Heaven's Greatest Professor

Miss Arden took a deep breath. "How far can your runesmithing go?"

"Obviously, more than this," Warden said.

"A Tier 5 Runesmith is called a master," Miss Arden said with narrowed eyes. "If you can manage that, you\'ll get the most benefit from our organisation. I will give you a contract right at this moment."

"Tier 5 means five layers, and how many rows?" Warden inquired, though he had some hints of how many there would be.

"A true Tier 5 runesmith could draw shells up to 5 layers and 32 rows, 160 scripts in total," Miss Arden said. With each layer and row adding more difficulty for the runesmith, master runesmiths were high in demand even for a sole empire in the business. "I will give you the contract if you manage half of that."

She was probably thinking along the lines of Warden\'s potential. If he could manage half of the shells, there was a high chance he would become a master runesmith in a few more years.

Warden thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "Do you want to see more proof?"

Miss Arden gasped. "If you could show it here, do it. Or we can go to the forging room to give you the help of those equipments."

"No need. I can manage here," Warden said and began to draw again.

He chose the empowering rune, as other runes like the gravity rune seemed to be a rarity here. To be honest, more like extinct or a highly kept secret, as he hadn\'t seen anything like that, and June\'s reaction was evident enough of that. Warden had only found four types of common runes, while he seemed to know more than that.

The empowering script needs a square instead of an octagon. Warden created a perfect square for making the script, which was a lot easier to do compared with an octagon.

As he went on, adding more and more layers and squares into the mix, he finally felt a pull on the back of his mind. His low mind attribute was restricting him again, but Warden pushed forward, exerting his willpower. He could feel [Indomitable Will] making it possible for him to stay in the zone for a longer period.

Within a quarter of an hour, Warden was bathed in sweat with the two-third shell nearly done. He had made four, but the final one took away all his reserved willpower and mental energy when he completed it.

Miss Arden stared in fascination. Her eyes glowed brightly like a child getting their favourite toy. Her interest and fascination showed she was a runesmith herself, though not as skilled as him. While Jason, who didn\'t know much, was impressed with the sheer level of control needed for this display.

The last layer took another 15 minutes, and Warden was completely drained by then. His legs were horribly powerless, unable even to keep himself standing.

Warden found a steep increase in his Imbuing, taking it over Iron - 20% as he stopped.

"I guess this is good enough," he said in a raspy tone and gave her a look.

Miss Arden came out of her fascination and nodded heavily. "Yeah, this is enough. Wait a second, I\'ll get you a recovery potion so that we can talk about the contract," she said, seeing colour drain from his face.

"No need." Warden willed for all the layers of scripts to absorb into his body, right into his core. They did not just disappear but stayed in their form when they were absorbed, twisting into more unsightly forms though still symmetrical, empowering him to an even stronger state.

"What just happened?" the redhead asked, bewildered. She didn\'t know runes could be used like that as well.

"Nothing," Warden said and felt the strength returning to his body. He could exert a lot more physical strength now, perhaps double his initial capabilities. But he didn\'t use it because that would leave him even more drained and exhausted. To his memory, he had not used an empowering script on his body yet. But instinctively, he was aware of what might happen if he misused it.

Why is my instinct so sharp on these things? Yet, I cannot remember a person from my past, he thought with a sigh and let the empowerment absorb into his body and core slowly. It would not solve his exhaustion completely, but he would find it a lot more invigorating in time.

The two of them gave him a suspicious gaze, unaware of what he had done. But it did look suspicious to them.

"So, the contract?" Warden coughed.

"Come to my office, I need to make a call," Miss Arden led them to the office to have a seat. Then she infused her energy into a device to talk with some of the elders of the organisation.

"Can I see the thing?" Warden asked as she was just about to store away the palm-sized device after being done with it. Miss Arden raised an eyebrow and tossed it to him.

"I have talked with my elders and can give you an initial offer."

"Mmm," he hummed, his focus fixated on the device. Of course, with the secrets hidden with layers of confining scripts, it was nigh impossible for him to see through their work without breaking it. Yet, Warden could not help but marvel at their creation. It was a lot more complicated than that, and something more than runesmithing was at work.

"This is genius," he said. "How far is this scope?"

"Not far, but it can function within the parameters of the building."

"Thought so," Warden nodded. "So, the offer?"

"As a certified Tier-5 Runesmith, I can offer you the same benefits our other master runesmiths enjoy," she said. "Now there are different versions of this contract depending on how much one will be willing to invest themselves in DragonForge.

For example, if you want a flat rate, you will receive a flat rate of 1000 essence gems for Tier-5 Shells in a piece of equipment, 200 for Tier 4, and 50 for Tier 3. As per your preference, you can gain credits from our credit system as well.

"Any kind of purchase of the likes of rare metals, alloys, ores, beast cores, we facilitate these transactions through our credit system. I estimate that 4 or 5 Tier 5 equipment could provide you with the amount of alloy you need."

The redheaded woman was seemingly pleased with her offer and was sure Warden would agree with it, today or after a week; it was only a matter of time.

"Oh, I forgot to mention," Warden said. "I might be skilled at scribbling the scripts, but I am not as proficient at forging them into an object."

"That is fine. Many of our runesmiths have faced the same challenge. We have a sufficient number of forgers and artificers of our own."