Din was now just four nodes short of a tier three node. Assuming tier three nodes required ten tier two nodes. Not an unreasonable assumption.

He wasn’t thinking about this though. Over the passed few months he had sunk himself into Scription. He was carving mysterious runes into anything worthwhile.

Scriptions can be considered one of the final steps of creating an item.

It was also called enchanting. This was because people understood what enchanting was. But scription was description of the act of writing.

What Scription was in reality, wasn’t writing. It was creating pathways for a certain type of energy to flow through.

This wasn’t as mystical as it seemed. This wouldn’t work on Earth. As earth didn’t have the materials or the quality and quantity of energy required to merit a response.

Just like electrictricity, a type of energy can travel through certain materials easily. So could the energy, the mana that Din and everyone here used could.

This energy wasn’t random. It wasn’t magic as Din had assumed.

He couldn’t be faulted for thinking this. After all, many of the recent phenomenons couldn't be explained. He had initially tried to explain it away with advanced technology.

But most would find it hard to imagine how these things were possible. At a point, advanced technology and magic became synonymous. And this was what happened to Din, and most others.

There were still some people that considered themselves too smart to believe in the unexplained. Magic was never option for these people. Because their ego wouldn’t allow it.

In the end. It was the result that mattered. Of course understanding how this energy functioned and acted would be instrumental in Scription and in all other steps of crafting.

Without this information, trial and error was king. A sloppy, unreliable king. But king nonetheless. And it was how Din and other Scribes practiced.

They required a new item every time they finished their scription. This was no issue, constant production of arrows allowed them a near endless supply.

The difficult part in the end was documentation. When Din began his scribing he stumbled along.

Later on he was appalled with how poor their practices were. He demanded that all scribes reported their scribing patterns and organize them accordingly.

Din went so far as to buy a public ledger. As much as it pained him to squander resources he felt this was necessary.

In the end they began finding certain patterns would increase the speed and piercing capabilities of arrows.

This would increase their overall destruction but not directly. Anything that didn’t hit or pierce wouldn’t do any worthwhile damage.

Speed increased piercing. And piercing increased the overall destructive property of an arrow.

An oversimplification but it serves to explain their progress. Of course not every scribe liked scribing unto arrows. But most did. Because it was what Din was doing.

And it was a smart decision. Din did award people who made progress on the scription of arrows.

The humorous part in all of this was that they only progressed this fast because they could study the work of their peers.

Din felt they had created a superior arrow. And the final product was infinitely close a tier one arrow. The difference between the two were near negligible.

The problem was that the amount of scribers were low. And the amount of talented scribers was non existent. They all depended on hard work.

There was only one person that could be considered talented scriptionist and that person kept to himself. But he wasn’t limited to only scription.

Even more tragic was that he enjoyed farming and wasted his time taking care of various farms. And his personal garden. A tragedy.

What was surprising is Din’s adaptability. It was surprising to the existing scribers. To anyone that understood what Din had been doing in his spare time, it was only acceptable.

His steady hands and the quality of his scribing was one or two steps above all others. An impressive feat. Ingenuity and talent only get you so far.

Combat theory versus practical use. If Din had theoretical knowledge about how to use his body efficiently then his unconscious mind, his instincts, were using that knowledge.

The difference was that people required certain amount of time to parse their own knowledge and then act on it.

Din’s unconscious mind had no such delay. It possessed no hesitation. All it had to was react.

Every attack had certain parameters it would register and act accordingly. This was a artificial intelligence versus a user typing commands.

A user could possess incredible ability and throw out commands fast but eventually he’d need to lean on his muscle memory, his unconscious knowledge.

This was the reason Din was still alive to this day. He had been educated rigorously. But knowledge without practice only serves to broaden the mind.

Numerous math equations. Anatomy. Martial techniques. It went on an on. But learning was different from remembering. And knowing was different from doing.

What Din had practiced without end was his demeanor. He acted in an elegant way. Because this is what he had been told to practice.

His unconscious mind had all opportunity to use his accumulated information. It still had parameters it had to follow.

When the instincts act, they have a small window to react. The faster the opponent the less time.

This creates hard limitations. There is no forethought. Without planning its potential is diminished to a degree it becomes a niche.

Niche. But what a powerful niche.

This niche can be used in a different ways. There will always exist limitations. Dire limitations.

A person with a great mind for tactics could like Din. Activate his instincts to partake for a moment. This allows them to create miraculous tactics.

This event is straining. Far greater strain than what Din experiences. Din reacts in a flash. While the other experiences prolonged exposure to the tremendous pressure.

