Ronan's mind was calm and clear as he focused a thin strand of mental strength, like an intravenous tube, connecting it to the carving knife in his hand. As the blade tip moved with a soft "swoosh" across the blank rune stone, this mental energy, along with the universal powder solution, gently poured into the emerging rune grooves.
Everything was progressing smoothly.
Seeing success within reach, Ronan felt a surge of joy, his mind relaxing slightly. His hand holding the carving knife trembled ever so slightly, causing the blade's path to deviate.
"Crack—"
A crack appeared on the rune stone in his hand, rendering it useless.
"Damn it," Ronan muttered in frustration, wishing he could slap himself for the slip.
"So close, just a tiny bit more!"
If his previous failure ended at ninety-seven percent, this one was at ninety-nine percent.
The final stroke had ruined it all.
"Premature celebration," Ronan sighed, rubbing his temples, and sat on his small bed to meditate.
With another increase in his [Basic Meditation Techniques] proficiency, his depleted mental strength was fully restored. After a sip of water, Ronan resumed his efforts.
He was especially cautious this time, having learned from his previous mistake.
The character panel's benefits shone through, guiding him smoothly to the end.
The final stroke was executed perfectly, and the rune stone, now engraved with the complete [Cleanse] rune, emitted a brief glow, exuding a faint, mysterious aura.
When success truly arrived, Ronan felt more relieved and satisfied than excited, happy that his efforts had finally paid off.
After meditating again, he continued engraving.
An hour later, a weary Ronan stood in his small house, examining the two finished rune stones in the sunlight streaming through the window.
Opening his panel, he noticed new additions to his character sheet.
**[Name: Ronan Damien]**
**[Age: 16]**
**[Affinity: Non-Elemental]**
**[Level: Level 2 Wizard Apprentice (14%)]**
**[Skills: Basic Meditation Techniques (Proficient 158/200), Energy Missile (Mastery 339/400), Charged Weapon (Beginner 68/100), Rune Engraving—Cleanse (Beginner 2/100)]**
The engraving of the [Cleanse] rune had reached the beginner level, with 2 points of proficiency.
Perhaps due to accumulated experience, his overall strength progress had also increased by one percent, a double blessing.
"The [Cleanse] rune sells for one magic stone, so two are worth two magic stones."
Ronan had spent a total of sixty-nine magic stone fragments on materials, netting a profit of one magic stone and thirty-one fragments after subtracting the cost.
Of course, this wasn't the main point.
The important thing was that Ronan now had a stable source of income, no longer living off his savings with each expenditure reducing his resources.
"It's not easy," Ronan sighed, collapsing into his chair, finally able to relax completely, without any thoughts or plans.
Although he seemed calm outwardly, he had been under immense internal pressure for the past month.
Ronan had risked everything he had on rune engraving.
Though his total assets weren't much, it was a significant gamble for him.
Failure would have meant dire consequences.
Thankfully, he succeeded.
The results were even better than expected; out of twenty blank rune stones, he successfully engraved two. Now he needed to figure out how to sell these two [Cleanse] runes for magic stones.
"Right!" Ronan suddenly remembered something.
The vendor who had sold him the blank rune stones had boasted that if Ronan could successfully engrave a rune, he'd give him ten bags of blank rune stones for free.
Ronan was tempted to rush to the market and slam the two [Cleanse] runes in front of that vendor.
But after some thought, he sat back down.
It might be wise not to flaunt this success.
Ronan didn't know how many blank rune stones others required to go from novice to beginner in rune engraving, but it was surely more than twenty.
If he appeared too talented, the secret of his character panel might be exposed. What if someone with ill intentions captured him, locking him away in a small, dark room to engrave runes ceaselessly?
After all, he was just a humble Level 2 Wizard Apprentice.
Moreover, the ten bags of blank rune stones were only promised verbally by the vendor, without any formal contract, allowing him to easily back out. Ronan might be the only one foolish enough to take it seriously.
Considering all this, Ronan decided not to pursue that offer.
"The market's still a destination; I'm out of blank rune stones."
After meditating and checking the time, Ronan left home with the two rune stones.
In the bustling wizard market, Ronan strolled naturally in his robe.
Underneath, he clutched the two [Cleanse] rune stones tightly, palms sweaty.
He feared thieves; he hadn't been this nervous even when carrying a pouch of money before.
"Should I find a spot to set up a stall?"
Ronan glanced around, worried that selling just two [Cleanse] runes might seem too shabby.
In hindsight, he wished he'd brought the unsold dried meat from last time.
After wandering around, Ronan realized he was overthinking it.
Setting up a stall wasn't as simple as he thought.
Market vendors had to pay fees, with even the worst spots costing five magic stone fragments per day.
With only one magic stone fragment to his name, Ronan couldn't afford even the cheapest rent and reluctantly abandoned the idea.
As dusk approached, Ronan realized his best option for selling the runes was to return to the vendor who had mocked him.
"Did you really engrave this yourself?"
The vendor's mouth hung slightly open, disbelief etched on his face as he examined Ronan.
"Yes."
Ronan nodded.
"Damn!"
The vendor cursed, suddenly realizing something, and sneered, "Kid, you must have wasted more than fifteen blank rune stones, right?"
Avoiding the vendor's piercing gaze, Ronan feigned guilt and denied, "No, just the fifteen you gave me."
"You think I'm stupid?"
The vendor rolled his eyes. "I've been in Hoddam for ages and never heard of anyone becoming a rune engraver with less than a hundred blank stones! Now spill it, how many did you really use?"
Ronan, like a child caught in a lie, appeared embarrassed and awkward, hesitating before lowering his head and "confessing."
"Okay, I admit... I used nearly two hundred blank stones before barely succeeding."
"That's more like it."
Seeing the vendor's slightly unnatural expression, Ronan regretted not inflating the number even more.