Chapter 715: Dragon Runes.
After training with the Scarlett Clan, Victor headed towards the main mansion. As he walked alone, he couldn’t help but think of his Rune training.
He didn’t know if it was because he had a more developed mentality than before or because he didn’t have a lot of urgent things to do in the short term, but he felt quite interested when training Runes.
The Art could be very challenging to learn and develop, but it was an enjoyable and valuable Art to learn.
As long as he had concentration and Energy, he could do a lot with this Art, but despite its versatility, it wasn’t omnipotent. For example, you couldn’t reproduce the exact effects of the Concepts of a God or specialized Racial Abilities like the Succubus could do.
For example, if he wrote the Charm Rune in Demonic Language and gave that Rune power, the Charm would work, but it wouldn’t be as effective as a Goddess’ Charm or a Succubus’ Charm.
Scathach didn’t even need to explain for Victor to understand that anything related to using a direct ‘attack’ with the Runes was extremely lacking.
For example, he could place an Ice Rune to attack an opponent, but although the Ice it would produce would be abundant, it wasn’t ‘strong and dense’ like Victor’s or Scathach’s Ice.
Another thing that didn’t work was putting adjectives on the Rune. Scathach made sure to explain this topic well for everyone; for example, when making a Fire Rune, you couldn’t add characteristics to that Fire like ‘Strong Fire’, ‘Dense Fire’, ‘Demonic Fire’, etc.
Runes didn’t work like that. Instead, they worked with primary and secondary words, also called Main or Major Runes, and Support or Minor Runes.
The more Major Runes you applied, the more difficult it was to add Minor Runes to support the Major Runes.
For example, Victor could make a Spear, then carve the ‘piercing’ and ‘return’ Runes as the Main Runes.
The ‘piercing’ Rune would enhance the spear’s piercing effect.
The ‘return’ Rune was the same: a simple Rune that returned the weapon to the user’s hand.
Right after adding these Runes, he could add Minor ones that synergized with the Major ones.
Words like ‘recovery’, ‘pursuit’, and ‘safety’ would be very effective to add as a secondary Runes.
The ‘recovery’ Rune would be handy if the Spear broke; with this Rune, even if Victor threw the Spear violently and caused damage to the weapon, the Spear would recover itself to the original state before the break.
The ‘chase’ Rune would make the Spear always hit the target according to the user’s intentions.
The ‘security’ Rune would prevent strangers the user did not recognize from using Spear.
Scathach herself, taking that same Spear as an example, could possibly add Tertiary Runes to support the effect of Secondary Runes.
In this specific case, she could use the ‘curse’ Rune to support the ‘security’ Rune, causing the individual not recognized by the ‘security’ Rune to suffer a deadly curse.
Scathach pointed out that the limit was not just three sets of Runes. Instead, the user’s imagination and hard work were the limit.
For example, Scathach’s Spear had a total of 2669 Runes that complimented each other in perfect sync. Scathach’s Spear alone had many more Major, Minor, and Tertiary Runes.
The spear was a true work of art created by a Runemaster.
When Victor, Ruby, Pepper, Siena, and Lacus understood how ‘absurd’ the feat Scathach did was, they couldn’t help but respect the woman even more.
They could understand now why it took several years for Spear to be completed.
Ruby couldn’t help but think of the Spear she got from her mother, the spear that Scathach used most of her life, a spear second only to Scathach’s current Spear in terms of Runes.
This realization made Ruby value the Spear she received from her mother even more, not to mention that this class ignited Ruby’s thirst for knowledge.
Ruby’s sharp brain already understood how ‘broken’ Runes were if they were studied correctly. She wasn’t talking about using Runes in combat but in everyday life and even in her lab.
As long as it had an Energy source to feed it and sturdy material to keep the Rune going, couldn’t it basically automate the entire mansion?
For example, various cleaning Runes could be carved into hidden areas throughout the manor, and with just a little Energy, the entire mansion would be clean.
Ruby thought that the Runes were very similar to the Magic that Witches used, something that Scathach didn’t deny, but she also didn’t fully accept either. Despite being similar Arts, they were still different.
While Magic used Magic Circles to cause ‘Magical’ effects,
Runes used Ancient Languages to do the same.
And the two methods had their pros and cons. The Runes were better for support and creation; the best Magic Artifacts were made with Runes and, depending on the Language and Energy used when creating the Runes, had exceptionally strong effects.
Magic, however, had greater ‘versatility’ and area of ‘specialization’; Magic could not do something similar to what Runes could do. Magic could not ‘enchant’ an item like Runes.
And Magic could not receive ‘other’ Energy sources to power its Magic Circles.
The variety of Linguistic and Energy combinations was what made Runes so dangerous.
Pepper pointed out that Runes looked like programming languages. It looked like a mess, but when put together, it made perfect sense.
Victor and the Scarlett sisters couldn’t help but agree with this analogy.
Another fact that Victor discovered was that… He wasn’t as good at creating Runes; the craft didn’t come intuitively like when he fought.
