Chương 18: Chapter 17: Rune Carpenter

The three golden columns filled James's vision until the dead Stonecrest Ravagers and the open shrine became little more than shadows behind them. Each column contained a different symbol, and none looked like the simple icons the System had used for Appraisal or his familiar bonds. Julie pressed against his boot while Kevin lowered himself from the ruined wall, both familiars feeling enough through their bonds to understand that James had reached something important.

The first symbol showed a human figure standing between two beasts. The second displayed a massive hammer breaking through a stone wall, while the third column remained strangely empty except for a faint outline that refused to finish forming. James stared at the unfinished space for several seconds before deciding to start with the option the System was actually willing to explain.

[Beastbound Vanguard] [Rarity: Uncommon] [You have repeatedly fought beside bonded creatures and placed your survival in their instincts, strength, and loyalty.] [The Beastbound Vanguard advances through coordinated combat, familiar development, and the defeat of powerful creatures.] [Class Benefits:] [Improved familiar communication.] [+1 Intelligence, +1 Strength, +1 Endurance per level.] [4 Attribute Points per level.] [Increased attribute sharing between bonded companions.] [Greater resistance to mental interference affecting familiar bonds.] [Class Limitation:] [Personal growth becomes increasingly dependent upon familiar development.] James read the description twice. There was nothing weak about the class, because Julie and Kevin had become part of nearly every serious battle he fought, and stronger communication between the three of them would undoubtedly make their group more dangerous. The problem was not power; it was what the class asked him to make central to his future.

"You two are already partners, not equipment," James said as Julie raised her head toward him. Kevin tapped two front legs against the stone, and James felt curiosity from him rather than disagreement.

"I don't want a class that eventually makes my growth depend on what you become, because then every decision you make starts becoming about what benefits me." Julie pressed her head briefly against his leg. The response carried enough approval that James dismissed the first option without much regret. Beastbound Vanguard remained available beside him, but its light faded as he focused on the second column. The hammer symbol brightened immediately.

Heat traveled across James's palms as the image struck the stone wall again, shattering blocks beneath the blow. The class description opened in front of him. [Siege Hand] [Rarity: Uncommon] [You have repeatedly overcome stronger enemies through force, preparation, environmental manipulation, and the destruction of defensive structures.] [The Siege Hand advances through direct combat, demolition, siege construction, and the defeat of heavily defended enemies.] [Class Benefits:] [Increased effectiveness with heavy tools and weapons.] [+2 Strength, +1 Endurance per level.] [4 Attribute Points per level.] [Improved ability to damage armor, fortifications, and constructed objects.] [Reduced physical strain from wielding oversized equipment.] [Class Limitation:] [Reduced compatibility with delicate runes, precision crafting, and familiar-based techniques.] James almost laughed.

The class had apparently studied every moment where his answer to a difficult problem involved getting a larger hammer and decided to offer him professional certification. The physical benefits were immediately attractive, especially after fighting creatures whose armor sometimes required several direct hits before it bothered cracking. He imagined what another ten levels of Siege Hand would do to his Strength.

Bigger weapons would become practical, armored monsters would become easier to break, and the damage from his normal attacks might eventually make Spatial Impact unnecessary except against truly ridiculous targets. It was simple, direct, and extremely tempting. Fisher's warning returned before James could become too interested. Do not choose the path that offers the greatest immediate power. Choose the one that leaves room to build something greater. James looked at his damaged Warpstone Warhammer.

Raw Strength had not repaired the Warp Totem, discovered three-dimensional rune structure, turned monster parts into armor, or taught him how to keep Julie alive after poison nearly killed him. Strength had mattered constantly, but it had never been the only reason he survived.

"Damn it," James said as he dismissed the Siege Hand description. Julie sent mild amusement through their bond, while Kevin remained focused on the still-unfinished third column.

"Yeah, I know. The mysterious old bastard made one good point, and now I have to think before selecting the class that lets me hit everything harder." James turned toward the third column. Nothing happened. The other two classes remained bright beside it, but the final symbol still looked incomplete. Faint blue lines attempted to form a carpenter's square around something at the center, then vanished before connecting. James frowned and mentally focused harder.

The System opened part of his Status without being asked. [Name: James Roller] [Level: 10] [Class: Selection Pending] [Titles: Newly Integrated, Pioneer of Knowledge, Beast Bond Pioneer, Warper] [REDACTED] The final line pulsed. James felt no pain, no surge of strength, and no voice entering his mind. The word simply brightened for the smallest fraction of a second, and the entire class-selection interface stopped. Every golden line froze. The glowing carvings across the shrine went dark.

