The Runic Alchemist

However, before Damian could say a word, Sunkeeper spoke up.

"Before that, the High Table should address the unauthorized use of the waygate spell on academy grounds by him. Such actions not only put the students in danger, but he somehow opened a gate straight to the Empire's forces. He also interfered with the Empire and brought many of its prisoners here somehow…"

Huh? What was this now? Had the Sunkeeper faction completely given up on winning his favor and decided to go all out in making him responsible for his actions? Not that he had broken any major academy laws. He wasn't planning to keep the prisoners he had rescued—they were going back to Dawnstar. From the looks of it, the Empire's main force was still at the border between the Empire and Dawnstar, and it would take them some time before they could push into the middle sections, much less the north.

"Enough!" Voidshaper called out. "That is not the purpose of this meeting. He will answer for everything only after he talks about his claims of finding our leader."

"Voidshaper, are you also enchanted by his words? Can't you see? He's just lying to get out of trouble! First, he disrespects our traditions, and now this…" Silverspell accused, pointing at Voidshaper.

Damian had expected the meeting to be more dignified than this. Apparently, even powerful grandpa's-centuries old-liked to bicker and point fingers.

He didn't want to waste any more time than he already had.

"Yes. I can open a waygate near the Supreme Blade," he declared, grabbing everyone's attention. Then, he added, "I already gave proof of my spell. If you don't believe me, go ask the Emperor. However, the deal I wanted to make has changed slightly since I last spoke about it… After meeting the Emperor, I don't see any chance for negotiation, so we can shelve that idea."

"See? He's even going back on his words now!" Silverspell cried. "I say we take his research and punish him for the disrespect he thinks he can show us!"

"What do you mean the deal has changed?" Lifewarden asked cautiously.

"You very well know we can't confirm anything from the Emperor's side," Voidshaper said, eyeing him.

The others whispered among themselves, most likely searching for any excuse not to believe Damian's claims about finding their leader. But just by hearing their concerns, Damian could tell more of them wanted Land Breaker back than those who were merely suspicious. That was something he could work with.

"Of course not," Damian smiled. "You lot can't even agree on who will water the plants in your backyard."

They all glared at him, though he noticed the petite girl, Soulfella, and a few others chuckling sneakily. Agitating them wasn't his goal, though.

"Don't worry. This time, it's something you can easily grant me, and I will simply have to believe in your word for the deal to hold true for years to come. I will enter the dungeon and search for the Land Breaker if that's what you want, but in exchange, I want the Highswords to officially grant land to me and my organization—land that we can control and call it our own in Ashenvale."

"You want land?" Worldscribe asked, her expression filled with doubt.

"No. I want a contract stating that all the land I conquer in Ashenvale will be my own property. The other kingdoms and the underworld nuisances are already doing the same, but I'm nice enough to ask you to make it official. Since the Highswords are the highest authority on this continent, I assume any lost lands due to war fall under your jurisdiction, right? Well, that's my deal: we make a contract, and I go into the dungeon to search for your leader."

They murmured among themselves again.

"It's no big deal."

"It's just some land."

"What a stupid request."

From their perspective, he could have asked for anything—wealth, runic treasures, or any favor under the sky. But Damian could get all of that on his own. What he wanted was a signed document that made the land they conquered legally theirs. He knew they could always find an excuse to come after his holdings, so securing the future was necessary. The contract might mean nothing to the Highswords or the current rulers of those lands, but once the city was built and his vision came true, that piece of paper would ensure no kingdom could stake a claim. At least politically, they would be untouchable.

"We do not own that land…" Worldscribe acknowledged. "But we understand the reasoning. Fine. It's a small price to pay. But you still haven't proved that your spell truly works."

Voidshaper, after glancing around the room, spoke next. "The majority are in agreement." Most of them nodded in acknowledgment.

"I'm going to use the spell to send the Dawnstar prisoners back home," Damian replied. "You can see it in action then. Can even cross if you feel like it."

"If you can use it from here, why do you have to enter the dungeon to use it?" Silverspell countered, grasping at anything he could to oppose him.

"You're a mage. You should understand the workings of waygates and dungeons," Damian said, looking at the old man with the white beard. He then added, "Voidshaper might explain it better than I can… Wormholes or waygates aren't instant. The distances we usually travel with them are so small that we don't notice, but even then, it takes time. The greater the distance, the longer the delay.

It's dangerous. As Darwin's theory suggests—and as I believe—the dungeons aren't of this realm. If I open a waygate here, it's like opening one from one world to an entirely different one. Just going in and coming out might seem like a five-minute task, but in reality, it could take months, years, or even decades."

Many of the mages and spellswords nodded. They may not have consciously noticed it with smaller wormholes, but they had likely sensed slight delays when opening waygates over the years.

Damian continued, now addressing Hellseeker, Voidshaper, Worldscribe, and Runefather—those who had followed every word of his explanation.

"And another thing… Assuming he is alive, the spell only opens the waygate near him. If Land Breaker is facing some terrifying monster or trapped in a hostile environment, there's nothing stopping those threats from crossing the waygate too. I don't know about you, but I don't want to fight something strong enough to keep the Land Breaker trapped for decades, let alone unleash it into our world."

That made many of their eyes widen.

Finally, they truly understood what it meant to get their leader back. They may have assumed nothing could happen to a warrior as strong as Land Breaker, but something obviously had—otherwise, he would have returned by now. All those terrifying possibilities were real if Damian opened the waygate near him.

Without further argument, all ten members of the High Table nodded one after another, signaling their acceptance of the deal. Sunkeeper and Silverspell fidgeted but ultimately nodded as well, no doubt aware that outright refusal would leave a bad impression in a room full of third-rankers watching them.
Enjoy new stories from My Virtual Library Empire

And that was that. Damian nodded, satisfied. His initial goal was accomplished. He could have demanded more in exchange for his spell, but he liked to keep things simple.

Greed had never served anyone well.