The Broken Halo

Chapter 295: Ranks Of Runes

”Clearly defining the intent you want for the Chaos Runes is not enough to be a good Chaos Rune Master, you’ll need to be careful of the runes fighting back.”

These words of Instructor Valdin surprised many of the Initiates, including Simon.

He had never heard of a rune fighting back, and this caught his interest.

Instructor Valdin explained.

”Compared to order runes, chaos runes are more alive. Order Runes are like programmed machines, while chaos runes are like living organisms.”

”If you think just having a clearly defined intent would allow you to be a Chaos Rune Master, then you’re very wrong.”

”Chaos Runes can fight back, and it’s why I said you must have a powerful and sturdy Will.”

”If you’re not able to dominate the chaos runes with your intent and Will, the chaos runes can mutate or become even more unstable.”

”But if you’re able to dominate the chaos runes, they will stay aligned to your intent.”

Instructor Valdin paused as he observed the gazes of some Initiates. He could see that a few had pondering lights in their eyes, while some were disinterested and had bored gazes.

He took note of all their gazes before he continued the lecture.

”Chaos Runes responds strongly to emotions like rage, hatred, desperation, and obsession.”

”There are some demons who are not Chaos Rune Masters, but they are able to create and manipulate chaos runes when they’re in an extremely volatile emotional state.”

”However, if you have too much emotion, you can lose control. If you have too little emotions, the output of your chaos runes would be too little since emotions are like fuel to chaos runes.”

”However... this is a rare occurrence, and demons that are able to control Chaos Runes when they’re angry for example, can do this because of their bloodline.”

Simon narrowed his eyes at Instructor Valdin’s words.

’First, Lilith said I don’t have cursed energy and I couldn’t master it because I have too much control over my emotions.’

’Now, chaos runes also uses emotions as its fuel? Can’t imagine how my stone cold heart could make a chaos rune to be all fired up.’

Simon released a soft sigh, causing Sunless who was seated beside him to glance at him.

’And here I thought that I might actually be able to master chaos runes much more easily than order runes.’

Just as Simon had this thought, Instructor Valdin spoke.

”The last connection between a demon’s Will and chaos runes is stability of self.”

Many frowned.

”If the demon’s mind is unstable, the chaos runes also becomes unstable since an unstable mind means an unstable Will.”

”If you’re having an inner conflict, the chaos runes can become distorted.”

”If you’re having doubt, the chaos runes might collapse.”

”And if you’re fearful, the chaos runes might erupt with a backlash.”

”So, make sure that whenever you want to create a chaos rune, you’re in the right frame of mind...or you might die to your own runes.”

Instructor Valdin paused for a long time, and when he saw that nobody was asking any question, he decided to continue.

”Now, let’s talk about the ranks of runes. There are six ranks of runes, and these ranks are based on the complexity of the rune i.e how many strokes/layers it has.”

”Then there’s the power output of the rune and the difficulty in controlling it.”

He paused.

”The six ranks are Basic Runes, Intermediate Runes, Advanced Runes, Master Runes, Transcendent Runes, and Origin Runes.”

”Let me give you a simple example so that you’ll understand the power of each rune.”

”Let’s use a Chaos Fire Rune for example. A Basic Chaos Fire Rune would only create a small flame. An Intermediate Chaos Fire Rune can create a controlled fireball. An Advanced Chaos Fire Rune can create a flame that can engulf a building.”

”While a Master Chaos Fire Rune can create a battlefield-wide inferno. It can destroy a city or a tribe.”

”As for Transcendent and Origin Chaos Fire Runes, I’ll just leave that one for now since that’s still far above your level.”

The eyes of many students lit up when they heard the power each level of runes had.

Those who were not interested previously, were now very much interested.

”Your proficiency in rune creation can also be ranked.”

”We have flawed, standard, refined, and perfected.”

”In your final exams, you’ll be expected to have at least a Standard Proficiency in creating an Intermediate Chaos Rune.”

A large percentage of the class looked at one another in confusion.

They had no idea if this was an easy or a difficult thing to accomplish, so they didn’t know how to react.

However, those who knew had solemn and worried expressions.

Even Simon’s expression was solemn since he knew that his talent in runes was average at best.

’I might struggle with this class.’

Simon exhaled deeply, once again drawing the attention of Sunless.

She shifted her attention from Simon to the Instructor, then back to Simon.

A book and pen appeared in front of her, then she started writing, causing Simon to glance at her with a raised brow.

A few seconds later, she slid to the book toward him.

He frowned, then he read the words on the book.

’Want me to teach you about chaos runes?’

Simon narrowed his eyes and looked at her, but her gaze was on instructor Valdin.

He looked back at the book, then he picked up the pen and wrote his answer.

A second later, he passed it back to her, and she saw it.

’Just a straightforward no huh.’

A bitter smile appeared on her lips, then she wrote on the book and passed it back to Simon.

’Ok?’

In the next moment, the book was withdrawn from his front, and he glanced at Sunless, but she didn’t even bother to give him a glance.

He raised a brow. ’Is she...angry I said just no?’

He blinked, then he nonchalantly shrugged.

He didn’t care.

He had something else on his mind.

He raised his hand, signalling to ask a question.