The Runesmith

“Woof!”

A rather excited-looking ruby wolf charged at an unsuspecting salamander. Before the creature could even turn around its head was between a set of sharp teeth. A crunching sound was heard by the nearby people that didn’t even really pay that much attention to the low-level creature being slaughtered.

“We are already in the lower section of the dungeon? How long have you known about these tunnels?”

“That’s a trade secret. Agni, be sure to take out these monsters when you see them.”

“Awoo!”

“He sure is enjoying this.”

“Yeah, he hasn’t been here in a while and he loves eating the mana stones.”

“Mana stones?”

Asked Lobelia while wondering if she should pull out her bow or not. Agni was running around and defeating all of the monsters around here which left nothing for them to do. In her mind, this was a strange tactic for them to level up. However, after Roland presented them with the plan she could see how using these low-tier 2 monsters as experience was inefficient.

“Yes, he has an interesting diet but we should move on, we are already drawing in too much attention.”

“That’s probably because of your armor.”

“Hm…”

Roland frowned under his helmet while grumbling. The larger armor composed of shiny mithril was truly a sight to behold. The design was a bit more intricate than what he usually went with. If it was the old him then he would have probably looked like a trash can with arms. Instead, he looked fashionable and knightly to fit in better for his new role in the city. He considered putting on a robe over it but it would just melt instantly if he produced any type of attacking spell.

‘This place is too well-lit for its own good, we should move along.’

The sword that he made to float was just strapped to his back. Even without it, the armor was eye-catching enough but at least it blended in well with the red glow of the lava pits. The runic traces and runes weren’t as visible as on his older creation. With the added thickness and increase in the quality of metal, they didn’t show through unless he actually activated their effects. Only then would his enemies know that he was wearing enchanted gear but then it would already be too late.

‘A large sword… I wish that emulating swordsmanship skills would be possible for me.’

Roland had trained a little bit with swords when he was younger. Throughout the years he had to give up on increasing them as there were just not enough hours in the day for everything. Focusing on rune smithing had allowed him to come this far and was the right choice. It was possible for him to learn some advanced combat skills now but leveling them up was the true problem.

After interacting with Emmerson and the other Knight Commander that left the other day, he wasn’t sure if he needed to go outside of his current comfort zone. While the man he faced in the duel had some nice defensive skills, they weren’t really different from what he was able to produce with mana. The only drawback was when going against anti-magic but other energy sources like aura had similar deficiencies.

Without his runic eyes working on skills, he could not copy them as he did with the divine spells. It seemed that there was a difference somewhere that perhaps couldn’t be covered by wavelengths. Yet, after seeing some of those skills he could see how he could integrate them into his own system.

‘Skills seem similar to something like automatic combat, the person performing them is limited to the motion decided before their activation.’

“Hey, one got through!”

“...”

While walking towards the lava lake they encountered a few other monsters. One of the fire salamanders popped out of a nearby pool while he was passing by. This was nothing out of the ordinary as the monster’s speed was far below something a tier 3 class holder was capable of.

His hand moved to the side and he spread his digits as if waiting for something. This was the cue for the large sword on his back to fly out. With the help of the mage's hand skill, it was quickly propelled into his grasp. After getting a good grip he thrust this weapon forward while activating one of the basic skills that he had learned.

Instantly his sword was guided forward and his body performed the motion perfectly. Just like Knight Commander Alphonse, he did the same. The blade connected with the monster's head and produced a massive hole in it. This skill was just one of the basic ones every swordsman or even warrior was capable of, called the 'Sword Thurst'. Through its use, Roland was aware of the skill effects and of their one major downside.

‘The parts of the body that are required to perform the skill are locked into the motion for a moment. This usually won’t be a problem but can still leave a person open to a quick counter.’

Roland’s mind was indeed made up about the usage of skills. On one hand, they allowed people to perform actions automatically while going above the limits of their bodies. Higher-level skill users could later engage in high-speed combat with skills helping them evade and counter. While they were quite the boost to one's strength they could also become a double-edged sword. He could see someone becoming too reliant on this auto-combat-like feature.

‘It would probably be best to have a good balance between passive and active skills instead.’

He was not really someone that used a lot of active skills but he could see a battle between higher-level skill users to be something similar to a chess match. They would need to decide when the best point was to activate their attacking or defensive skills. Seeking opportunities for an opening or luring in others with a fake one, was part of the course.

