The Runesmith

“Excuse me, but where is the noble Sun Wolf?”

“Oh sorry, there has been a change of plan, the Knight Commander and his tamed wolf won’t be available for a few days.”

“But…”

The priests, clad in the ceremonial garb of the Solarian Church, exchanged frustrated glances. They had arrived earlier than expected, hoping to take the divine beast with them to perform the usual rituals before their believers. It had become a weekly routine for them and Agni the Sun Wolf was supposed to be waiting for them outside. However, it seemed they were being turned away for reasons they hadn't anticipated.

One of the priests, an elderly man with a long, graying beard, approached the knights standing guard. His face was stern but with a touch of exhaustion, as though he had seen more than enough of this kind of interference in his time.

"I must insist, we have a sacred duty to fulfill. The wolf's divine blessing is of utmost importance. You cannot simply deny us access without explanation. We were not informed of any change in the schedule."

The knight at the front, a burly man with a scar running down his cheek, crossed his arms over his chest and stood firm.

"The High Knight Commander has issued new orders. Agni won’t be available for your rituals for the next few days, maybe even until next week. You’ll have to make do without him.”

The lead priest's face tightened, frustration bubbling beneath his composed exterior.

He snapped, his voice echoing through the courtyard.

“The faithful await the Sun Wolf’s blessing. Do you realize the kind of uproar this will cause among our followers?”

The scarred knight didn’t flinch, his expression stone cold.

“I follow the orders of my commander, not your schedule. If the faithful have questions, you can take it up with your superiors or the Knight Commander when he returns.”

The elder priest huffed, adjusting his ceremonial robes. His companions murmured in agreement, their voices carrying hints of indignation. However, they could see that they weren’t getting through and they were also aware of the magical turrets pointing their way so they could do nothing more than retreat.

“The high priest will hear of this!”

The knights stood unmoved as the priests shuffled away, their ceremonial robes fluttering in the wind. One of the younger priests muttered under his breath, only to be hushed by a sharp glance from the elder. For a while the knights kept their eyes of the solaria believers, only talking once they had vanished into the forest.

“Was that really fine? What if they go to the Inquisition?”

“Don’t worry, believe in our High Knight Commander, everything will be fine, we just need to follow orders. Now straighten up, if anything happens to Lady Elodia, our heads will roll!”

“Our heads Sir? Would the High Knight Commander do such a thing…”

The leader of the guards glanced at the two younger soldiers standing beside him. For some reason, he began looking around nervously before waving them closer. His voice dropped to a whisper.

“You weren’t there when it happened, but the Commander annihilated an entire knight troop by himself right here. He was ruthless! He even defeated Knight Commander Emmerson - with just his fists, and showed him no mercy!”

“Just his fists?”

The two men exchanged uneasy glances before looking back at their leader. They had heard rumors about the Commander, but they weren’t sure how much of it was true. The man rarely appeared, but when he did, chaos followed. They had even seen him flying on a metallic cart, pursued by the forces of an opposing faction, only for Lord Arthur to intervene and save him.

“Now that you understand, just shut up and keep watch!”

“Uh… Yes, Sir!”

The guards dispersed, passing orders to other men to spread out and secure the area. The entire site was now guarded by over thirty soldiers. Large runic turrets were strategically placed throughout, and a few imposing golems stood as silent sentinels. It was a veritable fortress that no ordinary intruder would dare to challenge. To top it off, tier-3 adventurers were stationed nearby, ready to respond in an instant should anything go awry.

With everyone bustling around, the leader froze, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. Something felt off. Slowly, he turned his head to the side. There, one of the turrets was pointed directly at him. He could swear it hadn’t been aimed his way a moment ago…

******

“I think I’m more feared than respected… but maybe that’s not such a bad thing. What do you think, Agni?”

“Worf?”

“I guess so.”

Roland glanced at the display screen before him, where he monitored the soldiers and knights stationed around his home. His advanced surveillance system provided a comprehensive view of the area. For a brief moment, he noticed one of the guards flinch, clearly spooked after realizing the turret had shifted to track him. The man’s uneasy expression gave Roland pause. It dawned on him just how intimidating he must appear to these people.

“If they knew I was watching them day and night, they might think I was some kind of madman.”

“Awooo?”

“It’s nothing, I’m fine. Let’s move. Just remember, before we enter the dungeon, switch to your ruby form.”

The two companions began their trek through a concealed tunnel leading into the dungeon. The passage had been restored after the Lich incident long ago, its walls widened and reinforced with the help of digging golems. Now, Agni could pass through with ease, even with his larger size.

