Before we start this chapter, I wanna say a few things.

First: Thank you all so much for the support you showed little old me. It warms my heart to know the world is filled with kindness. All the suggestions are gonna help me a lot with my future chapters.

Second: This story is already on AO3. And it's already at chapter fifteen there. If you don't feel like waiting, feel free to visit there and have a look. It's under the name of this fanfic.

Third: Enjoy, and have fun!

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Okay.

You got this.

This would be the first time that I step outside the house alone in this life. I'll be fine...hopefully. After all, I didn't have my fears anymore, so I wasn't going to let that go to waste.

"Father," I called out, my botanical encyclopedia in one hand, "Can I go and play outside?"

Children my age were prone to wandering as soon as you took your eyes off of them, and if you add on the fact parents were worrywarts, going anywhere without telling them at my age was a recipe for disaster.

"Hmm? Play outside? Not just out in the yard, I take it?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. Well, sure. Of course, you can." Paul gave his permission readily enough. "Come to think of it, we haven't given you much free time. Here we were, taking up all your time teaching you swordplay and spellcraft, but children need to play, too."

"I really appreciate that I've got such good teachers."

I thought of Paul as a strict father who was worried too much about his kid's education, but his line of thinking was actually pretty flexible. I'd half expected him to demand I spend all day working on my swordsmanship. He was a man of intuition.

"But, hmm...you really want to go out? I used to think you were such a frail boy, but time really does fly. Huh?"

"You thought I was frail?" What the heck? I was never sick in this life.

"Because of how you never used to cry."

"Oh. All right. But if I'm all right now, it's no problem, yeah? I've grown up to be a healthy and charming boy! Seeeeeee?" I pulled my cheek and made a funny face.

Paul frowned. "It's how you aren't childish that worries me the most."

"Am I not turning out to be the firstborn son you wanted me to be?"

"No, it's not that."

"Given the look of disappointment on your face, would it be better to say that you're hoping I become a more fitting heir to the Greyrat family?" I posited.

"I'm not proud of it, but when I was your age, your old man was a total brat who always went around chasing skirts."

"You were a skirt-chaser?"

I should have expected them to exist in this world as well. Wait. Did he just call himself a brat?

"If you really want to be worth of the Greyrat family, go out there and bring home a girlfriend." He said.

Wait. This was the kind of family we were? Wasn't my dad a knight charged with protecting a frontier town in addition to being a low-ranking noble? Did we have no social standing at all? Or were we just extremely low-ranked?

"Understood," I said. "Then I'll be heading off into the village to look for a skirt or two to chase after."

"Hey now. You need to be nice to girls. And don't go around bragging just because you can use powerful magic. Real men don't get strong just to brag about it."

That was actually good advice. But Paul was right. Power wielded for its own sake was meaningless. And I still have my magi's pride, thank you very much. Right now, though, I think I'll make up something dumb to confuse my father.

"I understand, Father. Power should be reserved for when you make girls see how cool you look."

"That's, uh, not exactly what I meant..."

Hehehe. That expression? Priceless.

"I'm just joking," I said, "It's for protecting the weak, right?"

"Yes, exactly."

With that conversation concluded, I tucked my botanical encyclopedia back under one arm, slung the wand I'd received from Roxy at my hip, and headed out. Before I got too far though, I stopped and turned, remembering one last thing.

"Oh, by the way, Father, I think I'll probably go out like this on occasion, but I promise I'll always tell someone at home first, and I won't neglect my daily magic and sword studies either. And I promise to be back before the sun goes down and it gets dark, and I won't go anywhere dangerous."

I did not want people running around like headless chickens just because I fell asleep under a tree and forgot to return, or something along those lines.

"Ah, yeah. Sure."

For some reason, Paul sounded a little out of it.

"Okay then," I waved, "I'm off."

"Come back safe."

Just like that, I left home.

...

Several days went by.

