The Runic Alchemist

Level 19 was definitely more troublesome than 17, yet they were progressing at a much faster pace. He could have removed the air shield if not for the Smoldering Moths—those things were truly annoying. Using a barrier would have been much simpler, but that didn’t work while moving.

To make matters worse, the Scalding Gargoyles had now joined in as another aerial nuisance. Their stone-scaled bodies were much heavier than they appeared, despite their small size, and they loved smashing headfirst into the air shield like suicide bombers. He had to continuously reinforce it with more and more mana.

Damian still had 37 additional mana containers, stacked and being dragged behind on the hoverboard. The Dreamlight spatial storage cube was also placed on it.

Meanwhile, Mindseer walked leisurely beside them as if taking a casual stroll through the park while they fought and killed monsters.

Damian wielded a massive water whip to disorient seven incoming monsters—three soot golems, two Lavaborn Trolls, and two of their old friends, the magma golem. All of them despised the cold and water. The rising steam obscured their vision, making it difficult to track their tiny opponents. However, the towering figures of the monsters were still visible within the mist.

Damian used Lord’s Respect to halt any spells the trolls might have cast, then immediately drove his black spear through one of their heads with immense force and high jump. Their skin was incredibly tough, requiring additional power in every thrust to truly pierce it. The troll started falling face-first toward him, but Damian leaped onto its head, using the bleeding head as a foothold. From there, he launched himself at the second troll, his bloody spear in hand, his cold, calculating gaze void of emotion.

It was fun—he wouldn’t lie. But at the same time, it felt like nothing more than a chore. Dodging the massive axe easily, he finished the remaining troll with a clear strike to its heart.

He glanced to his side, where Lucian had frozen a magma golem with her icy aura blades. Maelor, clad in golden armor, drove his golden aura sword deep into its chest stones, piercing its mana stone slightly. It wasn’t a fatal blow, but it disrupted the golem’s mana pathways, throwing off its movements. Lucian delivered the final strike, freezing the mana core completely before shattering it with her blue aura-clad blade.

On Damian’s other side, Sam had sliced a soot golem into three clean pieces, his sky-blue blade moving like lightning. Beside him, Evrin and Grace launched complementary spells, their wind and water blades severing the second magma golem’s joints. Einar followed up with a precise piercing strike to its core, finishing it off.

The remaining two soot golems were handled by Alex, Evante, and Amy, with Lumi providing support from behind and Elias doing what he could. Alex single-handedly took on one, his dark blue aura blade and near-perfect sword technique blending flexibility and force into an artful display—the hallmark of a Hellstorm apprentice-The best knight in the five kingdoms.

Evante wielded twin blades, both glowing with a rare green aura, while Amy launched stone bullets and Lumi, using a self-designed staff, unleashed a massive air blade that severed the soot golem’s limbs. Though immobilized and broken, the finishing blow came from Evante and Elias, their blades cutting through its core.

Seven monsters at once. It was almost absurd. Not long ago, they had struggled against four magma golems with fifty people, and now they were handling six with ease. Of course, Damian had weakened the monsters first, making them easier to deal with. Additionally, soot golems weren’t as tough or large as magma golems. The trolls were equal in size but more flexible, armed with burning stone axes. Still, they were easier to cut down compared to magma golems.

As they traversed the mountainous terrain, Damian took note of the many caves along the way. Though it wasn’t necessary to explore them, he never missed a single one, always spending a few minutes studying the wall paintings left inside.

The inscriptions in this cave were slightly different in language compared to those he had seen before. Same planet, but perhaps a different dialect or a related species? That would make sense. Find your next adventure on My Virtual Library Empire

After hours of relentless fighting, they stopped to rest in one of these caves. It was here that Damian and Lumi found another depiction of the same figure they had seen before. This time, all people and monsters alike were shown bowing and praying as the man—drawn significantly larger than the others—ascended into the sky with the sun behind him. It seemed as though he had ceased being a man, reaching a near-divine status. Or perhaps he had literally become a god?

A Sun God?

Damian had speculated that this dungeon revolved around him. According to the initial dungeon information, he was supposed to be chained and imprisoned in the lower levels. But so far, the murals suggested that his people had loved him. Who could have defeated such a man and sealed him away?

“Done, Maximus.” Lumi held up her sketch of the mural.

“Good job,” Damian said, taking it from her.

She was by far the best at sketching among the three of them. Damian had no talent for it—whatever he drew turned into a mess, unless it was a sketch for a runic project—and Reize always took too long.

With the sketch completed and the others well-rested, they reassembled into formation. Damian removed the barrier from the cave entrance, channeled his pitch-black aura into his spear, and led the charge back into battle.

For a while, it was the same mindless grind. But after a few hours, something made Damian furrow his brows.

Highswords were following them again, which had become routine by now. However, this time, he also sensed Kamisen, Kishi, and some of the students from his group. They had just entered this level.

And they weren’t alone.

They were traveling with Silverspell and others from the Sunkeeper section’s third ranker’s squad.