Chapter 18

Chapter 18

After the Zerg were repelled, the Federation indeed enjoyed centuries of peace. With their Queen Mother gone, the scattered remnants of the Zerg posed no real threat against the Federation’s rearmed forces.

Gradually, the Federation grew complacent.

But a century ago, a new type of monster suddenly emerged at the "Twilight's Obscurity" fortress. These creatures were not only incredibly resilient but also possessed highly developed psychic abilities.

They were dubbed "Modora," a term signifying an unknown horror.

These humanoid enemies resembled skeletal figures—faceless, ribless, with sharp, conical spikes protruding from every joint. They looked like a single, uncontrolled mass of bone. Their only distinct feature was the Spirit Source located at the top of their heads.

The real problem lay in this Spirit Source. While their bodies could be shattered by ion cannons, the waves or magnetic fields emitted by the Spirit Source could directly disrupt the connection between mechs and their energy cores, trapping pilots inside their cockpits, leaving them to be picked off one by one. If more than ten Modora gathered, the distorted magnetic fields would abruptly expand their interference range.

Currently, the Federation had no particularly effective countermeasures. Fortunately, Modora were few in number, and the Four Great Legions could still suppress them with overwhelming force.

Though information was tightly controlled, the Modora’s bizarre proportions led to private speculation about "human experimentation." Yet no one dared voice such theories aloud. Anyone caught discussing it would mysteriously be warned, and over time, silence prevailed, turning it into a public secret within the Federation—one no one spoke of.

Needless to say, these fragments of information caught Huainan’s attention.

That afternoon, with no classes scheduled, Huainan first rented a Runesmithing studio for a hefty fee, intending to inscribe Taber’s weapon with Runes. To remain cautious, she had set the delivery address far away under the pseudonym "Long Aotian"—she had no idea how the dark web operated, after all.

When she opened the crate, her first challenge was nearly failing to lift the weapon!

With no other choice, she had to channel her psychic energy for assistance, just barely managing to lift out the morningstar. "Looks like I need to prioritize physical training," she muttered.

The cold weapon lay across the workbench as Huainan hovered a hand over it, sensing the seething energy in her palm. After a long moment of contemplation, she got a strange idea.

Generally, materials for weapons of each grade were balanced to ensure stability in the final product. The mutation in her previous 6-star Rune had been caused by an unusual reaction between the Pseudodragon Bug and the energy stone, inducing a crystal-like transformation in the bug’s skeletal structure—but such changes were unpredictable.

This weapon followed a more "conventional" approach. But what if she reversed the energy nodes? For a destructive weapon like this, she wondered if she could add an additional corrosive effect.

Without hesitation, Huainan first used spare materials to simulate an identical form, mentally retracing the energy nodes through careful deduction.

As the Rune in her mind gradually brightened, she moved!

Swiftly picking up the Mithril Pen, she began inscribing. The size of the weapon posed no obstacle—flashes of cold light erupted from her fingertips as she worked. Over time, the silver-blue liquid coating the mace rapidly congealed and darkened.

Rather than stopping at this anomaly, Huainan pressed on. She was confident—though the energy surged violently, it remained within controllable limits.

Time flew by. The moment she finished, the mace on the workbench suddenly erupted with dark crimson flames, the black cores of the fire wrapped in blood-red outer tongues, lashing about like living things!

The eerie crimson energy burst through the blackened surface, accompanied by faint cracking sounds, as if something deeper and hotter was seeping out.

"A bit warm..."

Huainan activated the workbench’s cooling system, watching in delight as the weapon’s true form gradually revealed itself. "Success!"

Under the cold white light, the now compact but deadly-looking mace gleamed, its edges honed even sharper by the energy infusion, exuding deadly menace.

Seeing her idea validated—and succeeding on the first try—Huainan cast aside all hesitation and threw herself fully into the work.

***

In the Foster Federal University’s physical training hall, a group of battle-seasoned alphas—now in their third year—gathered to chat. They were about to embark on field training and were urgently seeking well-crafted Rune weapons.

As for mechs? Those cost billions—way out of most students' price range.

"Hey, isn’t this Sishui Huainan, that attention-grabbing freshman? How long has she been here, and she’s already taking 4-star commissions?"

"Huh? Where? Pass it here."

Hearing Locke’s words, the others, who had been wiping sweat, turned curiously.

The post on the trading network had already been pushed to the top, its boldness accentuated by the gray insignia identifying it as a preparatory student’s work.

[Sishui Huainan Workshop Accepting Rune Commissions:

- Capable of inscribing 3 to 4-star Runes. Provide your own materials, standard process applies.

- Additionally, for double the price, you may select one additional attribute (e.g., speed, strength, piercing, etc.). (Note: Attributes depend on the material’s threshold.)]

After her success on the dark web, Huainan had also posted her Runecrafting services on the school’s trading network—though she played it safe, listing only 4-star capability.

Foster Federal University’s internal forum was anonymous, but user codes stayed permanent to prevent impersonation. The trading network, however, was a small exchange set up by the school—verified identity and proof of skill were required to take commissions, and prices were relatively fair.

