Chapter 129 - 128: There Are Always Some Surprising Encounters

Chapter 129: Chapter 128: There Are Always Some Surprising Encounters

The climate in the Sean Duchy was intensely hot. Even though it was already the Dark Night Moon and over a month had passed since the sweltering Sunlight Moon, the air still radiated a wild, fervent heat.

Gaode walked slowly along the paths of the Cyrus Academy, taking in the diverse architectural styles on either side. It seemed as though every brick and stone gleamed with the glorious light of this historic academy, exuding an aura of power.

No one could have ever imagined—not even Gaode himself—that a lowly apprentice who had been fearing for his life in Hogan City just half a year ago would arrive in Saint Sean City, the very heart of the Sean Duchy. To top it off, he had been admitted to study at the most sacred Mage Academy in the entire duchy. Life truly was a wondrous thing.

Following the academy’s main road, Gaode arrived at the teaching area. The small building housing the Rune Department soon came into view. It was a sturdy, imposing black structure fronted by two signs: one read "Rune Department," and the other read "Gavin Building."

Gaode had already figured out the academy’s naming conventions for its buildings. The name "Gavin Building" most likely indicated that it was constructed during Dean Gavin Hogg’s tenure. If that were the case, it was still a relatively new structure.

Gaode swiped his identity nameplate, easily passing through the Magic Array set up at the Gavin Building and entering inside. The building was incredibly quiet. He could even clearly hear the monotonous sound of his shoes tapping against the floorboards.

This was because the Rune Department had the smallest population of any department in the academy. This held true for both the number of tutors and students. The reason was brutally simple: Rune Science was just too difficult. Far too many people couldn’t even grasp the basics!

Yet, despite having the fewest members, the Rune Department had somehow been allocated such a brand-new, independent building. One had to realize that even across the entire academy, only a handful of departments possessed a building of their own. This went to show that while Rune Science was incredibly difficult, its difficulty was well-justified by the immense importance placed upon it. Indeed, Rune Masters had always been regarded as the head of the Three Royal Families of Magic Craftsmen.

Gaode continued down the corridor and finally ran into a student. "Hello, could you tell me where Tutor Jose’s office is?" he approached and asked.

"Do you have business with Director Jose?" The student looked quite old, likely a senior who had enrolled many years ago. Seeing Gaode’s unfamiliar face, he asked with subconscious wariness.

Gaode nodded and answered truthfully, "I’m a new student. My assigned tutor is Director Jose, and I’ve come to report to him today."

"You were assigned to Director Jose? How is that possible? Director Jose has never taken on students..." The senior student wore a look of astonishment before realization dawned on him. "You’re that new student who enrolled with Dean Gavin’s recommendation letter!"

"That’s me," Gaode admitted openly, not feeling the least bit embarrassed.

"No wonder... According to academy regulations, a tutor cannot reject a student admitted with the highest privileges, regardless of who they are assigned to." The senior student revealed an understanding expression.

"Director Jose’s office is on the top floor, but he’s rarely there. He spends most of his time in the Rune Workshop. If you want to find him, head to the Rune Workshop on the third floor," he added after a moment of thought.

"Thank you," Gaode expressed his gratitude, and the two parted ways. However, he didn’t notice the senior student glancing back at his retreating figure, a flicker of sympathy flashing in his eyes.

Gaode ascended to the third floor and arrived at the Rune Workshop, which took up more than half of the floor’s space. The door to the workshop was wide open, completely devoid of any barriers. Gaode hesitated for a moment before stepping inside.

A massive workshop that looked like a laboratory straight out of a sci-fi movie appeared before his eyes. The lighting inside was incredibly bright yet soft, clearly designed to facilitate precise operations. The walls were plastered with various Rune diagrams and their corresponding analytical charts.

In the center of the room sat a spacious, brightly lit workbench crafted from special materials and engraved with numerous complex Magic Runes. Scattered haphazardly across the desk were piles of scratch paper and an assortment of tools, including carving knives made of Refined Gold, wedge-shaped scrapers, and pens crafted from various precious Magic Materials. Right next to the workbench was a designated area for etching Runes, surrounded by a Protective Barrier to prevent accidents. Additionally, three towering bookshelves stood nearby, crammed with books, Scrolls, and manuscripts.

This was only what could be seen on the surface. In reality, this Rune Workshop housed many designs invisible to Gaode. These included a robust Energy supply system, an advanced Elemental Control Magic Array, and a myriad of hidden Warning Runes and Surveillance Arrays capable of detecting anomalies at any time, instantly triggering alarms, and activating corresponding defensive measures. Deep inside the workshop was another small room, though its door was tightly shut at the moment.

Gaode swept his gaze around the room but couldn’t spot anyone. Director Jose was either out of the workshop entirely or inside that small inner room.

