There were times when Hal resented how introverted his past self was and discovering things he should have known and didn’t, was not making him feel better.

Take the spatial pouch for example, a family like the Paynes had to make use of them but because of the ostracism he faced from his family, he was ignorant about that and everything else. The memory Hal had inherited was filled with instances of bullying and a wasted life. Even though the soul was gone, the resentment towards the Payne family remained strong and Hal had already decided to destroy them. In his eyes they were already condemned.

“That’s just a tip of the mountain of what a rune-master is capable of.” Master Swanson picked up the brush once again and drew two more runes which he placed in front of hal for identification “can you identify the difference between this two runes”

Hal studied the two but the only difference he could spot was in the aura

“This one” he pointed at the one on his right “seems stronger than the other”

“That’s because it’s a rank two rune and the other is only at rank one. A rank one rune is only useful against those in the energy sensing realm, in fact those at higher stages can probably resist it’s effects. A rank two rune however will succeed where it’s counterpart fails. What tells the difference between runes is the astral energy its infused with and not how complicated it is, contrary to what the public believes.

“That’s just a way for some rune-masters to dupe customers who believe that the more complicated a rune is the more powerful it is” Master Swanson picked up the brush and drew a more complicated rune but did not inject it with astral energy

“This is a defensive rune, They are basically more complicated to draw which is why the ruse of those rune-masters work”

“Master, Do you employ such tactics too,?” Hal asked, he wasn’t judging, he believed it was a business tactic and there had been many of those on earth as well

“I don’t need to. My reputation precedes me” Master Swanson smiled , he made a big scroll materialize and spread it open, the scroll was covered in so many runes “this is an array, all a person needs to do is inject cosmic energy in this and they can activate it, however the higher the rank the more cosmic energy is needed for it to function.” Master Swanson raised his index finger and drew a cyan colored rune in mid air which he injected with cosmic energy and it became a small cyclone.

“The Stronger and purer the astral sense the higher a person can rank up. Rune-masters can bypass the ink process and draw their runes directly with Astral energy, however don’t try to attempt it until you are at rank two, without proper control, it can backfire”

“How can astral sense be made stronger and purer?”

“Putting your astral sense in a strain by constantly trying to draw runes of higher ranks can help, There are also some astral sense refining techniques, they are however more legend than true, however some people are naturally gifted with pure and strong astral sense, some people like you”

‘Let me guess, there is an astral sense refining art in you’ Hal said to grmoire

‘*Yawn*, of course there is, what do you take me for’ Grimiore sounded bored

“Your astral sense is the purest I’ve felt in a long time, I’m sure with practice you can become a rank 3 rune-master or maybe even higher”

“Thank you Master, for your praise” Hal had come here for a means to make money but now a whole new range of possibilities was now spread out before him.

…

While Master Swanson explained rune-mastering to Hal, a carriage stopped in front of the store and out of the carriage alighted a graceful young woman of about 17 years of age, and while beauty is usually a constant with ladies who cultivate, this lady took the ball, her features were perfect and her youthful curves were bound to entrance men and case in point a young man alighted from the carriage and he stared at the lady with unbridled desire.

The lady was the genius of Salmon city; Amelia Horst, and the young man behind her was Alexander Edgar, heir of the Edgar family and Amelia’s outspoken suitor.

Amelia had come to apologize for her brother, Frank’s outburst, when she heard Master Swanson was busy with his new apprentice, she was determined to wait, after all, what better way to show her sincerity than with patience.