Agni’s form as a flaming Sun Wolf illuminated the passageway, his radiant golden glow lighting their path. But soon, his appearance began to shift. Shimmering red rubies emerged from his fur, replacing the fiery brilliance. The golden glow dimmed as he transitioned into his ruby form, a transformation that was far more than cosmetic. This form significantly increased his resistance to physical attacks, hardening his defenses like an impenetrable gemstone.

The primary reason for the transformation, however, was subtler. It allowed Agni to move through the dungeon undetected, blending in without alarming the priests who occupied the area. Most of them had no idea of his hybrid nature and would never suspect that the ruby-furred wolf was, in fact, the fabled Sun Wolf blessed by their goddess.

“Now then, let’s see how things are going inside the dungeon.”

With his wife safe and his immediate worries set aside, he turned his focus to the dungeon. This place held a wealth of memories, most of them unpleasant, but it was also where he had achieved tier 3. Returning now, he felt a sense of anticipation. Perhaps during this journey he could discover something to help him with his current leveling problem. Reaching level hundred with Runesmith Overlord was his main goal now but for that to happen, he needed a proper training ground which would probably not be easy to discover.

“There probably won’t be a tier 4 monster I can easily kill with divine magic? Would be nice if it was…”

He mumbled to himself while heading through the hidden entrance. The door opened by sliding to the side and he was there.

“Ah, it’s rather toasty in here…”

This chamber was previously a hidden room with some rewards inside of them but now it was turned into something resembling a boiler room. There were many large pipes going in different directions, part of the geothermal generator system they were establishing inside.

“Everything’s progressing nicely. With all this geothermal energy, we won’t need any additional wind generators anytime soon.”

Roland’s gaze swept across the machinery, which had been installed as part of an experimental system to harness its latent heat energy. He had a hard time explaining everything to the union dwarves but eventually, they went along with his plans. Now, with this vast reservoir of power at his disposal, Roland could easily run an entire factory while still supplying more than enough energy to power the entire city. The possibilities were limitless, and this system would soon become the backbone of his magical city.

“If everything goes well, the new housing units will come equipped with rune lights, coolers, and heated water.”

Thanks to the abundance of geothermal energy, the plan to transform the entire city into a magical wonderland was nearing completion. The network of cables now spanned nearly every corner, and most of the supporting infrastructure was already in place. All that remained was the installation of the hardware that would harness this energy.

Once everything was operational, Roland anticipated the favorability of the city’s residents to soar. After all, this project promised a new era of magical convenience and innovation, powered by an endless, almost cost-free energy source drawn from the dungeon itself.

After glancing around and checking for any potential leaks, he headed out. After Agni squeezed through a few secret corridors, he arrived around the mid-levels of the dungeon. There he was greeted by a well-populated dungeon, with multiple adventurer groups fighting lower-level monsters.

They were engaged in battling a few skeletons, similar to the ones he had empowered with his necrotic cube. The sight of adventurers fighting undead flaming skeletons gave Roland pause. It reminded him of his past, back when he had been doing the same. He couldn’t help but analyze their techniques, which, though rough, showed some promise. Most of them were equipped with runic gear from his shop. While he did aim to make a profit, his products were typically affordable and durable.

‘I might have to get used to all these prying eyes’

Some adventurers were hunting monsters, but others had their eyes fixed on him - or more specifically, on Agni. The creature's imposing presence was unlike anything they could hope to handle. Thanks to Agni, Roland had little difficulty reaching the tenth level. The inexperienced adventurers were either too afraid or too intimidated by the massive, ruby-furred beast. With a single snort or howl, Agni could send entire groups scrambling, likely mistaking him for a monster preying on adventurers.

‘I need to install a private elevator to take me straight to the lava area… Or maybe I could drill through from the other side and create my own entrance from a different location?’

The increasing number of people in the dungeon and the time wasted traveling back and forth between levels were becoming problematic. Two options came to mind: the first involved constructing a tunnel and installing an elevator system. The second would make use of one of the hidden chambers and the geothermal generator he had already set up. With his current expertise, crafting a small teleportation gate was also a viable solution. Though it would consume a large amount of mana, it might ultimately prove cheaper and more efficient than boring through layers of dense rock.

‘That’s not a bad idea,’ he thought. ‘I should scout for a suitable spot and see if it’s feasible.’

After passing through the already cleared boss chamber, Roland arrived at the vast, open lava zone. Like the previous ten levels, this area was more crowded than usual, though the adventurers were spread out due to the increased difficulty of the monsters. Roland’s immediate destination was the mining site, where the entrance to the true dungeon lay. However, before proceeding, there was another matter he wanted to investigate - an area that had eluded discovery until now.

