Lev woke up to a hard complication.

  Oh no.

  The dreaded period of growth, something that wasn't supposed to happen for a year or so, had snuck up on him.

  I forgot about the growth from my evolution. Lev cupped his face and groaned. No matter. This is the new reality. It will pass.

  Hyping himself up, Lev put the problem out of his mind for now. It would get worse later but that was future Lev's problem.

  The morning suns greeted him in all their glory as he left the inn his armor, going straight to the construct spire for his first lecture. It was scheduled to start in an hour, during which Lev could explore the spire itself.

  The entrance hall was the same as the Smith spire, vacant. The elevator was there too, which Lev excitedly stepped on. It moved without as much as a single beep or jolt, providing an experience that eclipsed Lev's expectations.

  The first lower floor, the educational floor, was a neat hallway with rooms on either side. Lev quietly glided to the specified class, finding it empty.

  Having confirmed that he had the right timing, Lev stepped back into the elevator and descended another floor, the last one to allow visitors.

  The second lower floor was dedicated to newbie crafters. Unlike the previous floor, that floor was split into four different seconds, each covered in runes and focused on different aspects of tinkering or crafting.

  "Hey," someone called out to him, "are you new here?"

  Lev nodded. "Then don't just stand there."

  Lev blinked, wondering what the guy's problem was. Putting him out of his mind, he walked up to one of the people working on a large water pot.

  "Hello," Lev greeted, "what are you guys working on?"

  The group of crafters, two girls and a boy, looked at him with varying levels of interest. The shortest of the group, a girl with a perpetual smile on her face replied with great enthusiasm.

  "Hi, are you new here? Come, let me show you,"

  The other two weren't happy but Lev didn't care much. The girl pointed to three simple runes carved into the pot with … little precision, to put it nicely.

  "We're trying to create a heating function," the girl explained cheerily despite the simplicity of the task. "One temperature increase rune, one to input mana, and the last to drain the rune in case of an overload."

  Lev studied the runes intently. They were just squiggles that somehow did fixed tasks. It never failed to amaze him how a little carving could heat water inside a container.

  "I see," Lev nodded along. "Do you have the skill for carving runes?"

  The girl pouted, and hilarity bubbled up in the other two as well.

  "No, but they aren't that bad! It's very hard to carve them without ruining the metal surface."

  Lev held up his hands. "Nobody's calling them bad. Monarch knows I'm probably much worse at it."

  That seemed to be enough for the girl to be all smiles again. "Don't worry. Once you get the skill, it will be smooth sailing."

  Lev excused himself after that. Even if he had willingly downplayed his abilities, it still left a bad taste in his mouth.

  Thinking back to the runes themselves, Lev noted how poorly they were connected. From the diary he'd gotten from his mentor, Lev knew it was paramount to connect runes properly. Their efficiency and lifespan depended on them.

  For the next half an hour, Lev visited several more groups like that, most of them flat-out refusing to show him their work. The few that did accept were quite fascinating.

  One of them was working on a water collection design. It was crude, most probably the product of a new skill, but the design still went over Lev's head. It was complex to say the least, and he didn't understand any of it.

  Lev returned to the classroom, the room now accommodating two more people. They were both boys, around the age of 14.

  Probably boys who just unlocked their System. Now that I think about it, I'm likely the outlier with my illusion armor and an evolution under my belt.

  The thought was proven quickly when the boys stared at his armor with clear admiration as he took a seat at the back of the class. Lev understood, he wanted to be able to craft such intricate illusions too, one day.

  The boys did not talk to him. People rarely took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Lev. Perhaps it was his armor that discouraged them, or maybe the blocking stone completely blocking their identification skills was taken as a sign to stay away?

  He didn't know and neither did he mind. Though watching one of the boys struggle to muster the courage to speak to him was quite amusing in itself.

