The capital city of the Yalen kingdom was located to the east of Kera, Arthur's hometown. In-between lied many cities, strongholds, and camps of varying sizes covering the ever-stretched wilderness of the kingdom. Farming was taken care of by strongholds that defended the fertile lands from attacks. Villages, like the one Arthur found in the middle of the mountain range Rovero, were rare and didn't exist unless they had special means of defending themselves against monsters, like the ring of illusions.
Nonetheless, the Yalen kingdom stretched wide and far as Arthur could see from his seat in the plane. Although mounts were also used for long-distance travel, it was of a lesser-luxury than planes that used mana as fuel. Ever since the industrial revolution of mana, fuels like diesel and gasoline were buried in what is called The Era Before Magic. Mana was a renewable source of energy that could be used at the same time as being 'resupplied' the world. The mana used would be converted back to mana after a certain time has passed and the runes lost their function.
From his seat in the plane, sitting beside Emma, her butler, and two guards, Arthur could see the land that has stretched to meet the sky.
"It's so…"
"First time on a plane?" Emma asked smiling. Arthur wasn't embarrassed about these things next to her anymore and simply nodded. "Well, you'll get to enjoy it since the flight would take five hours until we reach the capital."
Emma opened a book leaving Arthur to gaze through the window. The clouds soon blocked his view and there was nothing more than an endless blue sky and white fluffy clouds. As Arthur remembered it, the Yalen kingdom was located on the west side of the Anera continent. It was bordered by the smaller kingdom, Anerk, from the west making it have no borders with the Great Blood Ocean. Kera was one of the closest cities to the Anerk Kingdom making it essential for trade since most of the imported goods would arrive from the ports of Anerk.
Arthur opened a screen in front of him that showed real-time location. Their plane was cutting across the Yalen kingdom from the west to the central part of the kingdom where the capital, Yalenia, existed.
At three hours mark, a broadcast mentioning the existence of a herd of flying monsters was issued. The broadcaster, probably the pilot, mentioned that there would be no harm as the defensive arrays have been activated. Arthur could feel the shift of mana as the whole plane was covered with a soft hue from the outside. A few minutes later, there were some vibrations in the plane as the monsters collided with the defensive arrays. It only lasted a short moment before the herd either scattered or was killed.
The trip ended with Arthur feeling irritated by the crowded plane, but it was inevitable giving the sheer resources needed to manufacture a plane that could survive the threats of the sky. They needed to make up for every penny they invested. It was still fun nonetheless.
Emma and her butler led the way across the airport's security with its staff tending to them in a VIP manner. From what Arthur heard from Emma, surnamed Agard, her family was famous for producing a runes' grandmaster, her grandfather. The rest of her family were either Runes' Masters or academics in that field.
They found a limousine waiting for them outside. The group had no luggage whatsoever since Arthur had everything he needs in his subspace and Emma had her artifact. They boarded the car and the engine soon came to life, taking them across the city.
The land surrounding the airport was mainly laid with farmlands, away from the skyscrapers of the capital. It was made to reduce the population affected by the noise of the machinery used in the airplanes and the airport. The car cut through a few miles before they could finally spot the capital in the distance.
Bounded by hills and the Heji river, the capital of the Yalen kingdom was as beautiful as capitals tended to be. The hills served to layout the capital in such a way that its skyscrapers were on an almost equal level with the buildings on the hills. This integration of both modernization and magic towers made the capital seem like a city out of a fairy tale told to kids before bed.
The capital had another name, Tower City. The reason was simple. A magic tower was looked upon the capital, taller than any skyscraper with a solid 500 meters. It was the destination of many awakeners for its infinite opportunities and dangers. The number of floors the tower had is estimated to be 51, making it a challenge that has yet to be cleared even by the strongest people out there. This was one of the structures left behind by the Era of Yore when magic was at its peak.
The hills around the center of the capital served to host its important places, like the coliseum, The Academy of Magic, the Union's Headquarters, and the Palace of Royals. These were but a few other than the famous markets, auction houses, smithery, and runes workshops.
The car made its way on the highway leading to the center of the city, where the general population lived. They stopped at a hotel where their stay was arranged until the Runes Apprentice Cup would take place. It wouldn't be happening in the capital, but the teleportation circle that transported them there would be in the palace.
"We have time until next week, we'll get to go around and have fun, visit the workshop and learn, and rest until then," Emma said as her heels clanked the marble floor of the hotel.
Arthur followed as he glanced around the foyer and its giant chandelier. They arrived at the reception and Emma showed him her ID. The receptionist quickly produced the magnetic rooms' keys for Arthur, Emma, and their entourage.
"You can rest in your room for the rest of the day, maybe you can go sightseeing? I need to meet a few… friends and business partners. We'll go to the workshop early the next morning." Emma informed him and Arthur nodded while bidding her goodbye.
After a few short moments of taking the elevator and searching for his room, Arthur found himself lying on the comfy king-sized bed in his room. It had a simple décor with a great view of the city.
Arthur kept staring through the balcony at the bustling capital with all of its lights, rotating buildings, and flying mounts and artifacts. He mulled over which place he should visit since he had half of the day off. It was then that his phone rang, it was his brother.
"Hey, Oren. I just got here." The video call connected and Oren's face filled the screen. It took Arthur a few moments to notice there was something wrong. "What happened?" He asked as he saw Oren's haggard and tired expression.
"Hey, bro," Oren said weekly, Arthur could see the background, and Oren was in their house. "I just wanted to ask you about something. Today, I headed to a dungeon with friends…"
Oren then proceeded to tell Arthur what happened. As the story went on, Arthur's face betrayed his anger and disappointment.
"I told you to keep hunting in primitive-tier dungeons for now!" Oren flinched at Arthur's shout, bespeaking his anger. Arthur was calmed by his shout and breathed heavily. "You know I'm just worried about you."
"I do… I'm sorry." Oren said, downcast. Arthur had no choice but to tell him it was okay. "After the ogre appeared, we were in a pinch and I had to do something. So, I just tried attacking and…" His brother's voice trailed. "And I was suddenly controlling fire. Is this what you told me about? The fire skill?"
"Yeah. It's the reason your impulsiveness hasn't killed you yet." Arthur said slightly irritated. Oren nodded but he was still at a loss for words. "What?" Arthur had no choice but to ask.
"I thought it was a skill, like the one I received before from the dungeon. But… it was different." His brother's words made Arthur straighten his back and listen attentively. "It was as if I had another ability."
"What? Ability? That can't be…" Arthur stopped talking as a sudden realization struck him. He has never given another person a skill except for the goblins. He has always considered them to be a skill, but were they?
Arthur remembered the Reality Gate he managed to close after relentless training for a day before coming here. He had managed to close the gate and turn the artifact created into an artificial one. However, what if he gave the rune with the closed gate to a person?
"… Skills are artificial abilities!" Arthur exclaimed in surprise as goosebumps covered his skin. His irises shock at this sudden realization. This was the main difference between skills and abilities! Whether the gate was opened or not would determine everything.
"What?" His brother couldn't understand what he meant. Arthur regained his composure as his heart was beating loudly in his chest.
"It's okay, we'll talk about this when I get back. Don't do something as reckless again, okay?" Arthur warned and closed the call after he saw Oren nod his head. He then sat on the bed as his whole body was trembling.
It was the same. Artificial runes were skill if given to a person, and artificial artifacts if given to an object. As for real, genuine rune with an Opened Reality Gate? It gave abilities!
"This…"
It explained why Arthur couldn't give himself the permanent runes. He didn't have to turn the rune into a skill because runes were genuine abilities on their own! His ability was the source of every ability out there!