"What's this rune represents, and what's the use of it?" Sylas pondered. The fact his understanding of language was limited to only Elyon language made it challenging to figure out the rune's origin.
If he couldn't find out the rune's origin, then how was he supposed to know the meaning of those runes? Thinking of this issue brings another headache to his head.
While massaging his temple, he unexpectedly recalled a particular novel's chapter where the protagonist explained primordial languages were derived from the simplification language of Gods.
Since the languages originated from the Gods, they innately carried the Gods' will, which gain them an authority to influence Heaven and Earth.
Such unique power materialized from two sources. The first one is visual; the caster could trigger a special effect by imagining or drawing a specific character or letter.
The second one is sound; the caster could draw its power out by pronouncing the specific character in a correct intonation.
Based on those pieces of information, Sylas could only afford to attempt the first method. Although it sounds stupid, it's worth a try.
The more he thinks about the idea, the more excited he becomes. Hurriedly, he reached out for a paper and a quill.
He closed his eyes and started concentrating on the rune, trying to memorize it as detail as he could.
Half a minute passed, and Sylas finally opened his eyes. With a solemn expression, he moved his fingers and started jotting down the rune in a somewhat sluggish movement.
Unconsciously, beads of perspiration began to form on his forehead. Sylas wasn't even aware that he had been holding his breath for a while now.
"Done!" When Sylas finished, his whole face had been rained in sweats, and his breathing had gone rough as though he had just performed a marathon. But, he couldn't care less about these things as his primary focus was constantly fixed on the piece of paper where he wrote.
He was thrilled and nervous about what was going to happen. But, after a minute of waiting, the spectacle he anticipated didn't happen.
Even if he had foreseen such an outcome, he still couldn't help but feel upset.
"Damn it! Is there something wrong with my writing?" Sylas slammed his desk lightly.
After fuming for a while, Sylas slowly calmed down because he realized that acting agitated wouldn't benefit him. He still got plenty of time to make more attempts, anyway. A single failure is necessary in an experiment.
As his anger cooled down, Sylas grabbed the paper, intended to tear it in half to write on another side of it. However, he was astonished to discover the paper was difficult to be ripped apart.
"Am I getting weak, or paper nowadays always this tough?" Sylas grumbled in bewilderment.
For comparison, he grabbed a new piece of paper and successfully shredded it easily.
Meanwhile, he tried to tear the first paper with the same force applied and failed. This confirmed the first paper was indeed tougher than the second one.
"This…" Sylas was at a loss for words. Did this mean he succeeded? But why was there no special effect coming out from the paper like the tablet did last night? He still vividly remembered the way a brilliant amount of light gathered together before seeming to explode and create a blinding illumination. Why was it different now?
"Let's try with another paper. It's possible the second paper was created with bad material." Driven by such thought, Sylas conducted another experiment by writing the same rune on the third paper. Suddenly, he senses an acute pain rushing through his brain during the writing process.
"Bloody h*ll!" Sylas cursed while decisively carrying on his action by putting all his effort into finishing the rune, ignoring the constant pain burdening his mind.
As soon as he finished the second rune, he felt the pressure on his head slightly lift. This enables him to take a breather.
"Phew… Phew… I never thought writing could be this tiring." Sylas grumbled as he tried to catch his breath. He was panting hard, close to vomiting.
Despite being uncomfortable all over his body, Sylas felt inexplicably delighted. It was a kind of feeling when one got a perfect score on a particularly complex subject.
Yes, he was elated because his exhaustion signifies the success of the spells. It's impossible for him to become dead tired after merely writing two letters. However, exactly after creating the runes, both his mind and body were indeed strained. Other than the possibility of the runes being magical enough to splurge his stamina, Sylas couldn't think of any plausible explanation behind his present circumstances.
To ease his doubt and make sure his conclusion wasn't wrong, Sylas performed the same experiment as his first one by picking a fourth paper that wasn't embedded by rune and shredding it.
And the result was the fourth paper was torn by him with ease, while on the other hand, he needed to add more strength to damage the third paper.
"Haha, the rune is indeed working!" Sylas laughed in glee. He couldn't believe there'd be a day when he was able to accomplish something extraordinary. He feels pleased with himself for not turning his back against the stone tablet last night. If he didn't take that leap of faith, maybe he'd have to continue his ordinary life.
That being said, there are still some crucial issues that concern him. The most worrying one is the risk the stone tablet would bring to him. He highly doubts such peerless treasure wields no danger. Of course, it's just speculation, but it was common sense that the more valuable the item is, the more lethal it could be. This train of thought instantly dampened his mood.