"My sword tip was in the hole."


    "Then show it to me, bud?" asked another.


    "Look at the tip of my sword," the soldier said, his face turning red from exerting all his power. "It clearly made a hole."


    "Sorry, friend, but I see no hole."


    "You guys, it was clearly there."


    "Yeah, I saw it," another fellow took the side of the soldier. "I saw it; only the tip was in. The flicker of sparking energy made it hard to see."


    Aki, who was standing nearby, didn''t let the discussion go any further. "If you had managed to hamper the integrity of the shell, the rm would have red," he said. "There was no rm, which means your damage is minuscule to call it a sess."


    "B-but you muted the rm," the soldiersined.


    "I did not," Aki shook his head, "I only turned down the volume of the rm by 90%, thinking we needed at least an alert to call the winners. Do you think the Master Runesmith has the time to examine all your turns?"


    Warden coughed. He really hadn''t thought about how long he would have to wait if he really was to stand and examine everyone''s turn. Thankfully, Aki was more mindful than him.


    Sadly, the soldier looked as if he was being wronged. A young fellow, in his early twenties with the strength of Iron rank. His aura spoke volumes of his solid foundation; perhaps his tip did prate the barrier.


    "You still got two more turns, right?" Warden said.


    The young fellow suppressed a sigh and withdrew for the next soldier to take his turn.


    Looking at their expressions, Warden could tell it wasn''t just about gaining a new chance to repair their equipment anymore. All the soldiers could get their service weapons repaired at no cost in the army; it was only for their own equipment that they needed to pay a runesmith to repair it. Even then, they received different discounts.


    No, thispetition had awakened thepetitive spirit within the young soldiers. And, of course, it was fun.


    "Well, this is good as well," Warden mumbled, smiling. That reminds me, Ipletely forgot about thepetition I announced in my ss. Shit! I won''t be there at the end of the month.


    Hell, even his job as abat instructor wasn''t confirmed with his suspension.


    The horn red again, with Aki''s tinkering at a very low volume, but it managed to bring his attention to the winner.


    "Ahahaha," Jenniughed childishly, jumping in and out through the hole she created in the barrier. It was more of a temporary gate, which suspended the runes of the shell for her to iste a small opening. She continued tough for a full minute, jumping in and out at her aplishment. "Watch me, suckers!"


    "Damn, she actually did it," Dawg, a fellow adept, said, sounding surprised.


    "The question should be how she did it, no?" Darren said, approaching the gate Jenni created to shed some light on the mystery.


    Unfortunately for him, the scripts Jenni made weren''t able to maintain their integrity for long. They dissolved into thin air, as the barrier recovered within a blink of an eye.


    "Hahaa, wanna know my secret?" the girl was still brimming with glee. "Lick my feet, suckers, and I might tell you."


    "Do you think it is that hard for us to find out?" Darren snorted. "You likely isted theRestoration runes, so the barrier cannot restore itself as you cut the power supply into that opening you created."


    "You got it," Jenni smirked. "But it is all theory. Can you utilise it in practice?"


    What she said was quite correct, though any prepared adept could do it if they had mastered those runes.


    "This arrogant girl," Darren said, clenching his jaw. "Fine, let me just show you how your big brother works."


    "I don''t have time to watch you fail," Jenni said, and withdrew towards Warden. "Now it is time for me to cash in my reward."


    Warden watched as she came before him, sweat trickling down her forehead. It hadn''t been easy for her to carve runes into the barrier, working against the ceaseless force of the barrier for close to half an hour.


    "That was quite a brilliant disy," Warden praised.


    "That''s just elementary," Jenni snorted, waving off.


    "I don''t know much about runesmithing, but that was impressive," Agnes said.


    And this time a smile broke into Jenni''s lips from the captain''s praise. "Thank you."


    "So do you want me to make some weapon for you, or other tools?" Warden began, but she stopped him by waving her hand.


    "God, no." Jenni licked lips to continue, "What I want is five years, no ten years supply of those ice deserts."


    Warden blinked in a moment of stunned silence and then smiled. "I''m surprised you didn''t ask for a lifetime''s supply."


    Jenni looked flustered for the first time, but she waved it off as if it was nothing but her exhaustion. "I... so it''s a deal, right? If you want, I can pay..."


    "Do you think I make ice cream all day?"


    A perplexed look manifested in her expression. "Then, no ice cream?"


    Jenni looked as if he asked her to overwork on runes, pulling another all-nighter again.


    Warden scratched his bushy beard, considering her request. "While I do not make them every day, I think we can negotiate to an end. But are you sure about your decision?" Warden asked. "You know you can ask me to mentor you on runesmithing for some time?"


    "No," Jenni said, her voice rising unusually. A look of horror spread on her expression. "No, I mean, no disrespect to you, Master Runesmith, but I want to start my everyday life exhausted to the bones."


    "Come on, I didn''t work you that hard."


    "I cried myself to sleep," Jenni said, clenching her jaw. Veins popped up on her forehead. "Then you woke me in two hours, handed me a rejuvenation potion, and sent me back to work."


    Warden scratched his head at her re. "Um, is it toote to say sorry?"


    Jenni snorted. "I don''t want another master who always grumbles at my ipetency," she said, which rified why she wasn''t tempted to get a Master Runesmith as her mentor. "Besides, surely, your skill of making dessert outweighs your skills as a master runesmith."


    "You think so?" Warden''s expression brightened.


    "Cleary, she meant it as a joke," Agnes said. "But why do you look so happy hearing that?"


    "Because I like what I made," Warden said. He didn''t mention it the desserts were something he recently recovered to his memory. None of them knew of his peculiar amnesia. "And I don''t think she meant it as a joke."


    "It wasn''t a joke," Jenni admitted. "Well, notpletely... It''s just that I never had something like that, so..."


    "I can''t believe you," Agnes said with a sigh. "Certainly, they were good, but to put them above the masterful skill of runesmithing which can do so many magical things..."


    "They are heavenly," Jenni said, and turned to Warden. "Hmm, I might try a couple more."


    "Go, leave some for the few of my friendsing in at night," Wardenughed, his mood couldn''t be better. "Also, do not open the separate box, it''s for someone else."


    ____________


    Almost 200 chapters...


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