Yet for someone like him that went with the magical route, he would need to traverse his own path. Combat with fast-casting runes was not something prevalent in this world. Roland might have been the only person alive with a unique skill setup for magical equipment casting. While rune mages existed, they were not capable of creating something like a suit of armor, nor did they have the strength and endurance to use it in battle. There was no blueprint for him, nor would he ever find a master to guide him to his answer. What he could do was just continue practicing, make mistakes, and learn through experience.

“We are lucky, the lava pool is clearing out.”

“Yeah but we are not alone, isn’t that a platinum adventurer?”

“You’re right but the rest look like golden adventurers. Did they hire the person to guide them into the new area?”

Lobelia responded to Armand after the group arrived at the large pool of lava that was about to clear up. Now that Roland’s secret was out in the open, everyone else was eager to visit the new dangerous area. Even on the way here, they saw some strong-looking parties venturing through.

“We need to run you two, ignore their group.”

He voiced his opinion while storming off for the entrance. Agni was right behind, his tongue flopping around as he was quite enjoying the freedom to run through the dungeon. Soon everyone waiting for the lava to clear was sprinting into the middle.

‘I’ll have to bring this up with Arthur, this can’t continue to be the only way of getting to the dungeon.’

Getting to the new dungeon could set people back by days. It would probably now be faster as the monsters would have been cleared out, yet this couldn’t go on. The longer they or any other adventurer needed to get there, the more money they would lose. Thus there were two options, either build some type of elevator at the chasm area or a bridge through this lava pool.

The molten rocks at the center spot were somewhat shallow. Creating a small barricade around it might have been possible. Now that there was a reason to invest in this venture they needed to hasten this process. It was well worth it to spend copious amounts of money on getting those tier-3 materials out into the city. They would stimulate the economy and allow everyone to profit like they never profited before.

After arriving at the middle Roland activated the secret area. The other adventures that were coming with them were probably equipped with one of the keys that he made. It was just a small plate of metal that looked like a credit card. With its help, people could open up this area to gain access.

‘It’s quite the scam though, the charges are limited and you have to pay at the adventurers guild to get more.’

Getting to resources wasn’t free and anyone that wanted to get further in had to pay up. The card also allowed the city to profit from an adventurer that didn’t make it back or decided to sell their materials elsewhere. Thanks to this method it allowed Arthur to gain a little bit of extra money without having to do anything. Even though Roland’s cards could probably be copied by others, some money would flow back into their pockets.

While remaining silent the fifth member of their group was first to make her way down into the chamber. Mary seemed slightly on edge while traversing through the dungeon. The young woman didn’t seem to be too trusting and perhaps was constantly looking for an escape route. Going in first would allow her to check for traps and other elements while getting away.

“Hey, cute maid, why are you so silent?”

“I just don’t want to talk to you, we should remain cautious of our surroundings.”

“We don’t really have to be with those two around, just relax and have a nice chat.”

“Hey, leave her alone.”

“What? I’m not doing anything?”

Lobelia interrupted Armand’s exchange with Mary, who didn’t seem too interested in her new adventuring companion. The man continued to send her lustful gazes throughout the entire trip and continued to throw one-liners in her direction. Luckily their trip had continued without much of a problem and Armand was able to keep it inside of his pants.

‘I hope these two won’t get in a fight while I’m gone…’

The path forward was clear, the corridors that were usually filled with monsters were barren. Many other adventurers had already gone through which allowed them to reach the boss chamber rather fast. The entrance was open and to Agni’s dissatisfaction, his favorite meal was not there. Instead, they found a few dwarves moving outside with large backpacks.

‘Should I stop them…’

For a moment Roland contemplated using his newly gained position. He was a Knight Commander which put him above any guard or soldier in the city. When applying an analog from the real world, he was something similar to a police chief. If he wanted to stop this group that looked like miners, he could.

‘Maybe another time, I need to teach those three how to grind out experience and not like a Knight Commander should perform searches on random people in the dungeon.’

His position was supposed to be something above a common guard. Perhaps if there were some lesser knights or guards here with him, then ordering them to do a search was proper. This group had several guards around them and didn’t look too happy about something. When he examined their clothes it seemed that they had gone through some type of encounter.

‘There shouldn’t be any other monsters beyond this point, did they walk into the traps or get into a fight with other adventurers?’

