The Runic Alchemist

This time, Maelor went with them—he wanted to reunite with his sister in the palace.

That left Damian, his friends, and the Northern Dawnstar lords alone in the lake city, alongside the pugilist third-ranker Duke of the region. The remaining Dawnstar soldiers under Vidalia's command would be the last to leave.

Damian could have left immediately late that night to return to Vidalia's place, but the pugilist Duke had respectfully asked for a small chat, so he stayed.

It had been a hectic day, and they had barely eaten anything. The Duke had prepared snacks and alcohol, though only a few of them drank. The snacks, however, were eagerly welcomed by all.

Lucian and Evrin, surprisingly, enjoyed drinking occasionally and took up the offered glasses. Only the seven of them were in the Duke's private meeting room in the palace he had just regained. He had sent Lumi and Elias to rest in their rooms.

"Are you sure Lady Spellmaster is not going to march further east?" the Duke asked again.

"I don't know," Damian replied honestly. "Eldoris doesn't have enough men to occupy such a large land."

Evrin nodded in agreement.

"In that case, may I propose the beginning of diplomatic relations between Layinie City and your new grand city?" The Duke smiled as he asked.

Damian could hardly believe how different this man was from the other pugilists across the continent. Despite his massive, muscular frame, he was surprisingly polite and had a sharp mind for bureaucracy. He was a noble through and through.

"It's too far in the future," Damian replied. "But we'll keep the offer in mind once we establish a working order in that region."

"Will you use this spell of yours in your city to connect with other kingdoms?" the Duke asked, raising his glass and taking a sip.

So that's what this was about. The man had thought ahead—so much so that he understood, just from Damian's reputation as a Morph Vialist, that he would eventually invent and implement such things for public use. While others would offer anything to learn the spell itself, this man didn't want the knowledge—he wanted a way for his people to connect with the rest of the kingdoms quickly and efficiently.

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That alone would open countless doors for trade and progress, dwarfing any mere power move.@@novelbin@@

A man like this was always good to have as a friend.

Damian didn't answer him directly or make any promises, but he hinted that such developments were possible through future cooperation between their regions. That much was enough to satisfy the Duke.

***

The next day, Damian returned to Vidalia and sent the last of the Dawnstar people, along with the remaining Dawnstar lords, back to Lockwood. Vidalia had access to a waygate tool—whether she used that or another form of communication, she had managed to convince her queen to halt territorial expansion and instead consolidate control over the regions they had already secured.

They would still work on recruiting the last few remaining third-rankers who governed independent regions in Ashenvale, drawing them to their side. The country remained in chaos—many independent regions were preoccupied with defending themselves from their neighbors, and if any third-ranker needed political backing, they might seek help.

The royal line of Ashenvale had been wiped out, and no house was strong enough to rule the entire territory. Most of their powerhouses had perished in the war with Eldoris. With Dawnstar keeping the Empire occupied for a while, Eldoris had a rare opportunity to rest and rebuild. How they chose to use that time was up to them. They should take a lesson or two from Faerunia and focus on internal strength.

Damian had often heard Erdan, Eldoris's head researcher, and his colleagues lament that they could accomplish much more if they had the budget. But due to the war, they had been forced to make do with what little they had.

Now that their tasks in Ashenvale were complete, Damian and his friends were preparing to leave for the Highsword Academy. Vidalia was there to see them off. The farewell between aunt and niece stretched on, their hug seeming to last forever.

Damian hoped to learn spellcrafting—or at least the basics—so he could practice independently. But for now, there was no easy way to do so; only another third-ranker mage could help him. Still, it wasn't a pressing issue. The dungeon exploration shouldn't take more than a month or two. After that, he and Vidalia could create all the spells they wanted. Now that the war was no longer a constant burden on Eldoris, the Spellmaster was finally free to pursue research for the first time in years.

"Will you return after the academy ends this year and the Highsword ranking exam?" Vidalia asked as they prepared to board the ship.

Damian shook his head. "No. Once I'm done with the dungeon, I'll leave the academy. The Highsword ranking is useless to me."

Vidalia smiled. "That is true."

"We need to build the city," Evrin said, her eyes sparkling. "If Highswords doesn't allow us to take the exam without staying at the academy, they'll lose all of their top-ranking students at once."

Maelor, Sam, Einar, Grace, and Lucian all nodded. They understood the reality of the Highswords. Still, the exam was only a day or two, and the rest of the noble society valued the ranking. It was better to have it than to dismiss it out of ignorance.

Damian already made a name for himself; he had no need for a ranking to cement it.

"We'll be back," Evrin assured her aunt as they climbed aboard, leaving Ashenvale behind.

One thing Damian appreciated about Vidalia was that she understood him well enough not to present him with foolish offers from Eldoris. She had undoubtedly been tasked with extracting information about the artificial mana core and, now, even the airship. Yet she never asked about things she knew Damian wouldn't answer.

As long as it wasn't a threat to her kingdom, she respected the idea that each person had their own path to follow.