The Runic Alchemist

The group had transported the women to the nearest walled town, which was bustling with refugees. Villagers from nearby areas had flocked there for protection, filling the town to its capacity. Despite the overcrowding, even old men, young boys, and women who had once avoided violence were now taking up arms to defend their new home.

Fortunately no one asked Sam what the hell had happened and why he glowed blue sometimes, the women had talked about him along the way and his friends had seen glimpses of his fight, even the white haired kid hesitated to ask anything. They were just happy to be alive, the feeling was shared by Sam too.

They stayed in the town for a while, helping the local second-rank lord who was pretty chill guy, by clearing out nearby Ashenvale forces with Yovan's assistance. Once it was relatively safe, they resumed their journey, restocking supplies and weapons, determined to find Maximus or Valoris.

Along the way, killing these vermin they found here and there or they found them giving them a surprise and earning a quick death.

"How far are we?" Sam asked, glancing at Yovan. Among them, Yovan was the only one with the brains to remember a map he'd only seen for a few minutes.

"If that hill and the river we passed yesterday are any indication... we should be about... hmmm... two days away, give or take," Yovan replied, thinking hard.

"That is if the camp is still set up there," Einar added, "Well, if the number of enemies thins out from here, that'll be a sign we're on the right path."

"Uhm... ah..." Sam turned to the source of the hesitant voice: the plus-sized, white-haired noble brat who had foolishly tried to save them once. His name was Theren. Sam had made an effort to talk to him, treat him like any other guy. Whatever enmity Sam had once felt toward him seemed like a distant memory now.

As long as Theren didn't stab them in the back and helped fight these Ashenvale brutes, he was as good a comrade as any.

Einar still had his issues with Theren, which showed from time to time, but even he understood what Theren had done for them and silently approved of his presence. Theren was a mage with a solid arsenal of spells, and that was all Yovan needed to become the friendliest person alive—at least when it came to learning and "borrowing" new spells.

Yovan reminded Sam a lot of Maximus; maybe all those hours they spent together at the start of training camp talking about spells had corrupted Yovan's mind beyond repair. Sam made a mental note to pray for Yovan later.

"Can we... go a bit farther away from here before we talk?" Theren asked. He had always been squeamish around blood and corpses, which, Sam thought, was probably the more normal reaction. The rest of them had just grown numb to it, which was the weirder thing.

"Let's move, before more of those bastards show up," Sam said, wiping his sword clean with the clothes of a fallen soldier.

They looted each of the bodies, taking weapons and anything of value. With each passing day, Sam felt less like a soldier and more like a robber. Even while fighting, his mind was constantly calculating who looked wealthier and who didn't. The complicated feelings he once had about this kind of behavior had long faded.

The act of killing itself no longer troubled his conscience when it came to these rogue soldiers. It wasn't that he had grown heartless—he still thought it was pointless violence—but eliminating these thieves in armor didn't weigh on him the way it once did.

Guess he needed some prayers, too.

****

Damian followed the knight along the edge of the camp, where defensive wooden and dirt structures with trenches stretched across the landscape, offering cover against ground assaults from the enemy soldiers. It struck him as strange that, even though they lacked weapons like guns and trebuchets, the magical spells flying through the air functioned similarly to Earth's weaponry.

As a result, they had developed the same defensive tactics.

'Some things are universal, I guess,'

"Huh...?"

"What?" asked the knight who was guiding Damian to Captain Mira's unit.

"Nothing."

Damian had his mana sense fully activated, focused intently, as this part of the camp had been out of his range when he stayed at Tristan's place. He picked up on some odd mana signatures, anomalies he couldn't quite explain yet. He needed to confirm them by reaching the edge of the camp and walking further into the surrounding forest.

Since they were headed that way anyway, he decided not to cause a commotion without a reason.

"Hell! It is true!" a voice exclaimed as they neared the soldiers keeping watch at the first line of defense. It was Captain Mira, smiling as she approached.

"Where in the hell did you suddenly drop from?" she asked, brushing bits of dirt from her uniform.

"I just got a little lost... but hold on a second. Can you hand me that spear?" Damian asked, his gaze fixed on the forest's entrance, where multiple hidden mana signatures were gathering.

"What, why...? Uh, sure. Here." Mira hesitated, then followed his gaze before handing him the spear.

Damian began chanting the opening lines of his favorite anime as he created a runic circle beneath the spear, preparing an exploding arrow spell he had learned long ago. He boosted the power by adjusting the intensity to match the size of the spear. Once the incantation was complete, the spear glowed red for a moment.

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Damian finished speaking, raised his arm, and with a controlled burst of strength, hurled the spear through the air.

The weapon pierced the air with a sharp 'swoosh', displacing the wind all around them. It landed precisely in the center of where the mana signatures were concentrated—hidden rom the naked eyes, yet unmistakably present.

Valoris had mentioned the camouflage ability of the enemies, and Damian guessed that these were likely the ones he was talking about. Their mana reeked of dark and ominous emotions.

The spear struck with a massive explosion, shaking the earth and sending shockwaves through the camp. A mushroom cloud rose high into the sky as fire spread outward. Within the blaze, men in Ashenvale uniforms were revealed—some running for their lives, most lying dead on the ground, bleeding and burning.

Those on the edge of the explosion were severely injured, while the ones at the center had been completely obliterated. Mira just looked at the hidden enemies with shock in her eyes, her mouth agape.

'Cool hiding spell... Should investigate this shit later,'

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