I wasn't afraid of the outside world anymore, and things were going pretty well. I even got to know a few villagers. People knew about me, the son of Paul and Zenith and a disciple of Roxy. When I ran into people for the first time, I'd greet them properly and introduce myself. People I was meeting again got a "good day." Everyone greeted me back with bright smiles on their faces. It had been a long time since I'd felt so open and carefree. Paul and Roxy's combined relative fame was more than half of what helped me feel so comfortable. The rest was all thanks to what Roxy had done for me. Which meant, I guess, that Roxy was to thank for the bulk of it. I'd have to take very good care of those treasured panties.

...

My main goal in going outside was to explore on my own two feet and get the lay of the land. I needed to know the quickest escape routes in case a phantasmal beast attacked. At the same time, I also wanted to carry out some botanical investigations and look for a base of operation. I wanted to know which plants were edible and which would make me feel like crap. Survival knowledge was critical in this world, where civilization wasn't too advanced yet. Roxy had only taught me the basics, like the most common edible plants and fungi in my area and the ones that would send me to heaven.

My magecraft experiments were getting too large to do at home without my parents discovering them. I want to continue with my fake circuit project, but that would require vast amounts of space, tens of different substances, magic circles that take days to draw, and a crap ton of human or animal nerves. Not to mention the process would be painfully long. I doubt my parents or Lilia would want to walk into my room one day and see me experimenting with a brain. My village wasn't large, unfortunately. That was a problem-as we didn't have any notable flora.

...

After a few days of basically nothing, I went inside the forest.

The flora was denser there, as was the Mana in the air. Was there a ley line beneath this forest? I hoped to find a promising cave-the ambient magical energy was dense here, perfect for a magi's workshop.

I walked deeper into the forest, my eyes alertly darting around. This was the deepest I'd ever gone before. The sunlight was almost completely blocked out by the trees' thick canopy. A warm breeze blew, and the pure white hood of my cloak flew off. I sighed before putting the hood back on. I'd just recently finished my first mystic code. In fact, it was on the night Roxy left. I took that golden opportunity and sprouted a bold lie, telling my parents this cloak was a gift from Roxy before she left. They bought the lie, and I could now wear this hood freely, but I still felt bad. Sorry, Roxy. For using your leave as an alibi.

I noticed a flash of gold for a second, coming from the butterfly-shaped magic circle on my hood. I grimaced. My eyes were still occasionally acting up. Another gust of wind blew, this time colder and fiercer. The white wings on my back shivered slightly along with my body. It was surprisingly chilly in the forests.

Currently, my cloak was in the shape of a Cabbage White Butterfly's wings-I folded them into this shape-with a wingspan not even reaching a meter. They were stretched out behind me, the magic circles etched on them ready to amplify my Mana and Od. This cloak radiated a ridiculous amount of magical energy when fully active, and I did not want to scream to every monster in the vicinity, "Hey! I'm here! Come get me!" Yet there was still a chance of running into one in these woods, so I wanted to keep my cloak active. So I activated the bare minimum magic circles required for it to function, resulting in a faint white glow with a few black magic circles. Why did I fold them into the shape of a Cabbage White Butterfly's wings? I did not need to, of course. I could have chosen an easier-to-fold form. But it just felt right, you know? The colors and patterns matched so well it would be a waste not to do so.

I wandered deeper into the forest, the sunlight slowly replaced by dancing shadows. I don't know where I'm going at this point, but my Origin was guiding me, and it never led me astray.

About thirty minutes later, I emerged in front of a small lake. An island rested in the lake's center, not too big or too small. I could barely make out a rotting wooden bridge hidden under the water. It was broken beyond any kind of fixing. A small house stood on the island's edge, looking like it had seen better days. I looked at the island in interest, especially the house. How had no one discovered this earlier? It was almost as if...as if it was hidden away.

