Chapter 59: A Trade (2)

Back at the Baron’s Mansion Rainer expended 110 Mana but managed to fill the ring by 3 Mana, surpassing the ratio. The [Archon] class offered quite the helping hand, alongside his level 4 [Mana Manipulation].

[Skill Gained: Mana Object Transfer lvl 1/10]

[Mana Object Transfer: Transfers Mana between oneself, or another source of Mana, into an object. ]

[Mana Object Transfer has reached level 2]

“I was just testing something out, I’ll fill it up fully later,” Rainer said handing back the ring to Elru, who had no reason to doubt him. She had just left the room she picked a few doors down his.

“I’d like to get started studying your runes right away,” He could barely contain himself. If he could master such a technique everyone would be receiving an improvement, himself included.

“Might we do it in private?” Elru asked a bit nervously. Many of the Runes and Runic lines were not in the best of places. They were done by a Female [Grand Fae Enchantress].

“You don’t have to disrobe or anything; I can study them fine so long as they’re activated. Rather I’ve already studied them when they were inactive, and it wasn’t too useful,” Rainer said. Though, in truth, it was beyond useful, just not for recreating them on another person. It only helped him alter his Runic lines in [Arcane Awakening].

They all entered the shared room of Rainer, Kara, and Luna; everyone a bit curious at the functionality of Elru’s runes.

“Then I shall start with a simple ability. Unfortunately, I used up the powerful version to block your spell, but this is a more general one,” As Elru spoke a Rune in the center of her back lit up, the lines tracing down to her stomach.

A tight bubble of Mana surrounded Elru as a shield. Far different from Rainer’s defensive ability. She held her arms slightly out, as to not hide any of the Runic lines. Her height was almost half a foot shorter than Rainer, at 5 and a half feet. Having removed her mithril and leather armor, she only wore a magically constructed light blue blouse and tight black pants with bare feet.

He used [Arcane Sight] as he followed the lines which lead to another rune in her navel. Rainer realized that the other Fairy he studied lacked this one. It likely formed depending on the Rune used.

It’s a shit version of my Mana Output Rune.

Compared to the one he modified for [Arcane Awakening: Final Arcanum] this was like a toddler’s scribbles. Shaking away the distraction, he followed the lines back to the rune resembling parts of his [Mana Shield] spell, this one, however, was far more advanced.

“Another,” He simply said while staring the Mana Output Rune. Its form slightly changed as the Runic lines lit up across her body and then circled back to the center. He studied this Rune far more carefully as he had never seen anything like it before.

“A general body strengthening, based on various [Fae Enchanter] gifts. With my mana capacity and skill in using Runes I am one of the few who has effects similar Gift of Lightning and Gift of the Giants in one. The way the Rune is designed is that it can work in tandem with a Gift cast on me, given one is spirit magic and another is Runic based.”

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Rainer’s face did not lack surprise. He now knew why the four Fae he fought earlier were relatively weak. With how quickly he killed the [Fae Enchantress] he practically crippled them from their usual power.

“Aren’t you telling me a bit too much?” He was, of course, happy about the information but didn’t understand her motives to give out so much.

“You are an enemy of Yulia and hold no greed toward your Fairy Companion. I see no reason to hide this information,” Rainer didn’t know the history of the Fae and how much him not coveting Luna’s fairy dust in the slightest, truly meant.

Of course, were she to ask about other Fae, she would not be too happy. Rainer’s thoughts back when he assumed all Fae as his enemy varied from his view of Luna.

“Another.”

A spear formed in Elru’s hand as a Rune lit up there. Once again, the Mana Output Rune changed and the lines now only reached across her shoulder and down to her hand. Several other Runes lit up in concert.

He now knew for sure why studying the ones, not in use, had limited practicality in replicating them.

They were designed to change.

“Another.”

Two runes lit up on each of Elru’s slim thighs, Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

“It might be better to demonstrate these,” Elru said while jumping in the air as a small burst of mana escaped her feet. The burst sent her over to the left. She repeated this a few times dashing across the air before landing.

“Even with wings such a movement is far more useful,” She added already seeing the question he wanted to ask on Rainer’ face, “With practice, it can even be used on the ground. Each of these Runes grants a skill to be trained, alongside a general one.”

“Hold this one for as long as you can,” He said with great interest. Having [Void-walking], he was more interested in creating something like this for Kara.

Though, when he had the time he would gladly create more skills for [Arcane Awakening]. Gaining the second level with such skills could be an easy source of experience, even for more useless ones.

