Simon spent hours reading the books on chaos runes and improving his proficiency in chaos runes.
There are four proficiency ranks for chaos runes, and these proficiency ranks are flawed, standard, refined, and perfected.
According to the books he had read so far, proficiency did not determine the power of a rune.
It determined the quality of the rune.
A flawed rune could still function, but it would be unstable, inefficient, and consu excess energy.
A standard rune was properly functional and stable enough for normal usage.
A refined rune possessed high efficiency, stronger output, lower energy consumption, and faster activation speed.
As for perfected runes...
Those were described as works of art.
Runes where every stroke, every layer, every flow of energy, and every interaction between intent and structure had reached near flawless harmony.
Simon slowly closed the book in his hand.
A thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.
’So even if two demons create the sa rune, the difference in proficiency can create a massive difference in performance.’
That made perfect sense to him.
A poorly made sword and a masterfully crafted sword were still swords.
Yet the difference between them was massive.
The sa principle applied to runes.
Simon leaned back slightly against the wall behind him.
Several failed rune marks were scattered across the floor around him.
So were incomplete circles.
So looked distorted.
Others still emitted traces of unstable demonic energy before slowly fading away.
Most of those failed runes belonged to the shadow elent.
After several hours of practice, Simon finally realized sothing.
His compatibility with shadow runes was diocre.
Not terrible.
But definitely not exceptional.
His energy control and Will allowed him to force the runes into functioning temporarily, but the process felt unnatural.
Like trying to write with his non-dominant hand.
It was slow, awkward, and inefficient.
Simon brought out another book.
Simon narrowed his eyes slightly.
That explained a lot.
Instructor Valdin had already ntioned earlier that Sunless would naturally find shadow runes easier due to her high affinity for the shadow elent.
At that ti, Simon understood it theoretically.
But now that he was personally practicing rune construction, he truly understood the difference.
The shadow elent resisted him subtly.
Not openly.
But enough to make the process annoying.
anwhile...
Wind elental energy felt far more responsive to him.
More natural.
More fluid.
Simon exhaled softly.
’No point making things difficult for myself.’
He raised his right hand.
Dark erald-orange demonic energy gathered above his palm once more.
The atmosphere in the room subtly shifted.
The air currents beca more active.
The pages of several open books fluttered lightly.
Simon focused his gaze.
’Wind defensive rune.’
Compared to shadow defensive runes which focused heavily on density and suppression, wind defensive runes focused more on deflection and redirection.
Instead of stopping force directly, they diverted it.
A basic wind defensive rune usually ford a rotating sphere of compressed wind around the user.
Simon slowly began drawing the foundation strokes in the air.
This ti, the process felt noticeably smoother.
The energy responded to his Will almost instantly.
The foundation strokes ford one after another with very little resistance.
His eyes flickered slightly.
’Much easier.’
The wind elental energy naturally aligned with his intent.
He did not need to force it.
He rely guided it.
The circular structure slowly ford in the air before him.
Unlike the heavy and dense feeling of the shadow rune, the wind rune felt lighter and more dynamic.
The energy moved constantly.
Even the structure itself subtly rotated.
Simon calmly moved toward the directive strokes.
Protection.
Deflection.
Rotation.
Flow.
His intent beca clearer and clearer.
Several curved strokes ford near the center of the rune.
The mont they connected, the rune trembled slightly.
Simon imdiately focused his Will.
The instability vanished almost instantly.
A faint dark erald glow erged from the rune.
Wind currents slowly rotated around the structure.
Simon’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The difference between this and the shadow rune was obvious.
The wind rune barely resisted him.
He could feel the elental energy cooperating naturally with his intent.
Now, the modifier strokes.
Simon carefully added several smaller reinforcent strokes along the outer layer.
This ti, he paid close attention to the energy flow.
Instead of disrupting the structure like before, the modifier strokes harmonized with the rotational movent of the rune.
The wind currents accelerated.
The rune stabilized completely.
Then... the rune activated.
Whoosh!
A sphere of rotating wind suddenly ford around Simon.
The air inside the room beca chaotic.
Books fluttered violently.
His clothes shifted from the pressure of the wind currents.
The defensive sphere rotated around him quietly.
Simon observed it silently.
The wind barrier was not physically solid.
Instead, it redirected force through constant rotational flow.
A physical strike would be diverted.
Projectiles would lose balance.
Even elental attacks would be partially redirected depending on their power.
A faint glint appeared in Simon’s eyes.
’So this is a basic wind defensive rune.’
The rune itself was still crude.
Probably only standard proficiency at best.
But for a beginner like him, this level of construction speed was monstrous.
Most Initiates would still be struggling with basic foundational strokes.
anwhile, Simon had already completed an actual elental defensive rune.
Though, the biggest reason behind this success was obvious.
Affinity.
Without his high affinity for the wind elent, this process would have been far more difficult.
The wind elental energy naturally synchronized with his intent, making the rune easier to stabilize and control.
Simon slowly dispersed the wind barrier.
The rotating currents dissolved into particles of dark erald energy.
He exhaled softly, then he picked up another book.
This ti around, he wanted to try a wind offensive rune.
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