Lucci's palace was located in the quietest place at the heart of the immortal palace-city.
When he returned, several beautiful fairy attendants welcomed him.
He let them serve busily while the flood of knowledge still surged in his mind, as countless pieces of information were categorized and integrated.
In the end, his interest settled on an ancient field of knowledge—
Runes.
Runes were the core of Asgard's rune arts. Each rune contained its own power.
Asgard's texts recorded dozens of basic-to-advanced runes; their different combinations could be used for enchantment, protection, attack, divination, and more.
"An interesting way to use energy."
Lucci entered his study, extended a finger, and tapped lightly.
A rune representing "Guardian" appeared in the air, glowing faintly.
This was one of Asgard's most basic runes.
Lucci's eyes fixed on it, and within the depths of his gaze, the rune instantly decomposed into countless foundational energy lines and law-nodes.
Heaven-defying comprehension—once again revealing its divine might!
[You observe the rune "Guardian"…]
[You begin analyzing its energy construction logic…]
[You understand the basic principles of "damage deflection" and "barrier construction"…]
[Your comprehension defies the heavens. You discover redundancy in this rune's structure and collisions among energy nodes…]
[…You begin reverse inference…]
Lucci did not "learn" the known runes from the classics one by one.
That would be too slow and inefficient.
Instead, he chose to start from the simplest rune and cut backward directly—analyzing the lowest and most fundamental structural logic and creation principles of rune arts.
It was like others still learning 1+1=2 while he had already started deducing calculus.
[You see through the underlying logic of runes!]
[You begin forward inference…]
In Lucci's mind, it was as if an infinite drafting board appeared.
He treated the lowest construction logic as axioms and began to infer, combine, and derive endlessly.
One by one—
New runes that were not recorded in the classics were born in his mind.
A rune for "Absolute Sharpness."
A rune for "Spatial Folding."
A rune for "Time Slowing."
A rune for "Life Stripping."
And a rune for "Erasure"…
Known runes, unknown runes, lost runes—even variations that existed only in theory—
In this moment, all were included within his calculations, optimized, and completed.
He did not stop there.
After deriving thousands of new runes, he began to integrate, summarize, and unify them.
What he wanted was not merely a few new runes.
What he wanted was an all-encompassing work—directly reaching the source—the Bible of this discipline, a general outline.
[You integrate all rune variations…]
[You create a new rune codex…]
[Rune Outline successfully created!]
The instant this outline fully formed in Lucci's mind, his aura changed.
If he had once been a deep starry sky, then at this moment, he carried a trace of something that defined all things and followed the law.
The birth of this outline meant that Lucci had become the supreme existence in the field of runes—
A god.
At the same time, fluctuations of divine power appeared outside the study.
Odin and Frigga arrived.
They did not barge in. They stood at the door, watching from afar.
And they felt it—
An extremely rich and pure rune power on Lucci.
That ancient, profound power shocked them.
"My gods…" Frigga covered her mouth. "He… really… spent one night reading, and has already grasped rune power?"
"No," Odin's single eye flickered. "This is no longer 'grasping'…"
"I can feel the rune imprint on his body changing…"
"He is… creating new runes!"
Frigga, a master of Asgardian magic and runes herself, instantly understood the terrifying meaning.
Creating new runes?
How was that possible?
Every rune was an embodiment of laws. Understanding and verifying one could take hundreds—sometimes thousands—of years!
How could a child do such a thing?
"Is he… experimenting randomly and causing energy disorder?" Frigga's face filled with worry.
Rune power was extremely dangerous; a slight misstep could trigger backlash from the laws.
Odin fell silent for a moment, unable to avoid concern.
"Don't worry. I'll find him the best teacher to guide him."
They did not disturb Lucci, retreating quietly in shock and excitement.
They decided to find the most learned rune master in Asgard.
…
The next day, Odin invited the famous rune grandmaster Alfred.
Alfred was an ancient god who had lived for around eight thousand years, devoting his entire life to rune studies.
Across all Asgard, none surpassed him in knowledge and understanding of runes.
"Your Majesty, you summoned me from seclusion with such solemnity—may I ask which prince I am to teach?"