There might be a time where such pressure can be endured. But at the stage people like Din are at, it is torture.

It is not just Din or other unique souls that experience such a phenomena. It is instead every individual in this world. Their method of use differs.

This is the reason why physical training is only incremental increase in power. When the use of abilities are discussed.

Any success in this world is dependant on conquering this power. And they will have to, whether they want to or not.

It can’t be said that that Din and his subjects have progressed far in this regard. If at all. If this is a journey of a thousand miles. They have only put on their shoes, yet to take a single step.

These are a distant things. To gain dominion over one’s hidden faculties. There are must be a price.

How it is paid can be varied but it is always received in the same way. And what is gained cannot be lost. Not without outside interference.

There is a reason why the people in this twilight forest are not only objectively beautiful but also youthful.

A young mind is adaptable to change. Younger minds would be preferable but some physical attributes are needed to meet requirements.

Din and his people couldn’t divine this knowledge. And even if they could, it is in practical terms, useless to them. They had yet to lay down the foundation to begin building.

Right now there was a time of quiet preparation. The eighth and ninth tier two nodes were upcoming. In the less than a month's time two battalions would be sent out.

People got used to fighting. Their confidence was unmatched. But most still dreaded going out to fight.

It was no longer just about fearing for their lives. Now they were split from their friends and family. They were torn from their hobbies.

They would even come to miss whatever job they were assigned to. Taking over a new node was too time consuming.

This was also why Din no longer went out to fight. He felt it was better use of his time to stay at base camp.

While there wasn’t incredible amount of experience to gain in camp. They still were harvesting materials and hunting.

Everytime an item was harvested, refined or produced. Slight experience was shared with all members of the village.

Even those fighting hordes in the tier two beast nodes. Their killings was spread to people staying back home in the village.

This was a different experience than what they got for killing. This was for completing an event within Din’s territory.

It wasn’t much. But it accumulates without end. Those that fought would still gain substantial experience.

Fighting wasn’t the only source of experience of course. Production was most lucrative so far. Outside of slaying beasts.

This had little meaning. People wanted to increase their levels. But the ambiguity of the next ability was working as a deterrent. It was people below forty five that still craved experience.

For talented fighters, fastest way to gain experience was to seclude themselves and hunt beasts.

This was because even if the experience was shared with he entire camp they would still get great experience for harvesting material.

The process was discovered by some of the hunters that hunted for entertainment.

They have their own culture and it was considered a custom to work your own prey. This meant skinning it, carve up the meat.

Then they might even cook a portion of it while out hunting. Or eat parts of the organs raw. They were fast and efficient. And it gave them great experience.

Only a select few tried this method. Most gave up on it, it was boring and tedious. Only those that enjoyed the activity would seek it out.

The experience bonuses exceeded even the war effort. Because the war consisted of too many people. They would share all the experience.

Din himself was gaining bountiful experience through his recent Scribing. This was because Scribing could be considered one tier higher on the crafting list.

There were different ways to compliment items other than scribing. Further refining for example. It went on undiscovered.

There was also embroidery. Similar to Scribing except one dug into the item and the other applied more onto it.

Embroidery was popular. Not for empowerment but for vain reasons. But even then they could still use their embroidery ability to empower items.

There was also reforging. It would grant similar experience but was far more prone to degrading the item in question. And likely to end in failure.

Pyrography was another undiscovered way to enlist Scribing onto wooden items and leather. These all afforded considerable experience.

A crafter with talents could soar. Assuming he has the efficiency and dedication to the art.

A real artist would suffer. Their painstaking effort dedicated to a single object wouldn’t be rewarded in experience.

The item would benefit. But the experience was the same. Assuming they could create same tier objects faster. Which is within reason.

The arrow production was cheap and steady experience for the whole village. Even newborn children were gaining levels with ease.

The early levels will be instrumental to increasing their future potential. They will adapt faster and might in the end posses greater power than their predecessors.

Their late arrival is a downside. Ten to fifteen years isn’t a long time but it also isn’t short. This was real pressure on them.

This applied in the normal circumstance. But this unrated zone’s future kingdom that Din was trying to build was different.

Different, not in that it’s a kingdom. kingdoms cannot be said to be many but they are not few.

It is also impossible to say that this kingdom was growing fast. It could be said to be below average.

This was because Din isn’t aggressive and with no ambition other than long term prosperity. All in the name of Laq Docte.

It is different because Din is who he is. This comes back to Din’s zealotry. Him not being his own person. Living for something external.

