Chapter 13: The book

Surk continued walking to the inn he was staying at. After arriving at the inn and entering his room, Surk began searching for his old clothes.

"Ah, found them. That's strange, they weren't here earlier when I searched for them.", Surk had found his clothes in a drawer.

Surk took the clothes out of his drawer and placed them on his bed. After taking a bath, he changed back into his old clothes. He wore his white short over a dark blue vest, and his black thin, light pants. As he looked at his bed again, he saw the present that his master had given him earlier.

"It must have been with my clothes. No wonder they felt a bit heavy. I wonder what it is...", Surk took the present and began unwrapping it.

"A book?...", Surk took the old book and flipped through its pages. He saw that the pages were very old and most of the handwriting were unreadable. The writings seemed to be that of another language. There were also strange symbols that were shown on every other few pages.

"Err..." As Surk continued to look at the symbols on the pages, he heard someone enter the room.

"So do you like it?", Surk turned around and saw his master enter the room.

"Yes, but...I can't read it. What are these symbols?", Surk asked as he showed one of the pages in the book to Caim.

"It's a rune. They are ancient symbols that blacksmiths carve on weapons, armors, and shields to give them certain magical properties. Some wizards also use them. They enchant spell runes on scrolls to allow them to cast high level spells instantly without any mana. When we get back, I'll be teaching you how to carve runes on your weapons." Caim said proudly.

"Then, what do these runes do?", Surk asked as he showed Caim the book again.

"That is...a secret! So you'll have to find out for yourself. Hahaha!", but the truth was that Caim didn't also know.

"okay...", Surk looked at the symbols on the book again.

"Anyway, let's go to sleep. We'll be leaving early in the morning tomorrow."

Early on the next day, Caim and Surk woke up and left the inn. They walked back home and arrived after more than an hour. They unpacked their belongings and Surk began cleaning the house. Surk sneezed as he swept the floor. There was so much dust that Surk sneezed again.

While Surk cleaned the house, Caim went to a nearby small river in the forest to fish. After they had lunch with the fishes that Caim had caught, they went to the forgery beside his house. Surk brought the iron ores that he had bought in town and placed them near the furnace.

"Now that you are a blacksmith, I'll be teaching you how to carve runes on the blades. The important thing is that you correctly carve the design of the rune on the blade while avoiding breaking the blade. It may sound simple but the effect of the rune greatly depends on how well you carve it. Furthermore, some runes are special in that they require a certain condition in order for it to display its potential. I'll be making a flame sword so observe how I make it carefully."

Surk watched as his master forged a claymore. After the blade was completed, Caim took a small mithril chisel and a hammer. Then he began carving a symbol on the blade while it was still glowing red with heat. After Caim finished carving and placed the claymore on an anvil, he made a wooden handle and inserted the blade in it. Caim then grabbed the sword and the runes on the blade began to glow with a crimson color. Suddenly, red blazing flame enveloped the blade as Caim held it.

"Hmm...the quality is okay. So Surk, this is a flame sword. The rune that I carved on its blade is called 'fire enchantment' rune. As you can see, the power of the rune envelops the blade with flames. Even though its damage is great, most people rarely use a flame sword because only a few exist and it requires a condition for it to activate. The person using the sword must have enormous strength since the size and strength of the flame greatly depends on its wielder's strength. Also, in order to sustain the flame, the rune will slowly absorb the user's energy so it is advisable to quickly finish a battle when using it. Here take this.", Caim handed a large piece of paper with three drawings of runes on it to Surk.

"On the left is the fire enchantment rune. The one in the middle is the fire resistance rune. This rune absorbs flame attacks and spells. It is mostly used on armors and shields. The rune activates automatically and receives its power from the flame attack. However, the rune gradually fades and loses its effect as it absorbs more damage.

The one on the right is the flame spell rune. By using this rune, you endow another weapon with fire properties for a short period of time. It cannot be used on itself. At most for five minutes, the weapon will have the same power as that provided by the fire enchantment rune. To use the flame spell rune, a large amount of mana is needed just like that of a high level spell. That is why this rune is mostly used on a staff.

So for the next following days, I want you to create weapons and armors using these runes. Give me the ones that you have finished later and I'll check them.", Caim said as he placed the claymore on a weapon stand.

"Yes, master", Surk studied the symbols and began to prepare in forging a sword.

Note: Next chapter will be posted next week. It will probably be the last chapter for the volume.