The Runic Alchemist

Another three months had gone by, and the preparations had finally finished. Most monarchs had accepted his terms one way or another, leaving only those places with unstable power where Damian and his British soldiers didn’t bother engaging in much politics. In such regions, occupying mining sources by force was more efficient, and the British did their job as Damian took over city after city across the world—any place that even had a rumor of iron veins.

All in all, the mining of iron and production of steel had been in full swing for a month now. The negotiations were over, and Damian sent unit after unit of his allies into the regions that had rejected his offers, letting them handle the situation while also making them work in the mines to maximize production.

Scientists and metalworkers from various countries were being trained by the early batches of people whom Damian had taught in depth. He supervised everything meticulously to ensure that the British didn’t hold anything back and strictly followed their agreements—otherwise, their monarchs would die. All the powerful figures understood that breaking the mana contract was not advisable, so they directed their full efforts toward learning this new knowledge and implementing it as best as they could.

There was another promise Damian had dangled in front of them, one that excited the many powers of the world to no end. He had promised to let them all convene in one place using his waygates—a neutral territory, most likely an uninhabited island he could find somewhere—where a grand event would be held, allowing the most powerful figures in the world to meet and witness just how vast their world truly was. Anyone who misbehaved would not be invited. They all sought to gain his favor and clearly understood their standing in this new order.

Another list Damian had compiled contained the names of the most influential and famous people of this era—a special list of individuals who might either lead Earth to prosperity or bring about its destruction. It was another plan of his, though he had not yet put any work into it. For now, he simply wanted to observe these people and determine whether they were truly worthy or not.

But all of that was secondary. With nearly 100 million tons of steel finally at his disposal, Damian was ready to begin his project. He had planned to construct it in London, having already created numerous blueprints, each tailored for different massive components of the structure. The design featured a honeycomb lattice interior, reinforced with spells to reduce stress points. Before beginning construction, he had to work through a multitude of details, ensuring thorough preparation to minimize wasted steel.

Three months later, on a day when he was deep into building the colossal interior framework, Damian sensed a waygate locking onto him—one carrying a mana signature different from the usual ones. Runefather had finally returned.

Runefather reported on the ongoing search and the situation in the pigmen world.

It wasn’t good.

They had split into five different directions from the town they had initially emerged from. The village in the snowy region had received many new refugees, and with the knowledge obtained from the massive shrine, they had started to develop. Heather and the village chief were the strongest among them, leading their people as best as they could.

The time difference was staggering. Runefather revealed that while only a month had passed on Earth since they left, over 12 years had elapsed in the pigmen world. Damian had instructed them not to return unless absolutely necessary, as he had anticipated such a disparity.

According to Runefather, they had traveled vast distances in all directions, meeting every two years to report their findings, yet they had barely uncovered anything useful. They estimated their current location to be the hottest region in the pigmen world, but searching in such extreme heat, coupled with the presence of powerful monsters, was no easy task. Their mana was limited, and only one of them could use the mana cube at a time, which was reserved strictly for emergencies. They all carried liquid mana containers, and despite facing the Demon Lord and its minions multiple times, they had successfully escaped each encounter.

After nearly 37 years in the pigmen world, his steel mana cube was on its last legs. Runefather had repaired it as best as he could, but it had finally reached its limit. Knowing this, he decided to return for fresh supplies. He couldn’t afford to stay long due to the immense time difference, so after reporting everything, he immediately departed again. Damian had already prepared extra mana cubes and waygate cubes in advance, keeping them on hand for this very moment. Runefather received them and left without delay.

During their next meeting, Damian informed the others of the situation. The Highswords themselves were determined to continue the search, looking for any massive structures or attempting to traverse the treacherous magma-filled regions at a slow but steady pace. Along the way, they had encountered numerous pigmen colonies, sometimes even aiding them in escaping back to the village where their waygate was anchored.

The snow village was far from the place where the Demon Lord had established his dominion after conquering all the major pigmen cities.

According to Runefather, all pigmen who fell under the Demon Lord’s influence had lost their personalities, turning into single-minded savages who valued only strength. Their civilization had undergone complete reconstruction—built like fortresses, ruled by the strong, and merciless to the weak. Cannibalism had become common, and all traces of their previous morals had vanished.

Slowly but surely, under the influence of the Demon Lord’s power the pigmen had begun turning pitch black, their eyes glowing with a smoky red hue. They now marched in all directions, obeying the Demon Lord’s orders to search for anything that might help him return to his world. After capturing and interrogating countless pigmen, Runefather reported that the Demon Lord appeared to be in some kind of slumbering phase—a detail Prince had once mentioned to Damian. He was consolidating his power.

The Demon Lord possessed a unique Esper ability—one that allowed him to grow stronger by devouring the souls of others.

He was still evolving.

It was far from good news.

However, this temporary stasis allowed the Highswords to continue their search as thoroughly as possible. Even after 37 years, they had found little, but they were determined to keep looking. It was a wise decision to let them handle this mission. Searching for the place quickly where the Sun God resided would be nearly impossible with the Demon Lord looming over their backs.