The First Legendary Beast Master

Karl flipped the page as the group headed out to obtain the assistance of the Spellblade, and found that the next page was more examples of the same concept.

If they had flipped the page first, they could have just copied the ones here, as many were intended for weapons. But testing Remi's creativity was also an important aspect.

She was working on upgraded totems, and for that, she needed to expand her knowledge of Runes and Shamanistic Magic.

The clerics were dutifully copying everything, while Karl made notes of the different ways that the same words were being used and linked between the various examples.

The master who had created this really knew how to make things easy to understand, and Karl was already getting the hang of how the Runes should be best compounded for the effects that the Dwarf was trying to explain.

Some of that was surely his Runecrafting skill filling in the blanks with the knowledge that it contained, but the tome was making no attempt to be condescending towards the reader, or unnecessarily complex.

If the author knew that it would be read by humans, he would have certainly been much harsher with his words.

The team was down in the basement now, with the same two warriors. Both were overjoyed to get to test more weapons, even if this blind testing was strange. They didn't know if it was intended for newbies to use the weapon without introduction, or if it were to prevent the weapons from being used by their enemies.

But the Commander, who had been given no instructions except to use the blade to attack the barrier, was ready to start.

He lunged forward with a thrust and sent power surging through the Commander Rank dagger. On contact, a two-metre explosion of magic erupted, throwing him backwards across the room with its force.

Remi doused him with a [Healing Splash] spell, and the warrior spluttered as cold water was tossed in his face.

"Thanks, I think." He muttered as he got to his feet.

Remi nodded happily, and continued taking notes.

The mage that they had recruited was doing his best not to laugh.

"Well, we can say for certain that it is likely intended to be a ranged ability. My guess is that it's some sort of arcane blast. It felt like [Slash] does when a warrior uses it. That same sort of converted energy, not raw mana. But the explosion engulfed the entire target." He noted.

{Yes, it worked exceptionally well. There was very little wasted. Just enough to cover the whole target.} Remi agreed.

The mage nodded in agreement, while the Clerics turned to him for translation, as Remi was speaking Serpent.

"It's in my notes." The mage shrugged. He was here for the barrier and his curiosity about the new weapons, not to translate for clerics who failed foreign language class.

The Royal Rank warrior treated it as a short ranged attack, and flicked the dagger out in a thrusting attack to send the attack forward in a piercing motion.

The attack didn't have a visual effect between him and the target, but the same explosion occurred, shaking him on his feet.

The Commander stared at the target in confusion. It really did just look like [Slash] had hit the target from all sides at once, then rebounded off the shielding to create the blast.

It wasn't innately an explosive effect, that was a side effect of failure. If it worked, the target should be obliterated from all directions.

The clerics motioned to the Royal Rank warrior. "Please see if the weapon is damaged by continued usage. We don't detect any signs of flaws or damage from the first strike."

The mage held up his hand. "First, I would like to see what happens when a Cleric uses that dagger. I know it's among the weapons your god approves of."

A High Priest was tasked with the duty, using the Commander Rank dagger with a dismissive flick, as if slashing across the face of the target from a distance.

The effect this time was a golden glow that rebounded off the barrier with a glare of holy light, instead of a physical force.

"Fascinating. The effect isn't defined, only the outcome. So, it appears the way that the user thinks of it. Or perhaps a certain way, depending on the class of the user. We will have to do more study on that later.

I don't suppose that you would be able to provide a few of those for my tower to study?" He asked.

"Probably not today. But in the near future, we certainly will be able to include your Spellblades in the research process. In fact, we will soon have Runecrafting books available, and you might be able to get one of your people included in the test group." The aging cleric agreed.

The Spellblade nodded. "I have a few disciples within the tower who have not yet taken a crafting skill specialty. They're still Awakened Rank, but that gives them time to grow. Much better than teaching us old folk, I suppose."

The old cleric smiled. "It's a tradeoff. We all want the strongest results right away, but how many of our people make it to Commander Rank without having picked a specialty? Every new thing that we learn from the System disrupts centuries of practice and the balance of skills that we have accepted as optimal."

The Spellblade chuckled. "I heard from Prince Corbin that the Runecrafter who made these daggers is a monster in every sense of the word except his personality."

The old cleric shrugged. "This is the first I have met him. But he seems quite agreeable."

The Royal Rank warrior frowned. "You say that he's a monster, but he also seemed like a friendly sort of person to me."

The old mage just shook his head. "That's not what I mean. He's barely sixteen years old. He made Monarch in two years after the injection, and I have it on good authority that he managed to knock out a Tortollan Monk in a fist fight during the challenge for the new Commander Rank Dungeon."

The Commander Rank Warrior laughed. "I heard about that as well. I was sent there later in the day, but it was the talk of the camp. Plus, the Naga Queen, Remi I believe he said her name was, is part of his team of bonded beasts."

Remi nodded, and made a note for them, as only the mage spoke her language.

[Don't tell him. He's already got an inflated ego. But when it comes to fighting, there aren't many who can match his power. Even if you disregard the fact that he's basically immortal.

It's probably better that nobody ever taught him martial arts or blade skills.]

The team did a double take when they read that.

"Immortal?"

Remi nodded happily. [Trollish Regeneration and Limited Invulnerability, so he doesn't burn.]

The Spellblade whistled in appreciation, while the warriors shook their heads in dismay.

"That's just unfair. I swear that the rare classes are actually a cheat code."

Remi wholeheartedly agreed with that. At the same Rank, she could probably beat up either of these warriors, and she was just one part of the team.

Plus, she wasn't even the scary one in combat. That was Rae, or maybe Cara. Depending on how you looked at it.