Chapter 228: Tracking Rune He used the little time he had to look through the system shop and after a few seconds of doomscrolling... He arrived at one conclusion. The System had to be fucking with him! The only runes in the Shop were the advanced ones. They were like complicated symbols that twisted and turned like some drunk artist’s sketch. Like seriously, where was he even supposed to start with all those drawings? They looked impossible to draw. But that was not even the real problem. The real problem was that he couldn’t even buy them. The reason? He hadn’t unlocked the [Rune Drawing] skill. Azel rubbed his forehead. ’Of course. This thing never makes life easy.’ Ever since the main plot started, it was like the System enjoyed playing games with him. Well it wasn’t like he could blame it though but at least he would learn about rune drawing now, even if the Professor was less than capable. Professor Mynes was watching him. She sighed when she saw his look. "I guess I can understand," she said. Her voice softened, as if she thought she needed to explain this carefully. "Listen. A rune can be drawn on any surface. Skin, paper, stone, even the air. The surface doesn’t matter, as long as your mana flows into the lines properly." She raised her finger as if lecturing. "My mother, like I said is a great rune mage. She doesn’t just use runes alone. She adds them into her spell circles. That makes her spells stronger, faster, and more flexible. That is what a real master can do." Azel nodded a bit. At least that sounded useful. Besides he knew the woman from the game, she was as much of a monster as Mynes described her to be. "The ability itself," Mynes continued, "is called Rune Drawing. It means you can take the shape of a rune and make it real. The stronger you are, the faster you can draw. Some people train for years, even decades, to draw them without thinking. The best rune mages can draw faster than you can blink." She gave him a teasing smirk. "But don’t expect to do that anytime soon." Then she snapped her fingers. A fresh sheet of paper appeared in her hand. She set it down on his desk with a soft slap. A pen appeared as well, spinning once in her fingers before she placed it neatly beside the paper. "Rune drawing isn’t easy," she said. "You need total focus. Your lines must be clean. Your mana must flow evenly through each stroke. And most importantly, you must picture the rune’s purpose in your head. If you don’t, then it’s just a drawing. Nothing more." She crossed her arms and nodded at the paper. "Now try." Azel raised a brow. She made it sound like a test. Mynes on the other hand wasn’t focused on him, she was waiting for him to fail. It wasn’t harsh at all though, even her mother, a legendary rune mage, hadn’t been able to draw properly on her first attempts. The theory wasn’t the problem. The shape of a rune could be memorized but pouring mana in at the same time, evenly into every part of the rune, while keeping the picture of the rune’s meaning in your head... It was far easier said than done. She had been a victim of this as well so she knew about it, she highly doubted Azel would be able to do it first try which was why she was here to offer guidance. Azel took a deep breath and stared at the chalkboard where she had drawn the rune earlier. The Tracking Rune. It looked simple but was not simple at al. He took a deep breath and gripped the pen. He pushed mana to the tip and maintained it, that was very easy due to his natural mana control. Then he lowered it to the page. And made a single clean stroke. The diamond came first. Each line had to be steady with no bulges and gaps in it. He let his mana flow evenly into it, focusing hard to keep it balanced. Then came the spiral. The curve bent inward again and again, three turns before closing tight at the center. When he finished drawing, he felt something click in his head. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮 The rune glowed. It was a faint one at first... and then it began glowing brightly. Mynes froze. Her eyes went wide. ’No way,’ she thought. Her heart skipped a beat. She rushed forward, grabbed the paper, and without hesitation flung it out the window. The paper spun in the air, carried by the wind into the courtyard outside. "Look at your palm," she said quickly. Azel looked down. There was a red dot on his hand. It was a small glowing dot which looked like nothing but that wasn’t the important part... he could feel it. He could sense where the paper was. The distance. The direction. It was like an invisible thread tied him to it, pulling at the back of his mind. "Fucking hell..." Mynes muttered. She stared at his hand in disbelief. "You drew that rune... on your first try." Azel sighed. [You have gained Skill: Rune Drawing (LV.1)] [You can now purchase rune formulas from the System Shop] Hopefully he had gotten some more easier runes to experiment with, somehow he doubted Mynes would teach him credible runes. When he looked up again, Mynes was staring at him. She didn’t look like a proud profesor anymore. No, her eyes were shining. Her fingers twitched, as if she wanted to grab him. She looked... like a mad scientist. "Come on," she said, her voice showed she was far too eager. With a flick of her hand, another sheet of paper appeared. She slapped it down on the desk, harder this time. "Test the other runes. I have plenty of paper for you to use." She shoved the pen back toward him with a hungry smile. Azel’s stomach dropped. And suddenly, he didn’t feel so safe anymore.