Stepping out into the morning sunshine, Atreus squints his eye and once again looked at the sun. Despite being in the surface world fod a while now he still cant get used to it. After realizing he might burn his retinas once again he stopped.
'Ah right... the next subject' remembering that the school haven't ended yet, he went and checked his schedule in his ID.
___________________
Arteus
Credit: 102 (1 pts)
1st year - class 2B
Room - B2F4R16
•Desperados•
Course/s
•Weapon Based Combat
•Rune Scribe <-(Next Class starts in 20mins)
•Wilderness Survival Training
Minor Subjects:
-Mana and Core Training
-Process of Dreaming
-History of the World
-Beastiary Records
-Teamfight Tactics
___________________
'Huh... Right.. I do remember including this...' sighing he put the projection away after activating the way point before moving. Of course, just to be safe and prevent what happened on the weapon course. He once again spread his wings and quickly took off into the sky.
The wind caressed his skin as he flew. The morning was slightly cold and perfectly warm. Looking down as he flew, he saw all the other students moving about their day. The shops around the place seemed to be busy and full. Perhaps he should visit some of it next time?
Turning his attention back on the arrow on his wrist he flapped his wings and flew faster. Fortunately the next classroom was just a dozen blocks away and it didn't take long for him to reach it.
Seeing the building the guide was pointing at he couldn't help but compare it to the grand library that Carter have drawn while teaching them. Slowly descending he smoothly landed without causing too much fuss unlike earlier.
Then he slowly made his way towards the door. Only to fail in opening it.
'.. huh?.. is it locked?' Thinking he might be late he checked his ID.. it still says the next class starts at 11mins..
"Then wh —"
"The library opens at Nine.." A voice interrupted his thought, and made him turned his attention.
Just besides the door is a girl leaning on the wall with bored look, Her uniform is gold trimmed making it even more surprising that she's taking to him. She has a dark brown hair, and —
'why is her eye lids are so black? did she got punched?' noticing the unusual thing on her face he felt slightly concerned and confused.
'Her lips too!'
'But if she got punched wouldn't it be more of a bluish color?' he thought. And before he could really think of it, his mouth moved on it's own.
"Whats with your eyes... Did you got punched?" A voice carrying genuine and confused tone came out of him.
"Hu — Wha— NO! This is a Mascara! Are you messing with me?" Although she could hear the genuine curiosity in his voice she couldn't really help but feel offended.
Who wouldn't even know about make up? What is he? a sewer dweller? She was about to berate him more but she saw that he was intently looking at her eyes and lips.
"Holy shit.. you dont really know?" she spoke pushing herself off the wall to properly face him before continuing. "This —" she motioned to her entire face. "Is a makeup" .....
".... Make up of what?"
Atreus furrowed his brows and leaned back... waiting for her next word
'why would she cut her own words off.. what a weirdo'
Frowning with her black lips she opened them and spoke. "Huh?.. No that's i —"
"PFFFT" A small sound interrupted them as a laughter came from behind Atreus. And before he could turn his head he felt someone placing an arm around his neck.
His expression dropped into a dissapointment. "Ah.. fucking great.. another weirdo.."
"Hey! That's rude and mean bro, why would you even say that" turning his face towards the girl Marcus added. "Hi there Kalia"
"Oh. Marcus.. you're friends with this guy? I mean you're friends with everyone.. but also him?".. well now that's just being hurtful.
"No. He's not a friend" as usual.. being a party pooper Arteus replied with a annoyed eye roll.
"Yup!" Surprisingly.. he agreed? But Atreus was forced to take his surprise back when Marcus placed his own face besides his.
"We're the best of friends!" proudly announcing it out while smiling widely then a hand shove him off and Atreus voice growled out.
"Get off me you fucking freak!" stepping away with a hiss Atreus hissed at him. Looking at him withba massive frown on his face.
"Anyway.. jokes aside.. why are you hear? are you visiting the library?" fixing his polo, Marcus turned towards him and asked.
"And what's with your deal? Do you really not know what a makeup is?" Kalia added besides him.
"First off.. no.. I'm here for my Rune Scribe class.. Secondly.. what is even that?" Artemis replied crossing his arm together, brows furrowed.
"For real? Do you live your life under a rock or something?" Kalia scoffed in amusement.
But before Atreus could answer. Marcus spoke before him. "Wait.. isn't your course Weapon Based Combat Training?"
"... yeah and?" Atreus replied and asked him back. Hearing what he said, Marcus' eye widened with a gasp.
