Chapter 34: Crafting Scrolls

  Damon hurried over to the bookshelf and squeezed his arm through the crack, managing to touch the tome with the tip of his finger. Channeling his mental power, he was able to use telekinesis to completely remove it from its original hidden location.

  Damon glanced at the darkened leather bindings of the tome, running his fingers over the inscribed characters. The title read ‘Victory and defeat: The first great war’. What excited him was not the title of the book; it was the fact that it was written from the same ancient characters he had come to recognize thanks to Master Silas.

  Damon gently blew the dust off the cover before slowly peeling it open to the first page.

  My name is Finneas. I was born in an era of war. My parents were mortals, unable to change their doomed fates as the war raged on between the cultivators. I managed to survive and was taken in by a sect. They taught me how to fight and use auric power to strengthen my body. I climbed up the rankings as I grew stronger, forging my body into an impenetrable fortress.

  I was sent to fight in the war by my sect, upon which I discovered the enemy cultivators walking a different path. They fought by wielding hundreds or thousands of weapons, all flying unimpeded through the air. Though the war was hard and long, we eventually managed to triumph over them. The willpower generated when forging our bodies allowed us to resist their attacks that affected the mind.

  However, as we were clearing up the remnants of the war, I stumbled upon something. No, someONE. It appeared fate had other plans for me, as I met the woman I would spend the rest of my brief life with. She was a Psion. In the end, we were hunted down by the other Auron, destined to disappear into the void of history. Here lie my records.

  Damon finished reading the small excerpt at the start of the book. It detailed the overall history of this ancient cultivator named Finneas.

  This… It is a record of the war between the Auron and the Psion. It must detail how the Auron came to be, and how they managed to overthrow the first dominant cultivation path. I should take my time to learn this history; however, it is not my current priority. I need to continue cleaning up and hopefully find the spellbooks I need. Damon thought.

  Damon continued to search through the books as he began organizing them back into the shelves. The majority of texts in this Hall were historical records or adventure journals. There were some notes filled with cultivation insights, which he glanced over before packing them away, only storing them in his storage pouch for further examination if they contained fresh ideas or concepts. Rarely did he come across any spellbooks, and he had not found a single cultivation manual until now.

  Damon picked up a book and read its cover. ‘The art of light’, huh? Wait, this was on the list of books to copy. He flipped through the pages and quickly ascertained its grade and tier. It was a high-grade second-tier cultivation manual related to the light element. He surreptitiously deposited the book into his storage pouch, planning on copying it for some merit points when he got the chance.

  Damon continued to clean up this section of the Hall until deep into the night. He only found two more books of note: ‘The basics of Runeology’ and ‘Compilation of first-tier materials’. He took them with him as they were definitely worth studying. Unfortunately, he had not found the spellbooks he desired, but he could continue looking tomorrow.

  Damon finished his daily cultivation and opened his door. Someone was standing there, yet again. It was Skylar.

  Why is it that someone is waiting for me every single day? Damon grumbled inwardly, but smiled warmly externally. “What brings you here, Senior Brother?”

  “Good morning, Damon. It appears we forgot to exchange arcane marks; otherwise, I would have just contacted you through the communication orb. You have been placed in my Runeology class, so I came to fetch you on the way. The class begins in an hour, so we do have plenty of time, but I must arrive early to arrange my materials.” Skylar smiled gently.

  Damon was momentarily distracted by Skylar’s dazzling smile, framed by loose lilac hair and assisted by his delicate features; he looked more beautiful than anyone he had ever seen. He quickly snapped out of his internal thoughts and frowned with discomfort. What on earth am I thinking?

  Damon quickly responded to distract himself. “Ah, that’s right. I need to attend a compulsory Runeology class. I’m happy I have you as my instructor, instead of someone like James.”

  “Hmm? Do you have a grudge against Senior James, perhaps? Don’t mind him too much. He can be a bit petty at times, but he isn’t a bad person at heart. Anyway, come, let’s get going.” Skylar tilted his head to the side, causing his flowing lilac hair to sway. At this moment, a drifting wind brought a few flower petals, circling Skylar as his hair continued to flutter. He then gestured for Damon to go first with his silky, unblemished hand.