Gaode thought for a moment before rapping his knuckles against the open door. KNOCK, KNOCK. After creating a distinct sound in the quiet Rune Workshop, he called out loudly into the vast room, "New student Gaode, reporting to Tutor Jose O’Kenley."

His voice echoed slightly throughout the workshop. A moment later, an elderly yet calm, composed, and entirely emotionless voice sounded from behind the closed door of the small room. "Have you ever studied Rune Science before?"

"Never," Gaode answered honestly.

"Read the materials on the desk first. Once you’re done, you may leave." The voice issued the command directly, devoid of any greetings or pleasantries. The man didn’t even step out to meet Gaode face-to-face. It seemed a bit too aloof, but Gaode didn’t feel uncomfortable in the slightest. In truth, he wasn’t fond of polite small talk either. Rather than feeling repulsed by this straightforward, no-nonsense method of assigning tasks, Gaode actually found himself quite liking it.

Gaode nodded, only to realize a second later that the man couldn’t possibly see his gesture through a closed door. He let out a soft chuckle and, without adding another word, walked silently over to the central workbench.

However, upon seeing the haphazardly scattered piles of messy documents and draft papers, Gaode froze. "So, which of these are the materials Jose O’Kenley wants me to read?" he wondered.

Gaode quickly skimmed his eyes over the papers and documents. First, he eliminated the Rune diagrams and analyses that looked incredibly complex at a glance. As someone who had never touched Rune Science, he couldn’t make heads or tails of them. Given Jose’s position as the Director of the Rune Department, he wouldn’t expect a complete layman to start with such things anyway. Next, he ruled out the esoteric theoretical breakdowns for the same reason.

"It has to be something simple that I can understand at first glance..." Gaode thought. He chose not to ask Jose O’Kenley exactly which materials he was supposed to read, feeling it would be a dreadfully stupid question to ask. Instead, he made his selection based on his own judgment.

Soon, an open booklet caught Gaode’s attention. It appeared to be a handwritten notebook, filled entirely with handwritten text. The pages were incredibly ancient, yellowed and crinkled at the edges, clearly indicating their significant age. The reason it caught Gaode’s eye was brilliantly simple: he could actually understand what was written inside.

"Runes may seem complicated, but there are actually patterns to follow. As long as the most fundamental rules are established at the very beginning, all things can gradually evolve and be calculated on their own."

"Ah, this must be the basic theory and core concepts of Rune Science..." Gaode thought. Upon reading this overarching introductory sentence, he was already certain of the handwritten notebook’s identity. It was absolutely an introductory guide to Rune theory! It was perfectly suited for a layman like him. This was undoubtedly the material Jose O’Kenley intended for him to read.

Gaode continued reading.

"Six Major Rune Rules:

"Rule One: Under all circumstances, you must ensure that the actual Robustness Value generated by all Runes within a Magic Array is less than the maximum Theoretical Robustness Value the Magic Array can withstand. Otherwise, the Magic Array will inevitably fail.

"Rule Two: Multiple basic Runes connect to form a Composite Rune, and multiple Composite Runes connect to form a Magic Array.

"In a Composite Rune, every basic Rune must be paired. The Energy ratio between each basic secondary Rune and a basic Advanced Rune is 1 to 4.64.

"However, if two identical secondary basic Runes are connected, the Energy generated by this pair of secondary basic Runes under this combination will be equal to that of an Advanced Rune—namely 4.64, rather than 2.

"Setting the Energy of a level-zero Rune at 1, the sum of the Energies of all Composite Runes within a Magic Array is the total Energy of that Magic Array.

"Rule Three: For any given basic Rune, the number of connected basic Runes of the same level must not exceed eight. The number of connected identical basic Runes must not exceed two, and the alignment of these two identical basic Runes must be strictly opposite; otherwise, the Composite Rune will fail to take effect.

"Rule Four: Runes must be carved onto Magic-guiding Materials. Magic-guiding Materials possess Magic Resistance, which can be used to measure the quality of a material’s Magic Conductivity.

"Magic Resistance reflects a Magic-guiding Material’s ability to obstruct Magic Power and is an inherent property of the material. The lower the Magic Resistance, the less it obstructs Magic Power, indicating better Magic Conductivity. Conversely, a higher Magic Resistance means greater obstruction to Magic Power, resulting in poorer Magic Conductivity.

"Magic Resistance can be determined through a Magic Power Test.

"Rule Five: Within a Magic Array, any two adjacent Runes constitute a Rune pair.

"A single Rune can form multiple Rune pairs with several adjacent Runes (as long as one Rune in the pair changes, it can be considered a new Rune pair).

"However, if the two Runes in a Rune pair are of the exact same type, that pair is classified as an interference pair.

"Rule Six: The Theoretical Robustness Value of a Magic Array is equal to the number of Runes on the Magic-guiding Material multiplied by the number of Rune pairs, multiplied by (1 - Magic Resistance). The actual Robustness Value is equal to the total Energy of the Magic Array multiplied by the number of interference pairs."