The Runic Alchemist

The man invited Damian to chat upstairs, so he and Toph followed behind. The room was cluttered with boxes, spare items, mana stones of different elements, and various common books scattered about.

"May I know your name, young man? It's been a while since I've met a promising young mage," the man said as he settled behind his desk, gesturing for Damian to take a seat.

"Maximus," Damian replied, watching the color drain subtly from the man's face—not out of fear, but with a cautious, amused surprise.

It seemed his name had spread throughout Pyron. After killing their lord, that was to be expected. Thankfully, most people only knew his name, not his face. It felt like it had been so long that Damian nearly forgot his name held a reputation here.

"You came with the army?" the mage asked, regaining his composure after a brief pause.

"Yes. Should I leave?" Damian asked, unsure if the man was debating whether to speak with him or alert the authorities.

"Oh, no! I'm sorry for reacting that way—you just surprised me, that's all." The man smiled again. "Your name is… infamous in this city."

"Does that earn me a discount?" Damian asked, watching as the man chuckled before slowly shaking his head. Stingy bastard.

"Well, I wasn't a fan of the man myself, so maybe a little. Still, the city hasn't fared well in his absence; maybe Lord Aramis can change things for us small business owners," the man said in a practiced tone.

Damian nodded, and the man continued, "Anyway, what can I do for you? Your little mana trick certainly caught my attention."

"I wanted to come here," Damian said, looking around.

"Because…?"

"I hoped there would be more books."

The man chuckled. "You're a strange kid. Then again, all the good mages were the strange ones. I might have something if you're interested."

"Of course."

The man retrieved a large, finely crafted wooden box with a leather finish. Just the box itself looked expensive. As the man opened it, Damian noticed some familiar books from the credit list:

'Grimoire of the Arcane'

and

'Book of Eternal Light'

. The first covered advanced elemental spells, and the second, healing spells. Damian could already obtain those with his credits, so he focused on the others.

Three in particular caught his eye:

'The Gale of Secrets: Scrolls of Wind and Whisper', 'The Flame of Oaths: A Fire Magic Collection',

and

'The Runes of Unity: The Balance of Seven'.

Damian asked for the prices, and as expected, they were all over 10+ gold each—some even reached 20. Insanely pricey. He chose the fire magic collection and the runic book, noticing the mage's eyes sharpen as he selected two of the most expensive items.

"I see the war efforts have been profitable for you," the man said teasingly.

"That's what happens when you're good at killing." That shut him up quickly.

Damian paid the man in full, stored his new books in his spatial storage, and got up. Nodding once, he turned to leave but paused when the man called out for him behind his back.

"Don't work for them. They only want to keep fighting. For the respect of my class—don't waste your talent on them. They're not worth it." Damian smiled but didn't look back, only offering a small nod to show he understood.

Gathering his things from below, Damian and Toph left the fancy bookshop. On the way back, they stopped at a stall with a delicious aroma and tried a strange, noodle-like vegetable dish. It was surprisingly good, Toph also liked it, though Toph liked everything, so his judgment was questionable.

Afterward, Damian spent the day preparing his runic parchments as Toph ran around the room. He sensed Einar returning and from the sounds—it was safe to say all others also did with her. They were reliable, at times when he needed them. It took Damian all afternoon and evening to complete his preparations, finishing much faster than he'd expected now that he was quicker at creating runic circles.

By the time he finished, Toph had already wore himself out and was already fast asleep on his bed, sprawled out with his belly on display—that guy had no manners at all. Damian's cleaning room noise woke him up, so he took him out to the tavern. Naturally, the others joined them, as this was their last night in Pyron. Tomorrow morning, they will head for the capital city, Celestria.

Yovan would stay behind, having made enough to live comfortably for a while with his grandmother and figure out his future. They had invited him along for a final meal together before parting ways. The cousins were also planning to return to their hometown on the other side of Eldoris after collecting their rewards from the capital. They'd all decided against going back to the war. They'd fought enough and earned enough. The cousins especially wanted to earn a right to fight in the knights' section of the

'Monarch's Trial'

, which wasn't difficult to earn with their credits and even without that people could get in specially if one was skilled, not in the nights section though they would have to start even lower. After that, they hoped to train more with their uncle and eventually serve a reputable noble household. Sam, of course, was coming with Damian, and so was Einar.

Einar initially was troubled with him, because of him doing the one thing she had dreamed of doing ever since she had left her house. Although she detested corrupt nobles, her father had instilled in her a deep pride, honor, and sense of duty as a lord. Damian could see she was still confused, though not as gloomy as before. The challenges of battle had helped her in ways neither of them expected. Damian and Sam convinced her to decide her future path after getting her credits and taking some time to relax. She still acted a bit restrained around him, he could understand her conflicted feelings, so he never pushed either. He did not want her to lose her one reason for living so he eliminated that reason himself, there were other reasons but that was also one of them. He didn't know if what he did was morally right or wrong for her, he was no one to judge, he knew one thing though and that was, it felt right to him at least. If that was a mistake he will live with it, but having regrets he won't do. Just his dumb men had made such a problem in the middle of a battle, if the lord was still alive who know what he would have done.

As Damian expected, they'd already received numerous invitations, though they were mostly from minor nobles or knights looking for squires or guards. Sam, with his unique powers, received the most offers-he declined them all. Einar was the second-most invited, followed by Yovan. Even still many people were in their inn, spying on them. Damian could pick each one out, but since they maintained their distance and didn't cause trouble, he chose to ignore them. However, he did set traps around his room in case any of them got too adventurous.

Damian himself hadn't received a single invite. More than any respect for royalty, to which he was rumored to have connections after Vidalia's pardon and their eloping together, it was his reputation for killing second-rankers that made others hesitate to hire him for anything. Only third rankers could hire him without much worry for their life and even they won't be able to fully trust him with their backs.