The Legendary Rune Knight Returns

Chapter 3

Roric breathed deeply, the brisk night air permeating his lungs. It had an unpleasant odor. Kaelen’s memories let him know precisely where he stood.

‘The city’s eastern yard.’

It was the worst training ground in the district. Because it was near a garbage disposal site and a stable, the air smelled foul. Even worse, it took as long as 20 minutes to walk to the main square. As a result, there were less than 10 people living in the large space.

Roric surveyed his surroundings and found an area where rune essence thickly concentrated. It took little effort since the area in question was the city's junkyard. It was a place hardly visited by others and was left mostly untouched. Hence, the nearby natural rune essence had been preserved to some extent.

‘But what a shame…’

Roric thought of the places he used to train at in the past.

Glaciers that no human set foot upon, rivers of flowing lava, and summits that seemed to pierce the heavens… All of them were natural areas that allowed him to feel the purest rune essence. Regrettably, he knew that as he was now, he could not go anywhere near those areas without losing his life.

“Let’s not be impatient.”

Roric muttered to himself. Patience should be exercised thoroughly. Not only that, it was crucial that he remained level-headed without ever losing sight of the anger which drove him. Closing his eyes, he began to steadily concentrate.

What Roric was practicing was the most basic training technique called assimilation. The goal was to become one with nature through immersion. It was his former friend, Seraphina Silverhand, who devised this training method. Recalling her left Roric a bit nostalgic.

The most distinctive feature of this practice was that the effect varied greatly depending on the mental discipline of the trainee. In the past, when Kaelen would do this training all day, the rune essence he was able to concentrate amounted only to a handful of dust. Roric on the other hand…

“…”

The sun steadily climbed over the horizon. Nevertheless, Roric did not move an inch and maintained his posture. He slowly opened his eyes, which were overflowing with a crimson aura. To an onlooker, it would have been an astounding sight. The crimson energy that was clearly visible at first glance was the manifestation of rune essence. The heady concentration was unmistakable proof of reaching five stars.

“Ugk!”

Roric vomited a mass of foreign matter. The putrid black substance reeked. Before long, similar liquids began to trickle out from pores all over his body.

It was the impurities accumulated in this body since Kaelen was born. In order to move rune essence more efficiently, they needed to be cleared first. The movement speed would increase drastically from just this purge alone. In addition, the body could now be cloaked with rune essence more easily, making it possible to engage in a fierce battle with sufficient maneuverability.

“Ugk…”

For about a dozen minutes, Roric sat down and spewed forth an amount of black liquid so great that it was unthinkable to have come from such a small body. Once finished, he sighed with a satisfied look. Although he smelled dreadful and his clothes were drenched with the black substance, he was full of vigor.

Looking at the mass of impurities that left his body, Roric muttered.

“This guy’s blood vessels were blocked so severely, it’s abnormal.”

It was almost unbelievable that he was a child of a renowned fighting family. His blood vessels were tightly clogged, and his sensitivity was hopeless.

“… Though impurities this great cannot be natural.”

He couldn’t tell if someone had a hand in this. It was not improbable, as Kaelen had a missing memory from his childhood.

“Hmm…”

He decided to put away his thoughts for now. In any case, Roric was successful in raising his power to the fifth star. Rune magic laid within the realm of the mind, not the body. Though it was obvious that the two could not be separated entirely. However, as long as he remembered himself as the Great Rune Knight Roric, it was only a matter of time before he regained his original position.

He was certain that time would be greatly reduced.

‘But right now, five stars is the limit.’

Kaelen’s body could collapse if he was too rash. How could he waste this body so vainly? Roric shook his head and waved his hands.

A loud rumble echoed. At that moment, the ground was uprooted and dirt rose from the earth. Transient Blade! It was an advanced rune only 5-star rune knights or higher could use with ease. Roric took some of the upturned soil and masked the impurities on his body. There was still an awful stench, but no one would find it odd since he resided near the garbage dump.

He then returned to the shanty, as cleaning his body took precedence. It was still dawn and not many lived there in the first place, so he was able to wash alone.

When Roric was done, he began changing into his fighting uniform. Seeing his face reflected in the dusty mirror, he murmured.

“Well, you’ve got a pretty good face.”

Roric said it offhandedly, but in fact his appearance had changed a great deal overnight. As the impurities in his body were removed, his skin became dewy while his eyes glistened. Even his unkempt hair was now as silky as a noble’s. Kaelen was not ugly to begin with. Rather, he was strikingly handsome. However, the usual Kaelen had always cowered with his back curved, shoulders shrunken, and head bowed.

But now he was different. His waist and shoulders were straight, and his always trembling eyes were firm. Overall, the impression he gave had changed remarkably.

Kaelen’s appearance now shone as if a diamond in the rough had been thoroughly polished through persistent workmanship. So much that the fighters who knew him would not easily recognize him. In that sense, Roric was indifferent.

As he finished changing, he realized that both his stomach and throat ached painfully, evidence that he needed sustenance. His thirst for rune essence was satiated, so now his body desperately craved a meal. He wanted to eat. Anything would do. He just wanted to chew, swallow, and drink.

‘The mess hall is in the main building.’

He headed straight to the mess hall. It was early in the morning, so there were only a few people present. In the past, he preferred quiet meals, but after 500 years of being stuck in a space with nothing, more silence than necessary felt uncomfortable. The current low hum was just right. The clatter of dining utensils, the whirring of the busy kitchen, and the low roar of the fighters’ chatter created a tranquil atmosphere.

Stale bread and hot soup. Something so simple caused tears to well in Roric’s eyes as he ate.

‘Delicious.’

It was his first meal in 500 years, so he probably would have had a similar reaction even if he chewed on roadside weeds. Roric ate the soup with care as if it was the best one he ever had. The food at the Low Quarter mess hall deeply moved him, living up to it’s stellar reputation.

With a sigh, he finished his meal. Roric wanted to close his eyes and immerse himself in the lingering bliss of satiety, but he could not afford it.

He quickly regained his senses and headed to the training grounds where his first session took place. The reason why he wanted to attend class was simple.

‘Kaelen’s knowledge is lacking.’

Since he liked to study, he was a bit more knowledgeable compared to his peers, but he was still like a frog in a well. Roric needed to figure out how the current world operated. In this sense, his position as a fighter in the Low Quarter was perfect. He intended to use his current status to its fullest until he could grasp the situation and gather enough information.

Roric decided to live as Kaelen for the time being.

‘This is it.’

He opened the training grounds gate and entered not as Roric, but as Kaelen.