Simon spent hours reading the books on chaos runes and improving his proficiency in chaos runes.

There are four proficiency ranks for chaos runes, and these proficiency ranks are flawed, standard, refined, and perfected.

According to the books he had read so far, proficiency did not determine the power of a rune.

It determined the quality of the rune.

A flawed rune could still function, but it would be unstable, inefficient, and consume excess energy.

A standard rune was properly functional and stable enough for normal usage.

A refined rune possessed high efficiency, stronger output, lower energy consumption, and faster activation speed.

As for perfected runes...

Those were described as works of art.

Runes where every stroke, every layer, every flow of energy, and every interaction between intent and structure had reached near flawless harmony.

Simon slowly closed the book in his hand.

A thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.

’So even if two demons create the same rune, the difference in proficiency can create a massive difference in performance.’

That made perfect sense to him.

A poorly made sword and a masterfully crafted sword were still swords.

Yet the difference between them was massive.

The same principle applied to runes.

Simon leaned back slightly against the wall behind him.

Several failed rune marks were scattered across the floor around him.

Some were incomplete circles.

Some looked distorted.

Others still emitted traces of unstable demonic energy before slowly fading away.

Most of those failed runes belonged to the shadow element.

After several hours of practice, Simon finally realized something.

His compatibility with shadow runes was mediocre.

Not terrible.

But definitely not exceptional.

His energy control and Will allowed him to force the runes into functioning temporarily, but the process felt unnatural.

Like trying to write with his non-dominant hand. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

It was slow, awkward, and inefficient.

Simon brought out another book.

<Elemental Affinity and Chaos Runes>

<One’s elemental affinity greatly affects the ease of rune construction.>

<The higher the affinity, the easier it becomes for one’s intent and Will to align with the elemental energy involved in the rune.>

<Demons with high elemental affinity naturally experience less resistance from chaos runes connected to that element.>

<This does not eliminate the danger of backlash, but it significantly lowers instability during construction.>

<Demons with poor affinity can still create elemental runes through strong Will and understanding, but the difficulty increases drastically.>

Simon narrowed his eyes slightly.

That explained a lot.

Instructor Valdin had already mentioned earlier that Sunless would naturally find shadow runes easier due to her high affinity for the shadow element.

At that time, Simon understood it theoretically.

But now that he was personally practicing rune construction, he truly understood the difference.

The shadow element resisted him subtly.

Not openly.

But enough to make the process annoying.

Meanwhile...

Wind elemental energy felt far more responsive to him.

More natural.

More fluid.

Simon exhaled softly.

’No point making things difficult for myself.’

He raised his right hand.

Dark emerald-orange demonic energy gathered above his palm once more.

The atmosphere in the room subtly shifted.

The air currents became more active.

The pages of several open books fluttered lightly.

Simon focused his gaze.

’Wind defensive rune.’

Compared to shadow defensive runes which focused heavily on density and suppression, wind defensive runes focused more on deflection and redirection.

Instead of stopping force directly, they diverted it.

A basic wind defensive rune usually formed a rotating sphere of compressed wind around the user.

Simon slowly began drawing the foundation strokes in the air.

This time, the process felt noticeably smoother.

The energy responded to his Will almost instantly.

The foundation strokes formed one after another with very little resistance.

His eyes flickered slightly.

’Much easier.’

The wind elemental energy naturally aligned with his intent.

He did not need to force it.

He merely guided it.

The circular structure slowly formed in the air before him.

Unlike the heavy and dense feeling of the shadow rune, the wind rune felt lighter and more dynamic.

The energy moved constantly.

Even the structure itself subtly rotated.

Simon calmly moved toward the directive strokes.

Protection.

Deflection.

Rotation.

Flow.

His intent became clearer and clearer.

Several curved strokes formed near the center of the rune.

The moment they connected, the rune trembled slightly.

Simon immediately focused his Will.

The instability vanished almost instantly.

A faint dark emerald glow emerged from the rune.

Wind currents slowly rotated around the structure.

Simon’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The difference between this and the shadow rune was obvious.

The wind rune barely resisted him.

He could feel the elemental energy cooperating naturally with his intent.

Now, the modifier strokes.

Simon carefully added several smaller reinforcement strokes along the outer layer.

This time, he paid close attention to the energy flow.

Instead of disrupting the structure like before, the modifier strokes harmonized with the rotational movement of the rune.

The wind currents accelerated.

The rune stabilized completely.

Then... the rune activated.

Whoosh!

A sphere of rotating wind suddenly formed around Simon.

The air inside the room became chaotic.

Books fluttered violently.

His clothes shifted from the pressure of the wind currents.

The defensive sphere rotated around him quietly.

Simon observed it silently.

The wind barrier was not physically solid.

Instead, it redirected force through constant rotational flow.

A physical strike would be diverted.

Projectiles would lose balance.

Even elemental attacks would be partially redirected depending on their power.

A faint glint appeared in Simon’s eyes.

’So this is a basic wind defensive rune.’

The rune itself was still crude.

Probably only standard proficiency at best.

But for a beginner like him, this level of construction speed was monstrous.

Most Initiates would still be struggling with basic foundational strokes.

Meanwhile, Simon had already completed an actual elemental defensive rune.

Though, the biggest reason behind this success was obvious.

Affinity.

Without his high affinity for the wind element, this process would have been far more difficult.

The wind elemental energy naturally synchronized with his intent, making the rune easier to stabilize and control.

Simon slowly dispersed the wind barrier.

The rotating currents dissolved into particles of dark emerald energy.

He exhaled softly, then he picked up another book.

This time around, he wanted to try a wind offensive rune.