The Runic Alchemist

Damian pointed at the scattered loot dropped by the slain monsters, signaling for others to collect it. He then moved deeper into the Monster Den zone, leaping up into a tree to survey the others' progress.

It was strange to witness—every rat or troll he had slain had dropped odd items: pieces of iron, wood, arrows, and even basic runic weapons. Some had even left behind parchments and bottles of mana ink. Whoever designed this system had somehow managed to store all that in the monsters' health bands. Intrigued, Damian activated his eyes to examine it further.

It was nothing more than a simple spatial storage enchantment, though its internal space seemed quite small and was intended for single-use only. Damian had read about such enchantments before but dismissed them, considering them inferior to the superior runic versions he preferred. Yet, in this scenario, the choice seemed perfectly suited. And there were more enchanters available than space-time item crafting runesmiths.

The Spellborne Legion was up against giant spiders, rock golems, harpy-like bird monsters, and other assorted creatures. They had already formed into tight-knit groups, sticking to their own allies. Figures like Maelor and the other so-called "good guys" tried to issue orders, but only a few listened—most ignored them entirely.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Alex's group, Kamisen's group, and Evrin's crew, of course, were doing their own thing. Unlike the other two, however, Evrin's group maintained some level of communication between them, albeit loosely.

As expected, Sam and Einar were cutting through monsters with effortless ease. The others faced more challenges by comparison, but it remained manageable overall—hardly any student sustained enough damage for their health bars to dip into the red.

The Fist of Valor group was much the same, though a large crowd of students followed behind a small team relentlessly pummeling monsters left and right. Like the Spellborne Legion, the others were either divided into smaller groups or fighting alone. Among the team of pugilists dominating the monster horde, Damian spotted Karl. The only Fist of Valor guy he knew by name.

Looks like that guy is more than he lets on, Damian mused.

None of the massive monsters had targeted the houses directly. Instead, they were strategically positioned to keep students from venturing too far from their territories. Yet, Damian noticed a few kids wandering recklessly into the monster zone. What the hell are those bozos thinking?

Find exclusive stories on empire

The bell rang again, signaling the end of the wave, and the surviving monsters retreated back into the Monster Zone. Students hastily began collecting loot, some even reinforcing defensive positions around the bridge. The dominant pugilist group split into three: two ventured into the Monster Zone, while one remained behind to guard their house against the Spellsword Region.

A giant black rhino with a steel horn and intricate patterns stood as an imposing barrier between the pugilist group and the final zone where the civilians were located. One team stayed behind to bait the beast, allowing the others to dash past—though not without suffering some casualties—making their way toward the civilian dummy zone.

Even so, many Terror and Leader-ranked monsters still stood in their path. Despite the overwhelming odds, the remaining pugilists displayed unparalleled coordination, fighting with a level of cohesion that far surpassed any group Damian had observed. They truly were the best among them.

Karl and many other pugilists stood out as noteworthy, experienced fighters compared to others. It wasn't just their strength that impressed Damian, but their exceptional cohesiveness and team spirit.

On the other hand, Alex's group and Maelor's group moved out to confront the massive lizard-like monster with giant antlers and an absurdly long tongue. Evrin and her team stayed behind. Damian had expected Sam to zip past them, but instead, he seemed to share the same idea as Damian, watching the battle unfold from a tall tree.

Maelor and Alex's groups were more focused on clashing with each other than fighting the monster, and it showed—more students fell here than with the Fist of Valor group. Despite the chaos, Maelor kept Alex occupied, while Lucian somehow managed to slip past everyone, heading straight for the civilian zone on her own.

Damian then felt Sam's gaze on him. He glanced back, and Sam hesitated for a moment before leaping down and dashing toward the Spellborne Legion group. Before doing so, however, he exchanged a few words with Einar, both of them kept glancing toward the Knowledge Keeper's zone during their conversation.

The speed at which Sam blazed past everyone was astonishing—his entire body was coated in aura, concealing his lightning as he sped through the battlefield so swiftly that neither students nor monsters could stop him, blazing past the lizard monster and nearing the civilian zone.

Smiling to himself, Damian descended from his perch and returned to his house across the bridge.

"Give me all the metal we have," he instructed the gathered students. Then, after a moment's thought, he added, "Could a few of you melt down some of the common weapons? We'll need more iron."

Damian assigned the task to Simean, he was a runesmith he vaguely remembered, and other craftsmen students. Then, retrieving his roll of runic scrolls, he handed out a smaller parchment bundle of runic scrolls to Greg, Tom, and several others.

"You guys, set these up along the edge of the moat on the far side of the bridge," he ordered.

Simean hesitated. "I thought we were using all our materials to strengthen our house's defenses. What are these?"

"They're traps," Damian explained simply. "Given the current situation of others, I've got an idea. These exploding traps will buy us the time we need."

Damian had expected them to ask about his plan, but instead, they simply nodded and began helping him. It seemed his previous performance had earned him that much trust.

The runic scrolls he had given them were a variation of the exploding arrow spell, but with a modification— the explosive effect was inactive until triggered. Once activated, it would cause any object placed on the scroll to explode when moved or touched.

As the mana for the spell was gathered and the parchment burned, the object would stay in place, hidden, just any ordinary stick or rock. One of his many wild ideas that had actually paid off.

Meanwhile, Damian turned his attention to crafting spatial storage devices using the iron they were melting down. They may not be allowed to bring one, but they could still make one, right? That would make his plan a lot easier to execute.

By the time the pugilists and Spellborne Legion students started escorting their hard-earned civilians back—sacrificing many of their friends in the process—Damian just watched them with an unsettling grin.

"Nice job saving them," he murmured. "But how long can you keep them?"