Cale went inside his shack and put his bag on the bed, then took a second to straighten his clothes a bit, trying to make himself look sowhat presentable despite the journey.
"Haaah, what ss is this right as I co back? Noble kids in stories live such luxurious lives compared to this."
While leaving the room, he could hear their conversation outside discussing not leaving him alive and various threats and insults. He stood in front of Elon and asked him directly with a tone of mockery.
"So what is your problem now, fake knight?"
"I am giving you one last chance. Kneel before and I might just spare your life."
Cale made a dismissive sound. "Tsk tsk tsk."
"What now?" Elon asked in confusion,
"By the way you’re acting, it’s either your family is of higher level or you have connections in here at the academy."
"Oh, at least you possess so amount of brain."
Isn’t that obvious now? Why would the Horkens leave this guy act as he pleases and not do anything? They’re even allowing him to brazenly burn my house without consequence.
Cale continued his analysis. "I presu this person who you have connections with is of higher authority enough to act like this to a duke’s son."
"Keke, he’s a council mber, and his disciple—my senior—is strong enough to crush you under her aura easily."
"Right, so would she fight for your childish gas and petty revenge?"
Elon hesitated. It was obvious that no one would leave their ti to follow idiots like him around, but then he stepped ahead with renewed confidence.
"Still, I am already at Novice Rank Nine and very close to Knight Rank. You are not even qualified to fight ."
Right, I’m still just at Novice Rank Five now. It’s good that the rules forbid fighting soone two ranks lower than yourself.
One of Elon’s goons stepped ahead enthusiastically, eager for a chance at easy points.
"I am close to his level at Rank Seven. I should qualify as his opponent, right?"
Thank god. If it was a few days ago when I was at Rank Three, I wouldn’t even be able to defend myself properly against soone at Rank Seven.
The guy continued with overconfidence. "Cale, go ahead. I will give you the first move."
He was even trying to entice Cale, offering him an advantage he didn’t actually need.
"Is that alright?"
"Don’t worry. I’m quite strong."
Hah, idiot. You’ve only sohow reached that rank through normal progression while I’ve been filling the tank slowly, rank after rank with my own training and beast essence absorption.
This guy was quite bulked up, his chest muscles nothing to be scoffed at.
"Okay, I will try my best... brotherrrrrr."
Cale threw one punch from the Blue Thunder Arts, perford with proper form that utilized aura. The impact broke the guy’s upper rib and made him cough blood violently, his body folding at the impact.
"Hmm? I didn’t even use aura and there you are kneeling."
Cale kept punching —in his chest, face, and core—ending it with a powerful kick to the face that rendered him unconscious before he hit the ground.
Elon’s eyes widened in shock. "Whatttt? When did his strength increase so dramatically?"
The Horkens were equally surprised, witnessing Cale’s drastic rank increase in just five days. Normally it took people months or even years just to cross one rank, and he had jumped by three in such short ti with no warning or previous indication of hidden strength.
The two Horkens, startled by his techniques, quickly noted down all they could about his improvent and the new movent techniques he’d employed in that brief exchange.
"I can barely control my strength. It needs more practice, I guess."
Elon turned around in disbelief, trying to convince himself that Cale was just hiding his strength all along rather than accepting that he’d improved. The alternative was too shocking to process.
"I’m going for now but rember—it’s not over."
After Elon left with his defeated goon, Cale sighed in exhaustion, feeling the fatigue setting in from the combat and his recent ordeal in the cave.
"Sigh, it was sowhat unsatisfactory as a fight. I even lost the free ti of the day I had now due to these punks."
Behind his quarters was a decent-sized pond which he himself had made with so funds saved over ti. He took a dip inside it to rest, letting the cool water soothe his aching muscles and slowly wash away the dirt and blood from his recent battles.
Little did he know that one of the Horkens, still interested in his routine and behavior, was observing him from a distance with attention.
After soaking himself for about twenty minutes, he wore his clothes back and went to the academy buildings to resu his duties. The day was still young, and he had tasks to complete if he wanted to get points enough to feed himself.
"I should take my tasks for today. I haven’t even attended classes, though since I know most of the theoretical parts already, it’s not a major problem."
A few small pay jobs like sweeping and cutting vegetables were good enough for so additional points that would add up over ti.
He went to Silvester afterward, still wearing the sa tattered clothes.
Silvester asked in shock upon seeing him. "Why do you look like that? You look like you’ve been through a war or sothing."
"Oh, I just returned and even had a small fight."
"Haah, losing fights again? Why do you accept them?"
"I won actually."
Silvester’s expression shifted imdiately. "Really? What cheat did you use?"
"I didn’t cheat."
He seed slightly happy to know the boy won his first fight and wasn’t even focused on bragging about it. Instead, Cale took out a bag filled with the remaining herbs he’d gathered, which could be used by rune users like Silvester himself.
Silvester took a look at them and even paid Cale four gold coins for the collection, understanding their value. But Cale was fidgeting and not leaving even when all talk was supposed to be over.
