Rune User (2)
Demonic led Hans to a forge—the largest and oldest blacksmith shop in the Holy City of Civitas.
A master craftsman renowned for his skill had held that place for years, and it was said that anything made by his hands sold without so much as a glance.
Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!
What is this heat…
The moment Hans stepped near the forge, a wave of heat slammed into his face and made him flinch. The superheated air stabbed at his nostrils and felt as if it were searing his lungs.
Even Demonic frowned at the blistering temperature.
The air itself seemed to sizzle and cook the lungs from within.
It was a strangely familiar sensation—as though he had endured it once before.
The heat of the forge I saw in the Holy Land felt just like this.
Demonic stopped walking.
As a paladin he could shield himself with holy power, but Hans, who could not wield it, would suffer greatly in this heat.
Demonic drew a small handkerchief from his pocket and held it out.
"The heat around the forge is no ordinary thing. If it becomes too much, cover your nose with this."
"Pardon? Ah—no, I'm fine. It's bearable."
"…Is that so?"
One of Demonic's eyebrows lifted. It did not seem like a momentary show of bravado or stubbornness…
He truly looked able to endure it.
The Lord marked him, after all. It seems he does have a hidden strength.
"Very well. If it grows difficult, tell me at once."
"Oh, yes. Please don't worry about me."
Demonic and Hans stepped into the forge, a place filled with the clamor of iron.
The measured rhythm of hammer strikes filled every corner of the workshop.
Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!
Before the flames stood a man, hammering away. The fire roared as if it meant to devour him, its crimson tongue lashing out hungrily.
Yet the man paid it no mind, striking again and again in silence.
Sweat soaked his entire body; his breath came in ragged gasps, but the hammer never stopped.
Even as the scorching flames began to burn his skin, even as the heat cooked his lungs—
The hammering had to continue.
He looked like an ascetic monk driving himself into penance.
Demonic and Hans halted for a moment, struck by the sheer presence radiating from Adam's back.
The thought rose unbidden: they must not interrupt him.
Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!
Then the hammering quickened. Adam's sweat flew through the air like rain.
His eyes reflected only the glowing mass of metal. Perhaps he was staring into the flame itself.
"Hah… huu—"
An eternity seemed to pass before the fire that had looked ready to burn forever began to die down.
At last Adam's hammer stilled. As the flames subsided, the air inside the forge cooled rapidly.
Only then could Demonic and Hans move forward. Sensing their presence behind him, Adam turned.
"Hah— Who're you lot? If you're customers, go bother those idiots outside the shop. I'm not open for business today."
He waved them off gruffly. Demonic spoke with formal courtesy.
"A pleasure to meet you, Master Adam. I am the paladin Demonic. I have come with Hans, the one of whom you spoke."
"Oh? So you're Hans?"
"Eh? Ah—yes…?"
Hans answered in a daze, and Adam broke into a bright grin as he seized Hans's hand.
The crushing grip yanked Hans forward; it felt like clasping a rough, thick leather glove.
"Ahahaha! Good to meet you! I'm Adam! At last I can fulfill my first sacred duty—I'm thrilled and excited beyond words! Ahahahah!"
"Argh! M-my hand!! Aagh!!"
"Whoops—this ain't the time for that! So, uh, you brought the weapon, right?"
Hans rubbed his slightly swollen hand, still bewildered, then drew the longsword from his belt and handed it over.
He had no idea what was happening or how any of this worked.
The moment Adam took the longsword, his eyes sharpened. That piercing gaze swept every inch of the blade.
Then he delivered his verdict.
"…You barely ever used this sword, did you? Hell, you've never even bloodied it."
"H-how can you tell…?"
"One look's enough. Your palms say the same—those ain't a swordsman's hands."
At Adam's words Hans instinctively hid his hands. The blacksmith was exactly right.
He was a greenhorn adventurer who had never properly gripped a sword.
"And you've never killed anything either, have you? Never taken a life, and you don't have the courage to."
"That's…"
Hans's shoulders jerked hard at the remark.
"Me, I just follow the Lord's command. But there's one thing you absolutely have to remember."
Adam laid the longsword on the anvil and spoke flatly.
