The Runic Alchemist

Before long, Damian took control of his fall and went straight down, cleaving through the atmosphere. The giant stone shrine looked like a toy from up here.

He stopped after reaching a few kilometers above the giant stone shrine. He had so much power now. His physical capabilities had more than doubled—already he was a mid-range Transcendent, much stronger than the weakest of them—and he still had 350 stat points he could assign as he wished.

Damian activated his status tool again to use his points. The racial skill section caught his eyes, though, just as he looked at the screen:

Racial: [Demonic Chains], [Dark Lightning], [Hellfire]

The magma thing was missing. Maybe there was some kind of skill limit. With Hellfire, though, magma was not that needed. Damian wanted to activate the skill and test them, but he didn't want to disturb the sleeping city beneath—he would have plenty of chances to do so later.

He smiled, not seeing any extra sections in his status after skills. The penalty was finally gone. Inside him, it did not feel much different other than an increase in power. He had no idea if his soul had recovered or not, but it did somewhat feel like he was complete now. It was that feeling one only experienced after gaining something and then realizing they had been missing it all along.

Now came the time for stats. Damian knew this was a significant turn in his life and he might never be able to reach any higher rank again—earning any more stat points was not going to be easy. So this could be considered a final update for years to come. Damian put 100 into INT and 100 into STR first; those were his main needs. Then he put 75 into DEF, 50 into AGI, and 25 into DEX—not leaving a single stat point. At this stage of his level, a few points could not be considered a good enough boost for fights in an emergency.

Now, he was probably reaching even higher than a peak-level Transcendent from just pure stats alone. And his stats were not the deadliest weapon in his arsenal—it was his knowledge and unique skills.

There were many things he could have done right now, but he didn't have time to waste. Right now, he needed a plan. A strategy. To face the Demon Lord in battle.

But before that, he should check out the possibility of having any usable monster IDs in his record books. Damian flew down. However, instead of going back to his room—where he was afraid he would break things, still not comfortable with having so much strength in his body—Damian landed at the top of the giant stone shrine and built a small wooden house there.

The feel of the mana threads was so detailed. It almost felt like he was using his own fingers to do the spell. His focus had reached a limit in which he could probably extend a mana thread for kilometers and barely feel any inconvenience. Using hundreds and hundreds of them together in a short range? It felt like child's play now.

Damian pulled a chair, used light orbs to brighten the whole building, and put down over five thick leather back books on the table. These were the books in which he kept all the IDs he had collected so far—most of which he remembered in his mind, with his memory being really sharp. Probably after reading all of these, he wouldn't even have to ever open any of them again to get any ID—he had 500 points in INT now, after all.

Damian read the one in which he recorded all the Highsword Dungeon ones from the start to the finish. His mind remembered each and every ID with the little notes Damian often wrote beside them—the only thing from that desert.. That had a recorded ID with Damian was the monster he had used to create the cooling potion.

Damian quickly pulled out a bottle of cooling potion and drank a little. The cold stone materialized in his chest after a few seconds. The effect of the potion was just as potent—it still worked. Meaning the monster was still alive in that dungeon. The red wave did not work on monsters, and the guy was in Dreamlight when it happened. Damian immediately weaved a Waygate spell, activating two of his sacrium mana cubes.

After completing the spell, Damian breathed in—this was possibly their only way to go back. He had no idea what they would do if this didn't work. The most probable option Damian could think of was to build another flying ship that could handle even space travel and search for their world. That would take years—but there wouldn't be any other choice.

Damian exhaled and activated the runic circle. His eyes widened in shock when he realized the spell was already in effect and the familiar resistance was not felt at all. Damian stared, speechless, at the shimmering blue portal as it fully opened. Would going back and forth take too much time in accordance with the pigmen world, like it did between Earth and their own world?

No, he shouldn't do this alone. If he disappeared, nothing would stand between the Demon Lord and all these people, including his friends. Damian closed the Waygate.

They were still banned from the dungeon, though—how would the dungeon system react if he suddenly went back? Maybe he should prepare for it a bit and think about possibilities and variable solutions.

Damian was too full of energy to sleep. And he felt like sleeping was not going to be as necessary as it was before ever again. Still, he had seen the Transcendents sleep, so it was still possible to give his mind a rest.

He was happy that now they had an option other than Earth. Still, Damian was not going to go back until he was done with his goal here. He was the reason a whole planet's population had been wiped out and had become mindless slaves. Not entirely his fault, but he was the one who released Land Breaker. He had to put him down any way possible. If he didn't, he would never be able to live in peace.