The success of my first protection array left me overly confident. That arrogance almost got me killed.
After a few failures that nearly blew me up or burned me alive, I learned to be far more cautious. Thanks to those explosions, I also realized I needed something to block sound from escaping the protected area.
I soon discovered another limitation: the protection I had created only worked properly when fixed in a location. When I tried turning it into a portable stone that I could carry and fuel with my own energy, the protection would constantly react to my movement. This caused massive redundancy and, at times, system overload.
The energy consumption increased exponentially, making it completely impractical. In the end, I settled for a much simpler version—just a protection rune with a switch and a direct link to me.
Unfortunately, I could not give something like this to my parents. I could not link it to them properly, nor could I explain its function in detail. Worse, I did not know whether any merchant or traveler might recognize energy manipulation, which could potentially put them at risk because of the Empire.
After two months of experimenting with runes, I had what I considered a brilliant idea. Using runes and intent, I created something that surpassed my original protection.
First, I forged a hammer in Histr's smithy. I decided to shape every part of it myself, channeling my energy and maintaining a firm, unwavering intent. Once it was finished, I carved runes into the hammerhead—linking the Transformation Rune to the Sending Rune.
Along the handle, I engraved Imagination Runes and connectors that linked the handle to the hammerhead.
The result was a construction hammer.
I felt as if I were inside a virtual reality game.
Holding a clear image of a stone chair in my mind, I began to hammer. With each strike, the stone transformed—first softening into a block, then condensing into the rough shape of a chair—until it finally stood there, exactly as I had imagined.
It was heavier than it looked, but far sturdier as well. I had not carved the stone—I had compressed it. The energy cost was high, about twenty percent of my reserves, likely due to the compression process.
Thanks to my meditation method, my mind could maintain a clear image even without full concentration. From what I observed, that was the only limitation of this tool. If I became distracted, I would simply waste energy.
With this hammer in hand, construction truly began.
I reshaped the stone that formed the cave. I left the exterior entrance untouched, since it served as natural camouflage. The cracks that once let in light became proper windows. I shaped the floor into stone slabs, then fused them together into a single smooth surface, as if it had been carved from one solid rock.
For the doors and windows, I first shaped stone hinges. With this hammer, everything became clay in my hands.
For the door, I used a fallen tree that had not been down for long. This saved me the trouble of drying the wood. I first tested whether I could separate the trunk instead of merely cutting it—and it worked. I shaped the larger piece into a door and the smaller piece into two window frames.
I spent two weeks renovating my hideout, limiting myself to only two hours of work per day to avoid exhaustion and to maintain my training.
By then, my hideout looked more like a library.
It had a uniform stone floor, walls carved with images of the forest, a fireplace to keep me warm in winter, and glass windows that let in light while preventing heat from escaping.
As for the glass—if I remembered correctly, it had to be made from silica-rich sand, sodium carbonate, and limestone. Surprisingly, the hardest part was finding the sand.
Once I had the materials, it was simple. I built a furnace that could reach whatever temperature I wanted—runes were incredibly convenient. After forming a shapeless mass of glass, I simply used my hammer.
Eight months passed after my construction frenzy. Now, close to turning ten, my hideout had been completely transformed.
I built a greenhouse to grow herbs and serve as a food source, turning my hideout into a sustainable base. I even added plumbing.
I expanded downward as well. With the hammer, I loosened blocks of stone and removed them—it was almost like Minecraft.
I used those blocks to reinforce the structure, build floors and walls, since the lower levels were more earth than stone. Now I had a large enough space for a training area, several rooms, and even a bathroom.
I truly felt like the reclusive and mysterious mages from the stories.