The Runic Alchemist

Right now, only he had the ability to sense them. But if he could successfully use the mimicking spell on a snake with heat vision, they could solve one of their biggest problems. Not all snakes had this ability, though. He would need to find a pit viper, python, or boa—snakes like rattlesnakes, copperheads, cottonmouths, ball pythons, or boa constrictors would work.

However, it all depended on how the mimicking spell functioned and whether it was possible to mimic their thermal sensing abilities.

Damian had read about the spell but had never encountered it in practice. It was said to be an ancient spell that had fallen out of use due to its limitations, namely the requirement of having the beast nearby. People with pets could utilize it, but for most, it was impractical. Damian had always wondered if there was a way to modify the spell.

After all, spells didn't recognize people by name—they recognized them by their unique ID's. Surely animals had ID's too, right?

He remembered the wolf monster he had encountered with Valoris—it had its own unique ID in its spell, that much he remembered. Maybe this applied to other animals and monsters as well. It was all a theory, and he could be wrong, but he had to try. Plus, gaining a new spell was always a bonus.

It took some time, but with Damian's enhanced mana sense—sharpened more and more with each level-up and constant use—he could now detect even the smallest moving presence. He had finally found what he was looking for. Although the animals didn't possess any mana-related abilities, they were alive, and all living things contained mana. Damian could sense it whenever they moved.

Normally, he ignored the smaller creatures in his immediate surroundings and could barely sense anything beyond 100 meters because the mana within those beings was so faint. If they didn't move constantly, he wouldn't even be able to sense them when they were close.

It was a Bornean Keeled Pit Viper. Though Damian wasn't an expert on snakes, the analyz spell he had learned from Vidalia revealed its identity. Surprisingly, the spell worked on both animals and monsters.

'Nice catch,'

The snake was venomous. Sam, having spotted it in Damian's hand, quickly ran far from him, sword drawn and ready to strike, though he was visibly shaking. Ah, Didn't know he had a thing for snakes, nice.. another good revelation, Damian could use this in very productive ways.

"You want me to cast the spell on... a snake?" the old captain asked hesitantly.

"Yes," Damian replied. "How does it work? Can you choose which of its abilities you gain?"

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"Pointing the spell at specific parts of the creature can help target their unique specialties," the captain explained. "But sometimes you just get whatever the spell decides to grant." He then began chanting the spell in an Eldoris accent.

Damian used his vines to hold the snake midair, keeping it a safe distance away while he pulled out his rune book and eagerly copied down the spell. Unsurprisingly, the spell had a light attribute to it which was always the case whenever spells had something to do with living creatures, but there was more—a dark element mixed into it as well.

That explained why it was difficult to master; not many people had both light and dark elemental affinities and the mixing of elements required mastery. As the old captain's golden and pitch-black mana filled the white runic circle, Damian meticulously recorded the spell's composition, noting the exact percentages of each element.

Once the spell was completed, the captain moved his hand from the snake's head to Damian. What fascinated Damian the most was that the spell was a bestowal type, much like healing spells. It could be cast on others, provided they lowered their mental defenses and accepted it.

Healing spells worked the same way; if someone resisted, they would still be healed, but only at 10-20% of the spell's full potential.

Suddenly Damian's vision darkened and seconds later he had gained a new heat vision. It was like stepping into a completely different world. His vision shifted, no longer defined by light and shadow but by the warmth radiating from everything around him.

Objects that were once familiar now appeared as ghostly, cool shapes, while living beings stood out like bright beacons of heat, their forms pulsing with life. He felt like even in the dark, he could track the faintest trail left behind by a passing animal or sense the hidden warmth of creatures lurking just out of sight. The air itself seemed alive, moving and breathing in subtle currents of heat.

Every step made his surroundings pulse and change in new, surreal ways. It was both disorienting and exhilarating—a raw, primal connection to the world that was unlike anything he had experienced before.

"Did it work?" the old captain asked, sounding as though he had expected it to fail.

Damian only nodded, too absorbed in this new sensory world to respond with words.

'This shit makes no sense.. I have an organ without having it.. Not only primal elements but magic can conjure living things too..? This is so cool..'

Things like this made Damian wonder just what the hell was this unknown atoms of mana like..? How the hell can it do such mind bending things..?

After experimenting with his new vision for about ten minutes, Damian had a good understanding of its range and how it functioned. He could perceive heat signatures as far as his line of sight extended, but the details were clearest within a 30-40 meter radius. Beyond that, the images became muddled and difficult to interpret. Still, this would be immensely useful.

Even better, if the old captain granted him full authority over the spell, Damian could power it using his own mana.

"Alright, I've got it. Cancel the spell," Damian said.

The old captain complied, visibly exhausted. It wasn't an easy spell to perform, but once cast, it required very little mana to maintain, as most of the cost came from conjuring the ability, not sustaining it, it used no energy like fire.

Damian walked to the nearby bench and drew the runic circle with his hands again, not using the snake as reference for his spell though, since the runic circle should already have a data about it. There were few lines like his own Id so Damian assumed it would do. Finishing it Damian activated it and voila.. It worked exactly as it did. No animals needed.

Perfect, if used well this thing could give him some serious advantage in all aspects of his body. Now not he could just copy spells but unique specialty of various creatures too. Damian felt like one of those extremely dedicated premium collectors, wanting to have it all.

Satisfied, he nodded to himself and began walking back to the meeting place, leaving the snake behind where he had found it, unharmed. It had served its purpose. Sam and the old captain followed closely behind, both of them eyeing Damian as if he had lost his mind the whole time.