The Runesmith profession demanded high mental power and precision. Most students could only inscribe basic Runes to link materials with energy stones. Officially, Runes were divided into three tiers: 1-3 stars (low), 4-5 stars (mid), and 6-7 stars (high). But 1-3 star Runes were often dismissed as too weak—most opted for standard weapons like energy blades instead. Attribute enhancements were generally the domain of mid-to-high-tier Runesmiths.

"That’s quite the boast—adding attributes?!"

"Is an S-rank alpha really that overpowered? Did she master Runecrafting that fast? Or is she just getting cocky?"

"Definitely cocky. You haven’t seen it—wherever she goes, omegas follow, raving about how ‘gentle’ she is, how ‘nice her pheromones smell,’ how ‘shy’ she acts!" grumbled an alpha with particularly pungent pheromones.

"I don’t get it! A big alpha acting like some beta, and people actually like it? Have those omegas forgotten where she came from? A backwater planet!"

"And that Huainan’s already getting chummy with Ansel, crossing swords with multiple legions before even settling in. What’s she thinking?"

"Exactly! Whoever orders from her is a complete idiot!"

Huainan’s big talk had indeed drawn attention. Many watched with amusement, waiting for some idiot to place an order first—so they could all pile on with ridicule.

Then they were stunned.

Because Bernard Opus became the first to take the bait!

***

The next day, riding high on the momentum of her success, Huainan rushed to the smithy after class, refining her class assignment while further perfecting the weapon’s design. With AI assistance and partly automated processes, the forging became much simpler, and Huainan found herself growing fond of the rhythm of hammering. After all, interstellar meteors and alloys did have a nice heft to them.

After leaving the smelting room, Huainan held the cooled metal mold, running her fingers over it, eager to test it out. Returning to the classroom, she relaxed, her focus fading.

No sooner had she sat down than she felt the intense stares of someone nearby.

"Uh, can I help you?" Huainan asked, tilting her head up. A small crowd had quietly gathered around her—as if she wouldn’t notice.

Lately, no longer exposed to wind and sun, Huainan’s slightly tanned complexion had grown fair and clean. Paired with her shoulder-length black hair and dark, glossy eyes, she gave off a strangely innocent aura...

One of the seniors flinched suddenly! His words blurting out awkwardly. "Junior Huainan, haven’t you gone through your rut yet?"

"Huh?"

"No." Though puzzled, Huainan answered politely since her classmates seemed friendly. She had researched ruts privately—a physiological cycle unique to alphas. It was said that an alpha who hadn’t experienced their first rut wasn’t fully mature, and this period typically occurred within 1-3 months after turning 18, with no fixed timing.

Hearing this, the alpha who had asked the question let out a weird sigh of relief. Good, good—it wasn’t his problem.

"Dude, quit stalling!" Seeing his roommate fail, another alpha, Xialuo, shoved him aside.

"Junior, do you really know how to carve four-star runes?" Xialuo’s question cut to the chase. Noticing the sideways looks, pricked ears, and hushed whispers around her, Huainan realized—her commission on the internal network must have been noticed.

Could she admit she’d been so busy yesterday she’d forgotten about it herself? Facing this gentle, brown-haired senior, Huainan used the same explanation she gave Senior Bernard.

"I do. Back on Gabegie Planet, due to environmental constraints and guidance from an elder, I experimented with many techniques. Most of the materials I used then were insect beast bones and carapaces. It was Senior Ansel who first gave me proper materials to try runecrafting."

Xialuo raised an eyebrow in surprise, leaning in slightly. A rich, mellow scent drifted toward Huainan. "So you crafted a rune weapon entirely by yourself for Senior Ansel? And Senior Bernard has seen it too?"

"Yes." Huainan sniffed the bittersweet aroma—was that... dark roasted coffee?

"That explains it..."

Huainan tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"Senior Bernard placed an order on the internal network," the shy alpha from earlier chimed in.

Oh, so that’s why everyone was so focused on her today. Huainan explained, "We agreed on it earlier. He’d been preparing materials—I didn’t expect him to place the order there directly..."

With real-time gossip spreading, scattered classmates began crowding around Huainan, soon forming a tight circle.

"He... didn’t actually order a four-star one, right...?" Finally, a beta stammered out the question.

They had good reason to wonder. Senior Bernard had long wanted a custom rune weapon, but his demands were so picky that intermediate runesmiths couldn’t meet them, while advanced ones couldn’t be bothered. Sean had given him endless crap for being unrealistic.

"Mm, five-star." Huainan saw no reason to hide it and answered honestly.

Holy—! Even if doubts lingered, the moment those words left her mouth, the crowd looked at each other in shock, wondering if they’d misheard.

This was insane. Five-star runecrafting started at 10 million credits, six-star at 20 million! And now this tiny freshman was gunning for five-star?!

"Talk about cocky!"

Author's Note:

Thank you all so much for your support! I’ll keep working hard!