The Runic Alchemist

"What did you try with...?" Damian asked, interrupting her tangent.

"Ah, I made this cute little thing called Wights—it had a basic water rune in the Veil of Containment spell that could be used to measure weight. I designed it like a traditional balance scale, but instead of weights, you could use an exact amount of water. I calculated and added a water-level-to-weight ratio. But they said it wasn't good enough. I worked two months on it! When they rejected it, I got so annoyed I didn't even try again…"

Huh? Veil of Containment...? Isn't that the official name of the invisible box spell?n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

That spell was handy. The traditional version wasn't available as a basic or advanced spell in Eldoris, Dawnstar, or anywhere else. It originated from the Empire and was used sparingly to create runic tools.

It was just as well the traditional spell couldn't be modified; otherwise, the Empire might have conquered the whole continent with it alone. Their version had fixed dimensions, limiting its versatility. Damian had spent countless sleepless nights trying to figure out how to alter it. Achieving that with verbal chants and hand movements wasn't simple—though not completely impossible.

'Could he use her spell to make tiny box-sized golems?' Maybe out of steel or even sacrium ingots? Sacrium couldn't hold runic inscriptions, but could the golem spell force it into a usable shape? It would take an enormous amount of mana - once agian with that glaring obstacle. Still, even a water-bottle-sized golem would be better than nothing.

But could he trust her with this method of golem-making? Not that anyone else could create runic circles small enough to work inside such a tiny invisible box even if they tried. So technically no one could repeat the process without his unique runic knowledge.

"Say, Reize…"

"Hm?" She looked up to meet his eyes.

"How do you feel about making a golem?" Damian asked, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.

****

"Are you serious? That's impossible!" Reize said, her voice laced with disbelief as he explained his plan. They were back in his lab now.

"Let me get this straight: Creating a Veil of Containment, then use a precise wormhole the size of the veil to insert a runic steel plate inscribed with the golem-making spell, along with a steel ingot. Then, the golem spell activates, using the ingot to form a miniature golem?"

"Exactly." Damian confirmed, beaming.

"Don't give me that smug smile! What you're proposing is bizarre and almost impossible," she said, annoyed.

"Let's just try it—you'll see." Damian patted her shoulder.

Getting up, he retrieved a thick, flat steel piece and turned to her. "Do it."

She nodded and began chanting the spell, her focus razor-sharp. Damian watched as the familiar pitch-black runic circle formed. It had been a long time since he'd used one himself—his ability to do so came at a price he wasn't willing to pay anymore.

He still couldn't understand why he was banned from using it.. He had killed people with other spells before and there never was any penalty. Maybe the way he used it mattered too..? All the spells he did in war, people knew it was coming.. it was a battlefield.. But the two times he used the invisible box to kill someone.. It was a trap.. Surely, the system wouldn't care for stupid stuff as honor and fair fight..? Right..?

Reize finished chanting, and the black runic circle vanished, leaving the invisible box in its place. Damian couldn't see it—only she could sense it—but he muttered an incantation, summoning a water sphere that surrounded the box. Now, he could pinpoint its size and position.

"That's clever," Reize admitted. "Do you already have the runic plate for the golem spell ready?"

"Of course not," Damian took precise measurements of the box's sides to check whether the ingot and metal plate he had would fit. He'd have to trim both.

"Okay, you can release it now. I'll resize and inscribe the runes. It'll take a while to gather the necessary mana too," he added.

Reize let go of the spell with a sigh, a bead of sweat rolling down her temple. "Mana gathering? You're putting that much intricacies into such a tiny array? What kind of runes are these? They don't even make sense!"

Damian didn't respond. He heated the ingot and the plate, resizing them so the ingot could stand upright in the box and the runic plate fit its base perfectly.

He was done in no time, and when they were glowing red, he completed his mini runic circles drawing with his fingers - containing golem spell added with the source mana environment section, and imbued it perfectly inside connecting all the mana nodes. It was done, his unique palm sized runic circle showing as engravement on top. Damian put it on the side to cool down and gather mana as he sat down with Toph in hand on one of the comfy cushion chairs he had placed in his lab just for resting.

Reize had observed everything with full focus and at last sat beside him, her eyes still wide with amazement.

"I can't believe you can make runic arrays that small," she said, shaking her head. "They could revolutionize the entire runic industry! Swords, shields… Imagine the possibilities! You could outperform the top 20 runesmiths in the five kingdoms—even the Empire's finest!"

"I don't make weapons," Damian said quietly.

"Huh? Why not?"

"Do you remember what the Runefather told us?" he asked.

Reize frowned, then nodded. "Something about responsibility, right?"

"Exactly."

She gave him a quizzical look, but then her face lit up with excitement. "Whatever! I hate tiny projects anyway. Runecrafting should be grand! Big ideas, big creations. Work with me, Maximus. Promise..? I will do anything you ask for.. even give you full ownership of the project and give you all my funds.. You.. you can do it.." She was practically vibrating with emotion.

"Do what?" Damian asked cautiously.

"What else? Fly!" She pointed to the ceiling dramatically. "You'll claim the skies, Damian. I know you can!"