THE RUNIC ALCHEMIST

The moment Damian opened his eyes after successfully completing his trial, he found himself facing the same scene—the few surviving Highswords still locked in battle against the steam-and-charcoal-covered lava monster.

Relief washed over him. His years of effort had not been in vain. He could still save his friends—hopefully. His hand was already on the generator, continuing the mana generation process as he retrieved a forge and some steel ingots. Multitasking, he could begin crafting weapons and tools, preparing for the worst in case the Demon Lord caught up again. It shouldn’t, though—not yet. That thing was still a good distance away.

He had mastered aura control well enough to maintain the process effortlessly, without even batting an eye. He just needed ten to fifteen minutes to gather enough mana to open a waygate. As the ingots heated in the forge, he took the opportunity to check his new job. Activating his status tool, he glanced at the many Highswords scattered across the sand dune—some healing, some resting, most mourning the friends they had lost.

They had already seen Damian at work and knew there was nothing more they could do but wait and gather their strength.

He needed Runefather’s help, but he would call for him after checking his status. Let the man rest for a while. It may have been thirty-one long years for him, but for the others, it had only been seconds since they escaped the jaws of death itself.

—

Name : Damian Sunblade Lv.137

Rank : King

Affinity : Water, Space-time

Mana : 8542/42000

STR : 186

DEF : 147

INT : 238

AGI : 145

DEX : 147

CHA : 19

LUC : 10

Jobs :

King Rank: The Spellwright Monarch (Lv.37)

Lord Rank: Runic Forge Master (Lv.25) Elder Runebreaker (Lv.25), The Runic Chemist Lord (Lv.25)

Blessings : Godless [150 Available Points]

Titles : [Cold Blooded Killer], [Wild Hunter], [Primordial Metal Shaper], [Titan Killer], [Curse Bound]

Skills :

Upgradable: [Tree Climbing Saint Lv.1], [Arcane Dissection Lv.1], [Scholar Saint Lv.1], [Swordsman Saint Lv.1], [Spearman Saint Lv.1], [The Runic Monarch Lv.1], [Battle Automaton Lv.1], [Archscript Sovereign Lv.1], [Sigil Replication Lv.1]

Perfected: [Eternal Scriptmaster], [Arcane Synthesis V4], [Runebreaker Monarch], [Essence Harvester], [Eldersmith’s Legacy], [Worldcarver]

Penalty : (1). Use of (Veil of Containment) now costs five times the original mana, taking a piece of the user’s guilty soul with it each time.

—

Skills with Descriptions:

[Arcane Dissection Lv.1] : Can analyze an active runic circle and identify weak points or instabilities.

[The Runic Monarch Lv.1] : Enhanced version of The Runic Archon. (Effect: Sovereign’s Rune Authority, Monarch’s Respect)

[Battle Automaton Lv.1] : Reflexes and movement remain sharp even when bones are broken or muscles are torn.

[Archscript Sovereign Lv.1] : Allows the user to engrave runic circles directly onto any surface with absolute precision, regardless of material resistance.

[Sigil Replication Lv.1] : Instantly duplicate any existing runic circles in sight.

Final Upgrades : [Runic Inscription Lv.9] >> [Eternal Scriptmaster], [Arcane Synthesis V3 Lv.9]>>[Arcane Synthesis V4], [Rune Shatterer Lv.9]>>[Runebreaker Monarch], [Mana Reaver Lv.9]>>[Essence Harvester], [Master Forger’s Expertise Lv.9]>>[Eldersmith’s Legacy], [Rune Engraver Lv.9]>>[Worldcarver]

Ah! He already leveled up to 137? Guess killing Third Rankers was quite efficient. But then again, Damian had also slain thousands of monsters in the trial world—that had to contribute. With how slow his leveling usually was, gaining this many levels was a massive feat.

King Rank.. Over forty thousand mana.. That was good.

His stats were quite high for a Second Ranker, and the prestigious job only grew more terrifying the higher he leveled it. Since he didn’t have much need for mana through INT, he could allocate his available stats—50 into Defense, 50 into Agility, and 50 set aside for an emergency boost when needed.

Skimming through all the skill descriptions as quickly as possible, Damian nodded in satisfaction. He still needed to test the limits of Archscript Sovereign, but aside from that, everything looked solid. Sigil Replication was the best bonus skill he could’ve asked for—especially for someone like him, with a special eye ability.

Just as he was about to close the status tool, a sudden chime rang in his mind.

Another screen appeared on top of his status—this time, a pop-up option.

—

PATHS OF KING RANK EVOLUTION

Wavecaller – A master of hydrokinesis, summoning water from the void and shaping it into destruction. (Humanoid)

Enlightened: The peak of human evolution. The closest emissary to the gods. (Humanoid)

Dawnseeker: Sacred weapon of light, a being made of solar essence. (Beast Form)

Hellforged – Crafted from demonic iron and cursed flames, unbreakable in both mind and body. (Humanoid)

Voidflame Reaper – A harbinger of destruction, a black flame that burn everything in its path. (Monster Form)

—

‘Evolution?’ Damian thought, surprised.

‘Fuck! I knew it! Those bastards!’ The voice inside his mind suddenly spoke up.

‘What are you talking about?’ Damian asked, confused.

‘Can’t you see World Drifter? We can evolve! I knew we were being restrained!’

Was he talking about the fact that there were options other than Enlightened? Damian had noticed it. That was what a Second Ranker Pathfinder was typically called. But his status had always been a strange one—he had never been a Lightwalker like everyone else. Instead, he was a Lord, like the beasts that roamed free in nature.

Once again, this had something to do with the gods. Damian had always doubted them, and it turned out he was right to do so. But how could they influence a person’s status and ascension? He had always assumed the system and the gods were separate, unrelated entities. Him being Godless was proof of that.. wasn’t it?

Well, whatever. He couldn’t waste time on such thoughts right now.

‘Do you know anything about these options? Which one is good?’ Damian asked, though he had already more or less made up his mind.

‘Anything but Enlightened..’ the prince replied.

‘Obviously.’ Damian shrugged.

Then, with a deep breath, he chose Hellforged. He didn’t want to lose his humanoid form, and between Wavecaller and Hellforged, a stronger body was what he wanted more. With his spells, he could already match any Third Ranker, but now his raw strength and physique would too. He could enjoy more hand-to-hand combat now—though he still preferred his spells, this was just in case.

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