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Chapter 72 - Bad Example

Chapter 72: Chapter 72 - Bad Example

Lucien had spent his free time studying runes in the Ancient Magic sections of his MAGIC BOOK.

To draw a comparison, runes were much like Kanji or Chinese characters. Each one carried its own unique meaning and function.

Across the kingdom and other nations, many known runes remained shrouded in mystery. Countless symbols had yet to be fully decoded or understood.

But for Lucien, that wasn’t a problem. His MAGIC BOOK provided direct translations for every rune.

In fact, Lucien believed that his CRAFTING DIVISION might now understand runes better than the top scholars from any nation... though that was largely because he had been feeding them translated notes all along.

Given how many runes remained undiscovered or undeciphered, it wasn’t surprising that most people considered the field a waste of time or even useless.

But Lucien knew better.

Lucien who was still pointing at Thornel, spoke with calm confidence.

"Like I said. There’s no such thing as truly useless."

Before Thornel could get a word in, Lucien moved.

He activated a skill.

Phantom Ink.

Divine Energy surged to his fingertips as he began to write... right into the air.

At first, the class looked on in confusion. But then...

Silence fell.

Lucien’s strokes glowed...

What’s more surprising is that the glowing strokes didn’t fade.

Instead, they held their form... suspended in the air like ink on invisible parchment.

A glowing character appeared.

Lucien turned slightly, addressing the room.

"The professor is right. There’s meaning behind every rune. Where it came from. How it’s shaped. What it represents. Take this one for example."

He pointed to the glowing symbol.

A Fireball rune.

"But what if I add a new character before it? Can you guess what happens?"

He didn’t wait for an answer.

Another stroke danced through the air. This one was drawn quickly and with purpose.

As soon as it connected with the first, the entire sequence pulsed with light.

Then... Lucien channeled Divine Energy into it.

The rune activated.

In an instant... a golden fireball formed in the air.

And then...

It launched.

Straight toward Thornel.

Gasps rippled through the room.

The rune had actually activated.

Everyone stared, wide-eyed.

No base materials.

No chant.

No incantation.

Lucien had simply written in the air... and it worked.

Even more baffling, they hadn’t even sensed a surge of mana.

It completely defied everything they knew about magic and runes.

Professor Maelin was the most stunned of all.

Her mind raced....

Trying and failing to reconcile what she’d just witnessed with everything she had ever learned.

And now, the fireball was already flying.

Too fast.

Too late to stop it.

Thornel’s eyes locked onto the golden flame hurtling toward him. A sharp hiss echoed from it as it drew closer.

He froze in place.

He was terrified.

But then...

Just before impact...

The fireball dissolved... harmlessly vanishing into a wisp of light.

A heavy silence filled the room.

No one dared to speak.

Then—

Lucien’s voice broke through.

Casual and unbothered.

"You see that, everyone? I added a rune before the Fireball. One that means short. So now, it’s something like a Short Fireball. If it doesn’t reach a target within its range, it just fizzles out."

He paused then added with a smirk.

"But... if it does hit something? An explosion would occur."

A strange glint flickered in Lucien’s eyes as he looked at Thornel.

Of course, the truth was... he was bluffing.

There was no special effect.

It was just a regular fireball with shorter range.

But from the way Thornel had nearly jumped out of his skin, the bluff had landed perfectly.

"That’s not all," Lucien added calmly.

Once again, he raised his hand and began writing in the air.

The base rune was still Fireball.

But this time, he added a new character beside it.

Lucien activated the rune, this time directing it upward.

"I added a rune called Spark," he explained.

The fireball soared toward the ceiling. But before it could make contact...

Boom.

It erupted midair.

Not with heat or force but with beauty.

Golden sparks bloomed like flowers across the ceiling, cascading in waves of light.

A dazzling display.

A firework in full glory.

The entire class stood entranced.

No one blinked.

No one spoke.

All eyes followed the fading trails of light, completely mesmerized.

But Lucien’s gaze was critical.

’Not bad...’ he thought, ’but still not as refined as what the Crafting Division made.’

