The runes that composed spell formations were a language. That was why Alec could understand spells to a certain degree with [Reader]. However, the runes did not work like any language Alec had ever seen before.
Rather than them creating a sentence or a text when put together, it was like they created a piece of art, an image. It was something that looked like a jumbled mess to others but a motif to Alec.
Of course, he didn't immediately understand the motif, even if [Reader] translated it for him. The longer he looked, the more he understood the spell formation. If he looked long enough, he could begin to see the individual meaning of each rune in the formation.
Right now, Alec didn't need more than a glance to understand that he was in trouble.
Taryeon had picked up a new spell, one that made up for his lack of finishing blows.
Alec had tanked his second—third now—most powerful spell and got off with a scratch and new hairstyle, after all.
