The Runic Alchemist

It was time. Lucian came one last time to visit. Sam and Maelor, too, were called to Damian’s mountain cave. He had to give a lengthy explanation about the talking white statue he had acquired. There was no reason to lie, so he didn’t. Lucian, too, revealed her doubts about the temple—knowing this was the reality just reinforced her decision even more: to go and fight it out herself.

“Did you check out the details of everyone outside?” Maelor asked.

Lucian nodded. “None too problematic individually—except the Drakyn. He too has a sword made of this white metal. It was a gift from his grandfather. It has some powers; the extent of that is unknown.”

Damian had already given her all the mana cubes and other runic tools she had asked for. Tomorrow morning was when she was going to fight. She had revealed her intention to the king and everyone inside the castle—even gathered a small team who were willing to fight with her, even though everyone who heard it called it a suicide mission. Lucian mentioned how the princess had helped her in this. The people risking their lives all believed in their princess.

“If you want us to do something..” Sam began, but Lucian just shook her head.

“It’s simple enough—I just need to fight. I thought about all the alternatives, but none gives me any insight into how to become an Arch Knight—only fighting can do that.”

Sam nodded.

“Why do you care?” said the white metal woman from the side. “If you truly have that much strength, you can rule this land. Along with your friends, you can probably force all living things here to submit to you.”

All four looked at her. Damian had placed her at the edge of the cave at her request—she liked watching the falling snow. Lucian eyed Damian before answering,

“I am a knight. I have sworn to protect. It’s just my duty.”

“Protect who? Your people or your king?” she asked back.

“Both.”

The metal woman did not say anything else and once again got busy watching the falling snow.

Sam and Maelor left—Sam giving a lift to Maelor. Lucian stayed for the night. Good thing the metal woman could not feel heat or cold—she was perfectly fine staying outside the cave for the night. Damian could swear he saw her blush when he asked her if he could move her—somehow, it felt wrong, like he was breaking a child’s innocence. He soon forgot all that, though, with Lucian beside him.

The next morning, the king himself had travelled from his castle, along with Maelor and all his officials and lords, to the outer wall overlooking the enormous army. No matter what people felt about this, it was being done in the name of protecting the city—making it an event one could not miss. The princess, however, was nowhere to be seen.

Damian, too, moved along with the metal woman to high above the tribe alliance army—he used the air step to put her down from his arms. She was fully clothed, so even if someone with good eyes looked up and saw them, it wouldn’t be much of an issue. Sam, too, after a while, arrived and sat down beside them.

The army had grown quite comfortable after a year of doing one-sided attacks on the tall wall. The attacks were not as effective as they would be at any other city, because everyone knew the tribes didn’t want to force their way in with such a method.

So this was something special for both sides. The army had spies in the castle and already knew there was going to be a mad challenger coming for them today. It would be wrong to say they were alert, but they were ready for Lucian.

Lady Frost was not a simple name for these people. She was the most renowned knight in the whole country.

The gates opened, metal rattling loudly in the quiet morning. There were thousands of people, but no one was making much noise. The army had prepared some 10,000 men to face Lucian—the rest were not even fully armored. Every eye was focused on this, though. The wooden gates opened fully, and Lucian, fully armored, seated atop a black horse, slowly emerged from it. Behind her were seven people riding on their own horses, armored and ready.

She rode straight and stopped some 500 meters from the 10,000-strong army. Lucian and one rider moved forward to meet the leader of this force. Damian’s eyebrows raised when he sensed the mana signature of Lucian’s companion, dressed in full metal armor. What was she doing there?

They exchanged a few words—empty words of offering mercy if they backed down. Neither side wanted to. They both returned back to their people, and then it started.

Lucian’s armor was specially made by Damian. All the various pieces had only two spells on them: a spatial storage spell and an aura-enhancing spell. Lucian activated neither as she charged forward—all seven humans around her.

The soldiers watching this from the wall started banging their shields and armor to support the courage the few of them had shown. None had realized it was their princess riding beside Lucian.

When a hundred meters or less remained between the two sides, Lucian activated her freezing skill and jumped from her horse, diving inside a wormhole and appearing high in the sky above the gathered army. The tribesmen kept looking around to find her as she fell from high above, unleashing a cold, soul-freezing skill of hers, creating clouds of dense white air. Before she even landed, the skill had started freezing hundreds of people alive who were unaware of what was going on, placed in the mid-section of the army.

Her seven companions were using runic weapons and tools that launched spell after spell—some of which were made by Damian himself. Muddy ground to thorny vines and even unique earth shapes—all the spells that could make it hard for the opponents to gang up on them.