Chương 704: Chapter 702 – Runic Eye System.

"GOAH!" A massive skeletal monster charged at a lone man wearing a mismatched set of armor. Some pieces were made of a metal that resembled gold, while the rest were pitch black.

"Just be quiet. I was enjoying the moment of silence." The monster rushed forward, but before it could do anything, a field of gravity expanded around it and slammed it into the ground. The stone cracked beneath it as the localized spell dramatically increased its weight. Pinned down and only able to crawl forward, it was met by a beam of golden light. Roland's golden gauntlets shone brightly, their runes bursting with energy as the radiant beam surged ahead. It engulfed the creature of bone and rotting flesh.

In an instant, the foul air cleared as divine energy spread through the corridor. The skeletal remains crumbled into fine gray ash and scattered across the damp stone floor of the dungeon. Roland lowered his golden gauntlet. The warmth it had radiated quickly faded as the emulated divine mana dissipated.

"The damage output against undead has increased by around fifteen percent." Roland glanced at his golden gauntlet and the runes that still glowed across its surface. He was reviewing the latest adjustments he had made after Agni's evolution. A Solar Wolf's mana was different from that of a Sunlight Wolf. All of the divine spells he could reproduce were based either on spells from the Church of Solaria that he had copied by observing priests and paladins, or on his analysis of Agni's abilities.

The wolf possessed a much purer mana signature than any priest he had encountered. It was only natural that after reaching a higher evolutionary form, adjusting the emulated mana would increase the power of those spells.

"It'll be easier to farm this place now, but even if I clear it out every time the monsters respawn, it still probably won't be enough." He checked his current level along with the experience he earned from clearing the entire ruin by himself. This had been the last monster on the route, and it would take another two days for them to respawn. There was no real way to speed up the process.

The dungeon could not restore its monsters any faster, and hunting above ground was even less efficient because the monsters were spread too far apart.

'Even if I hunt those sea serpents, the amount of experience I'll gain will be minimal…' There was not much he could do about the situation. He also did not have the free time to spend every day running through the dungeon. The golem still needed to be finished, the students required more guidance, and there were countless support items that still needed to be reviewed and tested.

Even though Arion was the de facto leader of the Runic Department, he constantly asked Roland for advice on nearly every decision he made. Even in his own area of expertise, runic operating systems, Roland still had to review almost everything before it was finalized and approved for production. He sighed and shook his head as he began walking back toward the teleportation gate. The gate he had installed earlier closed behind him just as several spider golems skittered past.

They continued gathering anything valuable after each successful hunt, and he was quickly amassing a small fortune in undead materials, all of which Rastix could put to good use. The bone dust that came from the undead lesser dragons was usually useless without proper treatment. The church normally handled the purification process, removing the necrotic energy clinging to it. Once purified, the bone meal made from it became a powerful fertilizer for a wide variety of tier three herbs and plants.

Thanks to his mastery of divine energy manipulation through runes, Roland could purify the bones the moment they crumbled into ash. The bone dust still required a short refining process, but the difficult task of removing the undead energy had already been completed at no cost. He had been storing drums filled with purified bone ash from these monsters for quite some time, until Rastix gave him an idea.

"Wayland! Look at how much it's all grown! If those idiots from the Alchemy Guild could see this, they'd die of envy!"

"Hah, sure they would…" Roland had traveled through the gate and stopped by to deliver another shipment of bone dust to Rastix. They were now standing in the gnome's laboratory, specifically in a section filled with brilliant lights and oversized pots. From the soil enriched with bone meal harvested from the undead lesser dragons, colorful sprouts were already pushing through the dark earth.

"Nothing beats your own plant cultivation chamber! Those fools would all be green with envy if they saw this. Not even that old fart of a headmaster had a place like this!" The gnome alchemist rubbed his hands together with a greedy grin plastered across his face. He was practically drooling over the glowing blue leaves of a frost lotus that had begun to sprout in the corner of the room.

It was a rare tier three herb that normally took years to mature in the wild, yet here it was, already showing remarkable growth after only a few weeks of being fed purified bone meal. The bone meal certainly helped, but there was far more to it. The entire room functioned as a massive greenhouse equipped with magical runic lamps calibrated for each individual plant. Some herbs required bright sunlight, others thrived in deep shade, while certain species needed to be bathed in mana of a precise wavelength.

