The Runic Alchemist

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With that, Bloodedge sat among the other third rankers, while murmurs broke out among the students in their sections. Some began asking questions, while others silently observed the vast, coliseum-like stadium as the middle ground opened slowly, revealing a prepared structure divided into five sections that was raised up. Each part was separated by a moat and connected by a bridge.

'Wow, Reize wasn't kidding when she said they go all out for this... That's an insane amount of work. How do they even manage to lift something so massive?' Damian wondered.

Damian noticed countless runic circles on the slowly emerging platform and many more scattered throughout the audience. He was tempted to analyze them all and uncover the mechanisms behind their construction. However, he held back, knowing he needed to conserve mana. Although his eye skill didn't drain much mana, it taxed his mind with the sheer volume of runes visible at once. Focus was critical right now.

He glanced toward the Knowledge Keeper students, recognizing only six or seven of them. Some offered him nervous smiles when they caught his gaze but quickly looked away, pretending best to ignore him.

Monsters weren't the issue for Damian; he could outrun them with ease with his speed. Carrying civilian dummies was also within his capabilities. However, defending a house while doing all that? Was not possible. He couldn't be in two places at once. Guess he could set up some traps but it won't last hours.

He needed help—just a little help.

"Guys..." Damian called out to the group. "Can we discuss a strategy? That is, if you're interested in at least getting some passing points?"

Their hesitation was obvious. While most of them knew him, it was only by reputation—and not a good one. His rumors preceded him, casting shadows over his actual character.

Still, those who shared classes with him cautiously stepped closer. Their example spurred others to follow. The advantage of having only 17 people in a section was the lack of significant divisions among them. Knowledge Keepers, in general, weren't particularly social; their time was mostly consumed by books and crafting.

"You're Simean, right? And Tom? And Gregory?" Damian guessed at the names of a few he was more familiar with. To his relief, they smiled and nodded. He had gotten them all right.

"We are too few to handle everything," Damian stated plainly. "So let's just focus on one thing: survival…"

Though hesitant at first, the group began to listen and nod as Damian explained his plan. By the time he finished, most doubts had faded, replaced by concentration. Doing well in the exam was more important right now for them all. Many contributed. A few showed strong expertise in defensive spells, while others demonstrated impressive resourcefulness, listing items they could craft from available materials. Their usefulness exceeded Damian's expectations - these guys were pretty good.

Still, against 70 Spellborne and 90 Pugilists, their efforts were far from enough. They would need to do much more than just "good."

When the staff members called out, signaling the test's start, everyone moved into position.

The three sections—each represented by a house marked with its insignia—were placed on the left, right, and center of one side of the ground. The massive central area was designated as the monster den, currently empty. Behind that was the zone for dummy civilian dolls. If they wanted to rescue the civilians, all three groups would have to cross the den and face its dangers.

The concept was simple, but the real challenge wasn't the test itself—it was the people.

Surviving for five hours was achievable, but some groups might focus on sabotaging others to ensure their own minimum success. Damian could see the more cunning participants already scheming—and, not to mention, he was one of them.

At least his section had some semblance of cohesion. With only 17 members, they didn't splinter into too many smaller groups like the others.

First things first: survival. Everything else was secondary.

Each section's students were placed in their assigned house, a modest two-story structure with plenty of open space around it for fighting, he presumed. The middle ground, part of the monster den, separated the groups. When the chimes signaled the start of the test, over 50 monsters of various sizes materialized within the den.

These creatures, marked with visible health bands, moved realistically—an incredible feat if controlled entirely by an Esper. The wave of monsters included giant monsters like the ones faced by the SSS ranking test students and in addition direwolves, massive trolls, oversized bees, and even plant-based monstrosities. The massive leader of a rat-like horde looked especially ridiculous and disgusting, a grotesque, muscular creature with six abs covered in matted fur surrounded by dog-sized rat-like creatures.

"It's starting," Damian muttered, watching the swarm rush toward their section.

The Spellborne and Fist of Valor students immediately took up defensive positions around their houses. Damian, meanwhile, climbed atop his own group's house to get a clearer view.

'Hmm... Not all the monsters are attacking. Some are holding their positions, covering different parts of the den. A troll group is heading our way, along with giant bees and that rat horde… Great.'

Damian sighed. He wished he could dismiss it all as a random construct made by people, but no—every monster present was a genuine creature from this world's wilderness and dungeons.

"Time to see what this cabal of mine can do," he murmured.

Jumping down, Damian directed the crafting students into the house while positioning those proficient in offensive spells at the moat's edge with him. Some wielded runic weapons capable of ranged attacks. Unsurprisingly, none of them were close-combat specialists except Damian himself.

"Tom and Gregory, you two hold this position with the others," Damian instructed, laying down some runic scrolls near the bridge's start. "Fire projectile spells from here and handle anything that gets past me. Warn others to not stand near the scrolls, though."

"That's the plan we discussed, but... where are you going?" Gregory asked.

"To the other side of the bridge," Damian replied, handing them a massive roll of his runic scrolls. "Keep these safe. I'll be back."

The group stared wide-eyed as Damian casually crossed the bridge, his massive glowing sword in hand as monsters came increasingly closer on the other side of the bridge.