Of course, that assumed Gondo’s anger did not spring from a personal reason.
Ainz coldly considered whether he needed to eliminate Gondo as he shared what he knew about the runes. Granted, most of that was parroted from Tabula Smaragdina.
The truth was that he did not know much. He knew how many different characters there were and that they were a form of writing, but that was it.
He barely remembered the individual meanings of each character, so he had to fumble through the description.
In contrast, a dramatic change occurred in Gondo.
He halted in his tracks, and turned back.
His face was twisted in a grip of a completely different emotion. He was overflowing with excitement.
“You… who are you… no… the Sorcerer King… an ageless, eternal undead being… lost knowledge…”
He could hear Gondo muttering to himself. There was no meaning in his words. It appeared to be an unconscious response.
Ainz held out a hand to stop Aura, who was anxious and had been preparing to make a move since Gondo did not answer immediately. It would be best to let him think this through first.
After Gondo got himself together, he studied Ainz intently. His attitude still spoke of wariness towards Ainz, but it seemed to have been supplanted by some other emotion.
“I know of more runes than these. There are 50 lesser runes, 25 middle runes, 10 upper runes, and 5 top runes, for a total of 90. That said, many of them have been lost, and only a few are left. Exactly how many secret and divine-class runes there are is the stuff of legends.”
“Really now… there might be some differences, but the runes I know of look like this. Do you recognize them?”
Ainz traced a rune from his memory on the ground.
“Ho! This is one of the middle runes, Lagu.”[4]
Although Ainz did not know why there were so many of them, it was certain enough that some of them matched the ones which Gondo knew.
“I understand. Then, please continue telling me about the runes.”
What Ainz really wanted to know was who taught this knowledge and information related to other players. However, that question would be best addressed to a historian. For the time being, he would build a knowledge base with other related information.
“About 100 years ago, the Dwarves exported rune-carved magical weapons to a human nation to the east of these mountains — the Empire. However, the flow of such weapons stopped after that. What is the reason for that?”
What he really wanted to know was whether a player died 100 years ago, but pushing too eagerly for such information could end up exposing him. Ainz had been contemplating this question for some time now, and it seemed like a good question since it did not run the risk of leaking anything about himself.
Gondo’s face darkened. He paused briefly, and then continued walking.
“This will take a long time. Let’s talk as we walk.”
“Umu…”
For a while, the only sound audible in the tunnel was the footsteps from the three of them.
He’s probably silent because he’s smoothing over the gloominess in his heart.
“Firstly, my friends know me as the rune developer.”
Does that mean he gave himself that title?
Gondo continued speaking without waiting for Ainz to respond.
“Dwarven magic items have always been made with runes. But 200 years ago, we were attacked by the Demon Gods, and the last remaining royals left our Kingdom to join the fight against them. Technology from the outside flowed in and as a result, runes were regarded as outdated.”
Gondo produced a sword from his pack and gave it to Ainz. There was a runic character on the blade’s body.
“This is Cuern, a lesser rune which means ‘sharpness’. When carefully engraved, it creates a magic sword. Its effect is to increase the weapon’s sharpness and makes it easier to inflict deep wounds upon the enemy.”
“This is a very basic effect on magic weapons, no? The time it takes to inscribe a rune depends on the amount of bonus damage the rune adds. That said, I’ve heard that it should not take long to complete a low-end weapon, am I correct?”
“That is exactly why runecraft fell behind the times. The same item takes three times longer to make with runecraft as compared to other methods. From a mass-production point of view, it isn’t even in the same league as the enchantments of mankind.”
Gondo sighed deeply.
“Thanks to superior technology from the outside, the number of runesmiths who could inscribe runes gradually dwindled. That was because everyone felt that it was better to become a magic caster, who could perform enchantments.”
That was probably why the flow of weapons into the Empire had stopped. Ainz understood that much. In other words, the ancient traditions and crafts had died out.
Gondo narrowed his eyes.
“Still, abandoning our Dwarven techniques was utterly foolish! More to the point, runecraft has its merits too! For instance, you don’t need to spend money on it!”
Gondo’s voice echoed through the tunnel. After realising how dangerous it was to get worked up in a place like this, he took a deep breath. That, in turn, allowed him to speak more calmly.
“Did you know? The typical enchantment costs a lot in reagents and supplies.”
That was correct. Ainz had once heard that half the market price of magic items came from the ingredients.
While the production cost for magic items was abnormally high, one could ignore markups from suppliers and retailers when calculating their price. That was because the Magician’s Guild did not collect administrative fees — probably because they felt that those were included in their yearly dues — and so magic casters could sell directly at no further cost, or negotiate directly with their clients.
Therefore, when one sold them through a retailer of magic items, the price would go up.
“However, in contrast, rune-empowered items have hardly any material costs.”
“That’s amazing!”
Ainz suddenly leaned forward.
He had agonized over this expense many times, both as the adventurer Momon and as the ruler of Nazarick. Therefore, the wonderful idea of something being “almost free” was very dear to Ainz’s heart.
That was why he could not understand it. In truth, Ainz would never have allowed such a technique to die out.
“…Are there any other flaws?”
“Ah, those do exist. Mainly, they’re hard to produce. Taking too long to make is one thing, but there’s too few people who are suited to becoming runesmiths as well. According to the people of the Empire, there’s fewer of them than those who can become magic casters.”
“Hm. I have a question. While you said that runes fell out of fashion 200 years ago, why does the title of rune developer still exist? Isn’t it too late for that sort of thing? Or is that normal for the Dwarven lifespan?”
Gondo did not respond, so Ainz asked another question.
“What sort of runecraft are you developing now?”
Ainz took several steps forward, coming up alongside Gondo.
Gondo’s face was fixed forward, with none of his passion from before. He simply answered Ainz’s question with another question.
“Why do you wish to know about runecraft?”
Answering a question with a question implied that he did not want to give a proper reply. If he could give the answer Gondo sought, he should be able to uncover what he was hiding. After all, he had gone from addressing him as “Your Majesty” to “you”. This must surely be an important question.
However, they were not close enough that they could bare their hearts to each other. And more importantly—
Why is he leaking this knowledge? Is it a trap? Or does he not know the importance of the information he holds?…If it really is a secret art, he should understand what that means, right?