The Runic Alchemist

Chapter 862: The Followers of Gods

After all the information Damian received from this tale, it was clearer than ever that the so-called gods and their blessings were the shackles keeping all people on the mainland from reaching their full potential through their status.

Any creature at the top would do the same. Protecting its throne. One might expect intelligence would separate beings from mere animals, simply consuming and destroying on instinct. But reality was often disappointing.

Steelweaver said the gods could see and probably hear through their believers. All people present in the room, except Steelweaver, were compromised. Probably even Landbreaker.

But they weren’t omnipresent. The god of chaos guided Neo. Probably acting as his secret scion. Doing things for empty promises without even knowing its full consequences. When the god of chaos was connected with Neo in the middle of their fight, the black thin mana thread had descended from the sky. Very similar to this pillar of divinity that Steelweaver mentioned.

Meaning the gods could hear and see through their followers, but only if they chose to do so actively. The thin, invisible to all, mana thread was a clear giveaway of that.

Damian looked around his office, and his heart sank. A sigh was about to escape, but he controlled himself and forced his face not to show any emotions.

Evrin, Souldealer, and Voidshaper had received this distinct thin mana thread on their heads midway through the Steelweaver’s story. Their gods had never paid attention to these people, but the Steelweaver’s divine energy must have drawn their attention.

Damian needed to hide his ability to see their presence.

At least until he was sure that the connection to the gods only revealed the current happenings before their followers, not the entire memories of the followers.

“Who is this.. single believer of yours?” Mindseer asked.

Steelweaver’s eyes traveled to her.

“I am not strong enough to sense.”

“Everyone has blessings, right? Is that what you mean when you talk about a follower?” Torvin asked.

Damian couldn’t help but smile. A person without any Pathfinder powers might be the only person he could trust right now. Torvin had seen so many shocking things that it didn’t even faze him anymore. The old man was better at learning things than one might give him credit for.

“Yes, for some at least. The ancient gods have somehow gained such powers to give blessings. I can’t. The only way I can gain a follower is by teaching them my techniques.” Steelweaver replied.

“You are surrounded by followers of other gods right now, are you not—” Lucian was about to ask when Steelweaver smiled and finished her question,

“Afraid?” Then added, “When you die so many times that you can’t even remember how many, the fear of death is not a driving force. Besides, other than this elf here, everyone is either a transcendent or above. The gods can’t control those. If one of you kills me, it will be by choice of your own—not much I can do to prolong that fate of mine other than talking.”

“What about me?” Torvin asked curiously.

“Mana veins are a must for a god to take control; that is what they use. To them, mundanes are simply assets they cultivate to spread their grand tales and have more newborn pathfinder followers.”

“So this follower of yours is a runesmith, right? Someone who can build steel golems?” Mindseer asked.

Damian realized he had not filled in the Highswords about his connection to Steelweaver. All eyes in the room instantly turned to him; his friends worried that his secret was out, and the other knew the obvious answer to Mindseer’s question.

Well, it wasn’t anything he could hide forever. Everyone knew he could make golems. A passing Jacob in the hallways of the sanctum was a common sight.

“Lord Keeper, was it? Runebreaker.. How mindless of me not to think of this possibility! You were barely a first ranker a decade or so ago! I am so used to having novice runesmiths mistakenly becoming my followers and awakening me, I completely ignored you.”

Steelweaver said with wide eyes and a hearty laugh. The man, surrounded by the enemies of his followers, could still laugh like that. The guy sure had the charisma of a reliable elder who had no fear of death.

“Yes, I summoned a metal golem for the first time in the war between Ashenvale and Eldoris,” Damian confirmed.

“You summoned one? Not created one?” Steelweaver asked.

“It’s a spell. New one, created some centuries ago. It’s something like a copy of yourself, but made from the nearest available materials. The creation of golems wouldn’t be on the guy’s mind when he discovered this spell.” Damian said.

“I know that time, the golem spell trend had lasted the longest in all the new research spells the five kingdoms played around with. The guy, an earth mage, was indeed trying to create a spell to make statues of himself. I think that gathering the nearest available things to create it part was added later.” Land-breaker added.

“That’s not right,” Steelweaver said, “No beginner runesmith would ever be able to inscribe runes on such a big lump of metal. The only way to learn how to build a golem is to create each part individually. Crafting odd contraptions for your golem is the best part! Using this spell, one wouldn’t even be able to replace parts when damaged.”

The God of Metal Golems ranted on the subject of making golems. Damian and Landbreaker exchanged a look and chuckled.

After a moment of silence, some hurried sounds of people rushing towards his office assaulted everyone’s ears. Sanctum guards, 20 second rankers. From the corner of his eyes, Damian noticed Evrin slowly moving as well.

Anyone could guess what was happening.

“Hah! Guess it’s time. I was worried about your safety, but seeing that you are a ruler of a country, a formidable mage, and an exceptional runesmith, I guess there is nothing more I can do for you.” Steelweaver said, looking towards the door, then Damian.

Then he added, “Do take care of yourself, though. Those old geezers will try to erase all records of this accidental steel golem summoning spell of yours.”

“Can’t you go back to your astral plane?” Torvin asked.

“It will needlessly strain this lad’s mana. My death is momentary, his will be final.” Steelweaver answered.

“So, you are choosing his life over yours?” Souldealer asked, but Steelweaver said nothing in reply.

None needed the confirmation. His actions were clear as day.

The door to his office opened with force and slammed against the wall. 20 second-rankers armed and possessed were ready to kill. All with blue, red, and gold thin mana threads connecting their heads, and the other end going through the ceiling and high beyond.

“What are you doing? Go back to your station! How dare you abandon your duties?” Einar barked at her army soldiers. Sam held his sword as well, glaring at the armored guards.

Evrin, standing beside her, chose this very moment of distraction to pull out the runic gun he had made and pressed the trigger. Not everyone in the room was shocked by the sudden, loud attack. Landbreaker, Voidshaper, Lucian, Souldealer, and Vidalia herself had jumped into action using aura-coated weapons and defensive runic tools to shield the dwarf god from sudden attack.

But the laser shot from the runic gun did not reach any of the defenders. Along with the flash of a laser beam, Evrin was frozen solid. So did all twenty guards who had broken into his office.

It was just his thick seven-element mana barrier coating the ’Affected’ individuals inside. Covering the people from all sides, freezing them in.

“Is this thing permanent?” Damian asked in a casual tone.

Steelweaver did not even answer for a while, too stunned by the sudden movements and then the deafening silence. The people just froze in the air. Steelweaver could sense the mana, but it had come so quickly that even his senses were confused for a second.

“Ah..” He stammered, “No, they can’t harm their followers. It will only remain ten to twenty minutes for the second rankers. Last time I was here, they could do that every two hours if they chose to.”

Damian nodded.

“They are.. being controlled.” Mindseer murmured.

“I don’t think hearing these revelations has made us any popular with these gods,” Sam said.

“They don’t care about us. It’s him they want.” Lucian added, glancing towards Steelweaver.

“Have you seen something like this before?” Damian asked Landbreaker.

“Not exactly like this. But mind control for weaker beings is one of the skills some powerful monsters have displayed before.” Landbreaker answered.

“This can’t be.. happening.” Einar whispered, her hands placed as close to the barrier enveloping Evrin.

Vidalia had walked near her niece as well; her face did not show as many emotions as Einar’s, but her eyes could not hide her concern for Evrin.

Damian opened a waygate to one of the dungeons in the ocean that was on his list, but then he excluded it for safety reasons.

“Sam, go with Steelweaver. I will be there soon. Come back if anything weird happens out there.” Damian said.