Aodhán spent an entire hour deciding on which runic circuits to inscribe. At first, he had listed out a dozen, but he had finally settled on five, two of which he was already familiar with from his experiments back at home.
Three of these circuits though were relatively new, and Aodhán had spent the later part of the afore mentioned hour simply reading about the new scripts; after all, he was teaching himself, so he had to be extra careful to avoid blowing himself up, or more realistically—since he was within the academy walls—severely injuring himself.
When he was done reading and was certain he could inscribe the runes without any issues, he grabbed his inscriber and moved to the window to begin drawing, but he had soon noticed a flaw in his plans.
The pre-existing runes.
It wasn’t like there was no space to draw the new runes, it was just that the available spaces were too narrow to contain an entire circuit, and it was more than likely that if he drew the runes anyway, they would affect the already existing runes. Aodhán didn't know much about the interactions between two different runic circuits, so he spent another fifteen minutes reading, and the results were far from favorable.
Unwilling to give up so easily, he dropped his Runic theory textbook and began flipping through the pages of a textbook he’d procured from the Norbuik mall titled; A Beginners Guide to Runic Mechanics.
Although the book was titled a beginners guide, it was far from simple, and Aodhán barely understood half the terms used in the book. Fortunately, he quickly found the section dedicated to the consequences of runic overlaps and settled down to begin reading.
What would happen if he placed a new runic circuit on top of an old one? The answer he received was the same as that of the first book, only just written in a much more complex manner.
Basically, it was a terrible idea. It wasn’t impossible though, but it was considered far too advanced for anyone below the Mythic class to attempt without risking a massive explosion of energy and essence. Overlaying a new runic circuit on an existing one had the potential to disrupt the flow of energy in both circuits or cause their energies to mix up, which was a guaranteed recipe for disaster.
“Well, at least, I now know a quick way to create bombs.” Aodhán muttered to himself, extremely dissatisfied. “Silver linings, I guess.”
He grimaced and looked around his room, now feeling very useless. His plans for today were now dead ends; however, Aodhán refused to be so easily discouraged. He focused on his core sense and began moving around the room, searching for an empty space large enough to inscribe even a small script.
He noticed nothing at first, but the longer he focused, the clearer the swirling energies of the runic circuits became until he was able to sense them in the whole room.
Aodhán hadn’t quite realized just how abundant the runic circuits were before, but now, with his eyes firmly shut and his core sense on high alert, he realized just how mind-boggling the runes were. They surrounded him completely, their energies overwhelming, and even the spaces he’d once thought were empty were covered in runes, although they were a more subtle kind, slipping away from his senses before he could grasp their nature or function.
The most abundant runes he sensed were FEHU and URDA, the runes of strength and durability, followed closely with THIRUSAZ, the rune of defense and protection. Another rune that felt abundant to his senses was one he couldn’t quite recognize, although he suspected it was either the self-repair runes or the cloaking rune, which hid all the others from view.
Channeling his willpower, Aodhán tried to deepen his focus; however, a tickling sensation suddenly erupted in his mind. The sensation increased the deeper he focused, and a minute later, it became an itch.
Seconds passed, and before long, Aodhán was filled with an indescribable urge to scratch his own brain. The sensation was so foreign and uncomfortable that Aodhán had to pull his senses back.
The itch subsided almost immediately, but Aodhán wasn’t satisfied. The itching sensation was obviously a defense mechanism to prevent anyone from uncovering the runes, which was weird. There was no need to hide the runes in the first place, except for aesthetic purposes, but if that was the case, what was the need of the defense then?
Aodhán narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Colonel Fortuna had called Lutia the continent of secrets. Was it such a far-fetched idea that the academies were hiding secrets of their own?
Determined to uncover at least one truth within the labyrinth of lies that was this blasted continent, Aodhán focused his core sense on the house again and began searching. The itching sensation returned almost immediately, but Aodhán resisted it, his jaws grinding painfully as the itching intensified.
