Chương 114: New Runes

When I got to Elder Molric's laboratory the next morning, I found out that the cactus from a few weeks ago had completely changed and it wasn't a subtle change at all. Instead of being a relatively normal looking desert plant, aside from the whole being sentient and shooting projectiles at people part, it now had what I could only really describe as carefully sculpted muscles.

It had these tiny green biceps bulging out while it was curling a miniature dumbbell that looked like it was made out of a piece of lab equipment.

"Three hundred and ninety eight..."

"Three hundred and ninety nine..." Elder Molric was counting while the botanical bodybuilder finished up its reps. I couldn't help but wonder if this thing even existed back in the previous timeline and I just never got introduced to it or if some strange butterfly effect made this happen. The second the plant noticed I was there, it dropped the weight, which hit the lab floor with a crack, and then it pointed one of its muscular little arms at me.

The gesture was unmistakable since it was that universal 'you are going down' sign that apparently worked across different species and even whole kingdoms of life.

"Elder?" I called out, while keeping my eye completely locked on the aggressive succulent.

"What did I do to offend your creation?" The elder looked up from his notes and his face broke out into that familiar manic grin that usually meant something brilliant or terrifying was about to happen, and it was usually both.

"Oh, you shouldn't take it personally because Constantine here isn't actually angry with you specifically."

"Constantine?" I repeated and raised an eyebrow at how unexpectedly dignified that name was for something that was a buff houseplant.

"Yes, yes," Elder Molric waved his hand dismissively.

"It is mostly his frustration with that traitorous vine of yours because it abandoned the lab after all the time we spent nurturing its growth!" He shook his head looking disappointed.

"Constantine here took it quite personally since it is a matter of professional pride." Right on cue, Yggy popped out of my sleeve and raised its tip up into what was a challenging pose. The cactus responded by hitting a pose that would make professional bodybuilders jealous, its needles bristled with competitive energy while it flexed its six-pack abs.

"Alright now," I started saying since I could see the whole situation rapidly going downhill toward what was going to be the world's weirdest botanical brawl.

"I am sure we can—" Before I could even finish trying to be diplomatic, Elder Molric made a casual gesture with his hand and Constantine went flying all the way across the lab, letting out a surprised spiky squeak before landing safely but firmly inside a reinforced terrarium cage.

"Master, did you notice the runes on Constantine's surface?" Azure asked me.

"They look like some kind of variation for strength enhancement, but the configuration isn't like anything in the standard texts." I took a glance over at the muscular plant to try and get a better look at the runes without making it too obvious. The patterns were unusual since they looked more organic than the geometric designs we normally used, and it almost looked like they had been grown instead of being inscribed on there.

"That is really interesting." I made a mental note to ask the elder about those specific patterns later on when the cactus wasn't around to get offended about me looking at its personal enhancements.

"Spoilsport," the elder muttered out although I honestly couldn't tell if he was talking to me or his relocated experiment. His eyes suddenly lit up with that dangerous sparkle I was getting good at recognizing.

"But speaking of disappointments, have you finally given up on your energy weaving yet?" I couldn't help but let a smile grow on my face because this was the moment I was waiting for. Without saying a single word, I held my right hand up and let him get a good look at the perfectly formed Vine Whip rune that I inscribed using energy weaving. The elder's eyebrows shot up so high they practically disappeared right into his hairline.

"Well well..." He tried hard to keep his composure, but I could see how excited he was getting.

"I suppose my demonstration must have been incredibly inspiring for you, although, of course with a student who has your natural talent..." He trailed off when I started revealing every single one of the other runes I managed to successfully weave. His attempts at trying to look casual got more strained with every new pattern I showed him.

"You got the Explosive Seed too? And the Woodweave Seal?" He started circling around me exactly like a proud parent at a kid's art show and he examined every single rune with this critical appreciation.

"They are all perfectly balanced and the energy distribution is precisely controlled..." He stood up straight and puffed his chest out.

"Well of course it is! This just proves what I have always been saying about using proper teaching methods!" I gave him a deep bow and fought hard to keep my face looking appropriately humble.

"Your guidance has been invaluable, Master." Somewhere in the background Constantine made a sound that sounded like scoffing.

"Yes, yes," Elder Molric shushed the plant and then turned back to me while raising his hand up. I immediately felt that super familiar distortion in space that always happened right before he transformed the training room, or even worse sent us on a trip to his infamous forest of experiments.

"Now that you have mastered all the basics, we should go test out these new skills of yours..."

"Wait!" I blurted out quickly and probably a little too loudly. The elder's hand froze in the middle of his gesture and the space rippled uncertainly around his fingers.

"I mean, wouldn't it be more beneficial for me to learn a few more runes first, so I can round out my capabilities before we do any serious testing?" Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. The attack on the academy was going to happen in less than a week if this timeline followed the previous pattern, so I didn't have the time to waste doing practice runs on runes I already knew.

I needed to be out of here before everything goes downhill because getting vaporized by a zealous light priest one time was already more than enough for me. Elder Molric's face fell like a kid who got his favorite toy taken away from him.

"Are you sure about that? I have this fascinating new variant of my forest maze that I have been meaning to try out..." He brightened up suddenly.

"The mortality rate is only thirty percent too! Well, I guess it is thirty-five if you count partial survival..."

"Maybe we can do that later," I cut him off and tried hard not to think about what partial survival actually meant.

"I was hoping you might be able to tell me more about something I have been curious about lately, something about the blue sun?" The elder's eyes narrowed and every single trace of his previous enthusiasm vanished.

