CH280 Oni Brand

***

Contrary to what he expected, Alex didn't feel excitement after completing the Coinage Moonstone Interspatial Ring.

Instead, what washed over him was relief.

A deep, inexplicable relief.

He looked at the ring, and for a fleeting moment, he was tempted to keep it for himself. But Alex quickly shook that thought away.

For one, the ring was only a rough prototype. Now that he had proven the concept, he could always craft better versions in the future. There was no need to get attached out of sentiment.

Second, the ring wasn't meant for his personal use—it was a sacrificial piece for the larger plan. This was never just about selling Rune-Net servers. It was about establishing his brand in this world.

"Speaking of brands…" Alex muttered, realisation striking him. "I haven't even come up with a name or mark to stamp on my products."

He thought about it for a while, but nothing came to mind.

Eventually, he decided to simply borrow designs from his previous world. After all, no one here would ever discover the source, much less sue him for copyright.

His first instinct was the Assassin's Creed logo, but he stopped himself.

"The Assassins weren't exactly known for their craftsmanship. If I'm not careful, I might pick up tainted providence from it." He shook his head.

Instead, another figure came to mind—one who, in his past life's pulp fiction and pop culture, was often hailed as a legendary craftsman.

Hattori Hanzo.

Historically, the real Hattori Hanzo—Oni-Hanzo—was a swordsman, not a smith. But somewhere along the line, the name became entwined with the legend of swordcraft, with countless stories painting the Oni as a peerless blade-forger.

Whatever the truth, the fact remained: in Alex's previous life, the name Hattori Hanzo carried strong craftsmanship providence.

Thus, Alex decided to use the symbols most often attributed to the fictional Hanzo: a demon's head and a stylised Mitsudomoe crest.

"No one's going to trace a demon head design back to me, right?" He paused to consider. "Oni demons are distinct enough from Infernals. Besides… who would believe an array craftsman like me could come from a warrior house like the Fury family—a house that can't even produce a competent mage?"

Decision made, Alex finalised his symbols.

Just as he had vowed to carry on the Brotherhood's legacy in this world, he now resolved to shoulder the burden of bringing the Demon Head's legacy here as well.

Alex pulled out another Drake-skin beast scroll and began sketching the two symbols from memory.

First, he drew the rough outlines. But instead of shading or colouring them in, Alex gave it his own twist. He stuffed the designs with an incredibly dense runic formation—one that might as well have been a grand array in its own right.

The process took him almost an entire day.

By doing this, Alex had essentially turned the symbol into an authentication seal. Even if someone copied the outward design, without replicating the inner formation, their work would be exposed as a counterfeit at a glance.

Not only did this safeguard the credibility of his products, it also elevated his reputation. After all, embedding a functioning grand array into a brand seal was the work of only a very proficient runesmith or an Array Master.

This alone added immeasurable value to his brand.

But Alex didn't stop there.

Carrying the scroll, he approached the Bonsai tree within Sanctuary. He placed it carefully under the canopy before walking up to the trunk and laying his hand on the bark.

Through his spiritual force, he conveyed his intent.

As always, a low-hanging branch brushed over his head—half-scolding, half-indulgent. Still, it moved.

A slender branch extended outward and touched the scroll.

A thick strand of golden light—Providence—surged into the parchment.

Alex shivered violently. A wave of loss swept through him, sharp and hollow, as if something vital had just been stripped from his life.

Before he could even process the sensation, the scroll lit up. The golden radiance filled both symbols, burning them into reality.

The beast scroll disintegrated, leaving behind two floating runic constructs shaped exactly like Alex's chosen brand symbols.

They shot forward, piercing into his skull and sinking straight into his mindspace. The symbols bolted toward the OmniRune Core, embedding themselves into the Greater Rune.

A rumble tore through his mind. His entire inner world rocked like a canoe tossed about on a raging sea.

'Why doesn't anything come easy?' Alex groaned inwardly, bracing himself.

Moments dragged into eternity before the rocking subsided. The sense of loss from spending Providence gradually ebbed away, replaced by something new.

Alex exhaled slowly. As he suspected, he had successfully drawn from the accumulated providence the Oni Head symbol had built up across years of myth and culture in his previous life.

A dangerous idea flickered across his mind.

'If I bring in other symbols from my past life, I could farm their providence too…'

Bonk!

A branch of the Heartwood Tree smacked him across the head. Then it dangled in front of him, shaking disapprovingly.

"Fine, fine… I heard you. I won't risk it. I'll grow my providence the normal way," Alex said quickly before the branch could strike him again.

The Heartwood Tree's branch rubbed the spot it had knocked, almost apologetic, before pulling back. Alex chuckled at the gesture.

Turning to the Coinage Moonstone ring on the rune table, he raised his hand as though casting a spell.

A spell circle shimmered into existence before his palm. A ray of light shot forward, striking the ring. Within the inner rim, just beneath the moonstone slot, a symbol emerged—

A Demon Head.

Alex had not only bound his brand symbol into OmniRune as a formation, he had converted it into a spell.

This meant he no longer needed to brand his works by hand. A single cast would etch his mark of craftsmanship, saving time and effort with each new creation.

With this, the Coinage Moonstone Interspatial Ring was truly complete.

He found a small box in his storage, placed the ring inside, and set it aside.

Leaving Sanctuary, Alex returned to his study. On his Beta Bracer, he typed a short message to Haggleworth before initiating a call to the gnome CEO.

"Chairman, is the message true? Did you really create such a product?" Haggleworth's voice burst out the moment the line connected.

"Tell me," Alex said calmly, "do you think it will draw in the big fishes?"

"An interspatial storage artefact the size of a ring, with an internal volume as large as a medium-sized room, and with temporal effects halved? I can almost guarantee it, Chairman!" Haggleworth replied without hesitation.

Alex raised a brow. "Why are you so certain? Surely these bigwigs already have artefacts with larger capacity."

"You're not wrong," Haggleworth admitted. "But most of those are natural treasures—rare, bulky, and impractical. What you've made is small, sleek, and portable. More importantly, it proves the concept of mass-producing interspatial storage in miniature form."

"In other words," Alex mused, "they'll fight for the ring not just for its function, but for the chance to be the first to crack the secret of miniaturized storage artefacts."

"Exactly, Chairman."

Alex leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowing. "Then there's another issue. If the big factions get desperate, they could pressure the Palace into revealing the seller's identity. How do you intend to deal with that?"

***

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