Thanks to his soldiers and the guild, Roland had managed to deploy numerous sensors throughout the dungeon. There wasn’t a single corner he couldn’t view through his mapping device. This system, initially designed to support their protection business and aid golems in rescuing adventurers, had an unexpected benefit: it allowed him to measure unusual phenomena. With Sebastian’s help, he had pinpointed one particular spot in the old dungeon that emitted an intriguing mana signature. It was time to check it out for himself.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Roland made his way to the area that had piqued his interest. There a group of volcanic rock golems blocked his path, similar to the one monster he defeated when he picked up Agni. Once these monsters were a real threat to him but now, he didn’t even need to move a finger.

“Agni.”

“Woof!”

Agni leapt at the first monster, and the slaughter began. The golems trudged through pools of lava, but for Agni, resistant to fire, the fiery terrain posed no threat. The volcanic rock golems, formidable in appearance, crumbled like brittle clay under the relentless onslaught of the massive wolf. His ruby-furred form shimmered with each strike, the force of his blows reverberating through the cavern.

Roland observed calmly, one hand trailing along the rough surface of the cavern wall as he searched for the anomaly.

“They tend to appear in areas with strong monsters. This one seems clever, though - knows how to stay hidden... but…”

Once the battle ended, they pressed deeper into the dungeon, arriving at a seemingly barren cave. Jagged rocks jutted from every surface, creating a space that offered no room to maneuver. The area was desolate - no resources, no monsters, no hints of hidden treasures. Even the rocks were exceptionally hard and devoid of any redeeming qualities. Most adventurers would give up here, deeming it a pointless dead end. That, Roland suspected, was precisely what the creator of this space had intended.

“Interested in some digging, Agni?”

“Worf?”

Agni’s ears perked up, but the wolf seemed reluctant to navigate the jagged, sharp rocks ahead. Roland simply shrugged and activated his magic. With a touch of his gauntlet-clad hands, he began pressing against the sharp rocks, softening them into ordinary earth. Though they appeared solid, the rocks were merely clumps of soil reinforced by mana, their structure easily unraveled once the mana was affected by his own.

“This area’s definitely different”

Roland muttered, noting the peculiar composition. It made sense - this was where the dungeon’s creator had hidden the core. After navigating a narrow corridor, he came to a solid wall. Activating his debugging skill, the hidden runes etched into the surface became visible. Roland’s experience with opening concealed chambers served him well, and it took only a minute to decipher and rearrange the puzzle. With a faint rumble, the wall shifted, revealing a hidden path. At the end of the corridor lay the object of his search: a strange, floating orb, its surface pulsating with raw, unbridled power.

“So, this is it, the dungeon’s central piece.”

Roland had read extensively about these magical objects. Theories about their origins varied widely. Some believed them to be divine artifacts, remnants of evil gods who had left them behind as seeds of chaos. Others argued that they were nothing more than evolved monsters, feeding on the energy adventurers provided through their deaths within the dungeon's confines. Despite the disagreements, there was one universally accepted truth: the destruction of a dungeon core meant the annihilation of the entire dungeon and probably anyone still left within it.

“I wonder if this thing could directly power the entire city...”

The mana in the area was incredibly dense, the core practically immersed in it. Swirling energy radiated from the orb, casting a surreal, flickering light that danced across the cavern walls. Though the core was right before him, he didn’t step into the room. Crossing the threshold would trigger a cascade of problems. The orb itself appeared defenseless, and the chamber was small, but the moment he entered, an avalanche of monsters would likely be unleashed, all of them swarming the area.

“I wonder what I should do with this thing...”

He had come more out of curiosity than anything else. There was no real reason for him to take the core as doing so would make him an enemy to every creature in the dungeon. Escaping would be difficult, and if the orb were damaged in the ensuing flood of monsters, the entire dungeon would collapse.

“Interesting...”

After activating his eye skill, Roland was able to discern an intriguing fact - he could copy the magic inscriptions on the core’s surface without needing to get any closer. Fortunately, the core was an almost perfect sphere, floating and revealing all of its sides to him. But there was a complication. The runes were extraordinarily complex, far beyond his current understanding. They seemed to belong to a structure that was likely of tier 4 complexity.

His eye twitched with strain from the overwhelming mana radiating from the orb, forcing him to look away. It was a magnificent piece of research material, but further examination would have to wait. The possibilities were staggering as if he could somehow copy the entire dungeon core, the potential for what he could do was nearly limitless. An endless supply of monsters, perhaps ones that he could tailor to his leveling needs, a personal leveling dungeon of his own making…