The Runic Alchemist

Damian walked toward Einar and Yovan, they all seemed to be sitting together near one of the campfires, forming a circle. When they saw him, they waved like kids. Sometimes he forgot they were kids, but their antics occasionally reminded him.

Damian approached them, and as he did, they stared at the little creature in his hands. Sensing the attention, it started trumpeting proudly, though it could barely make the sound without panting for breath.

What a drama queen.

"What the hell is this…?" Sam exclaimed, predictably. The others also starred, confused, before blurting out random guesses.

"It looks like a glowing elephant…" Jorven observed.

"Is it dinner? Did you capture an animal for us to eat?" Yovan asked, his eyes sparkling. Wasn't that guy vegetarian..?

"It kind of resembles you…even acts like you, all proud. It has the same eyes," Einar said.

"Maximus? Are you secretly an elephant?" Sam asked stupidly.

"It is.. I don't have a name for it yet… It's kind of my pet," Damian explained in two sentences, and they all frowned.

"When the hell did you find time to look for a pet?" Yovan asked.

"It found me," Damian replied.

Realizing they wouldn't get much out of him, they stopped questioning and began touching the elephant, smiling as it squealed with excitement. It was hard to tell who was more thrilled—his friends or the little creature enjoying the attention.

Einar held it in her arms as Damian carefully passed it to her-it was his life he was giving away for them to play with, literally.

"Whoa…it's so warm!" Einar exclaimed.

"Huh? Really?" They all placed their hands on it, agreeing with Einar about its warm, glowing body.

"Did you guys eat?" Damian asked Geldric, who was watching happily from the side.

"No…they should have prepared it by now."

"Let's go, then," Damian said, and the others nodded.

They led him toward the tent that served as a cafeteria. As they walked, Damian sensed Royce somewhere nearby in one of the tents. Mira should be around as well—guess they were done with their report. Vidalia was still in the fancy tent, while Aramis and Tristan were a little further away.

But they weren't who he was looking for; the man he sought was in a distant village. Damian was glad the old fox mage had survived after the injuries he'd sustained. It seemed Vidalia had allowed her healers to gradually tend to all of them. Damian also wanted to find the young fighter who had attacked him in the heat of battle and deliver Kazak's final words. They must be worried about him… if they even knew he was alive.

After dinner, Damian decided to visit the village. The food was simple—mashed vegetables—but after surviving things made by dudes, anything prepared by professionals was an upgrade, no matter how bland.

As he ate, he kept an eye on the little creature roaming the wooden table among their dishes. It showed enough intelligence to stay close to him, rather than wander off, though it occasionally made a grab for his food, so he gave it some on a separate plate. It played with the food more than it ate, nibbling a bit here and there. Meanwhile, the others chatted about random topics—the end of war and how they would start the attack in the future etc.

Half-listening, Damian focused on the proud little beast. Suddenly, he remembered Vidalia's analysis spell should work on animals and monsters too, right? He touched the creature's head, and it immediately wrapped its trunk around his hand. Damian chanted softly while drawing the analysis runic circle. In an instant, its stats were revealed.

---

Name :

Unnamed Trunkling Lv.1

Rank :

Unranked

Affinity :

Fire, Space-time

STR :

3

DEF :

2

INT :

5

AGI :

4

DEX :

2

CHA :

7

LUC :

10

Titles :

[Curse Bound], [Emperor]

Skills :

Power core Lv.1

---

"My god! That is weak as hell…" Sam exclaimed beside him, startling Damian. He couldn't help but feel a bit hurt for no reason by his comment.

"You were even weaker as a baby…probably didn't even have 2 INT," he shot back, and the Trunkling seemed to agree, trumpeting shrilly. Sam just laughed at them both.

He was right, though; the creature was depressingly weak. Damian would have to find some books on beasts when they returned to the city. Was the skill-gaining system the same or different for them than humans..? Did they even experience trials..? They have to have some evaluation for growth. He would have to do his best to make it as powerful as possible so it wouldn't be his downfall as easily.

Finishing his meal, Damian headed toward the village under the quiet moonlight, of course his friends following behind as if he was taking them on a picnic.

"Do they know about him?" Damian asked.

"Yes. They know he survived, They don't know what happened to him though—just that they fought off the monster threatening their valley and won," Einar replied.

They had to leave the next morning, so this was his only chance to visit them one last time. Damian walked silently towards the hut that held the old fox mage, as they walked through the village, many of the beastfolk, mostly women and children, recognized them. But unlike before, their eyes no longer held relaxed determination; instead, they showed caution and fear.

It was night time and mostly they were in their huts, some occasionally could be found huddled together near fire, talking.

Damian knocked on the door of the old fox mage's hut, deciding not to barge in despite it being open. After a few seconds, the door opened, revealing the old fox, bandaged, his fur slightly charred but alive and well. Damian smiled at him, relieved to see the smile returned. Despite everything the village had endured and would likely face once the army left, Damian assumed Vidalia wouldn't leave it unguarded now that a dungeon had been discovered nearby. Some soldiers would probably stay behind. Hopefully, they wouldn't be the troublesome kind.