Chương 50: [1.50] Runes for Dummies (Part 1)

"Erm, I said I was here for Runes," Gelic repeated herself, waving as if to get the Demon butler's attention. Diamen had remained silent for a while after her initial inquiry, sort of looking at her, or rather, looking through her, a hint of annoyance on his face. She wasn't sure if he'd misheard, or perhaps her presence or the subject was more bothersome than she anticipated.

"Yes, I heard you," her senior in demonhood scowled. But his face twisted into something softer, relaxing after the initial trifle.

"It's just not what I expected. Runes can be a sensitive, delicate, often heated topic amongst our kind, so it is not often broached so brazenly, at least not without either a concrete connection or a Pact. I'll take it as the ignorance of a newborn that you would be so tactless. I am obligated to assist you, regardless. What do you want to know about Runes?"

"Why do Demons not like talking about it?" She veered back into his ramblings. If he'd already written her off as a dumb Imp on the topic, she may as well squeeze out whatever information she could get.

"Oh, there are a variety of reasons." Diamen seemed a bit more interested in talking now, able to flex his wisdom.

"The primary reason is that many of the higher-ups of Hell openly express their various vexations regarding Runes. Then the mindless masses take and echo that, even though the vast majority of them will have never dealt with Runes at any point since they are not too common in our society, preferred by humans more than Demons.

"The main complaint that gets passed around is that if Runes exist, then what are us Demons for? If Summoners can recreate our magics without us, then we'll be out of jobs. Same for Hell. As I'm sure you're aware by now, we are ultimately limited by our Growth Points and Racial Skills. Who we are, what we're capable of, is set within those confines, and there isn't much room to maneuver if we wildly want to change the choices we've made.

If you spend your points on a Skill that can easily be replaced by a Rune, then it is seen as a waste. So as more specialties are dominated by Runes and those who create them, the Demons who followed those paths and Attunements will feel their Worth slipping.

"Then there is the exclusive nature of it all. Very few Demons can make Runes. It requires high Creativity to do it well, which many see as the weakest Worth. And when a Demon successfully creates a new Rune, they aren't likely to share it so easily. Why give away what can be profited upon? Essentially, Runes tend to be considered luxury items in Hell. They're more common in human society, because they'll Order us to make them if we're able.

And if a Summoner gets their hands on a good Runemaker, they'll keep them Bound for as long as they can, seeing the value, selling the Runes to other Sects.

"That leads to much of the hushness in regards to the topic. Those who know Runes don't want to be bothered by those who don't." The butler paused to give Gelic a very intentional stare, reinforcing that she was one such bother.

"We might be pressured into giving the Rune designs away for less than they're worth. Say, if I were to give away the ones that I possess without permission, my master would be very cross with me, even if it were to someone he is on good terms with." The Daemon was basically saying, "don't ask me for them." That much was clear.

"So it's hard to get new Runes, then…?" Gelic spouted it as a question, but really she was just lamenting the process.

"What about that one?" She inquired once more about the big floating emblem in the sky.

"I know I can't take a picture, but is it fine if I copy it? Will I get in trouble if I do so without Fioso's permission?"

"Well, since it is available for all to see, we can not hold any sort of copyright, not that it is mine to begin with," Diamen admitted.

"That is a Rune the master purchased. I am not capable of making something that intricate. So go right ahead. If you can do it, be my guest." The Daemon almost sounded amused, as if it was looking forward to her unsuccessful attempts.

"Well, I will, then." Gelic practically took it as a challenge at this point. She pulled a pen and small sketchpad out of Second Stomach and plopped her tuchus onto the ground. But before she started, "Erm, what exactly is it a Rune of?" That made the butler snicker slightly at her inexperience.

"Deterring Field," he answered matter-of-factly.

"It is a Skill that allows either a Rune or the wielder to emit a field that deters any they don't want near them. For us, that is essentially everyone. However, those with low Magical Proficiency aren't affected as severely, so it won't work well on a typical human. That's what the fence is for. Mostly, the Rune is for keeping away Demons and Summoners." [New Rune discovered. Gnostic Attunement increased] Well, that explained why Gelic had hardly noticed it at all, barely more than a slight unnerving feeling.

Cherub had noticed it more than she did. Wait, that means he has higher Magic Proficiency than me?! She wanted to be annoyed, but as a Demon now, it didn't seem to matter. Maybe that was one of the main points of the Demon Growth System. Make it so innate proficiency didn't matter, only what they developed through its structure. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Actually, now that she thought about it, that little prickliness wasn't present at all.

It must mean that she was a part of their whitelist now, not affected by the Rune's power. Gelic felt honored. And it did sound super useful. Sadly, it likely wouldn't do much to deter her landlord, unless the woman was a Summoner in secret, but it would help prevent all the nasties of the new world from invading her personal space, and hopefully keep ones like Diamen from so easily spying on her. She wanted it. [New Rune created. Fabrication, Gnostic Attunement increased]"Well, that is surprising, Gelic."