  Damon gulped due to his own exasperation. He circulated his mental power, and his mind cleared of all thoughts. It felt as though he had escaped from a spell. Slightly confused by the feeling, he walked ahead of Skylar, towards the Runeology hall.

  What a strange feeling. It felt like I was caught in an illusion… However, I am immune to illusions thanks to my mind cultivation. What was that?

  Behind him, Skylar followed slowly with the same gentle smile on his face. However, it did not reach his eyes.

  Damon was seated in a large hall filled with desks and chairs. The building was made out of wood, inundating the room with the crisp scent of cedar. The open windows allowed for the fresh breeze to enter, and the rays of sunlight lit up the room. At the front of the room, Skylar was busily moving around, arranging his lesson materials in a very specific way. Nobody else had yet arrived, so Damon withdrew the ‘The Basics of Runeology’ book and began reading through it. It contained many new runes he had not seen before. He glanced up cautiously and noticed Skylar was very focused on his own task. He looked back down and used his Truesight. He began copying the new runes one by one, increasing his list of mastered runes.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  After a short while, people began to trickle into the classroom, causing Damon to stop his practice. He found himself quickly surrounded by the fresh arrivals, who were both interested in the new apprentice and also wowed by the rune copies scattered over the desk.

  “Who are you? Are you a new student?”

  “Wait, I’ve seen this guy before. Senior Levi said this was the genius they picked up recently! Just look at these rune drawings! Wow!”

  “How do you know he drew them himself? He might have gotten them from Senior Levi to study. Don’t spout nonsense before you know whether it is true.”

  The surrounding students stared fixedly at the outcome of his copying. Damon was still uncomfortable being the center of attention and quickly gathered the parchment and placed it in his storage pouch.

  “Hello, I am Damon Fletcher. Nice to meet you all. I am no genius; I have just good copying skills and calligraphy. My comprehension is nowhere near as good as you think. I’m here to learn, the same as you.”

  Damon spoke to everyone in a humble tone, downplaying his abilities.

  “Nice to meet you, Damon, I’m Aleisha!”

  “Hi, Damon, I’m Gregory.”

  “Hey, Damon, let’s practice Runeology together sometime in the future!”

  The students cheerfully introduced themselves one by one. Damon smiled honestly and greeted them back. This class is filled with genuine people. I’m glad I can remain relaxed for once.

  Ahem. Ahem. Skylar cleared his throat at the front of the classroom. “I will begin my class now, so please take your seats and pay attention. Today, I will be teaching you about enchanting. Enchanting is done by using a specialized chisel artifact and engraving the rune into an item. Afterward, the engraved rune must be covered or submerged in specific materials related to the augmentation you are trying to achieve. Each rune is different, so I will cover just a single one today. This is the ‘harden’ rune. For this rune…”

  Damon listened carefully as he learned more about Runecraft from Skylar. Skylar was definitely highly knowledgeable for an Initiate, giving reason as to how he had been promoted to the Senior Apprentice rank at such a young age.

  “Thanks, Instructor Skylar! I’ll see you in two weeks!”

  “Thanks for the lesson.”

  “Bye Damon, see you later!”

  The students piled out of the classroom, eager to get back to whatever they do in their own time. Damon approached Skylar, who was cleaning up the lesson materials.

  That earlier feeling Skylar gave me no longer exists. Did I sense wrong, or is there something dubious about him? However, he is knowledgeable and is useful to me. I have a favor to ask of him, so I can’t betray my suspicions.

  “Senior Brother Skylar, thank you for that lesson. It was very informative. I was wondering if you could help me with something…” Damon said, scratching his head with a subtle, yet sincere smile.

  “What is it, Damon? I can help you with whatever you need.” Skylar responded with his signature gentle smile.

  “I have a list of spells here. I wanted to learn the runes for those spells, but was unable to find the spellbooks at the Legacy Hall… You probably know why.” Damon said with a wry sigh.