  "Sir…"

  Oh boy, Lev thought, stifling a chuckle. The boy progressively lost confidence when Lev didn't reply. In reality, Lev was just trying to push the mirth down before replying.

  "I'm not the lecturer," Lev explained. "I'm here to learn just like you two."

  The boy blinked twice, surprised at hearing a voice not much older than him. "Oh, I know the lecturer. I was just curious if you're shadowing the lecture or an extra teacher to help us out."

  "Nah, I'm here to learn the skills and runes as well."

  "Are you a combat crafter?" The other boy asked, sitting cross-legged and relaxed. He only paid Lev half a glance, and even that seemed condescending.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  "Not yet," Lev simply stated after a few seconds.

  The first boy blinked, looking between the two of them and the weird play that had just transpired. Lev didn't like the other boy's bearing either. It spoke of arrogance with how he seemed to subtly look down on him.

  "I see," the second boy turned back to the board, ignoring the two of them.

  "… So you're a student as well?" the first boy slowly broke the silence. "I'm Nolan by the way. What's your name?"

  "Lev, and yeah."

  "I see," Nolan nodded. He seemed like the chatty type already. "Do you know anything about the lecturer?"

  "Just the name," Lev mused.

  "He's pretty popular, you know? These lectures usually cost more and aren't nearly as frequent. Sir Edward hosts them mostly out of the kindness heart to help out aspiring crafters."

  "Mostly," Lev echoed with a snort.

  Nolan grinned, "A man's got to eat."

  "A very lavish diet if you think about it."

  They both shared a chuckle at that.

  The class filled out more in the next few minutes. The majority of the students, Lev noted, were females. The teacher was an enigmatic old man, walking up to the podium with sure steps and a carefully revealed aura of a Master.

  [Enchanter - ???]

  Specialized class, Lev observed. His Identify rarely returned results beyond the general classes.

  "Glad to see so many of you take an interest in this field," The lecturer spoke, his voice echoing in the classroom. "Before we start, I would like to make some things clear. First, do not interrupt me during the lecture. There will be more than enough time for questions and demonstrations. Secondly, this field is not at all "easy" as some people may have led you to believe. It is at first, I'll admit, but it gets progressively more complex as your skill grows.

  "Third, questions about materials and exact calculations for efficiency and other aspects will be discussed during the last hour. Any questions?"

  Seeing nobody had any, Edward's eyes lingered on Lev for a moment before he started.

  "Let's discuss the basics. Who here can tell me about what runes are?"

  Many hands went up into the air and Edward picked one of the front row ones.

  The boy stood up before speaking. "Runes are considered the language of mana. They tell mana how to behave and operate, theorized to be the basis of The System and our skills."

  "An apt answer," Edward complimented, "and also enough for our purposes. As our fellow student here explained, runes are the basis of all manipulation of mana outside of our skills. They cover every aspect imaginable, and I won't even bother listing any of them. If it exists, there's a rune for it."

  Lev absorbed the knowledge with a tiny grain of salt. He didn't know how things would differ for combatants, so keeping a flexible mind would be prudent.

  Edward only spoke about the basics of runes for a few moments. Everyone present had some degree of understanding about them already.

  "Now, there are several methods to make use of runes. Does anyone here know what those are?"

  Edward picked another random attendee. "Rune painting, rune carving, and rune etching."

  "Mental shaping too," the arrogant boy from earlier chipped in. "It's a viable form of enchanting."

  Edward nodded slowly. "While it is definitely viable, it is explicitly utilized in combat crafting where intricacy is sacrificed for speed. We will, for the sake of simplicity, not talk about that method in these lectures."

  "That's fine," the boy frowned. "Don't just refuse to acknowledge it."

  "Rest assured, it was going to be mentioned later," Edward smiled. "Before we start, I should give a small introduction about formations and arrays. Formations are enchantments consisting of more than three runes focused on the same task. So if a combination of 20 runes is working on heating a container, that is a heating formation. On the contrary, arrays are a sequence of enchantments. It doesn't matter if they are formations or normal runes, if there is a pattern of activation of different effects, it is an array. Now, the methods mentioned by…"

  Lev listened intently as Edward launched into an explanation about each method.

