Jian was extremely happy at the moment; his uncle Daito had just arrived. He liked Daito since he used the sword and usually taught him things whenever they met.
Jian hurriedly turned towards the kitchen to call out his father.
His father was currently overseeing how things were going, making sure everything was working correctly. As an establishment located at the capital of the empire, they of course needed to hire employees to work on busy days. Even if they were a family-run tavern, they still needed a helping hand, especially with Rui gone.
He had hired three employees, a friend of his wife who was good at cooking and two young men to help out with serving and cleaning.
Suddenly, he saw Jian run over with excitement. Witnessing his son's happy expression, he asked with a smile.
"What's the matter Jian?"
"Uncle Daito is here!" exclaimed Jian, a smile covering his face.
"Is that true!? I'm coming over right now." Saying so, he gave a few orders to his workers and went over.
Following Jian, he saw a man standing at the side of the entrance, wearing a large bamboo hat and black clothes that were tinted with a hint of yellow. A sword resembling a Japanese katana was hung on his waist, making him seem menacing to the customers.
"Big brother!" shouted Ryuji as soon as he saw him, rushing over and hugging him with intimacy.
"Hahaha, Ryuji, how have you been?" Laughed Daito.
"Everything has been great brother! The tavern has been running flawlessly after Rui got in charge of the management, though things will be harder without him here."
"I see! That's good to hear. Let's go somewhere private to talk, we don't want to disturb the customers, do we?"
"Of course, of course, follow me!"
Saying so, Ryuji brought Daito upstairs into their living quarters. Entering the living room, Ryuiji escorted his brother to a table and chair.
Sitting down, he told Jian to bring them some refreshments, making some time for him to talk with his brother, clearly knowing that something was going on. Ryuji was extremely happy to see his older brother, however he knew that he didn't come here without a reason, after all their ancestral home was pretty far away.
After a momentary silence, seeing that Daito wasn't saying anything, he asked.
"What's the matter brother? You traveled all the way from the ancestral home just to see us? Its a two-day trip at the least, right?"
"Ah, it seems you've caught on. You were always sharp, Ryuji. By the way, where is Rui?" answered Daito with a question.
"I'm nowhere near as sharp as big brother. Rui is currently studying at the academy, why? Didn't you receive the letter that I sent?" asked Ryuji with an anxious expression.
A bitter smile streaked Daito's face.
"Of course, we did. I would've arrived earlier, but some matters with the family were taking our time. You said that Rui awakened with the Ansuz rune right?"
Asked Daito with a pensive look. This was the reason he had come, to confirm some things.
"Yes! My little boy is a genius after all!" laughed Ryuji, being a prideful father.
"Ay, it seems that this has become a small problem." Said Daito, rubbing his glabella. After pondering something, he continued speaking.
"Look Ryuji, I didn't want to give you this information, since harm will befall you if I did. You and the rest of the family are kept in the dark for that sole reason, but things have gotten complicated with Rui awakening outside of the family."
Saying so, he performed some hand gestures, unleashing what seemed like steam from his hand.
"What do you mean brother?" an anxious expression appeared on Ryujis face. He had never seen his brother in such condition.
"Do you remember how you were tested? For the awakening I mean."
"Of course, I do. The clan elders tested us-" as soon as he spoke those words, Ryuji looked at his brother with disbelief. He had just realized what he had just said.
"Wait, brother, you mean our family has Rune masters? Why didn't I notice till now? Why am I having this weird feeling." He couldn't understand what was going on.
Daito shook his head in shame.
"In truth Ryuji, Rui should have been brought back to the ancestral home to be tested, but because of some matters happening and disturbing us, we were late to inform you of it, though we should have informed you much earlier. We just didn't expect for Rui to awaken, even if he was a smart child. The feeling you are experiencing right now is a runic seal being removed. It was placed by the elders, but I removed it so you could understand the situation."
"Wha-" before Ryuiji could even ask his question, Daito removed his bandanna.
To Ryuji's astonishment, the Nauthiz rune glowed on his brother's forehead. After he took a good look, Daito covered it once again.
"This is a hidden matter of the family. Every child is to be tested at the ancestral home, lest they awaken outside and bring trouble to themselves. We then hide the fact that we are rune masters and train in the dark, away from prying eyes."
"What is the meaning of this brother? Then what do you mean that this has become a problem that Rui has awakened and went to the academy?" Ryuji was now beyond anxious, clearly being extremely panicked. If his brother's words were correct, then things were really bad.
Daito pressed his hand on Ryuji's, trying to calm him down.
"The matter isn't serious, but it could result in catastrophic circumstances if found out by the wrong people. Thankfully Rui is a smart child and you gave him the ancestral heirloom, right?"
"Ah, yes. When he turned twelve, I gave it to him as the elders instructed me."
