Adrian leaned back in his chair, parchment ashes scattered at his feet.

The Language of Mana no longer felt like a mystery to him. It was a medium, a bridge that deepened his comprehension of affinities, sharpened his concepts, and directly increased his combat strength.

Every rune he studied, every symbol he inscribed, fed into that growth. But growth required points. And for that, he needed scrolls to sell.

His thought drifted to his own modified Fireball. The symbols glowed faintly in his memory, alien strokes not found in any shop or class. He hadn’t seen them in the Rune District, nor if this existed in the Volumes the Organization sold.

If he released this, people would ask questions. How had a sixteen-year-old, with no access to the Volumes, produced symbols even scholars had never seen?

Even with Echo affinity, he couldn’t explain that away. He pushed the thought aside. For now, caution.

He would only sell Gravity Snare runes. Humanity already knew him as the boy who wielded Echo, a prodigy who mirrored affinities. He had used Gravity Snare openly since the Academy, and he had seen the Gravity Snare symbol on its skill book.

If questioned, he could claim his deep familiarity and Echo’s replication had let him learn it and overcome the resistance to inscribe it. It was believable.

Adrian pulled the stack of parchment closer. He had only eight sheets left. Slowly, deliberately, he began etching.

The first felt heavy, every stroke like pressing against invisible weight. The Source helped him, translating concepts that strained against the physical medium.

But as he repeated the process, the resistance lessened. His understanding deepened with each repetition. By the fourth scroll, the symbols flowed more naturally.

By the eighth, his hand moved with confidence, each line smoother than the last. The gravity concepts settled into the parchment like familiar words.

Hours later, he sat back, exhausted but satisfied. Eight flawless Legendary rune scrolls glowed softly on the desk, purple-black energy swirling faintly around their edges.

He rested through the night, then at dawn carried them to the Rune District.

…

The morning sun cast long shadows across the Rune District as Adrian approached the familiar stall.

The stall owner looked up from organizing his inventory. His face brightened with recognition.

“Back again so soon? More basic scrolls to sell?”

Adrian placed the eight parchments on the wooden counter without ceremony. The morning light caught the purple-black energy that swirled faintly around their edges.

The owner reached for the top scroll casually, probably expecting another Light or Barrier rune. His fingers brushed the parchment’s surface.

The moment his eyes traced the first symbol, his expression froze. The casual smile vanished.

Sweat beaded on his forehead as he unrolled more of the scroll. His breathing quickened with each stroke he examined.

“These symbols…” His voice cracked. “This is gravity work.”

“Did… did you inscribe these yourself?” The question came out barely above a whisper.

“Yes.” Adrian’s tone remained level, offering nothing more.

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The owner stared at him, then at the scrolls, then back again. His mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air.

“What kind of gravity rune is this exactly?” He held up one of the scrolls, afraid to handle it too roughly.

Adrian raised his hand toward an empty patch of ground beside the stall. Mana flowed through him, and he cast Gravity Snare.

The invisible force slammed down with crushing weight. Wooden planks groaned under the pressure, and dust motes froze in the air.

The stall owner stumbled backward, nearly knocking over his display case. Other vendors turned to look, sensing the disturbance in the air.

Adrian released the spell. The pressure vanished, leaving only the memory of that terrible weight.

“This isn’t just research material,” the man whispered, his voice hoarse. “This is real combat magic. A Legendary spell.”

His gaze darted between Adrian’s calm face and the innocent-looking scrolls. Sweat dripped from his chin onto the counter.

“I’ve been selling runes for fifteen years. Never seen anything like this from someone so young.”

The man wiped his brow with a shaking hand. His merchant instincts warred with his disbelief.

“One thousand points,” he said finally. “For each scroll.”

Adrian nodded once. The transaction completed in silence as the man’s device transferred eight thousand points to Adrian’s account.

The weight of the credits felt substantial, but Adrian’s expression never changed. He turned and walked away without another word.

Behind him, the stall owner clutched the scrolls like they might explode. Other vendors whispered among themselves, having witnessed the demonstration.

Adrian made his way through the district’s winding paths, past students haggling over basic materials and masters examining expensive artifacts.

The familiar corridors of the residential wing welcomed him back. His suite’s door sealed behind him.

Eight thousand points. More than enough for now.

…

The stall owner stood frozen, clutching the scrolls against his chest. His hands trembled as he stared at the spot where Adrian had vanished into the crowd.

Then laughter bubbled up from his throat, half hysteria, half pure triumph. A Legendary scroll, in his humble stall!

He quickly set aside one scroll for himself, wrapping it carefully in silk cloth. The rest he locked in reinforced cases lined with protective wards.

Within the hour, colorful banners fluttered outside his stall. The modest wooden sign now proclaimed in bold letters: “LEGENDARY GRAVITY RUNES AVAILABLE.”

Whispers rippled through the district like spreading fire. Vendors abandoned their own stalls to peer over shoulders and crane their necks.

“That man is selling Gravity runes!” A young scholar’s voice cracked with excitement.

“Impossible, no one can inscribe those except the masters!” Another defender shook his head in disbelief.

“Check the wards yourself if you don’t believe it!” The stall owner’s voice boomed over the growing crowd.

Bodies pressed forward, creating a surge of humanity that spilled into neighboring streets. Provisional Defenders elbowed past seasoned veterans while scholars clutched their point cards desperately.

Some came to buy, others merely to witness history. The narrow street groaned under the weight of curiosity and greed.

When the scroll was shown to everyone and its authenticity confirmed, the crowd fell silent, then erupted in chaos.

“Genuine Legendary rune scroll!” Someone screamed from the back.

“How many points? Name your price!” A C-Rank defender pushed through the mass of bodies.

Scholars begged for scraps of parchment to study while defenders scrambled to place bids. The stall owner’s name spread through the district like wildfire.

In the crush of desperate customers, a woman slipped inside unnoticed, B-Rank badge gleaming on her collar.

But the golden thread embroidered on her robes marked her as something far more dangerous, a disciple of Selena Valcrest.

She inspected one of the remaining scrolls. Her expression tightened with each symbol she traced.

Legendary inscriptions weren’t sold casually in market stalls. Either this was an elaborate fraud, or something world-shaking had just occurred.

“Who inscribed these?” Her voice cut through the noise.

The stall owner wiped sweat from his brow, still overwhelmed by the chaos. “Don’t know his name. Just a quiet boy, maybe sixteen or seventeen.”

“Describe him.” The woman’s tone brooked no argument.

“Dark hair, calm eyes. Carried himself like nobility but dressed simple. Demonstrated the spell himself, nearly crushed my counter.”

Her eyes narrowed as she processed the information. A teenager inscribing Legendary runes was beyond impossible.

Grumbling under her breath, she purchased one scroll for an astronomical sum. The crowd parted instinctively as she slipped away through the chaos.

Whatever this was, her master needed to know immediately. Selena Valcrest would want to examine these symbols personally.

Back in his suite, Adrian sat cross-legged, completely unaware of the storm brewing outside. To him, it was merely another step forward, points earned, another barrier overcome.

But beyond his peaceful walls, the Rune District seethed with unprecedented excitement. Defenders argued over prices while scholars debated the implications.

And in the highest tower of the Grand Rune Hall, golden tattoos would soon pulse with interest as humanity’s greatest Rune Master would examine his work.

A legend was beginning to take shape in the whispered conversations and frantic transactions below. Even Adrian did not yet realize the magnitude of what he had unleashed.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep