Normally, artifacts would be found everywhere in the world. They could even be found underground, in a dungeon, or even in a forest. They were the leftovers of ancient civilizations that had inhabited the other world. However, there was always a fine line between artificial artifacts and genuine ones.
Rune Grandmasters called it Reality Gate; Arthur read in the library.
This gate serves to link the artifact to the real world, using mana to alter the world. The way to create this gate has never been found, causing the artificial artifacts to forever remain artificial, not genuine.
The runes would still have a certain function without the gate, Runes Grandmasters called it the Simulating Effect. The mana paths that artifacts used can, to a certain extent, simulate a lesser version of Reality Gate to exhibit their effect. When ancient runes of creation were imitated, they had a tendency to forcefully open a path into existence. That was the way to Runes Masters used to create artificial artifacts.
It was also way artificial artifacts were a lot less mana-efficient. An analog that Arthur read was about a dam and a stream. If the dam was open, then the stream would flow unhindered. If the dam was closed, then you needed a greater amount of stream to apply enough force to break the dam. The dam was the Reality Gate.
Research into this was done by all the nations in the world as it was directly linked to economy, military, and politics. However, the Reality Gate remained only an impossible dream to even the greatest runes masters, so they had to improvise.
By working on the complexity, layers, merging, and fine-tuning the runes, the Runes Masters were able to stimulate to a lesser extent the might of real artifact. Runes such as Mana-Absorption has also helped to decrease the mana needed to open the gate if placed on artifacts.
This was the information that Arthur read in the library. They were also the reason that his 'artificial' artifacts caused such a stir in the market. He had, over three weeks, made several armors and weapons that had either the Protection rune or the Fire rune.
To put it simply, the market was in a frenzy. The quality of these runes resembled true artifacts lest they were hindered by their inferior quality. Arthur felt relieved that he has been cautious by asking Joe to sell them instead of selling them himself. Even Joe didn't know his real name, so Arthur could simply disappear and there would be no further issues.
Of course, he didn't plan to stop. He had an ability that resembled a money printing machine, and he had no plans of not using it. It might cause some problems in the future, and he might be kidnapped for him to spill the beans, but he would still grit his teeth through it.
He had no plans to keep hiding forever. Runes Masters were respected by both guilds and the government. If the identity of a Runes Masters was forcefully uncovered, the Runes Association would take the proper actions against whoever did that. If pushes come to shoves, he could always send a letter to the association with a few of his artifacts asking for them to hide his identity.
The Runes Association was a world-wide organization that was unaffiliated with any nation. It has been created solely to protect Runes Masters from being exploited after a tragic series of events that happened centuries ago. If any of its members were threatened for the sake of his profession, they would step in to protect them.
Arthur didn't believe that the association, itself, wouldn't try to learn of his methods. However, it was still a shield against any people who wished to learn of his identity. Even if they did trace the artifacts back to Joe, the latter didn't know who he was.
Arthur never visited the Goblin's village in these three weeks, afraid the place was still monitored. Joe also told him that some people came asking about a masked man and a young girl, but Joe told them he knew nothing.
When Arthur left Kira in Joe's care, he had asked Amelia to stay in the forest until he was done. That was the reason that Joe didn't suspect anything.
However, this information has made Arthur feel on the edge. He couldn't go back to the mountain range and he doubted the goblins would need him these days. Before he goes to the Runes Apprentices Cup, he would first strengthen all of the goblins.
As for Arthur's stats over these three weeks, they all reached 100 before stopping. No essence could raise them further and Arthur has already gone to every dungeon in the city but it was futile. When he tried to absorb the essence of monsters, his Legacy told him that evolution was needed.
He needed to ascend to the next stage, the rei-rank. Even though his equipment and Legacy runes allowed him, for a short moment, to go transcend ranks, he was still a neo-ranker.
This had been Arthur's current dilemma. He had to either ask Master Ronin, who had been guiding him until now, or the Union about it. He could apply for a Rebirth Ritual, but he didn't know what it was about nor did he want them to know his shocking growth.
Arthur looked at his stats as he mulled over it. He had kept hunting in different dungeons when his growth became stagnant, making all of his stats to catch up to each other.
[Scholar Guardian's Legacy]
[Strength: 100] [+10]
[Abilities: Beginner Runes Wordsmith (30%), Useable Runes: 17]
[Skills: Lesser-Mana Breathing Skill (F), Poison Strike (F), Camouflage (F), Earth Manipulation (E), Bladeless Wind Slash (E), Shadow Swap (E), Monster Claws (D), Iron Skin (D), Goblin's Bond (Unique)]
[Insignia: The Breaker.]
His mana was the sole exception as it kept growing. However, he could still feel that his body was at its limit in terms of hosting mana. Like a container that was already full, his body was showing signs of 'overflowing' of mana. That why he needed to evolve to allow mana to further increase his growth.
Arthur remembered what Miko told him in the underground cave. The more they battled, the higher was their growth. It seems that putting oneself under extreme conditions would push mana into evolving the body to 'survive.'
In these three weeks, he was able to learn three more runes that would benefit him in the Apprentice Cup.
[Reinforce-I: Increase the sturdiness of an object or a living being by 10%.]
[Weaken-I: Decrease the stats of the target by 10.]
[Telekinesis-I: Move a target object in a 5 meters radius.]
Arthur had to risk his life in different dungeons to learn these. He would spend more than one day holed in a dungeon trying to learn them. And after three weeks of bitter work, he was rewarded with three worthy runes.
Reinforce increased the resilience of the body against external forces. It was popular among tankers and would always fetch high prices on the market. Furthermore, it was unlike the Protection rune that would break if the strength exceeded a certain amount. Protection was like an active shield that Arthur held and equaled his strength. Reinforce was more permanent as it reinforced anything against damage. He had obtained this from a golem in the deeper parts of Green Golems Dungeon.
Weaken was a rune that he obtained from Deadly Race dungeon. It was a simple dungeon with a single corridor that extended for several kilometers. He would have to fight monsters and avoid being weakened by the traps. He actually learned this rune from the walls of the dungeon that had countless of these.
Arthur remembered the fierce battle he fought against a headless knight in the dungeon. The knight was an undead, the most fearsome type of creature out there. He had met this monster at the end of Deadly Race dungeon, followed by a fierce battle for survival.
The battle lasted a whole hour before Arthur was able to kill the knight using every rune and skill he had. The knight then crumbled to dust and disappeared. This was the first Peak-Mid-Tier kill that Arthur did on his own and his legacy rewarded him with the rune. It was weird given the fact that he thought he would have to kill a high-tier monster for a rune, but it was still welcomed nonetheless. He believed that the reason he gained the rune was the monster being an undead.
As for his skill Iron Skin, he obtained it after defeating a Cerberus in Avarice dungeon. Other than these changes and his sub-space, there was mostly nothing else.
Except for his stagnant growth. That's why Arthur headed today toward Master Ronin's place to ask for guidance.