Daito sighed in relief.
"That's good then. The ancestral knife is an extremely powerful weapon, so he should be fine for a while. I'll just have to personally inform him to be low-key after exiting the academy. He shouldn't be in any trouble and the elders have already arranged matters with the royal family."
"Brother, you still haven't told me the reason for all of this!"
Daito smiled bitterly.
"Ryuji, you have seen the pictures of our ancestor, right?"
"Yes, we pay our respects to him every time we come over after all."
Daito nodded.
"Our ancestors name is Guang Ren. You probably haven't heard his name, since its kept a secret, just in case. You see, we don't know the true background of our ancestor, but he has given us a lot of instructions to follow, lest we bring our own doom. Keeping our identities as rune master's secret is one of them, though he did add that it wouldn't be a problem after a few generations and there have been close to thirty of them. It was just a precautionary order."
"What can we do about this brother?"
"I told you, there is no need to worry. Everything has been arranged by the elders, I just came over to inform you under their orders. If Rui was still here and hadn't joined the academy, we would've faked his death and taken him to the ancestral home to train. However, since he joined the academy, we will just let him train and socialize there. This situation will help him grow as a person and rune master after all."
Ryuji swallowed his saliva with furrowed brows. He was still anxious that something might befall his son. However, at that moment his brother spoke out once more.
"Don't worry about Rui! From what the elders said the sage took an interest in him. You may not know this, but the sage is a longtime friend of elder Lao and was an acquaintance of our ancestor, so things might be way more passive than they seem. He probably took an interest in Rui after hearing his family name and realizing his connection to us."
'Though the main cause was probably the Ansuz rune' he added to himself.
"As for the matter of the family having rune masters, Ryuji, I trust that you will not say a thing. Make sure to bring over Jian to have his awakening test when the time comes as well."
"I shall do so brother."
Just as they said so, Jian came rushing over with a platter. A wide smile was plastered on his childish face.
Putting down the liquor and the appetizers he pulled over a chair and sat next to them with shining eyes. He was clearly extremely happy at the moment.
Seeing that the atmosphere finally turned brighter, Daito smiled and patted Jian on the head.
The conversation took a more light-hearted turn as they talked about daily matters of the family, gossip, amongst other things. Jian's expression lightened up every time he heard about hunting and fighting from his uncle, clearly glancing over at the sword which he had placed next to him.
Noticing Jian's expression, Daito decided to teach him some things about the sword and also gave him a wooden training sword he had on his traveling bag. Daito had known about his nephew's love of swords, so he had brought one over. He had also brought over a book for Rui, a fighting method of the clan, though he would give it to him personally later.
Time passed at this peaceful family re-union, but Rui had no knowledge of these events.
——————————————————————
Rui had been staring wide eyed at the small heirloom knife for over a minute before promptly covering it in the same gauze it was covered with in haste. His whole face was sweating as his eyes became anxious.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck."
"You can't be fucking serious. Is my father a dumbass, who the fuck gives such a thing to a twelve-year-old child!"
He swore his lungs out with each layer of gauze he used to cover it. His back was full of cold sweat as his heartbeat increased. He finally calmed down after completely covering it again. He was so flustered at the moment that he didn't even recognize Yue's existence.
Even he if did, by the time of his death, it would've forgotten most of the details, so it truly didn't matter.
He had this knife for almost two years now and had no idea what sort of thing it was. His father had told him that it was a family heirloom, but he didn't think it would be anything special, just an ornate knife. He had even played with it multiple times, throwing it around like an idiot, while "training".
He clutched his head at his stupidity. Thankfully no powerful rune master had seen it, or else they would've a hundred percent killed him to take it. This thing was a high-grade heavenly armament for heaven's sake!
Although he already possessed a heaven grade spiritual artifact, runic armaments were different. Spiritual artifacts usually had a lot of restrictions and Yue's combat power could be considered trash tier. Even its information was basically useless to a degree.
On the other hand, runic armaments were just as the word implied, an armament, a weapon of war. They were purely made for slaughter and fighting!
This information was included in the [the introduction of artifact grades] by scholar Li Fang. It was added as a side chapter and was full of criticism and hatred towards them. It was clear that he had a bias against armaments.
Although his blood had ran cold after realizing what he was holding onto. After calming down completely, his blood started boiling with incredible speed.
'This is a weapon of war! An incredibly powerful armament that can be used as a trump card!'
His thoughts were in a turmoil. He couldn't suppress the shock and expectations; however, he knew that things were a bit more complicated than that.
'Wait, if that is the case, how did this thing fall into my father's hands? Wait, the description said that it is an inherited item of the Guang family. Doesn't that mean that my father's family is some sort of secret rune master family? No of course not, how could that be the case.'