Like layers unraveling themselves, Aodhán sensed what he suspected to be serenity runes next. He wasn’t sure exactly what those runes did, but he suspected they might be part of a mood-altering circuit. Aodhán wasn’t sure how he felt about the presence of such runes, but he didn’t have the time to dwell much on it as the spatial runes revealed themselves next.
The itch spiked, and Aodhán winced as he felt a jolt of pain stab into his brain. It was like a knife stab, and Aodhán’s legs crumpled from underneath him, but he was determined to see this through. However, when the sound runes revealed themselves, Aodhán was already bleeding profusely from his orifices, and despite his determination, he eventually had to pull back, gasping in relief as the pain subsided immediately.
He lay on the ground, panting as he fought to steady his racing heartbeat. After a few minutes of rest, Aodhán finally pushed himself to his feet and poured himself a cup of water. His plans for the day had been completely destroyed, and with nothing else to do, Aodhán moved to his training room and released Varéc, who had been grumbling within his spirit for the past few hours at being cooped up.
Varéc emerged from his spirit with a burst of chaos and storm essence, hovering for a moment before settling down at the center of the hall and asking to be let out for his usual hunt, but Aodhán shook his head. “It’s still midday, Varéc. You’ll cause a ruckus if you go out now.”
Varéc grudgingly accepted and snorted, occasionally spitting out bolts of lightning on the floor and walls just to see the runes flare up in response.
Aodhán moved to the other side of the room and settled into a meditative pose. He closed his eyes and focused on himself while his minor regeneration slowly healed him. His seal glowed much brighter than it did that morning; however, it was still nowhere near full. His spirit, on the other hand, was almost fully recovered; at least it was recovered enough that the thought of opening up his spirit to the origin plane didn’t fill his mind with visions of pain and despair.
Aodhán turned his focus to his core, which was blazing with storm essence, but it was the silver ball of burning willpower that occupied his attention. The ball floated densely within his core space, radiating not only a sense of weight but also an immense feeling of depth. It felt so deep that Aodhán doubted he could refer to it as a mere ball anymore. At this point, it was a river of willpower that he doubted he could ever use up unless he bathed his body in willpower like he’d done to combat Eldrith in the beginning.
Nevertheless, he could never have too much willpower, and without further ado, he began taming the blazing flames of wild willpower that surrounded his tamed will. He spent the next few hours on the process, simultaneously training his control with the creation of energized willpower strands.
When night came, Varéc left for his hunt, while Aodhán took out the textbook on AAT and began reading. As usual, Varéc arrived with his usual bribe, two Tier 19 fire cores that Aodhán graciously placed within his spatial storage before shutting the textbook and heading to bed.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
He awoke relatively early the next morning, and after another torturous gym session, Aodhán and Yurin moved to the runic lab, their joints creaking and protesting each movement. Yurin hadn’t done well in his challenge of the tower yesterday, although he had climbed up more than a couple ranks and was now firmly in the early tens. Despite his relative poor performance, Yurin wasn’t depressed in the slightest, only energized to do better in his next run.
When they arrived at the runic lab, they found professor Caldwell speaking to Ankaz Urdania, Lyra Davenport, and Alesh towards the end of the lab. Lupin was also present; however, she was seated in one corner of the lab, her gaze bearing a faraway look that suggested that her mind was far from present. Her silver hair clung to her scalp, still a little damp, and Aodhán felt a tightness in his chest to see her so sad.
When Yurin saw her, he grabbed Aodhán’s arm and hissed. “What did you do to your girlfriend to make her so sad? Women should be happy always.”
“I didn’t do anything.” Aodhán glared at him and pulled his arm from Yurin’s uncomfortable grip.
Yurin frowned, obviously not buying his response despite it being the truth. He shook his head a moment later and sighed. “Well, come on. Let’s go sit with her and cheer her up.”
“No.” Aodhán blurted out. “You can go on. I want to listen to what Professor Caldwell is saying.”
Yurin glared at him as if he were foolish. “Your girlfriend is grieving, Aodhán. This is not the time to be nerdy about runes. Right now, she should be your priority.”
