~ CHAPTER 13 ~

THE MAGIC OF LEARNING AND BECOMING, PART 1

What does it mean to belong? I’d had that question on my mind ever since I’d gotten that message from Desirée a few hours ago. I’d thought that a group like that was like a family, and people belonged with their families, but saying that didn’t always make it true. I’d often felt like I didn’t even know my mom - I’d had to fight her even to be allowed to try to get my VR system - and clearly my dad hadn’t felt like he belonged. I’d wondered where he was now, but I’d also wondered why I was supposed to care.

I had this idea that your neighbourhood was supposed to be a place where you belonged, but I’d probably only thought that because of all the fantasy I’d read and played: I’d never even so much as seen half of my neighbours, and I doubted the rest even knew my name. They lived in VR, or at their workplaces, and their homes were only a place to store their bodies while they slept, so why should they care?

I belonged at school, certainly, but only in the sense that I didn’t not belong there: I was expected to go through the motions of attending, but I doubted anyone would care if I didn’t, except for the bit where they had attendance sheets to fill out and GPA averages to meet. I felt like that was supposed to be depressing, but again, why should I care? That place wasn’t my place, it was just a place I was passing through.

I belonged with Tate and Byron, I was fairly sure of that, but the thought of meeting up with them in game, with my body the way it was, was enough to make my skin crawl. I could practically hear what they’d say when they saw me, and I didn’t want to have to go through that. If I had to choose between the two… well, I’d already chosen hadn’t I? I hadn’t even thought about it. I felt like that should feel like it was a betrayal, but I was actually much more concerned about the Keeper, and there was something important in that realisation.

‘An investment in our future good relationship on the server’, Imura had said. Stay and become one of us. She’d meant. Choose to make the Cascadia Central-North WMO server the place where you belong. Essy had said ‘you’re not cut out to be a martial artist’, and she’d also been talking about belonging. I didn’t belong as a [Magical Martial Artist], but I knew what class I did belong as. [Runemaster]. The Keeper had told me so, the Creator Flame had told me so, before that the game system itself had told me so, but more importantly my own heart had told me so. I didn’t know quite what it actually was, but I did know one thing: it was my choice to be one. I cared. I knew it in my heart: in this place, I belonged.

As that thought settled into my heart, I almost felt rather than heard:

*ping*

New Quest!

[Path of the Runemaster (Part 1)]

Form your first connection with a Rune by Inscribing it onto your body.

I still had to actually become a [Runemaster] though. Well, there was no rush for that.

As the Keeper had said earlier, there was still one thing we had to do before we could eat, and that was to distill the resin. This process took about five minutes as she’d already set up the necessary equipment, so all she had me do was add a small amount of a solvent to the bottle and swish it around for a bit, then pour it all into a funnel and close the lid. Then she got a look of concentration on her face, the whole mixture spontaneously burst into intense green flames, and we… left it like that. Apparently it didn’t need to be watched.

Then, we settled down to eat.

The main dish that I’d helped with earlier was a steamed vegetable dumpling. The vegetable, which I’d chopped, was called Alkilscale, and was a sortof deep blue-green with many tiny leaves that curled in whatever odd directions they pleased. Mostly more-or-less finely chopped, though, it had a nice ever-so-slightly crunchy texture. In addition to that were bits of something that could have passed for carrot, and something else that might have been tiny chickpeas if we were in the real world, all blended together with a sour spice I couldn’t even attempt to identify. There was no space on the table, so we just had to balance our plates on our laps. I cringed at the thought of what my mom would say.

At some point the Keeper got up to fetch the other dish, which was a tangy soup made of something opaque and purplish that could have been clams if I didn’t know it was a vegetable. I’d helped chop that too, and it had sort of reminded me of a potato at that time. Well, it was another world. Even the Keeper didn’t know the names for everything, apparently. A lot of the ingredients that were available were things that were native to the Wild Continent, and they were thus only vaguely understood even by the experts.

All in all, I thought I could safely conclude that the Keeper’s cooking was solidly mediocre, but there was no way I was going to tell her that. It was definitely much better than anything I could have made, but the truth was that I was happy just to be able to sit down and share it with her. I got the impression she felt the same way, though it did briefly cross my mind that, in reality, she was really just a computer program who didn’t actually have feelings.

While we ate, I told the Keeper about the day’s adventures, including the brief disastrous battle Essy and I had fought against the swamp creature, and my strange meeting with the woman named Imura. My friends list had grown to include two people, and both of them were mysteries, but I decided I didn’t want to focus on that at least until I knew more.

I decided to simply leave out mentioning Essy’s party, and I also only glossed over my encounter with the nameless man on the terrace. I knew the Keeper would share anything that was important when she was ready, and I didn’t want her to feel like I was prying. I did finally ask about an easier entrance, though, only to have her inform me that there wasn’t one. She apologized for the hassle with some embarrassment, but didn’t offer any explanation.

Finally, it was time.