The Daemon looked on with wide, intrigued eyes, captivated by the shimmering Rune sketched on her pad. Apparently the act had earned her some admiration, since he'd actually used her name instead of "Imp." While proud of her achievement, she didn't feel too grand though. Checking the numbers, upon creation, the Rune had eaten about a third of her MP, and using that much at once left her feeling a tad bit drained. It was a powerful Skill, so it made sense. Now to test it. [Rune: Deterring Field Lv. 1 equipped] [Rune: Deterring Field Lv. 1 destroyed] Expecting something like that to happen, Gelic had ripped the page off of her sketchbook, not wanting the whole thing to go up in flames like the inked parchment did. Still, it was seriously disappointing. She'd just wasted all that reserved power for it to literally go up in smoke. At the very least, since she'd created the thing, she could call upon it anytime with Reprint. It was as good as hers forever.

But what good was it if it was just going to self-destruct instantly each time? She glanced over to her reluctant, once again amused, tutor.

"Why does it burn up so easily?"

"Hmph, well what do you expect?" Diamen was genuinely holding back some laughter.

"How would paper contain Demon magic with any sort of sufficiency?" Well, now that he said it, that made a lot of sense.

"You need something that can contain all that power properly, a catalyst that won't burn up, as you say, in one go.

"I'm under the impression that you do not understand a core concept of Runes. They all degrade. No matter the catalyst, each Rune will eventually break. But based on the material on which it has been imbued, that can be a single second or centuries. They can be topped up with MP, but less so each time, so it is an inevitability.

Rune level is also a factor, scaling the power as one would expect with our traditional Skill levels, but the durability will increase nearly exponentially, assuming the catalyst is sufficient.

"As for increasing the Rune level, the quality of the catalyst matters there, too, but it is the least important part. What matters more is that you have a decent level in the Skill of the Rune you are trying to create, and if not that, then a high associated Attunement. I take it that you do not have the Skill, since you did not know of it, so unless you have the Attunement, you'll never be able to make a Deterring Field Rune beyond the first few levels."

"And, err, what Attunement is that exactly?" Of the ones she had, Suffering was her best guess, but she was still doubtful.

"Oppression."

"Yup, don't have that." It didn't exactly sound like her flavor of Attunement. Of course, she had stuff like Fraud, Balletic, and Pestilence, none of which she'd really use to describe herself, or at least her past self. Oppression really sounded like it'd require a high Malice, though, which wasn't her thing. Yet, it was slowly becoming her thing, reluctantly, if she continued using poison.

"What would you suggest for a catalyst? The Skills I've gotten so far are pretty strong, even at low levels, so it should be better than nothing, right? Or would it not do enough to be worth it?"

"It should be fine to ward away anyone who might be after you," her senior answered with clear condescension, basically saying she wasn't worthy enough to be hunted.

"Catalysts can be many things, but if you want them to last, there are really only two in this world that would do well with this society's resources, unless you want to start harvesting souls.

"The first is yourself. You seem to have decently high Creativity, so perhaps you will understand this analogy. Your body is a canvas. At your level, your own flesh is likely the most powerful thing you have, it can be wise to take advantage of that. The biggest plus to this, is that unlike regular Runes that are inscribed onto objects, you won't break when the Rune depletes. There may be some pain, but it won't kill you. Also worth noting, how it is imprinted onto the body matters.

Carving is not recommended, because your body will heal over it. Regular ink or other taints will fade quickly. The best option is what I believe humans call tattoos.

"That said, it better be a Rune you wish to keep, because they will only vanish through three methods: Evolution, marring the area, or if you have the Shedding Trait. I've heard humans have their own ways to remove tattoos, but they sounded dreadfully inefficient. There is one notable tradeoff to this. Runes applied to the body do not have an initial MP cost to create.

"Instead, they sap your MP over time. Whether it be an Active Skill you're not using, or a Passive Skill that normally wouldn't cost anything. That is the price of using your body instead of an external catalyst. Many do not for this reason, but you are readily available while other materials may not be, so it can be a very good place to start.

My personal suggestion would be saving yourself for weaker Runes, ones that will not overtake your MP recovery, so that there isn't a sufficient drawback, and you're not ultimately losing anything. For this reason, I would not recommend using your own body for Deterring Field. It is a powerful Skill, and as an Imp, you'd constantly be completely drained of MP just to keep the field active." Well, if he was just going to say that it was a bad idea in the end, then why did he say all that in the first place?

Was it just so she'd be aware of the prospect, explain it for other uses, or warn her against the idea if she thought of it on her own? Perhaps he wasn't too bad of a teacher, after all.