"You did not just do that" he spoke in a low serious voice while looking at him. Kalia besides Marcus looked at him with shock too.
"Damn, you have some balls if you did that on purpose.. I mean there's quite a lot of people who did the same.. but they kinda went nuts after a while because they had to do so much" Kalia said, a small smile on her lips as if she can't wait to see it.
'But what does she mean.. It wasn't too bad' Atreus thought but there's one thing he never really thought off.. This was just the beginning of the class....
"Ah dude.. whatever.. I just hope you don't fail and get expelled" Marcus just scratches his head as if he was the one getting tired in what was about to happen..
"Anyway.. We'll have to wait for a bit before the library guardian. Ms W.. our teacher to come and open the door.." Moving towards the wall of the library.. he sat down and leaned back. "Come and sit, you're a huge ass obstacle for other people there" he added.
With that, they began talking to each other... specially about what makeup really was. and what it does. And it opened up Atreus view in the world.
'So everyone's here are ugly then.. and they're just masking the truth they cannot accept huh..' and I can't really say that he came in a good conclusion....
.
.
.
"Good morning class.. how was your day so far?" a soothing voice echoed through the walls of the library as a woman with a round and soft feature spoke.. She embody a quiet and peaceful atmosphere of the library.
Just by hearing her talk it felt more like a peace is speaking directly at you. Ms. W is a tall woman the tallest Atreus had ever met. Standing over 6'3 she could over see the entire class even though she's seated on a chair.
She was also wearing a beautiful frilly dress with a long flowing sleeve that covers her entire arm, no skin of her body was showing as if she's hiding all of her self. She also have a beautiful flowing platinum blonde hair that reaches down to her lower back.
"Since we are done with the introduction from our last meeting .. we will just do a tiny bit of recap" smiling she cleared her throat before talking once more.
"Okay, so Runes.. as I have said is not just random line and shape. It is formed in a way that each curve, each stroke, and each depth have all specific meaning."
"So in terms of speech. A single rune means and entire paragraph, or a group of sentence filed in a single character" she paused and looked around.
"Now, Can You tell me why we do such thing?" pointing towards Arteus she asked. But then she reacted. "Ah... I think you're new here.. there wasn't a student who had such beautiful wings last time"
"What about you, handsome. Can you tell me what I thought you all from last time?" She gestured her hand towards Marcus who stood up eagerly.
"We do it to speak and communicate with the will of the world that is connected to everything in our reality.. by using the connection of the object we place our runes into, we whisper bits of influence and instruction towards the Will and subtly apply changes to the item that we wanted." Marcus explained before sitting down.
"Hmm.. Anyone else?... what about you?" Ms. W pointed to another man on the other side of the room. And he quickly stood up and answered.
"The Runes is a set of instructions carrying our will. By writing it in certain and specific way we convey what the changes we want and in a way the Will can easily understand and accept as a part of that item and not something that was just added."
"Right.. that means, Rune Scribing in essence is secretly adding a set of new instructions in an already finished set and making it in a way that matches the language of the Will and so easily accepted as the truth" she spoke as the student sat.
"Now that is finished… let's move on to the first Rune character. And one of the most basic ones to perform."
Ms. W rose from her seat. Her sheer height cast a long shadow across the front desk. She extended her hand gracefully, and a soft, smoke-like shimmer bled from her wrist, swirling in the air until it coalesced into a slender metallic object resting in her palm.
It resembled a stylized, pointed ice pick. Sleek and sharp, but not heavy—almost elegant.
"This," she said, turning it slowly for everyone to see, "is what we call the Rune Quill. Forged from conductive mana metal, it's designed specifically to channel your intent through your mana in a direct, controlled fashion. It might look simple, but it takes considerable practice to wield properly."
Her tone softened, fingers brushing along its length with care.
"We use this to draw runes with our own hand. Not with our will. Not with our mind. Not with speech. But with motion. The art of Rune Scribing is as much physical as it is spiritual. You'll be shaping mana in the real world—binding will to matter through movement, precision, and understanding."
She paused and picked up a plain-looking piece of parchment from her desk.
"Now, as I've said in our last session… everything—everything—in this world contains mana. Even this simple sheet of paper."
She held it between her fingers.
"It's subtle—so faint that you won't see it unless you use your mana sense. But within this paper lies a natural weave, a threadwork of ambient mana that flows in chaotic but ordered patterns. Think of it like veins in a leaf. It's not visible to the eye, but it exists… a kind of fingerprint left by the world itself."
She looked up at the class, waiting.