I snapped my fingers, and an ice bridge rose from the lake. I lightly walked to the island, minding to keep my steps gentle-I did not want to explain why I was soaking wet. I took my first step on the lush green grass that covered the island-was it softer somehow? I waved my hand again, and the icy-blue ice that made up the bridge melted away.

I made my way to the house by the water's edge, inspecting the porch and walls. The front door was made of wood, whiter than fresh snow. The paint on the walls had all peeled away, revealing the bricks underneath. I wonder why moss and ivy hadn't taken over yet. The bricks felt different. As if magic couldn't get past them. Were these the magic-resistant bricks I heard commonly used in the capital? I continued examining the house. Everything looked stable-how the windows didn't have a single crack was beyond me. Whoever built this was a great architect. I circled the house a few times before walking to the front door.

Well, I needed to see the inside. No pressure. I hesitantly snapped my fingers, and the lock was picked. How was it still functioning? I placed my hand on the doorknob, still silver and looking good as new. This was wrong. It should have rusted into dust now. I twisted the knob, swung the door open, and...nothing happened. I breathed a sigh of relief and began stepping through the doorway.

'Phew. I thought a barrier was going to zap-'

*Bzzzt*

"Ow!"

A shock ran through my body as I was pushed back. I stumbled and fell on my butt. Looking up, I saw a golden barrier starting to fade.

"What the hell?"

I got back up and poked the air in the doorway. The air rippled, and a golden barrier materialized, covered with various runes. At least I didn't get zapped this time. I looked at the runes in shock. Why were they here? Didn't all the druids of old get killed? I quickly scanned the runes on the barrier-they were complex, that's for sure, but...

"I remember taking a class on this once." I mumbled, "These runes give power, these distinguish the owner from an intruder, and these form the actual barrier."

This was one of the most complex rune barriers taught at the Clocktower, though it had some differences-a few rune chains were swapped with others. But if I use all I've learned and combine it with the magic of this world...

"Okay, reverse the power here and disable this part. Insert this rune into this chain, swap this rune and that one, and one more chain to give it a push."

I wiped my forehead as I finished carving the last rune-if I didn't do it correctly this would blow up in my face. It was one of the reasons it was a popular barrier used by the magi of my world-if someone failed to disable it, it would blow them to the moon and back. But I did it right this time, as the barrier rippled and opened. This barrier now recognizes me as its new owner. I waved my hand, and the barrier vanished. No wonder no one ever discovered this place-it would be almost impossible for a mage of this world to disable that barrier, not without a deep understanding of runes. Yet, who set up this spell? Judging by history, this house should be more than eight thousand years old.

I warily took a step into the doorway again, my cloak stretching behind me just in case anything happened. The house's interior was more or less undamaged, though everything was covered in a thin layer of dust. I'm surprised everything refused to rust or decay. But there was a magic barrier around this property, that probably had something to do with this.

I began snooping around the house, still wary of the prospect of setting off hidden traps. It was a small two-story house with a large basement. The basement itself was probably a floor as well. The living room was on the first floor, and the front door directly led to it. A fireplace was placed on the back wall, still containing a thin layer of ash. Pieces of furniture littered the room in an unorganized manner-I'll have to rearrange them. The furniture was too modern, far too advanced for a house from more than eight thousand years ago. It was a large room, too, compared to the size of the house. A decently sized kitchen was placed on the left of the living room, with a dining room right behind it. A storage room was on the living room's right. I took a quick peek inside it and was met with a mountain of junk. The previous owner had been quite the hoarder. Some of the junk looked useful, like a few sets of expensive-looking kitchen utensils, once again far too advanced for something that should be eight thousand years old. Though some were plain weird-who in their right mind would keep the tattered sail of a boat?

