Chapter 108 - Runes and Formulas (1/2)

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

The drawing of magic circles and carving of runes was a very technical job, and it was this world’s unique product. It wasn’t like a pure ‘drawing’ like everyone imagined. It was indeed as simple as drawing according to the blueprint, but in order to become a runemaster, one couldn’t just learn to draw.

If drawing magic circles were as easy as following the blueprints, an ordinary person would be able to do it. Even a commoner who couldn’t sense magic could draw the magic circles as long as they were instructed on how to draw and what to use when drawing. It would become a simple ‘produce-then-repeat’ job.

Apart from the production and repetition, runemasters would need the ability to create and to adapt according to situations. They would need to assist mages to produce magic tools or draw the magic circles on various complicated magic-guided materials. Each magic tool and magic-guided material had different attributes, and when put together, there could be countless variations. It inevitably meant that they couldn’t just draw magic circles according to the blueprints… They had to change the runes’ sequence on the magic circle according to the materials and the function of the magic circle. Or they would have to make minute adjustments to the runes’ positions and the methods of connections.

In short, the runemasters were creating ‘blueprints’. Each time they drew, they would draw the first edition of the blueprint and make a new creation.

And this process would require the ability to sense magic and to conduct ‘tuning’ for the runes.

The ability to sense magic would be used to make sure every rune was working normally during the process of the drawing as well as to sense if there was any disturbance between the runes that were above the threshold. The ability to ‘tune’ would be to inject one’s own magic into the runes to conduct a practical test… Runemasters might not be able to activate the entire magic circle, but it was possible for them to test parts of the rune array.

To do these two things, one had to be an official grade-one mage. Apprentice mages definitely wouldn’t be able to do such things as apprentice mages didn’t have the ability to sense and control complex runes. Their magic wasn’t precise enough and couldn’t be released outside their bodies. If they could do these things… they would have graduated.

Jenni’s information clearly stated that she was an apprentice mage.

Jenni had heard Gawain’s question clearly during the first time, but she didn’t know how she should reply. She hesitated and considered for a long time before she lowered her head and said, “It was luck, my lord.”

“Luck?” Gawain’s brows lifted and didn’t sound like he was convinced.

“Yes, luck.” Jenni’s head was still lowered as she said, “I have great intuition and would always be able to find the correct method to arrange the runes. You should know that there is a certain rule for rune sequences. With enough experience and intuition, one would be able to accurately arrange those—”

“If it was really luck, then before you accumulated enough experience, you would already be dead.” Gawain interrupted Jenni and said, “I might be a knight, but I know the fundamental principle of magic. For a magic circle, each rune’s position and connection method are relatively strict. You would have to already be familiar with all of the rune’s rules and their formation methods in this world. Otherwise, it is impossible for you to arrange all the runes in their proper positions. Rune sequences might have a rule to comply with, but I have never heard of anyone analyzing all the rules of the rune sequences. It is also because it is impossible for humans to write down all the rune combinations. Thus, there is a need for the abilities to ‘sense’ and to ‘tune’.”

As Gawain talked, he stared at the silver-haired young lady in front of him and said, “Raise your head and tell me the truth… Without the ability to sense and tune, how are you able to know each position of the runes and the effects each rune would generate?”

Perhaps Gawain’s tone was too stern, it caused Jenni to shiver uncontrollably, and she didn’t even dare to speak. When Heidi saw the situation, she recalled that Gawain had instructed her to assume the roles of a stern individual and a lenient individual. Therefore, she used a gentle tone to say, “You don’t have to be nervous. This isn’t the royal capital that has strict rules or the oppressive and inflexible Association of Mystics. We welcome and encourage all actions that would be beneficial to the construction of the territory. It is fine even if the actions are unorthodox.”

Jenni finally raised her head and looked at Gawain. The latter nodded sternly. “I can guarantee that creative ideas are protected in this place. Because I am the law of this land.”

“It actually isn’t a creative idea.” The silver-haired apprentice mage who was a grade-four runemaster had finally spoken. She then turned to the bedside and retrieved a large and heavy book. “It is through logic and calculation.”

Gawain put his hand on the book but still asked, “Can I take a look?”

“Of course, you are the feudal lord.”

Gawain opened up the book that looked rather old and realized it was actually a book of handwritten notes. The yellowed pages were filled with runes, numbers, calculation methods, diagrams, etc. There were writings that were already blurry due to wear and tear. He casually flipped through and realized that the handwriting on this notebook wasn’t uniform. There were at least four different handwritings in the book, and they appeared sequentially from the front to the back. It was obvious that this notebook had gone through four different owners, and each owner had written down their own records.

This book seemed to have verified Gawain’s indistinct conjecture. He was almost excited and inspired as he flipped through the pages rapidly. It had caused Jenni who was seated directly opposite to worry if her precious notebook would be damaged due to the violent flipping. As Gawain was flipping through rapidly, his vision was suddenly attracted to an attached piece of paper that was sandwiched in the latter half of the notebook.

This piece of paper had been pasted to the middle of the page with glue, and there seemed to be an additional annotation or summary. The words on it caused Gawain to suffocate for a moment: [E/N: Yeah, just skip through the next few paragraphs.]

“…All inferior rune’s energy levels have an energy ratio of 1:3 as compared to runes that are one grade higher. If inferior runes are continuously connected, three would become one, making it a complete rune that is one grade higher.”

“…Random runes of the same grade, same positions, and different attributes can only be connected no more than eight times. Runes of the same grade, same positions, and same attributes can only be connected no more than four times.”

“…When the originating character and the ending character of random runes form a ‘bond’, each ‘bond’ rune’s interior could be filled with connecting fields that must be an even number. Every two connecting fields are considered a ‘pair’. The number of ‘pairs’ is X and every ‘bond’ rune would develop energy level X+1.”