THE RUNIC ALCHEMIST

[Desert Side of the Unknown Planet, Damian’s POV]

“What place is this, young one?” Land Breaker asked.

“I don’t know, my lord. We were all in the Highswords’ dungeon.. then the use of the waygate spell seemed to trigger a penalty from the dungeon and threw all of us out of it,” Shadecaster replied, not even daring to see Land Breaker in the eyes.

“Way gate..?” Land Breaker asked, as if the term was unfamiliar to him. “The thing I walked out of? Did you people use this waygate to free me?”

“That boy.. it’s his spell. The Highswords wanted to use it to get their High Commander back—the body you currently occupy, my lord,” Shadecaster said hesitantly while looking at Damian.

“So it was sheer coincidence? The will of Lord Chaos himself? But I do not feel the presence of my lord in this miserable place..” Land Breaker muttered to himself.

Damian abandoned all hope that the others could stall this calamity long enough for him to open the waygate, only fighting the lava monster alone was testing their skills. His one spell had the entire Highswords’ forces playing at his fingertips, yet Damian could clearly sense that the mana used in it was barely a droplet in the creature’s entire mana pool.

He had to do something. The only thing that had worked against the monster was..

‘You piece of shit, can you see this? Save me if you can..’ Damian called out in his mind.

A voice responded, ‘I have no control over your body! I wouldn’t wait for your lousy ass to save me if I did..’

‘The fuck is that excuse? You clearly used half my liquid mana earlier!’ Damian snapped, refusing to believe any nonsense after the guy had deceived him for the later half of the year.

‘You gave up on your life.. Because of that, I could control your body for a while and save you. Now it’s fully in your control again. And I didn’t even get a single thanks for that..’

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This piece of shit!

‘That golden portal.. it sent us so far.. How does that spell work?’

‘You can’t learn it.. It’s too much for your mundane brain..’

‘You bastard! Do you want to die here?’

‘Fine! Fine! Chant after me. Use the full power of the generated mana liquid. It should send us four times the distance from before.. 40 minutes.. this could work.. nice plan..’

‘Add those fighting highswords in the spell too.’

‘Already did before you even asked! You better start respecting me after I do this! I am a goddamn prince, I’ll have you know!’

‘Shut up and start the spell!’ Damian yelled in his mind.

Damian could barely move his hands to draw the runic circle, but speaking didn’t require as much effort! Ignoring the crushing weight of Land Breaker’s pressure all over his body, he forced all his light mana to exude from his head alone. The thick layer of mana granted him full control over it.

He repeated the spell word for word, ensuring every pronunciation was precise, taking utmost care not to make a single mistake. Two massive golden runic circles started forming. Land Breaker was still preoccupied with Shadecaster, but he would soon notice the shift in mana the moment the spell was activated.

Damian’s heart pounded faster than ever. Even if the spell succeeded, he would only gain a few more minutes to generate mana from scratch. It should be enough, though. With more time on his side than before, he could finally escape—hopefully leaving the Demon Lord and his follower behind on this dead planet.

‘Also, ascend at the first chance you get.. I have a spell that can give your mind temporary relief. Even with a month-long trial, it will refresh your mind. Hopefully, your prestigious job unlocks more options for us to get out of here faster. The core evolving process might give you the ability to survive the Demon Lord’s fatal attacks..’

Damian hated the idea of following anything the weird voice in his head told him, but it did make sense. He could endure some exhaustion and ascend before anything else. As for that strange spell.. he wasn’t convinced it would work as described, and messing with his brain wasn’t a risk worth taking. He can endure the exhaustion, he was a pro at pulling all nighters!

‘Come on, man.. I’ve only helped you..’

Damian ignored the voice. Holding the two runic circles ready with his mana threads, he braced himself. If he submerged into the portal slower than arriving Land Breaker’s attack, he was truly done for. He couldn’t just simply activate it with him being so close.

Then, a sudden idea flashed in his mind—so insane that even the shameless voice inside his head sneered at the thought.

‘You truly are a lowlife..’

The moment Land Breaker’s gaze shifted slightly toward the Highswords’ fight with the lava monster, Damian activated the runic circle beneath the fighting third rankers and the lava monster. Immediately, a golden light flared beneath all the fighters.

Land Breaker’s head snapped toward them in an instant. The next second, he vanished from Shadecaster’s side.

Damian chose that very moment to activate his own golden runic circle, praying that Land Breaker was too occupied to notice him.

He started sinking into the golden portal rapidly. The last thing he saw before his face was engulfed by the light was Mindseer screaming at Hellseeker to move away. Hellseeker obeyed immediately—but then Land Breaker’s sword came crashing down toward Mindseer instead.

Through the use of some unknown skill or something else, Hellseeker muttered a few words, and in the next instant, he and Mindseer switched places.

The giant, double-handed pitch-black sword cleaved through Hellseeker, splitting him in two. Blood poured out in liters, going through the golden portal. The Highswords, some screaming and others cursing, were also swallowed by the golden portal right after.

Then Damian lost sight of everything as he, too, was completely engulfed by the golden light.

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