The Runic Alchemist

The origin of the spell—or whatever it was—with its five layers of runic circles, appeared to originate from the center of the round platform. Even the platform itself was inscribed with carvings: texts of various sizes and bizarre shapes. None of it made sense to Damian.

"Hey… What's this?" Sam called out from a short distance away, near one of the seven seated statues.

Damian, along with the other three, walked over to him. Sam was pointing at one side of the stone chair upon which the statue was carved to appear as though it were sitting. There were runes—situated in a perfect circle and densely inscribed with more runes inside. However, these were traditional runes, not like the ones Damian usually saw in his runic circles.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Curious, Damian inspected all seven throne-like seats, or at least those that were still intact. One of them was barely knee-high now, with most of it destroyed. Yet, none of the other chairs bore anything similar to what Sam had discovered.

Damian leaned in for a closer look. The runes seemed… more modern. Not modern in the sense of being a few years old, but centuries younger compared to the ancient structure and statues around them.

"These are runes, right?" Grace asked.

Damian nodded.

"Can you tell what they mean? Or what they're used for?" Evrin added.

All mages, including Damian, had some knowledge of runes. Studying runes and crafting runic scrolls was common, not just for their utility in combat but also because mastering them opened doors to better job opportunities for mages.

Damian had studied traditional runes for a year and could recognize about 80% of them. These particular runes resembled the kind used in low-grade spatial storage tools he had inspected before. However, there was also a high-grade protection layer intertwined within them. Yet… the array was incomplete. That explained why it wasn't active and why Damian hadn't noticed it using his Clarity of the Soul skill (the upgraded version of Eyes of Truth). Still, the runes absorbed mana when he extended a mana thread toward them. How could something be simultaneously active and inactive?

Damian carefully copied the entire array into his spellbook. If it were an ordinary runic spell, he could have completed it easily. But this was far more advanced than average, requiring a revision of his traditional rune knowledge—a process that would take time and a nice beverage.

"It's some kind of incomplete spatial storage rune with a protection layer on top," Damian concluded after finishing his analysis.

"Will you try to complete it?" Grace asked.

"Got anything better to do for the next half-week?" Damian retorted, slipping his spellbook—his eleventh, already nearly full—back into his spatial storage.

"Will you keep me updated? I could only barely recognize the spatial storage runes," Grace said, her eyes alight with curiosity.

"Sure," Damian replied.

After spending another half-hour exploring the historical site and taking in the breathtaking ocean view, they prepared to leave. But before rising from the wooden bench Damian had conjured for them to relax on, Einar spoke up.

"Do you think the Hero and his party really stayed here? Saw the same scenery we do?" Her tone was more wistful than serious, lost in the legend.

"That's what the stories say," Evrin replied calmly.

"The Kingdom of Chaos… Why wouldn't they live there if they conquered it all?" Grace asked, a valid point that made them all pause to think.

"Maybe the overuse of their chaos-element spells made it harmful for other outsiders to stay there?" Sam suggested.

"That seems unlikely. No spell can last for years without its caster," Grace countered before turning to Damian. "What do you think, Potion Master?"

"To be honest… I don't think the Kingdom of Chaos even existed," Damian replied, earning raised eyebrows from the group. He continued before anyone could object. "And even if it does, most likely it was a kingdom bigger than the five kingdoms we have.. The five rulers of that time must have feared it coming for them individually, so they united and went attacking first.. Probably spread rumors or misinformation about their evil deeds to rally people to fight them without any guilt.."

If the earlier were frowns now it had turned to complete shock on their faces. After a few tense silent seconds, Sam broke into hysterical laughter. Drawing others' attention away from Damian to him.

"What's so funny?" Grace asked, slightly annoyed.

"Maximus here has a seriously twisted worldview," Sam replied, still chuckling. "Don't take his words too seriously. Did you know, in the army, he used to set up so many traps around the camp perimeter, the soldiers wouldn't even go to relieve themselves in fear of blowing up to bits..?"

Damian squinted at Sam's laughter but couldn't help smiling. He was a bit paranoid at times, but he also remembered that his paranoia had saved their lives more than once.

"Army? You guys were in the army?" Grace asked, surprised.

"All three of them," Evrin said. "That's where we found them."

"Even Maximus?" Grace asked with a bit of hesitation.

Guess, with his young appearance and crafting class choices, it did make him look like an amateur not suitable for the battlefield. The other three however, just smiled at the Dawnstar noble girl.

"He was the captain," Einar added. "The youngest captain in the history of Eldoris kingdom."

***

During the other half of the week, Damian focused on working on the runic array he had copied. Occasionally, Evrin and Grace would join him as he tried to perfect it.

Meanwhile, the regular students had been notified of their results and had started arriving at the academy. Damian observed new faces coming in every day. The once half-empty common and VIP sections were now nearly full. Among the newcomers were many impressive mana signatures; surviving four years in this institute was no small feat. The students who had made it this far were undoubtedly the best talents the five kingdoms had to offer.

At last, the week came to an end, marking the much-anticipated first day of the academic year.