Line stored the pills again, only keeping those helpful for spell engravement in hand.
Only five pills… let's make sure not to waste it!
Adjusting his mental state, the warrior felt confident and determined. He focused on the inconspicuous tiny bell again.
Line's mental strength slowly touched the Ahiluscendum, feeling the spellcircle.
By now he was already used to the first few runes. One by one he perfectly engraved everything up to the fifth rune. When number six approached, he slowed down somewhat.
Line made sure to avoid any mistakes. He carefully traced the waves, forming line for line.
After a few minutes the sixth rune finally took shape. Line didn't let the success get to his head and immediately continued with the seventh rune.
A huge chunk of his mental strength was drained abruptly. The young man hastily swallowed one of the pills prepared by his mother.
Suddenly it seemed as if the world itself had turned brighter. Line felt his entire being euphoric and full of energy. He was surprised by the effect, realizing that these pills definitely weren't of low quality.
No! Don't come up with any stray thoughts! Focus!
Reprimanding himself, Line concentrated on the seventh rune. His mind was stable like a boulder thanks to the pill's effect, each tiny wave couldn't be more obvious in his eyes.
He immediately continued with the eight rune. The warrior's muscles twitched faintly, showing how his body felt overworked.
But Line steeled his mind and persisted. He couldn't let his mother's pill go to waste!
With an iron will he finally managed to engrave the eight rune.
By now Line's vision already blurred. He dug his mind like a well, searching for the last bits of mental strength. The world slowly began to turn dark, the pill trying its hardest to keep Line awake.
Only the single rune was left in his mind. It appeared enlarged by thousands of times, as if it was the only thing left in the world.
Line swayed, a drop of blood running down his cheek. But the ninth rune slowly formed in his spellcircle.
One step at a time. Line persisted. He fought.
And finally, he succeeded. The ninth rune settled comfortably within the ninth circle. A relieved smile formed on Line's face as he immediately fell unconscious.
But his mind was at ease. He had completed the spell, not wasting a single one of his mother's pills.
However, since Line's body shut down, he couldn't observe the subsequent process.
As soon as the spell was completed, it shone brightly. Connections formed between the nine runes, like bridges to transport energy.
They started from the first rune, spreading towards the ninth. It only took a moment for all the runes to connect. But before they could really finish the process, a mysterious pressure suddenly appeared.
The Core of Time took action. It suppressed the spell, locking it away.
A few hours later Line woke up again. He took a deep breath, his head still hurting.
I don't think it's healthy to pass out all the time. Hopefully this will be the last time.
Despite his entire body being in pain, Line still wore a smile on his face. He finally had a powerful spell unique to himself.
Over the last few weeks, the young man had also read up about forbidden spells in the library. He knew that each one of them could only ever be held by a single person.
During the engraving a faint doubt was still in Line's mind, hoping that no one with the same spell existed. But since he managed to engrave the ninth rune, it proved that he was the only one carrying this forbidden spell from now on.
Line was eager to get to know this new companion which might be with him for the rest of his life. Thus, he hastily turned his vision inwards, connecting with the Core of Time.
But immediately a frown formed on the warrior's face.
This doesn't look right. Why is the spell so dim?!
Line was confused, but luckily someone quickly gave him an answer. Information sent by the Core of Time appeared in his brain.
[Bell of Death]: When the bell of death sounds, your end is near. Activating this forbidden spell summons a bell of death which takes away the target's vitality with each chime. The amount of chimes a target can endure depends on many factors.
The target's strength, the wielder's strength, the distance to the target, the time passed since the wielder last heard the target's voice.
Additionally, the bell of death will speed up if hit by the target themselves.
The bell of death can only be used against anyone whose voice the wielder heard within the last thirteen minutes.
Whoever seeks to control the bell of death will have to pay a price, enduring severe side effects. Their hearing will cease to function, and demons will plague their mind until the bell leaves the land of the living.
(Currently locked by the Core of Time)
Line took a deep breath, almost overwhelmed by all the information. But as he read the side effects he was only left with questions.
The bell of death only worked on targets whose voice I heard within the last thirteen minutes. But as a side effect my hearing will cease to function???
What are these conditions? Why are they so contradicting?
Now I understand why the Core of Time locked the spell for now.
Thanks, buddy…
The Core of Time pulsed faintly before falling silent again. Line's mind was confused, but his exhaustion prevented him from forming a clear thought.
Let's think about it tomorrow. If I don't find a solution I might have to change spells. But [Bell of Death] sounds really powerful…
For a moment a name flashed in Line's mind. It was [Mark of Death], the forbidden spell many ranked first among the publicly known ones.
He wondered how his [Bell of Death] compared while dragging his tired body home.
It was night when Tepo returned to the dorm, although the nine suns still shone brightly as ever. His dormmates were training in their rooms, not noticing him as the young man directly went to bed.
The next morning voices woke up Tepo. He still felt somewhat tired, but his mind had recovered a lot.
Yerive, Shorey and Quordh were conversing calmly as suddenly the door to Tepo's room opened. The trio turned their heads with surprise in their eyes.
"Cutey? You remembered to come home?"
"Mate, were have you been?"
"Wow, you look terrible Tepo."
Amused voices greeted the young man as he left his room in wrinkly clothes.
"Morning guys. I'm fine. I have been engraving spells."
"Oh? So you already came to a decision?", asked Yerive.
"Well, I just figured I'd start with a strong and fitting spell and build the rest around it."
Shorey and Quordh obviously disapproved of this method.
"Haa, whatever. You already know our opinions. If you change your mind, you know where to find me. I have studied the forum's templates a lot…"
"I trust you know what you're doing.", encouraged Yerive his best friend.
Tepo nodded at his friends with a smile on his face.
"Don't worry guys, I'm confident."
Subsequently Tepo sat down with his friends, changing the topic and listening to all kinds of gossip.
He was uninterested for the most part, but something Yerive said suddenly sparked his attention.
"Two days ago, Kalmin instigated some people to block the lecture hall again. Those guys have become unbearable since Tepo ruined their dungeon event."
"What? Are they making things difficult for you?"
"Well, I guess they are mostly searching for you, but you're not around so they have to change their target."
"F*cking… I'm sorry, Yerive."
"Why would you apologize? This isn't your fault.
Furthermore, it's not that bad. When I arrived with Droa'va, they didn't dare to make things difficult for me.
In this world the Church of Guiding Nature still let's those arrogant aristocratic families tread carefully."
Tepo eyed his best friend. He was surprised about the tone Yerive used to speak about the church. It almost sounded too positive for his ears.
But the slight guilt he felt prevented him from questioning further.
I feel like I have been neglecting Yerive. Ever since finding 'outsider' rituals in the dungeon, I have this renewed pressure in my mind.
Thus, the issue remained a sidenote as the conversation continued.
A while later Shorey stood up, stretching his body.
"Ok mates. The immersion course starts soon. Are you coming as well, Tepo?"
"No. I planned to take a look at the spell storage today."
"What?", exclaimed Shorey, his disbelief mirrored on the other dormmates' faces.
"I though you did so long ago. Why else would you be so busy with engraving spells? We all were already guessing if you got a forbidden spell from the storage."
"The forum has forbidden spells?"
"Well, it's only rumors but I would be surprised if they didn't."
"Oh, I didn't expect it. But it's alright. I wouldn't want to deal with the side effects anyways. I'm content with what I got."