It wasn't that Logan didn't know how to inscribe Irregular Runes, he did. But mastering them was a different beast entirely. The challenge lay in their structure.
From what he had gathered, Marcus had visualized the inscriptions by starting from random points rather than their natural origins, yet still arrived at the correct endpoints. That alone was extraordinary.
But Logan knew the reality: it wasn't nearly as simple as Marcus made it seem.
Inscribing Irregular Runes required more than just imagination, it demanded the precision of a surgeon and the intuition of an artist. Altering the standard flow of a prime's markings came with an unforgiving constraint: No overlapping paths.
The moment a stroke is retraced, creating a repeated connection, the entire sequence would collapse.
It was like trying to write backward in a mirror while blindfolded—every line had to serve multiple purposes, none of them allowed to touch would collapse.
It was trying to write backward in a mirror while blindfolded, every line had to serve multiple purposes, none of them allowed to touch more than once.
And yet Marcus had done that on instinct alone.
Logan calmed himself down.
He's still not done with the book, or else he would have seen the proper procedure for learning how to be an orthodox Rune Master. Wait, why does he have to follow the orthodox path to learning?
What if, instead of correcting Marcus, he simply let him run wild? If the boy truly had potential, a few missteps wouldn't break him—and if he failed, he could always return to the fundamentals.
A rare flicker of excitement passed through Logan's tired mind, though his face remained unreadable. His muscles were far too drained to show expression.
Without saying another word, Logan disappeared into the nearest aisle and returned with two hefty volumes. He dropped them beside Marcus with a soft thud.
"Read these instead," he said flatly. "Since you've pitifully managed to memorize thirty Alphonic Primes, you're ready to move on. This one"—he tapped the first book—"will teach you how to derive interpretations from core meanings. The second explains how interpretation influences a rune's interaction with Wilder Force."
Marcus felt as though something was weird with the way Logan handed him books to read. He wasn't even done with the first one. And from the looks of things, the books that he handed to him were of greater difficulty than the one he was reading.
Moreover, the spirals read Advanced Edition in bold and yet they were being handed to him.
Something is up. Is he testing me?
Despite his suspicions, Marcus collected the books. He didn't think it would harm in any way if he went through them. After all, if he couldn't understand their contents that would be all, but if he could, then it would be to his benefit.
And also, he wanted to test if the pull he felt from the first book would recur with other books.
"Do you feel any fatigue?"
"No. But my legs do feel a bit numb again."
"There are chairs and couches for a reason. You were the one who chose the floor." Logan's voice held no sympathy.
Taking Marcus to a reading table that wasn't far off from his working table and also visible, he told him to study there.
"If you start to feel like your mind is about to break, you must stop reading," Logan warned. "Rune theory puts a strain on the brain that even many Awakened can't handle. Don't be stupid about it."
With that being said, Logan left for his table and picked up his brush once again. Pretending to be busy as he secretly observed Marcus.
Unaware of the scrutinizing gaze Logan was giving him, Marcus opened the first of the two books he had been handed.
Interpretations Facilitate Meanings.
He read.
Just like the same pull that attracted him to the first book, this one did the same. And it was even stronger than the first.
Steeling his mind, Marcus opened the book and truly, his mind was quickly sucked into a dark world. But unlike the first time, he was prepared for this and his resistance came quickly and fiercely. In just a few seconds, he won the tug of war.
As though an explosion erupted in his mind, he felt his mental state increase, filling his body and senses with an ecstasy he had never experienced before. More importantly, his mental stats had increased by another ten points, bringing them up to forty-four points.
At the same time, Logan jerked his head up.
He had just finished calming himself and was about to return to his work, after telling himself that he would have to wait for a little while before Marcus would be able to show some results.
But he sensed another shift in the young man's state, and it immediately caught his attention, making him snap his head in the direction of Marcus, with a look of shock.
What! Didn't he just open the book!? Has he already learnt something? He thought in shock.
Logan was too chocked to notice that even Marcus was shocked himself. But he soon recovered and started to read about the details of the book.
As he read, his [Deep Thought] attribute activated, further increasing the rate at which he could absorb knowledge. Slowly but steadily, Logan watched as Marcus's mental state improved.
Should I take him as a disciple? Captain wouldn't mind, right? He strongly considered this, but quickly held himself back. If I have seen this much, then Captain might have seen something similar from him. He wouldn't let me have him. Damn it!
If I offer to pay his debt for him, will he allow me?
…
Hours went by the fourteenth hour, Marcus was done with the first book. His understanding of interpretations of the Alphonic Primes increased. He even felt that he could try memorizing and learning more Primes.
And that was what he did next. He soon absorbed another forty Alphonic Primes, bringing his total to eighty-four Primes.
The moment he learnt the ninetieth Prime, he felt that it was enough to stop there for now. Marcus's instincts were the guide at the moment. He walked as he felt.
Unknowingly to him, this guiding instinct was a result of his Comprehension: Unfettered.
I need to sit with what I've learned and let the meanings mature. The process of interpretation specified that reflections would strengthen the Alphonic Primes when inscribed.