We cleared away the dishes, then I followed the Keeper into the third room. The glass contraption we’d left burning had separated the resin into two parts, one a swirling purple gas, and the other a charred greyish sludge. The Keeper carefully unhooked the sludge container and brought it over to yet another set of tools, and then we set to work.

It didn’t seem like there was much that could go wrong at this point, because unlike earlier, this time she let me do most of the work, after explaining the steps. There wasn’t actually a whole lot to do. The hardest part was when she instructed me to insert my Mana into the mixture we’d created.

Of course, technically, manipulating Mana was something that anyone could do. You didn’t need any Skills, only… skills. Once you knew how, you could practice magic just like with physical stuff. You still had to have a Skill equipped to actually do anything, as I’d seen with Essy earlier, but if you could figure out how a spell worked and cast it properly, the Discovery System would usually give you something you could equip and use for real. That was also the most reliable way people could teach Skills to each other.

The only problem was that using Mana to cast spells wasn’t exactly easy. It involved a sort of super intense visualization, at least in my case - and luckily that was all I had to do - but if I was ever going to try casting a real spell, I knew that that was only the first step of many. Each spell had a unique magical structure that had to be built piece by piece, and apparently the theory behind it all wasn’t fully understood even by the developers.

That was why the name Gavroth had become basically famous among gamers. Just about everyone had seen the video from back in the days of Dreamscape when he’d managed to dissect a spell that was supposed to be only for the GMs, and then proceeded to absolutely dominate in a 1v10 player vs. player battle. He’d been banned from PvP a week later, but what would never die was his legend.

That was an aside. There was a reason the system had never been completely replaced: its flexibility. It could do practically anything if you could just figure out how, and players were still discovering new ways to use it even ten years later. It fit perfectly for a game like Wild Magic Online, though more likely it was the other way around.

That was for super advanced stuff though. In my case, all I had to do was take a tiny bit of Mana and put it into a bottle, and that was just a quick one step process like poking it with my finger. All I had to do was visualize my Mana forming into a cloud in front of me, then push it into the bottle with my mind. I was still way far off from even the most basic of real spells. It still took me almost fifteen minutes. I had to skip with excitement when the Keeper’s patient coaching finally paid off.

I watched the ink in the bottle begin to glow, and as it got brighter, my heart, still high off my success with magic, started pounding with anticipation. The whole day had been leading up to this one fateful moment: the moment when I would become a [Runemaster].

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

…

Quest Complete!

[Acquire Ancient Flame-Seared Ink]

Acquire a vial of [Ancient Flame-Seared Ink].

…

?

“Soo, what happens next?”

How exactly does one get a tattoo again? Something about needles? I couldn’t see anything like that nearby, and I didn’t really want to, but I could only look at the Keeper expectantly.

She looked back at me with a blank expression.

“Um?” I tried to prompt.

“Now you Inscribe it.” She stated matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, but…?”

She cocked her head at me like I was asking something strange. “Don’t be afraid. You’ll be fine.”

“Don’t, um… you? do that?”

The Keeper looked askance “Oh no! I couldn’t help even if I wanted to. This part is between you and the Creator Flame, sweetie. Your heart already knows the way.”

I just blinked at her. After a moment she relented.

“I believe I explained this to you before, but I guess it was a lot to take in. Here. A Rune is not a single concept that exists. A Rune is… more like a conversation. A relationship. What the Creator Flame is to me, and what it is to you, won’t ever be the same. It won’t even be the same from one moment to the next, so of course how it is guided through your body won’t ever be the same either. Just open your heart to the Rune, and it will flow through you in the way that is right.” She finished with an encouraging smile.

Unfortunately… that… kinda didn’t help. I tried dipping my finger into the ink vial, but as I’d expected, nothing happened. I didn’t have the faintest idea how to Inscribe a Rune. I didn’t even know where to start.

I felt panic starting to set in. What had I missed? I’d done everything just like I’d been told, so why was I suddenly at a dead end now? What had gone wrong? Was the questline broken? I’d already set my heart on being a [Runemaster], but what if… what if…

A warm hand touched my shoulder. “Sorry.” The warmth in the Keeper’s voice was unmistakable. “I forget that this is all so new for you. You must be feeling really overwhelmed.”

I nodded my head, but didn’t say anything. It didn’t feel like anything was wrong, so there must be a reason why I couldn’t do it. The Keeper seemed to think it was something that would come naturally to me, and she shouldn’t be wrong, so whatever I was missing must be right in front of me. Your heart already knows the way.

Already knows the way. Wait. Already knows… the skill. Already has the Skill! I thought maybe I should just give up on feeling like an idiot.

I took a deep breath and squeezed my eyes shut for a second, then I opened my menu and selected the character sheet. There was the skill, [Inscribe: Rune of the Creator Flame (0/1)]. I’d never bothered to equip it.

It was a little strange that it hadn’t been equipped automatically, but maybe there was a reason for that? There was a little number beside it: 0/1. I watched my stamina as I swapped the skill into the equipped column, but before it changed, a wave of not-quite-dizziness swerved past me and my vision went all weird. A moment later my eyes refocused, and I saw my Stamina had gone down by a full twenty points from having been nearly full a moment ago.

