The Runic Alchemist

"Oh, Maximus, did you find what you were looking for?" Royce asked when they reentered the room.

"Yes, fortunately," Damian replied. "This will make our task a little easier." Stay connected with m-v l|e'-NovelBin.net

"Well then, what have you come up with?" one of the captains asked, curiosity piqued.

"The mimicry spell," Damian said. "It could be our solution to their invisibility trick."

"What do you mean?" asked another captain.

"Some snakes see the world differently than we do," Damian explained. "They don't perceive light and shadow like us. Instead, they see the world in terms of heat, in bright warm colors like yellow, orange, and red for heat sources, and darker colors like blue, purple, and black for cooler temperatures. Things like plants or moderately warm environments show up as greens or lighter blues."

"Huh?"

"Snakes? Colors?"

"What does that have to do with us?" various captains murmured, clearly confused.

"With the mimicry spell, we can share this unique vision," Damian continued undeterred.

Royce, still baffled, asked, "It's certainly an interesting revelation, and I am very curious to know how you know all that but how would that help us?"

"Humans are warm-blooded creatures," Damian explained. "No matter what spell they use to make themselves invisible, they'll still give off heat. With this vision, we'll be able to spot them."

The murmuring stopped. The captains exchanged wide-eyed looks, finally understanding Damian's point.

"We can see them with this!?" Mira exclaimed, eyes wide with surprise. Damian just nodded in response.

"Wait a minute, though. The Mimicry spell isn't something just anyone can use. Even we second-rankers have trouble with it," one of the captains assigned to the mission by Tristan pointed out a valid point.

"Yeah, and it's not used anymore. Plus, where are we going to get a snake every time?" another added.

Royce and Mira, who had been excited just a moment ago, now had conflicted expressions.

"It's a bestowal-type spell," Damian explained, "Only one of us needs to know it. The rest can use it with mana threads and authority, powering it with their own mana."

"I can't handle that many spells, boy," the old captain said, shaking his head. "I'm a spellsword. I can't even guarantee I'll succeed every time. And there's still the issue of needing a snake…"

"I know. I'll be the one doing it. If any of you have parchments, that would help a lot. I can inscribe it, though I only have a small supply, and it won't last long," Damian revealed.

"Parchments? Are you saying you can inscribe the spell on a scroll like a runesmith or scribe?" the old captain asked, eyes wide in surprise. The room fell into stunned silence, a few even gasping.

"Yes. It's one of the spells I excel at, so it shouldn't be a problem," Damian lied smoothly. The old captain scrutinized him, clearly suspicious. Damian had asked questions about the spell that an old user would already know. However after a moment, he nodded, seemingly convinced, deciding to keep it to himself.

"Perfect," Royce chimed in, summing up their plan. "We'll use the same strategy Lord Tristan suggested, but instead of relying on each other's mana sense range, we'll use this unique snake vision's range. It'll give us more room to maneuver, and we can cover more area."

The room brightened with energy as their biggest obstacle seemed resolved.

"We can see them coming from far away now. They'll never take us by surprise again!" another captain added, the mood lifting as hope spread through the group.

"But what about needing a snake every time, boy?" asked another middle-aged captain after a thoughtful pause.

"I only need it when I inscribe the spell on parchment. After that, I can use the scroll anytime for all of us—no snake required," Damian replied.

"Is that even possible? Why hasn't anyone tried it before, then? It seems like a huge advantage," Royce asked, his scholarly curiosity piqued.

"Because it's not something a simple mage or runesmith can do," the old captain answered, staring intently at Damian. "You'd need a skilled mage to learn the spell and an even better runesmith to figure out how to inscribe it."

The room fell silent again, all eyes on Damian, until the old captain spoke again with a grin. "If we weren't in the middle of a war, I'd take you to my villa and marry you to my daughter."

'The f*ck?'

Sam, standing beside him, scoffed loudly before bursting into laughter, breaking the tension in the room. The laughter spread, dispelling any lingering awkwardness. The atmosphere shifted to one of enthusiasm and determination, as they discussed their plan in more detail and then separated to rest before their departure at dawn.

As they prepared for their mission, many of the mages handed Damian supplies: parchments, mana ink, and other helpful materials. Some of the second-rankers, being lords of small regions or in service to powerful houses, had access to such resources and were more than willing to share.

Damian's spatial storage filled quickly with supplies, though he knew it wouldn't be enough to last through even half the forest they would traverse on their way to Pyron.

Damian gathered his unit—Sam, Einar, and Yovan—who were to help lead the group. Most of their unit consisted of mundanes skilled in spear arts, with 47 first-rankers among them. Though they had far less mana than Einar or Yovan, they were competent enough. Damian greeted them and gave a brief report like speech about their mission before introducing Einar and Sam as his vice-captains.

He left them in charge of preparing the unit for departure, while he walked over to Tristan's quarters to finalize his own preparations.

Though he could easily have used his own mana and world-shaper abilities to handle the situation, Damian chose not to. He didn't want to reveal just how much mana he had to these people. He had already revealed too much today. Still, it was the best course of action. He could have stayed back, watching the others struggle and get killed while his own unit prospered, but that would accomplish nothing.

Eventually, he would face a force large enough to overwhelm even his unit.