It was the kind of facility no ordinary alchemist could ever hope to build, but with Roland's expertise, it had become a reality.

"The mana density in this batch is incredible. The potions brewed from these might even be twice as effective!" Rastix was completely absorbed in his own world. The only thing on his mind was proving the Alchemy Guild wrong and demonstrating that he was superior to the people who had cast him out. Although he was a genius when it came to alchemy, he had several flaws. The biggest was that he cared little for his own safety or anyone else's whenever he was experimenting.

"Hmm, sure, but what about that other project? How's it going?"

"The other project?... Oh, you mean that." The gnome stroked his beard for a moment before smiling.

"It has been a success. Let me show you!" Rastix scurried over to a heavily reinforced safe embedded in the wall. He placed his hand on a nearby runic panel, which immediately began to glow. The device scanned his handprint, mana signature, and several other identifying markers. A moment later, the heavy door hissed open, releasing a small cloud of chilled vapor.

"When you told me about it, I could hardly believe it was possible, but here it is... my very own personalised holy elixir!" The gnome carefully retrieved a spherical glass vial. Inside, a viscous golden liquid swirled lazily, completely independent of the vial's movement. It looked like liquid sunlight and radiated a comforting warmth.

"Behold! A tier three elixir!" Roland nodded as he examined the concentrated healing reagent. It was something that normally could not be created without the aid of a priest or materials specially prepared by one. Such concoctions were heavily restricted by the churches and were one of their greatest sources of income. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"As you know, if word of this gets out..."

"Hah, I know. Don't worry. Even I'm not crazy enough to go against the Inquisition. My lips are sealed. But could you tell me how those divine relics actually work?"

"It's better if you don't know." Rastix frowned slightly when Roland refused to reveal how he emulated holy mana. As far as the gnome knew, they were using an ancient church relic capable of infusing plants and potions with divine energy, much like a priest. Agni's presence also provided a convenient explanation for how the relic could be fully recharged each time. No one needed to know the truth, that it was Roland and his runes that could replicate divine mana.

The elixirs Rastix produced were even superior to those sold by the church, and Roland intended to keep a healthy supply around his compound. While they could not regenerate completely severed limbs, they could preserve enough vitality to reattach one and heal even the most critical injuries.

"It's just a shame we can't sell them..."

"It's better if we don't. And don't even think about putting any on the black market."

"Who do you think I am?"

"A mad alchemist?"

"Haha, that's true! But don't worry. I'll never work with those crooks. I already have everything I need right here." Roland nodded again. He had decided to place a little more trust in Rastix, as the gnome was not the type to carelessly reveal his secrets. Even so, he had made him sign several contracts and prepared a convincing explanation for their use of divine energy in case anyone became suspicious. Selling the elixirs on the black market was tempting, but there was always the risk of being discovered.

Divine mana left traces in the world that could be tracked unless they were properly concealed. There was always a slight chance someone could follow those traces back to them. Still, since Roland regularly purchased elixirs from the church, no one was likely to suspect him of producing illegal divine elixirs. The profits would certainly be worthwhile.

Because the churches tightly controlled divine elixirs, people operating in the underworld were often willing to pay twice the usual price to avoid dealing with them. The required materials were not particularly expensive either, so if he ever needed a large amount of gold in a hurry, it remained a viable option.

"Now then, if we're done here. If you have any requests, send them through the usual channels."

"Of course." This time, Rastix nodded and quickly turned away. His mind was already running through alchemical formulas he wanted to test in a new batch of potions. Even though many recipes in this world were considered set in stone, there were still those who conducted experiments in hopes of creating more potent concoctions or discovering entirely new effects.

"Let's check on our mother hen next." With his next destination in mind, Roland took one of the underground tunnels to a hidden chamber that housed one of his most important possessions, the dragon egg.

"So, how is your baby faring?"

"WOOF!?" Agni let out an annoyed huff, a puff of smoke escaping from his nostrils. After his evolution, he had been assigned to watch the dragon egg, which had developed the habit of slowly absorbing his mana.

"Don't be like that. You won't have to stay in here anymore." The egg had proven to be surprisingly finicky. Roland had expected Agni's purer mana to speed up the hatching process, but instead, it had slowed almost to a crawl at first. It was as though he had changed the recipe too much, and the egg had become a picky eater. Only after Agni spent half of each day in the chamber did it begin absorbing the Solar Wolf's mana at its previous rate again. The egg itself had also undergone a subtle transformation.

