Syl

Chapter 140: Rune Carving

"Now, this is where the real fun begins!" Gregory said excitedly.

Some tools, ranging from farming implements to blacksmithing, were placed on the workbench, and over a dozen more were sitting in a barrel. Two barrels full of weapons, separated into swords and spears, were also on display. [Appraisal] showed me everything was iron or bronze, nothing too fancy.

"I'd love to have you working on spherical enchantments, but first, we need to get you used to your new skill and your new tool," Gregory said with a cheery smile as he produced what looked like a well-maintained tool.

If the previous one I used for etching looked like a toothpick, this was a scalpel. I gingerly held it and gave it a trickle of my mana to see how it flowed, and wow, this tool was a greedy boy as it slurped up my mana. I could see there was clearly an enchantment to aid the flow of mana and produce a sharpening effect on the tiny blade.

"Carving requires a lot more mana; after all, you'll need to be able to mark even metal! Also, I hope this goes without saying, but be careful not to lose any fingers!" Gregory said, giving a bearded grin.

"Is this a silver-steel alloy?" I asked curiously.

"Indeed, good eye! Silver, like other precious metals, is a good mana conduit, and the steel is for durability."

"Why not gold or monster parts?"

"Cost and waste mostly. At least for a [Rune Carving] tool, it would be frivolous. For [Rune Engraving], I've seen plenty of tools made from all sorts of things. Somehow, befriend and outdrink a dwarf; perhaps you can get your hands on some Orichalcum or Adamantine. I've even seen some nobles brag about one made from Mithril, a relic reforged from the Elven war. Then you get the real exotics; one of my old teachers had one made from dragon bone! Blasted thing could make the most ravishing Fire enchantments I'd ever seen but was utterly useless for everything else."

Gregory started me off by enchanting the tools with only durability. It was my first time doing the rank four version, but it came out almost perfectly. I was so used to being frugal with my mana to avoid destroying an etching that I had subconsciously held back a bit too much. My second attempt was far better, and Gregory happily claimed it was perfect. My goal was to enchant all the tools with durability. When I was halfway through the barrel, Gregory told me to swap to rank five durability.

"Remarkable..." Gregory muttered as I placed the last tool aside.

"Something wrong, Master Greg?"

"I'm shocked at how you're still standing. Bloody hell, you have easily doubled my mana capacity. I expected us to take a lunch break ages ago, but you just kept going, and I didn't want to disturb you..."

"I have a really high level in [Mana Circulation] and [Mana Well]," I explained. Holding back the truth that I had already fused [Mana Well], just in case.

"And at least twenty-five levels in an intermediate combat class..." Gregory said, tugging at his beard.

"Ten levels in Sorcerer, too," I added, as it was already part of my backstory. "Do you not have a combat class?"

"I believe almost twenty levels in Mage when I wanted to become an adventurer like every child does when they are young. Then I learned I could earn double my weekly adventurer salary in a day with enchanting! Never looked back." Gregory chuckled. "Although I'm extremely jealous of the attributes yours is clearly giving you. Maybe I should see if Mister Green will pay for me to get some Sorcerer levels."

"I didn't realize professions get fewer attributes..." I murmured, trying to recall what Tabitha had told me.

"Just how the world works, I'm afraid. It makes logical sense, though; I run out of mana and simply have to take a short break, maybe have some tea. An adventurer runs out of mana, and they might end up as monster food."

"Now, before we go and have lunch, let me quickly show you something..."

I must have frowned because Gregory chuckled in response. "Even if you can go, I'm starving, and it's not like the weapons will run away."

He pulled out one of the swords and began his explanation. My task for the swords was to add durability and sharpness to them. I could simply make two enchantments, but this was the perfect opportunity to use [Rune Framework]. Gregory explained that having one solidified enchantment was more efficient and effective than multiple individual ones, and by creating a framework, you could ensure the enchantments are applied to the correct areas to avoid wastage.

"No point in your sword handle being sharp, after all," Gregory said with a chuckle at his own joke.

He easily demonstrated the process and then withheld, presenting me the finished blade.

"Now, let's go get lunch, and then you can try to replicate this!"

***

I spent a week doing nothing but swords and spears. I swear I could see the layouts in my dreams as I was now intimately familiar with the durability and sharpness of inscriptions, both of which I could easily replicate up to rank six. I was effectively cheating to get up there, using my overwhelming mana to far exceed what [Rune Carving] was trying to limit me to, but even with my attempt at cheating, I couldn't achieve rank seven yet.

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Gregory wasn't kidding about the difference between [Rune Etching] and [Rune Carving]. Originally, I had been worried the pace would slow down, but now that I was producing usable and meaningful goods, the system was optimally rewarding me.

I must have been doing quite a good job as when I reached level twenty-five, I was offered two skills: [Brand] and [Rune Filigree]. The former would let me leave my unique signature to be recognized by fellow crafters and merchants, which was vital to becoming a big shot. The latter skill would let me add flourishes to my work, which did nothing but look pretty. Gregory demonstrated it to me and showed that you could even control what color your inscriptions would glow at the higher levels. The higher the level, the more frivolous extras you could add to an inscription without directly affecting the final product.

