Julia was true to her words as she took Arthur through the party, introducing him from one family to the other. There were different classifications for runemasters, and the four families each had a different specialty.
The first ones for Arthur to meet were the Femia Family, which specialized in weapons and offense runes called Warfare Runes. This category has everything related to fighting and weapons, making them the strongest military family in Runera.
The second one was the Ayala Family, specializing in domestic runes and production. This category was called the Welfare Runes, mainly focused on improving the quality of life among the people. This made them the most-like family among the public with their inventions.
The third family was the Solis Family, which mainly specialized in creating storage items and teleportation arrays. This category was called the Spatial Runes. This made them have the most connections with other nations.
As for Julia's family, their specialty was Domain Runes. This involved defense mechanisms, illusions, training arrays, and many other runes that worked on a vast area of land.
There were many different other runes out there that had specific functionalities, but these four were the ones that affected the world the most. They had different influences in various fields, including responsibilities they needed to handle.
As for the people themselves, Arthur could not say they were like nobility. Their families have earned their place, and there were other famous grandmasters in Runera that would snatch their positions if they falter. This made these families dig through their specialties like hungry wolves seeking knowledge and further breakthroughs.
Another thing that Arthur noticed was that all of them invited him to join their family. These families were not strictly related by blood but through runic attainment. This made Arthur glad that no nepotism was involved, even if most of the family were blood-related.
There was also no family specialized in reinforcements of stats like the tattoos he gave to Oriole or himself. After thinking that these were all the families of Runera, Arthur was proved wrong once again.
Three minor families specialized in different kinds of fields. The Great Four were the families with the most influence in Runera, but other specialties did not get swallowed by them.
Oriole was chatting with one of those families specializing in alchemy and bio-runes. This family was called the Amiens Family, and their leading research was the recreation of living tissue and alchemy.
Because of his dying body, Oriole specialized in this field in his past life. Amiens Family was one of the most respected physicians globally, too, as their medical expertise and miracles made them the lifeline of many important people.
However, compared to the four families, the Amiens was one of the weaker families for their disinterest in anything but the recreation of biological tissues.
Arthur listened to their discussion quietly and realized that they were like Oriole, devoted and honest. As for their leader, he invited Oriole to join them instead of Arthur, making Arthur see him in a new light.
"I have to refuse," laughed Oriole warily as sweat rolled down his face. "My master still resents me for choosing this specialty. She wanted me to be like her, but these runes are my heart."
That last joke made the Amiens Family roar with laughter before snatching Oriole away to drink with him. Arthur felt happy for his friend to receive the recognition he deserved but did not appreciate that he was left alone in a pack of wolves.
As soon Oriole was gone, Arthur became alone since Julia was caught between her father and a different family. This made him meet another of the three families by seeing every runemaster from the other nations try to befriend them.
The Reverse Family was, as its name implied, which must have been the aim of its founder. Their job was to reverse engineer an ancient artifact, array, or runes to recreate them and make them available for the world.
Instead of runemasters, their profession should be scholars who were proficient in runic lines. Arthur was the person who fits into this family the most, but at the same time, he had no use in joining them.
His knowledge allowed him to recreate any runes he came across and manipulate them. However, it seems that this family had a different opinion.
The one leading most of the conversations was a serious man in his thirties, who turned toward Arthur as soon as he was alone. Then, he excused himself with a polite smile before walking toward Arthur.
The Reverse Family might not have a lot of members or connections, but everyone tried to befriend them because their research was ahead of every other family. However, seeing them making a move on Alexie Linan shocked everyone.
"You must be Applicant #4953, Alexie Linan," said the man as he arrived in front of Arthur. His attire was simple but neat, with piercing eyes that did not seem to take a joke. "I am not here for the fame."
"That was a very relieving introduction," smiled Arthur with a nod while holding his glass. "Excuse my ignorance for not knowing the name of a great runemaster from the Reverse Family."
"This humble name is Casca Reverse," said the man before offering Arthur a handshake. "I wanted to meet the genius runes apprentice who put all of us to shame."
"My fame precedes me," said Arthur as he accepted the handshake. "However, I don't believe that my fame is necessary for the Reverse Family."
"I never heard of your name from the media, and I care very little about what happens to the world," Casca said as he broke their handshake. "I am here for this," as he said so, he opened his robes to reveal a white saber with glowing runes.
Arthur smiled as he glanced at the saber, but he was not surprised. His connection to the artifacts he creates lets him know if one of them is close by, and this saber was none other than the one he submitted to join this exploration.
"I was in charge of studying this artifact," smiled Casca with helplessness. "And I haven't believed in fate until then. I never thought that I would lose my status as a genius because of a runes apprentice."
"I am not sure that I understand," frowned Arthur as he watched the runemaster unsheathe the saber, making every runemaster turn toward them.
"We are the ones in charge of this ruins' exploration, believed to be the one closest to understanding the runes. Therefore, we examined every applicant and their artifacts. The Reverse Family takes great pride in deciphering encryptions, but we have failed to decipher this one."
"And am I to blame for that?"
"No one is to blame other than us for lacking the knowledge," said Casca as he held the saber and waved it slightly. "However, I couldn't help but wonder if a runes' apprentice truly created this."
As he said so, runemaster Casca stabbed the saber into the ground and activated it. The crowd was startled as the floor began to freeze rapidly, creating an ice domain around the two people.
Casca Reverse did not look at him with hatred but pride that refused to be torn apart. Arthur did not think the man was being overbearing or threatening but cynical. He had the right to be.
"What is happening here, Grandmaster Casca?" asked Julia as she rushed toward them, her dress trailing on the frozen floor. "Did Alexie offend you? I am willing to take responsibility for that."
"The greatest offense to a scholar is the lack of proof," said Casca with a rare smile as he stared at Arthur. "Alexie Linan submitted this artifact as his own, and none of my Reverse Family members could decipher it."
The bold and confident revelations caused ripples among the crowd and the families. It was the first time for runemaster to create an artifact that the Reverse Family could not decipher, and it left the crowd shaken.
Alexie Linan was the madman who created a guild that offended all guilds out there, but he was also a runemaster and the owner of Hidden Gems. However, his attainment never reached beyond the apprentice rank.
"Are you accusing me of stealing someone's else works, grandmaster?" asked Arthur with a smile. "This is a serious accusation toward a scholar, and even if I am just an apprentice, I will not take this lying down."
"I am aware of the consequences," said Casca as he let go of the saber and allowed it to turn the hall into an ice hell. "However, the pursuit of knowledge is more important to me than anything. If you prove that this is indeed an artifact you have created, I will seek forgiveness."
"There is no way for Alexie to lie," said Julia without a shred of hesitation. Casca glanced toward her with indifference, and Arthur looked at her with surprise.. "And he has no reason to prove anything."