Having such a person lead. This is one of few unique scenarios that are an oddity. It is hard to imagine a devoted monk ruling a kingdom.

He had the righteous cruelty you get from a zealot. A type of belief that was as real as the air he breathed.

He also had the distaste of the mundane world. This was in term of wealth. This was twofold. One was his already luxurious lifestyle.

The other was his complete disregard for social views other than the one provided to him by the Laq Docte doctrine.

This allowed him to make decisions that he believed would benefit the kingdom in the long term. The kingdom that would then later serve as a pillar in these lands, for the Laq Docte.

People growing up in such an environment will be met with prosperity. Because Din needed his people to prosper. Short termed success meant nothing to him. The future everything.

Everything about this sounds too good to be true.

While nothing said was untrue, it didn’t address the forced participation. People in camp were in no way free.

At best, they could enjoy this life. At worst, they could only endure and do what was asked of them.

Din didn’t pay them for their services. He might reward people in some fashion. There were punishments for those going against orders.

Without established laws, laws were something erected as an afterthought. Once an disagreeable act was discovered, they would be retroactively sentenced for it.

This meant that crimes and punishment for said crimes were created after the fact. It also meant that some acts. Even if considered evil were not condemned.

What was condemned was what Din, and only Din, felt was counterproductive. He did not want to nurture a culture that was negative in the long term.

Stealing wasn’t much of an issue. Noone in the camp had been officially punished for the crime of theft.

This wasn’t because Din felt that theft was trivial. This was because it didn’t affect him. And if he was informed of it, he wouldn’t consider it detrimental.

His way of thinking this through was that more theft was sure to continue. But what was there to steal? In his mind, nothing was worth stealing.

It was strange. Because he could be considered the most prolific thief in the camp. He himself of course saw it in a different way.

Everything, children, man and woman. Grain of green wheatgrass to the towering trees. Everything was his. If anything, he was just allowing others to use his things.

This sounded extravagant. And it might be. It was understandable when one realized that he considered the entire world to be a possession of the Laq Docte.

It wasn’t his possession. But the Laq Docte’s. He was a Laq Docte. The world was his.

He wouldn’t try to reason this with himself. This was just a truth. Just another constant.

What did occupy his thoughts with was how to increase productivity. He wanted more breakthroughs.

It was now common place to discover a new unrated recipe. With them being more common they weren’t valued the same.

They now had to have a direct benefit to the camp to be considered worthwhile.

There were still generous treatment towards inventors. Their talents couldn’t be quelled.

It was however only those that discovered something of real value that were assigned assistants and fair amount of allocated resources.

Since the beginning of the resource point store, the value of resources and items in any form had risen in a dramatic fashion.

While things like wheatgrass were still considered low in value, due to their abundance. It had multiplied in value in spite of its quantity.

Wheatgrass was one of the least valuable natural resources. The only things with less value are things like tree leaves and water.

New housing district had to be erected. This idea came from one of Din’s advisors. This was an intelligent person. Not like Din who bumbled along.

They were going to create a production district. This required a way to import all resources efficiently. That meant solid streets.

It also meant they needed to be alongside the river. As that was the most powerful force of transportation they had.

Manually pulled carts had been created. These were carts without any dampeners. It was uncomfortable to ride on.

Even a tired person would choose to walk rather than ride one. This is not only due to a lack of stabilizing equipment. But the road they used were too rough.

Rough roads meant they had to go slow. And it also meant that the carts would often suffer. Their wooden wheels broke. Axels snapped.

This would lead to other damage, worsening it. It was still their most effective way to haul the large amount of resources to and from refineries.

This new district needed new buildings. New buildings meant that Din had to repurchase the same buildings. He was not happy about this.

And while Din wasn’t happy about it, he wasn’t stupid either. He understood his advisor’s plan. In the end it would pay itself back over time.

The increasing number of different specialized fields of production needed a central hub. They needed real facilities to train people.

Which meant they needed buildings whose purpose was no longer to create but to teach. Teach people efficient ways to learn.

They also would serve as a way to research more efficient ways to harvest, refine and produce.

That would include the effectiveness of refining a finished product or additions such as scriptions.

It was a grandiose affair. These were lofty ambitions. Not only Din saw into the future. People with great minds did as well.

An intelligent person did not necessarily pursue things like this. But it needed an intelligent person to do so.

A sufficiently intelligent person that also had the capability and ambition to do things like creating facilities that would only see benefit in the unforeseen future.

