Chapter 38：Runes Card (2/2)

[Mana: 35/37]

[Abilities: Beginner Runes Wordsmith (12%), Useable Runes: 8]

[Skills: Lesser-Mana Breathing Skill (F), Poison Strike (F), Camouflage (F)]

He gained one stats point by reaching level 10, and he used it on mana. After he absorbed the essence of the two mages with Lian, he gained 4 points in mana raising it to 35. The other two were of his hunting for the previous two days, as primitive cores started giving him mana. There was also an increase of 1, 1, 2, and 1 for strength, agility, stamina, and perception respectively.

Calculating the amount of mana that he needed to use his new rune, Arthur ended up with 6.3 points. It was a fair price to pay for another layer of protection. Furthermore, he would need to worry about the rune breaking when he faced the violet-gem goblin now.

His preparations seemed ready for now, but it was almost night time. Arthur decided to head underground tomorrow morning after he got some rest.

***

After lying in bed for almost an hour, Arthur couldn't sleep for some reason. Every day, he would be too tired to think about stuff so he would fall asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow. Even though his body wanted to sleep, his mind was fully awake for some reason. Maybe it's the anticipation of tomorrow's battle, maybe they were the worries, but Arthur didn't know what to do with his time.

He started practicing moving his mana again, but he got bored with it after a while. He wasn't used to such a lifestyle. Constantly trying to get stronger and practice or hunt. He needed some time to rest, and Arthur realized that was the reason he couldn't sleep. The only time he wasn't trying to get stronger to survive was his sleeping. Even that, after the incident with Lian, became less comfortable as he was kept on edge.

”Why did I want to get stronger when I was a child?”

His voice penetrated the silent room and met no answer. After a while of looking back, Arthur remembered why. There was a book he always carried around when he was a kid. It was about a hero who got stronger and started to explore the world and moving through the skies.

It was the freedom that he wanted. The ability to do anything, go anywhere, only limited by his imagination. Arthur got up from his bed and descended the stairs after picking up his sword. He took a bottle of Gin and poured himself a glass. After chugging it down, Arthur's senses were blurred by the alcohol. He could use his rune to get rid of the toxicity, but he decided against it.

Dizzy, he walked outside the pub. The night was illuminated by the myriad of colors he always looked at. Living on the edge of the world, Arthur felt slightly frightened the pub might just fall off while he slept here.

Kira was asleep a distance away, but Arthur had no plans of waking it up. He wanted to take a stroll through the forest while using his camouflage skill. Using the darkness as a cover, Arthur blended into the night as he made his way through the forest.

Trees and more trees met his eyes, after a while, he reached the periphery of the lake. He sat down by its shore as he admired the reflection of the lights on the lake's surface. It was a magical scene that Arthur never saw the like of before.

His eyes moved along the shore as he looked at the direction of Erin's camp. It was in a valley beyond the lake. At this time, they might be sitting around the campfire sharing stories of their adventure. He looked beyond the mountain range and could see the tower illuminating the world around it. Runes of all colors lit on its surface. Arthur realized that at this moment, someone was trying to conquer the tower to get out of here. He wondered how strong can someone be to conquer a tower that Arthur couldn't even reach. What drove them forward? He wondered.

Seconds became minutes and an hour passed while he sat on the edge of the lake. As he was absorbed in his thoughts, he felt the mana twist and turn on top of the lake. After his perception got stronger, he was able to faintly feel the change in the surrounding mana.

Arthur stood up from his position and retreated backward. It was good that he had brought his sword just in case he needed it. After entertaining the thought of running away, he was too late to do so as the mana intensified and twisted.

A black hole appeared on top of the lake before a person fell from it. The hole then disappeared and the person crashed to the lake's surface, disturbing it like a thrown pebble.