Runes and Spirits (10)

Reed decided to engrave the runes on his gauntlet and discussed it with Kaitlyn, the chief engineer.

“I just finished researching a magic-responsive glove, and I was about to ask if you wanted to do more research related to the gauntlet.”

The unsolved research on “Magic Absorption using Magnesium” was finally resolved.

And Kaitlyn was waiting to apply it to Reed’s gauntlet.

Reed explained to her about the runes.

“Here are the Heal, Mana Shield, and Haste runes in order. Engrave them all in the places I tell you.”

“Understood. But then, won’t one rune be left? What is that character?”

“That’s the problem.”

Explosion is basically a magic that activates about 10cm away when it is triggered and causes a large explosion towards the front.

However, the Explosion rune was slightly different from what the wizards used.

Unlike magic that can cause an explosion at any time, the rune only activates when there is a shock.

It couldn’t be used as a beam weapon by placing it on the palm of the hand.

‘Rather, should I call it a self-destructing item?’

No matter how much Mana is injected, it’s impossible for Magnesium, which is stronger than steel, to absorb all the instantaneous damage.

If it was put on a Magnesium gauntlet, it would only be useful when aiming for a close-quarters battle.

“How about making it a throwing object?”

Reed suggested.

“A throwing object?”

“Like embedding the rune in a bead or a coin.”

“A bead or a coin…”

Upon hearing that, Kaitlyn shifted her gaze somewhere and stared blankly into the air.

It was a good sign.

It meant that her “Eccentric Inventor” trait had manifested.

After a while, she turned her head sharply and looked at Reed.

Her black pupils were twinkling.

“How about a card?”

“A card?”

“Beads are not very portable, and coins are not very good for throwing. If both need to recognize the rune, then something wide and thin is needed. In that case, a card is perfect.”

Reed nodded in agreement at Kaitlyn’s words.

He thought that a coin would be better, but if it was made as thin and wide as a card, it would be easier to recognize the rune.

There wouldn’t be any problem with practicing throwing anyway, so changing it to a card wouldn’t matter.

“Let’s go with a card.”

“Understood.”

The Explosion rune was used as a throwing object, utilizing all the runes.

Chief Engineer Kaitlyn immediately started working on Reed’s request and began the production.

The production time didn’t take long.

Magnesium Magic Gauntlet Mk.Ⅲ

Type: Equipment Item

A gauntlet made using Magnesium.

Unlike regular gauntlets, it is equipped with a magic crystal orb to assist in casting magic.

When charged, it is harder than a steel gauntlet.

(Equipment)

Durability: 75/75

Attack Power: 13~17

Defense Power: 40~48

“Creation Lv. 3”: A flawless work of craftsmanship.

“Magic Engineering Lv. 4”: Charge Rate: 50%, Duration: 60 hours

“Magic Lv. 4”: Equipping a “Colorless Magic Crystal” grants the following effects:

-The power of the manifested magic increases by 80%.

-Mana regeneration ability increases by 50%.

“Magic Lv. 4”: Grants the effect of “Magic Absorption”. It absorbs the magic that comes into contact with the hand up to a certain threshold.

“Magic Engineering Lv. 4”: ‘Runes’ are engraved: Runes of “Heal”, “Mana Shield”, and “Haste”.

Runes are fundamentally activated by looking at the rune while drawing up mana.

Therefore, the direction of the engraving was changed according to the purpose of the rune.

The rune of Heal was engraved on the palm, the rune of Mana Shield on the wrist, and the rune of Haste on the back of the hand.

“The magic charge is not working properly.”

“It’s because all the places where the magic gathered for the magic-responsive glove are on the magic stone side, so if it gets overcharged, it explodes.”

“How much mana capacity does it have?”

“Since it’s about 10,000, you should think of it as around 5,000 for half.”

He thought about inserting more crystals, but he didn’t ask.

She had struggled many times for the efficiency of the magic stone, so she would know that using only one would be dangerous.

‘In the end, I’m the one who uses it, and I have to manage it.’

Reed wanted to use this responsive glove as his strategic means.

It’s like a pseudo “Mana Drain”, sucking up all the mana that wizards have and gaining an advantage in mana.

However, if it overcharges even a little, the magic stone will explode, making the gauntlet unusable.

Since it can’t be released, it was inevitable to be cautious.

‘Then, I’ll try to keep the charge rate at a maximum of 10%… and make the most of this magic-responsive glove.’

If it’s 12 hours, it wouldn’t be too difficult to manage as long as he stays alert.

Reed thought so and put on the gauntlet.

* * *

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[Original Source – dreambigtl . com]

* * *

Now it was time to research how to use ordinary magic and rune magic simultaneously.

Switching between human magic, which requires mana to be drawn up and calculated, and rune magic, which simply requires thinking, is quite complicated since their properties are different.

‘It has to become a realm of reaction.’

Instead of seeing, reading, and thinking, he had to recall it as soon as he saw it, like Pavlov’s dog drooling at the sound of a bell.

[T/N: A classical conditioning experiment where food was provided to a dog after a bell sound and soon it associated the sound of a bell with the upcoming food]

‘What would be a good way to do that?’

In his struggle, Reed finally found one solution.

Like pressing a shortcut key, he used memories from reality that didn’t exist in this world, as if it were a game.

Chinese characters.

Reed thought of it like Chinese characters.

Chinese characters are ideograms that convey a meaning through a single character.

The character for Haste’s rune is ‘速 (speed)’.

The character for Explosion’s rune is ‘爆 (explosion)’.

The character for Mana Shield’s rune is ‘防 (defense)’.

The character for Heal’s rune is ‘復 (recovery)’.

Thinking of the runes as Chinese characters and associating them one by one, the magic combination became much easier.

All he had to do was adjust it so that he could do it automatically through repeated practice and mastery.

‘I’ve never fought anyone who uses runes before… I have the advantage in terms of information warfare.’

Reed was convinced of that.

Finally, he felt that he had a means that only he could use.