Free Web NovelChapter 14: The Hidden Talent of an Ultra-Level Weeb
"You know about temperature seals?" Zerena asked, genuine surprise slipping into her voice.
Annalisa barely looked up, still busy popping small grapes into her mouth like the conversation was background noise.
Max straightened a little, a faint note of pride creeping into his tone. "Yeah."
That only seemed to surprise Zerena more.
"How?" she pressed. "You haven’t even awakened yet—and even if you had, you’ve never studied runes."
Max smiled, the kind of smile that said I’ve been waiting for this part.
"Well," he said casually, "surprise. I awakened recently. At the hospital."
He shrugged. "There was a patient in the next bed. He taught me a few runes. Temperature seals were one of them."
That finally got Annalisa’s attention. She paused mid-grape, staring at him.
Zerena stared too—then, after a few seconds, let out a short, amused laugh.
"Well, congratulations on awakening," she said dryly. "But don’t tell me that’s the reason you’re leaving school."
Max felt a small sting at that—but he nodded anyway.
"Yeah," he said.
Zerena sighed, still looking mildly entertained, and went back to her work like the conversation had already reached its natural conclusion.
"Well," she said casually, "I’d suggest going back to school anyway. Awakening mana sense doesn’t mean much by itself." She gestured vaguely around the room. "Look at this building—there are almost ten people here, me included, who’ve awakened. And we’re still stuck living in this shitty neighborhood."
Point made.
Max didn’t bother arguing. He just nodded.
"I know," he said. "But I want to try." After a brief pause, he added, "And I think I understand runes better than average. At least... that’s what Mr. Madox said."
Mr. Madox, a respected expert in absolutely nothing, had just been born.
Zerena slowly looked up at him, her expression somewhere between disbelief and the look people give when someone confidently explains a terrible plan.
She stared for a moment, then snorted and glanced toward Annalisa.
"Well, Anna," she said dryly, "looks like we’ve got a genius on our hands."
Max kept his face neutral.
Inside, he silently apologized to Mr. Madox—for dragging him into this mess so soon.
That finally made Annalisa chuckle. She nodded lazily.
"Yeah... seems so."
Max looked quietly pleased. Let them think he was just entertaining himself, talking big. That was fine. Easier, even.
Zerena, meanwhile, looked more amused than convinced as she picked up one of the thin metal pipes and held it out.
"Well then," she said lightly, "let’s see if this ’genius’ can engrave a temperature seal on this."
Max’s smile widened—just a little.
This was exactly what he’d been waiting for. frёewebnoѵēl.com
He hesitated on purpose, scratching the back of his head like someone unsure of himself. "I... might be able to," he said. "Haven’t done anything this intricate though. But—uh—let me try."
What they didn’t know was that in his previous life, being an ultra-weeb came with hobbies. Dangerous hobbies. Miniature figures. Tiny tools. Hours spent hunched over a desk carving details so small they made normal people quietly reconsider inviting him places.
He’d once spent three full nights perfecting the hair on a figurine—individual strands, layered properly, natural flow and all. You could ruffle them if you were gentle. Another time, he’d sculpted a tail with articulated segments so realistic it looked like it might swish if offended.
Compared to that?
Simple runes were nothing.
Max stood up and held out his hand. "Can I borrow the tool?"
Zerena handed it to him along with the pipe.
Max took both carefully, fingers steady.
’Alright,’ he thought calmly. ’Let’s impress them just enough to soak their panties..."
It was just a stainless-steel pipe. Nothing rare. Nothing special.
Max took it in hand and sat down on Zerena’s chair—still warm from her, noticeably wider than his own frame. He shifted once, decided it was good enough, and picked up the engraving tool.
Then he got to work.
The moment the tip touched metal, his posture changed. Casual vanished. His breathing steadied. Under the magnifying glass, the rune lines formed cleanly—too cleanly. Precise curves. Even depth. No hesitation.
Zerena leaned closer.
The rune wrapped around the pipe like a coiled snake, seamless and continuous, each line flowing into the next without a single break in meaning. No wobble. No correction. Just confident, deliberate motion.
A few minutes later, Max set the tool down.
Done.
Zerena stared.
Annalisa, meanwhile, had already finished the fruit and gone back to her phone, entirely uninterested in whatever silent miracle was happening two feet away.
"...How?" Zerena finally managed.
Then, softer—"How?"
Rune carving wasn’t just about steady hands. It took years to master because you had to hold the meaning of the rune in your mind the entire time—visualizing its function, its flow, its intent—without letting your focus slip even once.
Zerena had spent months learning to do that.
Max had just done it in minutes.
And judging by the result, he hadn’t even broken a sweat.
Zerena picked up one of the pipes, turning it in her hand and examining it closely.
Max had genuinely done good work.
There were a few lines that drifted slightly away from perfection, minor imperfections in the engraving, but the seal itself functioned. The temperature rune would still hold the internal heat reasonably well.
The flaws could be corrected with practice.
That much came with experience.
But Max had just awakened.
For someone at his stage, even properly understanding a single rune was already difficult—let alone carving several of them together and making them function reliably.
’Unless he’s lying...’ the thought crossed her mind.
She set the pipe back down.
Then glanced toward Analisa, who was distracted with her phone, before looking back at Max.
Seeing how tense and nervous he looked, she found herself shaking her head slightly at the suspicion.
No.
If he had awakened earlier, after the way they had treated him—like a burden, a freeloader barely contributing, a leech—he would have revealed it already.
To prove he had value.
Exactly like he was doing now.
