The Runic Alchemist

Damian stabilized the ship after reaching an altitude of approximately 4,000 meters. The inclinometer indicated level flight as he began maintaining the altitude. The temperature had dropped significantly, and the island below was now fully visible.

Reize, who had calmed down considerably, was now excitedly asking questions, doing her best to understand how the ship worked. The others occasionally asked questions as well—those who could follow Damian’s explanations, like Lucian, Lumi, and Evrin. The rest wandered between the control room and the seating compartment, where the open door offered a stunning view of just how high up they were.

“This is so amazing! And so much faster than both carriages and ships,” Einar exclaimed.

“And it doesn’t need roads or seaways. The sky is free!” Reize added enthusiastically.

Damian smiled, their infectious excitement lifting his spirits. He decided to test some aerial maneuvers to ensure the control systems were functioning as intended. They performed perfectly. Then, he moved on to test the ship’s two emergency flying methods.

Before disengaging the mana flow that powered the gravity reversal runic spell, Damian announced, “Brace yourselves. I’m testing the emergency systems.” When the group still lingered near him instead of securing themselves, he added, “Lumi, show them how to use the chair locks. Make sure everyone is strapped in.”

Lumi and Elias sprang into action, instructing everyone to sit down and fasten their seat locks. Once everyone was secure, Damian stopped the mana flow to the gravity spell and the runic weight plates. The inclinometer immediately showed the ship entering a nosedive.

Screams erupted as the ship plummeted. Damian quickly activated the rotor blades at a medium setting, slowing the descent bit by bit. It wasn’t stable enough for sustained flight, but it was adequate for covering short distances when needed.

Damian cut the mana supply to the rotor blades, causing the ship to descend rapidly once more. He needed to be extra cautious this time. To conserve mana, he activated a single large flying spell runic circle on each side, carefully balancing them to achieve some semblance of stability. It worked—though not as well as it should have. The ship’s weight was simply too much for the wind spells to handle effectively, even when pushed to their maximum power.

It wasn’t reliable for long flights, but it could serve as a decent speed breaker during rapid descents. With all four spells active, it might even allow for brief moments of flight before losing altitude. However, it fell short of expectations—consuming too much mana and generating excessive instability from the powerful winds. Steering under these conditions was nearly impossible.

Satisfied with the test, Damian reactivated the gravity reversal and weight plate spells, regaining stable flight.

He lowered the ship to a cruising altitude of 1,000 meters and circled the island for a while before landing on the coast near the Shiman town(Nearest place from Edgeheaven on Ashenvale land). He wanted to test the landing legs and get a feel for their performance. While the others explored the town, Damian, Reize, and Lumi inspected the ship’s exterior for any damage. Everything seemed in order.

Once the group returned, Damian retracted the ship’s landing legs and took off again, heading straight for the academy grounds. He skillfully landed the ship in the workshop, parking it inside for further adjustments.

The test was a success overall, but Damian knew there was room for improvement. He resolved to refine some designs after completing the remaining work—if he had time.

As they exited the ship, a handful of students cheered enthusiastically. The Highswords had already left, but Damian couldn’t help wondering what they thought of his ship flying higher and better than their own spells.

It was the final week of vacation, and once it ended, Damian would finally be able to enter the dungeon. He and the student workers pushed themselves harder than ever, determined to complete all the remaining tasks.

Damian had all the theories in place, and now it was time to put them into practice with the generators. In the lab, he built a simple generator designed to maximize mana liquid production. The pressure generation—now automated—used mini runic rotor blades to generate force, which was then transferred through gears to replicate the motion of a hand-cranked press.

The rotor blades, however, wore out after a few cycles of use, so Damian prepared enough replacements to last for 50 cycles-they were easy enough to make and he could make them on the spot if needed more. The chemicals required for the process were the easiest to procure and store, 20 High Grade spatial storage full of it, he had to make deals with the merchants to get more base materials but they were easy enough to procure. He kept them in a separate container and used a simple steel pipe with an automated valve to release the mixture as needed.

To simplify aura transmission, Damian had installed a compartment for three mana generators directly beneath the ship’s control room. He designed a steel pedal-like runic plate where he could rest his foot, allowing him to channel his aura directly into the generators in the compartment below. He could use the aura generating runic circle here for ease of use but it was good practice for aura control so refrained from doing so.

The key was timing. Damian had to be extremely precise in coordinating the infusion of the mixture, the conversion of mana, and the use of his aura to refine it into his own mana liquid. He repeated this process hundreds of times, meticulously recording each result. Finally, he perfected the timing for all three steps, minimizing the risk of explosions.

Perfection, however, truly came when one of the nobles Ervin and Grace had contacted on his behalf for a dungeon spot returned to the academy from their home. They brought back a rare dungeon relic—a novelty item that cast a rare green fire. Despite its unique appearance, the fire had no special properties. Even Damian’s analysis spell confirmed it was just ordinary fire.

The relic itself, however, was the real treasure: it was a ring that only worked for members of the noble’s main family line. Acquired by their grandfather, it could only be used by his direct descendants.