Chapter 78

Since Frisk didn’t have the Mana Manipulation skill, Keith had to embark on the path of an array master. Or rather, he just had to learn how to create arrays. There was no need for Keith to understand the hows and whys – he simply needed to copy whatever arrays Frisk chose. Even then, it would take months to gain initial proficiency in arrays. Thankfully, Frisk’s time-accelerated Pocket Dimension was the perfect place for their needs.

With a plan in place, Keith followed Frisk through a portal to a large open facility, each step leaving him dizzy due to his Mana Sickness. Frisk lazily pointed around and said, “This is my workspace, and over there is the door to the Pocket Dimension.”

Keith was reminded of Zeidrick’s home when he looked around. Blueprints, raw materials, and unfinished arrays littered the place. Keith even spotted a large mattress surrounded by dirty clothes.

“Eh, sleeping here saves time,” Frisk shrugged without a hint of embarrassment when he saw where Keith was looking. “Shall we get started?”

“Sure,” Keith said with some excitement, wondering what benefits a Mana Body would provide.

Keith followed Frisk into the Pocket Dimension and suddenly felt curious. Would the time acceleration here affect his Farming and Rift Simulator? A glance at his status answered his question. It did. The timer on his crops still counted down normally, not ten times slower. Even better, his Mana Sickness debuff was the same.

Keith thought he’d struck it rich until he remembered the time-acceleration array required a Mana Reactor to power it. And even if he had one, he’d need to remain in the Pocket Dimension for it to be effective. Staying locked inside would be much too boring.

“Be careful not to touch that array over there,” Frisk pointed to an unfinished array in the corner before turning to Keith. “So, grandson, how much do you know about arrays?”

“Nothing more than a layperson would know,” Keith responded, finding it strange how Frisk referred to him.

“Listen closely,” Frisk sighed and began a long explanation. “When you look at an array, what you see as lines are actually what array masters call runes. Even though runes look like lines, they’re much more complicated than one. They vary based on their width, depth, and length. Ah, think of a rune as a three dimensional letter with exact measurements. If you put runes together, you create a word, and a word conveys a certain meaning. Unlike the words spoken by you and me, a word formed by runes invokes a certain effect. Basically, runes are letters, and arrays are words. Do you understand so far?”

Keith nodded and asked, “What’s powering the effect?”

“No one knows,” Frisk shrugged. “It could be the world, or it could be the System.”

Keith thought for a moment. “If runes are supposed to be exact, then what causes the same type of array to have different grades?”

“Good question. The grade depends on three factors: the number of runes, the number of mistakes in a rune, and the ink used.” Frisk smiled with appreciation. “For example, you can convey “I love you” in three words or a whole essay. The key lies in finding the balance between meaning and conciseness.”

Keith found Frisk’s explanations to be very enlightening. He could already tell that the field of arrays was unfathomably deep.

The next moment, Frisk held up a small bottle of dark blue liquid and a metal pen with a sharply curved tip. “The ink used to write runes comes from a mix of monster blood and other materials. Quality varies greatly here.”

Keith didn’t understand one thing. “With that pen, how do you determine a rune's depth and width?”

“You depend on the Rune Carving skill,” Frisk held up the pen as a drop of ink appeared at its tip. “You can use your finger, though it's easier to use a pen like this. Anyway, the skill allows you to manipulate the width and depth of this dot of ink. Saves a lot of time.”

Keith wondered aloud, “So what do you carve on?”

Frisk picked up a half-inch thick piece of tan paper the size of a person’s torso from a nearby table and handed it to Keith. “This is called rune paper. There are all sorts of sizes, depending on your needs.”

Keith slid his hand across the rune paper’s surface. It was smooth. He tried bending it, only to discover it was as tough as wood. After a moment, Frisk showed Keith a strange three-dimensional plastic model covered in different-sized studs. It looked like a curved F. Frisk pointed to a particular stud on the model. “This rune has the meaning ‘gather.’ The effect itself does nothing. You need another word to pair it with, like ‘water.’ At that point, it's technically an array and will gather water. See the studs on the bottom and sides? Those represent the depth and width the rune needs for it to work.”

