"I can't believe a tiny amulet like this is that powerful…" Soren mumbled to himself as the snowstorm raged on outside the cave. He stared at the pulsating crimson gem with awe and trepidation.

"Do you finally respect me?" Tazzith said in a mocking tone. Hearing this, all Soren could do was scoff:

"No, quite the opposite. The fact that someone like you is this powerful makes me dislike you even more."

"How petty…"

Soren shook his head. Even though Tazzith punctual in revealing about Himself, he had always assumed that His abilities would reflect His nature in this way. And yet, he was still surprised in the end. Out of the 6 Abstract Runes configured inside this tiny Sacred Treasure, four of them had usable abilities and the other two remained a mystery. He knew this because of how the skills were organized in the Status Sheet.

Soren has always assumed that an Abstract Rune you merge with will always give you two skills, regardless of the quantity of fragments you have. Whether your fragments amount to just one Insight, or multiple expressions didn't matter—the default was two skills. He based this hypothesis on how his own Soul Weapon seemed to function.

As a Tier 1 Soul Weapon, The Records granted Soren two skills—[Record] and [Eyes of the Fairy]. [The Faerie Court] was an extra skill he had unlocked after somehow acquiring a Forgotten Rune fragment somewhere in the Rift… That had to mean that his Fairy Witness rune was responsible for the first two skills.

After unlocking [Cards of Insight], his theory only grew more plausible. Gaining an Expression fragment's worth of influence allowed his Abstract Rune to grant him an additional skill. And likely, that would also mean that gathering enough influence to form a Core fragment next time would unlock another ability as well…

Tazzith's amulet likely operated in the same way. He was able to deduce this with how each ability was interpreted. The first two skills mentioned were both related to the manipulation of blood, therefore, it was fair to assume that both originated from the same Abstract Rune. And that logic extends to the rest of them too—[Crimson Homunculi] and [Coagulated Progeny] were both related to the creation of blood puppets. In fact, the abilities synchronized with each other in the same way his own Soul Weapon did with [Eyes of the Fairy] and [Record]...

There was also a likely connection between [Crimson Lexicon] and [Forbidden Resistance] which both featured powers related to knowledge acquisition. As for [Ophidian Transfer] and [Ophidian Insight]... The connection was clearly in the name.

The other two Abstract Runes powering this Tier 6 Sacred Treasure seemed to still be far too weak to even manifest any skills… Or, it could be that the pseudo-will within the Blood Amulet itself was hiding them. Either way, with the knowledge he has obtained, it became clear that although the Heartdrinker Sigil was Tier 6, it currently possessed no Abstract Runes with an Expression fragment's worth of influence. All of the runes powering this powerful item were lacking in influence…

But how? Hasn't it been consuming Spirit Beasts for more than a thousand years?...

Reading his thoughts, Tazzith decided to answer:

"It's likely due to its enemies learning about its powers… After consuming too many creatures in the Safe Zone, logically, the rest would begin to avoid that area."

"I see…" Soren had forgotten just how keen the instincts of a Spirit Beast are. According to scholars, what differentiates a normal animal from a Spirit Beast was its ability to tap into the Beyond at the instinctual level. Some are even powerful enough to manifest their own Soul Frames and possess affinities…

It was then no wonder why the Blood Amulet gained such notoriety. With the amount of deaths attributed to it, Spirit Beasts who are able to pick up on certain ques from their connection to the Beyond will sense that danger and flee.

And since the Blood Amulet possessed no living host, it was not able to hunt actively—all it could do was wait and hope for a clueless Spirit Beast to roam nearby for it to consume. After a few years of doing this, the formation of a 'Safe Zone' became apparent, and no more creatures ever dared to even come close—robbing it of its ability to grow its influence.

While he was thinking this, Soren stared at the crimson jewel and smiled playfully:

"Did you hear that? You may be able to grow on your own, but I wonder how long that will take you…"

The Blood Amulet continued to pulse in its usual rhythm, not showing an ounce of thought to Soren's words.

"Playing hard to get, huh…" He chuckled. "I wonder if your original owner also acted the same when they were weaker."

Hearing this, Tazzith scoffed, "Hmph. Even when I was in the Mystic Grade, I was as arrogant as I am now."

Ignoring His words, Soren glanced over at Myrin who was sitting silently next to him in meditation. It hadn't been long since the Elven Songster had started his Consciousness Training. With the help of a 1st Circle spell, he was able to close himself from the outside world—removing all possible distractions. Soren didn't need to worry about disrupting him.

Speaking of which… I wonder how Myrin's status page looks compared to mine and Tazzith's. Soren thought to himself as his [Eyes of the Fairy] activated once again.

For the longest time, he had barred himself from using his knowledge acquisition abilities on the other guild members. After all, it was an obvious breach in their privacy, but more than that, he was still too ignorant of the world… He didn't know whether they would be able to detect his prying or not.

Now, however, neither of these things mattered. Star Fate Guild had already disbanded. And Myrin now stood by his side—as a sworn companion, and a proud member of their little expedition group—the Fellowship of the Runes. He doubted the Soothing Bard would care if he pried a bit into him…

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Almost immediately after the butterflies swam into his eyes and the fractal geometry of the Beyond covered his vision, Soren observed the mysterious fountain pen documenting everything he had seen:

Status

Name: Myrin Zinrie

Race: Elf

Age: 24

Vocation: Soothing Bard

Magi Rank: Evoker (4th Circle)

Magi Affinities: Spirits, Nature

Soul Realm: Rhythms of the Soul (Unique) (Kindled Stage)

Soul Weapon: Artist's Wand (Unique)

Skills: [Artist's Brush], [Artist's Flute]

Blessings: [Blossom Command Sigil] (Saintess of Dreams, Sylia)

Rune Collection: [Feyscribe] (4 Insight)

Soren read over the information carefully and frowned. "This bastard is older than me?" He looked at him again more closely. His crear skin and vibrant blonde hair looked as if it were blessed by the Maiden Herself. And yet, he was older than him?

