THE RUNIC ALCHEMIST

[Snow Region, Unknown Planet, Sam’s POV]

Three different people saying three different things—Sam’s head was already hurting. The blue giant village chief was eyeing him up and down. Facing two or three second-rankers was manageable, but four could create unnecessary complications.

He needed to separate them before doing anything.

“Okay.. enough. Just follow behind us for now without trying anything. We’ll deal with your issues later,” Sam announced loudly, his oppressive aura still palpable to everyone around him.

The three Highsword knights glanced at each other before shifting their attention to the blue giant village chief, who held a massive axe. No one wanted to fight that thing.

Following Sam’s lead, everyone stored away their weapons into their spatial storages.

“Are we seriously following that thing into his home?” Amy asked, doubt clear in her voice.

Sariel replied, “Let’s just take a look. There has to be a reason for his strange actions.. He’s clearly an intelligent being, like those high-ranked magical beasts in our world.”

“Our world?” One of the Highsword knights caught onto the phrase and questioned it.

No one answered as they continued following the blue giant village chief toward his massive hut. As they neared the entrance, Sam sensed a strange yet familiar mana inside, it made his stomach churn. The chief’s guards remained outside while the chief himself led them in.

That was when Sam finally saw the source of the menacing mana.

A dungeon entrance.

A dungeon inside a dungeon? No—Damian had said this could be a real world.. and Sariel had somewhat confirmed it.

The four walls of the large wooden house were covered with drawings, depicting what looked like stories. No.. this was something else. A small, pig-like figure surrounded by many larger ones, then the big hut, followed by a dark circle.. and then they were dancing? No, celebrating—celebrating someone who had come out of the black hole.

“I get it!” Grace exclaimed beside him. “It’s a ritual. Only adults who return from the dungeon are accepted as members of their society.”

Amy frowned. “He wants us to.. join his village?”

“I think so,” Sariel replied.

“Good enough,” Sam said with a nod. “It’ll buy us some time. And if the chief accepts us as his people, we won’t have to deal with him as a threat.”

The others exchanged glances before nodding in agreement. Even the three Highswords, albeit reluctantly, agreed.

Sam approached the dark swirling entrance and checked the team composition. The minimum requirement was one person, with a maximum of ten. The dungeon likely had somewhere between fifteen to twenty-five levels. With a final glance at one another, they all stepped into the dungeon under the watchful gaze of the village chief.

They soon found themselves inside a strange walled corridor.

It stretched endlessly, three grey walls surrounding them, illuminated by bright light—yet there were no torches or windows. The path was straightforward. Just go as far as they could. There were no monsters in sight yet, but Sam could hear distant growls.

Before advancing, Sam turned and scrutinized the three Highswords. This time, without the village chief’s interference.

“You—come with me,” Sam said, pointing at one of the knights.

The knight followed as Sam led the way. They walked for a while, cutting down strange, metal golem-like monsters as they progressed. Once they were far enough from the others, Sam turned to the man.

“Tell me everything from the beginning. What do you remember?”

The man’s name was Corques. According to him, he and Lidgney, the female knight, had been close friends for over a decade, having trained as squires under the same knight. They had been fighting together in the desert against attackers when, suddenly, she had stabbed him in the back.

Sam inspected his back, making him remove his armor—but there was no wound. Corques claimed to have defended himself skillfully.

Sam repeated the same process with the other two.

Lidgney, on the other hand, denied any relationship with Corques. According to her, she had been betrayed by a knight she barely knew—Every, the last member of the three. She also claimed to have “skillfully” defended herself.

Every, meanwhile, stated that he had been attacked by a random passerby. He had no connection to Lidgney or Corques and barely even recognized their faces. Unlike the others, he actually had wounds to support his story.

Sam wasn’t convinced. Two of them were obviously lying.

For now, he decided to observe them rather than act rashly. He placed all three in the front, forcing them to fight monsters with their bare hands while he, Grace, Sariel, and Amy followed from behind.

The dungeon floor stretched barely two kilometers. They soon reached the other end. Sam figured it was better to finish the dungeon before leaving—just in case the time spent inside mattered for the village’s ritual.

Acceptance into the village wasn’t a big deal, but having a place to stay while they figured out a way back to Damian and the others was far better than constantly watching their backs against blue-skinned pigmen or living in the wild.

It took less than half a day to clear level after level until they reached the final King ranked boss—a giant metal golem that fired strange magical energy beams, similar to Damian’s attacks.

Despite its size, it was no match for four second-rankers and three skilled mages.

When the dungeon was finally cleared, Sam obtained a strange polished crystal ball. He had no idea what to do with it, but he stored it in his spatial storage. Moments later, they were automatically ejected from the dungeon.

Damian would know what to do with it. He was weird like that.

That was—if Sam ever met him again.

No. He would meet him again. Damian had that waygate spell. He would come searching for them soon.

Until then, Sam just had to keep the others safe.

And he would—no matter what. Even if it meant killing the strange creatures.. or the ever-so-familiar humans.

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