Even the two completed class symbols disappeared. Julie became rigid beside his leg. Kevin's webbing stopped moving across the stones, and both familiar bonds carried the same confused question James could not answer.

"What the fuck was that?" James asked as he stared at [REDACTED]. The line had already returned to normal, offering no explanation and refusing every attempt to select it.

"You wait ten levels to do something and that is all I get?" The System remained silent. Then the class-selection interface resumed. The first two columns returned exactly as before. The third did not. A carpenter's square formed from pale blue light, rotating slowly around a burning rune.

Lines spread outward from the symbol, creating measurements, angles, joining marks, structural paths, and geometric patterns that resembled the diagrams James had spent years drawing on scraps of lumber and the runes he had only recently begun learning to understand. The shrine reacted. Geometric carvings covering the doorway illuminated with the same pattern. Kevin's webbing trembled as energy traveled through the black stones, while Julie lifted her head and tasted the charged air.

Gold replaced the pale blue light. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. [Unique Class Generated.] [Rune Carpenter] [Rarity: Unique] [This class has not previously existed within the System in its current form.] [This class has been generated from an individual developmental path and cannot be selected through ordinary class availability.] James stopped breathing for a moment. More text appeared.

[You have survived through combat, practical construction, repair, material adaptation, runic discovery, and coordinated action with bonded creatures.] [You do not build for shelter alone.] [You build weapons.] [You build tools.] [You build defenses.] [You restore pathways.] [You create solutions where none existed before.] [The Rune Carpenter advances by creating functional runic works, defeating enemies through personally crafted equipment, restoring damaged magical structures, and discovering new applications for compatible materials.] [Class Benefits:] [Appraisal expanded to include structural, material, and runic information.] [+2 Intelligence, +2 Strength, +1 Endurance per level.] [5 Attribute Points per level.] [Basic Rune Inlay stabilized as a class feature.] [Improved compatibility with tools used as weapons.] [Improved ability to combine mundane construction principles with magical materials.] [Class Limitation:] [Runes must be understood, constructed, or discovered before they can be reliably used.] [Poorly designed works may fail violently.] [Unique Class Condition:] [No predetermined advancement tree exists.] [Future evolutions will be generated through the Bearer's actions, discoveries, and constructed works.] James read the description again from the beginning.

The final condition held his attention longer than the rarity did, because the System was effectively telling him that nobody had already mapped where the class went. There was no established progression waiting for him to follow, which meant the class could become extraordinary or turn into a complete disaster depending on what he actually built.

"That seems incredibly fucking unsafe," James said as he studied the warning about poorly designed works. Kevin sent a strong pulse of agreement, and Julie's amusement reached him immediately afterward.

"I meant unsafe for me. You two are apparently perfectly comfortable watching me explode." The class did not promise legendary weapons or perfect structures. It offered knowledge, compatibility, and room to develop, while still requiring James to locate materials, understand runes, test designs, repair failures, and survive the consequences when he built something stupid. That requirement made the class more attractive rather than less. Rune Carpenter also did not make Julie and Kevin extensions of him.

He could build equipment for them, reinforce Kevin's silk, study materials compatible with Julie's changing body, and eventually create runes that helped them without making their progression responsible for his own. Their paths could remain theirs. Siege Hand would make him immediately stronger in direct combat. Beastbound Vanguard would make the three of them function more tightly as a unit. Rune Carpenter gave him the possibility of doing both eventually if he learned enough to build the right solutions.

James looked down at the damaged Warpstone Warhammer. The weapon existed because of everything that had happened since Integration: his old trade, monster materials, Kevin's silk, the Warp Totem, Fisher's Heartwood sitting unused in his pack, and runes James barely understood. Even its broken spatial pattern represented part of the same path, because failure had taught him almost as much as success.

"I spent the first day hoping I wouldn't get some boring builder class," James said as he rested one hand against the warhammer shaft. Julie curled loosely around his ankle, while Kevin climbed onto the opposite side of the weapon.

"Apparently the System listened very carefully and decided to make being a carpenter as complicated as physically possible." James selected the third column. [Class selected.] [Rune Carpenter — Unique] [Confirm selection?] [Warning: Class selection is permanent unless altered through evolution, advancement, or extraordinary external intervention.] James considered Siege Hand one final time.

Raw force had nearly carried him through several fights, but raw force had not rebuilt the Warp Totem or created a weapon capable of launching a Level Nine Elite across a clearing. He considered Beastbound Vanguard next, but Julie and Kevin deserved futures built around what they wanted to become.

