Chương 51: [1.51] Runes for Dummies (Part 2)

"If you want to use Deterring Field, then you will need Runestone," Diamen noted.

"It is the only sufficient material in this world that can handle it. I can see by your dumbfounded expression that you have no idea what Runestone is. Wait here a moment." The butler vanished and reappeared a moment later, back in a flash. He held out a large lump of crystallized stone, about half the size of the puffball's body.

"This is Runestone. Malignants are not the only thing created from 'Mana.' They are the impurities of stagnation, but this is what's left when those impurities are removed. You could also call it solidified Essence. If you were to break this rock and eat or absorb the dust that remains, you would gain a significant amount of Essence. That is something I would never recommend, because a stone like this is worth far more than the Essence it would provide. Once Runestone is broken, it cannot be reformed.

Only nature can create it anew.

"Here, it is yours now." Gelic found the lump thrown in her direction, which she struggled to catch because of its overbearing size. And it was surprisingly heavy.

"Really, I can just have it?!" If it was as valuable as stated, wouldn't that be something worth hanging onto and not giving away willy-nilly?

"Yes, it is a lower grade," Diamen decreed.

"You can tell by the cloudiness of the stone. Higher grades are more clear. There's nothing good I can make with that. It will only let you make Runes up to level ten or so, and maybe provide a few levels' boost to a Skill you're unattuned to. I've been using it as a paperweight for some files that haven't been touched in years. Because of its value, we can't just dispose of it, but it's also unsightly, so thank you for helping us tidy up."

"Yeah, okay, thanks! So I just carve the Rune into this and I'm good to go?" The artist in her was really starting to get riled up.

"Please don't!" The Daemon was suddenly wide eyed once more.

"Runestone is different. If you only scratch its surface, that will only activate that part of the stone, and at worst, if done incorrectly, it could explode violently. Please do not test it on this property. What you need to do is create the Rune inside of it—the further in the middle, the better. You do that with your MP. It is not a skill, per se, but rather an innate Demon Trait of imbuement."

"Ah, I think I get it," she nodded. Since she had Toxic Imbuement, the concept wasn't lost on her. So she'd just need to recreate that feeling in an artsy way. And regardless, Reprint should hopefully take care of the issue, assuming there wasn't a level block. She'd find out later. The butler cleared his throat and tacked on, "It is also worth mentioning that you would be wise to further break down that chunk of runestone. To use it for just one Rune would be a waste.

Bigger is generally better, more durable, but something that massive would last longer than your life. You should cut out a piece maybe a twentieth of its size for Deterring Field, and for more standard Skills, about the size of a standard gemstone should suffice. You will find most Runes disguised as jewelry for that reason, though they'll usually be on the slightly larger end."

"Wow, thanks, you've been a bunch of help!" Gelic was genuinely appreciative; she'd learned so much, gained so much. It was nice having friends—Diamen would probably scoff if she called them higher than acquaintances—who were willing to help her, even if only because they were reluctantly told to do so. Maybe she really should try to be more social, at least enough so that she had people to rely on for information that a web search wouldn't turn up… or put her on a list for searching.

"I guess I'll head back, then." Gelic looked at the big Runestone rock and thought about how to best transport it. Whether to turn into a human or try to cram the whole thing down into Second Stomach since she could probably get her mouth around it. But then she realized she was being stupid, and could just cast Return while holding it.

"Thanks again for everything you taught me," she reiterated.

"It's a shame that Runes are so secretive. I understand wanting to be protective of art, but since it is more practical, it would be nice if we can all just share. Guess I won't get very far with this till I meet some nice Demons like you who will help me, too." Gelic hadn't meant for that to be manipulative or leading, but it turned out to work, anyway.

"Hrm, well I may have a couple more that I can share," Diamen briefly pondered, scratching his slightly scaly chin.

"Yes, I can think of two that the master will likely not mind being given out for free. Follow me, Gelic."

"Oh, wow, these are so pretty!" She couldn't help but marvel at the sparkling stones that were slotted into the base of a raised flower bed. In the middle was a large Rune of a sandy yellow color, then on either side, there were two smaller gems of a rich blue. Of course, the rest of the bed was made of finely etched and patterned wood, but the Runestones definitely drew the eye.

"Ah, yes." The butler seemed to recall something.

"That is due to a minor aspect of Runestones I suppose is worth mentioning. Like Skills, Runestones can also be Attuned. If a Rune and Stone are of the same Attunement, it boosts its power. Doing so will also change the color to reflect the Attunement.

"The small blue ones you see are Runes of Hydration. Essentially, they provide endless water to the flowers directly, without actually needing to wet them. It is part of Thalassic Attunement, which I am well-versed in." The Daemon held out a hand and a large ball of water appeared above it, swirling before it popped out of existence. Gelic didn't know what skill it was; Manifest Water, perhaps. She was just glad it wasn't used on her, something it felt like Diamen would do for his own amusement.

While she could see the practicality of using it for a quick bath, doing so out in the winter cold would suck immensely. Though maybe there was some sort of Wet Resistance, or at the very least, could make training Cold Resistance easier. Something to think about if she ever got her hands on it. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Her mental tangent aside, only taking a split second, the butler continued with his explanation.

"Attuning a Runestone will change it to that Attunement's color. Thalassic is the blue you see. However, many Summoners do not care for the natural aesthetics of some Attunements, and will choose to opt for another, even if it lessens the Rune's power.

