Odyssey of the Blind God

Nial's entire back was drenched in a cold sweat as he focused his perception on the weapon he had painstakingly cast and was lying in front of him.

Three Basic runic constellations were engraved on the longsword that was made of Dark Gold. It glimmered faintly as traces of mana entered the blade.

The runic constellations began to glow as mana circulated through them and a satisfied expression appeared on Nial's face.

"You did a very good job right there. The Basic constellations [Sharpness] and [Endurance] were carefully engraved on the intersection of the dark gold's veins. This will increase the runic constellations' potency, good job. As for the [Miniature Flame] runic constellation, you have finally reached a 100% perfection grade! Congratulations!" Master Crevian praised as he appeared next to Nial.

The Old Elf added a few more comments about the weapon's balance and that the [Miniature Flame] would increase the blade's sharpness and lethality manyfold thanks to the unique way Nial had engraved it. However, Nial was not even listening to him anymore.

His legs gave in and he slumped to the ground as he felt completely exhausted.

'No wonder Meryl was so afraid of Master Crevian when he spoke about this training...' He thought while trying to find the energy to speak to Master Crevian.

But Nial was unable to generate the necessary energy to get up, let alone to open his mouth. Thus, he remained on the ground and lay down.

"Your stamina was pretty good but that was the least I expected from you," Master Crevian suddenly remarked.

Nial knew exactly what the Old Elf meant but he simply ignored him. The last 30 days had been truly horrifying. They were exceptionally useful in terms of knowledge that he had procured but Nial had never been as mentally exhausted as right now in the last 30 days.

Every single day his head felt like it would burst into pieces. At first, Nial was sure that he would feel better with time but that was not the case. Things got worse over time and now Nial was not even able to think properly again.

His mind was a mess but he had engraved runic constellations in the Casted Dark Gold weapon nonetheless.

"My Stamina is better than anyone else's...what is there to complain about..." Nial said after he rested while lying on the ground for a few minutes.

The Symbol of Life soothed the pain in his mind by invigorating him consistently. He was the last one standing in the group of three humans and one Elf, who had been taught for an entire month.

The others had collapsed on the ground a few days ago including Miranda, whose rank was much higher than that of the others.

Only Nial was able to remain standing until the last day and that was something he could be proud of.

"I know that but it makes me a bit sad, if I were to be honest with myself," Master Crevian acknowledged while keeping his attention on Nial.

Initially, Master Crevian didn't feel that it would be a good idea to reveal his plan to Nial so early but he was very impressed by Nial's determination to become a better Runicier. It was almost as if Nial was ready to give his life for the sake of becoming a better Runicier.

As a teacher and someone who wholeheartedly loved being a Runicier, Master Crevian had never ignored the passion of his students. He wanted to nurture them and bring out their hidden potential.

But that was the problematic part; Nial wanted to leave to start searching for his family aggressively!

"Why is that sad? I mean, I will return once I find my family. Even if it may take some time, it's not like I plan to stay away from the Elves or the Forest of Life," Nial was honest with himself.

Damian's memories about the Elven race might not be the greatest and they had influenced Nial quite a bit. However, it was a fact that the Elves had helped the Originals to become stronger. The Forest of Life was a great place to gain strength and accumulate a huge fortune.

It would be a big loss for them to turn the Elves into their mortal enemies if they had to fight truly evil races in the future. Nial didn't want to abandon Master Crevian's teachings, let alone the Forest of Life's high mana density. He would come back sooner or later.

Thus, it didn't really make sense for Master Crevian to be sad, especially not if he had Meryl as his crown disciple!

"Of course it is sad. Even if you might not think like this, you are one of the best students I've ever taught. Meryl might have a better comprehension ability than you but your Stamina is much better, you are more determined to study and it feels like your failures drive you to try even harder.

For someone who is not able to see the world like everyone else, I can tell that your mana perception and sensory abilities are very helpful. You can use your perception to determine the mistakes made in each runic constellation as long as you spend enough time investigating it. That's not something everyone can do.

Furthermore, you are trying to be creative in fixing your bad habits, to create the perfect runic constellations without wasting too much time on complicated areas while engraving certain runic constellations.

I would love to keep teaching you...and the others as well. Their talent may not be high but they're also determined to become better Runiciers. Their passion burns brighter than that of many talented Runiciers I've seen in my long lifetime," Master Crevian spoke sincerely and Nial nearly believed that the Old Elf was sad about not being able to teach Nial until he returned.

