The Runic Artist Chapter 34: Chapter 353 - No More Secrets

Read chapter 34 of The Runic Artist by Ellake on NovelPedia.

“So, Nate, going to introduce us properly?” asked Luc as he adjusted his black silk shirt casually. Nate smiled. “I thought I already did.” He could feel how, behind him, Camilla was mirroring his amusement with her body language, hands still resting on his shoulders. “Yeah, but without all the pomp and bluster. Look, I’ll start. I’m Luc Crozier, Director of the Artist’s Emporium, Platinum-ranked Adventurer, though I am retired now, and finally, one of young Nate’s many mentors. Though by the sounds of it he’s been collecting more of those.” A loud cough from the corner signalled Hildi’s displeasure. “Ah, and this is my companion…” Another cough. “My assistant…” Hildi punched Luc who seemed more amused than injured. “My…ex-girlfriend?” “Stop calling me that! I’m your wife you asshole!” scolded Hildi, hitting Luc a few more times for good measure. “Ah yes, my wife, Hildi Crozier…also she assists me with…things.” Nate just shook his head. “I am surprised you allowed yourself to be tied down, Luc.” “Ah, well, it’s not really being tied down when you can be with a different woman every night. I even tried elf one time. Wasn’t really for me though. No offense to you and Aisling but I like them a bit thicker…ow!” Hildi had started kicking Luc in the shins. “Stop being rude in front of the Lesser Divines!” “Is he always like this?” asked Camilla in a calm and amused voice. “Honestly, this is probably a little worse than usual. I am guessing he’s a bit stressed.” “He is,” agreed Hildi as she stopped hitting Luc. Camilla just nodded, unperturbed, before adding. “Oh, and there are no Lesser Divines in this room, my dear. Nathaniel is Unbound and I am a True Divine.” There was a pause and Nate assumed Camilla was waiting to see if Reciprocity struck and required recompense for the information. “Oh, dearest, you were right. They don’t really care.” Nate smiled while Luc’s eyes were lit up as though he’d just heard the most beautiful news ever told. Hildi’s eyes were narrowed but in surprise rather than consternation. “So, you’re Unbound? As in, unbound by Reciprocity? As in, free to do whatever you want?” asked Luc. Nate nodded. “YES! We’re rich! RICH! What are we making first? I’ll need to talk with Distributions to determine how quickly we can move new product…” Nate cut him off with a hand wave. “While I may dabble a little, I don’t think I will have time to focus on designing new runecrafted items.” Luc’s face looked crestfallen and Nate couldn’t tell if he was just being melodramatic or if he was really that sad. After a second he decided it was the latter as it looked like Luc was seeing all his dreams of new riches being flushed down the drain. “That said, I will be creating something which should see the Artist’s Emporium’s wealth soar.” Luc immediately perked back up. “I am going to be creating mana-fonts across Galle, focused on major cities. I will make sure the Artist’s Emporium has at least two. One for automatically tiering up materials and one for the crafters to draw on. If you think they can make use of a third I will add that as well. That should give you a volume and tier advantage over your competition.” “How strong are we talking?” asked Luc. Nate held out a hand, the gesture itself unnecessary but it drew everyone's eyes which was the intention. A small, swirling vortex opened and the room flooded with mana. Hildi and Luc both winced slightly, though, as Legendary Class holders with their levels over a hundred, they were able to handle the increased pressure. Camilla seemed more curious than anything else. “How long can you maintain that?” The question had come from Luc even as Nate felt the Arcane Riftwalker, or whatever his Legendary version was, casually rip open mini-portals throughout the room. Nate could see his mentor was testing how quickly and easily he could absorb new mana from the environment and the quickly growing smile on the man's face was answer enough. “Once I set up the mana-fonts themselves…they w