[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-emperor-of-the-source":3,"chapter-emperor-of-the-source-emperor-of-the-source-chapter-58":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Emperor of the Source",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1713056,2188,"Chapter 57: Blackwood Ink","emperor-of-the-source-chapter-58",58,"\u003Cp>The bow of thousands still lingered in Adrian's chest as Selena brought him to the Rune division.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now came the true work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scrolls and runes that had stunned the world were still rare. What the reinforcements had brought back from the sea wall were scraps, leftovers, miracles captured only in fragments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nothing yet had been mass-produced. Nothing yet could be distributed to every corner of humanity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That had to change.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first step was the ink.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She took him out into a factory that sprawled like a fortress of its own. Vast vats of black-blue liquid stretched in endless rows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Adrian stared at the sheer scale. Barrels upon barrels of ink, enough to supply every outpost for years, and all of it useless until he touched it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sweet stars,\" he breathed. \"How much is here?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Selena's voice broke through his thoughts. \"Enough for a decade of regular production. But once you convert it...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It will take weeks. Maybe more.\" Adrian rolled his shoulders, already feeling the phantom ache of exhaustion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But once it's done, this stockpile alone will keep humanity supplied for years.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Adrian nodded silently and lifted his hand. The white-grey mist of his manifestation bled into the nearest vat like smoke dissolving into water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The liquid shimmered. Dark blue collapsed into a swirling grey-white that pulsed faintly, alive with potential.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first batch of Ink was born.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The process was slow. His mana, though vast, could not touch the scale of entire warehouses at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Infusing each batch would take days, weeks. So he worked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every morning, he returned to the factory. Workers nodded respectfully as he passed, their voices hushed with reverence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every night, exhausted, he left knowing he had barely dented the supply. But the work continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gradually, vats turned one after another. The storerooms filled with barrels of shimmering Ink that seemed to pulse with inner light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outposts even sent their reserves to HQ to be converted. Emergency transports arrived daily, their cargo holds packed with standard ink.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The defenders started calling it Blackwood Ink. Adrian pretended not to notice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While Adrian worked, Selena led the others. The eight Rune Masters gathered daily in the Grand Hall, their hands struggling with unfamiliar patterns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They memorized Adrian's symbols with the dedication of scholars. Training their hands to etch the three most essential runes. Healing, Spatial Blink, and Barrier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The same runes that had saved the Sea Wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first few days were rough. Even Rune Masters, trained for decades, faltered at the complexity of symbols that seemed to writhe under their quill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But slowly, they adjusted. Hours of practice carved muscle memory into fingers until scrolls began to appear in steady numbers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their disciples followed. Entire classes were opened in the Grand Rune Hall, the sacred chambers now echoing with the scratch of quills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the first time in history, the greatest runes were not taught for points. They were taught freely, desperately, urgently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most inscribers struggled. Precision at this level was brutal, requiring strokes exact to the hair's width.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many who had spent years with basic runes found themselves breaking scroll after scroll. Frustration mounted as talented inscribers watched their work dissolve into worthless ash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But talent always surfaced. A handful of geniuses grasped the patterns in weeks, their scrolls glowing with perfect resonance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though their numbers were few, they boosted production. Each successful inscriber meant dozens more scrolls per day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first batch of healing scrolls went to hospitals. Soldiers who had lost arms, legs, even eyes, rose whole once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Families wept as children embraced parents who had been broken for years. The sound of joy echoed through recovery wards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blink scrolls reached frontline outposts. Even a single teleport could mean the difference between death and retreat for cornered defenders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Barrier scrolls were issued to those who stood in the first line. Shields of golden light now held back the tide longer than ever before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within a month, each major outpost had at least one inscriber capable of producing these runes. Even if they could only manage one scroll per day, it was enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was enough to tilt the scales of survival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was only the beginning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Adrian finally completed the last vat after an entire month of work. The white-grey mist dissolved into the final barrel, transforming dark blue into shimmering potential.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His shoulders ached. His mana reserves felt hollow despite their vast depth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But every drop of ink in the warehouse now pulsed with Source energy. Enough to supply humanity for years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Adrian finally returned to the top floor of the Rune Hall, scrolls littered every desk. Parchments covered chairs, windowsills, even portions of the floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Selena and the other Rune Masters were hunched over them, working endlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their quills scratched without pause. Sweat beaded on foreheads as they fought against cramping fingers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How long have you been at this?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Selena looked up, her golden tattoos dim with exhaustion. \"Eighteen hours straight. The demand never stops.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Every outpost sends requests. Every hospital begs for healing scrolls.\" Master Corwin's voice cracked with fatigue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Adrian watched them for a long moment. These were humanity's greatest inscribers, reduced to factory workers by necessity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then his thoughts strayed. His ink could bypass the need for affinities to inscribe legendary runes, and if strokes were the only requirement, then why couldn't humanity mass-produce?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why not simply print?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He searched through the hall's records, fingers flying across data tablets. The answer was already in humanity's archives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Printing had been tried before, with basic runes that did not need any affinities to inscribe. Desperate attempts during the early monster wars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But always, it failed. Every single time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every rune had a start stroke and an end stroke. Machines could copy strokes, yes, but even microscopic deviations ruined the pattern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tiniest tremor meant collapse. A hair's width of error turned legendary power into worthless ash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For now, the technology of humanity had not reached the level to match even the tiniest details. Precision at this scale demanded something machines couldn't provide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For now, human hands were still superior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And so Adrian joined them. He picked up a quill, dipped it into Blackwood Ink, and activated [Temporal Veil].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The world slowed. Colors deepened, sounds stretched into echoes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His hand moved three times faster than those around him, each stroke precise, flawless. The rune flowed from his quill like liquid starlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One scroll. Two. Ten. Fifty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Rune Masters looked up, stunned. Selena's quill froze mid-stroke as scrolls piled high around him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The hell!\" Master Anya whispered. \"How is he moving so fast?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Selena's best attempt took ten minutes to etch a single scroll. The runes were complex, mercilessly precise, demanding absolute focus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even veterans required patience. One mistake meant starting over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What took her ten minutes to complete, he finished in seconds. His enhanced perception made every stroke deliberate, perfect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Parchments piled. Healing scrolls glowed with emerald light, Blink scrolls shimmered with spatial energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What the eight Rune Masters could do together in days, Adrian completed in hours.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hundreds at first, then thousands. The temporal acceleration never faltered, his mana sustaining the spell effortlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is impossible.\" Master Valdris set down his quill, watching Adrian's blurred movements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Dorian smiled, he had already experienced this back in the sea wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time night fell, the top floor was buried in scrolls. Stacks reached chest height, organized by type and potency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Defenders below would see them delivered within days. Every outpost, every hospital, every frontline position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Adrian finally set down his quill, the temporal effect fading. The sudden return to normal speed made the world feel sluggish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"5700 scrolls.\" Selena's voice held wonder and exhaustion in equal measure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In eight hours.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1301,"2026-06-06T15:05:27.002Z",1,"novelbin.me","6333632d90dbde1f5e8cdd51b919b328adcd706cf897975d6658ed9cf80dfbe7","emperor-of-the-source-chapter-59","emperor-of-the-source-chapter-57",347,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Femperor-of-the-source-cover.jpg"]