Suddenly, Beta stopped and sat down on the grass.

"Hm? What is he doing now? Is he giving up?", Chugum thought.

Beta took off his backpack and started to rummage in it.

He then looked up at Chugum and asked, "Do you have some food for me?", with slightly blushed cheeks. Beta didn't take anything with him because he couldn't afford it and he thought he would have some meat from the hunts. That would've been the case if it were not for the unfortunate encounters they had.

Chugum was stumped. "You don't have any food with you?"

"At the beginning of this day, I didn't expect to land inside the huge personal space of a hidden master.", Beta said with a slight cough.

"Well, I guess it is to be expected. From now on you should always have some food on you. It's especially convenient with the personal space because food can be stored easily inside and it won't go bad at all because bacteria can't survive inside the void. Well, there are some that go dormant, but still, it is unlikely to make the food rot. The only problem is that the food won't stay warm. But that can be easily overlooked by the vast amount of benefits.

"I'll try that in the future. But right now, I don't have anything to store inside my personal space and there wouldn't be much that fit into it anyway. So, I was wondering if my benevolent master has some food to share? Or actually, am I allowed to get something in the forest? That has always been the case that's why I didn't store any food.", Beta said, tilting his head.

"Ahem, of course, I do have food... since you've been a good student, I'll just give you some soup.", Chugum said while taking out a bowl with delicious smelling soup.

"Thanks!"

Beta didn't know what kind of soup it was but what he knew was that it was delicious. It had juicy meat inside it that seemed to energize him greatly. After eating only half a bowl, he already felt full of energy, so he didn't want to force the rest in and instead stored it inside his personal space. Beta then continued on with the stones. Sometimes, he would take a rest to restore his soulpower. Then once he recovered, he continued with his task.

As the pictures got harder, his talent truly showed itself. He slowly started implementing movements from Surgeon's Rule, becoming as precise as a surgeon's scalpel. His precision was so good that not even Chugum was able to find any fault with it anymore. Even as he progressed, he didn't need as many tries as before anymore. In the beginning, it still looked slightly clunky, but his movements became smoother and smoother. He looked similar to a painter, if only there wasn't an indescribable coldness around him. The beautiful movements felt as cold as a scalpel and the almost mechanical perfection gave off something dangerous.

Chugum was surprised to see this kind of aura emanating off of a person, not to mention that Beta was only a kid. As he kept looking at Beta's movements, he got the illusion that he laid on a cold metallic table while looking into Beta's even colder eyes. Chugum started marveling at Beta's past. "Hmm.. Just where did the kid come from to be able to have that kind of aura around him?", Chugum thought with a slight sigh. Although it made him stronger than others at his age, it also meant that his childhood was one filled by suffering.

Soon, Beta reached the thirty-first stone. This one was different from all the others before as it pictured something that shared similarities with a labyrinth.

"That is a rune. It's used to enchant. To be a Voidweaver, you have to learn a few runes that enable you to let your soulpower flow through fabric, stone, or any other material for an indefinite amount of time. Each rune has its own meaning. Imagine it as a weird kind of language. Once you write "Void" on a bag it turns into a void bag. Although, it's not that easy as it sounds like. The rune before you is 'Kayo' which means fire. If you engrave this rune into a sword for an example, it will be able to ignite itself. With that, you can inflict burn damage to your enemies as you fight them. The only drawback is that it consumes your soulpower as you use it. Of course, that can be remedied by other means such as infusing a soul gem. Like that, you can store your soulpower inside your weapon or armor before the fight. The downside on this method though is that the efficiency after emptying the soul gem is quite low since refilling it is slower than using your soulpower directly. Of course, there are hybrids but those are quite rare as it's really hard to create those."

Beta looked at the rune, full of interest. Why did it have to be this formation? What kind of language had the power to bring such wondrous effects?

"If someone only has to write 'void' on a bag to turn it into a void bag... why does one have to be a Void Elementalist?", Beta asked puzzledly. He didn't know what to think of these runes. They are mystical and mysterious in origin. The most important part though is that it's so powerful that he doesn't see a reason to not learn it.

"Although everyone can create these runes, the result will be very different. Everyone has an element in their soulpower. If you successfully create a fire rune it will be more than ten times weaker than the one created by someone with the fire element. Same goes for the void bag. If someone who doesn't have the void element tries to create one, they will notice that the space within the void bag will be so small that sometimes, it's not even sure if it worked. The void element is just so different from everything else that other elements can't even begin to copy its effects. We, on the other hand, can at least get enough fire to build a little lighter so that we can start a fire more easily. But the most important thing about runes isn't really how to create them. Actually, the most important thing is to be able to recognize them. If you meet an opponent and you can't read the runes on any of his equipment, he will be at an advantage. Same goes for exploring ruins or other hidden areas. If you are able to see a trap and know what will happen, it's much easier to react to it and plan ahead. Another thing is that 'Kayo' isn't always necessarily related to normal fire. If you combine it with another rune, it might turn into something entirely different.", Chugum answered, looking like a true master.

Beta listened to Chugum's explanation silently. The more he heard about runes, the more he realized their importance. An endless amount of ideas flashed through his mind, exciting him. Gaining more power always was his goal. And now, he finally found the means to it. If he enchanted his scythe successfully, his strength would be greatly enhanced. His clothes could be enchanted to never get dirty and maybe self-repairing while he's at it. With that, he wouldn't need to pay for new clothes ever again! He didn't know whether it was feasible or not, but just the thought of it, he couldn't help but wanted to try.

With new fervor, Beta then proceeded to create the runes. It took him five tries to complete the first one but he didn't feel bad about it. It was quite complicated after all but at least he managed to complete something. The further he advanced, the slower was his progress. These labyrinth-like runes were just too peculiar and new to him. Beta was sure that if he had to create a labyrinth at some point in his life, he would certainly do a great job.

Soon, Beta was almost finished with the stones and Chugum grew more and more worried.

"I can't let him finish this! But if I change it and he's still able to finish it... the reward for him would have to be even greater... ugh.. I have to take the risk!", Chugum thought, determination written all over his face.

Beta didn't see Chugum acting strangely. He only had eyes for the runes at the moment but when he reached the forty-fifth one, Beta halted for a second. He looked at Chugum once, then continued as if nothing happened.

"Phew... I thought he caught me for a second... that would've been really awkward...", Chugum thought, sweat started to flow on his back. Since he did a great job without being noticed, he decided to change the stones starting from the forty-fifth stone.

The rune Beta had in front of him was called 'Hilom' which could mean silent or silence. It was the most intricate rune he had had so far and many levels above the last one. But that didn't upset him at all. Instead, it made him incredibly happy. The rune was one with the effect he had wished for. He wanted it for all of his equipment. To obtain an even more effective element of surprise, stealth is, after all, as an important factor in a fight.

Suddenly, Beta started laughing maniacally. It was just like his father's laugh back then when he stepped out to fight innumerable enemies or whenever he discovered something amazing.

"Eh?! Wha-what's with him all of a sudden?"