It had once appeared dull and ominous, an impression largely caused by the corrupt energies it had absorbed while resting in the dungeon. After several months of feeding on Agni's mana, its shell had developed a faint sheen. Dark patches still lingered across its surface, however, leaving Roland to wonder what kind of creature would eventually emerge.

"The absorption rate has stabilized, and I've stored enough of your mana to sustain this egg for at least half a year, so you're free to go outside. Just don't forget to wear your new harness."

"Woof!" Agni wasted no time bounding through the doorway. He was now required to wear a harness that projected an illusion, making him appear as his former Sunlight Wolf self.

"Hm, there's definitely something inside, and it's growing..." Roland lingered beside the egg for a moment to examine it once more. Although it appeared unchanged on the surface, there were subtle signs of development beneath the shell. The egg had grown heavier over time, suggesting that the embryo inside was steadily maturing. If all went well, it might finally hatch within a few months. With that task finished, Roland prepared to return to his workshop and continue work on the large-scale golem.

Before he could leave, however, a communication request appeared.

"Yes?"

"Knight Commander, the surgery has been successful. We are ready to proceed with the live test."

"Ah... I'll be right there." The image of a woman in a maid's uniform flickered before disappearing as the transmission ended. Amid everything else demanding his attention, Roland had almost forgotten that he was close to solving an older problem, one involving House Valerian and his friend Arthur.

'No rest for the wicked…' With a weary sigh, he slumped his shoulders and headed back through the corridors of his workshop toward the underground facility beneath Arthur's estate.

"Sir!"

"Give me a report. How is the subject behaving?"

"The monster seems to be fine. Its condition has stabilised, and no signs of rejection of the device have been detected." A maid wearing glasses and holding a clipboard spoke to him as they looked into a chamber through a thick sheet of glass. The creature inside could not see them, but they could clearly watch it moving around.

"Looks promising. Release the leg restraints. Let's see if it can actually see." Inside the chamber was a simple, ordinary hobgoblin. It was strapped to a metal chair in the middle of an otherwise empty room. Fixed over its face was a metallic device resembling a blindfold, permanently attached to replace its eyes. Once the restraints were released, the monster looked disoriented. It reached up and touched its face and the runic device that had been placed there, but it did not remove it.

It tried pulling at it and pushing it down, yet the device refused to budge. Set into the centre of the metal was a deeply embedded sphere that shifted with the creature's head movements, tracking wherever it looked.

"It seems to be receiving visual input, but it might damage the device if this continues."

"I understand, sir!" The maid nodded and, without needing further instruction, pressed a button on a nearby console. A jolt of electricity surged through the device, shocking the hobgoblin. It let out a shriek, its limbs twitching as it pulled its green fingers away from its head. The monster tried again, but after another shock, it quickly learned that touching the device was a bad idea.

"Good. It seems stable." Roland watched the creature move around the chamber. It was not stumbling over its own feet and effortlessly avoided the few obstacles that had been placed in its path. It was clear to him that it could see everything in front of it.

"It's a success…"

"With this, the Lord's mother will finally be able to…" Several other people stood in the observation room with him. Some were maids from the estate, while the rest were members of the research team working under him. This was the final test before Roland felt confident enough to begin trials on humans and the other races. The device attached to the monster's head could replace its eyes, a breakthrough far more significant than anyone in the room realised.

The immediate goal was to restore Aeloria's sight, but the implications of this research reached much further. It proved that long lost senses could now be restored. Sight was only the beginning. Even sensation in paralysed or damaged limbs might one day be recovered without relying on tier four healing spells.

'How far can this technology go?' While the others celebrated and congratulated one another, Roland's thoughts drifted to the future. Tier four healing spells were incredibly powerful, but they still had their limits. He had stepped into the field of prosthetic replacement. He could now restore sight without reconnecting damaged optic nerves. Although the hobgoblin appeared to be wearing an artificial eye that fit into its sockets, that was not how the device actually worked.

Everything functioned through the mana phantom and its connection to the soul, allowing a lost sense to be restored without repairing the original organ. For now, the single golemic eye embedded in the centre of the device served as the subject's new source of vision, though it could eventually be replaced with a far less conspicuous design. The only thing left was to obtain permission from Arthur's father to examine his mother.

Without studying Aeloria's mana pattern and tailoring the device specifically to her, restoring her sight would be impossible.