He made a mental note to ask them later.

’What extra characters did they add?’

Even Thornel was briefly mesmerized by the dazzling display... until a spark of realization flickered in his eyes.

He scoffed, forcing a laugh.

"Ha! That’s still useless. What good is that on the battlefield?"

Lucien turned to him, visibly amused.

’It seems this thing never learns,’ he thought.

He paused, letting the silence hang just long enough to sting.

Then he spoke calmly.

"What I showed you was harmless. We’re in a classroom, not a dungeon. This is a place for learning, not combat."

Then, his expression shifted...

Mischievously.

"But if it’s battlefield application you want..."

Lucien raised his hand again, moving faster this time.

With practiced precision, he drew a sequence of glowing runes in the air.

Three in total, each distinct.

They hovered before the class, crackling softly.

"On my left," Lucien began, "is a fireball that tracks its target. It won’t stop until it hits."

He pointed to the center.

"In the middle. This one splits into several smaller fireballs. Perfect when you’re outnumbered."

Then to the right.

"And on the right, a fireball I can detonate at will. I decide when it explodes."

He gave Thornel an almost innocent look.

"Brother... care to try?

Thornel froze.

His bravado drained in an instant.

The color left his face.

And he said nothing.

Not a word.

Not a breath.

He simply stood there.

All the while, Professor Maelin stood frozen.

Utterly speechless.

Her mouth hung open. Her eyes were wide, nearly popping out of their sockets. She looked like her entire worldview had just been flipped upside down.

And in many ways, it had.

Then, with a casual flick of his wrist, Lucien waved away the glowing runes in the air as if brushing dust from a table.

His voice took on the tone of a teacher addressing a curious class.

"As I said, Nothing in this world is truly useless. It just means you haven’t seen its potential yet."

He turned slightly toward Thornel. His expression was unreadable.

"Even you, Brother. I don’t think you’re useless. In fact... I think you’re very useful."

The class blinked in confusion.

Was that... a compliment?

Just moments ago, Lucien was tearing Thornel down and now he was praising him?

Everyone turned to Lucien, hanging on his next words.

And then...

A mischievous smile curved on his lips.

He added, casually...

"Because you make a perfect bad example. Still useful."

The room broke.

Laughter exploded like a dam bursting.

Even Vivian, who had been struggling to hold back, finally cracked. A few giggles escaped before she gave in completely.

Like a chain reaction, the entire class followed. Some laughing softly, others in full-blown hysterics.

Thornel’s face turned a deep, angry red. Though whether from embarrassment or fury, no one could tell.

He shot daggers at the students who laughed.

Some went pale and stopped immediately. Others nervously looked away.

But a few?

A few kept laughing anyway.

Loud.

Free.

Unafraid.

Lucien didn’t even glance at Thornel again.

He didn’t need to.

Lucien turned his gaze forward and immediately spotted Maelin.

Her expression was absolutely ridiculous.

Mouth agape.

Eyes wide.

She looked like she’d just witnessed the return of a mythical creature.

But she wasn’t alone.

Standing just behind her was Orren, unnoticed by the others until now.

He wore the exact same expression.

In truth, Lucien had known he was there all along.

Earlier, he had activated BURROWER’S EYE and sensed Orren waiting just outside the door.

That was part of why he’d chosen to respond so boldly to Thornel.

The more witnesses, the better.

Professors like Maelin had limited authority. They could teach but their influence rarely extended beyond the classroom.

But Orren?

Heads like him mattered.

They held sway within the academy and beyond.

And Orren’s noble family wasn’t just known, it was powerful. Highly respected in the capital.

With Orren present, Lucien no longer had to worry about consequences.

Their eyes met across the room.

Suddenly, Orren gave a small shake of his head as if breaking out of a trance.

Then he coughed twice.

The sound echoed sharply through the stunned silence.

Instantly, the room fell quiet.

All the students straightened up as they realized who had arrived.

"Professor Orren...!" they greeted in unison.

Orren simply raised a hand, motioning for silence.

