The Runic Alchemist

The next day, Damian had all five of his assistants present in the office. Since it was their first day, Damian used the aged attendant and others to get them familiar not just with the Sanctum building but also with the usual work one had to do as a Sanctum official.

Together with Hester, both his birth mother and Elias had come to the seventh floor. Outside Damian's office was a big hallway separating the four parts of the circular floor. The hallway contained cushioned couches. The two were seated there. Once Damian sent the five to get familiar, he told Hester to call the other two in on her way out.

His birth mother, Tessa, and younger sibling Elias walked in. Elias was looking quite prim and proper, wearing nice clothes. His mother's dress was average—neither too fancy nor too simple. A fine line between being poor and noble; the lady had learned to live like that for years now.

Damian gestured for them to take a seat.

"Damian, you look.. grown up," Tessa said. Elias was doing his best to ignore Damian's existence. The guy was truly upset.

"Yes, the transformation has changed my appearance," Damian said in his normal tone.

"A Transcendent. Probably the first one in a century of Sunblade history," Tessa murmured.

"What's with him? Did he eat something wrong?" Damian asked, looking at Elias.

Tessa smiled, replying, "He's angry you didn't let him fight in the last demon war."

"Well, I was going to say he could join Sam in conquering dungeons, but if he's upset, what can I do, right?" Damian said.

Elias's head snapped back toward Damian from the direction of the large open window.

"Alas, nothing you can do," Tessa played along.

"Sam? Where is he? Is he already in the dungeon?" Elias spoke up suddenly, as if there was no such thing as being upset in his dictionary anymore.

"He's in the Stone Keep. Go ask him yourself if you can join or not."

Elias hurriedly stood up and ran toward the door, leaving behind a stretched, "Thanks, brother."

"Sam? The Stormcaller?" Tessa asked.

Damian simply nodded. Elias must have told her stories about their time in the dungeon and the pigmen world. With a Transcendent to look after Elias, she wouldn't have to worry about it much.

"You wanted to meet me?" Damian asked, getting to the real reason she came. It was clear she didn't want to say it in front of Elias.

Tessa's face turned serious as she nodded. "Yes. There's something I want to ask of you—it's just a request, though, and nothing more. You don't have to do it if it inconveniences you. But please, if you could at least get the information I need, it would be a big help."

Damian already suspected what she was going to ask.

Tessa continued, "I know there's probably no hope for this.. but can you use your waygates and the Keeper status to check if the Emperor's Dawnstar prisoners have your brothers or your father..?"

Damian was informed about that too. He had been planning to ask the emperor to release all Dawnstar war prisoners, but then he had to delay the waygate project. He'd gotten busy with other things until at least someone found a source of usable metal compatible with runic inscriptions.

Guess he could visit the three countries once a week, build the waygates, get everyone's signatures on the mana contract of the peace treaty, and talk about a few deals and other things.

"I have plans for that," Damian replied.

Tessa exhaled. "Okay, good. I tried doing it through other ways, but it just isn't easy."

"Anything else?" Damian asked.

"No, nothing. Just.. look out for Hester. She's clumsy at times and makes mistakes. But she will never break your trust."

"I know. I remember her. That isn't the only thing I remember—there's more. A mage wearing a robe, with a chain around his neck—one hand burned," Damian said.

Tessa's eyes went wide, her slim body shaking a little. That was all the confirmation Damian needed. The figure from the nightmares the demon lord showed him and others was a real one. Why was the guy's face blurred then?

Damian pressed on after a minute, "Do you know him?"

Once again, Tessa looked up, and her body started shaking. That was weird—there was a trace amount of mana in her body despite her being mundane. That had to be a..

"Mana contract?" Damian asked.

Only then did the mana in her body calm down. Tessa nodded, inhaling deeply as if she'd been starved of air for hours. He wouldn't be able to get anything out of her.

"I will try to get them back," Damian concluded the brief reunion.

"Thank you. And thank you again for bringing Elias back."