"That is the case with this second Rune, Weathering Resistance. As the name suggests, it reduces the effects that poor weather has on the plants, but the Skill works on fauna, too. It is part of Suffering Attunement, but that produces a blood red color, which my master believes would clash. So he had me use another instead."

"Which Attunement did you use?" Gelic asked what she believed was an innocent question.

"I'm not going to say," he vehemently refused.

"Another lesson, Imp. Besides just Secrets, it is best to not give too much of yourself away. If enemies know your tricks, then they will know how to best you. Of course, I do not see you as an enemy, because that would mean considering you as a threat, which you are not. But that is only for now.

"Who knows what you will become. My master trusts you, likely because of your innocence, but no Demon stays innocent. The sooner you learn that and wise up to the rest of our ways, the better. But we were all Imps once, so some leniency can be allowed and ignorance expected."

"Umm, okay, thanks?" Gelic wasn't quite sure how to feel. It seemed that she was being insulted, but at the same time, it was like her inexperience was being brushed off as "Imps will be Imps."

"So I'm free to duplicate these, as well, then?"

"That is why I brought you, isn't it?" Diamen was back to being annoyed.

"I will leave you to it and return to my regular duties. You may see yourself out when you are finished." Just like that, her host was gone, leaving Gelic to plop her butt on the ground once again and get doodling. [Two new Runes discovered. Gnostic Attunement increased] [Two new Runes created. Fabrication, Gnostic Attunement increased] [Gnostic Attunement has improved from Touched to Embraced] [Rune: Hydration Lv. 1 equipped] [Rune: Hydration Lv. 1 destroyed] [Rune: Weathering Resistance Lv. 1 equipped] [Rune: Weathering Resistance Lv. 1 destroyed] Gelic had done that on purpose this time. First, to confirm what she had made, since the Demon Growth System didn't tell her at the creation stage, for some reason. Felt like an oversight. Maybe it was expected that a Demon wouldn't just be making random Runes. And it wasn't that she suspected Diamen to be lying to her, but the reassurance was nice. The second reason was that the artist purposefully wanted to destroy her own work.

Since they weren't her intellectual property, and she wouldn't be using those pieces directly, she felt it was best to get rid of the blueprints for someone else to find and use one day. The knowledge was embedded in her now, or more specifically, within Reprint, so she could conjure it again whenever she wanted. Now, it was time to head back. Gelic gobbled up all of her art supplies and then hoisted the Runestone. One cast of Return later, and pop, she was back into her apartment.

Cherub briefly raised his head to confirm the intruder, stared a good two seconds at the big shiny rock, and then lowered his head to resume his nap.

"Alright, Angelica." She primed her powers, ready to give a Named Order.

"Break this Runestone down into a sufficient piece to create as powerful of a Deterring Field Rune as you can, while leaving the rest viable as much as possible. Then, use Reprint to create that Rune through whatever methods the Demons use to embed the sigil inside of the stone." [Order accepted without resistance | Current Contract: Create Deterring Field Rune] Her body got to work immediately, specifically as a human.

She instinctively activated Transfiguration without giving the command, the Order knowing that her bigger self would be far more dexterous for the task at hand. Angelica began digging around her art supplies, eventually pulling out a chisel she had literally never used before, and had honestly forgotten she'd owned, acquired as part of a supply bundle. Honestly, it was weird, but deeply enthralling, watching her hands. She knew how a chisel worked, but had never actually seen it in proper operation.

While she was fairly dexterous, as needed in order to draw straight lines and perfect circles a decent percentage of the time, she couldn't help but feel if she had attempted the act naturally, without any sort of practice or training, there would be a good chance the chisel would split her skin instead of the stone. With a few hefty cracks, a decent chunk of Runestone split away from the main ore, and thankfully, none of it disintegrated to worthless dust.

Well, if that happened, she'd just absorb it for Essence, but it was still a waste, as she'd been told. Now convinced by the process, Angelica tweaked her Order ever so slightly, asking herself to produce a few extra bits, as well. What she came out with were three small stones, about the size of a coin each, though closer in shape to teardrops, which she set aside for now. Then there was the big boy rock to be used for the main Rune she wanted to make.

However, when her hands were just about done with it, she tweaked the Order a bit further, because she wasn't satisfied with the overall aesthetics. It was a good size, much larger than the others, and just barely fit in her hand. Her issue was the undeniable design. Unintentionally, it had become a bit, uhh, phallic, in shape. So she made herself chisel away at it a bit more.

That could potentially hamper the potency of the Rune to a minor degree, but Angelica would be damned if she had a floating, power-emitting wang-like object in her apartment. Thankfully, it didn't take much altering until it looked much more like a typical fantasy-esque crystal that would be the macguffin in some story. Really, she was probably worrying too much, since it wouldn't be seen by regular folk.

Angelica definitely hadn't seen floating Runestones in her non-Demon days, but since she would see the blasted thing, she wanted it to fit her tastes. Now, it was time for the all-important infusion. Angelica gripped the stone tightly and focused. Reprint!

Of course, it was right at that moment that she remembered Diamen's words about potential explosive, catastrophic failure if she screwed up, and the fact that she should either be doing this not in her living space or taking any sort of precautions to prevent shrapnel flinging into her body at high speed. But it was too late for that now. Angelica suddenly felt supremely weaker as a swath of MP was sucked out of her body and swirled into the Runestone.

Before her eyes, the Deterring Field sigil inscribed itself in the middle of the stone, etching itself into existence, the imaginary ink brimming with power. Then, with a final pulse, the Rune burst to life.