"Confirm," James said as he tightened his hand around the warhammer. The golden confirmation screen vanished, and the three columns collapsed inward. A single point of brilliant light remained before striking James directly in the chest. Power spread through him. James's knees buckled, and he caught himself against the warhammer before falling among the Ravager corpses.

The sensation was not simple pain, because it felt more like every nerve in his body had suddenly been forced to understand information it had never been designed to process. The world separated into structure. James saw grain running through ancient black stone. He saw tension traveling through Kevin's webbing, weak bindings across his breastplate, fractures inside Ravager armor, and the exact interruption where his damaged spatial rune no longer transferred force correctly. He closed his eyes.

The structures remained.

"Okay, that's too fucking much," James said as Julie tightened around his leg and Kevin pressed closer through their bonds. He forced himself to breathe until the flood narrowed, and gradually the world returned to something his mind could process without feeling like his skull might split open. [Class integration complete.] [Rune Carpenter — Unique.] [Appraisal has evolved.] [Appraisal is now Workman's Appraisal.] [Basic Rune Inlay has evolved.] [Rune Inlay acquired.] [Class resource detected: Mana.] [Existing mana channels reinforced.] [5 Attribute Points awarded for reaching Level 10.] [One Class Skill may be selected.] James opened his attributes while leaning against the warhammer. He put two points into Strength because hitting monsters remained a remarkably reliable survival method, then placed two into Intelligence because his new class would be nearly worthless if he lacked the ability to understand what he was building.

The final point went into Willpower, because forcing Appraisal into existence had already proved that stubbornness had measurable value in this world. [Strength increased to 22.] [Intelligence increased to 16.] [Willpower increased to 14.] The three skill options appeared after the attributes settled. [Rapid Assembly] [Active Skill] [Temporarily join compatible materials without ordinary fasteners.] [Strength and duration depend upon material compatibility, Intelligence, and mana expenditure.] James immediately imagined repairing a broken gate during combat or attaching replacement armor without spending twenty minutes drilling, carving, wrapping, and swearing. The skill would be useful almost constantly, but it encouraged solving problems quickly rather than understanding why the original connection failed. James moved to the next option after several seconds. [Bonded Inlay] [Active Skill] [Place a temporary known rune upon a willing bonded creature.] [Available effects depend upon known runes, familiar compatibility, and mana expenditure.] Kevin reacted with immediate interest. Julie did as well, though her response was more cautious, and James could already imagine reinforcement patterns traveling through Kevin's silk or heat-resistant runes protecting Julie. The potential was enormous, but his current knowledge consisted mostly of one damaged spatial pattern and enough rune theory to recognize how easily he could fuck something up.

The final symbol resembled a carpenter's marking knife crossing a hammer. [Measured Strike] [Active Skill] [Observe a target to identify a structural weakness, stress path, or vulnerable joining point.] [Striking the revealed point with a tool or personally crafted weapon increases damage and reduces wasted force.] [Effectiveness depends upon Perception, Intelligence, observation time, target complexity, and familiarity with the chosen weapon.] James smiled before reaching the final line.

The skill did not magically give him more Strength or guarantee a killing blow; it showed him where the strength he already possessed would matter most. He had spent years doing essentially the same thing with buildings, because good construction required understanding where weight traveled and where failure would begin.

"Yeah, that's mine," James said as he selected the third skill. Kevin climbed onto the damaged hammerhead to inspect it, while Julie sent warm approval through the bond.

"Why swing ten times when you can figure out where the bastard breaks and swing twice?" [Skill selected.] [Measured Strike — Level 1.] [Skill integrated.] Cool pressure settled behind James's eyes. He looked toward the nearest dead Stonecrest Ravager and activated the skill, feeling mana leave him for the first time in a slow controlled stream. Pale lines spread across the corpse. Most gathered around joints, but one extended from a cracked shoulder plate toward the spine.

James walked over and tapped the marked section lightly with the warhammer. The damaged plate split farther.

"Oh, that is useful," James said as the pale line disappeared. Kevin descended to investigate the fracture while Julie watched from beside the shrine entrance.

"I think I'm going to like this class." The stone doorway behind him had finished opening. Inside waited a circular chamber containing a stone table, three broken shelves, and a waist-high pedestal carved with an incomplete rune. Dust covered almost everything except the pedestal, where a shallow depression had been shaped precisely like a carpenter's square. Workman's Appraisal activated almost instinctively. [Class Resonance detected.] [Initiation site identified.] [Rune Carpenter inheritance incomplete.] James stared into the room. Apparently selecting the class had only been the beginning.