The Grand Rune Hall was alive with quiet intensity. Voices echoed through vaulted chambers where scholars debated, quills scratched over glowing parchment, and inscribers carefully etched patterns into crystal plates.
He checked the small device Elara had given him, a sleek, rune-etched tablet that served as identification and point ledger. His account displayed 100 points. Below it, the listings of available lectures shimmered, each priced accordingly.
"Basic Theory of Runes – Professor Chen. Cost: 20 points."
Adrian tapped it without hesitation. His balance dropped to 80 points, and a faint pulse confirmed his registration. The device displayed a glowing arrow, pointing him to his destination.
Students brushed past him in the corridors, their arms laden with crystal plates and rolled parchments. Some bore the focused expressions of scholars deep in thought, while others looked exhausted from long hours of study.
Five minutes later, Adrian stepped into a large lecture hall. Tiered seats curved around a rune-carved dais at the front. A dozen other Provisional Defenders were scattered throughout, their expressions ranging from eager to weary.
Some clutched notebooks, others whispered about how Chen's classes were "a must for beginners."
A young man near the front muttered to his companion about wasting points on theory when combat applications cost more.
The man himself entered briskly. Professor Chen was tall and wiry, his robes ink-stained, fingers etched with tiny rune burns.
"Settle down," he said, his voice brisk but clear. "I am Professor Chen. You're here because you want to understand runes. So let's make this simple."
He drew a glowing circle in the air, lines snapping into place. With a pulse, it flared into a translucent shield.
"Runes are not spells. A spell uses your affinity, flowing through your body and your comprehension of that spell. A rune is different, it is a symbol from the language of mana, gifted to us by the Celestial Eleven."
"Etch the symbol correctly, feed mana into it, and the effect will appear no matter who you are. That is why our cities endure, their walls, their ships, their very shields are written in this language. Even the skill books you rely on are nothing but these runes, compressed and bound."
The shield flickered, then vanished as he traced new lines.
"Anyone can learn runes. Why? Because the symbols themselves hold the spell, not the person. They are part of the language of mana. A stone user can inscribe a healing rune. A healer can carve lightning. The rune only cares that the strokes are written correctly. Get them right, and the symbol speaks for you."
Adrian leaned forward, his Source consciousness analyzing the demonstration. The professor's mana flowed through predetermined channels, guided by the geometric constraints of each symbol.
A student near the back raised her hand tentatively. "Professor, I've been to an outpost before. If runes are this good, then why not once did I see a Defender pull out a rune parchment in a fight?"
Chen snapped his fingers, feeding the wrong mana into the floating rune. The lines broke apart instantly, collapsing in smoke that made several students cough.
"Some runes are unstable. They require specific affinity mana to power them. Healing runes need healing affinity, flame arrays need fire. Anyone can inscribe, but not everyone can activate."
He brushed the residual smoke away. "And runes are rare, because they demand precision. One wrong line, one crooked flow, and the whole array fails. Most spend years mastering even the simplest forms."
The same student frowned, clearly unsatisfied. "Then how are there so many shops for them here?"
Chen gave her a thin smile, "Because what you see in the stalls are scraps compared to true runes. Basic parchments, light, barriers, a touch of fire. Easy enough for apprentices to copy. They burn out after one use, and they're worth little outside training or research."
"Runes fall into three levels. Basics: barriers, light, storage. Advanced: healing, combat spells, combinations. And above all, the legendary runes, those that touch concepts like gravity, time, and death. Very few in history have ever inscribed such things."
"When you learn more about runes, you will notice that only very few shops rarely sell true runes that would be useful."
"And even if you find it, those are expensive. People buy scrolls for training or experiments. Some divisions use them in controlled missions, where you can afford the cost."
His tone sharpened, "But on the frontlines? Advanced Rune parchments are too expensive. One activation and the parchment burns out. Misfeed mana and it explodes in your hand. And every scroll costs points, more precious than money."
"That's why you didn't see them in outposts. But the outposts you would have gone to should all be low ranks, the high-ranked outposts would have their own rune division and mass-produce basic runes."
"Soldiers use them to just buy a few seconds to escape death."
"But all those are basic runes. Not all soldiers can afford to waste points on advanced runes when their own affinities can do the work. Scrolls are for emergencies, for scholars, or for those rich and reckless enough to gamble."
"That's the difference. Walls, ships, weapons, those use stable runes etched into lasting surfaces."
He dismissed, and the hall dimmed. "That is the foundation. From here, you'll either curse the art and quit, or spend the rest of your life chasing mastery. Welcome to the path of runes."
The students were silent. Some scribbled frantic notes. Others looked faintly overwhelmed.
Adrian got up calmly, his eyes steady. The Source pulsed faintly within him, whispering of rivers and branches, of principles hidden behind every line. Next, He would start his journey of inscribing runes.