Chapter 22
Runes
Charlotte pushed herself off the table and glanced at Ha-Jin before turning back to the board, a piece of chalk in hand.
"Runes were first seen when the dragons landed upon this continent and started their rule over its people," she began, glancing at the boy once more to ensure he was listening carefully to every word he said. "The people of this continent were very intrigued by the powerful symbols that the dragons used and left behind whilst leaving."
"Though, when the same symbols were made using mana, they were utterly useless and did nothing," she said, writing something on the board which Ha-Jin could only guess said something in the lines of "Mana Runes-Useless."
"It was only later on that the top tier mages of Drakrath found out how to trap and crudely shape the mysterious power that the runes were made of." She continued, setting down the chalk on the table and taking a seat in her chair. "But, the common person still does not know what that power is. And, the problem lies in the fact that we still cannot manipulate it at will, only trap and shape it into runes."
"Wha-? That's it?" Ha-Jin blurted out, he had thought it would end with the humans being able to manipulate the power at will.
"Unfortunately, yes it is," she replied, her gaze steady and unsurprised as if she had been asked this millions of times.
"There has to be more, right?! You haven't even told me the name of this power!" Ha-Jin exclaimed, staring at Charlotte.
Charlotte simply sighed, staring back at Ha-Jin as if he were the stupidest person she had met in her entire career as a teacher. "Yes that is the end of it and I believe we have a vast amount of knowledge to cover, am I right?"
Ha-Jin flinched, his amber eyes wavering for just a moment before he sank back into his seat. "Yes," he replied, not wishing to further continue this conversation.
"Good," she sighed, getting off the chair and walking up next to Ha-Jin. "Let's begin."
Charlotte dragged a chair from one of the desks and sat down on it right in front of Ha-Jin
Looking at her cold cognac eyes beyond the curtain of red hair made him wonder what exactly she had been through for her eyes to be so wise yet cold, almost as if she had seen everything this world had to offer.
Though even after seeing those eyes, Ha-Jin held her gaze—not letting the hesitation he felt show on his face.
"I'm sure you have heard of the elven and dwarven kingdoms." Charlotte said, her expression turning the slightest bit relaxed as she leaned back in her chair.
Ha-Jin nodded. Though little, he had heard about them here and there in gossip from the management team and staff of the Junkyard.
"Good," she complimented before continuing. "The Elven and Dwarven kingdoms are much different from the humans of Drakrath. They were created when the dragons forced the enslaved humans to breed with the various mysterious mana beasts of Drakrath, the process giving birth to strange lifeforms that were alike yet not alike to the humans."
"So that was how.."
"Yes, that was how Elves and Dwarves came to life," she finished with a sigh. "It still puzzles me how somebody could be cruel enough to make people breed with things that were made to kill them."
"So, does that not make them part Mana Beast?" Ha-Jin questioned, his face contorting into a puzzled look.
"Smart boy," she said with a surprised look before answering his question, "Yes, they are part mana beast and part human."
***
The doors to the private training room assigned to the youngest child of the Crownshields, Arthur Crownshield flung open, surprising boy who silently practiced his Martial Art skills in the vast room, its walls lined with targets made of mana and moving dummies made of earth mana—runes inscribed on their bodies—could be materialised by simply imbuing mana into the rune covered outgrowth of the ground.
Ha-Jin's amber eyes scanned the room from the entrance before he finally spotted the light brown haired boy staring right into his soul as if he had just barged into his property—which he had.
"What do you want?" Arthur asked him, his face contorting into a frown as he stared at the boy in disgust.
The corner of Ha-Jin's lips curled into a smirk as he ignored the older boy's question, walking further into the vast room. Just as he was about to take another step, he ducked, dodging a sharp ice projectile that slightly cracked the wall upon impact.
Ha-Jin let out a whistle before extending his hand and launching a projectile of pure fire at Arthur, this one slightly burning his hair. The smell of singed hair was now detectable in the room.
"That's it!" Arthur snapped, his eyes shooting wide as he launched at Ha-Jin, punching him right in the ribs, sending him rolling across the floor before quickly running up to him and kneeing him in the face. Though, it was blocked by Ha-Jin using his palms to guard himself before he tightened his grasp at his knee, shifting his grip to his ankle before pulling him off balance as he landed on the floor.
He then proceeded to twist his ankle, earning a slight wince from Arthur before letting go of his leg and rising back to his feet and then jumping onto him with his elbow pointed at his ribs, putting his entire bodyweight into it as his elbow caved into Arthur, a sharp crack resounding through the air.
[Dangerous amounts of Bloodlust have been detected from the enemy]
[Forming a Quest]
[Quest: Defeat Arthur Crownshield]
[Completion Reward: N/A]
[Failure Result: N/A]
Ha-Jin looked at the quest and scoffed. No reward? How cheap could this thing be?
However, in the brief moment of distraction, Arthur grabbed Ha-Jin's head, slamming his own into it before kicking him off of himself. The warm, crimson liquid trickled down Ha-Jin's forehead and into his eyes as he tried to blink it out.
The burning sensation made him close his eyes as pain shot through his body, starting from his stomach where he had likely been punched. He skidded a few feet back before coming to a halt, a metallic taste filling his mouth as blood surfaced inside it.
