The Runic Alchemist

At last, Sam and Einar pushed through and touched the third ranker's gleaming armor, earning a perfect 100. Evrin, the closest third-place contender, barely managed to push past 30 meters before collapsing to her knees. Knowing she would fall if she went further, she gave up willingly, though her effort was commendable. She scored an impressive 87.

The silver-haired girl—Grace Ashborne, was it?—placed fourth with 83, barely crossing the 20-meter mark. The others trailed even further behind. Lucian, the Dawnstar prince, and the beastman boy were close to each other, scoring between 76 to 80.

Needless to say, no one else managed to reach S-rank standards. Still, over 30% of the participants managed to at least stand up by the end or take a step or two, which was enough to pass the test.

Nearby, a few mages tended to the exhausted students, healing them just enough so they could walk back to the academy. Among them, Sam and Einar took some time but they were the most 'fine' of the lot. They got their princess and waddled back to the academy grounds—it was lunchtime, after all.

"That wasn't easy at all. I couldn't even do it properly despite using so much mana," the princess admitted as they strolled through the grand hallways bustling with students.

"Third rankers are no joke. That much aura is suffocating," Einar added.

Damian nodded silently, not mentioning the cruel fact that it was just 30% of the guy's strength.

"Was he right, though? Is that why you two have such good aura control? Because of the battles you fought in the war?" Evrin asked, looking at Sam and Einar with newfound respect.

"I don't know. For me, I just practice a lot," Einar replied. Sam shrugged. Damian said nothing.

He had practiced a little over the years and could now at least coat his sword or spear with a black hue. However, he considered it a modest success compared to the Faerunian mini-runic spell that summoned solid black flames with no extra headache. He still aspired to reach the level where he could create solid surfaces with aura and experiment with writing runes on them using his World Shaper Hands. It was one of his long-held ideas, though the time it demanded for practice was overwhelming. As Einar said, only practice could make one a master of aura, but his mind was easily distracted with thousands of new spell ideas. And the need to see them through with all kinds of weird experiments.

After freshening up in Damian's room—which was ironically closer to the mess hall than the challengers common section—they headed to lunch. Evrin, having revealed her true identity, had to act the part; she had also attracted the attention of quite a few people. Einar fetched a dish for her while Sam stood guard at one side of the massive hall, warding off nobles who came over to greet or introduce themselves. Most of them were from Eldoris, though some from other kingdoms approached as well. Thankfully, no one lingered long or asked to join them.

Just as Evrin settled down with Sam across from Einar and Damian, another figure approached them.

"Can I sit here? If you don't mind?" It was the silver-haired Dawnstar noble gorl, Grace Ashborne.

"Um, sure," Evrin replied.

Damian didn't know any Ashbornes from Dawnstar, but if this girl was bold enough to approach the princess of Eldoris, she must be a high-ranking noble. He noticed Sam staring at her, seemingly enchanted, until Damian kicked him under the table to snap him out of it. Read exclusive content at empire

Damian continued eating, the tiny elephant perched beside his plate. The food was as excellent as breakfast—the academy clearly didn't skimp on quality-Toph really liked it. Damian observed the bustling hall around him. The Prince of Dawnstar was also attracting quite a crowd, Lucian on the other hand was eating quitely, surrounded by northern noble kids. Only three or four from that group had scored above 60 in both tests, he wasn't sure, though Damian had noticed them even when he didn't want to.

The beastman boy, meanwhile, was surrounded by commoner students who had performed well along with him. Groups of various sizes chatted and mingled, while some sat quietly, listening. Damian spotted a few loners in the hall, he could see himself in them. If he wasn't with these three, he'd probably be eating alone—which, truthfully, he preferred.

The little elephant was like an attention magnet, and sitting with three beautiful companions (and that showy, blonde-haired "electric annoyance") only amplified it. Damian, who had grown used to keeping a low profile, found the attention uncomfortable. He could tolerate it for a few days, but after that, he might have to build walls around him and not the metaphor kind, real earth walls every time during meals. Perhaps things would be quieter in the Knowledge Keeper section's mess hall.

"What number token is yours? You weren't with us earlier. Shouldn't you be waiting back there for your turn?" Grace asked, Damian wasn't listening to their casual chatting, so it took him a second to get that he was the one addressed.

"He's not participating," Einar answered on his behalf.

"Hm..? Are you already a student here..? First year or second year..?" She continued, Damian noticed Sam grinning but chose to ignore him.

"Fifth year.." Damian replied.

"Fifth year..?" Damian could see her surprise and confusion clear, for his younger appearance but didn't bother to explain. Still she continued,

"No wonder you were right.. I always thought it was such an unfair thing that only aura could shield one from another high ranked individual.. But turns out mana can do it too, it's just too unorthodox, no one does it.. Though, It helped a lot today to me at least, So thank you.."

Damian just smiled and nodded in acknowledgement.

"Can you tell me if the test for the SSS ranking changes like the three entrance tests every year too..? Or are they fixed..?" She asked, looking at Damian apologetically. Damian could see that she felt guilty for asking such a thing right after showing surprise for his young age.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

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