: Wilferd Thamor- Guild Master.
"Are we really going to meet the Guild Master directly?" Sellas asked, trying to hid his astonishment.
Lyra nodded before knocking the door once and pushed the door open, without even waiting for a reply or any confirmation.
The office smelled of parchment, incense, and molten silver. Behind a wide desk sat a lean, silver-haired man dressed in dark robes trimmed with cobalt threads. His eyes were sharp—keen like blades hidden behind a mask of calm.
"Lyra Kael," he said, a thin smile appearing. "I don't often see you unless you want something expensive or explosive." Thamior then turned to Sellas, offering him a nod.
Sellas wondered if the only reason he was receiving such a difference from a distinguished professional was because of Lyra.
Lyra chuckled. "I brought something better. This," she gestured to Sellas, "is my precious apprentice. Name's Sellas Thorrin. He made something I think you'll want to see."
"Hoho. You took an apprentice? Well, that's not something you see every day now. Isn't right," Wilferd laughed. Lyra responded with a small huff. He laughed again before turning to Sellas, his narrowing.
"Sellas… interesting." He studied Sellas's face for a moment too long before looking away, his expression unreadable. "You resemble someone I once knew… but no matter. Let's see what you've brought."
Sellas was momentarily confused before realizing that this man might have known his father — their faces shared a slight resemblance, along with the same hair color.
Should I dye my hair? That might change a bit of my appearance.
Sellas didn't bother to reply to his comment before unwrapping the prototype and placed it on the desk. With a single crank, a steady breeze filled the room.
Wilferd's brows lifted. He leaned in, studying the gears, the housing, the craftsmanship. "No enchantments?"
"None," Lyra confirmed. "All mechanical."
"Impressive," he murmured. He turned the fan as the wind blew on his face, amazing him for a second.
"Compact. Efficient. And no reliance on mana. Potion labs, smithies, infirmaries—this has reach," he commented before putting it down and stared at him for a second before asking.
"Did you really make this all by yourself?"
"Yes," Sellas replied.
Wilferd turned toward Lyra, who was the main negotiator among the duo, before asking, "So, what do you want?"
Sellas stayed silent, letting Lyra handle the negotiations and she didn't disappoint him.
"I want a royalty contract," Lyra said flatly. "Fifteen percent per unit sold. Blueprint rights stay with the creator—he licenses them to the guild for production."
Wilferd arched a brow. "Fifteen? You're not selling me a new enchantment schema, Lyra."
"But I am selling you something you can mass produce without using a single drop of mana. That's worth more than you think," she shot back.
The room fell silent. Then, Thamior gave a slow, appreciative nod. "You've always been an effective negotiator. But," he paused before continuing, "I want to buy the blueprint — you'll receive 20% of the profit from each unit sold. How does that sound?"
Before Kyra could protest, he spoke again. "You know as well as I do that, although it looks a bit complicated, it can be easily copied and mass-produced. However, if you sell the blueprint to us, you can be certain our guild will ensure you earn far more than any profits from-"
"DEAL. But we want 500 gold coins for the downpayment" Lyra declared, which made him pause in his speech before realizing that he had fallen in her trap once again.
"You always wanted to sell it to the guild. You only waited for me to speak first," Wilferd chuckled warily.
He reached into his drawer and retrieved a crystal-tipped quill. A contract shimmered into view between them. After brief revisions and a glowing signature, the deal was sealed.
A golden tray of coin bars floated out from a recessed panel in the wall and landed on the desk.
"Down payment for the licensing," Thamior said smoothly. "500 gold coins. The royalties will begin distribution next quarter."
"These are royal coins, which can be exchanged for gold coins in the market. One royal coin equals 100 gold coins."
Sellas blinked at the weight of it all. Lyra scooped up the tray and handed it to him without ceremony.
Outside, after bidding the Guild Master goodbye, Sellas couldn't help but glance over his shoulder, doors were being automatically shut.
Back at Embersteel Forge, Sellas returned to his room, heart still pounding. As he set the tray of coins down, his system chimed once more:
[Blueprint Sold: Hand-Cranked Vent Fan]
[Royalty Contract Secured]
[Reward: +50 Magic Coins]
"Another batch of coins, Nice. Why do I feel like it's easy to earn magic coins all of a sudden" He opened the system shop instantly. He had been waiting for this moment.
[Purchase: Magic Rune Theory – Price: 50 Magic Coins]
[Confirm?]
Confirmed.
Knowledge poured into him like ink on parchment—meanings behind runic syntax, the elemental roots of glyphs, the balance of flow and shape. His head swam with symbols, diagrams, and centuries of compiled theory.
Then another notification:
[Skill Unlocked: Rune Compatibility Matrix]
[You may now analyze, replicate, and imprint magical runes]
Sellas looked over the notification as his eyes couldn't hide the surprise. "Wonderful skill, Indeed." As Sellas was mulling over what to do next, another notification rang from the system.
[Rune Compendium: Unlocked]
— Database of learned runes
"So, all the runes I learn can be stored in this database. Even if I lose my memory, I can just relearn them," he chuckled to himself, before taking the runic dagger from his inventory.
He examined its exquisite design and felt he could now understand a little more about the patterns etched into it. As he traced his fingers over the runes, he recognized some of their underlying principles.
Placing the dagger on the table, he retrieved the magic ink and pen he had bought from the guild, then carefully began copying the runes from the dagger onto a sheet of paper.