There was a staircase in the back of the living room-it led to the second floor. I slowly climbed it, noting the creak of the floorboards. I have to fix those if I'm going to make this my base. It would be embarrassing to fall through the stairs. The second floor was smaller than the first. I emerged into a hallway leading to two bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. And each bathroom had its own bath! Baths were uncommon for normal people to have in their houses. Hell. Paul is a low-ranked noble, yet we still use wooden tubs to take baths. I have no idea how they got the water up to the second floor-maybe a magic device? There was another storage room on the second floor, equally as full as the first one. Seriously, how much stuff did this hoarder keep? I'll have a mountain of trash in the front yard after I clean this up.

The ladder to the attic was broken, but I used earth magic to make a new one. There wasn't much in there, and it was brightly lit from all the windows installed. The other floors had lots of light sources as well. This person did not like the dark, did he?

Now, onto the basement. There was a hatch hidden under the stairs. It wasn't hidden exactly-anyone with a good eye could see it-but it wasn't too obvious either. I reached for the handle...and got zapped by electricity.

"Damn it!" I cursed and muttered the healing incantation-I still couldn't use healing magic without incantations-and felt the burns heal.

I snapped my fingers, and another barrier spell showed, even more complex than the one around the house.

"Come oh! Another one of these things?!" I spent the next ten minutes disabling the barrier.

I climbed the ladder leading to the basement. Hopping off the ladder, I took a look at the basement. It was absolutely covered with light sources. At least ten magic crystals were glowing on the ceiling. I don't need to worry about lighting the basement anymore, though who has ten lightbulbs in a single room? A bright-colored carpet lined the floor, making the room seem much younger than it actually was. Two tables sat at the center of the basement, with a single fancy chair near them. Numerous magic devices were left on the tables. Most were broken or discarded, but a few seemingly completed ones were placed on a shelf nailed to the wall.

There were chests, too. Six were placed under the shelf of mystic codes. I opened them, not knowing what to expect. The contents made me gasp.

The first and second chests were moderately sized, filled to the brim with magic crystals and jewels. Every single crystal had a different shade or hue. I held up an orb-shaped red crystal about the size of my fist. The inside was filled with shifting reds, oranges, and yellows. Magic crystals with a hue to them cost a fortune compared to normal ones, and this one could probably buy me a decently sized house. And there were tens, if not hundreds of them! I probably would have more money than mid-ranked nobles if I were to sell all of these! I jammed a few normal jewels into my pocket-I didn't want to take anything too valuable yet, just in case this house was not abandoned, but it's been so long since I practiced my Jewelcraft. I shut the chests with a small click.

The next two chests contained random pieces of parchment and some mystic codes. The paper seemed to be notes regarding the mystic codes and magic items. Most were useless-who would want a knife that could only cut hair? But there were a few diamonds in the ruff. Like a spear that took the form of a necklace when not used. Or a wand that concealed what spell the user was about to cast. I didn't need them-I could reproduce those effects easily with magecraft. Though it is handy to have them around. This was my first time seeing a magic implement that wasn't a wand. They mostly used magic circles, as Roxy said. Shockingly though, the ones in this chest all had at least two runes carved onto them. This was definitely the house of a druid, maybe even a family of them.

The last two chests contained five books each. The first eight books talked about magic circles-the designs drawn within were far more intricate than any he'd ever seen. Every circle did not drop below the rank of Saint. The ninth book talked about powerful magic spells, most were at least Emperor ranked, but I saw a few Saint-tier ones as well. It was not until I scanned the last page my heart dropped. I reread the last few pages, hands shaking as confirmed I was not hallucinating.

...

"Chains of Heaven." Rank: God. The caster refines steel chains taller than the highest mountains and thicker than the oldest trees. These chains contain the power to rip mountains apart.

...

I closed the book.

Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.

I was not dealing with this now. I did not have time to learn God-tier magic. The incanting itself would take five minutes! I put the book back where it belonged.

'I'll pretend I didn't see it.' I thought as I reached for the last book...before grabbing a pen and paper from the desk and copying everything down.

Can you blame me?! This is probably one of the last God-ranked spells out there! And I have access to it! I don't know if I have the Mana required for this spell, but it's worth a shot! I tucked the paper into my cloak.

