The Runesmith

The massive, turtle-like monster began to tremble, its entire frame convulsing with a deep, earthshaking rumble that echoed across the battlefield. The light in its serpentine eyes flared red with fury. Cracks spread across its shell, revealing glowing veins of magma beneath, like a forge on the edge of eruption.

Its transformation was violent and unnatural, more a forced mutation than an evolution. The three serpentine heads shrieked in unison as their scales blackened and flaked away in molten chunks, exposing glowing muscles that writhed like living lava. Each mouth stretched wide, fangs lengthening into obsidian blades wreathed in flame. Even its legs split and cracked, reinforced by bone-like plating infused with fire, glowing as veins of lava surged through them.

The ground around it began to melt, bubbling into pools of liquid fire. Volcanic vents on its back flared brighter than ever, no longer erupting in bursts but sustaining a constant blaze, like infernal engines. Fire and ash poured from its shell, cloaking it in a storm of destruction. What had once been a heavy, defensive carapace now glowed a molten red, its surface alive with heat and flame, like a walking mountain ready to explode.

It was no longer just a monster, it had become a walking cataclysm. Worse still, instead of continuing its battle with Roland, it suddenly turned away, as if following a command or pursuing a mission. With an earsplitting roar, it charged. The creature was no longer slow. Lava splashed with every step, and the earth cracked beneath the force of its renewed momentum. It was burning through every last reserve of mana and stamina, its own life force driving a final, suicidal rampage.

“It’s forcing a transformation beyond its limits… It won’t last long like this.”

Roland, watching from above, narrowed his eyes and muttered grimmly

“But it’ll be enough to reach the city walls and once those walls are down…”

Roland’s jaw tightened. He couldn’t let it reach the city. Too many civilians were behind those walls: craftsmen, healers, children, and soon, people who would be his responsibility. Although he had secured his golems along the battlements, some monsters still managed to reach them. If a giant hole was blasted into the wall, there was a high chance others would get inside and cause chaos. 

Even a single tier three monster breaching the defenses could be catastrophic, especially since all their forces were stationed on the walls, leaving little manpower to respond inside the city. The narrow streets and many buildings would make protecting civilians much more difficult. He had to destroy this monster before it reached the wall, or at least find a way to stop it.

“It’s going fast…”

Roland acted quickly and ordered all available golem units stationed on the walls to fire at the approaching monster. Even if they could not do much damage, he hoped their attacks might at least slow it down.

From the northern wall, a new metallic sound echoed across the battlefield. The heavy clatter of multi-jointed limbs struck stone and steel as several spider golems broke away from their positions. They skittered toward the section of the wall that faced the advancing monstrosity.

It did not take them long to relocate. As they settled into position, the runes on their bodies began to shift in color, changing from a deep crimson to a pale watery blue. Moisture formed around their turrets as they prepared to fire.

*FWHOOM.*

The first volley echoed like thunder. Spheres of compressed mana shimmered with crystalline frost and glistening water as they streaked through the air. When they struck the creature’s molten shell, bursts of steam and crackling frost erupted. Chunks of magma cooled rapidly and hardened into brittle fragments.

The creature roared in fury as its body was drenched in chilling energy. Some of its magma vents were now clogged with solidified stone. A second barrage followed, this time more precise and concentrated. Two shots struck two of the monster’s massive heads. The moment they landed, a surge of steam exploded outward and wrapped the creature in a thick mist.

It was working to some degree, but the monster still wasn’t stopping. It let out a shriek and erupted again. Flames burst from every crack in its body, and magma surged along its limbs like veins filled with raw fury. Its momentum had slowed somewhat, but the golems were still not enough to bring it down. For Roland, this was enough. The creature’s speed had dropped by thirty percent, and it was burning through its stamina even faster. That gave him an opening. He surged forward, cutting through the night sky as he flew back toward the city.

As Roland ascended sharply into the air, the heat from the monster’s molten form followed him like a rising inferno. For a brief moment, the creature slowed, its steps growing heavier as the sudden clash of heat and cold weighed it down. But then, several small molten rocks erupted skyward. At first, they blasted off in random directions, but then, as if guided by magic, they all turned toward him.

‘What are those? Some kind of volcanic magic missiles?’

He could tell this was no random effect. The fiery projectiles were clearly tracking his movements through the air. It was as if the monster had identified him as the true threat and was trying to distract or eliminate him before it reached the city walls. Even as he veered off to the side, the creature stayed its course, charging straight toward the city. The missiles continued to pursue him relentlessly.

With the help of his flight unit, he twisted and darted through the sky, narrowly avoiding each fiery blast. Explosions lit up the air behind him as he bobbed and weaved, keeping just ahead of the burning storm.