  Rune painting was the simplest method that only worked with two-dimensional runes. By painting runes with mana-conductive materials, long-lasting equipment could be crafted with minimal ease. The method was reserved for non-combat equipment, where maximum efficiency and output were not required.

  Rune carving was Lev's chosen method of enchanting. It was similarly simple while allowing three-dimensional runes to be utilized. The method required a person to simply carve pathways into the material or object being enchanted, imitating the rune.

  With enough practice, Lev could merely hollow out his barriers in the runic patterns. His Enchanting General Skills and Barrier Manipulation skill would both aid the concept, which was another positive about the method.

  The third method was perhaps the most difficult if the mysterious Mental shaping was ignored. Rune Etching required a person to mentally visualize a rune and solidify the mana inside the object to be enchanted with willpower.

  Naturally, it demanded herculean effort to hold large runic formations or arrays in one's mind and even more to solidify them.

  Unlike Lev's barriers, the solidified mana was not solid or tangible but just an added effect on the item without taking any physical space. It was truly a miraculous method accepted without batting an eye.

  What could mental shaping be?

  From the name alone, Lev could deduce it was similar to etching. But what exactly was it focused on, he had no clue.

  The hour passed with slow explanations to not overwhelm the attendees. Lev appreciated that, for he too was lost in thought.

  "To demonstrate the simplest of runes," Edward summoned a simple metal plate, thin and the size of his palm. "Let us consider this iron plate. No exemplary properties to speak of, nor does it have decent conductivity. Just plain old iron."

  The students leaned forward to observe better but Lev could see it in incredible detail. His passive was paying dividends in odd ways.

  "We will go with a simple paint. Here, I have a grounded goblin shaman core liquefied with a bit of water. Horrible for any actual rune painting but perfect for our practice."

  Edward brought a small brush, and with a few clean and precise strokes, two new runes were present on the plate.

  "Heating rune with a direct input function and a cut-off rune to prevent overloading." Edward held up the plate, the paint already dry. "This demonstration is supposed to show how things can go wrong very quickly."

  Having said his piece, Lev felt a trickle of mana leave the enchanter and enter the heating rune. The paint heated up well before the iron could, and within moments a portion of the painted rune was charred black.

  Edward showed off the now ruined rune to everyone, presenting it from different angles for the students to get a good look.

  "This was an example of horribly conductive materials. The paint is simply not meant for enchanting, for it possesses a very little capacity for channeling mana."

  The aspiring enchanters nodded along. The demonstration so far was simple. Edward, seeing that everyone was following, scraped off the dried paint with another brush before bringing out a new pile of paint.

  "On the other end of the demonstration, I will paint this with the grounded core of a second-threshold monster dissolved into infused distilled water. It is an excellent paint, one of the best mass-produced ones we have."

  The iron paint was ready once again before Edward channeled a small stream of mana into the rune. The improved heating rune absorbed it like a champ.

  Lev attentively observed as the iron plate slowly turned red before the rune suddenly fizzled out. It took him a few moments to realize that the iron directly underneath the rune had melted from the heat, ruining the integrity of the rune.

  "In this case, the material that was subpar. I don't need to explain any further about why," Edward commented, his eyes roaming the class and meeting every student's gaze.

  "This is the main lesson of today's lecture. The rune, even when extremely potent, was useless without a suitable material for it. Similarly, the material would not matter if you didn't have enchantments to truly make use of it."

  His eyes hardened before he solemnly announced, "So, kids, just know that… enchanting is expensive as hell. You better prepare your little hearts for the spending sprees."

  Pin-drop silence reigned in the room as the words digested, while Edward observed everyone with a goofy grin.