The two watched the Rune Formation in silence.
There were no reactions. No light, no sound, no fire, nothing.
"Are we supposed to wait for something?" The old woman questioned.
"I-I don't know. This is my first time creating a Rune Formation," Alfred anxiously answered, afraid that the book was nothing but nonsensical symbols. "Maybe I did something wrong, or the blood wasn't enough to activate it?"
The old woman stayed silent for a few seconds, and then a transparent fire covered her eyes.
Alfred's charcoal eyes widened in disbelief. He may have seen some unexplainable things, but this one took the prize.
"Are you okay, Shaman Catori?" he asked in concern.
"Do not worry, kid. It is a technique that allows me to see Spirit Energy," she explained, narrowing her eyes as she examined the Formation. "It appears your Rune Formation succeeds; I can see it has a lot of Spirit Energy within its lines. Perhaps it has a different effect than we thought?"
"Really?" Alfred said, moving his attention back to the Formation. Not convinced, he stretched his right hand to check if there was a difference. "It's… warmer near the Rune Formation."
Alfred retrieved his hand and returned it near the Rune Formation, gauging if there was indeed a difference. He repeated it several times before he was convinced.
"Yeah, I'm not wrong; it was indeed warmer."
The old Shaman raised her eyebrows. She walked closer and did the same, then nodded. "It is… how fascinating."
"But I don't understand?" Alfred crossed his arms and tilted his head. "The ancient book said it would create a fire, but there is no fire. What does that mean?"
Shaman Catori lingered for a while before answering. "Perhaps fire means heat, or it indeed needs a Beast Core to create a fire. The book stated that if we use blood, it will weaken the effect after all."
"Probably." He touched his chin and went into deep thought. "…But if the effect will weaken this much, can we even consider the blood as an alternative? I think there is something we are not seeing here."
"That is reasonable. The effect is too weak; we can barely feel it." The old Shaman agreed. "Does the book mention anything, or maybe you made a mistake in your drawing?"
"Drawing… Mistake…" Alfred's eyes brightened. "That's it! It's the Rune I drew—it's the wrong one."
"Wrong one?" The old Shaman frowned. "How exactly?"
"You see, every Rune I learned has two different symbols. I don't know why or what the use of them is, but I think I created the wrong one. I have no idea if my theory is correct, but nothing is stopping me from trying."
"Then, what are you waiting for? Do it," the shaman encouraged.
"Oh wait, maybe there is something stopping me," he realized after calming down. "I need Spirit Energy before I can create a Rune, and right now I'm depleted. I have to meditate and replenish it first."
"Fine, hurry up, I do not have time to sit here all night," Shaman Catori uttered while finding a place to sit comfortably.
Alfred went back to his bed and quickly dove into a meditative state. Thanks to his repeated activity, meditating became so much easier for him.
In the beginning, he was concerned that he wouldn't manage to repeat what happened. Yet, surprisingly, he immediately felt the Spirit Energy around him, as if his eyes were closed and the energy was there the whole time.
Nonetheless, he did not stay on the topic for long, as he knew some impatient old woman was waiting for him; thus, he began absorbing it.
The Spirit Energy entered his nostrils, went to his brain, and then divided itself into his nerves, distributing the energy in every part of his body.
The cycle repeated a few times until his entire being was brimming with life once again.
With one final deep breath, Alfred steadily released the air from his mouth, and slowly, he opened his eyes.
"I'm ready," he informed Shaman Catori, who was also doing meditation right in front of him.
"Good, go on then." The old woman exited her state and then stood up.
Alfred didn't waste time explaining what he had to do. He crawled back to where he drew the first Rune Formation and placed himself into a concentrated state.
When the image of the Fire Runic Symbol was within his mind, his right hand moved, drawing the exact copy on the ground.
A few minutes later, his hand rose, and on the dirt was a Rune Formation the size of a basketball.
The creation confused him, as there was no light emitted this time, unlike his first one. Also, the drain on his energy was only half of his reserve.
"Are you done?" said the old Shaman, who was silently watching him from behind.
"I think so," he hesitantly answered. "But I'm not sure if I did it correctly. There is no light, and I still have half of my Spirit Energy in my body."
"Well, we cannot be sure. As you said, this one is a different symbol from the first one. Why not finish it and see if it will work or not?"
The Shaman handed the water skin to Alfred once again.
He accepted the black item and uncorked it.
The foul smell attacked his nose, but this time he wasn't deterred; he already expected it. Impatiently, Alfred spilled the content on the Rune Formation, not wanting to wait any further.
He didn't want any expectations, fearful of another disappointment. Nevertheless, his heart skipped a beat, anticipating something.
When the blood made contact, the Rune Formation finally showed the light he was looking for. A red light grew, gathering in the middle of the Rune Formation. The temperature around the Rune Formation rapidly increased. Dust swirled as a subtle vibration spread from the Rune. Then a small flame ignited in thin air.
Even though the flame was only the size of a fingernail, the shock it brought was so massive that Shaman Catori and Alfred stared at it with gaping mouths.
The fire only lasted a few seconds and disappeared, depriving the area of light once again.
"D-did you see that, Shaman Catori?" Alfred asked in disbelief.
"I did, young Alfred, I did," Shaman Catori confirmed.
"The ancient book is real…" He continued, his voice drifting. "…But the fire is too small. I don't think it is enough to do any help to the tribe."
"That is correct. Try pouring all the blood on the Formation, and see if there will be any changes," the old woman suggested.
Alfred nodded and followed the advice. Without hesitation, he spilled the thick liquid on the Rune Formation, depleting all the waterskin's contents.
As predicted, the Rune shone, and a floating fire reemerged once more. The flame this time was much bigger than the last time, equaling the size of an adult's fist.
'So, the size of the flame will also depend on how much blood?'
However, disappointingly, the fire died down after mere seconds, leaving the two with nothing to observe.
"It worked, but all the blood was consumed," Alfred uttered, shaking the waterskin upside down.
Shaman Catori turned her gaze to the exit once again and commanded. "Fetch me more monster blood; the more, the better."
The two waited for a while before the guard returned, with 5 waterskins in tow.
The old woman and the young man repeatedly fueled the Rune Formation, examining and doing all sorts of experimentation.
Soon, they exhausted all the blood, giving the two no choice but to stop what they were doing.
"It definitely works, but using blood isn't efficient. Theoretically, if the flame lifespan is based on how much blood we use, then we will need a lot of it just to maintain a small fire," Alfred examined while touching his smooth chin.
Shaman Catori smiled. "Not necessarily. I think what the Rune Formation needs is the Spirit Energy inside, not the blood itself. The blood we provided to the Formation had been sitting in the tribe for several weeks now, meaning most of the Spirit Energy within it has dissipated."
Alfred widened his eyes in realization. "If we use fresh blood, we can have a stronger result!"
The old Shaman nodded. "You are smart, lad; you catch things fast."
"Then, where can we get fresh monster blood?"
"Have patience, lad. It is about time for the hunter to return. Just wait for a few more days, and we will have a batch of fresh monster blood." Shaman Catori stood and fixed all the ornaments on her body. "I must go now. I have to inform the other Elders of this joyous discovery. Rest. We might call your presence in the meeting to discuss this."