"Success!"
Sam shouted as his thought was indeed correct.
To produce any rune, a rune producer has to follow certain steps:
First step: Having a fire-related rune ability to melt extracted runes from monsters. Of course, the ignition, density, and various factors relied on fire, so it was necessary to achieve the optimum result in melting extracted runes. This step mainly dealt with removing impurities from the rune.
Second step: Put the melted rune in an incubator to prevent it from dying. Meanwhile, within a certain time, the rune producer has to create alchemy, which is made from plants, monsters, or both.
Third step: This is the crucial yet final step, and all success depends on it. The rune producer has to pour the created alchemy into the incubator while manipulating and merging its basic properties with the melted extracted rune using his rune energy. However, the initial result of production is often incompatibility due to many factors, such as improper melting of the rune or issues with the alchemy, which can lead to the collapse of the rune.
Of course, this may seem simple, but these are arduous tasks and take quite a toll both physically and mentally since the usage of rune energy must continue from the initial to the final stage while also ensuring that the body does not collapse.
But here Sam stood before the same slot he could never forget, even in his despair, because he had spent ample time looking at it. However, this time, his face was caressed with a gentle smile.
"So, that's how this works."
Six pieces of spiritual fire Ganoderma automatically stacked, with two pieces filling every slot. In an instant, he somehow felt a little weakness washing over his body.
Meanwhile, all the slots ignited from the bottom and soon disappeared from his sight, while a new white pill with a crack in the middle resurfaced in the mid-slot.
"My cheat ability worked!"
The crack might look like a failure to others, but in reality, that's how the one-round invigorating rune pill looks. Its main usage is to help level up F-rank rune players.
The one-round invigorating rune pill and the one-round nourishing rune elixir differ from others because both are used in the F-rank region. Additionally, these do not require monster-extracted runes, which is why Sam chose this method, as he did not have a fire rune ability to melt them.
In an instant, he found himself at the table, but the only difference was that he was holding a pill in his hand.
"What a fascinating smell!"
For a split moment, he felt his muscles urging him to devour it, but calming his throbbing heart and muscles, he carefully placed the one-round invigorating rune pill in a small box.
Taking a deep breath, he stared intently at the small box.
"Money!"
Now, before his eyes was a big pile of upcoming money, and he was already imagining the continuous prompt of sales on VR.
"Calm down."
He still remembered that before the merge ability came into action, he had felt a little weakness washing over his body. Keeping that in mind, he decided to check his status.
Strength: 2
Agility: 2
Physique: 2
Spirit: 10
Endurance: 3/3 [Physique + 10% Spirit]
Rune Energy: 9/10 [Spirit]
Rune Abilities:
Special Abilities: Merge [Merge Point: 1]
"One point of rune energy."
Sam nodded since merge abilities did not come without a cost, but this was within his range, and he was quite happy to bear the burden since it only cost him one rune energy. Meanwhile, the shocking thing for him was the merge point.
"Does that help me upgrade Merge?"
He murmured to himself, as he had no other information about the merge point except that he had received one point after producing a one-round invigorating rune pill. However, he soon pushed the thought out of his mind.
'Time will reveal itself.'
He had ample time to discover all of this, but for now, he decided to use his merge ability to produce more rune pills.
He repeated the same process but carried 48 pieces of spiritual fire Ganoderma in his palm, and again, he found himself in the same place.
"I knew it!"
He grinned as every three slots stacked with 16 pieces of spiritual fire Ganoderma, but instantly, he slumped to the ground as if every drop of blood had drained from his face.
"So, that's how it feels after exhausting rune energy," he whispered to himself and stared at the igniting slot with his pale face yet fierce eyes.
"I can handle it."
Swish!
Sam clenched his teeth, and a bead of sweat formed on his forehead.
Slowly, slowly, the ignition process ended, but he felt as though he had been on a roller coaster and his body was being drained of every last drop of rune energy.
"Done!"
Sam sighed as the ignition process nearly reached the topmost corner of the slot.
AaaahhhH!
Sam gasped as he found himself back in the same room with eight rune pills, their fascinating yet enticing aroma slamming into his face. Controlling his urge to devour them, he carefully placed each pill into a small box and securely closed the lid.
"I did it!"
Slumping into the chair, his head half-bent backward while his eyes faced the ceiling.
"So, this is the tiring experience every rune producer has to go through."
He shamelessly exaggerated his task since every newcomer had to spend their time continuously maintaining rune energy, staying vigilant throughout the production process, and consuming fire rune abilities to properly refine raw materials. However, Sam, using his special ability—Merge—had produced the rune pill without even needing to maintain rune energy or inspect every moment for errors.
Staring at the popped-out screen, he understood why his condition had deteriorated so much.
Strength: 2
Agility: 2
Physique: 2
Spirit: 10
Endurance: 3/3 [Physique + 10% Spirit]
Rune Energy: 0/10 [Spirit]
Rune Abilities:
Special Abilities: Merge