THE RUNIC ALCHEMIST

[Other Side of the Unknown Planet – Sam’s POV]

In the middle of the attack, as Sam had jumped high into the sky to strike down with his lightning and burn the crazed Highsword knights alive, he was suddenly hit by a strange red energy wave. In the next second, everything went black.

Sam felt like he had slept for an eternity, but when he finally opened his eyes, the scene before him looked like something straight out of one of his childhood nightmares. He was upside down, bound by thick woven ropes, suspended in air, near hundreds of half-naked humans—no, they weren’t humans.

Their noses and mouths resembled those of pigs, but they had sharp, curly horns on their heads. Their limbs were human-like, except their skin was entirely blue, and they were the size of fully grown hobgoblins, towering a meter or two above the average human.

They were dancing around a fire. Some who had been looking in his direction seemed to notice that he was awake and started approaching, holding wooden axes and spears with iron tips.

Where the hell am I? Where are the others? Dreamlight? Grace?

Sam calmed his mind and focused on the mana surrounding him. Soon, he caught glimpses of familiar mana signatures. Some distance away was Grace. It was nighttime, so he couldn’t see her, but just sensing her vital mana gave him relief. He also sensed Sariel and Amy further away. No one else was present that he recognized.

Some of the mana signatures within the crowd before him were quite strong—but not strong enough. The highest mana presence was around a second-ranker, positioned farther away. Everyone else in front of him was only at a first-ranker level.

One of the creatures stepped ahead of the others and poked Sam in the stomach with a spear. Sam was gagged, or else he would have cursed their seven generations together.

Enough of this. Summoning his lightning, the burning sensation coursing through his veins surged, enhancing his muscles to their limit. With a single push, the ropes snapped like dry twigs. The night suddenly became much brighter in his cyan blue glow.

The crowd before him erupted in shouts, stumbling back in fear. Their language was unintelligible, but it was clear they were scared shitless. Some even hurled their spears at him, but Sam simply ignored them, striking the incoming weapons with his lightning blades and reducing them to ash before they could even come close.

Sam strode over to Grace and broke her bindings, then moved to free Sariel and Amy. A few light slaps to their faces and small zaps of his lightning jolted them awake, good as new. They groaned, looking around in confusion as they got to their feet.

“Sam? Where are we?” Grace asked.

“Where are the others?” Sariel added.

Amy was still in a daze, slowly coming to her senses.

“I have no idea,” Sam admitted. “I can’t sense any of them. These weirdos had us captured.”

“They’re.. monsters?” Grace asked, doubtful.

Sariel observed the chaotically running crowd and shook his head. “They’re intelligent. I don’t think they’re just monsters.”

“They didn’t harm us,” Sam said simply. “Let’s ignore them and try to find the others.”

Ignoring the chaotic mess behind them, Sam led the group out of the small, backwards village. He had already sensed the second-ranker mana presence approaching them.

“What’s going on? Are we still in the dungeon or not?” Grace asked while running behind Amy. She quickly chanted a spell, lighting their path.

As the ground reflected the white glow, Amy frowned. “What is this.. snow?”

“I thought it felt colder here,” Sam muttered. “Is this the snow level of the dungeon?”

“Uh.. guys..” Sariel said, his voice drawing their attention. The others followed his gaze and froze in their tracks.

A massive structure loomed above them. It resembled a temple or an enormous triangular podium, but its proportions were beyond anything they had ever seen. The entrance door, the steps—everything was gigantic. Only that emperor-rank magma golem could have used it as a normal person would.

How much stone did this take? Who could have built such a ridiculous thing?

Sariel added, “I don’t think we’re in the dungeon anymore.”

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“Why would you say that?” Grace asked hurriedly.

“Damian and I saw that thing before,” Sariel explained. “But back then, we only saw the last small part of the temple—it was broken and in pieces. I remember that bell, but it was covered in vines and broken. That mountain range.. don’t you remember camping on top of it?”

Sam looked at the mountain, a strange sense of familiarity settling over him. Sariel was right. It was the same place—only much higher now, as if one-third of the mountain had been buried under snow in the cold level of the dungeon and had just risen out of it.

“How is this possible?” Grace asked, disbelief clear in her eyes.

“The land rose higher? Snow piled up? But there were trees too,” Sam said, confused.

“No, it’s a different time.” Sariel said hesitantly. “That’s the only thing that makes sense. Damian was right. The dungeon really is a replica of an entirely different world, and we are..”

“We are?” Amy urged him to continue.

“We are in that world,” Sariel finished. “Just in the past, before the dungeon’s time.”

Everyone fell silent, trying to process the weight of the revelation and their bizarre situation.

Then, suddenly, the starry black sky darkened. Purple lightning flashed uncontrollably, and a rift tore open, revealing a massive dark-red portal.

From it, a few figures tumbled through.

Only Sam, with his enhanced vision, could make out the details. Three knights clad in Highsword armor plummeted aimlessly from the sky, their metallic armor gleaming under the serene moonlight.

Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the sky returned to normal, as if the lightning had been nothing more than an illusion.

Before he could relay this information to the others, the trees beside them rustled violently. A towering figure stepped out of the foliage.

Sam had been so overwhelmed by revelation after revelation that he had completely forgotten about the second-ranker presence in the village.

A giant version of the same blue villagers stood there, gazing up at the sky before shifting its attention to their small group. Its big eyes locked onto Sam in particular.

Sam didn’t want to waste his precious lightning reserves without Damian being around. But the day had been full of unexpected surprises, and right now, the only thing he could rely on was his own strength.

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