Noctarus pointed at the board. “Draw your rune. When you wish to activate it, focus your will on the rune and touch it with your mana.”

  “You need to use your own mana to activate a rune?”

  “Of course.” He hesitated before adding, “There are other ways to fuel runes, but they are far more complicated than we can consider today. Most basic runes are activated by your own mana, but are fueled by the ambient mana, so the cost to the runesmith is generally low. The more complex the script, the more the initial drain to activate.”

  Again, the concepts made a remarkable amount of sense. I took the chalk, drew the rune for light mana, and focused my will and my intent to make the rune glow just like Noctarus’s had. Then I extended a stream of my mana and touched the symbol. Instantly it blazed to light.

  I laughed, pumping one hand into the air in triumph. Noctarus smiled. “Very good. The basics generally proceed quickly, and building on success is very motivating. Most good students can master the basic runes quickly. I am not surprised you did, but one must walk before they can run.”

  In quick succession, we tested each of the other 20 basic runes. Fire responded particularly well for me, given my recent upgrades. My rune blazed cheerily with flames that danced 12 inches into the room. I worried water would prove difficult, but it too responded pretty well. Maybe because of my Tidal Nexus?

  Then we got into more interesting work. Noctarus shared some of the most basic modifiers that could alter a rune, such as making a rune of light glow more brightly, change color, or even send out a beam of light like a flashlight. The last would burn out a simple chalk-marked rune in half a second, but it did work.

  We churned through a bunch of different variations of the basics and I managed to keep up amazingly well. Runes made sense to me in a way I couldn’t account for simply from that initial starting level of my Runesmith ability. Maybe it tied back to the fact I’d been a programmer, or maybe because my other mana-based levels had grown so ridiculously fast, but I was loving runes.

  We paused for a break after an hour, and I produced a couple more donuts, much to Noctarus’s delight. While we savored the treat, I asked, “So how much work got done today?”

  “More than I had hoped. With the smaller work crews, we focused on the two flagships, the Naumach and the Pyrantis. Crews began replacing rotted planking with new timbers.”

  “Like, while the ships are still sunk?”

  “Indeed.”

  “How does that work? They’ll still be sunk, and isn’t it harder to work underwater?”

  “I can expel the water when the time comes. If we raise the ships out of the lake too soon, they will crumble under their own weight. The curse that rotted them would consume them completely. So we work underwater. I have prepared amulets of water breathing that will last for the next 5 days. Your people risk no danger of drowning.”

  “Huh. That’s pretty cool.” Interesting that the amulets only lasted for 5 days. That just happened to be as long as he needed us. Sure, he’d just explained that making scripts last longer was tougher, but a master runesmith should be able to manage such a tiny thing as creating amulets of water breathing that could last a lot longer.

  Then again, was I being too paranoid? He only needed us for 5 days. At first, he’d thought he would only need us for 3 days, and he’d prepared the amulets with a couple days to spare. He’d also just explained that the more a rune script had to do, the more energy it cost. So why expend extra energy when he didn’t have to?

  After the break, we moved onto more complex challenges. Noctarus showed me how to combine several runes and modifiers into a simple script drawn on the stones of the floor. The goal was to draw in mana and project it upward, condensing it into a rectangular shield capable of deflecting a tossed piece of rolled-up parchment.

  His demonstration made it look super easy. I inscribed my script and activated it with full confidence of success. The rectangular glowing barrier powered up just like Noctarus’s had, but when I tossed the paper, the barrier fizzled, blinked, then disappeared.

  “Hey, what happened?”

  Noctarus’s smile seemed more genuine than it had since we started. His enthusiasm for runes had insulated him from getting annoyed with my fast progress like he had with mana manipulation and meditation, but he’d started to look strained. Now seeing me fail seemed to almost please him.

  “The drawing of the runes is but the first part. Creating a script to affect the physical world ties back to the mana manipulation training we were practicing. Have you managed to improve your ability to affect the world around you with pure mana?”

  “Not very well.”

  “That is likely the culprit. Once you understand how to mold mana into a form with tangible properties, that knowledge transfers into your rune script. I recommend we return to meditation training.”

  He hesitated for a second before adding in a kind of forced casual tone, “Perhaps I should scan you again after all. I might be able to understand what is blocking your progress.”

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Again, the scan was the ultimate purpose of all the training. Just like the first night, he could not quite hide how very much he wanted to scan me. What was he hoping to find? The whole purpose of his training had to result in him gaining something from me in return. Somehow, those scans were an important part of it.

  The entire relationship between Noctarus and his zombies with me and the human contingent was so weird. We were both using each other, but who was getting the most from the exchange? There was no doubt his training was helping me a ton, and I didn’t mind giving back, but I wasn’t sure how he would react to my convergence mana. I couldn’t risk it. Not yet.

  So I played it casual, waving a dismissive hand. “Don’t bother. Like I said before, I need to do some more training, probably tonight when I get back to town. Next time we meet, if I haven’t improved, maybe I’ll bother you for a scan.”

  “It’s no bother,” Noctarus responded a bit too quickly, then seemed to realize it. He settled back and offered a half smile. “But yes, perhaps you should train some more on your own.”