“That’s useful,” Keith blinked. “After carving, how will I know if I was successful?”

“The System will evaluate you. Generally, anything that’s at least 50% correct will work. The more correct, the more experience granted,” Frisk explained.

Keith nodded to show he understood when he had a thought. “Wait, you said your Array skill was level 929, right? What level are you?”

“Somewhere around level 800,” Frisk shrugged cluelessly. “It’s not important to me.”

Keith gasped, shocked. Slimeballs. Did professions award too much experience, or was Frisk an outlier? Keith had spent several months fighting monsters and was only level 571. The comparison was depressing.

“Okay,” Frisk gave Keith the ‘gather’ model, jars of ink, rune paper, and a rune pen. “Your workspace is over there. I have all the ink and rune paper you need, so you just need to put in the effort.”

With that, Frisk walked to a whiteboard and started writing diagrams. Keith could hear him muttering terms like ‘Mana Body,’ ‘Efficiency,’ and ‘Compression,’ among other things. Holding the rune equipment in his hands, Keith approached his desk and sat down.

Before he started, Keith thought of the time he spent learning how to write back in elementary school and figured this process was more or less the same, except that it was expensive. Although Keith didn’t know how much rune paper and ink cost, he knew it wasn’t anything to scoff at.

In any case, Keith picked up the pen, dipped it in ink, and then started carving while observing the ‘gather’ model. Without the Rune Carving skill, he couldn’t adjust the width and depth as freely, though his high agility gave him a steady hand. A minute later, several notifications popped up.

Rune completion rate: 74%. 25 experience granted.

Congratulations! You’ve unlocked the Rune Carving skill.

[Universal] Rune Carving

Description: Control the shape of rune ink by consuming mana. Mana consumption decreases with skill level.

Keith felt that 74% wasn’t bad for a first attempt, so he quickly began his second. This time, he used the Rune Carving skill. Moments later, a notification appeared.

Rune completion rate: 60%. 20 experience granted.

Keith was amused. Controlling the ink with his mind proved less effective than relying on his high agility to carve a rune. He thought briefly before deciding to make the most of his agility.

However, just as he began his third attempt, Frisk’s voice came from afar, “Grandson, don’t underestimate the importance of Rune Carving. It is the prerequisite to learning other skills. Think about it. How will agility help create an array in your body?”

Embarrassed, Keith switched back to using the Rune Carving skill.

As the hours passed, rune paper continued to pile up around Keith’s desk. Frisk’s requirement was for Keith to attain at least a 95% completion rate before moving on to a new rune. Keith tried pushing for 100% and found it incredibly hard, so he didn’t force it.

Like this, Keith learned how to draw one rune after another, such as Water, Fire, Air, Heat, Cool, etc. He spent all day absorbed in raising his skill level as Frisk occasionally gave guidance. A week of hard work later, Keith had learned over a hundred runes. By this point, Frisk’s task was for Keith to shrink the size of the runes he’d learned as much as possible. Being precise only got more important.

After two months under accelerated time, Keith could now carve all the runes he knew at the size of a fingernail, though carving runes with ink any smaller than this was physically impossible. Now, he needed another method.

Thanks to Keith’s effort, his Rune Carving skill reached level 250. At the same time, he acquired enough understanding of runes to unlock another universal skill.

[Universal] Rune Imprinting

Description: Use your mind to shape your mana into a rune. Mana cost and mental strain decrease with skill level.

Getting started, Keith used the Rune Imprinting skill and tried to write the ‘gather’ rune with his mind when he wondered if his Mind Division and Mind Enhancement skills would be useful here.

The answer was a resounding yes.

In five seconds, Keith imprinted the ‘gather’ rune onto a piece of rune paper the size of a fingernail. Not only was it extremely fast, but he achieved a 98% completion rate for the first time.

Just as Keith clenched a fist in celebration, Frisk’s voice came from behind, “Huh, you figured it out. Good. It’s time to move on to the next step. Are you ready to form your first array?”