The Runic Alchemist

Blood dripped from Damian's nose, and his hands were numb from the cold mana energy. He knew that if he kept pushing, he'd lose all sensation in his fingers. But it was enough; he'd crushed the last of his red mana stones, and the setup was finally complete.

The real question remained: would it be enough? Damian could push himself no further without risking permanent damage to his body.

"Will these do?" Royce asked, eyeing the pile of oversized, sharpened javelins as thick as smaller tree trunks. Mira tested the weight of one in her hands, adjusting her grip to maximize control for the throw. Damian nodded in approval. There were more than ten javelins, but his collection of red mana dust could only cover seven or eight of them with increased firepower, enhancing the intensity of the exploding arrow spell with the size.

Wiping the blood from his nose and calming his breath, Damian quickly began drawing the larger exploding arrow spells. Each spell was four times the size of his typical runic circle for spears, which itself was already an oversized version of his exploding arrow spell.

He had to hurry, the elephant had used up his shield spell and Kazak and others were still running around, dodging, but with enough distance between them the beast was able to do his giant laser energy spell, which made Kazak and his white tiger to run and dodge even faster with two of his beastmen. They were hanging on but they had no chance of attacking back, except Kazak's occasional punches.

He could let his tiger fight in his place but then they won't be able to dodge the laser pointed at them. For now they just waited for the beast to finish its attack and got closer in between its attacks. Though the elephant was more intelligent than average beasts and monsters, and was deliberately attacking them in a way that made them run farther and farther each time.

However when this time it paused between attacks and started making another runic circle for the energy laser, a huge ass javelin came hurtling out of the dark expanse of sky.. It hurtled down toward the elephant's head with a whoosh, but the noise alerted the beast, allowing it to deflect the projectile with its massive trunk, keeping its focus on casting the next energy beam.

The elephant roared in annoyance but paid little heed to the attack, continuing to form its spell. Just then, a second javelin shot down, aimed directly at the beast. This time, the creature only gave it a half-hearted swat, expecting it to be just as harmless. But the moment it connected, the javelin exploded, sending a shockwave through the beast's trunk and shattering its spell.

Seizing the opportunity, Kazak's great white tiger leapt forward, and three pugilists—fists ablaze with red, blue, and purple energy—sprang from the tiger's back, landing on the massive elephant. The beast's eyes widened in alarm as the pugilists closed in, too quick to dodge. One aimed for its injured trunk, forcing it out of the way, while Kazak and another pugilist struck at the beast's head, making it recoil and roar in pain from their powerful attacks.

Now, they were getting somewhere.

The beast tried desperately to shake its attackers off, but the relentless punches from two near-third-rankers were taking a toll. Damian and Mira kept up the pressure, launching more javelins toward the elephant's feet and trunk. Though aiming such large projectiles was no small feat, Mira's skill ensured that each javelin found its mark somewhere on the massive creature's body but hoping more than that was unrealistic, it sure did intensify its discomfort.

The beast released an energy wave, forcing the pugilists to jump back. One of them, a newly minted second-ranker, didn't make it back in time dodging the sphere of energy, leaving only Kazak and one other of the initial four. Despite the setback, the tiger darted back in, interrupting the elephant's spells and allowing Kazak and his partner to resume their assault but with much more fury than before, the anger was both good and bad-it boosted their power while taking away their sanity.

Still, it wasn't enough to drive the beast back. It was as stubborn as they were.

Abandoning its more complex spells, the elephant returned to its natural beam and shield abilities that the Ashenvale captains used, unleashing them repeatedly. Despite taking hits from javelins and punches, the elephant's durability was frighteningly evident; it looked like it could endure several times this damage and could still stay standing.

"It's hopeless," Royce muttered, voicing what everyone was thinking.

Mira held up two remaining javelins, her voice faint with doubt. "We still have two left.."

"Those won't be enough.." Damian's words slipped out.

His mind racing at full speed, what more could they do..? Would going down really change something..? He for sure was not as powerful physically as Kazak and his mana was still miniscule 30%, with him using a mimicry spell for Mira for night vision so she could aim better.

Was it really hopeless..? The beast would win… And the dungeon alongside the whole beastmen community's hope of independence will be crushed..

"Isn't there any weakness for this damned thing?!" Royce cursed, breaking Damian's train of thought.

Weakness… What was the elephant's weakness back on earth..? Their eyes, mouth and trunks were soft targets.. Clearly that was not the case for a beast of this size.. And bees… They are afraid of bees.. That's how farmers and researchers made them move.. And contained in certain places..

How.. can he..?

"That's perfect! Royce, you're a damn genius!" Damian exclaimed.

"Huh? What did I do?" Royce replied, puzzled, and Mira looked equally confused.

It was a long shot on the beast of this size, but Damian guessed that this beast hadn't always been an Emperor-ranked creature. Perhaps it still retained its primal fears from those early days.

In his arsenal was a summoning spell he'd learned in the dungeon—a spell to conjure a swarm of insects. How ironic, he thought, that the dungeon's weakest inhabitants might hold the key to saving the entire dungeon.

"We need to go down there. I have a plan," Damian said, his tone resolute. Royce and Mira's expressions darkened at the thought, but Damian reassured them. "I've got the wormhole spell ready. It can take us from the foot of the mountain back up here if things go wrong. If anything goes wrong we run immediately.. But this plan might just buy Kazak the chance to inflict a critical injury or even immobilize the beast."

Their eyes lit up with renewed determination. Although they did not want to go anywhere near the beast, this was their only chance to help achieve the beastmen's noble wish of protecting their home.