The Runic Alchemist

The villagers’ voices became quieter — shocked by the scene unfolding before them. Damian was still shivering, even though the liquid energy had vanished from the top of his body now. He was, after all, just a simple man here. Sam, on the other hand, was naked, yet the blue veins of lightning were visible, running all around his body.

Other than the veins, the rest of Sam was still in black and white — just like everything else in this world. Only his lightning, or whatever the insides of a special Esper third-ranker looked like, was in a strong blue color.

The villagers, shocked to their core after seeing their sacred relic being broken and transforming into a naked man, suddenly broke out of their stupor as a gruff female voice said loudly,

“Get that intruder! He destroyed our relic!”

Saying that, she broke into a run with an axe in hand — Damian recognized her; she was the same one who had caught him before. If he died here, would his body survive outside? Damian was doubtful. And he was not eager to find out either. He hurriedly stood up, touched Sam’s hand to draw his attention, and made a run for it in the opposite direction from the incoming villagers.

“Who the hell are they? Why are we running? And who the hell are you?”

Sam bombarded him with a series of questions while running beside him. Damian could see a wooden wall some 400 meters away, blocking their way — he could turn right and run toward the largest hut, but the wooden wall extended there too; it would only buy a few more minutes. Not to mention, it was uphill — it would be hard to climb while running. His physique before getting transmigrated was not top-tier at all. Even doing this much was more than he could have handled back in the day.

Numerous arrows landed beside them as they kept running straight.

“Why are they trying to kill us?” Sam asked again.

“Can we first get away? I can’t even speak right now..” Damian replied, breathing hard.

Sam, hearing that, stopped running altogether. Damian was also forced to stop.

“I did not say we could take a break!” Damian held Sam’s shoulder for support while breathing hard.

“Are they bad people?” Sam asked.

Damian’s brows raised hearing that, then he noticed the coursing lightning in Sam’s body getting a bit more intense. Damian’s eyes widened. Of course! He didn’t have his powers, but that didn’t mean Sam didn’t have them either. Why the fuck were they running then?

“I don’t know. For now, let’s just leave,” Damian replied.

Sam nodded and then picked up Damian, setting him on his shoulder. Then, channeling lightning in his legs, he jumped hundreds of meters high and wide — leaving the wooden log wall behind in just a couple of jumps. They disappeared inside the black-and-white forest before the villagers’ eyes, finally having a moment of peace.

Climbing halfway up a mountain, they found a cave and finally decided to stop there. Damian could finally catch his breath. The liquid, or energy, whatever it was, had left him breathless, and then he’d run like hell, making it worse.

“Who are you?” Sam asked.

He stood straight, looking down the edge of the slanted rock formation above which was the naturally formed cave. Damian had sat down. Both could see the distant village at the side of a pitch-dark flowing river, the villagers inside gathering and discussing things restlessly.

“I am Damian,” he replied simply, looking at Sam. From Sam’s barely changed expression, it was clear he already knew it and was just confirming.

“What happened to your face? Body? Why do you look so different and have no mana at all?”

“I don’t know. I forced my way into this world of illusions; maybe that’s why I am not myself.” Damian made an excuse. The confusion of their situation was already too much for him to reveal his dubious origins right now.

“Yes. The white room.. The dark cocoon..” Sam said, his face getting darker with each word. “Where are the others?” he asked at last.

Damian replied, “I don’t know. I think they should be here. I found all three of your bodies filled with that dark energy.”

“And Shadecaster?” Sam asked hurriedly.

“I found him too and killed him.. That’s how I got into this memory trap or illusion world, whatever it is.”

“How are we going to get out?”

“I did not plan that far ahead..”

“Hm.. No, you are right. We should focus on finding the others. Who knows what nightmare they have been living in.. They were gone for a long time, even before me.”

“I found a large blue energy sphere and broke that to find your nightmare. It was the only thing with color that I saw in this world. I assume Maelor and Lucian should be inside such things too.”

Sam nodded. He paused for a while, looking intently at the village, and said, “Nothing visible inside the village with color. How big is this thing?”

“Your sphere was around 60–70 meters in length. It was half-buried in the ground. Can you sense anything with mana here?”

Sam closed his eyes and breathed in and out slowly — trying to control his mind and extend his senses. But even after a minute, Sam remained silent, not finding anything.

“Nothing,” he replied. “Not a single ounce of mana. My body is not regenerating it either. I don’t think even the air here has it.”

“Your electricity?” Damian asked.

“Only a little is there.”

Damian’s heart was still racing; it had slowed down a little, returning to normal, but he could push through. He stood up, looking far into the white-and-black grass field where some weird black dots were present that looked too uniform for trees or boulders.

“Can you see another village anywhere?” Damian asked.

Sam followed his gaze and, after looking for a while, replied, “Yes. There is something. Could be another village. It’s far from here.”

“Let’s go then. We will walk.”

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