It was people like this particular advisor that identified the importance of careful material harvesting.

People that spent their time working with materials all day also had inkling about these things. But it still required some ability to think through these things in an abstract way.

This lead to even further research into harvesting. They had to have people dedicated to it. These people would have to work with prolific miners, dedicated farmers and so on.

There wasn’t much improvement seen in any particular field. But when everything was looked at as a whole. They were like a raging river.

The largest benefit was the harvest of metals. As this particular field was the one the required it the most.

In general all other fields were on par. It could be argued that the refining process was the lacking part. The refining process was however not lacking.

Not lacking in comparison with other refining practices the camp had achieved. It was only harvesting. Which was now increased by a grade.

These things were all underway and were being heralded by a team of people. Din was part of the planning and only placed down the buildings.

Din was instead with First. This was one of Din’s most recent rituals. He’d come here with First. Every week they would hold small competitions.

It is a show of strength. They exhibit their fighting abilities. This was twofold. One, a simple fight between peers.

The other, the one that Din felt interested in, was less a fight and more a dance. In front of him was a stage.

This stage was built with solid wooden planks. These planks bordered on tier one durability. He felt the sound of feet tapping on it satisfying.

On this stage was an indifferent man. He didn't look like he was supposed to be up there. This was a common occurrence.

It wasn’t that the man was forced. It was just how he was. Many men were like this. Unwilling to show emotion. Instead he held a threatening gaze.

It wasn’t until the beat of drums began that it could be understood what was happening.

The many drums created a rhythm and the man showcased his abilities. Fighting a shadow of a foe. The sight could be said to be educational and entertaining.

This was the largest entertainment venue in the village. It would draw large crowds. Especially when women took the stage.

When the drums died down, the only thing left was the heavy breathing of a sweaty man. His indifferent and threatening gaze gone.

Thunderous applause engulfed the area. Din clapped. Only First and a few select shook their heads. Their eyes sharper, they saw too many flaws.

It was impossible for Din to see anything profound in this act. He just enjoyed the atmosphere. He also used it to casually practice his engraving.

Unknown number of items had been massacred in his is careless hands.

But Din was wealthy in this forest region. He never ran out of things to mangle. Always an item in hand ready to be sacrificed.

No one said anything. Very few people knew how many items he went through.

This was what was required of Scriptionist of any variety. But few could be as carefree. It is the attitude that made it extravagant.

Some would say this was out of character for Din. To waste this way. Wasn’t he always careful with his resource points?

And in truth he was. But he was sparse in his spending only because he believed in the camp’s greater interests. He spent without hesitation if was for the prosperous future.

As for the items he wasted. These items were his items. The best use of them were to use them. He thought of it as creating a demand. And building a foundation.

In truth, these items weren’t much. They took some effort to create but the camp was creating more than they could use.

The reason it was a waste, was because people would sell these to the shop. But Din saw further than that. He was also spoiled by the amount he possessed himself.

Scriptions were complex. They required meticulous, steady hands. But the complexity came from discovering new patterns.

Din didn’t need to discover new things. He just needed to apply the known patterns. And he did this repeatedly.

The failure rate was a staggering eighty seven percent. And instead of decreasing it looked like it was increasing.

But Din took no note of that. He was just killing time. One failure at a time. He didn’t care about failure because his objective wasn’t to succeed.

Personal achievements like this were meaningless to him. Even if he succeeded a hundred times in a row. It would barely put a dent in the demand.

Most of the time he used arrows. Arrows were hard to Scribe, they were small and easily broken. Broken to the point they wouldn’t handle the stress of being shot.

But Din would also carve into metal rods. Or anything that caught his eyes. This was the reason why people began hiding their things when Din walked by.

He was growing into a notorious thief.

Most dictators were feared by the masses. And Din was as well. The reasons were different. This eccentric would steal without a second thought.

Even First and Jao had to deal with this. Their belongings had to be fought for. Din would take things he could reach for. If they held onto them, he’d let go.

Afterall he didn’t care about the items. As soon as resistance showed up he’d relinquish the item. He’d instead feel puzzled and ask himself why they cared so much about this and that.

It was a comical event. First resorted to hiding his flashy items he had ordered made, custom items he used himself.

They were flashy but had utility. These items were all suited for combat. This change resulted in people began regarding First as a more down to earth, reserved type of person. Which was far from true.

Jao however took a different approach. She pointed at things and with a firm tone, say a word. Din would nod and acknowledge it. They were boring like this.

He would of course not take things she said were her’s. But it was still a headache for her. Sometimes she’d forget and the items would vanish.