She continued to maintain this form until her Mana pool reached a third.

“Such Runes are meant for quick bursts,” She added slightly fatigued.

“So what exactly are the lines made of?” He looked at her hand and noticed a difference from the other Fairy. Elru’s lines were practically invisible when not in use.

Recalling the explanation given by the other Fae he interrogated, he realized he had been led down a pointless direction. Discussing the study of [Faraan Runic Language] and other factors related to the [Fae Enchanter] and Runes, rather than an actual step by step explanation.

At the time, he was seeking to improve [Arcane-Awakening] and unknowingly for the Fae; his tangent would later save Rainer’s life.

“Blood infused with Mana. I had at one point in my youth wanted to be a [Fae Enchantress] before I discovered my love for combat. I can show you the process. The blood can be of any sort, though the stronger the Magic of its holder, the better. Yours might be quite effective with that peculiar mana. But…they are not very useful without the class bonuses provided by becoming a [Runic Knight]. They simply require far too much mana to use without it.”

Easily fixed…

Rainer even had thoughts on how to alter Elru’s Rune given its poor efficiency. But despite his interest in seeing his capabilities, he would not afford her such trust as of yet.

Even now he prepared to Void-Walk at a moment’s notice. The spell itself, outside of the looseness of that space, cost a decent amount. It didn’t change too much at close range. It now cost 21 Mana, after his class bonus.

“Even still, the study helps me with my magic.”

Elru nodded, and Theodore had already told Gunthar to fetch a bowl. To someone like him, the prospect of such a foreign magic controlled his entire focus. Even at the height of his interest, his [Soul Detection] never wavered. Gunthar already returned after a few seconds.

They often placed their dishes at the end of the long hall to be taken and washed. With Luna’s [Appraisal] and the attributes of Kara and Rainer, poison presented little concern in receiving food here.

Gunthar handed over the bowl and a steak knife. Rainer sighed as he sat down and began to lightly cut his hand, squinting as he prepared for the pain.

Surprisingly he felt none. Looking down, he noticed the knife that ran across his hand didn’t even cut him.

“Kara, could you handle it,” He asked, just now recalling such a thing wouldn’t be easy with his new Constitution. He could still cut himself but didn’t want to overdo it.

Elru had confusion visible on her face, no longer covered with a Glamour since coming here. She now fully [Appraised] all his items and while shocked at them all seemingly functioning together, her focus landed on his overcoat.

She knew not what Arcane Attunement was, but for any attribute to be that high, she had a new sense of the man in front of her. Of course, under the assumption that his Constitution resulted from the coat. Her [Appraisal] did not reveal his attributes leaving her to guess that the coat gave him his durability.

The truth, however, of his +1 to all attributes, would be even more shocking

“Remember this feeling, for it shall happen many many times and at far higher degrees,” Gunthar spoke as if speaking to a junior, preparing them for the road ahead.

Kara dragged her finger across Rainer’s hand, using her [Aura Blade] so that force was no longer an issue. Different from [Arcane Blade] the wound wasn’t cauterized.

The pain was not high with his resistance. He poured the blood into the bowl. Looking at it with [Arcane Sight], he saw faint traces of his Arcane Power laden Mana. Losing none of his Mana Pool, he asked a question.

“Where does the Mana in the blood come from?”

Theodore walked over as he chanted a healing spell. Luna had the sensibility not to use her flame, much to the surprise of Rainer who forgot to remind her.

As the spell cast, he answered, “The Mana naturally affects all parts of your body. Mages can use this effect to expand their lifespan though I know not the exact method nor reagents required. I imagine you’ll find several ways in all the notes you collected, for it was a secret kept amongst the towers. The less Mana you have, however, the less useful. Such resulted in my own choice to not join a Mage Tower. In any case, I imagine the resources used made it pointless to spread. Only 2 or 3 of the highest ranked in Mage Towers lived beyond both a Sun Elf’s, and 2nd Tier Lifespan reward to a noticeable extent.”

Rainer had not yet gone through all the notes and tomes he collected from the 9 Mage towers, but hearing this he likely had solved one of his problems.

He knew Mage Guilds of this world had a similar technique, it wasn’t a hidden thing, and he had long since learned it from his talks with Luna. It hardly could be, when Human Mages lived far longer than they should.

“Sun Elf?” Elru asked confused.

“Me and my son are Sun Elves,” Theodore responded.

