Chapter 33: Runic Items.

“The Blood Tribe will not stop until they find us. Too many tribes have been suffering because of us, we must take responsibility. If they are not going to stop, then we must take an initiative. Therefore, we can have the element of surprise.

The Blood Tribe will not expect us to look for them for a fight, they are too over their head. They will think that we are scared of them, that we are hiding because of fear that they will find us.” Vir Suggested.

“I see, so the Blood Tribe is already on the move. I understand what you mean, but we do not have time to worry about the other tribe’s safety, we must ensure our tribe first before them. I will not let you take an initiative until our tribe is prepared for war.” Chief Viren rejected Vir suggestion.

“But Chief, too many people are dying because of us, are we just going to ignore them in the hands of the Blood Tribe?”

“Are you going to risk the lives of our tribesmen just because you are feeling bad for those people? Why should we care for them? We do not know them, we have never even seen them. Why will we choose to put the lives of our people for some strangers?

This world is survival of the fittest, we are not the reason why they are suffering, they are suffering because they are weak. Do you think the Blood Tribe will dare to attack them if they are strong? Do you think they will help us if we are in their situation?

You are the Head Arrow of this tribe, your top priority should be the safety of our tribe and our people, not some stranger you do not even know.” Shaman Catori angrily interjected.

“That is right Vir, we must not act hastily, this is the life of our people we are discussing. Also, I did not say that we are not going to fight them, I say that we must prepare first.” Chief Viren calmly said.

“THOSE BASTARDS, IF THEY DARE TO COME HERE, I WILL CRUSH ALL OF THEIR HEADS.” Elder Ahote was enraged.

Alfred was terrified when he heard that there was going to be a war soon. However, he recalled the history that Chief Viren told him. He calmed himself down, then he became determined to help in this fight. Alfred raised his hand with determination.

“I will also help! Now that I am a 3rd Stage, I can now create Runic Tools, Accessories, and Weapons to help the Arrows for this fight, I will also put a smaller version of the trap we did when we hunt for a beast in the surrounding area, to slow down who ever try to attack us.”

“That is right! The Rune of Alfred can be a big help in this fight! We must fully utilize them!” Elder Ahote excitedly said.

“That is more the reason why we should take our time before we fight the Blood Tribe.” Chief Viren solidifies his decision.

“Uhm… Can I suggest something?” Dara hesitantly asked for permission.

Everyone shifted their attention to Dara.

“Go ahead.” Chief Viren said.

“I think you are underestimating the might of the Blood Tribe. Their numbers our hundreds, multiple times the number of our tribesmen, and almost all of them are fighters. They are ruthless, merciless, cunning, and strong, they will do anything to win.

We are not going to win with just us, even if we prepare for a long time or with the help of the Rune. Yes, the Rune is amazing but that is not enough to win the war with Blood Tribes.”

All the people inside the tent frowned when they heard Dara.

“What are you implying?” Shaman Catori asked.

“I suggest that we contact other tribes for the purpose of forming an alliance to fight with the Blood Tribe and stop them in their madness.”

“That might be a plausible idea, other tribes should be aware of the Blood Tribe activity. Therefore, they should be concerned for their own tribe’s safety. If we offer them to form an alliance with us it should be easy to persuade them. The problem is, we do not know the location of any tribes.” Chief Viren processed Dara’s suggestion.

“I might be able to help with that, I know the location of some tribes, well maybe not the exact location, but I have some idea where to find them,” Dara said.

“Then I will let you and Vir find this tribe, then offer them an alliance to fight the Blood Tribe. Vir orders some of the Arrows to patrol the surrounding area outside the tribe. Also, stop hunting in the forest in the meantime, the vegetable is enough for us to survive for now. We do not want the Blood Tribe to find our tribe prematurely.”

“Yes, Chief!” Dara and Vir repleid at the same time.

Chief Viren moved his stare at Alfred.

“Young Alfred, how many Runic Items can you make?”

“I need to pour all my Life Energy if I want to make the Runic Items to be strong as possible. After making one, I need to recover my Life Energy for at least a quarter of a day. So, I can only make 2 to 3 Runic Items a day.”

“That is not a lot but still good enough, then please make at least 2 Runic Items a day. Also, I will order some tribesmen to dig a hole in the surrounding area, I want you to put some Runes in there. I know that I am asking a lot right now, but this is just temporary.”

“I will try my best!”

Chief Viren dismissed the emergency meeting after forming a plan. Vir and Dara immediately form a party to look for other tribes. Alfred and Elder Ahote discuss some ideas that might help for the incoming war. Shaman Catori cooperated with the previous tribesmen of the Plant Tribe to create medical herbs as much as possible.

Every tribesman did their job diligently to make sure nothing went wrong. Gunnar was left behind to lead the Patrol group, Vir didn’t want to bring Gunnar with them because the mission was not about fighting but forming alliances. Gunnar was a bit dissatisfied with this decision, but he accepted it because it was an order of Vir.

Armani tagged along with Vir and Dara because he was very good at talking to people, he knew exactly how to handle different kinds of people. So, having him in the search Party was a good idea.

A few days had passed. Alfred had made several Runic Items and created Runic Traps. In his experiment in making Runic Items, he found out that he can only put a single Rune to an Item. if he tried to put another one, the Life Energy needed to finish the Rune would increase drastically. Alfred also learned the effect of Augmentation Rune couldn’t overlap with the same type.

Therefore, he created multiple Runic Items that had different effects. The Augmentation Rune he put to the accessories such as the necklace and bracelet were, Strength, Agility, Sturdiness, and Stamina. While the weapons were, Sharpness, Piercing, and Durability.

Alfred also put Elemental Rune on the weapon. At first, he tried to put Fire Rune without the Formation, but the Rune didn’t work the way he intended to. He carved the Fire Rune into the wooden handle of a stone spear. The fire covered the whole wooden handle, but not the pointy stone.

Thus, making it impossible to hold. Alfred tried a different approach in his next experiment, he tried to carve the Fire Rune on the pointy stone of the stone spear. This time the Fire Rune worked what he intended to, the fire only covered the pointy stone and not the wooden handle. However, the fire destroyed the rope holding the pointy stone and the wooden handle together, making the stone spear useless.

Alfred was a little disappointed with the result, he thought he can make something cool like Fire Spear. He sighed at this failure, then tried it again but this time he added Formation to the Fire Rune. After carving the Fire Rune Formation on the pointy stone, he exhaled to relax his body.

He didn’t know if the fire would cover the whole weapon or destroy it, he had no idea what would happen if he activated the Rune. However, when Alfred activated the Fire Rune, it didn’t destroy the weapon nor engulfed it in a fire. Instead, the fire was floating on the surface of the pointy stone.

Alfred didn’t know if this was a success or a failure, but it still could be used as a weapon. if the Arrows stab the beast, then activated this Rune Formation, the Fire would cook the beast inside out.