"What is it now?"
Cale ca close to him as if telling a secret, his voice dropping to barely above a whisper.
"You see, I found so cool item in those mountains."
"Cool item, huh? Let take a look. It might even help in your own progress."
Cale took out his small pouch carefully and presented it. "I don’t know what it is, but since you’ve got experience, you might just know about it."
Silvester opened the bag and started analyzing the flower. The glitters were less brilliant compared to before, perhaps because it had lost its roots during transport and storage.
"Where... where did you find this?"
"Inside a cave. There was a Rank One beast inside. Maybe the excessive demonic energy was a part of its formation process."
Silvester’s face paled slightly. "Didn’t I tell you not to fight such beasts until you’re good enough? Damn, what would’ve happened if people knew I let you go there to gather herbs?"
"No, no, no, sorry. Even I didn’t know about that. It was just that the people who helped were in trouble, so I had to help them."
Silvester sighed deeply, wrestling with the situation and the implications. "Okay, I will take it from you. What do you want in return?"
"Give rune techniques. From basic to advanced."
"You do know I’m a swordsman, right? I don’t even specialize in runic arts."
"Isn’t using runes on a sword also your technique though? Didn’t you say you use inscribed blades?"
He had to agree now that Cale was insisting so much and making points about the connection between sword techniques and rune work which most people did not notice.
While leaving, Cale saw the sa two Horkens who had been watching him going inside Silvester’s office. He made a dismissive sound with his tongue—brr —to make them annoyed, but they remained as expressionless as ever.
Later in his room, Cale opened the system panel, ready to make his first simple runes on his own body.
He was also planning to try making body-enhancing pills using the beast blood and herbs he’d gathered, combining knowledge from his previous lives with the system’s guidance.
The possibilities were beginning to open up before him, and his path forward was becoming clearer with each passing day.
That evening, Cale sat cross-legged on his bed with the materials laid out before him. The blue lily paste, red sand mixture, and the special grass juice were all prepared according to Silvester’s basic instructions. He’d chosen his forearm as the location for his first rune—a simple fire-activation mark that would ignite when sothing touched the inscribed pattern.
He dipped the brush made from the grass into the red sand mixture and began carefully drawing the first rune pattern on his skin.
The lines needed to be precise, flowing with intentional purpose rather than random scribbles. According to the knowledge he’d absorbed, even the slightest deviation could cause the entire rune to fail or malfunction.
His hand trembled slightly as he worked, and the first attempt ca out crooked and uneven. The pattern looked more like a child’s drawing than a functional magical construct.
"Shit, that’s completely wrong."
He waited for the mixture to dry, then attempted to activate it by tapping the area. Nothing happened. No spark or fla, no response at all. The rune was simply dead marking on his skin.
Of course it failed. I can’t expect to get it right on the first try.
He washed off the failed rune and prepared for the second attempt.
This ti, he moved more slowly, breathing deeply to steady his hands.
The lines were better ford but halfway through the pattern, he made a critical error—one of the connecting lines curved the wrong direction, breaking the intended flow of energy.
He completed it anyway to see what would happen. When he activated this one by touching it, the result was chaotic. A small spark erupted from his forearm, but it was wild and uncontrolled, burning his skin a bit before dissipating.
"Aaagh! Damn it!"
He imdiately applied cooling salve to the burn, wincing at the pain. The rune was incomplete and dangerous in its current state.
"The flow of energy was interrupted. I need to make sure every single line connects properly."
For the third attempt, Cale took even more ti, studying the knowledge from the pages he got.
He visualized the entire rune pattern in his mind before even touching brush to skin. The energy flow, the role of each line, the harmony of the overall design—all of it needed to be perfect else it might even burst his arm.
His hand moved with newfound confidence, drawing the lines. The pattern erged as each stroke flowing into the next like water finding its path downhill.
When he finished, the rune looked almost beautiful in its symtry, the red sand forming an elegant geotric pattern on his pale skin.
He waited several minutes for it to completely set, then took a deep breath and tapped the rune gently with his finger.
For a mont, nothing happened.
Then a small, fla burst to life directly at the center of the rune mark, burning with a steady orange glow. The fire responded to his touch exactly as intended—not wild or chaotic, but contained. He could feel the heat radiating from it, and more importantly, his hand was not burning now.
"Yes! Finally!"
The fla lasted for about five seconds before fading naturally, leaving only the red sand pattern intact on his skin.
The rune was ready to be activated again whenever he needed it for about 3-4 tis more.
Cale stared at his forearm in wonder, tracing the pattern with his other hand.
He’d done it. He’d successfully inscribed his first functional rune.
"This is incredible. If I can make more complex runes, I could enhance my combat abilities dramatically."
He began making ntal notes about what worked and what didn’t, planning his next runes. Perhaps defensive ones next, or ones that could enhance his physical strength. The possibilities were endless.
The night stretched ahead of him, and for the first ti since arriving at the academy, Cale felt excited about his training path.
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