All-Class Anti-Mage - Chapter 56 - The Principles of Runes

In Yang Zhen’s memory, the runes were the legacy left to him by his teachers; these were the crystallized efforts of their lifetimes. The “Theory of Rune Consciousness” and “The First Chapter of the Composite Scroll” were theories he developed under these crystallized efforts. Yang Zhen never considered going beyond this framework; all his research was confined within the boundaries of this hard-earned knowledge.

However, when he dismantled all the runes on the stone platform, he truly understood the meaning of runes. If these basic strokes-left-falling, right-falling, horizontal, vertical, bend, and hook-are likened to various metallic materials, then the runesmith is akin to a blacksmith. Different proportions of material combinations, along with varied forging methods, result in different weapon forms and functions.

Thus, the profound runes in Yang Zhen’s memory were all combinations created by his teachers; none of these runes fit his own ideas. Unless he could combine the runes he needed, the “crystal core substitute” would remain merely a concept, forever incapable of evolving into reality.

However, rune combination is not an easy task. The existing rune theory in the Firmament Continent was brought back from the East Continent by the first pope, Charles. So far, it appeared that only finished runes were brought back, without any theory on rune combinations. The mages of the Firmament Continent merely replicated the legacy of the runesmiths without understanding it.

Yang Zhen believed that Sword Saint Guli and Mage Saint Traz must have also discovered this aspect of runes, which compelled them to bravely venture into the dangerous East Continent. They were clearly aware that rune combinations were far more complex than simple addition; this required an accumulation of knowledge, or obtaining the theory of rune combinations from the East Continent!

It took Sword Saint Guli and Mage Saint Traz thirty years to figure this out, but Yang Zhen managed to grasp it in just over half a month. This was thanks to the deep understanding he had in his memory about the principles of the nine major elements and finished runes, coupled with the gift from the flamingo-a level-seven or below light element principle and finished runes. Yang Zhen was undoubtedly capable of researching and combining new types of runes!

As for the East Continent, it wasn’t within Yang Zhen’s current considerations. The president of the Prague Mage Guild, an eighth-tier grand sage, was indeed distinguished in the Firmament Continent. However, in the wasteland of the East Continent, he would merely be a low-level existence. Even if his teachers were imprisoned there, Yang Zhen knew he had to wait until he had sufficient strength before entering the East Continent. If he couldn’t ensure his own survival, how could he talk about saving others?

Once Yang Zhen clearly understood the essence of the runes on the stone platform, there was little left worth exploring about it. The rune combinations on the stone surface served no practical purpose, which was the reason for Yang Zhen’s initial confusion upon first seeing them. Now it seemed that these runes were merely for basic teaching. After Mage Saint Traz inadvertently obtained them, they had been inscribed on the stone platform and researched together with Sword Saint Guli for thirty years.

“Ha…” Yang Zhen let out a sigh. It wasn’t a simple task to develop runes suitable for the concept of the “crystal core substitute” within just a month; besides the runes, the vessel also had to be considered. The reason the fabric scroll concept was successful was that the surface area of the scroll met the requirements for the extension characteristics of the runes. Currently, Yang Zhen couldn’t think of any material, no larger than half a fist, that could bear concentrated runes like the crystal core.

“This thing must not only be hard and capable of withstanding a certain degree of impact but also possess the ability to absorb magic elements. What could possibly meet these requirements?” Yang Zhen fell into deep thought again.

Babala, seeing him lost in thought, did not disturb him. He picked up his greatsword and left the cave to practice sword techniques with Pipi and over a hundred orc warriors. It turned out that while Babala’s tough candy sword technique lacked deadly force, it was effective against six orc warriors employing the second thought sword technique.

According to Babala, his sword technique level was just above average in the Blue Moon Legion. This highlighted the formidable combat abilities of the Blue Moon Legion, and Yang Zhen knew he could not allow one hundred thousand Blue Moon Legion soldiers to step into the Beast Language Forest; otherwise, it would be a one-sided massacre.

In the following days, Yang Zhen prepared to research new rune combinations. Without the Mage Tower, he lost his perception of magic elements. Fortunately, he had systematically studied the structure of the Mage Tower while in Bidel City and had fully mastered the magic array constructions from the first to the sixth floor. Moreover, the rock walls of the cave were perfectly suited for constructing a first-floor Mage Tower, so Yang Zhen decided to carve out a circular space within the cave.

Hardly anyone could construct a magic array in just three days, but Yang Zhen managed to do it. He spent the first two days resting with his eyes closed to build up his stamina, while the orc warriors excavated the space for the magic array. Once the main area was excavated late the next night, he immediately focused all his energy on it and, in just a day and a night, completed the carving of all the simplified runes in the magic array. After activation, Yang Zhen once again sensed the familiar ten elements of magic.

The simplified magic array retained only the ability to gather elemental energy, lacking the functions of magic storage and transformation casting. Time was tight, and he couldn’t afford to construct a complete first-floor Mage Tower space. Just being able to sense elemental energy was already sufficient.

After a day and night of concentrated work, a faint golden hue began to shimmer in the sixth halo within Yang Zhen’s mind. After resting for half a day, he immediately threw himself back into his studies of rune combinations. Reflecting on the basic runes on the stone platform and combining those with the all elements runes in his memory, he repeatedly performed experimental transformations of new runes on the fabric.

