Master Of None

”Clear the area! Mages prepare a wind barrier and water barrier!” The sudden announcement halted the entire line of waiting travelers. They had all been waiting for their chance to use the elemental teleportation formation. It was normal for the lines to be long and for there to be many merchants trying to set up their caravans for teleportation.

It was even more common for the material carriers to enter the line heading toward this village or that village. The sheer number for teleportation formation now created was amazing. It required there to be separate changes to the runes based on which formation someone was heading to and leaving from. The complicated runes and magic caused there to be a whole slew of classes related to it because of this fact.

That didn’t stop the average person from being entirely lost about how this process worked though. Then again, it wasn’t an issue in terms of complexity. The idea of rune formations themselves was a huge and complicated mess. It was the same as asking a child to rebuild a dwarven golem without any training or knowledge of them at all.

The groups pushed back by a group of soldiers soon heard another announcement being made. ”Test of the new teleportation formation will begin now. Please be aware of your surroundings. Do not run, do not panic, do not worry. Mages have barriers and the group teleportation is guided by the hero Walker”

The soldier announcing this was using Walker’s name to ensure that calm was kept. While some of those here had been present for small failures of rune formations, it was still enough to leave a lasting impression. The damage to the ground or other areas that occurred when a formation broke was exactly why so much staff was here checking the formation after every usage.

As the mana in the area became more dense, the people noticed that it also felt like they could sense the manas more clearly. For the average person who did not have a strong affinity and train their affinity, this was a shocking moment to feel their elemental affinity so strongly.

Yet, that feeling was gone in the blink of an eye. The mana calmed and the figures of several turn carvers and Walker could be seen. However, there was some issue. The mana of the teleportation had caused the elemental rune teleportation formation to degrade a lot more. The pressure of the space mana as they had arrived drew a lot more elemental manas causing there to be a faster decay rate on the stone used for the formation here. While the formation in the testing area did not have as many issues.

”Looks like we will need to speed up the tests. The other formations can’t handle the mana drawn in by the space mana. Do you think the space mana is too much? Can we shrink the size of the rune and decrease the flow? Or should we change the materials of the other formations while we test things?”

”We might need to just halt everything for a while. Stop teleportation for a full day and just test the distance we can take in terms of teleportation.”

The two rune carvers were talking constantly making all the staff here seem as if they didn’t have enough work to do other than stand around. They didn’t like hearing that they might be closed down. But they also understood that there was a lot being said right now. A lot related to a new rune formation that might work better.

”I think you two need to close this one for repairs first, then you can test more. There is a space rune carver now right? They should be taken back from the ruins they were studying.” Walker recalled a few of the unique rune carvers banding together to research ancient rune formations in a few ruins; they had done that to get a better handle on the runes used by ancient angels that might help with the creation of teleportation or space manipulation in general.

Where things changed was the fact that they had just missed a large event with the way that the runes had changed just now. Meaning that many traveling or researching rune carvers were sure to separate from whatever they were doing and rush here. It would be a busy time for rune carvers since the bodies they had to send off to work on formation would only increase yet again.

Walker noticed that many of those in line waiting seemed less than happy, but as he gave them a wave and he enhanced his voice to explain that there was a breakthrough in teleportation knowledge, they all began to speak and share their conversations and theories. These were mostly transportation groups or merchants, knowing that better transport would be possible soon was enough to get them talking a lot. They could be the first to prepare for such an event and prepare more employees and carriages. How could they be angry at a small delay now when they would be ahead in business compared to everyone else now?

His explanation was short and sweet leaving him able to see that the rune carvers had entirely forgotten he existed. This was the obsession that anyone associated with runes seemed to have. Even the few who called themselves a rune warrior or rune mage were just as obsessed. They didn’t have a ton of strength because they wanted to understand how runes worked and did not focus on actually fighting or battling.

It might be a good thing now that he thought about it. Runes could be powerful tools to manipulate mana in an exact way. Maybe even more controlled than what many master mages could do. It wasn’t something that Walker needed to work on now though. Instead, he realized it was the ideal time to be on his way. He wanted to check on a few other odds and ends before he had to speak in front of the general public.

He had caught wind of a few new rumors about the elemental spirit trees. The wind spirit tree had its own caretaker. Someone who had become the very voice of it in a way. That gray haired spider had even changed their race to be able to bind and become one with the spirit of that tree and develop alongside it.

When Walker heard the rumor that the dark spirit tree had managed that same connection he wanted to go and see them. So, he might as well do so right now. Plus, he could sense that midnight was nearby. Most likely because she wanted to watch over the eggs of the ink lizard race that were being cared for by Mordant and his subordinates.

When Walker had least seen the dark spirit tree, he knew very well that it had been growing in a way that made it feel as if it might not actually be there. It shifted and moved like a shadow would but it was still physical. The darker leaves were like looking in to the sky without stars. There was also a unique form of decay that did not break down everything around it but instead seemed to provide clarity to those with dark mana affinity. If Walker were to find someone able to bind and embody the dark spirit tree in the same way that had happened with the wind spirit tree, well, he could only be excited to see who and what race they were.

He also needed to ensure he took extra care and looked in to the ink lizard race and how their eggs were doing. Once they hatched it would be clear that their race now has a proper home within genesis and the world. Their speed of growth would most likely be slower due to the lower density of dark mana, but in return they should develop greater resistance to other manas. Meaning that they would have stronger offspring one day.

It also meant that Walker might be able to learn how they made their magic golems using just materials and mana to a better degree. He had learned some already but it was not enough to have the same degree of control and strength in making elemental golems with a material as a core. He knew that he could make temporary ones with fuel for fire but they were not as capable. They were just battle oriented and very temporary.

With a soft gust of wind, A few noticed that Walker had stepped in to the air and was flying away. Soon no one seemed to notice though. They were way too occupied with the gossip of new space rune formations and space rune uses. The teleportation formations soon to be carved would be an immense benefit to everyone.

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