"Wooo! Road Triiip!"

Lyle whooped and hollered like a college kid, his arms outstretched and shouting with all his might.

The group drove across a large field of gravel and stone with the aid of Zeke's Barrier Car–a mixture of constructs and runes made to keep everyone inside a car-like structure.

Since their improvements over the past while, Zeke made steady progress on his convenient skills, such as the barrier car. This time, rather than using some imprompt ethereal constructed wheels, the car was basically a hovercraft, gliding endlessly across the expanse. Due to that, none of the gravel and sharp rocks ever annoyed the travelers, leaving their drive endlessly peaceful.

The fact that they can ride such a smooth construct without paying a single copper was enough to put out any complaints they might have. Though he would make sure to keep upgrading it to make sure no complaint would ever be made.

Lyle himself was just ecstatic to have a familiar thing from their old world on hand, and Janet was just gaping at the speed and transportability of this rune-array. Zeke was at the front as usual with Mikella by his side, enjoying the wind flowing through her hair with a soft smile on her face.

It really did feel like driving a car with Mikella in the front passenger seat, the roof of the car taken off to enjoy the air of the day. Despite it being the winter time, there was no hint of clouds for snow or the like. He didn't even know whether this place could snow, like in the caribbeans back in the old world. It was in another pocket dimension, so perhaps it just wasn't possible to have a change in weather that drastic.

"I miss this," Hamil said, enjoying the cool air himself. "The past few days, we had to go around the old-fashion way. Zeke, you're ruining us old veterans. We can never go back now."

"I say let him," Saang said with a shark-like grin. "We worked hard enough to enjoy some luxuries, right?"

Kote on the other hand was just sitting there with his eyes closed. He was taking the chance to take a rest since the drive wasn't as bumpy as any carriage ride or packed to the brim with noisy people like in any Jetrail.

"Zeke, you can really make anything with runes, right?" Janet asked. She carefully made her way Zeke's other side as though she could get bumped off the car at any moment. There was no way that would happen as Zeke affixed their positions onto the construct, but it was still hard to convince anyone to get used to something so new.

"Not everything, but enough, as long as I got enough Mana. And I got a lot of that."

Janet nodded, understanding since she saw his status screen for herself. At first, She was shocked to see just how much Spirit he had, but after seeing how his runic tattoos worked, she understood immediately.

As a gamer herself, who wouldn't want to maximize their potential power by putting all their points into Spirit? Of course Zeke still opted to increase his other stats whenever he can. Even if stats don't matter, reaching a threshold would certainly make a difference every once in a while.

"A-After this," Janet said nervously. "Once we're done with this tower, can you teach me how to make runes?"

Zeke widened his eyes at her proclamation. Even Mikella took notice, turning to her younger junior in combat.

"You wanna take up Runecraft for a General Skill? You sure about that?"

Though considering she had plenty of slots left unlike Mikella and him, he knew skill synergy is extremely important no matter what stage you were on. Getting a crafting skill for someone who was originally a combat-class could easily deter their path if they don't focus hard enough.

"And no matter how you see it, Runecrafting is just too valuable. Even if I don't have the Class for it, learning how to draw runes for everyday stuff is just too useful to pass up. Any chance of learning Runecrafting is pretty much off-limits in Arcelot, but since you're not part of the Runists' Guild, then maybe there's a chance for me. I can use runes to help Lyle with his alchemy, and it might even be useful for any other thing that comes to mind. I know I'm asking a lot, but I'm seriously begging you–please teach me Runecraft."

Janet said with conviction, obviously putting a lot of thought into this decision. Zeke didn't really had any issues teaching her runecrafting, but hearing her words made him consider the massive amount of benefits having the skill could have. She also just casually mentioned that runecrafting is an extremely limited skill in the country they were in, so he was pretty much the only one capable of teaching her.

Normally, Zeke would say that runecrafting would be difficult to get a handle of, but he knew Janet by now after spending so much time training her with Mikella. She was the type of girl to put her mind into it if it meant that it would further her own goals. She just wanted to help better their lifestyle, and all the more reason if it could help Lyle with the store.

Lyle looked at her with a steady expression. He was done having fun the moment Janet made her declaration. Zeke wanted to answer that dedication.

"I'll be honest–I tried teaching Clara all the runecrafting I could, but I don't think I'm a good enough teacher," Zeke said honestly, taking a small pause every now and then. "But I promise you that I'll at least get you to learn the General Skill for it."

Janet's face widened brightly like the rising sun. "Thank you so much, Zeke! For the first lesson–you gotta teach me how to make this car!"

Zeke chuckled. "Let's first teach you how to read a rune first before you go making magic cars."

It would definitely take a while, and Zeke wasn't planning on being as hands on as he was in training her. Unlike fighting, drawing runes was basically an artform. If he kept influencing her with his training, she might never grow as a runecrafter. But still, he looked back at his past self, back when Cloud taught him everything he knew about runes.

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Was Cloud as excited as he was, teaching someone who was clearly interested in drawing runes?

…..

What should've taken a month-long ride actually took almost 4 days worth of constant travel. The ride normally consisted of going over rough terrain, taking roundabout paths to avoid dangerous areas, and of course the monster attacks that would get in the way. The Jetrail specialized in going all over that, but was rather expensive, and a normal carriage drive necessarily needed at least a few Journeymen on hand.

They were able to ignore all of that thanks to Zeke's barrier car, and the monsters that tried to attack them were instead taken out by the expert Journeymen, reaping the resources for themselves. Zeke still felt bad for not being able to defend themselves against the monster attacks, but at this point he was starting to get used to not using any barriers.