These items would be found later. Every time they’d have strange carvings in them. Beautiful carvings. But they would no longer serve any purpose, as they were now broken.

The kind of Scriptions Din and other Scriptionists did was of the lowest standard. One were the item would just be imbued.

This meant a one time transformation of the item. Giving it more durability. It also gave the feeling of belonging. Like a lovers hand in yours.

The more intricate Scriptions would see this transformation and in addition store energy within them. This energy could be weaponized. That is just one of the uses.

Another method was to create an output. This meant the item required three Scriptions that were connected.

One that took in energy, and another that stored it. This was a battery of sorts. And the last one was an output. This would also be restricted.

It was restricted because he needed be in contact with the users. The power would channel from the outside world, into the item and into the user.

This was a qualitative difference. This not only empowered the item further, it empowered the user. A miraculous effect in the eyes of the uninitiated.

There were further more iterations of scriptions that pushed the limits. It would be the make the energy flow in an entire circle.

From the environment to item. From the item to the person. From the person to the item. And finally from the item back into the environment.

This may not sound like an improvement but this gave the item the ability to grow. An item that grew not only with the user but the environment as well.

This was an impossibly high difficulty.

Most of the difficulty came from creating the input and output to and from user. This was especially so in cases of things like small tools or weapons.

The Scriptions needed to be small enough for the user to cover it with their hands. Larger items like pants or jackets would be easier to work with.

This was balanced by the difficulty of use. An item’s input is easier to use if it’s through the hands and feet.

It is easier because it is what people practice doing. They practice their control with their hands and the item becomes effective immediately. While a piece of armour would take some time getting used to.

These things were one of the reasons why Din failed so miserably. He was trying to engrave very small things. Arrows have very limited space to work with.

And this was still only the lowest level of Scriptions. One that would only increase and item effectiveness by half a grade at best.

It’s called Scriptions, this is because it is studied through scribing. Often on bland, paper like materials. But it ends up requiring extensive ability to utilize theories written on paper.

Not only does one require the ability to carve into the material, they need to know how deep or shallow they can go. This is just scratching the surface.

There are still other ways to induce a Scription effect. Reforging an item to naturally absorb energy to strengthen itself.

This is also impossibly difficult. Even more difficult than Scription itself. But such items are infinitely superior in durability and potential.

These things were possible because Scription was only a way to study a natural phenomenon.

Before there were crafted weapons there were items born from nature. Items possessing innate ability to use higher tier energy.

Such items were the foundation of Scription. They were studied and mimicked. Scription itself was just a scholarly pursuit.

While engraving, pyrography, reforging and other tools were used to imprint the profound markings learned in Scription.

The reason Scriptions can be considered too difficult is due to a lack of readable knowledge. The most expedient way to learn is to mimic.

Din was practicing unrated scriptions. These were not good scriptions. They enhanced durability of an item. But that was the extent.

When speaking of durability, this is not only the hardness of a material. It is also longevity of its sharpness.

Enhanced items would also give the wielder a familiar feeling. Allowing them to adjust to the item.

This feeling of familiarity could rouse obsession in people. To not have such items after having coming in contact with them, this can be considered painful.

These sorts of items are still some ways away. Perhaps only in tier three zones and above could one begin searching for such things.

Right now Din is looking over his most recent failure. His gaze piercing the small wooden item. His thoughts about to spill out.

“I’m afraid I would only cause people headaches.”

Jao was sitting near him. She didn’t look up from her fiddling. Only nodding. She felt this was right. Din did cause people to feel light headed. This was what she thought.

“I’m not sure how many items I’ve broken so far.”

This time Jao looked up. She did so because he spoke two sentences. Which in her experience meant he wanted to say more.

“I might break everything they own.”

It sounded like Din was being self depreciative. But this wouldn’t be true. He didn’t feel dismayed at so many continuous failures. He felt he learned a bit from everyone of them.

“It’s fortunate then. With your abilities, no one will come asking for you.”

Just like Din sounded self depreciative, Jao sounded like she was ridiculing.

Jao however never had such intentions. And Din didn’t take it as such. He felt she was very reasonable.

‘That’s right.’

With that Din picked up a new sacrificial item and began working. Jao watched him make the initial stroke before returning to her own work.

With them both staying outside their humble housing, their guards heard them as clear as day.

The guards weren’t like them. They heard them bickering. The held in a laugh. They even thought to themselves. Only she would dare openly mock Din like this.

But Din and Jao were too boring for that.