The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 676  Reading Dwarf

Karl gently straightened the two blades and passed them to the clerics, who looked overjoyed to have such an interesting pair of test samples in their hands.

”We could test how much energy can be passed through them, but that would be destructive testing. What I am more interested in is the fact that one of the two really is stronger than the other, despite having the same active rune.

Perhaps itʼs the intent behind them, proving the superiority of this method on human tools. Or perhaps there is some more profound meaning that I have missed with my incomplete translations.” Karl explained, then moved on to the next page of the manuscript.

The details there were about how to enhance Elven steel for durability, as even the Dwarves recognized that it had a very fine edge. Their words about the things that Elves did with trees were far less polite than the insults they had hurled at the humansʼ craftsmanship, and Karl did his best not to laugh as he read it.

”Well, we can say for certain that this author was not a fan of Elves. Or perhaps not a fan of their supposedly hedonistic ways. But as I donʼt have an Elven crafted weapon to test any theories on, we can keep going.” Karl translated, as the clerics dutifully copied the pages.

They were Blue Dragon Clerics. The fact that they couldnʼt actually read the pages would not stop them from transcribing them exactly as they appeared in the tome. One of them had some skill with Runes, but not at the level of having the Runecrafting skill, as the Librarian had not yet had time to finish a duplicate for the others to copy.

[The artistry of Dwarven Runecrafting is not just about appearances, as many of the other races believe. In fact, the matrix of the Runes, even irrelevant filler, is integral to the even distribution of the flow of power across the surface of the item.

I have no idea why Iʼm writing this, perhaps my memoir will be a childrenʼs book, full of facts that any small child should know? Or perhaps just so that the basic knowledge is not lost if Runecrafting should fall out of favour in the future.

Such was the fate of Golem Masters, whose constructs were so durable that for ten generations, no more needed to be made, and the basic knowledge was lost, making it nigh impossible to train new apprentices once the old masters had passed and left only their most valued tomes.

Yes, that is what I shall do. Forgive the rambling of an old man as I impart to you the basics of the basics.]

The text went on for two more pages, detailing the proper ways to write Runes on an item so that the effect applied evenly, the artistry behind how they wrapped a common surface, such as a hammer, vase, or armour plate. To someone of his time, it likely would have been obvious, as they would have seen it every day, and heard the tales from their parents, or their master if they were coming from a different trade.

That made Karl wonder what sort of societal set up the Dwarves had. Did they have something akin to a trade school, where System Users could just learn a trade of their choice? Did they have masters choosing apprentices, or teaching one of their children the arts to take over their business?

None of that was included in these early pages, but Karl was learning a huge amount about the functionality of Dwarven sculpture, in ways that he had never even considered.

In fact, the old man even included a few tidbits about how to activate Golems with Runes, though it was not his specialty, and he ʼlacked a level of patience suitable for Golem workʼ in his own words.

That made Karl wonder if it might be possible for some of the mages to learn Golem Crafting, as a subset of Rune Crafting, and make armies of autonomous Golems to defend small towns that didnʼt have much of a guard force.

The Clerics were thinking the same thing as they made their copies, but they were wondering if it would be possible for their brotherhood. They were the keepers of knowledge, and it would be wonderful if they could use golems, whose hands did not sweat or shake, to handle the precious tomes of their libraries.

To them, it would be a dream come true. An assistant whose hands would not harm the books, who never slacked off or forgot directions. One who never needed sleep and didnʼt get promoted out of their assigned tasks.

Then Karl flipped the page once more, moving past the old manʼs ranting about basic knowledge, and moving into what he called ʼthe first day of apprentice trainingʼ.

The diagram of what Karl first thought might be a pickaxe, but with a battleaxe blade on the scoop side, took the entire page, with the description of how to place the runes on the opposite page.

The two sides were different, as the runes were not duplicated, but wrapped around the head to give even mana flow, and stopped just short of the sharpened edge.

They werenʼt just bare runes, though. Instead, a grid pattern had been stamped into the metal, serving as a guide for the Rune work, but also turning the runes into a decorative pattern of line work that hid its true meaning, while keeping an apprenticeʼs work on track.

One of the clerics snapped his fingers. ”That, we have some of those axes. Not with the runes, but the design survived the years, and there are some in the armoury. Weʼve been using the design as a polearm, on a long spearʼs handle. But you could certainly cut it down to hand axe sized.”

Karl nodded. ”Should we continue transcribing, or should we call for a delivery, and test the lesson that we are learning?”

That was one of the great challenges of their lives. Prioritizing knowledge.

”We have all day, so we should at least try one sample of the art, as a proof of concept to show the others that we have been productive, and that the tome we are transcribing has value.” The leader of their team reluctantly agreed.

As much as he wanted to see what was on the next page, testing what was on this one was still the priority.

As long as the delivery got here quickly.