THE RUNIC ALCHEMIST

After several tense seconds, Lifewarden arrived at the scene, accompanied by two women and a beastman. All were Highsword third-rankers.

Damian was about to activate his wormhole spells to isolate himself with the bastard in front of him when, suddenly, a strange lavender smoke began seeping from one of the women’s hands. The moment they noticed, everyone hurriedly covered their noses, as if it were poisonous.

The others had a chance to retreat, but the woman was right beside Damian, and she had started the smoke directly near his face. He tried holding his breath, positioning the wormhole spell beneath his feet with an opening above, but he was already getting drowsy. Still, he managed to execute the spell, and in the next second, he was high above the battlefield, about thirty meters in the air.

Below, he saw several Highswords who had failed to react in time, collapsing unconscious within seconds. Thunderclaw was one of them. That was a nasty ability!

“No!” Damian screamed. The remaining Highswords leaped away from the spreading smoke and sheathed their weapons one by one.

Worldscribe, Sunkeeper, Lifewarden, and Mindseer, along with Hellseeker, flew toward him at a steady pace.

“What the hell was that, kid? Have you lost your mind or something?” Sunkeeper demanded.

Damian shot her a sharp glare. “Your precious follower has some shit going on with my girlfriend! Unless he tells me what the fuck is happening, he’s going to become part of my leveling-up in this dungeon.”

She fell silent, merely glaring at him. The others, confused, turned to Sunkeeper for an explanation after hearing Damian’s accusation. Feeling their eyes on her, she finally answered.

“Thunderclaw has a tracking skill. Reize was the target of it. It was just to keep track of all of you. No one has harmed your precious girlfriend!” Her expression hardened as she continued. “You, on the other hand, dared to attack a Highsword in the presence of over fifteen others? Do you think of us as a joke, kid? If this act goes unpunished, then the Highswords have truly lost their way.” Explore stories on My Virtual Library Empire

Worldscribe and Hellseeker remained focused on Sunkeeper, while the others turned their attention to Damian, unimpressed with the commotion he had caused—especially after witnessing his inexplicable powers and tools one after another.

“Let’s leave that for after we’re done here,” Lifewarden said, breaking the silence. “Many of us have done questionable things in this dungeon and over the years. Let the man judge whose responsibility it is to judge. We just have to bring him back..”

Worldscribe’s piercing gaze landed on Sunkeeper. “Do you have a problem with that, Sunkeeper? Do you want to bring our leader back? Follow the decision the High Table made?”

Sunkeeper stared at Lifewarden, Hellseeker, and Worldscribe before giving a fake smile. “Of course I do. Everything we endured was for that. Keeping this boy safe was our only goal in this dungeon.”

“I need to talk to that bastard! When will he wake up?” Damian suddenly interjected, cutting through their bullshit.

The Esper woman answered from afar, “Not soon. Maybe by tomorrow midday..”

By now, a crowd of second-rankers and his own dungeon teammates had started gathering nearby. Runefather, Hellseeker, and Lifewarden dispersed the gathered third-rankers, instructing them to continue their duties. Damian was also told to step back and relax for a while—they would handle the rest of the preparations.

When he returned near Dreamlight and saw Reize still standing there with the others. He wanted to go to her, to tell her everything would be alright, that she had nothing to worry about. But frustration boiled in him—she was still adamant about keeping things a secret. Instead of pressing her, he simply ignored her. Once again, he flew atop the giant sword, bringing Toph with him this time.

Sitting at the highest point above the pommel, he gazed at the horizon. The sun was already gone, though the sky still held a fading trace of red. So far up even monsters couldn’t fly.

It was clearly a lie.

But unless Reize told him what was holding her back, with Thunderclaw still surrounded by his section members out cold, there were no real answers to be had.

Cooling his mind, he watched as the last trickles of light disappeared before returning to Dreamlight. The camp was bustling—most people were outside, either preparing food or simply enjoying the rare moment of peace after such a long struggle.

Damian tried approaching Reize again, but her eyes made it clear—she wasn’t going to change her mind.

“Tell me just once, and I’ll stop all of this,” Damian said. “If you have a problem with opening the Waygate to the Land Breaker—whatever the reason—just say it once, and we’ll leave. The Highswords will never be able to come after us.”

She just looked at him, eyes full of love, a single tear slipping down her cheek. Damian hurriedly reached to wipe it away, but she caught his hand. Then, at last, she spoke, her gaze unwavering.

“No. This is important. He can stop all the wars.. It can all end with him. That’s the goal, right? A chance at peace for thousands of commoners like me.”

Damian stopped second-guessing himself and simply pulled her into a tight embrace. No matter what, he would do everything in his power to protect her. There was no hesitation in her voice—that was her true belief. In that alone he could put his trust.

The Highswords and their squires worked through the entire night. After dinner and some rest, Damian also took on his share of the work. Before the first rays of sunrise touched the sand dunes, the cage was finally ready. It wasn’t perfect, but it could still hold off dozens of third-rankers for at least a few minutes.

Once everything was in place, Damian handed over the one-time-use Waygate spell imbued in a steel cube to the Highswords—not just one section, but all three together. Hellseeker, Worldscribe, Sunkeeper, and Lifewarden-acting as a neutral party, took possession of it as they discussed their next steps.

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