"Once you take up the sword, the day comes when you have to choose. Either you die, or you kill the other guy. That ain't a bad thing. Once you kill the first time, the second's fine and the third's easy. But there's one thing you must never forget."
The dying flames roared back to life. Adam seized the longsword bare-handed and thrust it into the fire.
"You always have to remember why you picked up the sword in the first place."
Forget that—
"And it won't be long before you're the one who dies."
Adam drew out the now cherry-red longsword and took up hammer and chisel.
"The Lord has bestowed upon you the Rune of Courage. I pray that, just like the Rune of Courage He gave you, you become a man of courage yourself."
Adam's hammer rose slowly. He closed his eyes for a moment, steadying his breath.
His fingers traced the blade, then set the chisel in place and froze. He stood so still one might have thought he had turned to stone—not even the faintest tremor.
Then he struck like lightning.
Kaaang—!
The sharp ring of steel on steel cut through the air.
And again.
Kaaang—!
The hammer followed the exact same arc.
And once more.
Kaaang—!
The hammer rose and fell in a relentless, measured rhythm, driving the chisel. The divine weapon that had never taken a scratch no matter how hard it was swung or cut began, little by little, to bare its inner flesh.
Guided by Adam's hands, a shape was slowly carved into it.
"That is…"
"Mm…"
Hans and Demonic could only watch, transfixed. How sublime is the sight of a man who has devoted his entire life and poured his whole soul into something?
Adam's figure in that moment looked not merely sublime but sacred.
The roaring flames, and the hammer that never ceased.
The forge fire burned without rest for six nights.
On the seventh dawn, when the sun rose, Adam's hammering finally stopped.
"…Take it."
Adam looked as though he had burned his very soul into the work; days of labor had left him visibly drained. Dark shadows under his eyes spoke of the toll.
The hand that offered the longsword trembled slightly. Hans received the blade with care.
"This is…"
Hans's pupils shook violently. His sword now shone with a faint golden light.
At the very base of the blade, a single character blazed like molten lava.
Only one character. A mysterious letter whose meaning and pronunciation no one could know.
As if entranced, Hans slowly opened his mouth.
"This is the Rune of Courage."
The meaning of that character was courage.
An unyielding heart that would not break before adversity or hardship.
Adventurer Hans. Would you like to engrave the Rune of Courage onto the Worn Longsword? Y/N?
Our candy-loving Hans. You're going to have to experiment for me and figure out exactly what kind of system this "Rune Engraving" is.
I selected Yes, and the screen switched to the forge. Someone stood before the fire, hammering away with a clang.
The view gradually drew closer until the figure became clear. It was Adam, who had been working as a temporary laborer and had since gone home.
After a short wait, Hans appeared in the forge. His face was still a blurred smear, but the name floating above his head made him easy to identify.
Then Adam began the Rune Engraving on Hans's longsword…
"Wait, another six hours?"
The moment I saw the timer, a sigh escaped on its own. Whether you engrave a rune on a newly crafted weapon or on an existing one, it still takes six hours.
It made me wonder if they even intended for anyone to use Rune Engraving.
"Did the developer never actually play this game after making it?"
I grumbled under my breath. Whoever built this game was clearly a total noob.
While I was muttering, a thought suddenly struck me.
"…I wonder if the shop has a rune package?"
The glittering shop icon in the corner of the screen beckoned. If I just closed my eyes and bought one package, wouldn't that be fine?
Maybe there was a generous deal like the Instant Completion Package I already used so often. Spend a little money and I wouldn't have to wait six whole hours—could I really hold back?
"No, no. Snap out of it. How long are you going to keep living like a whale?"
I shook my head hard to drive away the temptation washing over me. I must have shaken too vigorously, because the section chief a short distance away flinched and glanced my way.
I offered an awkward nod and pretended nothing was wrong.
"So Hans has to sit stuck in there for six hours?"
I muttered while staring at the forge screen. The forge no longer accepted any input, and a timer floating above the display ticked slowly downward.
You couldn't give any other orders for six hours just to enhance one weapon?
"Kinda iffy."
I would need to see how much the weapon's performance actually improved before I could make a proper judgment.
In the end, everything depended on Hans.
"How much of a boost is this rune going to give?"
With a racing heart, I settled in to wait out the six hours.
I could just check it at home after work, right?