A pale blue Rune character appeared in front of Bell—it was the very first Rune he had ever inscribed.
"It's so difficult to write these Runes using mana as ink."
After finishing the first character, Bell let out a small sigh of relief, but he was surprised by just how hard it was to write Runic Letters.
'Primordial Runes aren't some modern creation. There are only eighteen characters, but the combinations of those eighteen Runes can encompass all things.'
This portion of knowledge had been extracted from Caster Hound's understanding of the "Primordial Runes." The information was so vast and intricate that it could've turned Bell into an idiot just trying to comprehend it.
If not for the Type-Moon System helping him absorb that immense volume of knowledge, there was no way he could've learned it on his own.
Of course, even with that assistance, all Bell had was enough knowledge to start using the Runic Letters. To truly master all eighteen Primordial Runes would still take time and practice.
At the very least, he needed to inscribe all eighteen Runes first before he could begin learning the more advanced applications.
At the same time, Bell began to have doubts about Caster Hound's identity.
'Is the person who wields this kind of power really that Caster Hound who supposedly doesn't like using Rune Magecraft?'
'Wasn't it said that Runic Letters could only be used individually? Then why does the knowledge I've received include all kinds of combination functions for them?'
Bell fully acknowledged Cú Chulainn as a great hero. A Caster Hound who fought with a spear certainly deserved that title—his strength and personality were both top-tier.
But Bell couldn't bring himself to believe that a hero like Cú Chulainn, who wielded a spear, could also master the Runes to such an extent, even using them in multiples. In his Lancer form, he should've only known standard Rune Magecraft—so how did that shift into mastering Primordial Runes as a Caster?
If you insisted that he had learned them from Scáthach... maybe that could be justified.
But would someone who barely used Rune Magecraft secretly master it to such a high level?
To put it bluntly, wasn't that a bit much for even Scáthach?
'There's only one real possibility... possession!'
'Someone must have taken on Caster Hound's identity at the First Singularity, making others think he was just Cú Chulainn, while hiding who he truly was.'
As that thought formed, Bell felt like he'd hit upon the truth.
If Caster Hound wasn't the real Cú Chulainn, then it made perfect sense why the Primordial Rune knowledge he provided was so detailed, profound, complex, and versatile.
'In the Type-Moon worldview, there really are Heroic Spirits who would pull something like this.'
'But those are Heroic Spirits that possess ordinary people. A regular Heroic Spirit shouldn't be able to possess another Heroic Spirit. Only a god could pull that off.'
'Descend from the heavens?'
'Or maybe possession through Runic Letters?'
Bell couldn't even imagine which god would be capable of such a feat.
As for tracing the Root through the current Primordial Runes... he had to admit he didn't know much about that subject.
'I don't know which god might be possessing Caster Hound, but getting the Primordial Runes out of it was a real stroke of luck.'
'Otherwise, even if you could extract Primordial Runes from a Spirit Origin, I imagine only Scáthach or the Lostbelt Skadi could pull that off.'
But those were five-star Heroic Spirits.
In the Type-Moon System, Bell already considered himself lucky just to draw a three-star Heroic Spirit. He wouldn't even dare to dream of a five-star.
Without fate, pulling a five-star Heroic Spirit was impossible.
Rather than daydreaming, he figured it made more sense to earn more money and keep drawing Craft Essences.
'It's good to clarify the identity of Caster Hound, but the matter of the Primordial Runes still has to take top priority.'
In truth, when it came to Caster Hound, the first person Bell thought of was the beauty goddess Freya, who had pulled a similar move.
He really was getting a bit of PTSD from all this.
Bell shook his head to clear it of those messy thoughts and returned to inscribing more Runic Letters. These eighteen Runes would be the part he could show publicly, and that way, he could temporarily conceal the use of his "Lightning Command" magic.
Continue writing!
Thanks to the golden orb, Bell's mental state was unusually good at the moment.
Meditation.
Concentration.
Those were the two Craft Essences he had received last time. Maybe they didn't seem all that useful in-game, but in the real world, their impact was significant.
Meditation allowed him to rest while remaining aware of his surroundings.
Concentration helped him focus, enhancing his senses during battle, and outside combat, it helped keep his mind sharp, strengthening his mental state overall. Entering that mindset while training allowed him to learn more efficiently. Sure, it consumed more energy—but as long as he wasn't doing it in the Dungeon, the cost didn't matter.
'Very good! Let's begin!'
Bell quickly moved on to writing the second Rune.
...
The night passed.
Bell had spent the entire night up on the open space above the church, studying and inscribing Runic Letters with unwavering focus, right up until sunrise.
His concentration had held the entire time.
By the end, Bell's eyes had gone panda-colored, bloodshot and tired, but his mood was still riding high.
'Good! All done in one night.'
'Eighteen Runic Letters.'
In just a single night, Bell had managed to complete the preliminary study of the Runes. He had succeeded in mastering their basic forms.
Taking a deep breath, his fingers quickly traced character after character in the air.
The speed wasn't great—nearly twenty seconds to complete all eighteen Runes—but for a beginner, that was already impressive.
If he kept studying, there'd come a time when he wouldn't need to use his fingers at all—he'd be able to draw the Runes using nothing but fluctuations of mana.
But that wasn't something achievable in a single night.
Drawing Runes with mana fluctuations was far more difficult than doing it with fingers.
Still, for now, Bell could finally take a break.
But before that...
Bell's sore fingers moved through the air, drawing three Runic Letters.
The symbols glowed faintly blue, slowly merging into his body.
It was a form of spiritual healing, accelerating his mental recovery.
His exhausted mind gradually felt replenished. His panda eyes visibly lightened. In less than a minute, the emergency healing had done its work.
'Phew... Runes really are something else. That effect is amazing.'