Ori and Ellen left after their early dinner, leaving Arthur alone in his house. The matter of Ellen was worrying, so he planned on talking to her later on.
He then went to Master Ronin's villa, where he found his mother drinking a cup of tea as she watched Melania and Oren train. He walked over and sat beside her, not disturbing their training.
"Doesn't it feel like Oren is overdoing it?" As soon as his mother spotted him, she commented with a frown. Arthur felt a headache coming since his mother was the overprotective type.
"Well," Arthur looked at his brother trying to parry Melania's wooden sword. "It's like that when you're motivated."
"Do you know anything?" His mother looked at him directly and smacked his head before he could reply. "You should tell me if you're going to be away for so long."
"Mom, I'm too old to be hit." His mother was a traditional woman and hitting is her best parenting method. Arthur messaged his head as he grumbled. However, it didn't even sting because of how much stronger he became.
"Not old enough to do as you like."
"I'm already eighteen…"
"Don't talk back to me. Tell me what's going on with Oren." His mother glared and hmphed. Arthur sighed and complied.
"Well, it's a girl."
"Oh?" His mother face turned into one of surprise. With a grin, she turned to Arthur. "Who's she? Have you met her? Why hasn't Oren brought her home yet?"
"Mom, please don't rush them. Let them take their own pace." Arthur was speechless. "She's from a wealthy family, that's all I know."
"All you know?" His mother's grin disappeared. "And you haven't tried to check her character? You're already a failure in that department, make yourself useful."
"You can't say that! I had no chance. Getting a girlfriend is not that important." Arthur protested. "I've been working all this time." His words, betraying his intentions, came out like a complaint. His mother's face dimmed and she went silent.
"You're right," His mother looked at her hand, resting gently on her lap, as her eyes turned red. "I'm sorry, Arthur. I didn't give you the life you deserve."
"No," Arthur felt guilty. He held his mother's hand gently as he shook his head. "It wasn't your fault, Mom. For the years I spent working," Arthur paused, remembering the time he had wasted. "I never blamed you or dad for it. I had to provide for us."
His mother nodded slightly and Oren walked over after he finished his training. The three of them went inside to talk about what they would and Arthur told them that he needed to leave again.
Before he left, he gave his brother the permanent runes that have evolved. His brother was growing rapidly and was already a full-fledged neo-ranker. That day, Arthur decided he would give his mother permanent runes as well. He told her how dangerous it would if his ability gets revealed and asked her to hide her abilities until she needs them.
His mother was a non-awakener, so Arthur had some hesitation. After all, his mother was already past the awakening point that was usually at fifteen years of age. However, having mana would prolong her life, and the abilities he gave her allowed her to fend for herself if Arthur or Oren were not around.
***
Before the last round began, Arthur spent his days in the Twilight Workshop. After all, they were still endorsing Arthur. To his delight, Arthur was allowed to study the runes he wanted. He started on his quest but it wasn't much time before he had to leave.
In the end, he only learned another rune. It was the one he saw before, Seeing Eye. The rest of his time was spent researching the stealth rune and how they controlled the light to achieve near-invisibility.
The delay of the Runes Apprentices Cup hyped up the last round. With the emergence of the young hero and other geniuses in the earlier rounds, everyone was excited to see them fight against each other.
Only a thousand would pass the first round, a hundred for the second, and twenty-five for the third. The third round was a standard tournament where contestants would fight against each other until a ranking has been established.
Since runes masters weren't fighters on their own, they would partner up with someone that would fight for them using their runic cards. This was a disappointing aspect when Arthur learned of it, but he realized that this was the profession that he was doing. Making runic cards and artifacts for others to use, decoding encrypted runes, and avoiding runic traps.
Runes masters weren't fighters, that was a fact. They didn't have time to train so they used their runes to fight. Since the mana capacity of the contestants differs, they would simply create runic cards for others to use.
When he met Emma in the capital, preparing to head to the association, she told him how these partners would be chosen. They had to be of the Vetus rank and belong to one of the international guilds and families.
This was vied for by every major power. After all, it was important to make connections with the young talents of the runic path for these powers. The association didn't mind as this increased the prestige of runes masters.
The partners would wear an artifact that would limit their mana to the rei-rank, guaranteeing a fair competition that would rely on the skill of the runes apprentice and their chosen runes.
As they arrived at the association, they were guided to the teleportation hall again. However, this time their destination was different. The last round of the competition would be held in the most magical city in the world, Runera.
Emma and Arthur were accompanied by someone else, Grandmaster Venkov. When Arthur asked him for the reason, the grandmaster laughed heartily and smacked Arthur on the back.
"This year's tournament is different." The grandmaster caressed his beard as he said. "Not only you, but there are also many geniuses this time around. There's the young man from Sourna, Princess Nera, and another from Halin."
The grandmaster showed greed in his eyes as he laughed sinisterly. Arthur's mouth twitched and was about to say something when the president of the Yalen association branch came in.
The events that followed were boring, pleasantries exchanged, and promises made as they waited for the royal family. Like always, they were the last to arrive. There was Prince Kal, Nera, Ilia Perli, and grandmaster Alexander.
Everyone greeted them and bowed as they passed. When Prince Kal looked at Arthur after greeting Grandmaster Venkov, his eyes held bottomless coldness.
"Our youngest hero, always a pleasure to see you." He said in a mocking tone.
"The pleasure is mine, your highness." Arthur bowed with his hand on his heart, unwilling to entertain any problematic characters. The prince nodded and turned to leave.
Then, they teleported to Runera.
As the city appeared in front of them, Arthur stood there with Emma in awe. Even though he has seen photos of the city before, it was nothing like seeing it for real.
There were no skyscrapers like the ones you'd find in normal cities. The city consisted of low-building of various colors and lights making a giant circular maze with a single giant tree in the middle.
Mother of Mana. That was the tree's name and its branches reached over the city's district, blessing them with vibrant life. There were floating buildings that rotated regularly around the tree as if in harmony.
"Why are they floating?" Arthur asked Grandmaster Venkov as the three of them stood atop the giant platform that stood outside the city. It was the station of arrival for anyone wishing to enter the city. The platform was on a hill, allowing them to oversee the city.
"The tree's mana has a certain flow and pattern, making some places richer than the others. That's why some ambitious people built flying buildings according to the pattern."
Arthur watched with awe as the buildings danced with one another, each looking like an ancient castle.
The group was led by the president of the Yalen branch to the walls of the city. They boarded a vehicle that looked like a giant turtle. The turtle started rising in the air before speeding across the marshlands toward the city's gates.
"Why does this look like a turtle?" Arthur felt like a curious kid as he kept throwing questions. They were sitting in their comfy chairs as the turtle raced across the skies. However, they didn't feel any movement on the inside.
"Well," Grandmaster Venkov coughed in awkwardness. "It's… the rune master's unique taste."
"What?"
"They call him turtles' man." Emma laughed. "He's obsessed with turtles and most of his artifacts and creations have such design. It's not weird to see runes masters' eccentric behaviors in their creations."
Arthur blinked, unsure what to do with such information. However, there was one thing for sure.
'These people have dedicated their lives to their creations.'
Arthur saw the towering arcs of the gate pass over them as he entered the city of creators, Runera. The city basked in the sunlight as the runes shone in every corner. His heart thumped with excitement as it yearned for knowledge hidden in this city.
