It was past morning when Zatiel finally woke up. As he started to assess the state of his body, he was pleasantly surprised.
'Great! Although the amount of my abyss aura is the same as yesterday, now it's flowing with more speed and power through my body. Being a Neo-Demon is full of surprises,' Zatiel was excited as he saw the improvement in his body.
Actually, one of the major concerns he had with rune crafting was that it takes a massive amount of time and energy so it will slow down the speed in which his abyss aura is enhanced, but now it turns out that using his energy to create runes generates a beneficial effect in his aura.
Although it doesn't grow it, if the aura moves faster and stronger, it will allow him to display a greater fighting power and also enhance the speed in which it rises.
Of course, this was only possible thanks to the constitution of a Neo-Demon and their amazing adaptability.
'I should create another two Secondary Consciousness runes, one for Little EZ, one for me and the last one will be sold, and do the same with the other rank 0 runes,' Zatiel planned for the day as he ate the heart of some magical creatures.
After he recovers his energy, he doesn't waste time and continues to work.
Having already created the rune before, this time it was a little more easy. The steps were the same; processing the material, charging the pen, and writing the rune according to the diagram.
This time although he was still very tired, he didn't need to rest in bed to recharge his energy. With a couple of hours of meditation, he was in perfect shape.
It was noon when the third rune was finished.
As Zatiel assesses the runes, he couldn't help but feel a little pride. After all, for an apprentice to be able to craft three peak Rank 0 Runes without making a single mistake is amazing, but immediately, that feeling disappears and he focuses again.
'No matter how good it ends up to be, they are just rank 0 runes, I can't get complacent with something so small.'
Zatiel always has been very harsh with himself. If any other runemaster were to see him act like this, they will be furious.
After all, apprentices can hardly create the most simple rank 0 runes and the success rate they have is barely 20%, for him being able to craft three peak rank 0 runes consecutively and not having failed a single time was something that they can do only in their dreams but now, someone was saying that it was just a 'small' accomplishment.
Like the majority of things in the universe, runes are separated in ranks, and so is a runemaster.
Crafting rank 0 runes don't allow you to become a runemaster. After all, there are some runes so easy that given enough amount of tries a lot of apprentices can do it. But to become a Rank 0 Runemaster you have to be able to craft peak Rank 0 Runes with a success rate of 30%.
As for Rank 1 to 3 Runemaster, you have to be able to craft runes of the same rank, no matter the difficulty, with a success rate of 20%. The condition for a higher rank is inferior. After all, the higher the rank of the rune the more complex they become.
Normally to become a Rank 1 Runemaster, you don't only have to be proficient in rune crafting but also be a rank 1 life-form yourself. After all, the amount of energy necessary to create a rune is immense and only grows as the rank goes higher, but of course, there are always geniuses that can break those unwritten rules.
'I should craft the other rune, at the end of the day,' Having rest enough Zatiel starts to take the materials to craft the second rune that he picked.
The rune was called Aerial Walk; it was a peak Rank 0 Rune. it allows you to walk in the air as if there is a solid surface.
Although there are spells that allow you to fly, the dexterity that you can display using them is very limited, making yourself a stationary target in most cases. But this rune allows you to display all of your movements with the same abilities you can display being on the ground.
Two of the core materials of this rune were the claws of the harpies and the heart of the rat-men.
The first one has a connection to the wind's natural energy and the second with the earth's natural energy. Using a combination of these two is how the rune is made.
Although to craft Rank 0 Runes, it's not needed to learn the principles of how it works. As you go up in the ranks it becomes essential to understand them. So starting from the bottom helps to create a solid foundation and is something that all true runemasters do.
...
In his laboratory, Ezequiel was practicing his magical crafting. There were a lot of broken weapons, armors, and jewelry lying on the floor.
Although this amount of failure can break even some greater spirits, especially when you are just starting. The boy's eyes were lit and his will was like a sun that didn't stop burning.
Ezequiel was so focused that he didn't realize that he was not alone in the room. A black-haired man was looking at him with warm eyes, of course, the person was Zatiel.
The houses were made to be impossible to break in with normal methods so the apprentices can focus on their activities without having to worry for their surroundings.
The reason he was able to enter so easily was that Ezequiel's house was programmed to allow Zatiel enter whenever he wanted.
Although all the houses have this option, almost no one uses it, after all, that level of trust is something almost impossible for the other apprentices.
As Zatiel saw the number of mistakes the boy had done; he was not disappointed at all. He was actually feeling even more proud. After all, reaching for success when you know you can do it is easy, but doing it when the results tells you otherwise, is one of the hardest things you can do.
Seeing how Ezequiel hadn't still realized he was here, Zatiel made a smile before he shouted with all his strength.
"BRAT WAKE UP!!"
Ezequiel was startled and in less than a second, all of his body was covered in lightning, with tentacles made of the same energy starting to grow out of his back as he prepared to attack the intruder.
Just when he was ready to throw himself to the enemy and face the threat, he saw the person that shouted at him.
Ezequiel felt awkward for having fallen into such a juvenile prank, especially when he saw how Zatiel was starting to laugh.
Seeing the expression of the boy and having enough fun, Zatiel stopped bothering him and changed the subject.
"I see you are bent in pursuing magical crafting"
"Yes master, but I must admit that is proving extremely difficult to me."
Although Ezequiel wasn't feeling let down for his mistakes, disappointing Zatiel was something he didn't want to do
Seeing the expression of the boy, Zatiel was able to understand his feelings.
"Remember little EZ, success is not final; failure is not fata, it is the courage to continue that counts. It doesn't matter if you fail a million times, as long as you don't give up, you will never disappoint me."