Before Arthur could continue their fight, Ha-Jin held up a hand, surrendering while swallowing the blood back. Arthur scoffed but stopped in his tracks.
After the tense atmosphere was cool once again and Ha-Jin was sitting on the floor, Arthur stood right in front of him. As Ha-Jin continued to shamelessly gulp down a bottle of water as if he hadn't just broken into the prince of Drakrath's private training room, Arthur finally snapped. "I'll repeat it one last time. What do you want?" He barked out, looking Ha-Jin dead in the eyes, who was as good as new because of his Regeneration skill.
"Not much, Emperor Charles told me that Jae-Woo wanted me and you to meet him in Fangorn Forests." Ha-Jin said, sighing as he crumpled the plastic bottle in his hand. That forest didn't give him good memories at all, it was the place where he was thrown into the mysterious plains for two whole years after all.
"Get out," Arthur barked, a palpable pressure filling the room as he continued to maliciously glare down at the shameless boy before him.
"Excuse me?" Ha-Jin asked, glaring back at him.
"Must I repeat myself because you are foolish enough to not understand two words?" Arthur snarled as both of them glared at each other as if they would start fighting like dogs at any moment.
Just as Ha-Jin's Moon Rune began to glow slightly, just the flicker of a sword materialising in his hand, a hand flicked both of their foreheads, sending them stumbling back a few steps.
[Inventory Summoning has been abruptly cancelled]
"He speaks the truth, I did ask for that." Jae-Woo said before turning to Ha-Jin and shooting him a toothy grin.
Arthur's eyes widened in surprise as he watched Jae-Woo flicker to life between them before letting out a sigh. What did he really expect from the most dangerous yet amusing man he had met?
Even though Arthur had been told that Jae-Woo and Ha-Jin hadn't been together long, he suddenly leapt onto Jae-Woo, both of them falling to the floor.
'Why? Why would he be so happy to see a man that he had barely spent time with? It truly puzzles me, I will never understand the guy.'
However, to Ha-Jin, despite not having spent much time together, Jae-Woo was like a father figure to him. Even he did not know the reason why he felt that way. There was just… a fatherly love—warmth—radiating from him.
"Now, now, let's not be too happy. We have a long week to cover after all!" Jae-Woo chuckled, his voice cutting through the silence like a sharp blade.
"I wonder what you will teach me this time," Arthur said, looking at Jae-Woo with interest shining like a bright sun in his golden eyes.
***
Before they left, Arthur's personal guard cut them off, his eyes glaring at Jae-Woo like sharp daggers with a disdainful expression.
"I will go with Lord Arthur to the forest," he said, ignoring the surprise in Jae-Woo's eyes.
"It is of no need for you to esco—" Before Arthur could complete his sentence, the man cut him off.
"No, it is not. I entrusted Emperor Charles with my life for what he has done for me. His life is your life and I must protect it at all costs!" The man snarled.
"Orpheus, what else do I need to prove myself to you?" Jae-Woo asked the man named 'Orpheus.'
Orpheus scoffed before shooting a disgusted look at Jae-Woo, "Surely you do not need me to remind you of your own past? You traitorous—"
"Enough!" Jae-Woo bellowed, his intent leaking out of him like water flooding from a torn water tank.
Orpheus reluctantly stopped at Jae-Woo's command, his knees shivering the slightest bit as his intent filled the air.
"If you wish to come with us, come, but you will not soil my name, understand?" Jae-Woo said—no, commanded—Orpheus.
"Understood," Orpheus reluctantly replied through gritted teeth, the sound of metal clinking as he took a step back making Ha-Jin wonder from where the noise had come from as the guard wore an unusually casually outfit for a Royal Guard, protecting the heart of Drakrath—The Capital—itself.
The trip to the forest was much shorter than it would have normally taken as they all used their speed stats instead of carriages or anything of the sort. Though, Arthur and Ha-Jin had to take a rest every now and then.
Both of the two collapsed on the ground as they finally reached the forest after about an hour of running and hopping from tree to tree. Both of them took deep, heavy breaths, beads of sweat trickling down their face and body, slightly wetting their clothes.
Jae-Woo extended a hand each to the both of them and they gratefully took it as he pulled them up to their feet.
"So.."—Ha-Jin started, pausing for a moment to catch his breath—"What are we gonna learn today?"
Before Jae-Woo could answer, a shadow crept up behind Ha-Jin as his eyes widened, his ears just barely catching the rustling of leaves as he ducked. A dagger made of bone flashes just over his head. Though, Ha-Jin felt no malicious intent from the strike.
He looked back to see the younger boy smiling at him.
It was Alex.
"Where were you for so long?" Ha-Jin asked, the corners of his lips curling upwards into a smile.
Alex looked down at him as he straightened up. "Learning the same thing that you both are about to learn," He said, his voice a bit deeper than the last time they had met. He was a bit taller now too.
"Looks like puberty's finally hitting you, huh?" Ha-Jin said, his smile turning into a smirk.
Alex's cheeks tinged a slight red.
"And no joke, you have gotten much stronger than last time. I can sense it."
"Well, if you can do this, you'll be much stronger than this 'trivial' boost."