The Runic Alchemist

Damian defended against the gust of wind by hiding behind his sturdy golem. Moondancer and Vidalia were locked in a fierce exchange on the side, their massive swords clashing—one forged from pure darkness, the other a transparent air blade, blurring everything seen through it.

Tristan, Lysandrea, and Aramis, who had already launched their spells and ran to engage in close combat, dodged the incoming aura blade being interrupted, leaping all in different directions. The pugilist, who had already been thrown far from the others, managed to jump over it in time.

Damian, with his golem, also leaped over the blade effortlessly even though it was much shorter distance to him than the rest. Quick reflexes were never his problem. Letting the golem mirror his movements, Damian made it charge toward the oppressive swordmaster unleashing his aura. The golem didn't care how out of its league its opponent was though—after all, it was just an object.

Threadripper, too, seemed to find it out with Damian, guess no one in this world fought with golems like Damian was doing.

Clutched in each of Threadripper's hands were twin rapiers—razor-thin and impossibly sharp, gleaming like fangs in the faint daylight. His eyes held no amusement or arrogance, only pure focus as he faced the incoming golem.

Without warning, the ground trembled. Damian narrowed his eyes and sent the golem forward with a mere thought. The steel giant lunged, its spear blazing with black flame as it swung down in a swift arc toward Threadripper. But the swordmaster was quicker. His form blurred as his rapiers rose in a cross-block to deflect the incoming spear.

The force rattled the golem's arms, but Damian spun the golem away, using the momentum to reposition it at Threadripper's flank.

Threadripper's footwork was impeccable—quick, sharp movements designed to keep him just out of the golem's reach. He danced around the steel giant, slashing at its joints with one of his rapiers. Sparks flew as his blade connected, but the steel was thick, leaving only a deep dent. Threadripper used no magic, and neither did Damian.

This was a battle of pure skill, and both had accepted the unspoken rule.

The golem turned with surprising speed for its size, thrusting its flaming spear forward in a blur. Threadripper twisted, narrowly avoiding the flames as the spear shot past him. But he wasn't done. As the golem pulled back its spear, Threadripper's second rapier lashed out in a rapid succession of strikes.

Each blow was precise, aimed at the thin joints in the golem's build—the neck, armpits, and leg joints. Small dents and scratches began to mar the once-immaculate steel.

Damian, watching from behind, furrowed his brow.

"He's toying with me..."

Damian felt the strain of controlling the damaged golem as he adjusted its tactics. The golem took a half-step back before unleashing a wide horizontal sweep with its spear. The black flames extended beyond the weapon's physical reach as Damian poured more power into it, forming a wide arc of dark fire that carved through the air.

Threadripper reacted instantly, diving into a forward roll to avoid the flames. As he rose to his feet, his rapiers moved like lightning, deflecting the remnants of the fire. Once again, he slipped into the golem's blind spot, and this time, he pressed his advantage.

His feet barely touched the ground as he closed the distance, aiming a thrust directly at the golem's lower back—a weakened spot Damian had overlooked earlier.

The rapier pierced the steel with a sharp clang. It wasn't deep, but it was enough to cause the golem to stagger, its internal mana pathways disrupted by foreign mana. Damian gritted his teeth, pouring even more mana and focus into controlling the threads. The black flames around the golem's spear intensified, and it whirled with newfound ferocity, spinning its weapon with deadly precision.

Threadripper dodged again, his movements fluid and graceful. Yet he could feel the oppressive weight of Damian's control over the golem. Every movement of the steel golem was deliberate, calculated, and its once-normal weapon now moved with terrifying accuracy.

But Threadripper had something Damian lacked—finesse.

As the golem thrust its spear forward, aiming to impale Threadripper, the swordmaster sidestepped, his rapiers flashing in the slight daylight. He caught the spear between his twin blades, locking it in place for just a moment. With a grunt of effort, Threadripper twisted his wrists, deflecting the spear downward and exposing the golem's chest.

It was all the time he needed.

Threadripper surged forward, his body low to the ground, and his rapiers struck like twin snakes. One blade sliced halfway through the golem's neck, while the other plunged into its midsection, targeting the most damaged area. The strikes were clean, precise, and deadly.

The golem faltered, its massive frame staggering backward. Damian's eyes widened in shock. He could feel the massive strain on his connection—the damage to the golem's internal mana pathways was making it harder to control. But even as the golem began to collapse, Damian wasn't finished.

"Activate!" he commanded, his voice echoing across the battlefield.

The runes etched onto the golem's body flared to life, glowing with a blinding white light as the golem staggered forward for one final strike. Fun and games were over. Damian would curse himself for his entire life if he didn't take this chance to show just how shameless he could be.

"Skills? Hmph... Who needs skills when you can blow things up?"

The golem had only one spell etched into its steel body. The runesmith, constrained by time, had inscribed the simplest spell Damian could think of—a basic fire orb spell used by mages for illumination. Its effect didn't matter to Damian, though. He just needed a spell.

Damian manipulated the runic circle, setting the intensity to its absolute maximum and the size of the orb to over a hundred meters in radius. He deliberately set it to fail going beyond the material's holding capacity by a mile. And when it failed, it would unleash a massive explosion, fueled by the immense amount of mana Damian had been siphoning from Vidalia.

The iron golem could endure far more damage to its mana pathways than parchment and could hold enough energy to trigger an explosion equivalent to five tons of TNT. Of it was all just based on his theoretical calculations though.

The blast engulfed Threadripper and everything within a 20-30 meter radius, sending shockwaves for kilometers.

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