"Alright." I muttered, picking up the final book, "What do you have in store for me?"

It was a small book with a leather cover, a magic circle etched into brown leather, faintly glowing with golden light. As I tried to open it, another rune-based magic circle showed itself, even more complex than the last two. I was getting a headache.

"Is someone trying to test me?"

I grumbled. It took me twenty minutes to solve the damn thing, and the only thing I got was a single message, though it was interesting nonetheless.

...

"There is a secret door in this room. Find it. And I'll reveal everything."

...

A secret door? I scanned the room, looking for any oddities. Wait. There! A patch of the carpet was a lighter shade than the rest. I looked at the walls above that patch, pressing my finger onto them. Yes! Here! A small round hole-about the size of my fingertip-was pushed into the wall. I expected the door to open, but nothing was that easy. Another rune-based magic circle enlarged and revealed itself. I stared at it, red filling my vision.

"DAMN IT!"

It took thirty-something minutes to destroy the damn thing. And I do mean "destroy." I don't care what dangerous things could be hidden behind it. I could always put it back together again. A door slowly opened towards me, moving on the carpet surprisingly smoothly. The room behind it was tiny-it was more of a closet than a door-and only contained a small table with a single book. The book had a white leather cover, with a title etched in some kind of metal. It was small enough to fit in my hand. It was too dark in the closet for me to see what the title said, though. I went out of the closet-sized room, and the door slowly shut behind me. I didn't even have to do anything, as if it knew I'd left. Under the light of ten crystal lightbulbs, I could finally see the words written on the white cover.

"This is?!"

On the cover, the symbols "ᚨ ᚷᚢᛁᛞᛖ ᛏᛟ ᚱᚢᚾᛖᛊ" was etched in silver. "A guide to runes," the symbols meant. I flipped the small book open and saw the listings of runes and rune chains, sorted under the same categories as modern magic.

I closed the book-it was getting late. I spent far too long in this house. My mind was reeling as I pocketed the small, white book and ascended the ladder. I needed to get home, or my parents would ransack the forest searching for me.

...

I stepped outside the house, squinting my eyes as I peeked at the setting sun. It was almost completely hidden behind the horizon. I was right to get out of there, or else I would have spent the whole night cooped up in that basement.

I spread my white wings and activated my flight spell, the wind howling slightly as I lifted up from the ground. I levitated up above the forest, looking around to spot my house. There. I was surprised how far I'd wandered. It would take an hour's walk just to get back-considering the rough terrain and all the trees blocking my path. Though it should only take five minutes with my wings.

I willed my cloak to fold into the shape of a skipper butterfly's wings. Different wing shapes are better at different activities. A skipper's wing shape allows me to fly the fastest, as they cause the least air resistance.

My cloak's wings fluttered as I activated a wind manipulation spell. I still don't know why they flap like butterfly wings, but it looks neat. I hovered in place for a second, and my cloak's wings began flapping faster. I suddenly shot upward, reaching just below the orange clouds in the sky. I glanced at the forest, mapped out how to get to this lake, and began flying toward my house.

...

I fluttered down at the forest's edge, my cloak folding back to its normal form-a simple magician's robe. I deactivated all the magic circles with a snap of my fingers and walked toward my house.

I fingered the white book in my pocket. What did it say? I wonder. This was the first time I saw the runes of this world. They resembled Elder Futhark, the oldest known rune alphabet in my world.

'I'll read this after my parents go to bed.' I thought as I entered the front door. "Mother! Father! I'm home!"

"Welcome home. Did you have fun?" My mother was washing her hands when she greeted me.

"Yeah. I found some cool plants." I replied.

I couldn't tell them I found an abandoned house belonging to a druid. I went to wash my hands and sat down at the dinner table.

...