"Ridiculous."

He didn't know whether to feel jealous or impressed.

The rest of the information was just as striking. Although he wasn't able to obtain a list of all the spells he could utilize, what was currently available to him looked impressive enough. What shocked him the most however was his magi rank.

"4th Circle… Since when did he reach that status?"

"Just now," a voice replied to his question. Soren's eyes widened—he didn't realize that Myrin had awoke…

"Apologies…" He scratched his hair, "I pried into your secrets without asking."

Myrin smiled then shook his head. "No need—I was going to ask you to do it anyway. I am curious to see if my improvements really did happen."

Soren nodded, "The book is saying you're a 4th Circle now…"

The pride in Myrin's face couldn't be more obvious. He grinned widely then nodded, "Did you think I was doing nothing during those two weeks you were unconscious? I was busy researching a spellform I already had a while ago. The only issue wass—my Soul Realm wasn't powerful enough to cast it. I didn't have enough Channels of WIllpower."

"So then just now…" Soren immediately realized what Myrin was insinuating.

"Yes," the Soothing Bard nodded in confirmation. "I just crossed the threshold of 10,000 Channels of Willpower."

"....." Soren was speechless. He couldn't help but click his tongue, "And you want to call me a monster…"

Myrin chuckled. "I've been delaying it long enough… The Mistress must have been very disappointed in me."

"Indeed. Once this expedition is over, you better return to Luvinica to show her your accomplishments."

"You're coming too, right?" Myrin tilted his head slightly with a smile. Soren, however, couldn't answer it immediately. It wasn't a question he was at all expecting.

"I…" He hesitated, "I don't know."

"I see…"

The air turned awkward once again. Soren decided to change the subject:

"By the way, your Abstract Rune intrigues me. Feyscribe—it seems somewhat similar to my own…"

"Ah yes," Myrin chuckled. "That was why I was so confused when I first met you. Runes like Fairy Wtness should have possessed some kind of connection to the fae. And while that was somewhat true, it also seemed to possess other properties too that made it… different."

Soren nodded. "Mine seems to focus on the acquisition of information. While yours takes a more literal interpretation of 'scribe.' Someone who writes, or in your case, draws. And the fae connection also gives it some kind of authority over music as well…"

"Indeed…" Myrin leaned back against the cave wall while staring at the weak campfire flickering from the raging winds…

"How did you come to possess this rune?" Soren asked curiously.

Hearing his question, Myrin couldn't help but chuckle. "It was a strange story." He said while rubbing his hands for warmth.

"My exile—it happened during a similar time in the year. The Nights of Twilight. After the high nobles inadvertently discovered that I was Unblessed, a storm began to brew within the Royal Palace. Eventually they came to a compromise—to allow me to live but in exile.

"Back then, I didn't even fully grasp what had happened. I was escorted out of the Feylith Forest by a few guards, but it was then that something strange happened. One night, while they were asleep, I was visited by a spirit."

"A spirit?" Soren furrowed his brows. "Ah! The Runic Acquisition Festival began?"

"Indeed," Myrin nodded. "That celebration happened during my exile… And this spirit—it was trying to steal my flute. I was able to catch it in the act, however."

"Then what happened?"

Myrin chuckled, "In my foolishness, I angered the spirit after trying to regain my flute. So as a punishment, it decided to challenge me to a musical contest. The person who plays the flute the best gets to keep it."

Soren shook his head, "Let me guess… You accepted?"

Myrin nodded with a sigh. "Indeed…"

This guy… Soren couldn't help but feel that he wasn't as arrogant as he had initially assumed.

Myrin continued his story, "Somehow, against all odds, I won the contest. But what I didn't realize back then… was that this contest wasn't just a whim of a fae spirit. It was a sacred challenge—bound by the rules of the Runic Acquisition Festival. And the spirit, in keeping with its vow, gifted me a fragment of its rune as a reward."

"So that's how… Wait—" Soren immediately realized something strange. "It gave you the rune… Without telling you about it?"

Myrin nodded with a slight smile. "The mischief of the fae knows no bounds… That spirit kept it a secret—aware that it would continue to corrupt my Runic Existence if left unresolved."

How terrifyingly cruel… To do that to a child—no wonder Tazzith despised them.

"However," Myrin looked at him and smiled, "I don't regret it at all. Because of that rune's corruption, The mistress discovered me when she did… And with her help, I was able to use that rune to become a Vagrant Phantasm—forging my own Soul Weapon."

"I see…"

After a brief moment, Myrin turned to fanning the flame once more, "What about you? I heard you arrived in this world after doing a ritual, correct? And then you just suddenly found your Soul Weapon lying next to you?"

Soren nodded. "Our journey to Mount Tolarion might shed some light on these circumstances… Or it might not." He looked up at the ceiling of the cave—water dripping down slowly, likely from the melting snow caused by their flame.

"Who the hell knows what we'll find there…"

"That ritual… I heard a bit about it from the mistress. You're supposed to ask a question, and use it to receive an answer, right?

"What exactly did you ask in that ritual?..." After asking, he immediately realized that it was rather rude to ask… "Sorry—you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

Hearing his trepidation, Soren chuckled. "No, it's fine… Maybe it's for the best if I tell you. A simple question, really:

"Should humanity exist?"

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