The new runes not only needed to meet elemental absorption capacity but also had to be safely compressed within a small area. This was akin to reducing the simplified magic array he currently occupied, which covered about twenty square meters, down to the size of a fingertip-the function of the crystal core of a magical beast. The difference was that the magical beast’s crystal core needed to be categorized by element, while Yang Zhen’s crystal core substitute plan aimed for all elements!

Moreover, the elements within magical beast crystal cores below the saint tier would exhaust and become useless in three to five years, even if not utilized. In contrast, the products of the crystal core substitute plan would not face this issue. Just imagine a scenario where everyone had a staff imbued with inexhaustible elemental energy-what kind of upheaval would this cause in the Firmament Continent?

Most importantly, with such a staff, anyone could avoid elemental harm to their mind and become a true multi-element mage. As long as one could sense elemental energy, they would be able to cast spells of that element. This would fundamentally change everyone’s perception across the Firmament Continent!

In Yang Zhen’s vision, breaking down the magic array runes of the Mage Tower and reassembling them could still allow the tower’s functions to be preserved while changing the spatial structure. Imagine the madness that would ensue when most people, once gazing longingly at the unattainable Mage Tower, suddenly found it within their grasp!

However, this was merely a concept; everything required Yang Zhen’s research and experimentation to verify its feasibility. His confidence stemmed from the fact that after about ten days of sleepless work, he had managed to compress the magic array onto the fabric to a size comparable to a palm.

While the planar rune magic array on the fabric had significantly weaker elemental absorption capacity compared to a three-dimensional magic array, if he could find a suitable vessel, Yang Zhen was confident he could restore much of the array’s elemental absorption capacity through a vessel the size of half a fist.

However, any type of stone material he tried would shatter before the magic array was even fully inscribed. Yang Zhen instructed Babala to go back to Prague and find Roland, asking him to bring back many materials needed for constructing the Mage Tower. The breakthroughs finally ceased at the seven-colored rock, but Yang Zhen didn’t feel pleased.

This was because the seven-colored rock was needed for constructing the twelfth floor of the Mage Tower. Even if the crystal core substitute plan succeeded, it risked failing due to the exorbitant cost of the materials. A chunk of seven-colored rock the size of a fist was practically worth the same as the crystal core of a tenth-tier saint beast!

“The success of the seven-colored rock only indicates my thought process isn’t flawed, but what material can possess the ability to support a rune array like the seven-colored rock while not being excessively expensive?” Yang Zhen encountered a significant obstacle in his research; until the issue of the vessel was resolved, the crystal core substitute plan would still be doomed to fail!

At the same time that Yang Zhen was facing difficulties, the Blue Moon Legion was also struggling. Although ten million gold coins were enough for them to get by for half a year, the trade volume of magical beast hides had shrunk again following the disclosure of the “Composite Generation One” technology by the Bidel Mage Guild.

The wave of composite scrolls had swept across the Firmament Continent, as the scrolls capable of casting two same-element spells consecutively gained widespread recognition. After all, most people didn’t have particularly strong abilities, and composite scrolls provided a high level of security.

Most importantly, the prices of the scrolls had not increased; within less than half a year, there was an upgrade from fabric scrolls, marking the beginning of the Super Scroll Era! Now, you might not know who the emperor is, nor who the presidents of the three major guilds are, but you definitely cannot be unaware of who ushered in this Super Scroll Era.

The name “Sean” spread like wildfire among the populace, almost reaching the status of the pope in the Holy City. Thanks to the existence of the Bidel Mage Guild, a small third-level city saw a surge in the flow of people, thriving to a level surpassing that of first-level cities. Even the capitals of the major empires did not become the fifth focal city of the Firmament Continent, like Bidel City did alongside the four major powers.

This attention was not just due to being the birthplace of the Super Scroll Era. Many were eager to learn the thoughts of Roban, the decision-maker of the Bidel Mage Guild. There had been a stipulation in the declaration jointly signed by the four regulatory agencies: all pricing rights for products derived from new technologies belonged solely to the Bidel Mage Guild.

The “Composite Generation One” was clearly a technology ripe for profit, yet Roban had still kept the prices based on the original fabric scrolls. In the face of numerous doubts, Roban felt wronged; apart from the high-ranking members of the major powers, very few knew that another person was orchestrating all of this behind the scenes.

“Father, our stock of magical beast hides has increased again, but only the high-level hides are still being sold. If the Bidel Mage Guild perfects their technology, we might not even be able to sell the high-level hides anymore,” Joga said, placing a sales report in front of Anda, his face marred by concern.

The council hall in Nobi City was filled with people, each one wearing a dejected expression.

“I never underestimated Princess Zixia, yet I never imagined she would be Roban’s daughter. What a clever tactic…” Anda said, his expression fluctuating without looking at the report.

Joga nodded grimly. Only a few could see that Roland’s actions were directed at the Blue Moon Legion. Keeping the prices unchanged allowed composite scrolls to rapidly seize the market, all aimed at pushing the Blue Moon Legion into a dire situation.

This was the plan that Roland and Yang Zhen had implemented together. For love? So what if it hurt others!