While the research team in the basement was pounding away at the barrier, load testing the weapons to ensure their stability, Karl was moving on to the next pages in the book.
The page full of examples of compound runes was dutifully copied, and the listed options were giving Karl ideas on how to make more useful sorts of items, things that would improve on what technology was already doing and make life easier.
For example, it would take very little effort to inscribe a flat rock with proper runes to make it into a heating element, in place of a camp stove. They could even do it with a thin piece of aluminum for a lightweight camping stove that didn't require carrying fuel or finding firewood.
There were magical options already, but they were all unaffordable for the majority of young Elites.
"I would like to test something if we have a moment. Reading the page gave me an idea.
Can someone please bring me the roll of tinfoil from the kitchen, or a similar lightweight metal sheet." Karl requested.
The Clerics looked confused, but they brought him the tinfoil without asking any questions. Karl folded it over a dozen layers thick, then pressed it into a flexible, but somewhat durable sheet.
[Earth Barrier] made a stamp with the runes he wanted to be arranged on the sheet. Then Karl carefully made the negative of the stamp and squished the sheet between them.
A light pulse of mana as he focused on the ability to make a variable heat source activated the runes in a light bronze colour, while the clerics watched in wonder.
"Please place that on the stove and activate it to a medium cooking heat. I want to see if tinfoil is durable enough for the spell." Karl explained.
The foil cast a bronze glow through the kitchen as the lucky cleric started the test, and Karl could feel the heat growing in the room.
After a few minutes, the cleric let it fade, and the clerics began to cheer.
"That is brilliant. It's a travel stove. If a Runecrafter can stamp that out of a proper metal sheet, we can eliminate the fuel canisters from the standard travel kit, and save nearly two kilos in weight.
Well, that's not as vital now that more are getting access to an inventory, but still. It's two kilos of weight that we don't need to carry, and it won't run out on the fifth day." The tester announced.
One of the white robed Clerics turned to Karl with a notebook and pencil ready. "Your group spent long durations on the road. Did that hardship inspire this development?"
Karl chuckled and shook his head. "No, I have [Flaming Body] as a skill, so I just use it on my sword and use that as a grill. We haven't gathered firewood since I was Ascended Rank."
The cleric sighed. "You really do have it easy. Is there anything that your group can't do?"
Karl shrugged. "We don't have portal, or an equivalent skill yet. Other than that, we're pretty well-rounded. You should see some of the dinners that we come up with both a Red and Green Cleric along. They can both use advanced food creation spells, it's positively gourmet compared to travel rations."
"And you have multiple kinds of golems to keep guard at night, so you can all sleep. Is it true that your Bodyguards are sentient? That would make things so much easier." One of the other white robed clerics asked.
"Yeah, they're remarkably intelligent. Both mine and Remi's are capable as night guards, as they can all see in the dark. With no need to sleep, they aren't even groggy on night watch.
But the real benefit to a good night's sleep is Rae. Her hammocks and tents are the best."
The blue dragon clerics were giving meaningful looks at the book Karl was ignoring, urging him to get back on track and read through now that they were finished copying the pages.
The next page covered the use of the Runic Phrases, the runes that would flow naturally into each other when spoken out loud.
That was actually easier than coming up with runes that would naturally link with each other and create a coherent effect. But as Karl read through the description page, he realized that was not the goal of the Dwarves when they made items. They didn't deliberately give the items a specified effect. Their usual was closer to Remi's idea of simply expressing a desire for the outcome. Trying to make a specific effect would fall under the third category of unlinked Runes, which they looked down on. But doing it this way, he could make an equivalent of the Giant Strength rings with very little trouble, or use some of the ambient mana to boost spell effects.
There were a few examples on the page, and more on the following two, when Karl checked them.
One of them was to create and amplify an impact ability. It was similar in function to [Crushing Blows] but apparently intended for forging difficult metals that couldn't be rendered too close to liquid without destroying the properties of the alloy.
In fact, the phrasing in the example even mentioned that it was going to be placed on a hammer. "Does anyone have a war hammer, or a mace of some sort?" Karl asked.
One of the white robed clerics handed over a war pick, a long handled hammer with a spike on the back, and Karl began the process of deciding how to wrap the Runes properly around its head.
It was just a Common Grade magical weapon made by the church, with a mild dose of holy energy, so Karl decided to incorporate that into the Runes. Amplifying the holy magic flowing through the weapon should improve the effect with minimal input.
After a few minutes of careful carving, the process was complete, at the Commander Rank, and Karl passed it back. "Please take that downstairs and test the effect. I am quite certain that the god of knowledge is eager to see how it turned out."