Chapter 424 The Arcane Confluence
The first half talked about constructs and how to create suitable, realistic constructs such as puppets or objects. Rishi already knew a lot about constructs, but the ones mentioned here were different; they used runes to perform different tasks, and a particular combination of runes could help create anything.
It was a little different, but he could understand the first half. It helped him increase his ability to create better realistic constructs, but all his joy washed away when he tried to comprehend the second half. It took him a lot of time to decipher what it was about. It looked ancient and mystic.
He brought the flashlight closer to avoid missing any detail; his 'Night Vision' didn't allow him to read complex, small letters. So he had to depend on his eyes to read it. After reading it several times, he understood what it was talking about. It was related to arcane magic, a type of magic that transcends natural laws.
As he read more and understood what was written, he was shocked. Arcane magic was defined as a mysterious magic that warps time and space and controls the flow of Mana. If Mana was water, then Arcane Magic could be referred to as steam pressure.
The more he learned, the more curious he was about to uncover its mystery and use this knowledge. He felt like this was the thing that allowed Raven to create such powerful puppets. Runes were not the only things responsible for it; he clenched his hands in determination. The harder it was, the more determined he was to learn it; he felt like this would allow him to uncover many mysteries.
Arcane magic would allow him to become stronger. He kept trying day and night to learn more about it. One week passed; two weeks passed, but he continued his study. His mind solely focused on arcane magic, and slowly but surely, he started understanding its concepts. He understood how to combine runes, shadow energy, and Mana effectively. The hidden link was arcane magic; it could help him transcend natural laws.
It had multiple uses, but he was only able to learn a few, but with them alone, he was confident enough to create something that would be something he had never heard of. With the fire of imagination and creativity burning in his eyes, he started writing his ideas in a notebook.
He returned to the basics and learned about shadow manipulation and rune crafting. He then went through the second book that had the last chapters, explaining the art of combining shadow energy, runes, and Mana to create ethereal constructs.
It took him some time to write down all the ideas in his mind; he had to create a design himself. One more week passed, and he slowly opened his eyes, rubbing them. He woke up. He then lit a torch and started reading where he had left off. He looked and found out that his research was complete.
His hand couldn't help but itch while thinking about creating what he had in mind. He fashions an array of intricate runes in different colors on a barren canvas before moving back and staring at it from a distance. The runes shone blue one moment while violet another, and the blinking continued till they started shining in abiding white light.
He continued his experiments for a week before finally seeing some results. He succeeds in doing what he was trying, and the result this time was a success.
All runes become dark before shining again, this time in purple. It is a perfect blend of shadow energy and Mana. As he supplies more energy to it, a magic circle appears, and a rudimentary cannon-like object appears. He approaches it and touches it before checking its barrel.
He aims it toward the boulder before activating it. The runes over it slowly light up; its barrel revolves before a projectile releases from it and hits the boulder. With an explosion, the boulder falls into pieces. A silence descended on the area before laughter echoed, "I did it."
He jumped so high in excitement that his head hit the ceiling. "Ouch," he said, rubbing his head lightly as he approached the object that shook and disappeared into a cloud of smoke. "It is still not properly stable, but this is certainly a good start. I also need to work on the bullet; I only used compressed shadow energy this time."
One more week passed, and he had finally succeeded in mastering this technique. He named it 'Phantom Artillery.' He started moving out of the valley and went to the forest, where he approached a herd of monsters known as Big Horn Oxes.
He suppressed his presence and threw a rock at them; they were easy to anger. They started charging at him to trample him into dust. With a smile on his face, he moved his hand and created a strange symbol in the air. The next moment, a giant white-colored magic circle with a purple border appeared before him, and from it, multiple cannons appeared.
As the beast approached, the runes on their surface activated, and they turned their barrels toward the approaching opponents. Their barrels started rotating just as the beast horde was ten meters away. 'Boom', 'Boom', 'Boom'
They kept firing toward the opponents, giving birth to multiple explosions. After some seconds, only dust and smoke were left in front of them. As Rishi approached the area in front of him, all he saw were pieces of flesh and bones. "It should be a success for now; I can create better, more advanced, and stronger artillery."
He returned to the valley, not caring about the chaos he had created. Now that he was free for a while, he decided to take a look at what his assassins were doing, and he found them fighting multiple undeads. It looked like Vinay was training them; he could see even Skeleton Wizard and Death Knight against them.
They were all covered in wounds, but they were still fighting as if their lives depended on it. Rishi decided to help them and threw some health potions he had. When they saw potions near them, instead of getting relieved, they were more scared. They looked at Rishi in anger.
Rishi was confused; he felt misjudged. He decided to ignore them. "When did the world become so bad? Now people can't even appreciate kindness. Its better to get a good sleep than waste my precious time on them."