The rocky missiles hadn’t slowed him down much, but he couldn’t shake a growing sense of unease. The monster was behaving oddly, almost as if it were being guided by something,  someone. A creature like this would normally be easy to lure away with a few well-placed attacks. He began to suspect that the dungeon which spawned it had issued a directive, compelling its creations to focus on destroying settlements. If that were true, it would explain the relentless focus, but he couldn’t be certain until he examined the dungeon core and uncovered its secrets.

The last projectile slammed into the water shield he had summoned and exploded mid-air. However, Roland had reached the area near the city perimeter, just ahead of the charging monster. Hovering in mid-air, he activated his spatial runes. Within moments, metallic rods began to materialize behind him. They were large, thick like logs, and covered in intricate runes.

Roland didn’t hesitate. With a flick of his wrist, the metallic rods launched downward like silver javelins, embedding themselves deep into the earth ahead of the charging beast. They formed a wide arc, spaced with precision, glowing as soon as they struck ground. Dozens of them, each forged from mage-infused steel and etched with elemental runes, formed a massive semi-circle trap zone, right in the monster’s path.

A mana pulse spread through the soil, followed by a series of muffled tremors. The rods activated in sequence, their runes flickering to life in waves of pale blue and grassy green. The ground began to shimmer, then churn, as if the very earth was rejecting its own solidity.

The terrain shifted rapidly. Grass and stone gave way to bubbling mud and churning currents. The soil softened, then turned to sludge. Within seconds, the ground inside the trap had transformed into a vast watery quagmire, a liquefied marsh of enchanted water and dissolving stone. It spread outward like a creeping infection, stretching across the path of the charging monster. The beast did not slow. Too massive and too focused, it remained unaware of the transformation beneath its feet.

It barreled forward, either unaware of the danger or unable to stop. As its massive limbs struck the edge of the trap, the ground collapsed beneath them. One leg plunged knee-deep into the mire, then another. Its own momentum dragged its towering form deeper into the muck. With a pained howl, it thrashed violently, struggling to break free. But the more it fought, the further it sank.

It was not yet fully submerged. One leg still found solid ground, and the creature tried to pull itself out. Roland responded immediately. He activated more of the silvery rods, completing the half-circle and unlocking the full potential of his Greater Quagmire spell. He had carefully modified the spell to cover wide areas and either trap or bury monsters. With the formation complete, the spell surged to full strength. The trap deepened into a pit nearly fifty meters deep, more than enough to engulf even a creature of this size.

Steam hissed violently as the monster’s molten limbs met the enchanted water, sending jets of scalding mist into the air. The liquefied terrain was working as intended. The creature’s intense heat was being drained, and the glow of its volcanic vents began to fade.

It let out a furious scream as its final leg slipped into the churning pit. The swamp writhed with magical energy, tugging at the monster’s limbs like invisible chains. Roland’s runes flared brighter as he reinforced the binding, locking the creature in place. But it refused to go down quietly. More steam than ever burst from the trap, rising in thick bursts. The monster’s shell pulsed with a red-hot glow as the moisture in the quagmire rapidly disappeared. The surrounding mud thickened and began to harden. Cracks spread through the solidifying ground as the very trap meant to consume the beast began to turn against itself.

“It’s evaporating the quagmire. If the ground solidifies while pressure is still building, it could explode…”

The top layer of the trap was beginning to solidify, but a vast reservoir of water still existed beneath it, steadily converting to steam. If the surface sealed completely while pressure continued to rise below, the whole pit could erupt, potentially launching superheated debris toward the city. The walls were only a hundred meters away. If he failed to finish this creature now, the consequences could be catastrophic.

The quagmire had failed to fully submerge the monster or extinguish its flames, but it had succeeded in trapping it. The creature’s massive shell was submerged, locked in place, but its three elongated heads still thrashed above the surface. From high in the air, Roland watched as it unleashed streams of molten breath in all directions, searching blindly for its attacker.

“I need to take out all three heads at once, or it will keep moving…”

With no time to cast another large-scale spell, Roland reached for a newly crafted tool strapped to his side. It resembled a large rectangular device, centered around a prominent crastilane orb. Shaped like the hilt of a blade but lacking a physical edge, it was smooth, marked only by enchanted metal. The moment he gripped it, threads of blue mana spiraled from his fingers, intertwining with reddish streams of raw aura.

He had tested many energy types in the past: divine, necrotic, and warrior aura among them. While each had proven powerful on its own, he had discovered that certain combinations, especially those involving contrasting forces, could produce far greater effects. Aura, in particular, reached its peak when enhanced by specialized warrior skills. Through careful practice and refinement, Roland had learned how to merge several of these energies into one devastating force.

