Return of the Legendary Runesmith

It was her first day, so Adrian was going over the basics for Thalia—explaining what the second Thread was, why it's used, what benefits it gives, and what a Runesmith should watch out for when drawing it.

Thalia wasn't just listening closely—she was also jotting down every detail in her notepad, not wanting to miss or forget anything important.

"So yes, the second Thread helps improve mana efficiency by allowing magic to flow into weapons with as little waste as possible," Adrian finished, wrapping up his ten-minute explanation.

He looked toward the Princess and found her eyes on him.

But the moment their gazes met, she quickly looked away.

Strange… what's going on with her? Adrian wondered. Since the drama she caused in the past, Sylvie had kept her distance out of guilt. Her sudden interest in being near him now felt odd.

Is she just trying to distract herself? Adrian hoped that was all.

"Sir," Thalia spoke up, "if we talk in terms of percentages, how much less mana is used with a second-grade weapon?"

She knew mana couldn't be measured exactly but was curious to get a rough idea of what to expect if she improved a second-grade weapon properly.

Adrian thought for a moment, recalling what he'd seen in the past.

"Over thirty percent," he replied.

Sylvie's eyes widened in amazement, while Thalia gave a thoughtful nod. After a brief pause, she asked with a curious smile, "What about the armaments you make?"

Adrian smiled back, hesitating for a moment before answering, "Around... ninety percent."

"…!"

"…"

Both girls were left speechless by the number. They wouldn't have believed it if they hadn't already seen a glimpse of what Adrian could do.

Ninety percent? That was like barely using mana at all. With that kind of efficiency, a person could cast spell after spell without ever running out of energy.

Thalia blinked and asked, "P-Professor… is it even possible for someone else to reach that level?"

Adrian let out a small chuckle. "I'm good, but I'm not the best. So yes, I believe someone out there can make even better armaments—or someday, someone will."

Then, glancing at the teen, he added with a faint smile, "Even you might surpass me."

Thalia shrank back in her seat, "I don't believe that..."

"But I do." Adrian followed, his eyes holding honesty.

Thalia kept looking at him and her tense shoulders relaxed slightly.

Was...really there a possibility?

After that, Adrian taught her more about the second Thread without jumping on practical tuning right away. The class continued for two hours and not even once the two girls seemed bored or tired. If anything, they seemed disappointed when Adrian informed them that the class had finished.

As Adrian picked up his coat, Sylvie hesitantly approached him, "Umm...Professor."

"Only on one condition," Adrian spoke without turning to look at her.

Sylvie was baffled at the response, but she didn't speak and heard him, "If after three classes you can answer a few questions you can continue to attend the extra classes."

Sylvie's eyes brightened as she hurriedly responded, "Understood. I will do my best."

Not so long after Adrian made his way out of the workshop after the two left.

He first made his way to the common hall to get breakfast for himself and the sleeping beauty.

"Two basic breakfast sets and add a cheesecake to it." He asked the chef as he reached the counter.

While the food was getting prepared Adrian sat on the nearby table.

There were not many students around and those who were nearby greeted him politely.

Adrian smiled at them before his focus redirected to the system screen.

There were four people online at the moment.

And one of them was someone he hadn't interacted with before.

Scarlette: [Greetings, Runesmith.]

Adrian greeted back with a simple 'hello'.

Raven: [Oh my~Scarlette finally came out of her hibernation~]

Adrian didn't know what he should make of that information. At least he got to know that Scarlette was a woman.

Scarlette: [With the current state of my world, hibernation never crossed my mind.]

She simply responded.

Dark Knight: [Situation over there is bad too?]

Asked the Knight for whom Adrian created an armament a few days ago.

Scarlette: [Yes. The situation is growing chaotic. It seems I must intervene before an unrecoverable damage is done.]

It seems the two worlds from where Dark Knight and Scarlette belong were at a stage of war.

Valor: [The movement of XXXX has been fierce on my side too. However, thanks to XXXX's support, I was able to contain the danger in time.]

Adrian was confused by this message. Was either of the two censored words referred to him?

Raven: [Why are you so silent, dear? Do you wish to chat with me in private?]

Again with her teasing. Well, it was good that Annabelle wasn't here.

Adrian responded, "I am just observing and trying to make sense out of things. From the way you all talk it appears you all hold quite a prominent position in your worlds."

There was a pause before someone said,

Valor: [It's apparent that you haven't unlocked even a fragment of your memories.]

"..." Was he supposed to know this? Well, Adrian shared something that might interest them, "I recently had some flash of memories which creeped me out...but I guess you all were right. I have yet to recover my memories."

The system didn't censor his words meant it was okay to talk about those flashes in his dreams to them.

Raven: [That sounds wonderful, Dear! Once you get to remember how many blissful moments we have spent together, you will instantly jump at me~]

"..." Adrian was now feeling blessed that Annabelle wasn't here.

After a brief pause, Scarlette stated,

[If it's stressing you out, you should reach out to someone you trust.]

Her words surprised him.

Valor: [Indeed. For someone who is hailed as the strongest warrior, I was trembling like a child and clung to my grandma when my memories returned to me.]

Raven: [....same goes for me. I had my father.]

Dark Knight: [The burden must be immense, XXXX. Don't shoulder everything on your own or you will lose your mind.]

Their warnings made him realize that he might have been overestimating himself.

Adrian couldn't stop thinking about the flashes he saw in his sleep. Only last night was peaceful when Ariana was in her arms.

And now...maybe he knows whom he can talk to about this.

"I am thankful for the advice."

No one responded immediately.

After a brief pause, Adrian added, "If you have any request to make I will come online in a few hours."

Scarlette: [Now that you mentioned it, I do have a request.]

Adrian hummed in questioning.

Scarlette: [I want you to make me an artifact that can cool down a wide enclosed area, and if I can adjust the temperature, then it would be brilliant.]

Adrian thought for a moment before assenting, "Got it, I will ask you for details in a few hours."

[Understood.]

Once the chat got disconnected, Adrian went to pick the breakfast and thought about the only person who could help him make this artifact.

Elana.

°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Wait...Scarlette ....Scarlette Bellarine?! Thanks for reading.