Damian simply nodded. Tessa still continued,

"Uhm.. did you really give Elias your flying ship? He didn't ask you for it or anything, did he?"

"No. It's his," Damian replied with a smile. "There's a mana generator inside that will work for a few years. I already warned him, but you should keep reminding him not to reveal that information to anyone."

Tessa nodded and stood up. Damian stood up with her, accompanying her to the door. Before stepping out, Tessa turned toward him and said hesitantly,

"You're busy, but it would mean a lot to all of us if you visited once in a while."

Damian had no idea what to say. After a few seconds, though, he nodded—not promising anything. It was enough to put a smile on her face.

Damian got back to his runic designs for the better half of the day. Once an attendant brought food to the seventh floor, Damian had his lunch. Every day, the Sanctum catered for all of its employees—including guards and soldiers on duty.

The army had its own separate kitchen and buildings outside the Sanctum area for all the pathfinders. The mundanes were given a place to stay, but there were 4–5 people in a single room with common baths and such.

Damian wanted to make a lot of Sanctum buildings, and a palace for the army headquarters was also among them.

After lunchtime, Damian received his five assistants back. He had them bring hundreds and hundreds of reports from the very first day of the demons' and their own soldiers' dungeon explorations.

The file storage room was spacious enough—he could partition it, give each of them their own desk, and turn it into a shared workspace where people could work or even have their meals.

It would make things easier instead of running back and forth and disturbing him at times.

He could even install a mana lamp or two, some insulation spells on the walls. A small side shelf for common reference scrolls, and maybe a board for updates or assignments. It wasn't going to be luxurious, but it would be functional. Better than leaving them to wander around with papers and no place to sit.

Damian picked up the most 'Important' papers—those titled as such. All of the papers were from officials stationed on the demon island, collected from demons or written as each leader of the dungeon-diving team described their experiences.

The ones that the demons and soldiers really wanted to inform him of were marked 'Important.'

The dungeon relic analysis list was also in there, organized under each dungeon's specific section. For efficiency, Damian had given files from the same dungeon to each assistant accordingly.

"I don't want the details—for the first time, you all just have to read it once and note down things important enough to tell me. The topics I care about are: source of metal of any kind, rare monsters that have unique abilities, any particularly interesting descriptions of the dungeon relics, and the environment and civilization of the dungeon."

The files for High and above-ranked dungeon relics were with Damian himself. Each relic was numbered, so he just had to give the number, and the relic would be brought up to him.

And then began the never-ending marathon of reports. Minutes turned to hours, and they had barely touched the surface of all the compiled files.

Something called the Ashroot Amulet glows with embers and roots into flesh, slowly bonding with its wearer—increases mana holding capacity. The Cryo-Lantern burns with a frostlight that never melts but saps warmth from the air. Glyphblade of Vhal cuts through illusions and truth alike, leaving wounds only liars can see. The Whispering Grimoire murmurs forbidden incantations even when shut, and grows louder near unholy ground. Tidecaller's Conch summons sea storms and provokes the wrath of deepwater gods—which won't work outside its own dungeon.

The Frostbite Chain of the Pit bears hell-cooled links that numb both flesh and soul. Soulseed Brooch houses a pulsing seed that feeds on the wearer's regrets, blooming only during death—who the hell would want that? The Flame-Wreathed Scepter casts fireballs with infernal whispers, often uttering secrets the wielder never learned.

Cursed Oath Ring, Phylactery of the Lost, Aether Gear, Fleshscript Codex, The Sandglass Dagger, Clockwork Eye, Frozen Fang Amulet, Verdant Horn, The Last King's Gavel, Wightbone Flute, Obsidian Sunblade, Dreamcatcher Orb, Map of the Shattered Empire, The Bleeding Icicle, Thornband Circlet, Relic of the Silent Tongue, Hellchain Collar, Stonebeast Skull, Brimstone Crown, Neural Circlet, Dustcloak, and many, many more.