The Runic Alchemist

The rain poured down, shrouding everything in mist and leaving the now ashen forest barely visible. It almost gave the illusion of emptiness, but Damian knew better—or rather, his mana sense knew better.

He had already used up 70% of his beastmen mana stones, which could have fed the entire village for the whole winter, and turned them into mana dust for seven jars. He'd already burned through three of them for just a few spells. They were incredible to look at, even if they cost a fortune. Though he felt like he was burning money, it was worth it. His tornado spell had altered the weather itself. If that wasn't impressive, what was?

This was certainly a money-hungry job; he could see all his savings slipping away in pursuit of higher levels. Fortunately, his deal with Vidalia secured him the resources he needed. If he survived, that is… While he wasn't worried about much about that, he could save himself and select few if it came to that, the bigger worry was when would this endless war come to a close? Vidalia had so many advantages that losing seemed near impossible, but if she did, Damian would have to reconsider her ranking on his mental leaderboard. Not counting the third ranker confrontation, that was going to go nowhere, maybe they capture one of them at best, the real fight was between their armies, if they decimated them, even third rankers would have to retreat.

A master-level mage, in a large-scale battle, with time to prepare? Damian wouldn't wish that fate on his worst enemy.

For now, his task was to clear this menace; it could bring the war to a decisive turning point on this side. But he wasn't about to fight that colossal elephant for no reason. His goal was to rescue these people and keep them safe until Vidalia arrived or sent reinforcements. Otherwise, they'd head back to the Dreaded Lands with a monster on their tail.

He couldn't deny he'd like to see that massive creature trudge through the blood-freezing snow.

But first, he had his own role to play. Damian had two jars of water-element mana dust left, one fire jar, and a nearly depleted light jar, which he was saving for emergencies. He wasn't about to put himself through the ordeal of gathering more mana dust today. He'd reached his quota of self abuse, and any further weakness in his body wasn't worth the risk.

All men and beastmen stood ready, staring at their enemies hidden in the distant forest. They had stopped moving civilians; the 60% who escaped were now hiding in the forest under the protection of two captains and their units. They could only watch from a distance. If they won, the others still trapped could leave in peace; if not, they'd have to run as they did their best to hold back the enemy in the pouring rain.

The rain wasn't ideal for Damian's massive runic circles, but they'd constructed a makeshift cover to protect them. So many people were working hard to ensure his spell succeeded; it was one of their main weapons, alongside Kazak and his immense white tiger—a creature that defied logic. Damian wanted to learn the technique, but unfortunately only beastmen could summon their ancestral beasts. For humans, it was impossible— it was a technique, not a spell, and a hidden beastmen pugilist specialty.

What could one do with a jar of water-element mana dust in the pouring rain? Answer: Create a giant water ball to drown all their asses.. Damian used another full jar for a specialized high-pressure water rune—a millimeter-wide, ring-shaped jet that could slice through stone, even diamond if he had any. Today, though, it was meant to cut through soldiers.

"So much for sparing the mundane and first-rankers, at the end of it I am still fighting and killing bottom feeders.." Damian sighed. He had sent messages to the enemy four times, urging them to surrender or leave the Eldoris region, but they'd ignored every single one. They hadn't even bothered to parley. They sure were confident in their numbers…

The enemy emerged from the forest in the hundreds, marching in perfectly uniform lines toward the valley. Damian had to admit, these bastards were some tough and disciplined sons of bitches.

"Ready to charge!" Kazak shouted, echoed by the captains and Sam at his side.

As the enemy neared, Damian gestured, and the covers on his massive runic circles were lifted. Without wasting a moment, he activated them, linking multiple mana threads to stabilize and aim the spell. The land hissed as mana dust burned on the muddy ground, the rain washing it away as quickly as it appeared. A shadow loomed over both sides of the battlefield as men looked up, seeing a gigantic sphere of water forming in mid-air, shaping itself into a massive ball.

Damain held the high pressure water jet spell with more of his mana threads, blood already seeping from his mouth with over 15 mana threads in use. The bigger the spell it required more of his control to fine tune, which required more mana threads for better control.

"Charge!" the captains shouted in unison, and men and beastmen surged forward across the charred, muddy remnants of what had been a lush forest just hours ago. The rumbling and sounds of explosions continued reverberating in the valley.

Sam and Einar led their troops to charge as well, Damian stayed behind with Yovan and the mages.

The Ashenvale forces, seeing the massive water sphere approaching, still advanced as if under a spell that made them fearless. Before the two armies met, the water sphere crashed into Ashenvale ranks, flooding the armor-laden soldiers and turning the terrain into a muddy quagmire. And just to give a cherry on top, Above, clouds darkened further, lightning crackling across the sky, briefly illuminating the desperate and determined faces of soldiers who had resigned themselves to this fate.

With a thunderous crack, Sam summoned his lightning, channeling part of it into him and directing the rest toward the water sphere with his sword. The half-broken sphere flooded the field, electrocuting any unlucky enough to be caught in it.

It wasn't perfect, the lightning was too little for the giant water flooding everything, but it did create a deadly trap for some of them. The combo was a nightmare come alive for many.

Damian sensed multiple mana signatures, both small and large, vanishing under the weight of his water sphere. Drawing his sword, he glanced once at Yovan, who nodded. Damian also ran at the still charging Ashenvale army, behind his own allies.

There would be no reprieve now; this fight would only end with a victor. With his speed—twice that of their best runners—Damian caught up to Sam and Einar. In the distance, an ethereal colossal white tiger appeared. The huge water rune still ready at his side, connected with lessened mana threads with the water ball gone. The moment was not right for it yet.

With a fierce battle cry, they clashed with the remaining Ashenvale soldiers, who still had the courage to charge forward despite the overwhelming odds against them.