The Runic Alchemist

It was unusually peaceful after the fiasco last night. Damian had not expected such tomfoolery from an old third-ranker mage, of all people. A man of his standing should have INT stats in the hundreds. So why was he acting like such a brat? Maybe the saying was true—wisdom has nothing to do with one's IQ.

He skipped his classes and headed straight to his lab. Reize was with him.

"You know, it's not a bad idea to have Highsword's support," Reize remarked, her tone even as she walked beside him.

"If they support us, that is…" Damian replied.

"What do you mean?" she asked, puzzled.

"How many people like us do you think there have been? Those who came here with hopes of creating world-changing innovations, stifled by petty lordlings or the lack of funds? The Academy gives people a chance to spread their wings, sure. But why are so many not here anymore and just settle in one of the five kingdoms making weapons and useless creations for their lords and kings? Why has the world barely changed in centuries?"

"Because there haven't been any revolutionary innovations?" Reize suggested. Then, as if reasoning it out for herself, she added, "No, that's not right. We're not that rare. Most of the things we have learned are from those before us. There must have been others like us."

"Did you not hear what Silverspell said last night?" Damian asked, his voice dropping slightly as he repeated the mage's words. "'Your research will be discussed and debated by the minds of wisdom and intellect guiding the course of magic for eons.'"

"They… don't want new things," Reize murmured, realization dawning in her eyes.

"They do—they just don't want anyone else controling those new things. They want to hoard it behind locked doors."

"That's…" Reize hesitated. "But if that's true, then we don't have a choice. There's no kingdom, no place, where someone can.. This was supposed to be the only place.."

"Rules are everywhere, Reize," Damian said gently but firmly. "Where civilization exists, politics and power grabs will always remain. Still, we push through. We just have to be smart about it—use polite words at times and show our teeth when necessary. No one said it will be easy."

"Others might get pushed down," Reize said after a moment, her confidence returning. "But not you. Not with what you've made. They won't be able to ignore you, Maximus. Just the news of our success reaching all five kingdoms will reignite dying artificial mana-core research everywhere. Even if the Highsword rejects it, the world will have already changed—by our own hands."

She smiled, her ears twitching along with the bouncy movements of her curly horns. Gosh, this girl was too cute.

"It's just the beginning," Damian replied, matching her optimism with a smile of his own.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

****

They worked tirelessly for hours. Reize was fully immersed in modifying and perfecting the designs she and Damian had developed together. She had mastered the technique of using invisible boxes to construct intricate mechanical components guided only by a mental schema, and she abused this method with no mercy, designing stuff so Damian could make it for her. Their project was monumental in scale, requiring her to painstakingly craft each internal section with meticulous detail and precise calculations.

Damian, meanwhile, focused on refining the mana core. His mind raced with ideas for reducing its size and creating a functional mana-storage device. The basics of enchanting had initially eluded him, but months of observing and learning from Reize—combined with her hands-on guidance—had changed that. Despite his progress, the process remained tedious, and without the custom runic device he had invented, it would have been nearly impossible to achieve his goals.

Reize had once explained the concept of "separating a piece of the soul," a complex process that demanded significant mastery. However, the rest of the enchanting steps were relatively straightforward: pure focus, unwavering intent, and clear pronunciation of enchantments. To streamline this daunting task, Damian had built a device to take a shortcut.

The device was deceptively simple yet very dangerous thing, that was not to be used by anyone else than him - unless they wanted to tear their soul apart with no runic circle control: a box that allowed Damian to detach a fragment of his soul and bind it to the enchantment target using mana threads. It was based on the runic circle of mana contracts, specifically the section that separated and locked the soul of the users.

The greatest limitation of enchantment was its lack of originality—he couldn't create anything new. All he could do was memorize and replicate existing enchantments. Not that the field had much nuance to begin with. Damian had already memorized and compiled copies of every enchantment he might need, especially those with unique or specialized functions.

His motivation for this was the artificial mana core. He was determined to build it entirely on his own—and he had succeeded. While effective, his methods strayed far from traditional enchanting. If conventional enchanters discovered what he was doing, they'd likely come after him with shovels and pitchforks.

A knock sounded at his lab door, breaking the comfortable silence. He and Toph were alone inside; Reize was in her own lab.

"Maximus, it's time. They're starting," a muffled voice called from the hallway.

'Oh, it's already time.' He thought while putting down his quill and stepping out.

"Oh, you're heading out?" Reize asked, opening her door and noticing Elias and Lumi waiting as Damian locked his lab.

"Yes, this one's going to be fun," Damian replied with a grin.

"Master Samuel will definitely win again!" Elias declared, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. He had turned into Sam's biggest fanboy after weeks of witnessing his unbroken streak of victories in duels.

Sam, true to his word, was charging headfirst toward that title. He still had several duels to win before breaking the previous record. Today's match, however, was special. Even Damian was eager to watch. He had instructed his assistants earlier to remind him when it began.

Today, it was Samuel versus Maelor Goldflame—the prince of Dawnstar. Your next journey awaits at empire