Power of Runes

Are there no guards?

Ash thought, his eyes sweeping across the vast mountains surrounding him. Each towering peak held massive caves, and there were many such mountains, each unique in shape but similar in what they held.

Some of the caves had tails dangling lazily out of them, and others even had a dragon's head poking slightly from the opening, their breaths slow and heavy, clearly in deep sleep or hibernation.

It was obvious this area was meant for resting dragons—huge, ancient beings taking shelter within their chosen dens.

But what struck Ash as odd was the complete absence of any guards.

He was currently standing on top of one of the mountain peaks, his form cloaked in concealment.

After arriving on the island, Kristos had vanished without a word. The moment his feet touched the floating land, he had teleported away instantly, leaving Ash behind.

If he could teleport, then why in the world did he waste time flying here from the portal? Was it just to show off his presence, or was there some restriction? Seriously, that was so unnecessary…

Ash mentally complained, though he didn't let it distract him too much. It wasn't as if he had no clue where to go.

From the moment Ash laid eyes on it, he had been moving steadily toward the Black Castle.

The castle was huge and shaped to resemble a dragon's face, with dark stone walls and spiked ridges that gave it a fierce and slightly terrifying look, especially for younger beings who might set eyes on it for the first time.

Ash's mana reserves, which had dropped quite low earlier, were already halfway recovered thanks to the immense density and purity of the mana in this place.

With just a few more precise teleports, he finally arrived before the castle entrance, a towering gateway made of obsidian-like material, intimidating and ancient.

Let's not waste more time. Every second counts, and I'm already cutting it too close.

With that thought, Ash quietly slipped inside the castle, his steps silent and his presence completely hidden. What greeted him was… nothing. Absolute stillness.

There were no guards, no movement, no signs of life at all.

The castle was strangely quiet. He moved through wide, echoing hallways and dimly lit chambers, searching every corner, but the only things he found were a few rooms. They looked like they had once belonged to someone important, with personal touches still left untouched.

I really thought I'd find something here… a dragon core, or maybe even a heart. But there's nothing. Just empty rooms and silence.

Ash was disappointed, and the light in his eyes that had briefly glowed with a hint of interest after arriving here had once again dimmed, fading into the same dullness as a dead night.

That leaves only one possibility, there is another hidden space here somewhere...

But, how do I find it?

Ash stood still outside the castle, balanced on top of a thick branch of a dense tree, his body unmoving as his thoughts ran wild, digging deep for any clue. As his mind wandered and circled the same question again and again,

And then it happened.

The third eye symbol slowly appeared on his forehead, hidden behind the mask, and began to glow faintly with a soft silver light.

In that very moment, a strange feeling washed over him, unlike anything he had felt before. It was as if he had been blind this entire time and had only now truly opened his eyes for the very first time.

W-what is this...?

Ash was taken aback, his senses overwhelmed as he noticed colorful particles floating in the air around him. His thoughts raced in disbelief.

Is this mana...?

He stared at the tiny glowing specks as they drifted past him, noticing that they weren't all the same. Some were a pure white, others shimmered in shades of blue, and the rest radiated in a deep violet hue. Only those three types of particles were actively coming toward him, getting absorbed into his body.

The violet particles were the most abundant, constantly flowing into him like a steady stream. The white ones came next, swirling softly, while the blue ones were the fewest, appearing only occasionally.

Space mana...? Its quantity is the highest, while lightning, which I'm most attuned to, is barely even present. And these white particles... I can feel they are attribute-less, pure mana without any elemental nature.

He stared at the violet particles now flooding into him and understood the reason. It was not anything complex.

Environment...

It made sense now. The surroundings were filled with space-type energy because they were so close to the boundary between the planet and outer space. This place was not naturally suited for lightning mana, and that explained the imbalance. And as he thought deeper, another doubt in his heart seemed to find a possible answer.

Was this the reason I wasn't able to use life energy properly before...?

He couldn't be completely sure, but somehow, he felt like he was getting closer to the truth. This discovery also made him aware of something new, something connected to the strange symbol that had just lit up on his forehead.

So these symbols have some uses after all. But is this all there is? Is this their only purpose...?

He didn't have the answers yet, but he was sure that this wasn't the end of their potential. Setting the thought aside for now, he turned his focus back to the massive amount of space mana swirling in the air.

I think I can guess where it's coming from. Some of it is from the sky above, since we are so close to outer space, but the rest of it... it must be leaking out from the hidden realm I mentioned before.

But I need to find it quickly. After the runic symbol activated, my mana is being devoured at a crazy pace.