It didn’t matter, though. I now knew what I had to do.

If I were experienced with using Skills, I could activate it just by thinking, but in this case, I knew I absolutely couldn’t screw up. I set my jaw, mustered all the confidence I could manage, and then dipped my finger into the vial of ink. Then I said the words: “Inscribe: Rune of the Creator Flame”.

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but… as soon as I finished speaking, I felt something shift inside of me.

Everything was blue and violet and red and gold. Clouds of white towering above glittering nebulae. Vast unspeakable distances stretched far beyond what the human consciousness could grasp. Epochs swirling beneath me like the dancing of light refracted in endless ocean waves. Destruction, creation, meaning, love, endings and beginnings and knowings of nothingness crashing through me like the chaotic surging of a tiny, gentle, ember. The endless, cataclysmic power of drifting smoke on the wind. The scent of new leaves budding. Soft callings of a heart.

Slashes of purple swept through my vision, and my skin seemed to peel back as though it was bark smouldering off a log. Where my veins met the ink, a dazzling golden light pierced through them, but the ink itself was an unstoppable wave surging under my skin, stabbing me with sharp searing agony like tiny rushes of lava up my arm, through my chest, into my soul. If I let it go for a moment, it would overwhelm my entire being.

The swirls of bright light were like an afterimage, superimposed over the otherwise innocuous black ink. The ink was flowing under my skin, though, as though that were the most natural thing it could be doing. And it hurt. A lot. Far from overwhelming me, though, it seemed to be forming little rivulets that drifted here and there with no real sense of purpose at all. I watched it with curiosity, but I felt like…

A conversation.

No. I realised: the ink wasn’t aimless, it was alive, waiting for me. Those rivulets were just making an exploration, but the real shape was already there inside my mind, ready for me to guide it into being. I could feel it clearly.

I didn’t know how, but with my thoughts I gently coaxed the ink, bit by bit, into the shape I felt. It was something I couldn’t describe: a flame; a laugh; a seedling. Creation. Bit by bit, droplet by droplet. The ink burned where it inched under my skin. It was a distraction I couldn’t allow. I would not allow my Inscription to be anything less than perfect.

Maybe it was minutes that passed. I knew that there was sweat all over my forehead, and my whole body felt like it was burning. All I could hear was the crackle of fire, somehow either a small stone hearth or an apocalyptic firestorm. At some point I simply knew when my Inscription was done. It rested there, wavering gently on my left breast, above my heart.

*ping*

[Inscribe: Rune of the Creator Flame (1/1)]

Congratulations!

You have formed a new Runic Connection with the [Rune of the Creator Flame]. Twinned Greater Cosmic/Fire Substantiality Rune.

Congratulations!

You have obtained a new Character Class: [Runemaster]. Rank: [Novice].

Congratulations!

You have obtained a new resource: Runes 1/1.

I stared at those messages until they started to fade away, but then a second later I heard another *ping* and completely new set appeared in their place.

Quest Complete!

[Path of the Runemaster (Part 1)]

Form your first connection with a Rune by Inscribing it onto your body.

Quest Complete!

[The Ancient Keeper of Runic Magic (Part 3)]

Follow the Keeper’s guidance to become a new [Runemaster].

Quest Complete!

[State of Becoming]

Commit to your chosen path.

New Karmic Threshold Attained!

[Silver]

Karmic Flow: 59/59

Even the system knew how important this moment was. I had chosen. I had become a [Runemaster]. I belonged.

New Quest!

[Path of the Runemaster (Part 2)]

Delve more deeply into the mysteries of the Runes by learning your first Sign.

~ ~ 26/1/1/18:26 ~ ~

Status: [River]

Class: [Novice Mistborn Runemaster]

Location: [Cowl’s Landing - The Keeper’s Sanctuary]

Health 39/39 ~ Mana 36/40 ~ Stamina 18/41 ~ Runes 1/1

[Exhausted (12%)] Equipped Skills (7/8):

[Force Infused Palm]

[Myriad Fists]

[Imbued Defence]

[Unarmed Discipline (Passive)]

[Body Conditioning (Passive)]

[Elementary Ingredient Preparation (Passive)]

[Inscribe: Rune of the Creator Flame (1/1)]

Statistics:

Defence +8

Resistance +4

Constitution +4

Willpower +4

Endurance +4

Spirit +1

Perception +1

Strength (-12%)

Intensity (-12%)

Equipped Items (3/8):

[New Arrival’s Simple Dress]

[New Arrival’s Simple Shoes]

[Valesilver Pin] Other Skills:

Other Items:

[Special Edition Founder’s Token]

[Novice Healing Potion]

[Novice Mana Potion]

[Small Pouch]

[Small Iron Key]

[Sugary Biscuit]x2

Active Quests:

[Path of the Runemaster (Part 2)]