The Runic Alchemist

Since it was the first day, they didn't take a full schedule of classes, letting students leave after just three classes. There were various social activities for students to participate in, giving time for communities to recruit new members. Such gatherings were happening now in one of the many open spaces previously used for the morning assembly.

Several communities focused on clearing the dungeon's five levels as quickly as possible, while others collaborated on developing runic weapons and tools. Although they hadn't received their labs yet, they were already making plans. Some groups were dedicated to natural resource gathering, others to battle practice. Joining these communities was optional, so they weren't overcrowded. Most groups focused on achieving one or two of the Hall of Glory's objectives.

Damian stood off to the side, leaning against a stone pillar, watching the enthusiastic faces of students vying for new members. Sam, the princess, and Einar were surrounded by swarms of people, all eager to have them join their groups. From a distance, Damian enjoyed the sight of their forced, uncomfortable smiles.

It was fortunate that only a few Knowledge Keeper students knew about him, and he hadn't stood out much beyond that. Some beast-taming and research communities showed interest in Toph, perched atop his head, but Damian politely declined their offers. He was curious about his small companion, but the information he sought was too sensitive to share with a group.

There was one thing Damian wanted to test with Toph. While the dungeon's five levels weren't particularly useful for him aside from copying and mimicry spells, they might provide Toph with an opportunity to gain new skills. He wanted to confirm if Toph could learn random skills—especially since he had gained one outside his species once before, though none since that day.

Damian had tried all the mundane methods kids used before ascension to learn skills, but nothing had worked for Toph. Perhaps beasts had different requirements or needed specific conditions to acquire new skills. The dungeon, designed for leveling, might offer some beast-related skill opportunities. Even if it didn't, encountering new monsters and getting new spells would still make the experience worthwhile.

As he mused, a young girl—likely a second or third-year student—approached him. Her confident smile and short black hair reminded Damian of a girl from his orphanage.

"Hey, I'm Victoria from the Exemplary Spellcrafting Community. We've heard great things about you—mind if we chat?" she asked enthusiastically, stepping a bit too close for his comfort.

"Sure, but I won't be joining," Damian replied.

"Ah… Not even a little?" she pressed.

"How does one join 'a little'?" Damian asked, with a look of beffudlement.

The girl pouted and turned away with a dramatic "Hmph!" Damian couldn't help but chuckle at her behavior.

"My, my… That wasn't very gentlemanly," another voice chimed in. A sly-looking boy with dark hair tinged with purple approached him. Damian looked at him with a questioning expression.

"I'm Davil, from the Dark Element Research Community. I sense a great darkness in you. You'd make an excellent member of our community.. I can see it.."

"Did you change your name to sound like 'Devil'?" Damian asked bluntly.

"Ah, what? I would never… Just a funny coincidence! Haha… ah…" Davil stammered.

Under the weight of Damian's intense glare and a slight release of his aura, the boy quickly turned and walked away in the opposite direction.

Why was he constantly approached by weird people? Did he give off some sort of weirdo vibe?

It was probably time to leave. He had already enjoyed watching the others struggle, which was his main reason for coming, apart from checking out the event.

"Running away, are we?" Damian felt a chill at the back of his neck and couldn't tell if it was real or imagined.

"Don't sneak up on people," he scolded the heir of Goldilocks, her neutral face betraying hints of amusement.

She had masked her mana briefly. Damian had sensed her earlier at a distance but ignored her since she'd been surrounded by people just like others. Had she truly mastered her aura to the point of hiding her mana signature? Einar had once explained the theory of such a feat, with some knights and heroes in the past achieving it, but evn Einar hadn't yet mastered complete masking.

"Why don't you join a community? It's a key to building connections and strengthening society," she said with a straight face. Damian, however, recognized her sarcasm. Social advice from Lucian? He wasn't that far gone yet. Adrian and Fiona stood on either side, as always.

"I have better things to do," Damian replied and resumed watching Einar politely pushing people away bit by bit with a fake smile plastered on her face. It was fun. "Did you join any?" He asked, since she had been quiet for a while now.

"The High Society of Noble Lineage," she murmured, a hint of anger in her tone. That group was full of noble brats treating it like an exclusive inner circle. Though technically open to anyone, the community's name alone deterred most. It was an old community, and a ritual for nobles to join at this point, with the highest-ranking noble serving as the head. Even Evrin had been fussing about needing to prepare for it.

"I don't know for sure but they were talking about not letting your brother join in.." Lucian said with a hushed voice, a tinge of sadness in it.

"It's better for his character to stay away from that den of snakes.." Damian replied without looking at her.

"Your absence was the last straw that broke the camel's back," she said. "Their seat of power is cursed, and the dungeon can't be entered. The taxes were the one thing they relied on to survive, along with monster hunting, but competition from neighboring regions has only grown. They raised the taxes, sold household items, even took a loan from the Duke in exchange for the rights to their villa. The only reason no region has attacked their weakened army is because of my father's mana contract with your father—you in exchange for their region's protection for 9 years. They're nobles in name only. Even their own soldiers and knights deserted them, and there have even been instances of serfs rising up against them because of the increased taxes."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om