The moment Thornel saw Orren, all color drained from his face.

Panic set in.

And then Orren spoke. His voice was calm but every word was sharp as blade.

"I heard everything that happened. I’ve been here the whole time."

Thornel’s legs nearly gave out.

He hadn’t known Orren was listening.

His earlier arrogance... his insults... all spoken freely, without restraint.

Now, he was sweating cold.

Orren’s gaze locked onto him, cold and unblinking.

"Heh. So... you look down on my family, do you boy?"

Thornel froze.

He tried to speak... tried to explain... but no words came. His throat felt sealed shut.

"You know... your Golddust family purchases more talismans from us than any other house in the kingdom. Year after year, you rely on what we provide."

His eyes narrowed.

"But now I see what you really think of us. It seems the Golddust family no longer needs the Runeforge."

Then came the final blow.

"From this day forward, I declare. The Runeforge House will no longer sell talismans to the Golddust family. This decision is final."

Silence.

And then... Thornel broke.

Whatever pride or defiance he had shattered in that instant.

He turned on his heel and ran.

Out the door, down the hall... as if his very life depended on it.

The room remained still.

No one spoke.

No one laughed.

Everyone was stunned.

Again.

Orren turned his head toward Maelin who was still frozen in place.

With a small sigh, he walked up and gave her a light flick on the forehead.

"Hey niece," he whispered. "Keep your dignity."

Maelin blinked, finally snapping out of her trance. When she recognized him, her eyes lit up with childlike wonder.

"Uncle! Uncle!" she blurted.

Her voice was trembling with excitement.

"Did you see that? The boy.... He wrote runes in the air! Using mana as ink and the world as his canvas! That’s just like the legends! Wow—wow! And those runes... he used ones we haven’t even decoded yet!"

She was giddy... bubbling over with awe like a student who had just seen magic for the first time.

In her excitement, she even forgot to address Lucien with respect, simply calling him "the boy."

In truth, Orren shared her excitement.

He could barely contain the passion burning inside him.

But they were still in a classroom. And he had an image to maintain.

"I get it," he said. "But try to stay composed. You’ll lose your students’ respect if you keep jumping like that."

At his words, Maelin froze again. This time in embarrassment.

She glanced around and realized everyone had heard them.

Her ears turned red as she awkwardly straightened her posture, trying to recover what little authority she had left.

Meanwhile, Lucien who was watching... caught a phrase that stuck in his mind.

"Using mana as ink and the world as a canvas..."

A grin tugged at his lips.

"Good. Very good. Mine is not mana but... It’s a cool way to describe Phantom Ink."

He made a mental note to write it down in his special notebook later.

But then, hearing the exchange between Maelin and Orren, the rest of the class couldn’t hold back their curiosity.

One by one, the students began trying it themselves...

They tried what Lucien previously did.

Writing in the air.

But nothing.

Some smart ones even channeled mana into their fingertips.

They traced invisible strokes in the air.

But...

Before any proper rune could form, the mana lines fizzled out... dissolving like mist before they could take shape.

A few students gave up. Frustration was evident on their faces.

But others refused to stop. Determination burned in their eyes.

’Lucien is just a kid. If he can do it, then so can we.’

That thought echoed silently across the room.

Some viewed it as a challenge.

Some began to think strategically... already imagining what it would mean to be on Lucien’s good side.

Their gazes shifted from the air to Lucien himself.

Thoughtful and calculating.

A few even began to see him differently. Not just as a peer but as someone to follow... or fear.

Just then, Lucien turned his head toward one person.

Vivian.

Their eyes met.

And with a mischievous glint, he asked casually...

"Did I do well, Big Sis?"

His voice wasn’t loud but it was clear.

Everyone heard it.

The class fell into another hush.

They stared at Lucien... then at Vivian... trying to process what they just heard.

Vivian blinked, clearly caught off guard.

Her lips twitched.

And then...

She giggled.

"I’d say you did more than well, Little Brother," she said smiling. "You made quite the impression."

And with that, the room’s tense atmosphere cracked.

Even Orren raised an amused brow.