Ash did not hesitate. Without wasting a single moment, he began to move. His speed was smooth and fast, his form flickering from one corridor to the next.

He did not stop to ponder why the symbol activated or what it meant.

His personal rule in such matters was simple and direct. If something is working, do not interfere with it.

Within moments of running, he arrived at one of the rooms inside the castle. It was a place he had already checked before, and at the time, he had found absolutely nothing inside.

But now, things looked entirely different. The entire door and the surrounding room were covered in a deep violet aura, so dark that it was nearly turning black in places. A few spots were already fully black, like ink staining the edges of reality.

What a strange method of hiding. But how do I enter it...?

As if responding to his unspoken question, his eyes shifted toward the door knob. It had a small bump, something he had assumed earlier was just a design meant to help grip the handle with a thumb.

But now that his vision had changed, he could clearly see that this bump was completely black, far darker than the rest.

That meant only one thing. The space mana was so dense and concentrated on that single spot, it had turned pitch black to his newly awakened sight.

But just as he moved forward, his mana ran out completely, and even the Absolute Concealment he had activated around him was forcefully undone without warning.

Shit!!!

Ash cursed in his mind, his heart momentarily tensing from the sudden vulnerability, but he didn't move even an inch and continued standing exactly where he was.

I was so immersed in the sight that I completely forgot to keep track of my mana...

The reason he didn't move even an inch was simple. The mana he had infused into his clothes, which allowed him to feel the weight of his body and helped him restrain and control his strength, had completely vanished along with the rest of his mana.

If, by any chance, he accidentally used too much force and made even the slightest sound, and if there happened to be a sound-detection formation or artifact installed anywhere nearby, then his presence would be exposed in an instant.

Of course, it was very likely he was overthinking things again, but this habit of overanalyzing had saved his life more times than he could count, so he trusted it without hesitation.

He stood completely still, waiting for his mana to replenish, and after nearly ten minutes of silent waiting, his mana had recovered just enough for him to reapply the weight-enhancing function to his clothing.

That symbol was only active for five minutes, and yet my mana was drained completely... what a crazy glutton. But does that mean the Runic symbols can be used, and somehow I am using power of Runes indirectly without understanding how?

He didn't know for sure. It was just a guess at this point, but it was one worth remembering.

Pushing the thought aside for now, he reappeared in front of the same mysterious door.

It really is strange. The mana around the door feels completely normal, just like the rest of this place, but what I saw through Elemental Sight was something entirely different.

"Elemental Sight" was the name he had given to the strange perception he experienced when the third-eye symbol activated, the feeling of seeing the world's true flow of mana.

If that's the case, then this door must have some hidden function or mechanism that conceals its true form and mana structure.

Finding no clear answers, he narrowed his focus onto the knob, more specifically on the strange bump it had.

He tried pouring mana into the bump to test it, but rather than wrapping around the surface or forming a coating like it usually would, his mana disappeared the instant it touched the surface — as if it was being pulled into a different dimension altogether.

This isn't normal absorption. It's like it's transferring my mana somewhere else. Do I need to place something here? But what could it be?

He stood there, deep in thought, trying to come up with something small enough to fit into the bump but unique enough to act as a key — something that only dragons would possess. And the first thing that came to his mind was...

Blood?

Specifically, Dragon Blood. But there was a problem. Although Ash carried the dragon bloodline within him, it was still dormant, and he had no way of knowing whether it would work or not.

On top of that, he still wasn't entirely sure about the nature of his other two bloodlines either.

Still, it's worth a try.

With that thought, he pricked his finger and dropped a bit of blood into the bump. The blood was absorbed instantly, but there was no reaction.

Well... maybe I was wrong after all...

But just as he was about to step back, another thought surfaced in his mind. His expression shifted slightly beneath the mask as he remembered the Blood Crystal he had stored earlier.

He quickly brought it out and, holding it carefully, moved it toward the bump.

As the crystal neared the knob, a deep violet glow began to pulse softly from within the bump itself.

Click.

A soft, almost gentle clicking sound echoed faintly through the still air. Just bringing the crystal close had been enough; the door responded on its own, recognizing something hidden within the crystal and silently allowing passage.

A small smile curled behind Ash's mask, subtle and fleeting. He carefully stored the blood crystal back into his storage and took a slow, steady breath, letting the quiet excitement settle within him.

It's open... Not that it was exactly locked to begin with. Still, I can feel it—this door leads somewhere else, not just into an ordinary room.

With a slightly accelerated heartbeat, he placed his hand on the knob and slowly pushed the door open.

***