Rui deluded himself, trying not to accept the facts that were right in front of him.
With hands trembling, he grabbed the ornate knife and slowly gushed runic energy into it. He didn't care as to how Yue would react to his actions, or what its current thoughts were. He was so full of anticipation that he couldn't wait any more.
As soon as he poured the energy in, he felt a repulsive reaction and his hand felt a shock, dropping the knife to the floor.
He looked in disbelief at the knife for a moment before picking it up again. He couldn't comprehend what just happened.
"Master, to form a contract with a runic armament you need to put some blood on it and then activate it with runic energy." Yue's voice sounded.
"How did you know it was a runic armament?"
"Master, I'm a spiritual artifact, compared to humans, I can sense when an armament or artifact is nearby. Though I can't see its grade, I at least know they are there."
'A useful function finally…' Rui sighed.
"Okay, make sure to inform me every time you see one."
"I shall do so!"
Rui nodded and proceeded to remove the gauze again. He was reluctant, as he had just put it on, but he had nothing else sharp in his room to draw blood. They usually used extremely sharp needles to test the blood, but how could he get one as a student.
Cutting a small nick on his finger, he pondered as to how he still hadn't formed a contract with it the last time he cut his finger.
Pouring the drops of blood, he witnessed his finger slowly heal in real time, as the skin reconnected at a rapid speed, creating a mesmerizing, yet somewhat disgusting scene.
'This is probably the weak regeneration effect of Yue, though I can't call it "weak" seeing how fast it healed the nick.'
Waiting a bit, to see if there was any reaction to the blood and seeing none, he proceeded on using his runic energy on it.
This time he wasn't rejected, the knife greedily absorbing the energy gushing into it, the blood drop completely disappearing from its surface.
[Congratulations to user for forming a contract with a Heavenly grade armament]
[One free stat point has been rewarded]
[Showcasing armament status]
[Sun cutter
Tier: High-heavenly grade
Fighting grade: Mid-Heavenly grade
Master: Guang Rui
Armament compatibility: 50%
Abilities: dimensional slash, void breaker, void storage
Hidden function: Sword Mode.
Description: A High-Heavenly grade combat armament created by a strong armament crafter of old. Unlike spiritual artifacts, Runic armaments possess no spirit, but are incredible weapons of war. It is an inherited item of the Guang family. It can be used as a spacial storage item.
A hidden function has been unlocked thanks to the user's contract.]
Rui stared dazedly at the new status window and the new tab that appeared on it.
'Hidden function? Does that mean that their functions that even the system can't see unless certain conditions are met?'
Grabbing the hilt of the knife, he initiated the first ability, dimensional slash. He instantly felt a connection to the armament and the feeling of cutting space was vaguely perceived on his surroundings.
Energy gushed out of the knife, forming a black transparent sword. It was incredibly dense and barely detectable unless one looked at it directly, having the feeling of a light saber.
'Incredible, this is just one of the abilities, but it already condensed such a powerful blade. Where the hell did my father's family get such a thing.'
Stopping the runic output, the energy slowly retracted back into the knife, making Rui exhausted beyond belief.
He panted on the floor, sweat covering his whole body due to exhaustion, his face looked emaciated.
'Fuck! Even though the blade was powerful and activating it didn't take a lot of energy, turning it off caused me so much trouble. Not only that, the energy it consumed while active was incredible as well, this can only be used as a trump card.'
After sitting in a mediative position for a while and restoring his energy, he once again grabbed the hilt of the knife and tried activating the second ability, void breaker.
Nonetheless, this time nothing happened and his energy just got absorbed by the knife non-stop, causing no reaction.
'What's the matter, is there a malfunction? No that shouldn't be it. Is the ability too powerful that it needs charging, or is it because I'm too weak at the moment?'
Disappointed at the result, he decided to now use the hidden function. He had been excited since the moment he saw it, but suppressed his expectations till now. As for the third ability, that being void storage, he already had the system storage. So, storage wasn't really a problem for him.
For the final time, he poured runic energy into the ornate knife, causing it to retract and expand in size abruptly. The hilt of the knife became slightly larger, while the blade widened and elongated to the length of an average sword. The ornate patterns glowed with a blue light as they rearranged into a small sword symbol on the hilt.
A light sheen covered the sword, as his runic energy slowly condensed around it, taking a slightly blueish hue. He took a piece of his hair to test its sharpness, the hair being cut in two with the slightest touch. He swung the sword around a few times.
Just as he was about to shout out in happiness at this amazing weapon, he felt his consciousness fade out, his eyelids becoming heavy. He collapsed into the floor; the sword still strongly gripped into his hand.
After a while the sword slowly turned back into its original shape, its distinct sword like pattern returning to the somewhat random design of the ornate knife. The scene became quiet as night fell.