Around midnight, I crawled out of bed like I did every night. A swipe of my hand later, I had a floating desk lamp in the form of a rune chain. I sat in front of my desk and took out the small, white book. Flipping it open, I skimmed through the contents.

Most of the book just listed the discovered runes and rune chains, explaining their meanings and functions. Though a small portion at the end caught my attention.

The last few pages were written on enchanted parchment-that much I could tell. The words were constantly shifting, and I couldn't read them. I groaned-did I have to solve another magic circle? Though the solution was much easier than I realized. I fiddled with a small jewel I'd taken from that abandoned house. This specific jewel had caught my interest-it had a ton of Mana crammed inside. Though there wasn't a spell this jewel was meant to perform-I don't think Jewelcraft exists in this world.

"Oops."

My hand slipped, and the crystal fell onto the enchanted parchment. There was a pulse of Mana, and the gem suddenly shattered. Its shards slowly came together on the page and formed the rune "ᚨ." Yet, the rune was...blurry? I don't know how to describe it. My brain hurt from looking at it, and my eyes just wouldn't focus. The rune slowly faded away, revealing the now-readable words underneath. I breathed a sigh of relief-if I hadn't taken this specific gem, I wouldn't be able to read this section. It was cleverly hidden within jewels worth hundreds of times its own value. I wiped the remaining crystal dust from the paper and began to read.

...

Greetings, reader. My name is Setanta Cu Lainn.

...

I gripped my head. What was that? I guess the writer didn't want people to know his name. I braced myself and continued reading.

...

I'm sorry for the lack of information. I am being hunted down as I write this. The person we are facing is a genuine god. One of the seven alter egos of the god of creation that made the six-faced world.

...

A god? Like a deity? Someone divine? Not just someone god-ranked. A genuine god. This was interesting. What did the druids do to incur the wrath of a god?

...

I do not know this evil god's name. But I do know he can not interact with the outside world. He can only visit people's dreams under extremely specific conditions.

Yet this god is an almost unbeatable foe. Every human being on this planet trusts him. I should explain from the beginning. Otherwise, you won't understand.

I am the last druid alive. Most believe we were wiped out thousands of years ago, yet I still live. Our teachings were popular before the first Great Human-Demon war. Runes did not require incanting, and the effects were instant. As long as you knew the combination of runes, you could beat any swordsman.

Now, no one beside me knows the teachings of old, most using incantations to cast their spells. There is a reason for that, why runes fell out of favor.

It wasn't because they were too weak. Quite the opposite. A druid could beat a normal magician easily. But an evil god intervened, fearing our power.

...

They were this strong? The runes of this world could bring fear to gods? Now I'll definitely study these runes. But how? When I tried carving them, they were twice as weak as the runes of my world. Was there a secret technique or something?

...

Each rune by itself is unbelievably weak, but when you combine them they produce stronger effects. But that wasn't why this evil god feared us. Not anyone can just become a druid. You must first master a secret art kept hidden from the public.

...

So I was right. Druids do have secret techniques.

...

Runes have two forms. The first form is the form discovered by the unnamed dwarf thousands of years ago, but there is a second form. The runes that the primordial god of creation made and used. They were in a class of their own, thousands of times more powerful than regular runes. They were fittingly named "Primordial Runes."

...

My eyes went wide. "Primordial Runes?" Runes created by gods. They exist here.

...

To become a druid you must learn to carve at least one Primordial Rune.

This process was not easy. You must offer your own life to the world, hoping to catch a glimpse of their shape. If you failed, it was almost certain that you would die.

Thankfully, Primordial runes can be passed down from generation to generation, yet a few daring druids still offered up their life, hoping to discover previously unknown runes.

That evil god feared if we were to uncover all Primordial Runes, we would grow too powerful and kill him. So he manipulated people through their dreams, promising great rewards to those who killed us. He even tricked our own people, promising to show the Primordial Runes we could not find. He led the dwarven druids into a death battle, swearing to protect their tribe.