Eventually they reached a small town that lived near the mountainside, probably a rest town for the citizens working at the mine. The mountain was placed in a way that provided an easy fortification against the monsters, making it easy for the town to live by. Despite his good senses, even Zeke couldn't see beyond the peaks of the mountains, practically piercing the skyline above and mayhaps beyond the dimension itself.

He could spot some aerial creatures, and whether they were monsters or not wouldn't matter since they were so high above that they probably wouldn't bother invading the town. If some did, they'd be so out of the way that it would be nothing but a death sentence for them, proving even more the uselessness of those creatures reaching the town.

They spotted a small settlement near the town, a stone wall made with packed runes surrounding the area. Zeke was just about to drive up there and quickly get off but Kote stopped him.

"Zeke, it's probably better to get off from here. We don't want any trouble by approaching any closer."

Zeke nodded to his words, considering that the settlement was far enough away from Arcelot that it might perceive anything strange as dangerous. Zeke did exactly that, dropping the barrier car after everyone got off, but it was already too late.

"Halt!" A voice shouted. "Stay where you are and don't move!"

Hamil, Saang, and Kote groaned in displeasure at the voice, and soon clunking footsteps of metal greaves could be heard as a small battalion ran up to them, their hands on their sheathed weapons for any movement. It was so similar to what happened after the tower disappeared that Zeke felt a hint of deja-vu, especially since they wore the same making of plated armor as the last one.

The one leading the front was a rather well-decorated man wearing plated armor, an insignia painted across his left breast that signified a different noble house. Zeke did some studying on the noble houses, but not because he was interested in them. It was basically reading up their local politicians, and even in this fantasy-like world, their history is just as mundane and boring, mostly propping themselves up as the ultimate mages just like every other noble house in Arcelot.

When they approached, the adventurers stood in place as the man in charge stepped up with a solemn expression, the air around him demanding all attention onto him.

"You have stepped into House Paragle's private estate. Identify yourselves or face retribution for your actions!" The man shouted, his hands behind his back as he made his proclamation.

"Hey," Hamil said with a forced professional smile. "We're the Tempest Winds, an adventuring party that came all the way from Arcelot. We're here to tackle the tower that is affecting the area."

"An adventurer party, eh?" The man sneered at Hamil, raising a brow in both suspicion and derision. "For an adventuring party, you sure have plenty of women in your group. How are we supposed to know whether you can actually do your jobs?"

Zeke wanted to roll his eyes, but stopped himself. Instead, he looked over to the women who were more affected. Saang was looking at the man like he had no hopes to begin with. Mikella looked composed, but Zeke knew she was trying to keep herself under control despite her abilities being questioned like this. Janet just looked bored, apparently more used to dealing with some big-shot assassin in her guild that's even worse than the guy talking.

Now that he recalled, even for noble houses, House Paragle leaned more towards male superiority, to the point where the women of other noble houses tried their hardest to stay away from being wed into the household. As for the women inside the house, Zeke wasn't able to study any further, and quite frankly he was too scared to keep going.

"I promise you, everyone here can do their jobs perfectly. We wouldn't be here otherwise if we weren't competent enough," Hamil smoothly said, digging around his bag to bring out a document to the leading soldier. "We also have special permission to enter, if that wasn't enough to convince you."

"Mmh… an official document, signed by none other than the Lord himself…" The man said, sounding more displeased than shocked or horrified like the last soldier. He snorted, then made a head gesture at the other soldiers as they all loosed their grips on their weapons and walked off back to the settlement. "Fine. However, should I notice anything is off, you are the first to be questioned. Is that clear?"

"Crystal, sir," Hamil nodded in agreement. The soldier continued to look down at the group before turning back around and leaving them to the settlement. After a single moment to themselves, Hamil dropped his professional persona and brushed the back of his head.

After a while, they approached the settlement to deal with the guards that stood at the entrance to settle any more affairs for their appearance.

After about an hour of introductions and understanding the layout of the settlement, they were soon led to where they spotted the tower. According to the civilians here, the tower's appearance made everything inside the mine difficult to handle. As the materials are sensitive to mana, which was perfect for crafting into materials needed for good rune-crafting in the capital, the disruption sometimes caused the mine itself to erupt in random quakes, often leading to cave-ins and even some casualties for the miners. For the noble house, they mostly cared about getting the materials safely, the miners mostly contractors than actual employees. Considering their location, it was no wonder that there would be no such thing as unions in this fantasy world.

He did read up on those things while they were waiting for the tower. In Arcelot, they mostly paid the taxes in mana and coin, which is common across mostly every single country out there. Though in Arcelot, the taxes in the lower-regions, particularly away from the main capital, can skyrocket to the point where people had to work because they needed to survive, and all of the profits head straight into the pockets of nobles in charge of those settlements.

Though it was also thanks to the nobles that the civilians can even live peacefully anyways. While Zeke didn't like the idea of playing devil's advocate for the nobles, there was a reason why they exist at all despite their treatment towards those under their social station. It would be the same even outside of Arcelot, the rest of the world having to go along with the whims of the strong to survive for another day. That was why Zeke and Mikella had to keep leveling up and get stronger–at the very least, they wouldn't have to suffer on the way for a better living.

As they stepped closer, Zeke's heart hammered at the prospect of entering another tower so soon, but when he remembered the people that could be stuck inside, he shook off his hesitation and followed through.

But when they reached where the tower was located, every neuron in his brain burned as his eyes widened in alarm.

Seriously, what's with these towers and their appearances?

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.