2024-05-28 18:11:14Talon didn’t reach Eryndor until the next day. Even with the Ring of Vitality keeping his stamina up, he still had to rest a couple of times. Thankfully, he didn’t encounter any threats during the journey. There was a good chance that Eren’s massive attacks had chased away all the predators within a kilometer radius, but he couldn't be sure.
Eryndor was a large town protected by five-meter-tall stone walls. Guards patrolled the walls, and a few ballistas were mounted for defense. The town gate, made of oak wood, was only shut during bandit raids and at night. Since Talon arrived just before noon, the gates were still open.
Outside the town, open fields stretched out, with farmers busy planting crops. Talon stood just behind the tree line, watching the farmers go about their business. After what happened to him, it would be foolish to appear openly in town. If anyone recognized him, the Verdant Brothers would soon hear about it, even if they weren’t currently in town.
‘Risky, too risky,’ he thought.
He decided to wait until nightfall to find a way to sneak into town. In the meantime, he stepped deeper into the forest without drawing attention to himself.
---
Talon climbed a tree and settled in to wait for the day to pass. He reflected on the last few hours, finding it all too fantastical to believe. To confirm that everything wasn’t a dream, he closed his eyes and sank his consciousness inward.
His inner world now existed, a space within every person but never this clear or open. He could see his inner world like a small void within his mind or body. No one knew much about where the inner world was exactly. It was said to be a person’s subconscious, but even the Awakened adventurers he had asked over the years couldn’t give a concrete answer.
In his inner world, a core floated with incomprehensible patterns on it, one of which was alit.
‘Is this what they call runes?’ he wondered. He didn’t know what else they could be, even though he had never seen them before.
He opened his eyes and thought of the book he bought on runes.
‘System.’
The translucent screen appeared in front of him again. He clicked inventory with a thought, and the items available in his personal space were listed. Apart from the bronze door and stone podium, everything else was counted as part of his inventory. He chose the book, Introduction to Runes and Quintessence, and it appeared in his grasp immediately, without fanfare.
‘The system is truly magical,’ he thought with a satisfied smile.
---
According to the book, runes are esoteric manifestations of the laws of the world. Once a person awakens, they gain a core with inactive rune patterns on it. This is how people first came in contact with runes. Different combinations of runes are called Rune Patterns, which can bring about different effects. These runes on the core are seen as the runic representation of the type of power the person awakened.
Rune patterns are elegant rune arrangements that bring about specific effects. Mastering how to create rune patterns is the foundation for creating magical weapons. Runes are used to connect with mana. The wrong rune arrangement can be catastrophic, so people have tried hard to make comprehensive collections of runes, called Canons.
Canons contain collections of runes that have been studied. There are three levels of canons: Preliminary, Advanced, and Peak. Preliminary Canons cover 1,024 basic runes. Advanced Canons cover 1,024 basic runes and 720 advanced runes. Peak Canons cover 1,024 basic runes, 720 advanced runes, and 360 great runes. Canons are rare and often held as secret knowledge by groups and organizations. The author even noted a few worlds where ruling classes controlled their subordinates with promises of giving them a canon to help them grow stronger.
The book soon dived into more complex topics about halos, inner worlds, mana, quintessence, and so on, which confused Talon even with his sharp mind. He closed the book to digest everything he had read. He now knew why one of the runes on his core was alit.
When a person becomes Awakened, they gain a core that holds mana, which powers all their abilities. The core patterns need to be activated for a person to get stronger. The more runes on the core that are activated, the stronger the person. Those who have not activated up to half of the total pattern are at the Preliminary Stage of the Awakened level. Those who have activated at least half are at the Advanced Stage. Someone like Eren, who stood at the Peak Stage of the Awakened level, had activated all the patterns on his core. Such a person was definitely a powerhouse in small regions like Eryndor.
This made Talon understand that fighting any of these guys was suicidal. All he needed to do was enter the town, get his sister out, and escape before they realized he had survived.
He looked up to see that the sun was already setting.
‘It’s almost time,’ he thought.
He climbed down from the tree and made his way back to town. Talon circled around the town from behind the tree lines. There was an open field of about 100 meters from the tree line to the town walls. If he dared rush out of the woods, the guards on the walls would definitely see him. At best, this would blow his cover. At worst, they might think he was a bandit and shoot him down with the mounted crossbows.
After finding a blind spot on the west wall, he ran with all his strength towards the town wall. At 50 yards, he stopped and circled back towards the northern side. Since the sun was already setting, the farmers were heading back into town. He simply entered along with them.
Talon wasn’t sure whether it was because bandits and monsters rarely came around these parts, but none of the guards paid much attention to those entering and leaving the town gate. Apart from being a bit alert about the forest, they didn’t really pay attention to who entered the town. Talon successfully entered the town. The moment he found an alley, he slipped into it and disappeared into the depths of the town.
---
The Holy Mother Church is one of the two major religions in the Kingdom of Aurumia, the other being the Sky Path. Apart from private orphanages, most orphanages were established across the kingdom by the Holy Mother Church. This made them highly loved by the people for their meritorious and righteous deeds. Talon, in particular, didn’t feel that way towards them at all.
As he stood in front of the orphanage’s gate, he felt nothing but discontent.
