Chapter 84: Reality Gate and Rebirth (1/2)

Normally, artifacts would be found everywhere in the world. They could even be found underground, in a dungeon, or even in a forest. They were the leftovers of ancient civilizations that had inhabited the other world. However, there was always a fine line between artificial artifacts and genuine ones.

Rune Grandmasters called it Reality Gate; Arthur read in the library.

This gate serves to link the artifact to the real world, using mana to alter the world. The way to create this gate has never been found, causing the artificial artifacts to forever remain artificial, not genuine.

The runes would still have a certain function without the gate, Runes Grandmasters called it the Simulating Effect. The mana paths that artifacts used can, to a certain extent, simulate a lesser version of Reality Gate to exhibit their effect. When ancient runes of creation were imitated, they had a tendency to forcefully open a path into existence. That was the way to Runes Masters used to create artificial artifacts.

It was also way artificial artifacts were a lot less mana-efficient. An analog that Arthur read was about a dam and a stream. If the dam was open, then the stream would flow unhindered. If the dam was closed, then you needed a greater amount of stream to apply enough force to break the dam. The dam was the Reality Gate.

Research into this was done by all the nations in the world as it was directly linked to economy, military, and politics. However, the Reality Gate remained only an impossible dream to even the greatest runes masters, so they had to improvise.

By working on the complexity, layers, merging, and fine-tuning the runes, the Runes Masters were able to stimulate to a lesser extent the might of real artifact. Runes such as Mana-Absorption has also helped to decrease the mana needed to open the gate if placed on artifacts.

This was the information that Arthur read in the library. They were also the reason that his 'artificial' artifacts caused such a stir in the market. He had, over three weeks, made several armors and weapons that had either the Protection rune or the Fire rune.

To put it simply, the market was in a frenzy. The quality of these runes resembled true artifacts lest they were hindered by their inferior quality. Arthur felt relieved that he has been cautious by asking Joe to sell them instead of selling them himself. Even Joe didn't know his real name, so Arthur could simply disappear and there would be no further issues.

Of course, he didn't plan to stop. He had an ability that resembled a money printing machine, and he had no plans of not using it. It might cause some problems in the future, and he might be kidnapped for him to spill the beans, but he would still grit his teeth through it.

He had no plans to keep hiding forever. Runes Masters were respected by both guilds and the government. If the identity of a Runes Masters was forcefully uncovered, the Runes Association would take the proper actions against whoever did that. If pushes come to shoves, he could always send a letter to the association with a few of his artifacts asking for them to hide his identity.

The Runes Association was a world-wide organization that was unaffiliated with any nation. It has been created solely to protect Runes Masters from being exploited after a tragic series of events that happened centuries ago. If any of its members were threatened for the sake of his profession, they would step in to protect them.

Arthur didn't believe that the association, itself, wouldn't try to learn of his methods. However, it was still a shield against any people who wished to learn of his identity. Even if they did trace the artifacts back to Joe, the latter didn't know who he was.

Arthur never visited the Goblin's village in these three weeks, afraid the place was still monitored. Joe also told him that some people came asking about a masked man and a young girl, but Joe told them he knew nothing.

When Arthur left Kira in Joe's care, he had asked Amelia to stay in the forest until he was done. That was the reason that Joe didn't suspect anything.

However, this information has made Arthur feel on the edge. He couldn't go back to the mountain range and he doubted the goblins would need him these days. Before he goes to the Runes Apprentices Cup, he would first strengthen all of the goblins.

As for Arthur's stats over these three weeks, they all reached 100 before stopping. No essence could raise them further and Arthur has already gone to every dungeon in the city but it was futile. When he tried to absorb the essence of monsters, his Legacy told him that evolution was needed.

He needed to ascend to the next stage, the rei-rank. Even though his equipment and Legacy runes allowed him, for a short moment, to go transcend ranks, he was still a neo-ranker.

This had been Arthur's current dilemma. He had to either ask Master Ronin, who had been guiding him until now, or the Union about it. He could apply for a Rebirth Ritual, but he didn't know what it was about nor did he want them to know his shocking growth.

Arthur looked at his stats as he mulled over it. He had kept hunting in different dungeons when his growth became stagnant, making all of his stats to catch up to each other.

[Scholar Guardian's Legacy]

[Level: 23 (3%)]