The Runic Alchemist

[Somewhere in the ocean of the Unknown Planet, Lumi's POV]

Lumi and Elias were about to reload the laser runic sheet to shoot down the two approaching flying second rankers who were launching spell after spell on their Dreamlight when the familiar voice resounded in her mind.

[Use of unauthorized method detected, contrasting with the natural dungeon proceedings. All challengers are banned. No shortcuts are allowed.]

Just a few moments after the voice was heard, a weird red layer came straight through the heavy metal ship and hit Lumi directly in the face. Elias, standing beside her, was not spared either. For a second, she thought it was an attack from one of the weird Espers among the many Highswords fighting below, but it did not hurt her.

She just felt like she was buried underneath falling sand, her entire body stretched into a long, unnatural shape as she blacked out. She had no idea how long she was out, but the second she regained her senses, the first thing she felt was a lot of weight on top of her.

She opened her eyes, struggling to focus, but when she finally did, the ugly mug of Elias was settled on her chest. He was unconscious right on top of her. Instinctively, she screamed and threw Elias to the side—maybe with a bit too much strength—as he crashed into the metal wall next to them and groaned, slowly awakening.

Lumi still couldn't get used to how much strength she had gained in just a few weeks and constantly surprised herself.

She got up, the side of her waist hurting a bit and her head aching slightly, but other than that, she was alright. What had happened? The Dreamlight was not moving any longer. Did they crash?

Lumi walked out of the small closed room with some struggle and saw the scenery outside the open entrance door in the seating compartment—her mouth fell wide open.

The sand turned into water?

A vast ocean stretched as far as her eyes could see, the Dreamlight floating atop though it was surprisingly stable, with salty sea water constantly splashing inside the seating compartment as big waves crashed into the metal entrance. Another big wave followed just as she was watching, splashing her with cold water. It snapped her out of her daze, and she quickly pulled the door shut with all her might.

"Agh.. Wha? Lumi? What's going on? Why are you wet? Did you pee or something?" Elias asked, following behind her.

The guy had no sense of how to talk to a woman! Who the hell asks things like that!

"Shut up! I Don't know what's going on! Let's check the control room.. Only Reize was with us when that thing hit us."

Elias nodded, trailing behind as Lumi pushed open the door to the control room. They found Reize slumped on the pilot seat.

"What in the hell?" Elias exclaimed, right next to her ear, scaring the living shit out of her.

"What?" she snapped, annoyed.

"Water! Where is the desert?" Elias asked, confused.

"That red thing forced us out of the dungeon, I think.. I'm not sure where we are though."

Uncertain about their circumstances, they lifted Reize and laid her down on the side. All attempts to wake her failed. Lumi even threw salty water on her, but she remained sound asleep. Lumi had a complicated feeling seeing her face.

Did she even want her to wake up?

From what Maximus said before jumping out of the ship, it was clear she had something to do with the attack on Highswords by their own people. Was she going to attack her and Elias as well? But she had helped them fight the crazy Highsword second rankers with Dreamlight. The others were with them at the time though—with Sam, Lady Lucian, and Einar around, she didn't dare to do anything. But now that they were alone..?

Lumi thought about binding her and taking that bracelet Maximus had given her so lovingly. How could someone even betray the love and trust of a boy like master Maximus? Every single girl in her year was infatuated with him. Rightfully so! He looked like a doll with that unforgettable face of his and pitch dark hair..

Without the bracelet, she couldn't fly Dreamlight or generate more mana liquid. But.. then she also remembered the moments when Reize had treated her so kindly. She was like a kind, cool older sister—Lumi always wanted one. Find your next read on My Virtual Library Empire

"We should restrain her," Elias said beside her, as if he could see her thoughts.

Lumi just nodded. Feelings were feelings—the thing she had done could never be forgiven.

Using ropes, they bound her to one of the passenger seats. Lumi took her bracelet and let her be. Returning to the control room, Lumi and Elias sat down, thinking about what to do next. They couldn't go outside—everywhere they looked, the ocean was there. Maximus and the others were nowhere to be found. Were they truly alone somewhere in the world?

Lost in thought, Lumi tried to calculate how far they were from the academy if all 25 levels of the dungeon's area were set next to each other. If 40 km per level, that meant 1000 km away from the island of Edgeheaven. Dreamlight could easily fly there—if only they knew which way to go.

"Let's first check if the ship really has no one else or not.. We can see if there is any damage too," Elias proposed.

Lumi nodded. It made sense. Why was this dumb, muscle-brained guy acting so clever today? Was he always this reliable? She would never believe that in a hundred years!

They checked all the parts of the ship and, as expected, found no one. But that wasn't all—a massive stone was lodged in the generator room, destroying two generators. All the golden mana liquid in them had been washed down by the water seeping in from the giant stone-blocked hole. The sharp and dry stone had even pierced through the top part of the ship, locking Dreamlight tightly with it. Lumi and Elias locked the iron door.

"That's why it didn't float much at all.." Lumi muttered after checking the whole room and closing the door.

Elias replied, "But it will sink soon.. The water is filling in."

"Yeah.." Lumi said.

That was why she had locked the generator room. The water was already up to their ankles. Returning to the seating room, they found Reize awake. She didn't even try to say anything—just seeing herself bound was enough to make her realize what they thought of her. Lumi noticed her dejected face and released her gag just enough that she could speak muffled words but not form clear-sounding chantings.

"Where are the others?" Reize asked.

However before Lumi could open her mouth to answer, they heard someone groan right above them. Seconds later, the sound of footsteps echoed atop the ship. Then came a voice—

"Ralf, get up! Come on, man! Something very weird is going on.."

The two Highswords who had attacked them, Lumi realized. They were second rankers—and not just any ordinary ones, but elite Highsword warriors.