From the only window, sunlight streaked into the cosy room and brightened up the warm terracotta orange painted room. The single bed opposite to the bed was in a mess with scraps of paper strewn about. The simple study table adjacent to the window was much worse with pens, pencils and other stationery scattered under.
The door to the room opened and an unkempt Rick walked in, still in his pyjamas and water splashed across his ruddy face.
“Come on, come on. The day is not over yet,” he motivated himself.
It was past noon now and for more than six hours now all he did was craft talismans. His initial aim was to make just six the six [Word-Transmission Scrolls] to replace the ones that the Egg had sucked dry.
This time, he did not just craft the [Word-Transmission Scrolls], He made them using printing paper and cut them in half using scissors rather than tear them.
But he finished crafting the six [Word-Transmission Scrolls] more than three hours back. Since then he already crafted two new [Word-Transmission Scrolls] and two [Noise Scrolls].
He sat back at his study and started scribbling. The room was silent completely apart from the sound of the pen scribbling on paper. He was adamant to draw as many talismans as he could before Samira and Jay set off.
He kept at it without stop, only pausing to take a cursory glance at the Egg snugly wrapped around a bunch of his clothes at his desk. The Egg was the culprit that was the catalyst for all the extra work he was doing right now!
In the meantime, Samira was handling the carcasses from Jay and her hunt at the Kaz Wildlife Sanctuary. After all only Samira knew the secret of how Rick found out about the Winged Serpent Blood Essence Poison.
Jay, on the other hand, was out on a supply run to scavenge for any food or books he could find. Information was rapidly becoming obsolete and knowledge like tanning and blacksmithing were becoming necessary. Of course, Rick made sure to warn Jay of not going to the library.
When Rick warned Jay he had replied with a, “I know. There is a big bazaar out there. Apparently the dungeon there is so dangerous that no one who has gone in has come out alive.”
The response had mortified Rick. He needed to go back to the library and stop the brainless demons from killing. When he had asked the Kings to make sure no one enters, he expected them to bolt the doors or something, not to kill everyone entering!
---
Now sitting at his desk, he crafted the final [Noise Scroll] for the day.
With the boring stuff out the way, he could finally do the one thing he had been eagerly waiting to do for the longest time!
A smile inched up his lips.
He rummaged out the Lemegeton from the piles of scattered paper. It was time to check on the [Fire Core Rune].
He wanted to check it since the moment he discovered it, but one thing after the other kept coming up making it impossible to find the to check it out.
His palms were getting itchy with anticipation. After taking a long breath, Rick closed his eyes and opened the Lemegeton.
The pages of the Lemegeton flipped open.
The title of the chapter was,
[Mages and Spells]
The first page of the book had two columns and five rows. All the rows and columns were vacant apart from the one. On the third row, in exquisite calligraphy, the word [Fire] written and besides it on the next column, was the [Fire Core Rune].
The image of the Fire Core Rune immediately inscribed itself on Rick’s mind with perfection.
“What is this rune anyway?” Rick asked, turning the page.
The next page had all the information he was looking for. There was a lot of information missing, but Rick read all of the information he could find.
Flip
Flip
He swept through all the information he could find imprinting them all to his memory.
There was so much information that he kept at it well past sunset and late into the night. He suddenly felt enlightened!
The important extracts of the information in the Lemegeton were that,
There are five core elements, Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space.
The [Core Runes] are foundational runes that are required for any being, human or beast, to be able to manifest the Mana in their bodies for spells. There are four different [Core Runes] corresponding to four of the elements.
While Beasts that are born in appropriate circumstances or are exposed to the required environment matching its composition can develop the corresponding [Core Runes], Humans, on the other hand, do not naturally manifest the [Core Runes].
Possession of the [Core Rune] would allow a human the ability to cast spells of the corresponding element...]
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This was the first time Rick found so much of relevant information in the Lemegeton in one swoop!
Without a moment to waste, he read through all the information there was on the Lemegeton on Mages.
Rick sat back for a moment to digest all of the information.
With a gleeful smile, his eyes immediately shifted to glance at the [Fire Core Rune].
As per what he read, humans already had an energy called mana in their bodies, but there is no way to make it manifest it externally in the form of magic. So without a catalyst, the energy lay dormant and humans are unable to even sense their existence.
In order for the Mana in the body to be drawn out, the [Core Runes] are required.
Theoretically at the least, if Rick drew the [Fire Core Rune] on his skin, he should become able to use Fire Element spells. Similarly, if he found the other [Core Runes] he would be able to use those elements as well!
Form what he understood, every human could learn to use any of the elements by using the corresponding [Core Rune], but the higher the level of the spell, the more complex it would get and more time you would have to spend on it.
That is why although humans become capable of wielding any of the elements using the [Core Runes], it did not mean that every Mage is capable of using all the elements. Rather, they would only choose to specialize in one or two elements!
Firstly, finding all the [Core Runes] of all the different elements itself was a task on its own. No one would share their discovery of a rune with another; they would generally keep it a secret, or charge a heavy cost on divulging the information.
Besides, trying to find the resources and spell modules of all the five elements would be much more cumbersome than exceeding in just a single or two elements!
More importantly, it made much more sense to learn a higher tier spell rather than learn low-level spells of all the elements. As the level of the Mage increases, so does the potency and lethality of their spells.
Of course, if a Mage ever found a new [Core Rune] which he did not have, he would always choose to Awaken that element as well. But at most they will learn one or two low-level spells and that would be it.
