The Runic Alchemist

Two Days Ago, Inside the Highsword Academy, Lumi's POV.

"Hey!" Lumi called out to Elias, who was walking alongside her, carrying some materials outside. They were meant to be installed on the masterpiece of a ship Maximus had built.

"What?" he snapped, his tone more curt than usual. The boy had been getting increasingly irritable lately.

"Did you know that Maximus, Samuel, and Einar fought in the Broken Greed War? On Eldoris's side, no less?" she said, sharing the piece of information that had been occupying her thoughts.

"What? That can't be true… That war was four years ago. They'd have been even younger than us back then," Elias replied, frowning in disbelief.

"It's true," Lumi insisted, meeting his doubtful gaze that practically shouted liar. "I overheard Lady Einar and Princess Evrin talking about it."

Elias's frown deepened, but after a moment of thought, he relented. "Now that you mention it, there were a lot of nobles asking me about Maximus's history in the war. I just assumed they were asking about his potions… That's all I told them about."

"See?" Lumi pressed, feeling a surge of vindication. "I wonder what kinds of battles they fought. I mean, the Spellmaster herself made Maximus a captain."

"A captain?" Elias repeated, visibly shocked. "I can't picture that guy as a leader. He barely pays attention to what's happening at the academy. He didn't even listen to me properly when I briefed him about all the noble politics going on."

"Who knows? Maybe he created something so impressive that Lady Spellmaster couldn't ignore him," Lumi speculated, her mind wandering. "Maybe I should ask him about his old inventions…"

****

Near the Waygate, Grace Pov.

Using her mana-charged bracer, Grace released a concentrated beam of light, wounding the last second-ranker from the Empire lethaly who had approached near the waygate. Beside her, Einar had already cut down three enemies with her scarlet sword, while Evrin had managed to kill one and injure another badly enough for Adrian to finish off.

Grace had long since learned to treat Sam and Einar as equals to the rest of the group—they all shared the same camaraderie and attitude. But witnessing Einar's blade cutting through enemies with such precision and power made her finally realize why he and Sam were hailed as the youngest second-rankers in history.

Sam, however, was on another level.

"That's insane!" Evrin exclaimed, her eyes wide as she watched. They had only a brief moment to breathe after fending off the last of the nearby second-rankers. Einar simply smiled beside her as Evrin continued, "He's matching Moondancer! That shouldn't be possible. Even the transcendent seeds can't pull that off!"

"They're monsters… How is that even possible?" Adrian muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

"His power goes beyond a second-ranker's limits," Einar explained calmly. "Sam is an esper. The more lightning he absorbs, the stronger he becomes. And with that guy next to him"—she gestured faintly—"he has an infinite source of power." Discover hidden tales at My Virtual Library Empire

Grace turned her gaze to the boy who had quietly captured her heart. She had never accepted Sam's proposal, nor had she ever confessed her feelings to him, but deep down, she understood the truth. She loved him.

But she had to restrain herself. Calling off her engagement to royalty—even if it hadn't been announced publicly—was no trivial matter. Such an act could put Sam in danger without his knowledge. First, she would need to talk to her father, to make him understand. However, she knew all too well what her father would say: Sam was a commoner, no matter how talented, and therefore never good enough in his eyes.

Still, the more time Grace spent with Sam, the more remarkable he became. An esper, a man who could control lightning? She had always suspected something unusual, particularly since she had never seen him cast a spell in the six months they had known each other. Now, the reason was crystal clear. And if her father couldn't see how exceptional Sam was, refusing this match would go down as one of the stupidest decisions in the history of Dawnstar.

But now wasn't the time for such thoughts. Pushing her feelings aside, Grace refocused on the task at hand. They hurried to send more people through the waygate. Adrian had already updated Reize and the others about their situation. In preparation, Reize handed them some emergency runic tools that Maximus had designed to create barriers and counter powerful enemies.

There was no room for distractions now. The battle was far from over.

****

Current time, Damian Pov.

Damian added the laser spell with the flames of his spear, increasing its radius significantly. Finally, the Spellsword's defenses began to falter. One of his hands was badly burned under the searing heat, but even then, the powerful laser failed to sever it entirely. As Damian prepared for his next move, he felt the Emperor's mana signature shift slightly, sending a wave of anxiety through him. He needed to end this quickly.

In the distance, Lucian and the others had managed to gather a decent-sized crowd and were hurrying toward the waygate. Einar and his group were holding their ground, defending the gate against advancing foot soldiers and the occasional first- or second-ranker Pathfinders joining the fray.

Five minutes max.

With a feral scream, the Spellsword altered the form of his soul-bound sword and hurled it at Damian like a throwing spear at a speed that broke the sound barrier. Damian had no choice but to extinguish the flames on his spear and use it defensively to deflect the incoming blade. He managed to redirect it, but the sheer force sent him hurtling through the air and crashing into the ground several meters away.

Freed from Damian's assault, the Spellsword unleashed a burst of aura and mana, casting a familiar spell that sent mud flying in every direction and jumping out of the radius of the sinking mud spell. Damian barely regained his balance before crashing. He drove his spear into the ground to steady himself, halting his momentum.

But the Spellsword was relentless, already charging toward him. Damian remained calm, letting him approach while he continued meticulously crafting new runic circles, holding them steady with multiple mana threads.