He had realized this a long time ago, but in any subject in the area of ‘creating’ something, he took much longer to learn and understand the subject.
He was an expert in destroying and causing harm, not creating new things.
When the Scarlett sisters learned about Runes, it was as if they were a fish that had not seen water for a long time. They learned smoothly and progressively, without any problem.
Evidently, they had talent in this area, and this insight made Victor question why Scathach hadn’t taught the girls this sooner.
The response he received from the older woman left him speechless.
“They had no interest or motivation to learn and get stronger, so I didn’t bring it up. Even with talent in the Runes, it’s a hazardous subject.”
In short, the girls didn’t have the right mindset, and even if they had talent, to take such a dangerous subject as Runes lightly would be putting their own lives in danger.
Despite saying that he had a hard time learning compared to fighting, that’s not to say that Victor was slow.
After all, he had an advantage they didn’t have, the memories of hundreds of Beings. Through years of meditation and practice, Victor had learned to filter and store only useful information, and within those hundreds of thousands of memories, he had ‘references’ for everything he wanted to achieve.
And in the case of Runes, it was no different. Not to mention that, even if it were difficult, it wouldn’t make him give up. In fact, it would make him even more motivated to learn.
As a ‘thank you’ for the lesson he received, Victor taught the girls several Techniques that could be done with the Bloodline of Ice and Water. It was worth mentioning that seeing the shocked expressions of Scathach and her daughters when demonstrating the Techniques was something very satisfying.
Victor hoped that with these Techniques, the girls would become even stronger so that he could fight them in the future.
Victor looked to the side and saw his reflection in the fountain near the mansion.
“Umu, I look as handsome as ever.” A frown crept over his face as he looked into his Dragon Eyes, and he touched his chin.
“Hmm… Languages, huh… Languages…” Victor opened his eyes wide.
[Zaladrac!]
[Eh…? Wha – Gueegh.]
‘What was that strange scream?’ Victor chuckled internally: ‘Did she fall to the floor or something?’ Victor looked in the direction he sensed Zaladrac and saw that she was in a room in the mansion.
[What’s the problem, Victor? Why did you scream so suddenly? I was sleeping.] Zaladrac commented with annoyance as she stroked her head; her eyes were looking directly at Victor.
Even though her eyes couldn’t cut through walls like Victor’s, she could still feel his gaze on her body.
[Oh… I’m sorry for suddenly yelling.]
[It’s okay, call me normally next time.]
[Mm.]
[Then? What is the problem?]
[Do Dragons have a unique language of their own like other Races?]
[Of course.]
[How old is this language?]
[As old as those of the Gods.]
Victor’s smile grew, a language that was as old as the Gods, and that was ‘Mortal’… Wasn’t that perfect?
[Tell me, Zaladrac. Can you make Runes with that language?]
[Runes…?] Zaladrac turned her head away in confusion. She visibly thought for a bit, searching her memories for information: [Oh, you’re talking about Words of Power.]
[Words of Power? What is that?]
[It is an Art where we use our Energy, Voice, and Intent to cause an effect in the world.] Zaladrac suddenly appeared at Victor’s side.
“That sounds a lot like Runes,” Victor said..
“Hmm, my knowledge may be out of date. Explain what a Rune is to me.”
“Okay.”
Thirty minutes later, Victor finished the complete Rune walkthrough for Zaladrac.
“Hmm, I’m sure now, what you call Runes, I call ‘Words of Power’.” Zaladrac nodded, “But the way you use Words of Power is strange, Victor.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Although you don’t have a Dragon Soul, you are still a Dragon in your physical body, not to mention that since you are connected with me, our Souls are connected. Because of that, I received your physical characteristics, and you received mine. With that bond in effect, you can use Words of Power with just your Intent.”
“Just using Intent…?”
“Yes.”
“Like a Dragon, you must not follow anyone’s rules, you make the rules, and you are the one who commands.”
“How do I do this? I don’t even know the Dragon’s Language.”
“Hmm…” Zaladrac looked at Victor blankly for a long time until she grabbed him by the collar and pulled him in for a kiss.
Even if he could react, Victor didn’t; he just accepted everything. But before he could think of more things, he felt a flow of information entering his head and filling his entire being.
He learned the language and the way of writing of the Dragons as if it were his mother tongue that he had known since childhood.
Zaladrac pushed Victor away as she unconsciously licked her lips and thought: ‘That was nice…’
As she looked at Victor, who was in a trance, processing all the information she had given him, pure desire flashed in the Dragon’s eyes, but she quickly calmed down when she saw that Victor snapped out of his stupor.
“This…” Before he could continue, Zaladrac answered.
“As one bound to me, it is your right to learn our language. That way, when you speak with the Elder Dragons, they will respect you as a member of our kind.”
Victor raised his eyebrow, “You’re lying… No, you’re hiding something. What is it?”
“…I hate that ability of yours to feel my emotions.” She grumbled.
