The Runic Alchemist

She squinted her large ember eyes at him, then dropped her head back onto the table. Sena had changed a lot, and she had a good reason to. She now even had mana in her body, having acquired a mage class during her trial.

"Who told you to use the ascension stone? Was it Paul or Kyle?" Damian asked, impressed by the decision-making. A child in her situation might not survive if no one came for them soon enough, but with enhanced stats, she would at least have a fighting chance.

She glanced up again and replied, "No one... I did it myself."

Huh? That was impressive thinking and quick decision-making for someone her age. She was barely seven or eight. They were around the same age. He had overheard maids talking about her, and one of them mentioned she was seven. Otherwise, he would have guessed she was ten.

Physically, they appeared similar, though she was a year younger. However, Damian never really considered himself an eight-year-old, knowing what he truly was. After those initial three years at Goldilock's estate, he hardly tried to act like a child.

"Where did you get the ascension stone?" Damian asked, curious.

"Uhm... It was just there in the storage room..." Guilt was written all over her cute face.

"You stole it?"

"I borrowed it!"

"Right..." Damian gave her a suspicious look, purposely trying to annoy her. "So, you chose mage. How was your trial?"

"Mama said not to tell anyone what we see there. The goddess gives each of us a trial meant only for us, something we must face alone."

"Yeah, that tracks..."

"What?"

"Nothing." Now it was her turn to look at him suspiciously, mimicking his expression in a way that looked both funny and adorable.

"Lady Commander is a mage..." she said quietly, after getting tired of staring.

"Do you have a status tool?" Damian asked, he also wanted to check his. Talking about it just reminded him.

"We're not supposed to show it to anyone... but I'll let you see."

"Huh? Why?" Damian asked, she had framed the sentene like he was someone special to her.

She took out a small metal box and held it in her hand, her face going blank with no emotions as she locked eyes with him.

"Because you saved me."

"Who told you that?" Damian asked, surprised. Was that why she kept visiting him?

"Everyone talks about it... but not when you're around."

With a flicker of translucent blue light, her status screen appeared. Just like before, no mana was transferred, and no runic circles became visible, even with his [Eyes of Truth] activated.

---

Name : Sena Lv.26

Rank : Light Walker

Affinity : Earth, Light

Mana : 856/1200

STR : 35

DEF : 33

INT : 45

AGI : 36

DEX : 29

CHA : 16

LUC : 7

Job : Apprentice Mage Lv. 1

Blessings : Nature Goddess's Blessing

Skills : [Elemental Affinity Lv.2], [Mana Sense Lv.1], [Expert Scholar Lv.1], [Growth x3 Lv.1], [Expert Swordswoman Lv.1]

---

Hmm... that was pretty impressive. She even had a swordsmanship skill. She must've been trained well from the start, and the growth skill probably helped, but still, she was a valuable asset. Even her luck was at 7, four more than his. No wonder he found her under all that rubble.

"Is it good? They all say it is, but I don't feel much more powerful," she said, looking up at him, eager for his response.

"It's impressive, but... it's just numbers. It's your ability to use them to your advantage that makes you an expert. To do that, you must deeply understand your skills and then work on improving them."

She nodded, absorbing his words. She was intelligent for a kid. It always surprised him how children in this world were so much further ahead than those on Earth.

Damian took the status tool from her hand and sat down in his seat, far from hers, on the opposite end of the room. She watched him curiously, wondering what he was doing with her tool. As Damian summoned his own status screen, a flicker of blue light appeared once again. He noticed Sena sliding toward him, so he released the spell he was drawing for a while, knowing this would happen.

Green vines sprouted from the wooden floor, wrapping around her legs and holding her in place. She squeaked, sitting down with a pout and glaring at him. Then realization hit her, and her eyes widened in shock.

"You learned wood-style !?" she exclaimed loudly, but Damian ignored her, focusing on his status.

---

Name : Damian Sunblade Lv.50

Rank : Lord

Affinity : Water, Space-time

Mana : 5400/6000

STR : 92

DEF : 60

INT : 151

AGI : 58

DEX : 60

CHA : 19

LUC : 3

Job : The Runic Chemist Lord (Level 25)

Blessings : Godless [0 Available Points]

Titles : [Cold Blooded Killer], [Wild Hunter], [Chained], [Primordial Metal Shaper], [Titan Killer]

Skills : [Beginner Tree Climbing Lv.2], [Being of Truth Lv.9], [Expert Scholar Lv.9], [Expert Swordsman Lv.7], [The Runic Lord Lv.9], [Runic Inscription Lv.9], [Arcane Synthesis Lv.3], [Pain Resistance Lv.9], [Expert Spearman Lv.8]

Penalty : (1). Use of (Veil of Containment) now costs five times the original mana, taking a piece of the user's guilty soul with it each time.

---

Whoa! What the hell? A penalty? What's that? The red mana in his chest...? But why?

Veil of Containment—the invisible box spell? Is it because he killed people with it? But people kill with spells all the time. Why was he the only one being punished? He had killed plenty of monsters with the same spell—did that not count? Or was it psychological?

Did it count as wrong because he thought it was wrong? No, that seemed absurd. Status was absolute; there was no room for subjective interpretation.

Then it's something weird and specific to him because... Hm..?

'Because I am Godless..? My crimes are not forgivable..? What nonsense is that..?'

And wait—how did he get the new spearman skill when he learned it after his first trial? One wasn't supposed to learn new skills outside of ascension job trials. What's going on here...?