“This is the runesmithing station,” Rensfig said. Entering the room, his eyes looked dissatisfied, as if unconfident to showcase the workstation to Vivi.

Rensfig’s workstation was crammed into a quiet corner of the home base, in an area even smaller than Einord’s cell-like smithy. Rensfig didn’t work on an anvil, and he didn’t have a forge, let alone hammers. Like most traditional runesmiths, his little corner resembled an artisan’s workstation. He had an L-shaped wooden table and a few drawers. Obsidian carving knives were cluttered on the table, as well as a bottle of conductive paste and a sharpening stone. The most interesting piece of equipment was a sword-vise, specifically designed to hold a sword in place while carving outside-veins.

“It’s simple, but it works,” Rensfig said. “I never needed more than this. Here are my projects.”

Two swords were placed neatly on wall-mounts. The first was a base sword without any runic properties. A simple dark mithril longsword. The second sword was an unfinished two-runed adamantite katana. The hilt was lined with swiftness and sharpness runes. A deadly combination for duels and fast fighters. The veins on the blade reached two-thirds to the tip.

“That sword is ruined, I think,” Rensfig said. “The base sword I chose is too thin for the veins I ended up carving. The sword won’t hold against any tough opponents at all. It was supposed to deal with the faster and less defensive Stewards.”

“It looks good to me,” Vivi said.

“Yeah, sure,” Rensfig said. “If inside carving has been invented, that sword is a piece of shit in comparison.”

“You should complete it,” Vivi said. “Inside carving requires a lot of practice. Some of your skills might translate, but you will need to relearn a lot. We’re going to need a lot more equipment before I can get to work.”

“Tell me what you need,” Aang said, “and I will gather everything regardless of cost.”

“First of all, I’m going to need a smithy,” Vivi said. “A full smithy. An anvil, a forge, hammers, a crucible furnace, crucibles—a lot of crucibles—as well as all the little tools a blacksmith needs. Tongs, vises, tuning forks.”

“A runesmith requires a full smithy?” Rensfig asked.

“Yes, I am also a blacksmith,” Vivi said.

Rensfig rolled his eyes. “Fantastic. Are we working with a demigod?”

Vivi responded with a small laugh. She wasn’t used to compliments.

“Cramming a smithy here will be difficult,” Aang said. “My union has plenty of rented ones, but I will not allow runesmithing into the hub. I will build you a private smithy by the end of the week. What else do you need?”

“The main ingredient of inside carving is ether roots,” Vivi said. “Rare roots such as adamantite or high tier mithril roots are the most valuable, but I can make use of all roots. Eem has brought me two roots so far, but I don’t know where she’s getting them.”

“Interesting…” Aang said. “I will get this sorted.”

“Vivi,” Rensfig said. “Could I see your sword again?”

Vivi recalled her sword, showcasing it to Rensfig. The dwarf stared at it closely. “The veins inside…” he said. “That’s an ether root?”

“Exactly,” Vivi said.

Rensfig shook his head, still dumbfounded. “No wonder this method hadn’t been discovered. What the fuck is an ether root doing inside a runesword?”

“Ether roots are incredible conductors of ether,” Vivi said. “Ether engineers started using ether roots to craft cooking equipment ninety years ago. That’s where Grandpa got his idea.”

“You humans are insane,” Rensfig said. He handed back the sword. “But how did you get the ether root inside the sword? And so cleanly at that.”

“That’s the problem that made inside carving difficult to invent,” Vivi said. “The ancient runesmiths were stuck on their old methods. They were trying to carve runes into existing swords, upgrading already blacksmithed weapons. In order for inside carving to be possible, the order must be flipped around. A runesmith must carve the veins before the sword.”

“I still don’t get it,” Rensfig said.

“Crucible steel,” Vivi said. “That’s the answer.”

Rensfig sat down to think. “Crucible steel?”

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

Vivi smiled. Rensfig would figure out the answer eventually. The theory behind inside carving was quite simple. The method could be explained in a few minutes to an experienced runesmith. What made the method difficult was the sheer intricacy required in shaping veins. Unevenly distributed ether would break a sword instead of strengthening metal.

Snapped swords were exactly what happened to Fredir Blight seven hundred years ago—the first scientist to attempt fitting ether roots for inside carving. After trying the method for two years straight, Fredir published a paper with his results, deeming ether roots unusable for runesmithing. He claimed any sword with an ether root inside would merely snap in half.

The difference between Grandpa and Fredir was their determination. Grandpa knew ether roots were already used for kitchen equipment. He believed in his vision, and he completed the first inside carved runesword.

“Ether roots and a smithy,” Aang said. “Anything else?”

Vivi thought for a second. “Metals, of course, since I will be forging blades. Oh, and is there black aspen in Zand?”

“Black aspen?” Aang asked. “The tree?”

“Yes,” Vivi said. “Black aspen is wood, but it has a lot in common with metals. It can be used for forging to create fantastic tools. I can replace the clumsy tuning forks with black aspen crochet hooks.”

