The first thing he did when he got home was to review what he had learned in class.
He summarized everything he learned mentally into a few rules that would guide his way. He even wrote them down in a notebook so that he could visit them later.
The first rule is that formation is a language. It is the language of nature and a means to speak with the world.
To him, this language is similar to the programming language of his previous world. They are extra similar in that both formation and programming languages are written languages.
The main difference is that formation is written with the world. Only in this way can communication be done with the world to make materials perform in a desired manner.
The second rule is that a formation can be as simple as a simple rule. At its simplest form, a formation is called a rune. This rune is the physical manifestation of a rule.
It is when multiple runes are used in a formation that it becomes an array. To him, the difference between runes and arrays is the difference between a cell and a battery. Many cells make up a battery.
If he is to go further, a rune and an array can be likened to atoms and molecules. Or electrons and atoms.
He made many such rules that helped him assimilate what he had been taught. Then he put the knowledge into practice.
He took a stick and used a single rune on it. The rune he used was the rune of heaviness.
He outlined this rune on the stick with his internal energy. It was an enhancement rune, so he didn't need a stabilizer to use the rune on the stick. The stick accepted the rune easily.
But because he didn't use a substrate for the rune, the rune can only be temporary. It will dissipate over time.
Since he didn't need the rune to last long, it didn't matter that he didn't use a substrate for the rune. He was only practicing.
The rune settled on the stick after five seconds of drawing it. He felt the changes immediately. The internal energy he used to make the rune made the stick heavier.
This was the classic case of one rule, one expression. It is simple, yet complicated.
It is simple in that the rule is easy to apply. It is difficult because he doesn't know if the expression increased the mass of the stick or increased the gravity acting on it. It could also be that his perception of the stick is what has changed.
As long as he doesn't know what the expression is, he won't be able to combine this single rune correctly with other runes. This is the difficulty of learning formations.
It is why the lecturer had said anyone can learn runes, but not everyone can master formations. At best, they can only use the trial and error method to gain experience. But they better hope that one mistake won't take their life one day.
Arthur sighed when he remembered this. He said, "The more I know, the more I understand why a grown man would cry about wasting a hundred years of his life."
"Fortunately, I don't want to master formations. What I want to master is how to forge armaments."
He stopped thinking about the slowly going mad lecturer and moved on to the next activity.
The next activity is using the sharp rune. It is another type of enhancement, so it should be easy to apply on the stick.
Unfortunately, it didn't take effect after being applied. It scattered immediately as if what he was applying was an enchantment rune.
He had to use a knife to sharpen the stick first. When the stick acquired a sharp edge, it also acquired the innate property that was the prerequisite for the application of the sharp rune.
This was an example of form properties. Without the form, a material might not accept an enhancement rune even though the material remains largely the same after the change of form.
Changing the form of a material before using an enhancement rune is not an obstacle to making formations. It is actually an advantage.
This is why Elder Storm Hawk asked him to learn how to forge too. It is so that he will have the skill needed to change the form of the beast carcass into something that can be easily enhanced or enchanted.
Arthur took the stick and inserted its sharp point into the ground. It didn't go far because the ground was very sturdy. His enhancement didn't seem to have made much of a difference.
This is wrong, of course. His enhancement made a difference. It just didn't make enough difference to overcome the defense of the stone ground.
If he wants to be able to overcome the durability of the stone with a stick, he will need to get a very strong stick first, or he will need to invest a lot of energy and materials into enhancing the weak stick in his hands.
This is the principle of the suitability of materials. In theory, anything can be achieved with enhancement and enchantment, but it is always better to use suitable materials.
This principle is especially important in the role of enchantment. To give a material a property that it doesn't possess innately, other materials are needed to facilitate the bestowal.
A source and a stabilizer are usually needed for enhancement.
To try it, Arthur used his knife to dig us some dirt from the ground. Then he used the same knife to dig out the outline of the rune he wanted to apply on the stick.
After doing so, he took out energy stones and ground them. Then he sprinkled the ground energy stone into the groove he carved on the stick.
The energy stone would serve as his stabilizer, while the stone dust will serve as his source. So the next step was to apply the earth rune.