"Now here's the key: this mana isn't just passive energy. It's tied to something bigger—the Will of the World. The foundational force behind how all things exist. When we interact with this mana, we're whispering instructions to that Will, and hoping it accepts them as part of the object's nature. But it will only listen if you speak its language."
With precision, she tapped the Rune Quill to the page.
"But if you just brute-force it—"
The moment the quill made contact, the paper crumbled instantly—disintegrating into a fine, pale dust that completely disintegrate in the air.
"That happens," she finished calmly.
"And no, you can't just go around obliterating everything with this method," she added with a knowing smile. "Disrupting the weave doesn't instantly destroy all things. But it does make them more susceptible to damage. Rocks can become brittle. Metal might lose its density. Flesh… becomes vulnerable. That's why precise control is everything in Rune Scribing."
"And since this is just a piece of paper. It crumbles away into the smallest and most basic form of everything.. a dust" Ms. W explained.
"So it get reduced into Atoms" a faint whisper came nearby, but Arteus ignored it.. intently listening to the lesson with all his focus.
She retrieved another sheet of paper and held the Rune Quill aloft again.
"Let's begin again. Gently this time."
She breathed in slowly.
"First, you channel a tiny amount of mana into your Rune Quill and tap your mana into the Natural Mana within to create a connection. This acts as trail, a guide for the natural mana to flow into.. think of it as ink or a pipe where the Natural Mana will flow into, following the structure you made. But unlike real ink, this isn't a visible trail. It's a living extension of your will. And once you start, you cannot break the line. You have to draw the entire rune in one stroke. Stop midway, and the rune fails. Break the trail, and the pattern collapses. You'll either waste mana—or worse, destabilize the object."
Holding the paper delicately, she continued.
"Now, once mana is flowing into the quill you'll feel it. It's like two frequencies resonating together. At that point, your mana begins to layer on top of the natural pattern, not within it. The finished product should look like a secondary layer of patterns. That's your path."
She began to drag the Rune Quill slowly in a deliberate curve across the page.
"Think of it like tracing with invisible ink. But your path must follow a specific weave and in this case it will be the Rune of Hardening.. I'll show you all the pattern guide later"
She continued, the Quill moving in elegant curves, then a sharp turn, a downward stroke.
"The Rune must flow. It must breathe. Every part of it must connect. There are no shortcuts. No errant lines. No pauses."
Ten minutes passed as she completed the character.
"And then," she said softly, finishing the last curve, "To seal the rune.. we must once again just like in the start of the rune we have to go down to the first layer where the true natueal weave sits and we tap our mana into it.. to create a connection.. to complete a one way single flow. We bring the stroke full circle—complete the loop. The rune is now connected to the object's innate mana—and in essence, accepted as part of it."
She lifted the quill, her expression calm.
"You won't see anything right away. But soon, the weave will begin to shift. The natural mana will recognize the rune and… flow into it."
She placed the paper onto the desk.
And then—THUD.
The soft paper struck the wooden desk with a heavy, solid sound.
"As you can hear," she said, smiling, "this once fragile paper is now solid. Hardened. Not unbreakable—but changed. Enhanced. It has accepted the Rune of Hardening as a truth about itself."
She turned to the class.
"But don't overestimate this. Runes amplify and manipulate. They don't reinvent. The material still matters. Inscribing Hardening on paper won't make it stronger than steel. It'll simply make the paper the strongest version of itself. But do the same to armor… or a blade… and the results are far more impressive."
With a snap of her fingers, thin trails of light drifted from her wrist and danced through the air. Each strand reached out to the students and solidified into a pin-like object in their hands—sleek, polished, and cold to the touch.
"The tools you now hold are Beginner's Quills. They're pre-infused with limited mana so you can practice without exhausting yourself. But they only support the most basic runes. Think of them as training wheels."
She raised a finger.
"You will all need to awaken your mana soon to begin using true Runes. These beginner quills are too weak to inscribe anything beyond the most fundamental characters."
Then, with a slow breath, she sat back down—her movement quiet, composed, elegant.
"…Now then," her voice came like a warm breeze, "the Rune of Hardening. It's your turn."
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___________________
Arteus
Credit: 102 (1 pts)
1st year - class 2B
Room - B2F4R16
•Desperados•
Course/s
•Weapon Based Combat
•Rune Scribe <-(Next Class starts in 20mins)
•Wilderness Survival Training
Minor Subjects:
-Mana and Core Training
-Process of Dreaming
-History of the World
-Beastiary Records
-Teamfight Tactics
___________________