“But how…Sun Elves live such a great distance from here, without a Fairy Ring I could not even imagine…” She looked toward Rainer and now knew that perhaps his abilities exceeded even her highest estimates.

“There are other Sun Elves on this world?” Theodore blurted out by mistake before Gunthar could stop him.

Hearing such a possible secret, Elru pretended not to have heard anything at all.

She sat across from Rainer and placed her hands over the bowl. Rolling up her pants she revealed her leg. Flaring all her runic lines for a moment, she showed a lack of them on her foot.

“The one time use Rune was here; it is a life-saving method incorporating both a shield and an increase in flight speed. You can only fly during its use and shortly after, limiting the combat uses. But such intentional restrictions strengthen the magic.”

Rainer nodded. It seemed that the restrictions he needed to add on to make an item more effective at a lower price were more practical rather than just a limitation of the Trial’s item creation.

“I can demonstrate an example for you. I’ll do a simple one-time use Rune for a burst of speed, restricted to flying. With my skills, it won’t be very strong. A Runic formation like the one that gives me a similar effect to Gift of Lightning and Gift of The Giants took 2 weeks of constant work from a skilled [Grand Fae Enchantress]. That was with the help of some expensive Mana crystals and additional reagents to strengthen the blood used.”

“That’s fine,” Rainer added.

He was wondering how it would connect to her Mana Output Rune, but she answered his question.

As the clothes were magical constructs of her creation, all it took was her finger to open several paths toward the Mana Output Rune.

Gunthar turned around muttering, “Can at least one person who joins us not have such…habits…” He sighed as he spoke further, “Those who hold out their hands in prayer cannot choose the miracle that comes to them,”

Kara giggled at Gunthar’s reaction, given Elru had shown so little skin. Theodore did not join him this time as his interest in the process overwrote his concerns.

“I should note, Archon, I have never seen anyone other than a Fae learn the skill. We have in the past traded with Mage Guilds, back when we had friendly relations, but they had never come close to succeeding. I do not know the reason…perhaps it is our races Magical Nature…the same goes for using it on non-Magical Races,” She had been slightly hesitant in revealing this but had no plans on hiding it.

“It’s fine. I’m not going to cancel on our deal. Your protection for a year and teaching Luna how to use Glamour is more than enough.”

Elru smiled lightly before moving on with the enchantment. Rainer watched carefully with his [Arcane Sight] as she dipped her hand in the blood.

He noted the flow of Mana in her finger, and on the tip of it. Placing her finger on her foot, she began drawing the rune. The originally red blood faded into a silver appearance. Tinged with violet, the color differed from her other lines.

Luna, on Rainer’s head, watched as well.

Elru’s hand nearly fumbled as she noted this change, but continued. She recalled Gunthar’s words and thought to herself.

Looks like there was some truth to them…

After finishing the Rune, she reached for more blood and continued to do so when needed.

She moved back and forth between the now revealed Mana Output Rune on her stomach and the Rune on her foot. The Mana Output Rune, looked far different than when it was in use, resembling a Rune that simply denoted Mana.

The newly formed Runic lines lit up, not in their usual light blue, but a darker one, leaning toward indigo in color. The Arcane power of Rainer’s Mana showing effect.

Elru needed a moment to calm herself at how stronger her originally simple Rune became. She then adjusted the Mana Output rune in the center.

Finishing, the light died down leaving faint silver lines, with a touch of violet.

“To form the enchantment the basis is that one needs to imagine the purpose in their minds, guide that purpose with their Mana, and then match it to a proper Rune. Before altering that Rune to work on the Body. The final step is adjusting the Mana expenditure. It’s generally a safe process, though we practice it on magical bark from Mana-Touched Trees. They can absorb any out of control Mana or Magic to a degree. I don’t know how you can practice, but I’d highly advise not to use your Fairy.”

Rainer gave an annoyed look at her thinking he’d use Luna for practice. But this only made Elru quite content.

She decided to demonstrate the one-time use enchantment. Such a new result interested her.

“I’ll demonstrate the Enchantment’s use,” Elru said but noted Rainer was almost in a trance as he thought over what he saw, “at another time,” She added now seeing him taking out several pieces of paper from his Spatial Ring.

“How about I teach you how to use Glamour in the meantime, Luna?” She asked the Fairy relaxing on Rainer’s head.

Surprisingly Luna flew over immediately. Showing a motivation like when she learned how to use her flame to consume magic.

The rest of the party left the room, to engage in their daily training.