Artificial Fantasy

Chapter 106: Rising Tempest

How long was I stuck in that flashback portion of the [Hidden Quest]?

After I reaffirm my goals once more, I run back to the altar room as fast as I can. I have a feeling that Yur1 might have progressed nicely into it so far, so I better pick up the pace or I might lag behind. Also, I'm a bit worried about Wind. It's been a few hours and he might be in some kind of a crazy [Quest] while this is going on. "The faster I can finish this, the better," is what I would say, but I know my big brother and he's not the type to be beaten down by monsters with fists alone. Words, I can't say, but it's better right now to focus on my own thing than worry about my brother and friend for too long.

I manage to arrive back in the altar room. Running is not my thing, not even in [Isekai]. So I have to catch my breath even if I'm currently in a body made of data. However, I look around and notice that Sentio isn't in this room at the moment. Is it because he left to observe my abilities or something? Although the room doesn't remain empty for long, I notice a note left on the altar. I pick it up and read what it says.

[I think you know what's next, young <Kazu>. This will be your final test of the ceremony. It's up to you to decide your path.

Good luck.

<Sentio>]

Yeah, I get the gist. I don't think I need a hint for it since I've learned everything from the world's past and my goal from the start. The real question is what I want for it. This [Sign] has to represent me and me alone. No, scratch that, everything that represents my journey both here and in real life. It's not just Wind who helped me a lot. His friends, Star, Azel, Ol' Wally, and even Yuri. Everyone has helped me be myself in this game and be who I want. Most importantly, they give me a reason to be strong and stand up on my own two feet. To fight on the same level as my brother.

I know what [Sign] I want.

The first thing I do is take out my journal and something I bought from the general store.

[Charcoal Pencil]

[A writing utensil composed of a charcoal core covered in a wooden casing that allows them to sketch and write. Everything written will be erased with the right tool.

Quality: 10]

I would have asked Wind to make one for me, but I learned from Azel that making one requires a lot of items and we can't use charcoal from his [Guild Crafting Hall]. As for the said journal, it's the one I usually use for taking notes related to crafting and [Quest]-related clues. I'm still not sure if this is right or not, but I would rather not lose my notes if I use the first one for the final phase of the ceremony.

Back to the main topic, I start sketching my potential [Sign] on an empty page. I'm trying to find some references from my [Book of Presence] since it also has a special dictionary section from when I flipped through the pages while I was resting. If I recall, there are some [Signs] that are based on the previous ones, as well as combining them to create meaning. It's somehow similar to Japanese Kanji. I initially thought that you could combine some Hiragana characters to create some pronunciations. But thanks to my mom, I learned you can recognize a Kanji a bit easier if you imagine those images based on the translation alone. One example is "neko" or "cat" in English. The Kanji seems to have a tail like a cat, so I imagine the Kanji as that said animal.

Using that logic alone, I might draw a rune based on the image I wanted and the runes that already exist in the game's past. Some are interesting, but it's a bit overwhelming over which one should I base on for my [Sign].