With the addition of independent magic, the runes were getting stronger — Adrian concluded.
It was still only a hunch since he had seen it happen just twice, but nothing else could explain what he witnessed.
During the assessment of the first student, when he used the runes on his axe, he felt it. Somehow, the runes were performing far better than expected — cleaner, more aligned, and with noticeably higher output.
The second time was during Elana's assessment.
Adrian had tuned the runes on her baton himself, so he knew exactly what they were capable of. Yet when he saw her performance — especially the moment she pierced the Golem using the ice platform — he felt the same thing again. The runes were giving far more output than they should have.
That stirred his curiosity, and he asked her to perform the testing spell once more in the workshop. The results erased all doubt.