However, Nial could tell that something was off about Master Crevian. Ever since the day he had noticed Nial's passion to become a Runicier and his talent, the Old Elf had changed a bit. His attitude was not completely different from before, especially because he already had massive respect for Nial for saving the Forest of Life. But there was still something odd, which was hard for Nial to put into words.

"How about you tell me what is going on? I will leave soon and if you continue with your bad acting I might think that you have some sort of evil plan," Nial didn't want to beat around the bush, which was exactly why he forced Master Crevian to speak his mind.

Master Crevian stiffened when he heard Nial's words and his range of perception instinctively reached out to the young man, who was lying on the ground. He was clearly trying to figure out what Nial's mana fluctuations indicated about the way the young Original felt.

"You noticed?" Master Crevian asked when he figured out what was going on. Nial just nodded his head after he lifted his upper body from the ground and said,

"Your behavior was a bit odd over the entire last month."

Master Crevian didn't move after he heard this and it took him a while before a deep sigh escaped his mouth.

"You turn 20 in a bit more than two months, right?" He suddenly recalled while sitting on a nearby chair. Master Crevian was ready to speak facts and Nial forced his body to obey him as he got up from the ground. He sat down on one of the few chairs near Crevian.

"In two months I will turn 20, yes," Nial quickly answered and Master Crevian responded nearly instantaneously as he mumbled quietly to himself.

"That fits perfectly....13 months..."

'13 months? What will happen then?' Nial wanted to ask but he held himself because Master Crevian was sorting his thoughts before he would say something else.

"If you plan to continue to learn under me, and you improve fast enough as a Runicier, how about joining a Runicier tournament for young prodigies? It will be held in 13 months..." Master Crevian suddenly proposed.

He had been deep in thoughts, wondering how to explain the situation to Nial but that failed miserably.

"Huh? Runicier tournament? On Jundra? No that cannot be... What the hell do you mean?" Nial expected to hear lots of things. He was pretty sure that one of the few scenarios which he had made up in his mind would be correct.

However, he had never expected to be extended an invitation to join some sort of tournament. He didn't have the time to play around at some tournament!

"It looks like I started off wrong...maybe I should put it differently...Do you want to visit our homeland, to be precise the lands of one planet we have settled in along with many other races? You could join the tournament the Golden Armaments Union holds for prodigious Runiciers under the age of 21 that is going to be held in 13 months then..." Master Crevian clarified before he focused his perception on Nial to find out what the young Original was thinking.

Nial's mana fluctuations were eerily calm but his mind was a big mess.

"You...want me to come to the Elves' homeland and join some tournament? Why the hell would you want me to join? Just ask Meryl or so to return through the Empresses' Divinity Fragment and she can participate wherever you want her to. As long as you ask her, she would definitely join," Nial suggested, not really understanding what the Old Elf wanted.

It was not as if he was not curious to visit and find out more about the Elves' homeland, how dense the mana was in their territory, how other races acted, and how advanced they were. Traveling to other planets would definitely be interesting. But while it was interesting, Nial was pretty sure that there was a big downside to this.

The Golden Armaments Union was something Nial had never heard about but it was probably some sort of Union of Runiciers with members of various races. This was definitely interesting and Nial's ears pricked to listen more intently to whatever Master Crevian was about to add.

"Due to...special circumstances, no Elf is allowed to participate in the U21 Runicier tournament the Golden Armaments Union holds every half a century," Master Crevian acknowledged, smiling wryly.

He sounded a bit uncomfortable speaking about that topic but Nial had an inkling of what might have happened.

"My guess would be that you guys killed some important figure of the Golden Armaments Union, or am I wrong?" Nial asked, feeling like laughing.

His mind was still a mess due to the strain of the last few weeks but he could read the room. The Old Elf flinched when Nial stated his assumption, which was enough of an answer for the young Original.

If someone killed an important figure of a tournament's host, it was obvious that their entire race was not allowed to participate. That was where Nial entered the picture.

"So you want me to participate in that tournament? If someone finds out that I'm affiliated with Elves it will probably be a bit dangerous, so please forgive my bluntness...but what will I gain by joining the Runicier tournament, what would be by the mission, and what is the reason for you, or all the Elven races to feel the need to join the tournament?" Nial bombarded him with doubts and waited eagerly for the answers.

The Old Elf wanted something from him but he couldn't even find the correct words anymore. That was a bit annoying and one could notice this by seeing Nial's expression.

"I...We want to get the Tear of the Dryad Queen, the Grand Price!" Master Crevian said after a while, without missing a beat.

"WHAT?! The grand prize?"

**

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