Zephyr got his tools from the dorm and went to look for the runesmithing department, asking for directions from a soldier he saw.
He arrived at a very simple building. It didn't even really seem like a smithing place, there was no chimney or anything, just a moderately sized square structure tucked away in the corner of the small settlement. Zephyr looked up at the shimmering dome way overhead. The bleak gray sky was already beginning to darken slowly as the evening progressed.
'What a weird place,' he thought.
"What are you doing here?" a voice sounded behind him, catching him off guard.
He turned sharply, jumping back, and saw the silver-haired girl from earlier— the instructor. 'Mistress Alyra, was it?' Zephyr thought.
'I didn't even hear a single footstep... she just walked up behind me from nowhere.'
Her eyebrow tilted up slightly. "You have really good reflexes." She folded her arms.
"You haven't answered my question."
"Oh, um, I'm here to join the runesmith department." He straightened up.
She looked him up and down without saying anything before walking forward.
Zephyr had to give way as she walked straight past. He paused, watching, before she called after him, "Come with me."
Zephyr followed after her, entering the building. The interior was starkly different from the exterior. In fact, he'd call the outside a disguise, because the inside of the building was brimming with runic gadgets and tools lining the walls. It had a clean, white interior, with white marble floors and a sleek design that gave a very futuristic vibe. He was sure no actual smithing took place here, it had to be just rune inscriptions.
"I'm guessing this is just a rune inscribing department?" he said.
"Yes. Sit there," she pointed to a small section that looked like it was for visitors.
Now that Zephyr thought about it, this place could also simply be her residence.
"I'll have to test you, so wait a bit," she turned and left up the stairs.
Zephyr looked around, taking in more of the details. "Yeah, this has to be her own place..." he muttered.
'But inside a rift...? Maybe she likes her privacy that much... Or maybe it's just her turn this year?' Yeah, it was probably the latter. There was no way someone could spend their life inside this bleak, colorless world.
He heard the light sound of footsteps, which she didn't hide this time, coming down the stairs and straightened himself up.
She walked toward him with a medium-sized box in her hand.
'This is giving me a weird sense of deja vu.' He mused.
She set the box on the center table as she sat down, unraveling its contents. There were knives, short blades, braces, and more. But what they all had in common were unfinished runic inscriptions.
Zephyr was already locked in, eyes scanning over the items as she brought them out. He was already trying to decipher what kind of effect each rune was meant for.
Mistress Alyra had a small smile as she saw Zephyr's intense focus.
"You can pick any of these and get started on it. Your test is to finish it within—" she turned to look at the hanging clock, "five hours."
"Five hours?" Zephyr asked in surprise.
"What, too small?"
"...No, I'll manage." Zephyr just nodded with an amused expression, bringing out his tools from his small bag.
"Then I'll leave you t—" Mistress Alyra's eyes immediately widened as she saw Zephyr's tools, in particular, his inscription pen.
She leaned forward. "Where'd you get this?"
Zephyr looked up, seeing her intense gaze now locked on him. "Um... my master gave it to me?"
"Who's your master?" she pressed.
"...Old man Bjorn?... Bjorn. His name's Bjorn. He's a dwarf."
"Bjorn, Bjorn, Bjorn," she muttered repeatedly, testing the name in her mouth.
"I can't place any name like that…"
"What, why anyways?"
She studied his face carefully. "You really don't know what this is?" she pointed to the pen.
He looked at it. "A specialized rune inscription pen designed to help me inscribe runes without mana?"
"Look at this guy. The pen is not the issue—although it's of great build and quality, it's still just a pen. I'm talking about the mana crystal."
Zephyr looked at it again more carefully. "It seems normal to me."
"Ffff—" she bit her lip. "That's an unattuned mana crystal. A high-grade one, to be exact. Do you know how much that's worth?"
"Even to me, a Ryvelin, that mana crystal is very valuable," she said, watching Zephyr's expression.
Zephyr just looked shocked for a bit, studying the crystal carefully.
"It doesn't seem that crazy to me... What's the difference between this and a normal mana crystal?"
Mistress Alyra held the bridge of her nose in exasperation. She had never felt this way before—usually it was the other way around. She felt like she was watching one of those pompous brats from the capital who couldn't understand the struggles of the lower born.
"How long have you been using this for?"
He counted off his fingers, trying to remember. "I think seven months now since the last batch..."
She gnashed her teeth subtly. "And you think that's just normal?"
"I mean, that's how it's always been, so I just assumed that was normal. Besides, my master never acted like it was worth anything much. I even burned through three of them within three months when I was starting to learn."
"Hehe—" Mistress Alyra chuckled mirthlessly with a blank look before taking a deep breath.
"A low-grade mana crystal doing the same thing would last only about an hour and a half, and that's with a less stable output, without the same lasting effect, and most of all, they're all attuned to one type of mana!" she nearly yelled.
Zephyr now realized the situation. He must have seemed like a rich kid flaunting his wealth. More importantly, how rich was Old Bjorn to not bat an eye at his use of these crystals? Were his stories of those crazy feats that seemed like an old sailor's tale actually real?
"I'd like to know your master."
"Ha! You can try." He guffawed before catching himself, realizing who he was talking to.
She didn't seem to mind though.
"He's not too fond of other living creatures."
She paused. "A trait of most dwarves actually, but it seems your master is rather more reclusive than most, with your choice of words."
"Yeah…"
"Then I'd guess you should make short work of this anyways."
She selected a specific item from the pile, even pulling another out, then pushed both toward Zephyr.
"This is your new test. Same time limit... which has already started." She expected him to be flustered and rush to start immediately, but he slowly picked the items up, examining them one by one. Then with a slow grin, he said to her, "Like you said, short work anyways."