Chapter 113: First Runic Spell Casting
A/N:
Heads up, Readers! ⚠️
This Chapter’s packed with important stuff—I’m talking deep lore, how Runic Magic actually works, the kind of info that’ll make everything click later on. 🧠✨
Don’t skip it—seriously, it’s a one-time info dump , and after this, we roll forward with full speed. 🚀
***
One Week Later
During this week, other than eating, feeding the unicorn baby, and sleeping, Ash had spent most of his time sitting still in deep meditation.
Day after day, night after night, he was focused on trying to perform magic using the knowledge he had received. But, unfortunately for him, no matter how much time he put into it, nothing seemed to work.
Right now, under the soft moonlight, he was still sitting with his legs crossed, lost in thought, trying once again to find the answers to his questions—answers that had kept slipping through his fingers like sand.
According to the academy books, Runic magic is supposed to manifest through the use of magic arrays. These arrays act as anchors. They are the foundation that holds the symbols in one place, allowing the magic to take shape. And the mana that flows into the array serves as the will of the caster—the guiding force that brings the magic to life.
So, in my case, I already have mana. I even have a clear image of the symbol in my mind thanks to Solareth. But what I don’t have is the anchor—something to hold and support the symbol in place so it can manifest.
For the past week, Ash had tried again and again, failing just as many times as he tried. Each time, he had focused on the mental image of the Stability symbol that Solareth had shown him, hoping that would be enough to activate the magic. But not once had he seen any reaction.
He had considered the possibility of using his blood as an anchor. But he quickly realized that it wasn’t something he could rely on.
Even if it was possible to use blood in that way, he didn’t have the knowledge or ability to store such complex information in his bloodline. And even Solareth had admitted he didn’t know how to teach that.
"Well, we beasts can store the information we’ve comprehended into our bloodlines, allowing it to be passed down to the next generation," Solareth had said, almost like it was a natural instinct for them, "But that’s not something humans can easily do."
So, Ash stopped thinking about using his blood. He moved on to the next possible option—his soul.
That made the most sense to him, especially since the real Runes were hidden within his soul.
But here, too, he was blocked. The biggest problem was that he couldn’t feel his soul at all.
No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t sense even the faintest trace of it. And if he couldn’t feel his own soul, then there was no way he could try to use it as an anchor.
The same issue applied to the Runes themselves. They were part of him, sealed within him, but they remained hidden—out of reach. For nearly a whole week, Ash had done nothing but try to feel the presence of his soul, reaching deep within through meditation, hoping for a response.
But no matter how hard he focused, the result was always the same—silence, emptiness, and disappointment.
Right now, Ash was once again going over everything in his mind, reviewing the basics from the beginning to see if he had missed even the smallest clue.
Will... what exactly is will?
It’s basically my intent, right? My thoughts, my desire, my consciousness trying to connect with the world around me. It’s the same way I control my mana—I guide it by focusing my thoughts and intention. So maybe here, too, I just need to focus all my intent—filled with a clear reason and purpose—into one single word.
A word that truly represents what I want to create.
Just then, as if lightning had struck inside his mind, an idea bloomed with a sense of clarity and hope that he had been desperately searching for.
My Primordial Core...
Doesn’t it already have those symbols carved into it? Even if they are not the ever-changing ones, but still it can act as my anchor, the foundation to hold the spell together.
Feeling as if he had finally found the answer to his ongoing problem, Ash’s heart filled with excitement. He immediately shifted his focus toward both of his cores, allowing his full attention to pour into them.
What he saw were two white cores, glowing faintly in his spiritual sense, each of them filled with purest mana.
Engraved across their surface were countless small symbols, layered upon each other in intricate and mysterious patterns.
He chose one core first and directed his attention to it. Slowly, carefully, he tried to send his intent toward it.
He visualized the phenomenon of a lightning ball—how it would form, how it would gather and shape itself into an orb, and how he wanted it to act.
He focused all of that understanding into a single word and muttered, "Spark."
He tried to activate it but, nothing happened.
He tried it again, but still there was no reaction.
Refusing to give up, Ash took a deep breath and calmed himself. This time, he put even more effort into the visualization.
He thought carefully about what mana truly was, how it flowed through the body and responded to thoughts, how it moved and shaped itself when infused with purpose.
He imagined how lightning was formed, how it would compress and rotate into a small, dense sphere. He even considered the amount of energy required and how destructive it should be.
He wrapped all of this information into his intent and once again focused it toward the core and muttered, "Spark ball"
To his surprise, this time, something changed.
His mana stirred on its own. Without him consciously moving it, his core responded. The mana flowed out naturally, moving from his core toward his hand.
Ash lifted his hand slowly, his eyes opening in anticipation. What he saw next made him freeze in awe.
Tiny symbols, glowing like fireflies in the night, began to appear above his palm. They were all linked together by a thin, flowing string of white mana, moving in harmony like a living spell.
