Return of the Legendary Runesmith-Chapter 533 - 532- Pinnacle

"Here you go," said the black-haired girl, her expression flat and unreadable.

Lex tilted his head. "Right after waking up? I was expecting a kiss, truth be told." He snuggled closer to her.

She did not push him away. The cold wall she carried around herself cracked just a little as she let his warmth wrap around her.

Lex had often wondered why he fell for this girl when he had shared such an easy, natural bond with his childhood friend.

She had entered his life like a sudden whirlwind. She came, stole his heart, and now he was hopelessly wrapped around her fingers.

Looking into her pink eyes that barely held any emotion, he asked softly, "Hey, Terry... you do love me, right?"

They had been together for six months, yet it unsettled him that he had never truly seen her real self.

Even now, despite being in a relationship, he knew nothing about her background or her parents.

They mostly talked over calls and decided where to meet.

Terry turned to him and asked, "Would you leave me if I said I don’t love you?"

Lex hesitated. For a moment, words failed him. He had grown so attached to her that even the thought of losing her haunted him.

Terry placed the novel she had been holding onto his lap. "Read this. It’s my favorite."

Lex did not look down at the book. He simply watched her as she got off the bed.

And that was how they spent their last gentle moments together.

After that, she lied. She told him she was seeing multiple men.

Later, Lex found out the truth.

She was suffering from an incurable disease.

....

"Haa..." Adrian let out a slow breath as he opened his eyes to the familiar darkness.

His back felt cold. His body was stiff. He had fallen asleep inside the Time Chamber while going through the fifth thread for the unkempt time.

For a few moments, he remained seated, staring into the endless black, his mind blank and unmoving.

"Of all times... I had to think about her now..." He shook his head lightly.

He truly believed he had forgotten her. So much time had passed. He had met countless people since then.

Yes, Terry had been deeply attached to him. But he had stopped thinking about her long ago. First because of overwork. Then because he was reborn into a world that never allowed him to breathe in peace for more than an hour.

Looking down at his hand, he muttered, "She was the one who handed me the novel."

The knowledge he possessed about this world had come from Terry. That novel she gave him had become his foundation.

She had always been reading something. Whenever he went to meet her, whether at the railway station or the bus stop, he would find her leaning against a wall with an open book in her hand.

If she had not placed that book in his lap that day, he would have been completely lost in this world.

"And how can I forget about you, System?" he murmured softly. "Only you and Terry helped me adapt to this new life of mine."

There was no response from the System, which did not surprise him. That was simply how their relationship worked.

He glanced at the timer. Forty minutes remained before the Time Chamber expired.

He had slept roughly two hours out of the seven available, yet he felt no panic.

Why?

Because he might have finally found a way to tune the fifth thread.

He cracked his knuckles and positioned himself before the training doll.

Pulling a dagger from his Inventory, he began.

He drew the elemental circle and connected the first thread, Magma attribute. Confluence dialect. Five seconds. Done.

Second thread. Inspection of all mana nodes. Seventeen in total. Two runes required. Compiled and woven together. Half a minute. Done.

He moved to the third thread.

Memories.

Dreadful ones. Murder. Torture. Cannibalism.

He read through them and searched for the anchor. No. That would not be enough. A deeper investigation was needed. He aligned two threads using shared significant memories, selecting one as the anchor for the third thread.

Five minutes. Slower than expected, but done.

Fourth thread.

Mana flow.

He triggered emotions and observed how the subject’s mana shifted in response.

When angered, it became erratic. When overwhelmed with emotion, it slowed. The fluctuations were dynamic.

An emotionally vulnerable subject.

He attempted to tune the thread.

No.

He paused.

It was not only physical necessity that influenced the Gate. Emotional changes altered mana consistency itself. That meant recording the fourth thread would allow deeper analysis later.

He proceeded methodically.

Fear.

Lust.

Anger.

Compassion.

Again and again, he triggered each emotion with calculated precision, pressure that would have shattered an ordinary person.

Three trials per emotion.

Severe fluctuations were detected each time.

This time, recording was smooth.

The fourth thread was tuned.

"Twelve minutes. Productive. Done."

Now, the fifth thread.

Gate. Reached. Explored. Stabilized.

The mana waves were recorded. The anchors were already in place. Emotional wavelengths had been measured. The usual mana supply was documented with precision.

What remained?

The Gate’s strength.

Avirin had never mentioned variations in dormant mana supply when the subject was at rest.

That had to be accounted for.

Adrian adjusted the structure in his mind and inscribed three runes for the fifth thread. One to monitor emotional variation. One for physical fluctuation. One for dormant supply.

The dagger trembled faintly in his grip.

Adrian licked his dry lips and slowly opened his eyes.

The blade had extended to forty-five inches in length. Nearly half of it was now covered in glowing runes, layered with tight precision, each line alive with contained power.

He studied it in silence.

Then he placed the weapon on the ground and called out, "System?"

A brief pause.

[It’s a success, Host! That is a perfectly tuned fifth-grade armament!]

Adrian hummed and casually tossed the dagger aside.

"How many minutes do I have now?"

[Fifteen minutes, Host.]

He rolled his shoulders. "Mind extending it a little?"

[No worries, Host! The Time Chamber duration has been extended by two more hours. Continue the great work!]

The System sounded genuinely excited.

That made him smile.

He grabbed a fresh set of tools. The training doll reset with a low mechanical hum, and a new subject template formed in place.

He began again.

First thread.

Second.

Third.

Fourth.

Fifth.

One armament after another, he repeated the process without pause. His movements grew sharper. Cleaner. More decisive. Each rune was etched with greater confidence than the last.

One blade.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Two hours passed in relentless focus.

Five fifth-grade armaments lay around him, each glowing faintly with layered runic precision.

The System’s voice rang out.

[100% success rate! Host, you have achieved it!]

Adrian exhaled deeply and finally let his body fall back onto the cold ground.

He folded his arms behind his head and stared at the dark ceiling above, his chest rising and falling in steady rhythm.

He wasn’t surprised. He had already discerned the way to tune the fifth thread before he fell asleep. That’s the only reason he allowed himself the rest.

But well, there was slight satisfaction.

He has finally reached the pinnacle of Runesmithing.

Finally.

°°°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading. Look at this smug bastard.