His body was first engulfed in blue light, then red, and within seconds the two merged into a vivid purple as he activated a sequence of powerful skills. Raising the bladeless hilt above his head, he assumed a classic overhead striking stance. A sudden surge of energy erupted from the hilt. Blue and red intertwined to form a blade of pure force, one that pulsed in harmony with his violet aura.

But the transformation was not yet complete. A shimmering haze of watery energy flowed over the purple blade, enhancing its power even further. His armor, forged from rare tidemetal, amplified all water-based spells and effects, allowing this new infusion to bond seamlessly with the weapon. There were limits to how many energy types and enhancements could be condensed into a single spell effect, but with the right skill and preparation, he could push those boundaries even higher.

This was why he had devoted time to mastering physical techniques. Through training and discipline, he had developed a way to merge physical prowess with the magical arts, creating attacks capable of reaching enemies far beyond his own level of power.

Roland exhaled slowly, allowing the overwhelming energy to settle into his limbs. The air around him shimmered with raw power, and even the sky seemed to fall silent, as if holding its breath in anticipation. With the force blade humming above his head, he angled his body downward. The runes along the hilt pulsed once more, resonating in perfect harmony with the enhancement crystal at its center. Finally, his flight unit flared, releasing a sudden burst of energy that launched him downward like a falling star. 

Agni, Armand, Lobelia, and everyone else present paused in their tracks. Even the guards stationed along the city wall stopped fighting, drawn by the immense shift in pressure. No words were exchanged, but everyone on the battlefield felt it. Something immense was about to happen. The very ground seemed to tense in preparation for the blow.

The monster’s three heads reared up at once, sensing the threat. One opened its maw to spew molten flame, another lashed out with sharp teeth, and the last unleashed a concussive roar meant to shatter bones. But they were too slow.

Time seemed to freeze as Roland reached the apex of his descent. In that suspended moment, he channeled everything. The strength of his aura, the power of his magic, and the accumulated might of every buff and skill were focused into a single, expert slash. Mid-fall, he shifted his grip with practiced control, turning the force blade sideways, parallel to the earth, and struck.

The blade of condensed energy sliced through the air and through all three heads of the writhing monstrosity. There was no resistance. The fusion of elemental force, physical mastery, and refined magical theory had created an edge that ignored even the toughest natural armor. A wave of purple light swept across the battlefield in a wide arc, flaring so brightly it blinded all who looked directly at it.

The impact echoed like a thunderclap, shaking the walls of the city. For a moment, everything was still. The battlefield fell into silence, as if the world itself had paused to acknowledge the strike.

For a moment, all three heads remained frozen in place. Their mouths hung open, attacks half-formed, faces twisted in a final mix of fury and disbelief. Then, slowly, like ancient trees falling to an unseen axe, they slid apart, severed cleanly at the neck.

A surge of unstable energy pulsed through the creature’s body. Deprived of its heads, it convulsed in a final, violent spasm. Its molten vents flared weakly, but they had already been pulled beneath the surface of mudwater. The volcanic light flickering through the fractured shell began to fade, growing dimmer with each passing second. At last, the massive form sank fully into the quagmire, where it began to cool, its violent glow extinguished by the enchanted mire.

Roland didn’t react to the system message as he was preoccupied with his victory and with the state of his newest weapon. The pain-stakingly made hilt and very expensive crystal it housed looked ruined. As he floated down to earth, the steam was still hissing from the deep pit. Roland slowly opened his hand and stared at what remained of the weapon he’d poured months into crafting and developing.

The hilt, once sleek and polished, inscribed with intricate runes and forged from a rare mana-conductive alloy, was now half-melted. The metal had warped under the strain of the energy he had just unleashed. Most of the runes flickered weakly, and several had been completely burned away. Worse still, the crystal at the center had shattered.

“I can use my skill to restore the metal, but not this crystal…”

Roland knew exactly how much the prototype had cost him. Time, resources, and no small amount of personal risk had gone into its creation. But now was not the moment to dwell on loss. The boss monster had fallen, but the battle was far from over. Smaller creatures still swarmed around the city, threatening its defenses.

Based on his calculations, this assault was likely to last much longer than the one in Albrook, which now seemed to be drawing to a close. He wasn’t sure whether more of these giant monsters existed, but if creatures like that appeared in other cities, it would spell disaster for the people of this island. At the same time, it presented new opportunities for people like him and Arthur, who were beginning to rise in influence, and any loss in the lands of their enemies was a boon for them.

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