"Oh? And what exactly do you know about that?" I made sure to keep my expression neutral and gave a little shrug.

"Just the stuff I heard from the other initiates around here. They were mentioning the Lightweavers and how they are all driven to religious fanaticism by the blue sun's energy and something about how they want to purify all the Skybound practitioners?"

"Ah, yes." The elder gave a slow nod and his face became unusually serious.

"I shouldn't even be telling you this yet but..." He took a pause and muttered under his breath, "You are likely going to encounter them soon enough anyway, since talent like yours tends to draw their attention..." I blinked at him because that wasn't ominous sounding at all. The elder seemed to realize he slipped up and coughed awkwardly.

"But do not worry about it! Your master will definitely protect you." His eyes got this crazy mischievous gleam in them.

"Actually, you might make some excellent bait, so we could capture one of their priests since the research possibilities would be..." I raised an eyebrow, and he just laughed to wave off my concern.

"I am making a joke!" But I noticed how he couldn't quite look me in the eyes when he said that.

"The energy from the blue sun is fundamentally different from what we harness," he went on.

"It is more closely tied to the soul, which explains its superior life-giving properties." He gestured over at his different experiments, including Constantine who was still sulking in his box.

"If I was a Rank 7 Lightweaver, all of these wouldn't be mere curiosities, they would be teeming with true life energy." I gave a nod since I already suspected that much from everything I observed before. The blue sun focused heavily on the soul, while the red sun focused more on physical enhancements, even though they both ended up having spiritual effects anyway.

"Do the Lightweavers only use the light element?" I asked him, remembering how those priests I fought in my last loop heavily favored light-based attacks. The elder let out a loud bark of laughter.

"They certainly love to pretend that they do! It fits perfectly with their self-righteous image, and a lot of them actually do seem to have a natural affinity for it. But just like how we can convert the red sun's energy into other elements using proper runic inscription, they have their own methods for doing it too."

"So, they use runes exactly like we do?"

"Yes and no." Elder Molric got this thoughtful look on his face.

"They do have their own system, similar to runes but fundamentally different from ours. The energy from the blue sun operates on entirely different principles so our runes would be completely useless for channeling it." It was exactly what I was afraid of. It meant I would have to learn a whole new system if I wanted to properly channel the blue sun's energy.

"Master," Azure called out, "at least the basic principles we learned here would help."

"That is true," I thought back.

"How different could it be anyway?" The elder was getting that distant look he always got whenever he started contemplating his grander theories.

"I have long believed that the powers of both suns could be merged together," he said softly almost like he was talking to himself.

"But doing that would require someone who is capable of manipulating both of the energies..." He let out a heavy sigh. I didn't mention the fact that I fit that exact requirement. Instead, I just asked him, "How do people gain access to the blue sun's power in the first place?"

"The fanatics would tell you it is the blue sun's blessing," he answered and his tone made it clear what he thought about that stupid explanation.

"As for the actual mechanics of it, no one really knows for certain. Some individuals simply have an affinity for one sun or the other, and they develop a core that naturally resonates with that specific energy." He must have noticed how interested my face looked because he suddenly broke out into what he probably thought was a gentle smile. If it was on literally anyone else, it might have been, but on him it just looked predatory.

"If you are curious about it, we could always capture a Lightweaver and investigate it."

"I think I will pass on that," I said quickly, since I easily recognized that he was trying to use me as experimental bait again.

"Maybe we could just focus on learning some new runes instead?" The elder sighed dramatically, but he grabbed his giant tome of runic patterns anyway.

"Very well then. What catches your interest?"

"That Impact Rune that Bane was using," I said right away.

"And the one that enhanced his perception too, what was that one called again?"

"Ah, the Hawk's Eye Rune!" Elder Molric's enthusiasm came back full force. He started flipping through his huge book until he found the page he was looking for.

"These are both excellent choices, although they each come with their own unique quirks." He tapped on the Impact Rune's pattern.

"This one takes your momentum and converts it into explosive force right on contact, so it is devastating in close combat. But there is a very good reason why most practitioners do not abuse it." His face became serious.

"The conversion process creates some significant feedback on you. If you use it too many times in rapid succession, you will start damaging your own body. Even if you have perfect technique, you are limited to around three full power strikes every few minutes." That explained why Bane stopped using it after his transformation happened, he must have hit his limit by that point.

"The Hawk's Eye is even trickier to use," the elder went on and pointed at this complex pattern full of overlapping circles and angular lines.

"It gives you enhanced perception, the ability to predict movement, and even lets you read micro expressions. But the mental strain from it adds up quickly. If you use it for too long, you will get splitting headaches at best or temporary blindness at worst. And all of that is after assuming you can handle the sensory overload in the first place." He broke out into a huge grin suddenly.

"I heard about this one initiate who activated it for the first time in the middle of a crowded marketplace. The poor fool ended up spending his next three days locked in a dark room crying about how he could still see every single person's pores in perfect detail."

"Well, that is... disturbing," I managed to say.

"It is fascinating though, isn't it? The human mind simply isn't designed to process that amount of information all at once. Most practitioners down at the lower ranks can only maintain it for about thirty seconds before the strain becomes unbearable for them. The truly skilled ones can maybe stretch that out to a minute, but that is more or less the limit for you lower ranks." The elder's smile kept getting wider and wider while he opened his book up even farther.

"Alright, now let us see what else I have in here that might interest you."