Alfred followed Odin, his gray beard swaying slightly, his face carrying the restraint of a top scholar.
"The new prince—Lucci."
As they walked, Odin vaccinated him in advance. "Alfred… just in case, let me say this first."
"Lucci's talent…"
"How do I put it…"
"It feels… somewhat heaven-defying."
"You should prepare yourself."
"Heaven-defying?" Alfred chuckled, stroking his beard, a trace of displeasure in his expression.
"Your Majesty, forgive my bluntness. I have taught countless geniuses."
"Talent matters, yes—but accumulation of rune knowledge and understanding requires time."
He said confidently, "No matter how gifted, he's still a child."
"With my eight thousand years of knowledge, could I fail to teach a child?"
"Please rest assured."
Odin thought: perhaps he had overreacted, frightened by Lucci's repeated feats.
In this field, Alfred was the authority; having him guide Lucci should be correct.
With that thought, Odin relaxed somewhat.
Soon they arrived at Lucci's palace.
"Lucci, I've invited a master for you," Odin introduced gently.
"This is Grandmaster Alfred—the most learned rune instructor in Asgard. In the future, he will teach you rune knowledge."
Lucci looked calmly at the white-bearded elder and gave a slight nod in greeting.
Alfred looked at Lucci like an elder assessing the young.
He intended to display the breadth and depth of rune arts, so this "genius" prince would understand that learning had no end and must not become complacent.
"Your Highness Lucci," Alfred cleared his throat. "Runes are a bridge communicating with the world. Their profundity is worth a lifetime of exploration."
"Today, I will first show you a composite guardian rune that I have researched for over three hundred years."
As he spoke, he extended a finger. Divine power flowed as he began drawing in the air.
His movements were skillful and intricate, lines of light intertwining in silver brilliance, forming a finely structured rune.
"This rune combines 'Guardian,' 'Evasion,' and 'Stability.' It can withstand the full-force attack of an elite warrior."
Alfred's face was full of pride.
Even Odin nodded secretly—this rune had reached an exquisite level.
But Lucci only glanced at it calmly.
One look was enough.
Then he raised a finger and casually drew beside Alfred's silver rune.
He had none of Alfred's complex techniques—his motions were simple, direct, and clean.
Yet every stroke seemed to carry a wondrous rhythm.
In a few seconds, a completely new rune took shape.
Its structure was far more concise than Alfred's—only a few strokes, plain in appearance.
But the moment it formed—
Buzz—
The palace's energy surged toward it!
Its light was not dazzling, but the artistic concept of the "Law of Absolute Protection" was so dense that even God-King Odin felt his heart pound.
More intuitively—
Its energy intensity was more than ten times Alfred's proud work.
Even Alfred's complex rune began to dim and tremble under the pressure of the new rune's aura, as though a fake ashamed before the real.
"This… this…"
"Impossible!"
Alfred's pride froze in an instant, replaced by ultimate shock and numbness.
He stared at the rune Lucci had drawn casually, as if seeing something terrifying that overturned his worldview.
A simple structure meant high energy efficiency.
A strong attraction of energy meant deep understanding of law.
He had studied his proud work for hundreds of years—
Yet before what this child drew so casually, he was utterly defenseless.
Alfred's mind went blank. Eight thousand years of knowledge and pride felt as if they had shattered into dust.
In despair, his gaze caught a parchment scroll on a nearby table.
On it, in flowing script, were several large words:
"Rune Outline."
Below were sketches of runes he had never seen—strange structures unlike anything known.
As if bewitched, Alfred trembled and reached out, picking it up.
He only needed one glance—
A quick look at the opening outline and the first analysis of a new rune.
The eight-thousand-year-old rune master's legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground!
Cold sweat soaked his forehead; his face turned pale as paper, as if he had witnessed a miracle.
This…
This contains…
All new runes!
He raised his head trembling and looked at Odin, his eyes as if staring at a monster, his voice even carrying sobs.
"God-King… forgive my incompetence…"
"I… cannot teach Prince Lucci!"
"He… he is my teacher—almost!"
…