The Runic Alchemist

"You climbed the mountain again…?" The old fox mage asked, surprised.

"What did you see?" Kazak got straight to the point, and Royce also looked at Damian, emphasizing the question.

"A monster… blasting through the river cave… they're making a tunnel," Damian revealed, and everyone around them started murmuring at once.

Even though their group mostly consisted of second rankers, there were still some soldiers and other first rankers scattered among them. Damian continued, "It's huge… probably beyond King rank. Their human forces left their camp, so we should be seeing them soon. But all the monsters were still there, waiting for the way to be opened through the mountain."

"An Emperor-level beast…?" Mira's eyes widened in shock, and gasps echoed around them.

"How in the hell are they controlling it?" Kazak asked, frustration clear in his voice.

"That's the thing I can't figure out. There was no spell, no runic tool; I didn't even see anyone with an enchanted tool. Hell, there wasn't even a second-rank mage there…" Damian let his thoughts spill out.

"Maybe it's another trick, like their invisibility thing. Dammit, if only we could've gotten one of those green things before they ate it…" Royce said, equally on edge.

"Huh…? Green things…? I have those," Sam said casually. Everyone turned towards him, glaring with fire in their eyes.

"Why the hell didn't you say so?" Royce snapped, irritated. "If Lady Vidalia could examine it, maybe we'd have some clue."

"Give it to me," Damian sighed, stretching his hand toward Sam. In the next moment, Sam took out a bag filled with green, glowing, candy-like stones.

Royce, Kazak, and some captains each took one to inspect it. Damian muttered some anime lyrics and began drawing the analyze spell he'd learned from Vidalia. It wasn't a hard spell to learn, just one of those hidden, exclusive spells only a few had access to. Royce and the old fox eyed him like hungry hyenas as Damian activated the spell on the green stone in his hand.

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Item: Essence of Ikira

Tier: Common

Origin: Ikira of Ashenvale

Item Type: Blood tool (Light)

Description:

"Don't do this Ikira.. our life is good enough.."

"Mother.. You don't get it.. Lord Nilyura said he will teach me to control my ability and use it for longer periods.. With that I can really use it to serve our king's army and do so much more for our kingdom.."

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"This is too dangerous, You don't understand what revealing yourself will bring upon you…"

The unique ability of Ikira of the Jenemanks were made use of to make this unique blood tool. How much can a teenage boy's blood be valued..? Was he proud to be used..? Was that much more, enough for him..? Guess no one will ever know…

Attributes:

Durability: 96%

Activation Time: 160 Seconds

Cooldown: One time use only

Special Effects:

Veil of Invisibility: Ability to hide in plain sight as long as one remains still.

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"What!?" The old fox mage exclaimed beside Damian. Though no one questioned him, they all shared the same shocked expression. A blood tool. Damian didn't even know such things existed.

"They… used him? What does that mean?" one of the soldiers asked, but no one answered. They all had the same thought but weren't willing to shape it into words.

"They extracted the ability and made it on a large scale…" one of the captains murmured.

"If this is how they're controlling the monsters…" Royce thought aloud. "They must have used another blood tool to get an Emperor-rank beast… How unlucky are we that they found such a rare creature in this forest…"

"More than found, I think they were searching for it," the young blonde captain said abruptly.

"What do you mean?" the old Captain Loydel asked, as everyone turned to her.

"Their goal wasn't just to attack the army from behind; that wouldn't benefit those greedy second-ranker lords. They needed something that could destroy Pyron's walls. This area of the forest, specifically, is where Ashenvale soldiers have come too deeply in. Even leaving some towns and villages in the way untouched.

It's as if they sensed something here… except for some who went rogue and did their own thing."

The young captain explained, and Damian had to agree. It made sense. Still, he wondered if this timing was due to seeing them coming with a large force or if it had been the plan all along. Whatever the case, Damian now understood what was going on, and the situation did not look good.

"We'll have to evacuate everyone. But first, we need to secure the valley entrance so it doesn't get surrounded by their soldiers. Has anyone received word from the scouts?" Damian asked.

"Leave this place, huh…" Kazak murmured, looking at the green mountains behind them longingly.

"No, but we'll hear soon. We need to trap the Emperor-rank beast somehow…" Royce said, though his tone lacked confidence.

It was understandable; King-rank monsters were matched only by Transcendents in mana. Facing an Emperor rank with only second rankers? Running was the only sensible option, but how far could they go? All the villages and towns they had saved were behind them. Even if they evacuated everyone, they'd have to journey to the dreaded lands where the rest of their army fought—who knew in what condition?

There was also the problem of resources to feed and protect such a large population, not to mention the looming possibility of the monsters turning toward Pyron. They didn't have their best people protecting it. Pyron didn't even have its lord anymore, thanks to Damian himself.

"Let's keep everyone ready to evacuate at a moment's notice. I don't think we have enough resources to trap that monstrosity, not to mention the army of monsters behind it. We need a way into the forest; that seems like a better option with all the civilians we have." Damian refocused them on the task at hand.

Just as Royce nodded to order the army to action, a strange creature came charging toward them from the valley entrance on all fours. For a second, Damian thought it was one of the beastman, but even they looked confused. Only Royce seemed unsurprised, so Damian assumed he knew the newcomer. The creature stopped near them and, to Damian's amazement, transformed from a half-horse into a human.

Another Esper..?

"He's one of my scouts," Royce explained as the man approached.

"Report, Dennis," Royce commanded. The scout took a few deep breaths and began, "They're coming… and they're fast. The monsters… they're riding them…"

"Damn it… we never considered just how obedient these monsters were to them…" Kazak swore, riled up.

If they surrounded the valley, they'd be trapped between a rock and a hard place. They had to hurry.

"Well, this gives us a hint about their perfect control at least," Damian said, taking his spear out and turning towards the valley entrance. "Whoever made use of these blood tools for the selected monsters—if we deal with them…"

"The monsters will go out of control," the old fox exclaimed, understanding his point.