“Well, if it was my right to learn about your language, you should have done it from the beginning, right? So it does not make sense.”
“…” Zaladrac looked into Victor’s eyes for a long time until she opened her mouth:
“Giving knowledge of my language to my rider is a Dragon’s last test.”
“Oh?”
“Dragon Riders sometimes spend their entire lives bound with their Dragon, and even then, they never receive the knowledge of our language. Each Dragon has its criteria for testing, but in the end, it all comes down to trust. Giving knowledge of the Dragon’s Language to the rider is the greatest act of trust a Dragon can show. It is proof that the Dragon trusts the rider completely.”
“… I see, which is why you hadn’t done this before.”
“Mm… Honestly, I should have done this years ago when we were in Hell, but I completely forgot because I was sleeping.” She shrugged.
Victor rolled his eyes at the lazy Dragon, “Does that mean you’ve trusted me for a long time?”
“Of course, I wouldn’t discuss my Race with you if I didn’t trust you. There’s a reason almost nobody knows anything about Dragons. It’s because we’re very secretive with our knowledge and selective about whom we give it to.”
“But what I said about Elder Dragons is also true. You can only learn Dragon Language from a Dragon, so bonding with me and learning Dragon Language will make any Elder Dragon talk to you rather than attack you.”
“Hmm~.” Victor gently pulled Zaladrac’s waist and hugged her.
“…..” Zaladrac opened her eyes a little and cautiously hugged Victor. She smelled the scent, felt the heady aroma of his body, and felt very comfortable with the heat she felt from his body.
She listened to the sound of his heartbeat and felt a strange sense that could only be described as:
‘I belong here’ She wondered if this was what ‘Home’ felt like.
“Thanks for the trust, Zaladrac.” He spoke gently in the Language of Dragons as he stroked her dark violet hair.
“Mm.” Zaladrac shuddered when she heard her native language coming out of Victor’s mouth. It was a very good feeling to hear it coming from his mouth.
More words weren’t necessary, as they were connected. Feeling each other’s emotions was a simple thing to do, and feelings were worth more than a thousand words.
They stayed like that for 30 minutes until Victor pulled away a little and asked:
“Can you show me how Dragons use Runes?” He caressed her cheek and asked in English.
“Sure.” She nodded.
She looked at an innocent tree, and in a heavy voice, as if she were ordering the world to follow her will, she spoke:
“Ikih.” [Rot.]
In the next moment, Victor’s eyes saw a ripple in reality, and soon this ripple hit the tree. The effect was instantaneous, as the tree immediately started to rot until nothing was left; the whole process was swift.
“…” Victor just looked at it with a blank expression.
‘Dragons are such broken Beings.’ She just did something that Scathach declared impossible to apply on a battlefield due to the concentration requirement.
Using Runes for battle…
She looked at Victor and smiled proudly: “How about it?”
“This is powerful.” He gave an honest opinion.
“Fufufu.” She smiled condescendingly.
“Why didn’t you use this in battle?” Victor clearly saw that she could use this Rune form to attack.
“As you’ve seen, the Words of Power, despite being invisible to those without Dragon Eyes, are still very slow, and in a battle, the enemy won’t just stand by and wait for you to attack.”
“Not to mention, if I can burn everyone with my Breath, why do I need to use it?”
“…” He couldn’t say anything about that.
“What do you use those Words of Power for, then?”
“To make my lair more comfortable and Enchant my treasures.”
“…” Victor really wanted to facepalm now.
‘I think that’s the difference in mindset’ Unlike him, who could see potential in these Words of Power, Zaladrac just saw it as something convenient.
“I sense your discomfort. What is it?”
“It’s nothing. I just think if you had used the Words of Power for something like buffing yourself in the fight, the Angels wouldn’t have stood a chance.”
“Buff?”
Victor elaborated: “Using Words of Power to enhance your basic aspects, something like an Energy Shield, lightening your body in your Dragon Form, increasing gravity on the battlefield, etc.”
He saw a lot of potential for crowd-control battles with these Dragon Runes. He didn’t need to attack the enemy directly to win; he merely needed to mess up the battlefield and take advantage of it.
“…Oh…” She touched her chin, “That’s true. I could do that, huh.”
Zaladrac’s eyes glowed violet for a few seconds, then she turned to the trees and spoke in the Dragon Language:
“Lightness.” Suddenly, Zaladrac vanished and appeared in front of the tree.
“Hmm, I see the potential. Maybe I can use this in my Dragon Form. That way, I won’t be limited by my weight…” She started muttering rapidly, her eyes twinkling with amusement.
Victor laughed gently at this sight and decided to let her do her thing. He understood that she was going through a moment of epiphany.
‘I shall ask her to teach me how to use it correctly later.’ Even though he had learned the Dragon’s Language, that didn’t mean he had magically learned how to make Runes out of it. He had just learned a new language.
More hard work was needed.
…..
Edited By: DaV0 2138, IsUnavailable
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