The Forgotten Faithful: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 2) by Cajiao, Jez (little red riding hood ebook TXT) 📕

“Where did you get this?!” Ame demanded, lifting the bow and examining it from multiple angles.

“I won it in a tournament; I take it that it’s good?” I said, grinning.

“It’s trash.” She replied, examining it closer and twisting it this way and that.

“Oh…right…” I said, a bit stunned by her dismissal, and the fact that she was still examining the bow so carefully. “So, why are you still looking at it?”

“The bow is of poor craftmanship; certain materials I don’t recognize were used, and the crafter’s skill is…disappointing. The runes are carved in perfectly consistent depth, and the material used to fill them is…clear."

"There are no blemishes in the material at all, but the skill of the Runecrafter is pathetic. I could do better while drunk! Look, see here?” She tapped on one of the lines of a symbol and I looked at it, seeing nothing different from the rest. “This is too short! And here…” She stroked another section, digging the tip of a nail into the wood and peeling a section up without effort.

“This wood is too weak to survive the magic that would be drawn through it; it would be lucky to survive a hundred arrows.” I grimaced but she went on, examining it before clutching it to her chest. “I must have it,” she stated, and I frowned in confusion.

“I thought you said it was shit”? I asked.

“It is,” she replied brutally. “But there are two Runes on here I do not know; considering how the crafter butchered the Rune of Addition. I can only imagine the months of work…of experimenting and researching to fix the errors I have ahead of me, but still! These are two new Runes, three, counting that Containment Rune, which is more than I have seen in almost a decade. Add these to what I have learned from my books? I can use these Runes in a dozen ways that I can think of already.”

“Why is it so rare to find new runes, anyway?” I asked her, and she tapped at the runes clearly visible on the bow.

“Have you seen other runes like this?” she asked me, and I shook my head.

“I’ve not been looking, though. I’ve got a few magical bits of gear, and…”

“Do they have runes on show, like this?” She interrupted quickly, her tendrils all extending and that now familiar subsonic thrum shaking my teeth as she examined me.

“No…not that I’ve noticed…” I admitted and she gave up after a few seconds of examination.

“No, they don’t.” She muttered, clearly disappointed. “The runes on the cannons on the ships are partially hidden as well, warped to hide sections so they cannot be copied.”

“What’s the difference?”

“When an enchanted artifact is created, the rune is etched into it through the use of magic, as part of the runes creation, a secondary section is overlaid, to hide all or part of the rune from the eyes of all that see it, except the creator and their teacher. This means that the Runecrafter or Enchanter can keep their secrets. Whoever created this bow decided not to do this; I cannot imagine why, but I will gladly learn their runes!” I was struck by a sudden insight and spoke before I thought about it.

“No, they didn’t.” I said and grinned at Ame. “They didn’t have the choice to hide the runes because the bow was created in my world! There’s much less mana there, so they didn’t have the mana to spare to make it!” I grabbed at my Bag of Holding, untying it, and holding it out to her. “What about this? Can you sense anything on here?” She took the bag and started examining it. I stood there for a few long minutes as she examined it minutely, before slowly nodding.

“There is a hint of the rune still visible, here, you see. They tried to hide it, but not well enough.” She said, tapping at one side of the bag, and I looked closely. There was nothing I could make out, and Flux shrugged when I looked to him, clearly not seeing anything either. “Blind fools.” Ame muttered, before going on. “Here there is a resonance to my touch. My mana follows paths woven into the structure of the bag. It is not enough for me to make a Bag of Holding, even one so basic as this, but if I were to study it, I might be able to glean the rune that is visible…I will keep them both,” she stated suddenly, and I fixed her with a glare.

“You damn well wont.” I said. “I need my bag, and as to the bow, I was going to give it to Miren or Stephanos!”

“But Lord…”

“And call me Jax!” I snapped.

“Jax… I must study this! If it were lost, or broken, we would lose the chance, but if I learn it, I could make more. I could use these runes to improve a dozen weapons easily if they are what I think they are! Please, I beg of you, we must examine this…” She said, holding the bow like it was her firstborn, while I took my bag back, securing it to my side.

I looked at her as I thought about it, and finally I pulled the arrows out of the bag and passed them to her as well.

“Okay, learn what you can, but I know you’ve got a fuck ton of work on already, between helping the squads and researching into Runecrafting. Take your time, and don’t fucking burn yourself out. Rest when you need to. Flux, I expect you to make sure she damn well does that, okay?”

I insisted, waiting until I got a nod in response from each of them. “Good; examine the bow and see what you can learn then. Although, out of curiosity, how the hell do you learn new runes if everyone hides them?”

“You have to destroy the artifact,” she said simply. “You have a chance to learn the rune as you destroy it,