Return of the Legendary Runesmith-Chapter 502 - 501- What’s the problem

The familiar hum of the runes resonated deep within Adrian’s consciousness the moment he held the sword. There was no doubt the engravings were meticulously planned. The Runesmith had measured every syllable with care before inscribing them to near-perfect precision.

A great armament does not need to display its power to be considered great. The dedication invested in its tuning is just as vital. And the one Adrian held in his hands was undeniably a work of art.

He traced the runes with his fingers and muttered, "The subject has proficiency with the Light attribute."

The revelation sent a ripple of shock through the venue, given the rarity of light-based users.

Clark smiled sincerely as he explained, "Light users possess more potent mana than ordinary sorcerers. To ensure the safety of both the user and the subject, I took my time and located several light users first."

That only earned him more appreciative looks and praise from the crowd.

Clark was a thoughtful man, something no one present doubted.

Adrian nodded, his fingers tracing the runes along the blade. "Twelve nodes tied into two runes," he muttered, and for a brief moment, Clark stiffened.

Soon enough, his smile returned, though he offered no explanation.

Adrian moved on to the third and fourth threads, his expression briefly turning bitter. Inefficient, inaccurate, and loosely tied. He glanced at the creator with a faint frown.

Still, there was a reason Adrian chose not to voice his dissatisfaction.

Apart from the fact that Clark’s understanding of the third and fourth threads was nowhere near Adrian’s, there was another reason. And that reason was Adrian’s role here.

He had been brought in to assess the fifth thread, the link that allowed an unawakened person to use mana.

If he raised objections to anything beyond that, he would have to be ready for backlash from the audience.

While Adrian was not afraid of revealing the truth, he preferred to reserve the chaos for the subject that truly mattered.

And that was the fifth thread.

"Oh," Adrian said, surprised. "You inscribed the runes on the underside of the handle? Now that’s an impressive thought."

Clark shrugged. "It isn’t wise to have your masterpiece displayed openly, is it?"

Adrian nearly chuckled at the remark. Was that a jab at him for allowing his threads to be copied? Perhaps. He let it slide.

He continued reading the runes, his eyes closing as he attempted to reach the connection between them and the subject.

This would have been impossible if he had not delved so deeply into the fifth thread.

Now, having explored the Gate in its entirety, he could faintly tug at the subject’s consciousness through the runes bound to them.

I can see it... Not the Gate itself, but the connection. Threads stretching into the darkness, beyond which the subject lay.

When he was done, Adrian opened his eyes, looked at Clark, and asked, "Can you tell me a little about the third thread?"

That took Clark by surprise.

Several self-proclaimed scholars in the crowd could not help but speak up. "What is there to know about the third thread when Sir Clark has already stated this is connected to the fifth thread?"

"I believe his lack of knowledge has left him with no choice but to examine something irrelevant."

"Poor fellow, just trying to appear smart in front of others."

But there were five people in the upper stands who did not take those remarks lightly.

Annabelle looked on the verge of charging at anyone who dared question her Darling’s intelligence.

Ariana and Ruby were visibly frustrated, while Sylvie clenched her fist until blood began to bead beneath her nails.

Allen, too, stared coldly at the fools who had the audacity to doubt a man far more talented and intelligent than the god they worshipped.

Back on the stage, Clark maintained his composure and replied, "I chose the manual method, triggering different emotions in the subject to determine what affects him the most."

That was one of the two methods every third-grade Runesmith knew.

The first was using the Orb of Influence, which detected the subject’s behavioral patterns. The second involved placing the subject in different situations to observe which circumstances and emotions influenced their mana patterns the most.

Adrian hummed softly before asking, "Were you aware that memory anchoring is essential for forming the fifth thread?"

Clark blinked, confused. The other Runesmiths exchanged equally baffled glances.

Clark could not stop himself from asking, "What do you mean by that?" For a Runesmith of his standing, questioning another about runesmithing felt close to an insult. Yet Adrian’s words had completely eluded him.

Adrian thought for a moment before saying, "Alright, let me show you."

Under the pretense of retrieving something from his coat, he slipped a hand into his pocket and took the items from his inventory.

When he withdrew his hand, he was holding a small fruit and a few needles.

"Now then," he said, raising the fruit, "this is what you call an Cortex. But in truth, it is what subconsciously supplies mana into one’s body, correct?"

Clark nodded in agreement. "Yes, that’s right."

Adrian then embedded three needles into the fruit and asked someone to hold it.

One of the staff members stepped forward and placed the fruit on her palm.

"Now, I believe you understand what these threads are," Adrian said. "They are drawn between the armament and the subject."

Clark nodded, letting out a light chuckle. "Of course, I understand that."

Adrian returned the nod and began stepping away from the fruit. The threads stretched with him, long enough to let him cross half the stage before he stopped.

"When you draw mana from the Cortex, these threads exert pressure on it, resulting—"

He slowly tugged on the threads, and the fruit began to slide across the woman’s palm.

"Ah, miss, Cortex won’t be displaced, so you can hold it," Adrian said calmly.

The woman nodded and tightened her grip. As Adrian continued pulling, the fruit slowly began to tear apart from its center.

Clark frowned as realization dawned on him, while most of those around them failed to grasp what Adrian was trying to explain.

Reluctantly, Clark voiced his understanding. "So you’re saying that tugging at the Cortex would weaken it?"

Adrian nodded. "Yes. And I believe you also know that we cannot voluntarily strengthen that specific part of our body, no matter how deeply we have trained in any form of martial art."

Clark chewed on his lower lip.

Then Adrian added, "And that’s where the third thread comes into play." He walked toward the trolley that had carried the sword and tied the thread to the middle of its frame.

"This trolley represents the subject’s memory logs," he explained. "It acts as a true anchor, something that prevents the pressure from tearing that," he said, gesturing at the fruit, "apart."