“I doubt we have any black aspen,” Aang said. “But I’ll see what I can do. A smithy and ether roots will take priority.”

“Thank you,” Vivi said. “I’d like to sharpen my sword now. I’ll need an hour at most.”

“Go ahead,” Aang said. “Afterward, Alisa will take you on a tour of your new schedule. Be ready.”

***

Vivi gave her sword a quick finish. On top of sharpening, she grabbed a roll of thinly processed white obsidian. Runeswords required special grips that allowed ether to flow through, while also protecting the runes underneath. Sometimes runesmiths simply coated their runes with a layer of iron lacquer to protect the runes from tear. More cautious runesmiths added a protective handle, made out of conductive material. This way, ether could pass through.

Vivi and Grandpa liked to do both, knowing that their customers probably weren’t taking the best care of their runeswords. Vivi coated the runes with lacquer, then wrapped three layers of thin white obsidian. The material was sticky to hold but surprisingly durable, like impenetrable fabric. With the grip done and after adding a nice cross-guard, the sword looked like a proper runesword.

“Can you make daggers with the ether root method?” a voice asked.

Vivi jumped. Alisa appeared next to her out of nowhere. The presence had been impossible to detect. There were no footsteps, no feeling of being watched.

“Hello,” Alisa said. “My favourite new member.”

“How do you do that?” Vivi asked.

“Do what?” Alisa asked with a grin.

“Sneak around?”

“That’s what I’m supposed to teach you today,” Alisa said. “Aang assigned a lot of work for you. Ready to get started?”

“Yes,” Vivi said. She sheathed her sword into spatial storage. To form a habit, she still hid her sword underneath her raincoat before pulling the trick. She would only summon the sword right on her hands when absolutely necessary.

Alisa looked curious about Vivi’s trick, but she didn’t ask questions. “I expect your full attention today. Rules will be established later. For now, your only rule is to stay with me. Don’t wander off, and don’t make decisions on your own. You will walk behind me.”

“Of course,” Vivi said.

Alisa nodded. She put on her mask, though didn’t wear a cloak. “You will be responsible for keeping your disguise nearby at all times. The cloak and the black mask. Wear it every time we move between areas. Then hide it before showing yourself to nimrods. Nimrods will quickly associate us with the disguise if we openly wear black masks.”

“Yes,” Vivi said. She grabbed the cloak she’d left on a clothes hanger. How much space do you have in your spatial storage, Lucius?

“A lot,” Lucius said. “But if we add more items, I will need to start exhausting ether to keep it active.”

Is it possible to summon the mask straight on my head? Vivi asked.

“With practice, perhaps,” Lucius said.

Alisa exited the lair through the hollow column. Before leaving, Vivi glanced at Eem. The fiend had fallen asleep on the floor after eating her slab of meat. Vivi listened to the fiend’s quiet snores for a moment before following Alisa.

As usual, monsters were immediately alerted of Vivi’s presence as she stepped down to ground level. Purple amalgamations began slowly trotting her way. A surge hound jumped for her head.

Before Vivi could kill it, Alisa grabbed the wolf from the fur between its ears. She twisted the wolf to the left, turning its momentum around and throwing it against the purple amalgamations. The wolf’s teeth bit into the amalgamation.

“I know the others like to kill the faster monsters,” Alisa said. “But there’s always a miniscule risk of being caught when killing a monster. Today, as practice, we’re going to be extra cautious. We won’t kill a single monster. Let’s go.”

Alisa dashed silently to the next room. Her figure didn’t move with footsteps; Alisa seemed to dash around like a shadow.

A skill? Vivi asked. She rushed after Alisa, while the surge hound was recovering.

“No…” Lucius said. “She’s just better than us.”

Better? Vivi asked. At what?

“When control of ether is mastered, clever tricks are possible even without skills,” Lucius said. “Alisa is manipulating her aura. And she’s good at it.”

More purple amalgamations crept toward Vivi in the next room. The surge hound had recovered behind her. To Vivi’s left, she saw Alisa’s shadowed figure pass in a flash. Vivi ran after it.

The wolf was faster. Vivi couldn’t outrun it. She prepared to summon her runesword.

Something grabbed her from her hood. The ground disappeared from underneath. Vivi flung her arms in surprise. By the time she realized she was moving up, the ascent had already led Vivi into a crawl space above.

“This crawl space has a shortcut,” Alisa said. She had pulled Vivi all the way to the ceiling with her gravity manipulation skill. “Monsters rarely spawn in crawl spaces. Until you learn to conceal your presence, it’s best to crawl from place to place.”

The surge hound looked confused down below. The fall was over thirty feet. When had Alisa gotten up here?

“Where are we going?” Vivi asked.

“Our second base,” Alisa said. “The less private one. Rohan will be there holding his chivalry speeches. In the meantime, I’m supposed to figure out how we’re going to remove any and all common sense you’ve built traversing this dungeon so far. I’m going to turn you into a full Hollow Phantom.”