"Will mages truly embrace this pen?" Eunice asked Mage Werner one last time, hope flickering in her eyes.
"If it works as claimed, yes," Werner replied. "But mages are rare—not as numerous as you think. Sales won't be massive. And the design is simple—any mage with basic crafting skills might make their own instead of buying. Feathers are limited by materials, but this pen isn't."
He saw Eunice's disappointment and added, "Most mages are Gray Robes. If you hire a skilled rune engraver, your pens will sell. The key is securing exclusive rights. Your mage connections are weak—other guilds with better contacts could outbid you."
"Can you do the engraving?" Eunice asked.
Werner hesitated. "I'm good at jewelry runes and micro-engraving, but high-level runes are beyond me. Ask Orlando—he'll help his student. You don't need dozens of top-tier pens—just a few a year to establish credibility."
Eunice nodded. "We're not just selling pens—we're breaking into the mage market. This is our foot in the door."
"Smart," Werner said, taking the pen. "Leave it with me. I'll test a rune engraving. The nib's metal is too ordinary—add conductive magic metals to boost mana flow."
Eunice pulled a copy of Wizard Monthly from her bag. "Leon published a paper here. Use it to refine the design."
With that, she and Serena took their leave. Werner was already absorbed in the pen, ignoring their departure—he'd found his new experiment.
In Linden Pine Valley, snow dusted the herb garden. Leon stood on a hillside, watching the flakes fall, while Im leaned against a tree. "Still waiting for Valoka's answer?" Im teased.
Leon shrugged. "If they reject it, fine. But this limbo is frustrating."
"Patience," Im said. "Messages take time. They'll need to test the pen, consult mages, and draft contracts. You won't hear from them until spring."
Leon sighed. "I'm bored. I haven't learned anything new in weeks."
"Starting tomorrow, we'll study Elvish and Ancient Runes," Im said. "Most spells no longer use them, but ancient texts do. It's essential for advanced magic."
Elvish was melodic but complex; Ancient Runes were disjointed, unstructured—far harder to master than modern runes. Im hoped the tedious work would keep Leon occupied.
He had his own projects: perfecting the purification circle, teaching Dahlia and Flower, and helping Leon upgrade his annealing furnace. Not to mention crafting a precision fountain pen prototype for Valoka.
The next day, they gathered outside in the sun, Im's voice cutting through the cold. "Today, we'll cover runes, Ancient Runes, and Elvish. Let's start with the basics."
"Master, what's the difference between Ancient Runes and modern runes?" Leon asked.
"Runes are magic's building blocks," Im explained. "Examine your Mage Hand spell model—each node is a rune. Ancient Runes are primitive, disorganized. Modern runes simplified them, making magic more accessible. But some Ancient Runes are irreplaceable—more powerful, more versatile."
Apprentice spells typically had 3-5 runes, simple and flat. Leon's Mage Hand was an exception: 32 runes arranged in a 3D structure, like a complex molecular model. "This is why your Mage Hand can shapeshift," Im said. "Its runes are tightly interconnected yet flexible."
A true spell required three components: mana conversion (to store and absorb external mana), manifestation (to determine the spell's effect), and control (to guide power and adjust intensity). Leon's Blaze Hand lacked a proper conversion module and had incomplete control—he could only maintain fire in his palm, unable to hurl it.
"Runes etched onto physical objects form rune circles," Im continued. "In the mental sea, mana and mental energy act as channels. In the physical world, you need mana conduits to connect runes. Circles are almost always flat—even on spherical surfaces, the conduits stay on the exterior."
Large circles required more runes and were harder to deploy; micro-circles suffered from rune interference. Leon listened intently, his mind racing—this wasn't just magic. It was coding.