"Between you and me..." Gregory had said in a hushed whisper. "The nobles gobble this shit up. They absolutely love it if you can make something in their family crest's colors or somehow sneak their insignia into an inscription."

Unfortunately, it wouldn't really help me until I got [Rune Engraving]. While we predicted I'd have excess profession points before reaching [Rune Carving LV 5], I was more interested in spending two of them for [Rune Tracing], which I should unlock at thirty, and [Rune Design].

***

With sufficient levels of [Rune Carving] and [Rune Framework], Gregory finally let me out into the city to work on Winter insulation and waterproofing. These big jobs would net me a lot of experience, and they heavily relied on [Rune Framework] to cover a large area.

I had wondered why we didn't just create multiple inscriptions, and after Gregory had a long chuckle, he finally answered me. "Not everyone has your boundless mana; expanding a framework costs a fraction of the mana. Also, remember these aren't [Rune Engravings], so they will run out. Would you rather check one inscription to see if it's still functioning per house or twenty?"

Walking around the city in effectively an official uniform of the Merchant's Guild was interesting... Slowly but surely, people began to recognize me, and it nearly freaked me out a few times when someone I'd never seen before greeted me by name. This was especially apparent with the city guard, who would even bring me refreshments while I enchanted their guard stations, barracks, and gatehouse.

While I probably couldn't say any of them were directly my friend, per se, it was a stark contrast to my time as Syl. Sylvester's only real friend was likely Gregory, but he had many positive acquaintances. Syl had quite a few close friends, but outside of those didn't really interact with anyone else.

I was quite scared when Johnathan arranged for me to do a job at the Adventurer's Guild when I was nearing the end of another two weeks. I felt like my worlds were colliding, and I almost wanted to refuse on the spot, but as Gregory had pointed out — this was an amazing opportunity. [Acting] unfortunately agreed with them, so I graciously accepted with eager falsehood.

'Betrayed by my own skill...'

I knew it was my own paranoia, and I'd be seen as just another face in the crowd, and for the most part, that was true. I just silently tried to work efficiently and silently. I had wondered why Thern wasn't doing this or the Guild's own staff, even if Johnathan was pulling strings.

I was minding my own business when my horrors came to life. Thern approached me.

"So you're the brat Greg has been bragging about..." He said as he ran his thick fingers through his beard.

'Gregory... Why?'

"Good day, Sir Dwarf. I am Gregory's [Apprentice], Sylvester." I said as politely as possible.

"Hmm... Well, aren't you polite? Keep working; don't stop on my account, lad." Thern said as he started inspecting my work extremely closely.

I felt extremely uncomfortable and even asked Alpha to stop me if I was about to make a mistake. Although, at this point, I had done so many of these, it was almost routine, even with the added pressure of another Enchanter critiquing my work other than my own teacher.

Abruptly, Thern chuckled, and I could see a sort of goofy smile beneath his bushy beard. "Well damn. Looks like I owe Greg some coin and a drink. Name's Thern; sorry for giving you the stink eye."

"Not at all. It's a pleasure to meet someone else who knows Master Greg."

"I dunno who's luckier, you or him," Thern said.

"Beg your pardon?" I asked.

"You got one of the few Enchanters I still respect in this city," Thern said, producing a small flask and taking a swig, then pointing towards my work. "Half the bastards in this place wouldn't be teaching you efficient work like this; you'd be drawing fancy squiggles that look pretty and either fade in half the time or are barely effective."

'Wow... Greg said his standards were high, but I had no idea.' I thought.

"But then he lands a fucking [Prodigy] on his doorstep. It's mind-blowing!" Thern shouted and chuckled. "Even I'd be tempted to try to get back into the trade to teach, just for the bragging rights!"

"You left?" I asked. Syl knew, but Sylvester didn't.

"Aye. Got offered a strange combat enchanter class and took it. It's a hella lot of fun, but nearly caused my parents to disown me." Thern said with a hearty grin.

I frowned. "Not that I'm not grateful for the work, but... Couldn't you do this and a better job?"

Thern laughed so loudly I thought I had said something wrong; he was practically wiping tears from his eyes. "Aye. I could do this; hell, I could Engrave it and make it permanent. But then, how would the youngins ever learn anything? Or earn their coin?"

Obviously, I didn't put the puzzle together quickly enough, so Thern promptly continued. "You definitely had a combat class before this; you don't have the crafter money mindset yet." Thern chuckled.

"It's like an unspoken agreement so the next generation has a chance. Imagine everything was permanently enchanted unless it broke. You'd struggle to find work. In this same hypothetical, imagine all the great enchanters kicking the bucket; what now? We have to start from scratch."

I nodded along, continuing to work.

"It's also great for repeat customers," Thern said, giving an exaggerated wink. "Of course, if one day you want to permanently enchant your own house or even a friend or family member, nobody is gonna come kicking down your door or anything. But... If you enchant an entire town, city, or even a district, there might be some... Consequences." He gave a toothy smirk before bellowing with laughter.

He watched me for a few more moments, then shook his head and chuckled before walking away. "Keep well, lad."

"Thank you, Mister Thern."

I was most grateful I didn't run into anyone else until I finally finished for the day.