For the time being he decided to make a mental note on the looks of these people along with using his runic camera to save their portrait. There was no reason to stop them but if he found out that they murdered people in the dungeon, then it was now his job to report them. They belonged to the dwarven union and some of their faces were familiar so finding them later wouldn’t have been a problem. Soon Roland and the group continued onwards and finally arrived at their destination.

“This place was a lot more sparkly before.”

Commented Lobelia while being the first one after Agni to run into this large mine. Even though there were some ore deposits here and there, it was a lot more barren than when he was the only one aware of this place. Clearly, the group that left before had something to do with it but they weren’t the only ones responsible.

‘Others are also picking at the rocks, we’ll have to hire some proper guards along with the new route.’

Just as he expected, a lot of treasure hunters had arrived at this place. He could see at least three separate groups taking away the minerals from here as if there wasn’t a problem anywhere.

“Now that it’s known that this place has precious metals, even the adventurers have turned into scavengers.”

“This mine belongs to Lord Arthur, how dare these hoodlums steal from him?”

Mary moved her hand towards her thigh where she had a few throwing knives hidden away. While she was usually wearing a maid uniform, this time around she came in dark leather. Her face was mostly covered by a combination of a hood and something akin to a ninja mask which went along with her current class.

“Hold on, just leave them be, we don’t have time for this.”

“But…”

“Don’t worry, I’ve recorded all of their faces, after we return we can have the guard captain take care of it.”

Mary knew about the technology where he could produce images. It wouldn’t be hard to find these people and fine them for their actions later on. In a sense, they were performing flee labor as they would probably give up all the mined materials to not get thrown into prison. Now came the important part, the entrance to the dungeon which was occupied by some people.

“Now first, let me show you something that you will need.”

“We need even more? Is it a better weapon?”

“No.”

“But you gave her some throwing knives and even Lobelia got arrows, why am I the only one being left out?”

“Because you don’t have any ranged skills.”

“What do I need ranged skills for, all I need are my fists!”

“That’s why I didn’t give you a weapon, you’d just end up killing yourself.”

“What? You think I’d get killed by one of those monsters?”

“Yes.”

“Damn, you didn’t even hesitate, that hurts brother.”

“I’m not your brother.”

"Can I at least use that strange backpack with the rods attached to it?"

"Yes, but only use it when you get into trouble."

"Nice!"

Besides the scrolls with divine spells, he had given Lobelia a quiver filled with arrows and Mary some throwing knives with a similar effect. He did not want any of them getting too close to the tier 3 undead monster as he feared that they wouldn’t even be able to take one attack without dying. Giving Armand a pair of knucklebusters so he could get himself killed was an enticing idea but Elodia would probably kill him if she found out. For the backup plan, they had a refurbished runic device that could generate a certain spell, if all things failed they were told to use it for their safety.

“Just look at this, Mary you probably remember this, Lord Arthur has a similar device in his office.”

“Yes, it’s the runic hologram.”

The chessboard-size box that was at Arthur’s office was similar to this one which was much smaller. With the help of his current class, he was able to compress it further and this would allow his friends here to progress through their training safely.

“Then this will be easy, as you can see these red dots represent the undead monsters in the dungeon area, you’ll be able to prepare before they even show themselves.”

The tactic for the grind was rather rudimentary. With the help of this device, they would wait for a monster to appear and then pelt him with some divine scrolls, arrows, or throwing knives. He instructed Lobelia and Mary to try and get their weapons back if it was possible but run if any danger appeared.

“Let’s go in then, I’ll clear the path.”

While he had done all of this before, grinding directly at the dungeon entrance was impossible for them. For the time being he needed to prepare a location where they could perform the task without other people looking in. Having divine spells flying around was quite eye-catching and would probably draw unwanted attention.

“Agni, stay in the back for now and all of you remember to follow my instructions, otherwise I can’t guarantee your safety.”

“Woo! Lead the way, Knight Commander Wayland!”

“Show them hell, Knight Commander!”

Lobelia shouted out while cheering from behind and was quickly copied by Armand. Both of them kind didn’t really see him as a proper noble and somewhat believed that there was something fishy here. Thus they did the only rational thing they could think of and decided to make fun of the situation.

“Oh shut up you two.”

“Aye, aye. Commander!”

“Right… Let’s go…”