“No wonder those Red Foxes were clamouring over the egg. I wonder if a dragon pops out. I can be the Father of Dragons maybe!” he mused, finally enjoying the rewards of his work. The Red foxes were probably trying to undergo an evolution by eating up the Egg!
Although the entire concept of suddenly being able to wield magical powers seemed rather ridiculous to him, then again what was even ridiculous these days.
There was only one thing for him to do, which is to draw the [Fire-Core Rune].
There was only one concern holding him back. Once the process of Awakening began, there was no way to stop it and Rick had no idea what would happen. According to what he read, he would have to try and absorb the experience of the movement of the Mana in his body as closely as possible and adapt to the feeling.
So the only question was whether he should draw it right now or later. He immediately decided to do it later. Considering he had no idea what would happen once he started with the process, it would be for the best if he did it when he could not be disturbed.
Thinking till here, he put the Lemegeton away for the time and he reached into his pocket to pull out a finger sized bamboo stick. It was the same one Samira had used to remove the stench of the beasts from the car.
Rick had already known what it was, the moment Samira had given it to him, he had received a notification about it,
Ding
[You have received a Common-ranked Aura Concealment Artifact]
[Aura Concealment Artifact]
[The smell and sound within a limited area from the artifact are concealed. The concealment can be broken with high [Perception].
The artifact can only be used from a stationary location]
Now, Rick was fiddling with the Concealment Artifact.
Just then, the door to his room opened.
“Hey come on out for dinner. Jay is done cooking,” Samira poked her head into the room. Seeing her little brother cooped up in his room covered with books and paper made her feel as if she was back at a time before the Heaven’s Dictate.
“I will be just out. I am done with my work anyway,” Rick replied back.
---
Rick sat down at the dining table along with Samira and a moment later Jay joined them.
“We have rice here and the finest quality of canned beef I could find,” Jay spoke.
Jay was quite a cooking enthusiast, but there was only one problem,
“And here we have the deep-fried tongue of the Horned Frog. A fair warning, I have tried it and it is a little spicy. So don’t gobble it down” Jay spoke sincerely bringing out a tray of sliced meat.
“Dude be careful with it. You don’t know, it might be poisonous,” Rick warned, refusing to eat it. Neither he nor Samira touched it.
They were still not comfortable with the thought of eating mutated frog tongues.
“Your loss man,” Jay replied picking up a piece.
“Rick, most of the supplies are kept at the basement. Jay found quite a bunch of stuff today.” Samira spoke.
“Why are you not taking it with you? You don’t have to worry about me, you know,” Rick said.
“It’s not that. It is risky to carry so much around when we are travelling. Besides, this is our base. You being here is just an added benefit,” she replied.
“Oh ya, do you have that list of dungeons you were talking about? I can’t believe you found information on so many dungeons nearby in just one day.” Jay spoke in between mouthfuls.
Rick had prepared a list of the nearby dungeons with the help of the Lemegeton. To explain how he knew all that, he came up with the excuse that while Samira and Jay were out hunting, he had cycled around talking to people about the location of dungeons. It was a plausible story at the least.
“What can I say, I am a people’s person,” Rick replied.
The three chatted away while having their dinner. After dinner, Rick handed Samira the [Communication Stones] he had found along with the Trolls at the Arihant Dungeon, the [Word Transmission Scrolls] and a couple of [Noise Scrolls] as well.
With all the day’s affairs sorted, Rick went back to his room. There he went through any new information on the Lemegeton before falling asleep.
---
At the first streak of sunlight, Rick and the others were at the front porch of the house.
It was still foggy outside and he could see his own breath. Even with the woollen sweater, he could feel the chill on his chest.
Samira and Jay were getting ready to leave for Dungeon hunting. They carried enough food and gas with them in case of emergencies as well as other essentials.
“Hey man, can I talk to you?” Jay asked rubbing his cold hands.
“Ya sure, what’s on your mind?” Rick replied.
“I just wanted to say thanks for letting me crash in your house. I was a stranger and you still trusted me to let me share your home. I promise you I never had any bad intention towards Samira and I will make sure to keep her safe.” Jay expressed.
A wind blew over, causing Rick to let out an involuntary shiver.
“You are giving the credit to the wrong person. I, of course, did not want a stranger in the house, at least initially. I would not want it when this place had laws, let alone after everything went down the drain. It was Samira, who suggested we ask you to come along. She had always had a sense towards peoples personality," Rick smiled, "You are a good guy. I will ask Samira to take care of you. Be safe.”
Done speaking, he didn't wait for Jay to reply and walked up to help Samira load the last box of her baggage.
Jay stood there without knowing, he knew Samira was stronger than he was, but he had been giving the credit to the wrong person!
Rick told Samira of the discussion he just had with Jay with a chuckle.
“Why did you not tell him?” Rick asked.
“It never came up. And why did you pretend you don’t actually know that it is a skill?” she retorted.
“It’s your secret to tell not mine,” Rick explained himself.
“Wow! The little sloth is becoming wise,” she smiled back tussling his jet black hair.
“All done, let's head out,” Jay called out.
“Okay, guys take care. Be good kids, and don’t fight with the other children,” Rick waved as the two started their cars.
“See you soon.” Samira smiled back and Jay gave a hearty wave.
Within moments, the two were out of sight.
Burrowing his hands into his pockets, Rick walked back into the house, it was time to become a Fire Mage!