Aodhán sighed and shook his head, just wishing Yurin would leave him the fuck alone and drop the topic. When he didn’t respond, Yurin grabbed his arm again and pulled him. “Come on, let’s go.”
“No, Yurin.” Frustrated, Aodhán pulled his arms away again and sighed. “If you want to go and comfort her, go. You’re free.”
Yurin stared at him for a moment, realizing that the situation was a little more serious than Aodhán portrayed, and in a somber tone he asked. “What’s up with you?”
Aodhán opened his mouth, about to say nothing, but for some reason he caved and sighed. “We’re not together anymore. Not like we were in the first place, but—
“You guys broke up!?” Yurin hissed in alarm and punched Aodhán in the chest. “How could you do such a thing to her while she’s mourning?”
“I didn’t do it to her.” Aodhán scowled and massaged his chest. “She was the one who broke up with me. The whole commoner-noble relationship thing.”
“Oh.” Yurin eyebrows climbed up to his hairline, and he winced. “That’s got to be tough on her.”
“Her? What about me, dude?”
Yurin frowned and scrutinized him. “You seem fine to me.”
“I'm most definitely not fine. I’m just hiding it better.”
“Mhm.” Yurin nodded distractedly, still staring sympathetically at Lupin. “Do Daruk and Andrew know about this?”
Aodhán sighed. “I haven’t told them yet. I’m waiting for the right time.”
Yurin shook his head in disappointment. “Dude, there’s no such thing as the right time. What are they going to do if they find out, Eat you?”
“No?” Aodhán responded, not quite sure what Daruk would do. “Look, I just want to be in a better place mentally and emotionally before telling them.”
“Nope. You’ve got it all wrong.” Yurin shook his head. “Your brother and Andrew are there to help you, lift you up when you’re down, and comfort you when you’re sad. You don’t need to be in a better place before you tell them things. They’re your closest buddies; you can tell them things even if your life is a cesspool of bile and shit.”
“Thanks for the imagery.” Aodhán grimaced and sighed. “Fine, I’ll tell them after the class.”
“Good. You need a hug?”
“No.”
“Come on, bring it in. I don’t mind.”
“I said no, Yurin. I’m fine. Thank you so much.”
“No, you’re not fine.” Yurin insisted. “A hug is like medicine. It’ll do you a lot of good.”
Aodhán ducked, trying to escape Yurin’s approaching arms, but his efforts were futile, and he soon found himself wrapped in Yurin’s arms. He stood stiffly, not bothering to return the gesture, but Yurin didn’t mind; instead, he patted Aodhán gently on his back and asked. “How do you feel now?”
“Worse than I felt five seconds ago.”
“Mhm. Don’t worry, things have to get worse first before they get better, Aodhán.”
“I’m not sure that applies to hugs.”
“Sure it does.” Yurin snorted. “In fact, it is a theory that applies—
“Mr Brystion. Mr Lahey. Can you explain to the class what is going on here?”
Aodhán pushed Yurin away and jumped back. “It’s not what it looks like.”
“What?” Yurin asked, confused. “It’s definitely what it looks like.”
Professor Caldwell frowned at them and folded her arms. “What does it look like? Because from where I’m standing, you both looked really cozy.”
“Nope.” Aodhán shook his head hastily. “It was anything but cozy.”
“It’s a hug.” Yurin frowned, still confused. “It's nothing but cozy.”
“Are you guys in a relationship?” Ankaz asked, and this time, it was Yurin who jumped away and scowled. “No, not with this fucking cement. Why would you even think that?”
“You looked really cozy.” Ankaz pointed out, and Aodhán scowled. Okay, maybe he’d leaned into the hug a little bit, but cozy? That was far too extreme a word to use for what they’d just shared.
"Well, it wasn’t, and we aren’t in a relationship.” Aodhán clarified, and Yurin nodded in agreement. “That is correct. Aodhán was depressed. It was a comfort hug.”
“I wasn’t —I’m not depressed.” Aodhán glared at Yurin and looked at Professor Caldwell. “Can I go to my seat?”