His promises were all bluff, yet people still trusted him and believed him for some god unknown reason. Before we knew it, our numbers had dwindled, and the knowledge of Primordial Runes was all but lost. My ancestor was the only druid who survived the massacre.

I don't know why this evil god didn't come after him. Perhaps it was arrogance-what could one measly druid do?

And that leads us to today-the time I'm writing this...letter? Or is it a journal? That doesn't matter. That evil god is on the move again. So many assassins, warriors, and knights are showing up at my house. Yet the barrier my ancestor put up is still standing strong. From limited interrogations, I found out that evil god had accused me of various crimes I did not do. Heck, I never even left my house before.

...

I felt sympathy for this writer. As someone who'd never left their house for over twenty years, I think I could come to an understanding with him.

...

I can't produce an heir with this target on my back. I can't leave my house at all. This barrier will keep me safe, but I can only slowly waste away.

I know I'm taking my last few breaths as I write this. I lived for over one hundred years. That's absurd for a human. So, to whoever is reading this. I congratulate you. How you managed to gain knowledge of runes of beyond me.

...

My eyes widened. How did this person know that I could cast runes?

"Wait."

Everything single protecting barrier and spell in that house was rune based. I'm stupid, aren't I?

...

How did I know? Only someone with a deep understanding of runes can disable all the protection spells.

...

Yep. Like I thought.

...

I pass on everything in that house to you. Every magical item, every speck of dust is now yours. I don't care if you're someone evil wishing for the end of the world. Just please, spread the knowledge of runes. It's what my ancestors aimed to do. It's the life goal of every druid. To pass on their wisdom to the next generation and have them continue searching for the Primordial Runes.

...

Why does this sound familiar? Oh. Right. It's the same as a magi's life goal. To either reach the root or to pass on their crest. I guess druids are the magi of this world.

...

The following pages contain my family's work. Generations of druids, yet we only got seven Primordial Runes. Not very impressive, I know. But it's all I can offer. My predecessors rarely went outside.

...

"All I can offer?" "ALL I CAN OFFER?!" Do you know what the Clocktower would do to get their hands on even one Primordial Rune?! And you're saying seven is too few?! What insane people were these druids?

...

I'm sorry. I can't write anymore. The strength is fading from my limbs. I hope you will make the right decision, my friend. Please. Pass on this knowledge to your descendants. I gave you the keys, now it's up to you how you use them

Thank you.

...

...

Wow. Now that was something. Roxy told me the druids were wiped out. I'd never thought an evil god was behind it. And who would have guessed these druids could use Primordial Runes? Well, this is the age of the gods, so it wasn't that far-fetched.

"All right. Which Primordial Runes are you going to give me?" I muttered as I flipped the page.

The parchment that made up the next page was powerful-it had to be to record the creations of god. Seven hazy symbols met me. My eyes and brain hurt from simply looking at them. I could just barely make out their shape.

ᚨ, ᚲ, ᚺ, ᛁ, ᛃ, ᛚ, ᛊ.

Ansuz, Kaunaz, Hagalaz, Isa, Jera, Laguz, and Sowilo.

The seven Primordial Runes glowed softly in my room, their forms constantly shifting between thousands of shapes. How could something be so simple yet complex? As my eyes finished scanning the last rune, the book glowed. Pages started flipping on their own, and I felt something pushing its way into my brain. It seemed to be having trouble at first, the trickle of knowledge giving me access to the rune chains discovered by this family of druids. But the flow got bigger, stronger, and quicker. Images assaulted my mind. They made no sense at first, depicting things my normal brain couldn't comprehend. But as more information etched into my mind, I slowly began to understand.

The flow abruptly stopped, and I retracted my hand, taking deep breaths as I did so. Why was the world suddenly clearer? I looked at the Primordial Runes carved onto the book. They were no longer hazy and shifting. I looked at the rune chain acting as my desk lamp and suddenly found myself wanting to change things. Why did my modern runes look...incomplete?