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Chapter 123: Things Worse Than Obedience
Night settled softly over the Aerindel estate, draping its towers and courtyards in a wash of silver light. The palace was asleep. The Duke’s wing too, mostly. Except for one room. The air inside it was thick — herbs, oil, and the faint sting of smoke that had nowhere to go. Shelves crowded with jars. Old things in old bottles. Some of those oils were worth more than gold; he treated them like sacred trust. A wooden altar sat in the middle, plain and worn. Unlit candles surrounded it. A cushion, gong and beater sat at the base of the altar. With an ornate mirror at the head of the altar, inscribed with fading illegible scripts, reflecting his tired visage. Alaric knelt before the altar, the cushion pressing against his knees, and began grinding herbs in a small dish. The sharp scent filled the air. From the shelf, he chose a vial of royal-blue oil — Regality, the name etched into the glass — and dipped his ceremonial knife into it. His voice was steady when he began the chant. T
Chapter 122: Orders and Pursuits
The morning air was cool and thin, carrying the sharp scent of pine and frost. Magnus stood where the faint traces of a campfire still lingered—ashes smudged across the earth, footprints pressed deep into the dirt. “They left an hour ago,” he said after a brief pause. His hand lowered from the air, a ripple of faint blue light fading from his eyes. The magic of his Discerning Mage profession died down as he completed the reading. Brythan crouched nearby, brushing his fingers along the edge of a boot print. A faint, silver aura shimmered around him—wild, unsteady, but powerful. The air around him felt heavier than before. “An hour,” he repeated, straightening with a grin. “Good. We can still catch them.” Magnus gave a small nod, though his gaze remained on the trail. Around him, the rest of the group waited quietly—Xara leaning against her spear, Merisa sitting on a fallen log adjusting the straps of her armor, Renard scanning the tree line with mild impatience, and Raeve crouched
Chapter 121: Camp
The night was quiet except for the soft crackle of the campfire. Smoke drifted lazily into the air, carrying the smell of roasted meat and wet grass. Talon sat close to the flames, his back hunched, eyes fixed on the fire as if it held the answers to his thoughts. The Lupin Mountain Range loomed around them, tall and dark, its cliffs swallowing what little moonlight slipped through the clouds. They had been on the move for three days straight. Apart from brief stops to camp, Talon hadn’t slowed down once. Veyra had followed silently, sensing his mood and deciding not to poke at it. He hadn’t spoken since they left Bluefeather Duchy. Not when they crossed into the mountain range. Barely when they felt the dangerous presence ahead. He just kept walking, expression stiff and distant. Now, that oppressive aura had faded to a faint pulse, like the heartbeat of something enormous sleeping deep within the mountains. It didn’t make her feel safer, but at least the night wasn’t trembling w
Chapter 120: The Fort Under Shadow
The demons drew closer, a living tide of claws and wings, when a figure stepped out in front of the horde.At first glance, he looked almost human — tall, lean, his posture unhurried — but even from kilometers away, the soldiers on the fort’s walls could see the wrongness in him. His fingers ended in long, black claws, and his eyes glowed faintly red like embers hiding in ash.He raised one clawed hand.Another guard on watch, still gripping his telescope, froze as the demon’s arm slashed downward. There was no sound at first, just a blur that tore through the air like the wake of a scythe. The pressure alone made the wind around the fort’s wall twist violently.“—That’s an attack! Incoming!” the guard shouted, voice cracking. His trembling hand fumbled for the horn. Almost instantly, a presence crashed down from the main keep like a hammer.A heavy gust swept through the fort’s walls as a man landed beside the terrified guard,
Chapter 119: The Savage Highlands Stir
The journey from Bluefeather Duchy to the Lupin Mountain Range took three long days. Talon didn’t rest except when night forced him to. Even then, he slept lightly, like a blade kept half-drawn. Veyra followed a few paces behind him most of the way, keeping silent. She could tell — he wasn’t just angry. He was barely holding himself together. The few times they stopped to camp, he said nothing. He cooked, ate, and packed up again with mechanical precision. His eyes didn’t rest on the horizon or the stars; they only looked forward. The air around him felt heavier with each passing day, and Veyra didn’t need her bloodline senses to feel it. He was a volcano walking in silence. When they reached the outer ridges of the Lupin Mountains, the wind grew colder. The trees here were tall and thin, and the fog clung to the ground like smoke after a battle. Veyra paused, eyes narrowing. Her instincts screamed danger. Something in the mountain’s depths felt wrong — not an ordinary monster, bu
Chapter 118: The Whirlwind Summons
The scent of sweet tea and garden roses filled the air in the Duke’s courtyard. Musicians strummed soft strings in the background while laughter and polite chatter drifted from the tables. Magnus sat at the center of it all, shoulders straight, smile fixed, eyes dull. He wasn’t sure which he hated more — the syrupy tone of noble small talk or the fact that his mother had set him up for it. The Duchess, in all her enthusiasm, had decided today was perfect for “introductions.” Which really meant: parade your son before eligible daughters. Across the long table sat a line of young women dressed in spring colors, each sneaking glances at Magnus between bites of pastry. A few giggled. A few whispered. Magnus wanted to disappear. He gave polite nods, exchanged a few rehearsed pleasantries, and pretended to listen as Lady Mirielle explained her love for harp lessons. His fingers twitched beneath the table, already counting seconds. He needed an excuse. Any excuse. And then it came. A f
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