Professor Caldwell shrugged, and Aodhán let out an uncomfortable breath.
When he passed Yurin, he whispered. “You’re definitely depressed.”
Aodhán ignored him, and when he reached his bench, he put on his labsuits and sat down, purposefully not looking in anyone’s direction. The class began a few minutes after that as Professor Caldwell moved to the front of the lab to address them. “I guess I should welcome you all from the break. I hope you all had a good one, but more importantly, I hope you all took advantage of the free time to progress your runic scripting.”
Murmurs, groans, and grumbles filled the hall, but Aodhán barely managed to suppress a smile. Of course he couldn’t tell Professor Caldwell that he had begun to create runic circuits and activate runes, as that was considered too dangerous and way above their level for now.
“You have no excuses.” Professor Caldwell said, chuckling. “If Mr. Lahey had the time to work on and finally perfect one rune, then what is your excuse?”
“Parties.” Someone shouted from the back, and the whole class burst into laughter.
“Very funny, miss Haldren.” Professor Caldwell smiled and shook her head. “Anyways, in today’s lecture we’ll be discussing materials and conductors most suitable for runic inscriptions. This topic is fundamental to runic engineering, as knowing the best materials for a particular rune is essential for the production of strong runic products. Today’s class will be an interactive one, so I’ll be asking a lot of questions.” She grinned and winked. “Lets see if I can help you all recover some of those forge points you lost in the assembly yesterday.”
The entire class sat up immediately, even Aodhán, who hadn’t lost any forge points, but no one knew that, besides, there was no harm in gaining more.
Professor Caldwell nodded, satisfied with their reaction, and asked. “Can anyone list at least three important qualities to search for when picking out a suitable base material for runic inscriptions?”
Hands shot up in a flurry, and surprisingly, professor Caldwell called Yurin, who seemed surprised to have been chosen. “I can’t believe you chose me.”
Aodhán shook his head in disappointment while the rest of the class laughed. Professor Caldwell raised an eyebrow and asked. “Is that your answer, Mr. Lahey?”
“No, no, of course not. Three major qualities include durability, conductivity, and affinity.”
“Well, that was surprising.” Professor Caldwell muttered. “Ten points to you, Mr. Lahey.” She left the stage and began walking between the work benches. “To buttress Mr. Lahey’s points, the three major qualities to look out for when buying or choosing a suitable material for runic inscriptions are durability, conductivity, and affinity. Durability is quite easy to understand, as it is the ability of a material to withstand pressure, whether physical or magical. Conductivity, on the other hand, refers to the ability of a material to conduct essence and magical energy, while the last quality, which is affinity, is the most important.
The affinity of the base material plays an important role in runic scripting, as an aligned affinity grants a minor boost to the power of a rune and aids its overall performance. Wood, for instance, is a material geared primarily towards life and nature affinity, so any runes geared towards vitality, healing, nature, and life will obviously work more efficiently and effectively if inscribed on a wooden base. Wood is also very easy to carve; however, it has a major drawback. What is it?”
Hands shot up again, and professor Caldwell pointed to Lyra. “Yes, Miss Davenport?”
“It lacks durability and is susceptible to fire.” Lyra replied calmly, and after allocating her point, Professor Caldwell continued. “Just as Miss Davenport said, wood is more susceptible to damage and decay than other base materials, which include metals, treated animal hide, scales, and crystals, to mention a few.” She grinned and walked back to the stage. “Now this is where the notes begin. The most common base material is metal, followed by animal hides or scales. However, the best base material is crystals or gems, which have the ability to store and amplify magical energy. Now let’s discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these base materials...
The class continued for the next hour, and when it ended, Aodhán joined Daruk and Andrew for another training session in the training hall. They took turns battling each other, and at one point Andrew and Daruk ganged up against Aodhán to beat him. In the excitement of the training, Aodhán forgot to tell them about his split with Lupin, or perhaps he remembered, but didn’t quite know how to bring it up.
Aodhán looked at his happy friends and decided it was better if they didn't know yet. There was no need to taint their joy with his own sorrows after all.