  I rose and extracted a powdered, jelly-filled donut. Handing it to Noctarus, I said, “Thank you for taking the time to train me some more.”

  “It is the least I can do as we explore this vital joint venture between our peoples.” He happily took the donut and I headed for the door. I felt his gaze on me until the door closed behind me.

  The zombie maid again led me out, and when we passed through the empty entrance hall I again studied the nightmare monster still guarding the stairs. Next time I came to the castle, I needed to get upstairs. I’d had such a busy night already, I decided to wait for another chance. We had time.

  Outside, lights were blazing on the two largest ships. It looked like a new shift was starting. I was tempted to go check in and see how they were doing, but it had been a long night and I wanted to get back to town.

  After leaving the zombie squad behind at the wooden walkway through the marsh, I paused to study my achievements. I expected to get at least one new level in Runesmith.

  I got four! And I got 1 more in each of my other mana-focused abilities, even Meditation. That was a great haul for a couple hours of focused effort. I got two other surprise achievements too.

  “Congratulations, Lucas! For facilitating an accord between Noctarus and Midmount Vale’s ruling council, you receive a gold Versailles loot box.”

  “Congratulations, Lucas! For convincing Noctarus to willingly share so much about runesmithing without giving anything in return, you receive a gold Tellyrand loot box.”

  Either the Versailles loot box suggested Cyrus also expected Noctarus to betray us, or he was playing up my own fears. The treaty of Versailles after WWI included such onerous terms for Germany, it played a major role in the country eventually launching WWII.

  “Tellyrand?” I didn’t recognize that name.

  “The French diplomat Charles Tellyrand was famous for his ability to survive through multiple different governments and consistently negotiate favorable terms for France.”

  “Huh. Cool. Bring on the loot.”

  I didn’t have high hopes since they were only gold boxes, but I still felt a thrill of excitement as the shiny gold boxes appeared. The Versailles gold box contained a single scroll.

  “Scroll of Temporary Employment. Since you acted as an emissary for Midmount Vale, you are awarded an honorary membership on the ruling council. This position holds no authority, is not recognized by the council, but grants you access to 50% of the experience earned by other council members from town achievements. Valid while Midmount Vale is the primary home of the Earth contestants.”

  “Well, that explains one reason so many people want to get on the ruling council. They get tangible benefits?”

  Cyrus laughed. “Of course. In this world, all types of power bring benefits. Members of the ruling council receive special class perks and advantages tied to the settlement. The town gains experience based on the achievements of all residents, particularly crafters, and councilors receive a percentage of that experience. How do you think they are all advancing so quickly?”

  “I figured they were rotating through the hunt and excursion teams.”

  “Some do, but that’s becoming less and less important for other members of the council and they are still advancing.”

  Wow. Dummy, I should have realized the council got benefits. Why waste so much time and energy managing the town? Paul the mayor might have done it anyway, and some of the others were natural leaders who would have always taken part in decision making, but would they have worked so hard at it?

  “So, how exactly does the experience gaining work? Do they gain experience when people level up?”

  “That is part of the formula, but it gets more complicated than that. Are you planning on trying to get a seat at the table to see how it works?”

  I barked a laugh. “Not hardly. I don’t have time to waste in meetings.”

  Still, my thoughts raced. In normal Cyrus form, I bet all my donuts there was a lot more going on there. No way he’d set up the system so that it forced the council to only make decisions good for everyone. Were any of the councilors motivated to push for rules or decisions that might hurt some of the people as long as it benefited the council?

  Most likely. I’d have to see if I could get the council to explain more. Still, getting experience for their work made sense. And now I’d get some too. I’d take all the bonus experience I could get. The Tellyrand loot box flashed and disappeared, leaving behind a small leather tome.

  “Varrik’s Introduction to Runes. Common. Written by the famous runesmith academic Eldira Varrik, this introductory rune course contains basic runes, modifiers, and simple rune script applications. Used by entry-level rune smiths across the multiverse, this is a must-have addition to every new rune smith’s library.”

  As soon as I focused on the tome, it opened, pages flipping in an ever-increasing torrent. Golden letters erupted off the page in streamers of light that condensed into twin beams that punched into my eyes and seared into my mind.

  I crashed to the wooden walkway on my back, staring blankly at the night sky as pure information poured into me in a torrent that shook every muscle and left me gasping for breath.

  “Whoa. That’s such a rush.” Unlike the time I’d been force-fed information from the monster dictionary, this time I clearly remembered the torrent of runes and modifiers.

  Was that because my Intelligence had increased so much, or because I already had a solid foundation in runes from my practice with Noctarus? Either way, I’d just more than quadrupled my basic rune knowledge.

  “Knowledge built over a solid foundation is so much stronger,” Cyrus agreed.

  “Are there more of those tomes?”

  “Indeed, the Varrik course for rune smiths includes ten levels, from the introductory tome you just ingested to the master-level concepts only the most experienced runesmiths ever see.

  “Can I get a few more?”

  “Perhaps eventually, but you’re not ready for more yet.”

  Probably true, but like Neo in The Matrix, I loved fast-learning new things.