The First Legendary Beast Master

"Let's move on to the next page and see what the book has in store for us. We now know that the standard mass-produced weaponry can be enchanted to Commander Rank with these runes without failing in the short term, and that a silver flute can sustain the Royal Rank.

But there is so much left to learn, as we're only on the second page of this Dwarven Crafting book, my brothers and sisters." One of the clerics was explaining to the new arrivals.

They had originally thought that the trick was a new skill or lost art that Karl was employing, but those closest to the workspace had already realized that they were testing knowledge from a book.

Karl flipped the page again, and began to read the runic writing and make notes of the translation as he understood it, while a half dozen clerics made exact copies of the book, to be able to more effectively spread its wealth of knowledge.

[I would assume that you have either learned the basics as a child, or tested the earliest pages of my tome, so I will continue in sequence.

Now that you know how to create an array of Runes that spreads the effect evenly over an item, remember one simple fact. No matter what else you write, it must not be contradictory to the intent of the primary Runes.

Even if the phrase is used in a different context, words that counter the active Rune will reduce its effect.

As such, many of my peers have taken to writing positive affirmations on their work, as asinine as such a practice might be.

Now, our next lesson is to compound the effects so that you can build upon the original effect.

There are three basic categories of Runic compounding. First, is using effects that may be compounded into a single rune. Simple concepts like 'Giant Wall of Destruction' and the modifying Rune for 'Strength' or 'Expansion' flow smoothly into one coherent Rune.

The Second category are linked Runes. Ones that would logically be spoken after each other. Done that way, you can create a complex rune without worrying about excessive failure rates when the item is used by amateurs or inferior minds.

The third, and most controversial, are the decorative arrays. The ones that are designed to make a specific effect that doesn't flow with the nature of magic. These are normally the most complex, and are viewed as masterpieces due to the versatility of their use.

We will cover those much later in this tome, or perhaps in another. What Runecrafter wishes to duplicate human or Elven magic anyhow?

Preposterous.

Included is an example of the first stage. I will have to assume that if you are going through this book, you do at least read Dwarven properly. If you do, this should be simple enough. Just make a compound phrase and place it on your target.]

Karl examined the runes on the other page, and found that what the Dwarf had included was a variable output light source. That was useful, but they had electricity here, so it was not at the top of Karl's list of useful items the way that it would have been for any other nation.

Remi giggled. [Oh, I get how this works. See, this symbol means Giant Ball of Fuck That Thing In Particular. Put that on a blade, I want to see what happens.]

From her spot on the training field, Cara chimed in with her opinion. [I don't know what Sister Remi is making, but I approve this message. Come show me later.]

Karl chuckled. [I'm not certain that you're supposed to use modern human slang to modify the runes in Dwarven. But, the way that Remi wrote it, the phrase also means to make the target cease to exist. That should be a viable spell effect.]

It wasn't quite a destruction or disintegration effect. In fact, it wasn't really specified. But intent was a large part of the activation of a spell.

"I will test this theory with a different rune than the one in the book, unless someone needs a magical flashlight." Karl informed the Clerics.

"That's fine. We can keep to the theme of weapons. Do you read this language well enough? Or is the Runic part different enough from the written that your skill covers it?" The leader of the original Blue Dragon research team asked.

"The Runecrafter's Runic Language is different from the tome's written language, but it shares the majority of the alphabet, as it were. So, I'm much more confident in the actual work than my translation of the descriptive contents." Karl agreed.

Remi's rune ended with an arrow shaped symbol, so Karl arranged them down the length of both sides of a dagger, then activated the silver blade's enchantment until the runes turned Amethyst.

The clerics immediately realized that they had made a mistake. They needed to test it in the training room, as it couldn't be done in here. But they had already given up the room, and now there were too many of them to conveniently watch.

Karl smiled. "Send a small group down for testing, and you can have them report back. You only need one person at Royal Rank to use the weapon at its full potential. If the warriors are still nearby, you can call them back."

Acolytes were sent running to retrieve the warriors, who were out in front of the building, smoking and talking quietly about what they had seen.

"We will report back on the results. Do we get to know what to expect in advance, or is this a blind test?" The oldest of the White Robed clerics asked.

"That's a fun idea. We should do a blind test. I will make another at Commander rank. Do not tell him what it does. But give this note to the Royal Rank Warrior so that he knows.

Do we have someone who can create a strong enough barrier, or am I going to have to go down with you?" Karl asked.

The old cleric shook his head. "I will borrow a friend from upstairs. He's napping now, but he's an Overlord Ranked Spellblade."

That should be a strong enough barrier for any sort of testing that they might do.

[I will accompany them. I want to see what my Rune does.] Remi insisted.

"I will send Remi, my Naga Queen, to accompany you as well."

Remi transformed into her larger form, as she had been sunning herself on a rock in snake form, watching her home regrow, and prepared to head out.

She even had a notebook with her to make detailed notes in case it was relevant to her own advancement.

She had been stuck a while on the development of new totems, or improvements on the ones that she had already made.

Her library survived her advancement intact, but none of the books she had gone through so far had been able to help her in her search. Something would trigger a breakthrough eventually, and Karl's Runes might be just the thing, even if they weren't the same language as the ones she used.