Golden symbols connected by that glowing thread spun gently in a circle, creating a pattern that looked both beautiful and mysterious.
And then, in an instant, a small ball of lightning formed at the center.
Ash could immediately feel the difference. The lightning orb was far more powerful and concentrated than any he had produced before.
It was not as explosive as the lightning he had created during his Core Overload state, but compared to his usual state, this one was undeniably more refined and more destructive.
As he looked at the glowing lightning ball hovering above his hand, surrounded by glowing golden symbols, a deep and overwhelming joy rushed through his veins.
His blood felt like it was dancing, his body trembling from the sheer emotion of it all.
A smile appeared on his usually expressionless face. For a moment, he wanted to shout with joy and scream at the top of his lungs. He wanted to yell, "Yes, baby!" and announce to the entire world that he had finally done it.
But he stopped himself just in time.
This was not the place for celebration. It was neither the right time nor the right moment. And even if he wanted to laugh, he couldn’t do it properly.
If he started running around with a small smile on his face and a cold glint in his eyes while laughing and dancing for no reason, Solareth might actually think he had gone insane and kick him out without a second thought.
So, Ash held back his excitement and instead began experimenting more with the process, refining it step by step.
And just like that, two more weeks passed.
***
Within those two weeks, Ash had learned a lot about his own version of Runic Magic. There were clear advantages, but also a few limitations he couldn’t ignore.
As Ash had originally expected, he didn’t need to fully comprehend the deep meanings behind the runic symbols.
His Primordial Core, acting as an intermediary, could naturally pull out the meaning and function of any symbol etched into it, and then use that to perform the spell.
This made things a lot easier for him.
For example, when he first created the "Spark Ball", he had to visualize everything very clearly—the way lightning formed, how it shaped into a sphere, how much mana it needed, and how destructive it should be.
That process took focus, time, and effort. But the good part? He only had to do that once.
After that, as long as he said the word "Spark Ball" with the intent to cast it, the spell would form automatically in his hand, no need for deep focus again.
But he also realized something important—his words and intent needed to match exactly.
If he casually said "Spark Ball" while wanting to cast multiple lightning balls, nothing would happen.
The magic wouldn’t understand him unless he was crystal clear. He had to say "Multiple Spark Ball" while thinking about creating more than one, and only then would the spell respond and create what he wanted.
When it came to traditional magic circles, though, the process was a bit different. He didn’t need to force his intent into every detail.
As long as he studied a spell’s magic circle properly and synchronized it with the one engraved in his heart, that was enough.
The magic would then function smoothly, as if it were already a part of him.
Now, all he needed was time. With enough effort, he could create entirely new spells, shape their concept into words, and once that word was spoken with intent, the magic would take form.
It was like programming magic using language and thought.
He wouldn’t need to memorize detailed spell formations anymore.
He wouldn’t need to carve new magic circles into his heart to cast high-level spell.
All he needed was time, knowledge, and imagination.
Still, the system wasn’t perfect. There were a few flaws he couldn’t ignore.
One big drawback was the amount of study it required. To create even a simple spell, he had to deeply understand how it worked in reality.
For instance, how lightning was shaped, how it formed in the atmosphere, and what kind of mana flow it required.
This wasn’t something he could half-learn or rush through.
It required time, observation, and real comprehension. Only then could he take that understanding, infuse it into words, and cast the spell with intent that matched the meaning behind those words.
And there was another limitation—one he discovered the hard way.
He couldn’t use spells based on elements he didn’t have an affinity for.
He had tried to cast a fire spell once by saying "Ignite," mimicking the same process Solareth had used for igniting fire.
But nothing happened.
No matter how precise his intent was or how clear the word, if the element wasn’t aligned with his natural affinity, the spell simply wouldn’t respond.
That meant the scope of his spells was limited. He could only shape and command the elements that resonated with his affinity.
Still, despite those limits, the potential was massive.
But if he managed to do that—if he truly learned how magic functioned and shaped that into clear commands—then everything would fall into place like a perfectly tuned machine.
And magic, for him, would become as natural as breathing.
In that case, he would never again need to memorize a complicated magic circle to cast a spell, not that he had any problem with memorizing one, but still.
However, there was one more limitation, and it was a serious one.
His Primordial Core could only hold one fixed runic symbol. That symbol acted as the anchor for his magic system.
But the runes in his soul were different—they were always shifting, constantly changing form.
{ A/N: Don’t ask how he knows the runes in his soul keep changing. He’s a novel reader. He knows .}
This meant that, while his current system was powerful, it wasn’t using the full potential of real Runic Magic.
As long as he relied on the fixed symbol in his core, he might be limiting himself. If he could somehow tap into the ever-changing runes within his soul instead, his magic would reach a whole new level.
What a pain...
It’s strong, no doubt. But if I could somehow perceive my own soul, just once... If I could use the real runes floating there instead of the ones on my core, then I can’t even begin to imagine the kind of magic I could perform.
***