The Runic Alchemist

"The Professor..?" Damian asked.

"That old geezer, Runefather. Who else..?" she said, scanning him from top to bottom.

She looked a bit older than the average student, maybe around 17–18 years of age. Compared to Damian, her height towered over him. She looked lean, but those muscles packed quite a power, Damian could tell.

"Oh, what did he say..?"

"Look at you.. not even surprised.. huh.? Oh, how I miss those days of being young and arrogant.." she said in a mocking tone.

"Who are you again..? Do I know you..?" Damian asked, ignoring her tone.

"You brat! Well.. if you must know, let me tell ya' I am one of the runesmiths and enchanters who made The Nightmare Gates of Kalimore."

Damian's eyes widened. That was indeed an achievement to be proud of. The Empire's Nightmare Gates were the most modern marvel of giant runic construction. In simple words, it was just a wall surrounding the capital city of Kalimore of the Empire. However, the sandy wind in the Empire was not simple - it contained a magically transformed substance called rotter. Anything made of iron in that region got rusted in like a month. In such a land, they had made an iron wall called The Nightmare Gates that could hide underground when it was not needed. It also had a giant protective barrier that could protect the capital from any aerial attacks.

It was simple to say but the 90-meter-tall and 20-meter-thick wall of iron with multiple gates and inside construction was anything but easy to build. It had taken 35 years for the Emperor to build it. More than protecting the capital city which had nothing much going on except an oasis in the desert, it was a proclamation to all the lords and ladies in the Empire that no matter what they do, they could never harm the Royal Family. It was a testament that unlike them, if the Emperor conquered something, it would forever remain his.

After seeing the wall, soon the kingdom had gone through reform, and all regions were now in direct control of the emperor. It had turned into a giant militaristic force instead of thousands of levies of different regions. Small villages were abandoned, and big cities were built. It might seem tyrannical, but the Empire was the place where minimum slums existed, and the least amount of people died of hunger and rampant crime. It was strict and orderly but also a true heaven for common people, who could enlist in the army and be evaluated based on pure performance of their might.

The Empire was the most advanced after The Highswords with its many trinkets and techniques. A runesmith, an officially employed one, was actually a great feat for anyone's resume, especially considering her age.

"That is impressive.." Damian muttered.

"Huh..?" The girl had a surprised face, probably expecting a rebuttal, but Damian respected talent.

"What is your name..?" he asked.

"Reize.." she replied.

Damian just nodded and, with a smile, turned around. Toph was practically kicking him with all four of his tiny feet by now. He was also in dire need of something to eat. The girl, Reize, also fell into step beside him as he walked.

"Are you going for dinner..? Can I join..?"

Damian just nodded. In the Knowledge Keeper's section, he always ate alone with Toph. He did get some whispers and glances, but no one had approached him yet; maybe after today, there will be some. It didn't matter much, though. He was always in a hurry to finish up and continue whatever projects he was working on.

"You are in the fifth year..?" Damian asked as they selected foods and put them on their plates with tongs and ladles in the line.

"Yes and no.. I failed some classes, so they want me to finish those before they give me a job here.."

"Failed..?"

"I forgot to go to the exam for some subjects that weren't interesting to me.."

"For real..?"

"It's not my fault, I was working on my baby at the time.. I was in the final stages of the runic array calculations.. I would have lost it if I didn't complete it right at that moment.."

"It..?"

"The thing.! The rush! The creative juices! The sexy understanding.."

"Enough.. enough.. I got it.. People are looking at us weirdly.."

"Ah.. that's not because of me, sir.."

"Are you saying I am the strange one here..?"

"Strange..? They are staring at your pretty face.."

"What..? That can't be.. that's so dumb.."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Couldn't agree more.." she said with a chuckle. Damian felt like it was an insult but couldn't be sure.

Finding a good place, they sat down. Damian had filled his plate with extra food, so Toph started gorging on it just as he put him out on the table. He received some nods and smiles as he looked around the mess hall; it was already miles better than before.

"What was this baby of yours…? I am curious now.." Damian asked.

"Hehe.." She smiled, it felt evil. "Have you ever thought about what makes the winged folk able to carry themselves in the air..? With little to no mana usage..? With my baby, anyone will be able to soar through the skies.. Of course, it still needs some adjustments and.." She went on and on as Damian just kept listening and asking questions when he needed some clarification.

It was amazing.

She had almost made runic wings of sorts. Well, it wasn't perfect, and from the way she described it, it had a huge material cost, which the Highswords were paying on her behalf on the condition that she sold the rights for such an invention to only those who they deemed worthy to have it. The technology control of the Highswords was no secret. They always liked to get themselves ahead of problematic or revolutionary runic tech so it didn't fall into the wrong hands, well at least that's what they claimed. But many inventions they just bought rights to by mana contract and then never used them, gathering dust in their large treasury.

Damian could not say for sure if they were supporting the advancement of the technology or hindering it. The kids who came here mostly never had such funds to support their own work, and they agreed to anything the Highswords gave them as conditions. There were some cases in which some utility or manufacturing specialist houses got the contract before Highswords could, and they had sold the product, making huge amounts of money on both sides.