I needed to test these Primordial Runes, and there's no time like the present. I felt my hands moving on their own, carving a rune that looked like a lightning bolt. "ᛊ," Sowilo, the rune representing the sun. A blinding light suddenly shot out from the glowing symbol. It felt warm, like sunlight. Yet it was so hot that it burned my skin. I quickly dismissed the rune before I got any sunburns.

That was something. A single rune managed to shine hundreds of times brighter than my best rune chain. I guess you just can't underestimate the age of the gods.

I continued to play with these runes until half the night was over. I don't think I need to say I woke up very, very tired next morning.

...

...

My next few days were spent cleaning the house.

I didn't have any money, and my parents weren't nobles, so I couldn't buy more furniture or paint the walls. I'll have to sell some of the magic crystals in the chests. Or maybe some of the useless mystic code.

But the house was surprisingly whole-that rune-based barrier was potent. Everything was in working order, even the showers and baths. Though they were extremely contaminated.

I started by moving all the furniture outside-they would just get in the way. It wasn't too difficult as I had wind and earth magic at my disposal.

Then came the part I dreaded-organizing the storage rooms.

I separated the junk into three piles-useful things, things that were broken but usable after repairs, and plain junk. Unsurprisingly, the pile of plain junk was the largest one. I mean, who the heck keeps an old boot covered in what seems to be algae?

I thought it would be a pain to get rid of the mountain of trash, but it was surprisingly easy. Most of the things were decomposable, like wood or leather. I just broke them into pieces and buried them. Glass and metal I turned into raw materials. Just in case I broke a window or wanted to make a mystic code. I thanked the gods this world didn't have plastic yet; otherwise, I wouldn't know what to do.

This alone took three days.

Then, I used water magic to clean the multiple rooms, taking extra care to not damage the wood and carpets. This was mostly for clearing away dust, though the fireplace was an absolute pain to wash. And please don't get me started on the pipes in the bathrooms. There were a few decaying boards, but I'll replace them when I have the chance. It seems I'll have to chop down a few trees.

Apologies, nature spirits.

After I finished washing every room, I went down to the basement and grabbed one of the magical lightbulbs on the ceiling. They were easy enough to reproduce. A rune chain connected to a mechanical switch that turned it off and on. I used the magic crystals stored in the chests to make a ton more and installed them in every room. I also took down four of the ten lightbulbs in the basement-no one needs ten light sources in a single room.

This took another three days.

Most rooms were ready for furniture by that point, but I did another inspection. You can never be too cautious. I was careful with the magic pumps that filtered and pushed water from the lake to the kitchen and baths-this house wasn't built next to the lake for no reason.

When I finished double-checking everything because I've no wish to embarrass myself in my own home, I began moving the furniture in.

The furniture-like the rest of the house-was more or less undamaged. They just had a thin coat of dust that was easy to remove. The bedsheets were torn beyond repair, though. It wasn't a problem-I wasn't going to sleep here too often. But I better start another silkworm farm just in case.

I lugged the last drawer into the bedroom, grunting as I pushed it next to the bed.

I looked at the white, sheetless mattress, hesitating for a moment before jumping in bed, letting my exhausted body rest after twenty-one days. My cloak more than made up for the fact there weren't any bedsheets. I groaned as I rolled onto my back, looking at the white ceiling with a crystal lightbulb attached. I smiled, knowing it was once grey and covered with cracks. A bit of water and earth magic did wonders.

I glanced outside-the sun was still high in the sky. It was probably late noon. It wouldn't hurt to take a short nap. I deserved it, didn't I? I let my eyes fall shut with a pleasant feeling in my heart.

After three whole weeks of grueling labor, I was finally ready to move my things into my new house.

….

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So, what do you all think? Not bad, I hope. I apologize if there are any mistakes.

Anyways, Please like, share, follow, and comment.
As always, good luck with your game of life.