The Runic Alchemist-Chapter 450: The Last Sixteen

The magma golem’s mana stones were indeed impressive, and the ores that sometimes dropped from their bodies were also quite useful. It took them four grueling days, and many times, Damian had to restrain a golem from going wild and killing students. But they had finally reached the end. It was still 2–3 km away, but at least they could see it now. The rest of the way was already jam-packed with golems, and it would likely take another half a day before they could truly leave this place.

The exhausted faces of the group were rewarding enough for Damian to not feel like he had wasted four days doing absolutely nothing. He had spent the entire time maintaining his spell and keeping everyone alive. Without fighting, he wasn’t even gaining any experience. He could now truly understand what the Highswords behind him were feeling.

Thankfully, he could ditch all the additional helpers and continue with a smaller team after this.

After half a day of intense battles, one after another, they finally reached the keypoint. At one point, Damian had to close the gaps entirely to prevent more monsters from swarming in before the ones inside were killed. It had been brutal. Many were injured and few came very close to dying.

But at last, they were through. Damian erected a barrier around the keypoint to keep the bugs away. Even as they caught their breath, more golems began emerging from the lava rivers behind them—it was an eerie sight.

Looking at their exhausted faces, Damian spoke, "You can level up all you want and collect dungeon relics in your life—but only if you’re alive. I commend you for making it this far. You fought with everything you had. But we are not immortals. If you continue leveling in a group at lower levels, some of you can easily reach level 100. Do it together. Those levels aren’t easy, either. Always be prepared. Don’t take unnecessary risks. But going forward is a suicide."

They seemed somewhat convinced. Well, it would be clear soon enough.

After some discussion, they came to a decision. Most had already seen the limits of their strength here, and without Damian’s support, it was better to leave and level up in peace. This dungeon was a rare opportunity, and no one wanted to waste it—but neither did they want to die.

Some students came asking for the half of the materials Damian had promised. He agreed—but only on the condition that they descend below level five. If they were backing out of the deal, there would be no additional benefits. Needless to say, no one mentioned repayment after that. Evrin and Grace had already informed him about their houses and financial situations, and he knew that those who had come asking weren’t as poor as they claimed.

Most of them decided not to go any further. Kishi, seeing Lumi and Elias staying with Damian, started pleading with Einar and Lucian, but they firmly refused her. Lumi and Elias were Damian’s assistants, and he was responsible for their protection. If they brought Kishi along, she would become Einar and Lucian’s responsibility—and they admitted, bluntly, that they barely had the strength to protect themselves, let alone someone else.

Kamisen and his group also remained behind. Damian didn’t even have to say anything—they seemed to understand their limits. Though he did see them speaking with the Highswords—perhaps they had convinced them. It wasn’t unusual. One member of each section of the Highswords had agreed to escort the students back and report their situation and tell their estimation of how long still it would take for them to reach level 25. They were already speaking with the students as they prepared to leave.

In the end, only Damian, Sam, Reize, Maelor, Lucian, Evrin, Einar, Grace, Lumi, Elias, Alex, Karl, Evante, and a commoner boy named Sariel, along with a girl from their spellcrafting class, Ameriel (Amy for short), remained.

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Damian himself had invited Alex, Karl, Evante, Sariel, and Amy because they had shown substantial talent and power over the past few days. They were not only strong but also had good heads on their shoulders.

Including Mindseer, the sixteen of them stepped into the keypoint after the others had left and proceeded to level 19. Level 18 was another same cold one so they just ignored it all together, flying across it.

Needless to say, this one was also similar to level 17. However, the straight path was gone. Instead, the entire mountainous range was open for them to traverse. Of course, there were still magma golems, along with new threats: Smolderwing Moths—swarms of burning-winged insects; Soot Golems; Scalding Gargoyles—winged stone fiends that spewed magma; and Lavaborn Trolls—hulking creatures with thick, flame-covered fur.

Damian flew up and spotted three clear paths they could take, so they chose one and advanced.

Having a smaller team made commanding much easier, and since everyone was an experienced fighter, he didn’t have to look after anyone. Everyone did their part, and their progress was much faster. Damian was also doing more this time, which further increased their speed. In addition to maintaining the rectangular air shield, he was actively fighting with his spear, using massive ice and water spells to thin out enemy numbers when they became overwhelming.

The experience gained was significantly better. And with an abundance of monsters to fight, no one minded that Damian was clearing large numbers on his own. Instead, they eyed him suspiciously, as if to say, Couldn’t you have done that earlier?

Damian finally addressed it when he lazor-shot seven golems in a row without breaking a sweat and they all stared at him intently. "It’s better for them, okay? I don’t want to carry them around till the end."

"We totally agree. No one said anything.." Sam said, smirking.

"Yes, they were slowing down the prodigy. How shameless of them," Einar added, mocking him.

"That is right. That is right," Lumi chimed in, praising him needlessly.

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"Peasants must clear the way for the true master. It is the way of life," Evrin said, nodding sagely.

"Shut up!" Damian shouted, and the group burst into laughter.

The pace was much faster now. With a smaller, stronger team, they could quickly retreat or reposition if necessary. But with Damian’s vast mana reserves, the mindless monsters posed little to no threat.