  “Ah, yes… That Legacy Hall is a mess. I pity whoever took that mission set by Adept Tidus. It’s a well-known scam in this Academy, after all. Anyway, let me have a look, and I will draw the rune out for you to study as long as I know it!” Skylar shook his head at the thought of the Legacy Hall before taking the list of spells from Damon.

  As Skylar examined the list, Damon was inwardly cursing both Tidus and Skylar. Tidus, because he had just found out this scam had been going on for much longer than he realized. Skylar, because he was the one who brought Damon to the Mission Hall on the first day.

  “Hmm… Out of this list, I know of two spells. Flash and Hydrosphere. Here, let me draw out their runes for you…” Skylar immediately sat down at the main desk and withdrew his quill. He began elegantly drawing lines on a first-tier parchment, each stroke made with precision and glistening with a mysterious light. The rate at which he drew the rune was very slow, his forehead creasing in concentration. A faint white light emanated from the tip of his quill as he moved it across the page.

  Damon watched in fascination as he had never seen another Runemaster at work. Skylar was even using the materials needed to actually create a scroll, rather than simply writing it down. This showed his overwhelming confidence regarding his comprehension of these two spells; otherwise, there would be a very high chance of failure during the process.

  After an hour, Skylar stopped and heaved a heavy breath of relief.

  “There’s the first one. Flash. I’m glad I didn’t mess up and embarrass myself in front of you! Let me take a short break to recover some of my arcane power before I continue with the next one. Drawing a rune takes a lot of arcane power, so be wary of depletion as you draw it.” Skylar gave off the air of a knowledgeable teacher as he gave Damon a lesson in the form of a friendly reminder.

  Damon gave a sincere bow as he accepted the Flash scroll. “Thank you very much, Senior Brother. Do you perhaps have any spellbooks related to purification magic as well?”

  “Oh, the Purify spell? Yeah, I have a book related to that. In fact, I am specialized in the light element, so this spellbook contains numerous light spells. Here, take it. You can copy it out and give it back during the next class. Now, I’ll begin the next rune.” Skylar handed over a book titled ‘Essential Light Spells’ to Damon.

  “Thank you, Senior Brother!” Damon accepted the book with a joyous expression. Now that I have this, I can learn the purify spell and open the Disciple’s storage pouch! I can’t wait to see what’s contained within.

  Two hours later, Damon returned to his dorm room. He sat at his desk as the golden glow of the setting sun spilled in through the window, illuminating his room in a dazzling golden light. He did not even notice as his entire focus was currently on examining two scrolls sitting atop his desk with his Truesight.

  “Senior Brother Skylar’s comprehension of these two spells is excellent. I should be able to copy them without a problem.”

  Damon began copying the Flash scroll using his artifact quill and his first-tier materials. This was his first attempt at creating a scroll. Beads of sweat slowly rolled down his forehead and neck as he channeled arcane power into the quill. The rate of absorption was immense, causing his Arcane Node to quiver from the strain. He grit his teeth as he withdrew an essence stone and began absorbing the energy contained within to offset the drain caused by the quill. His node settled down temporarily until the essence stone turned gray. He took out a new stone to replace it.

  As the third stone turned gray, Damon finally finished copying the spell rune. He heaved a sigh of relief and inspected his internal condition. Thankfully, the damage had not worsened.

  “This won’t do. I need to completely heal my injuries before I can start crafting scrolls in bulk. I guess I’ll have to focus on recovery and cultivation for a few months. First, let’s unseal the storage pouch first.”

  Damon withdrew the spellbook containing the purify spell and quickly learnt the incantation. He cast the spell on the storage pouch he had picked up from the Channel Weaving Disciple he had defeated.

  Damon picked up the storage pouch with trembling hands, his anticipation palpable through his quick breaths. He channeled his power into the pouch, upon which his jaw dropped.

  Happy New Year from Australia!

  2026.

  Damon's Journey by reading!

  New Years Resolutions?

  book 4 of Origin of Trinity! (The plot is already developed further than that!)