I sat back in my chair blinking in thought at the sudden revelation. "This power is actually crazy. I don't know what happened on my way here to let me see runes like this, but the fact that even affective mages like Violet are covered in runes has to mean they're far more fundamental than anyone thinks."
I pushed back from the desk, and walked over to the small kitchen where I grabbed some food to snack on. "So affective mages like Violet seem to change these runes instinctually as can be seen by that aura that changes with her emotions. Whereas runemasters engrave runes into materials so that they automatically convert and shape the free-flying runes.
"I have no idea what the other mage professions do, because I haven't really seen any others in action…Is astromancy about…seeing things? Like I do? Both the druids and that skull ghost seemed intent on staring at me like they could see something inside my chest. Were those runes too? But Violet said other people aren't like this, so…is it a different kind of thing they're seeing?" I shook my head, at the question I clearly wasn't going to be able to answer yet.
"Well, putting that aside for now, if I'm going to be living here, I really have to finish my living standard improvements. Let's see…I definitely need a shower. Those outside lights would be nice if I could finish and install them. Maybe some indoor heating? Temperature's fine during the day, but at night…Well I guess I can use the pocket warmers as bed heaters for now, but something to factor into the long-haul I guess."
I sat down again at the desk, still munching on some beef jerky as I pulled out the various devices I had finished to look over. "Alright, let's work on a shower while Violet's out. This should be my first multi-runestone contraption since I obviously can't cram all the functions into a single magic crystal."
I pulled out the heater stone I had made earlier and got to work with the water jug Violet had given me to test how fast it could boil water, and then went out to gather some wood and stones to start experimenting further with alchemy.
"So I'll need a water tank with…should I pump water from the stream? I could also do water condensation…or rain water…eh I think a comprehensive water tank should be conducive long-term for running water, so I should prepare for that in advance. Maybe I'll test out the condensation stone to see if it's feasible for my needs first? The stream's kind of far away, and I'd have to purify the water as well…"
I gave up on the stones for the time being and went back inside with an arm full of sticks and dead wood. I set them down on the floor as I pulled out my water condensation stone to test, popping it in the wooden bucket I made with alchemy before to see how quickly it filled up.
"It'd also be nice at some point to have, like, a mana gathering and collection system, kind of like an electric system. That'd probably give me the chance to supercharge crystals to be like several times faster if they don't have to handle gathering and storing mana themselves…"
I thought about the forms of storing mana I had uncovered so far. "Solar's probably the easiest given what I know so far, but then that comes with the obvious drawbacks of solar, and since we're in a forest either I'd have to set them up high or make a clearing or something to get the most out of them…Maybe something either mechanical or magical with the stream? The current was alright, but I have no idea the kind of mana draw we could get out of that…"
"Do other mages do this kind of stuff? I wonder if there are guides in the system…"
"System," I call, trying to remember the feeling of summoning it when this was still just a game.
A screen flickered dimly in front of me, flashing in and out of existence for several moments before finally settling on a dimly glowing interface.
[Starcaller]
[FriEnds: 0 friends, 0 online]
[Class: RuNemaster (Unaffiliated)]
[Affinities (12 aP available)]
[QueSts]
[EncyclopeDia]
I tried to click on the encyclopedia tab only to be greeted by a large prompt at the top of the page.
[ErrOr: uSer is offLine, oNly pre-lOaded tabs aVailable]
I clicked through and, indeed, only a small selection of tabs I'd previously opened were available including the intermediate rune guide and a couple of encyclopedia entries I'd opened on previous research topics.
"Well f***." I sat down heavily, running a hand through my hair. "Being stranded is one thing, but not having access to the knowledge I need really blows."
I sighed, taking a moment before giving up on the system tab. "Well if I'm just living here quietly I guess it's not that big of a deal, but it still sucks." I fiddled with my fingers on the desk for a moment, before looking over to the kitchen where the pot of water was.
"It's been a while, has this still not boiled yet?" I stooped over and indeed, the water was not boiling at all. After a moment of hesitation I dipped a finger into the water only to find it very slightly warm.
"Well this doesn't bode well." I sighed, crossing my arms. "Clearly one heating stone is not enough. I suppose that's not all that surprising given that it's just a stone not a crystal, but putting together multiple heating spellrunes is going to make the mana consumption a b**h." I twiddled my fingers together and looked towards the water condensation stone.
"And like I figured this isn't nearly fast enough either. Even if I wanted to collect from the stream instead of condensating water, it's probably going to require a fair bit of power. Alright, well, I guess doing a mana power grid is top of the priority list then. Well, I could make the shower first by shoving a bunch of heating layers into a crystal and manually pumping in the mana until the water's hot enough, and then I can sort the mana stuff later…Sure, why not. This body's already kind of sticky after being here for a few days."
I sat back down at my desk, bringing the heating stone from the kitchen for reference. "Well, this part should actually be fairly simple at least."