The Runesmith

Chapter 673: Too Many Portals.

“When are we going? Oh, before that we need to pack everything. And what about the inn? And the customers… are we going to sell it? Did we even pay it off completely yet? Will it be okay to just leave?”

“Breathe, Millie, or you might pass out.”

Lysa chuckled as she tried to calm her daughter down. The decision had been made, but reality was only just beginning to catch up with it. Millie stood in the middle of the room, spinning in place as if trying to chase all her thoughts at once. Every time she seemed to settle on one problem, three more appeared in its place. Her hands moved restlessly, as though she wanted to start packing immediately but had no idea where to begin.

“We’ll handle it together, one thing at a time.”

Her voice was soft, and it made Millie calm down, at least for a few moments.

“But there are so many things…”

Millie insisted, her voice rising again.

“What if we forget something important? What if I forget to tell everyone where we are going? What if…”

Lysa could not help but smile as her daughter resumed panicking. Roland stood nearby, analyzing the situation from his own perspective. From what he could tell, this inn was not truly the possession of Ermes or Lysa. It was a building they were renting, and most of the profits it generated were transferred to the adventurer guild.

This was a common practice for adventurer guilds when establishing strongholds in dungeons. They would build first and then hire caretakers to manage everything. Owners in name, perhaps, but not truly free. While this simplified things on the surface, it was not as good a deal as it might seem.

First of all, if these caretakers left before paying off the debt on the building, they would lose all rights to it. The adventurer guild wanted to ensure they remained as long as possible, since paying off such a property could take half a lifetime.

To some, that might seem like a poor arrangement, but to commoners who rarely owned anything, it was not. If they could work for forty years and earn an inn, it would secure the future of their children and grandchildren. Once the building was theirs, they would no longer need to share profits with the adventurer guild, and over time, their descendants would eventually prosper.

While this was the dream, it was not as easy as it sounded. Sometimes, adventurer guilds used underhanded methods to escape such contracts before they were fulfilled. If the building burned down before it was fully paid off, the contract would vanish along with it. The caretakers would be left with nothing but ash and whatever belongings they could carry.

Other times, the caretakers would simply vanish and never return, clearly slain before the contract could be completed. Even if their family continued to live at the inn, the agreement would become void unless the original signer remained, or the guild master formally transferred the rights. Given how this stronghold operated, it would not be surprising if Ermes were to go missing again before the contract was fulfilled.

“He hasn’t been here for long, so it would not be much of a loss for him.”

Luckily, Roland knew the man had been there for less than five years. To him, giving Ermes an inn or even a house in Albrook meant very little. He spent more on resources each month than a building was worth in total, and he could easily construct one himself with magic.

“Calm down, Millie. There is no need to rush.”

This time, it was the father who spoke.

“Master Wayland probably will not take us anytime soon. Remember, we need proper transport to leave this place. We would only slow the good sir down if we tried to go as we are.”

“Oh…”

In Ermes’s eyes, it was still too early to leave. Traveling out required hiring adventurers, joining merchants, or hoping to be taken along by a departing group. Roland had arrived with only a small group of knights meant to protect him. Adding two commoners and a child would only make the journey more difficult.

“Ah, do not worry about that, Mister Ermes. We will be able to leave today. I just need to assemble something at Master Hasim’s workshop, and then we can depart.”

“You see, Millie, Master Way… wait, w-what? You want to leave today?”

Roland called out from the doorway as he prepared to leave the family’s private room. Hasim stood beside him, silent, though clearly intrigued by the claim.

“Hah! I really want to see this gate o’ yers, laddie. Ye say ye can knock it up in just a few hours? Yer on! I’ve heard a mountain o’ tall tales in me time, but this one takes the whole blasted cake.”

Millie blinked, her earlier panic replaced by awe.

“A gate… as in a teleportation gate? You’re going to make one in this place, inside of a dungeon?”

Roland paused and glanced back at her, his expression as calm as ever.

“Yes. A temporary one. It will not be large, but it will be enough to transport all of us safely.”

For a moment, no one spoke. Then Ermes stepped forward.

“But how? Where would you get the materials, and how will you gather enough energy?”

Roland was not surprised. To most people, a teleportation gate was something only true master craftsmen could create. Even then, it usually took weeks or even months to build and test before it could be used.

“Materials? Do not worry about that. I already have everything I need to assemble a gate.”

“Hah! Did ye hear that, lads? This smooth-tongued human just strolls about wi’ bits o’ a teleportation gate in his pockets like it’s nothin’! I really have to see this wi’ me own eyes. Will the blasted thing even go through the dungeon interference, eh? I have to see this, before I die laughin’!”

Hasim started laughing as he heard Roland speak of the teleportation gate so casually. It was a technology Roland had mastered with the help of the Instituteʼs library. It was also required help from rune mages, so it was not surprising that the dwarf did not make much use of it here.

Roland had already placed two teleportation gates within the dungeon, but he could not reveal their existence to anyone here. They were meant for him to travel in secret while hunting monsters and gathering materials as Siegfried.

Normally, he would have returned to Albrook and come back weeks later to assemble the gate. That was what Hasim and the others expected, and what would be considered normal in this world. However, he was working against the clock and no longer had time to maintain this charade. Even if he revealed some of his abilities, it no longer mattered as much.

“...”

The room remained quiet for a few seconds, as if everyone needed time to process what had just been said. A teleportation gate built in a matter of hours inside a dungeon. Even Hasim, who had seen his share of strange inventions, looked more animated than usual.

“Well then, what are we waitin’ for?”

“C-can I see it? See the gate?”

“Perhaps after it is finished. For now, you should start packing your belongings. Once we return to my workshop, you will see more than just teleportation gates, my apprentice.”

Roland smiled at Millie, whose eyes began to sparkle even more. The girl was so lively that it was contagious. It seemed her energy was starting to rub off on him, though he was not sure she would remain so cheerful after he showed her the training regimen he had prepared.

“Ah, yes, we need to pack. Papa, Mama, let’s go.”

After watching her scramble back toward her room, Roland left with a small nod in the parents’ direction. Outside, his knights were already waiting for further instructions.

“Sir Wischard, have two of your men remain here and guard the innkeepers. They will be leaving with us later, so keep them safe until then.”

Wischard nodded and glanced at the two knights who were to remain. Hasim was there as well, his gaze clearly focused on the runic prosthetics they were using.

“Ye better make mine better.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep my promise, and you’ll be able to tailor your new leg to your liking later.”

Soon, the two were outside, walking with the knights behind them. Roland drew plenty of glances, but he ignored them all. His business in this third circle of the dungeon was not quite finished, yet he had no intention of returning unless it involved Hasim.

All the resources he had gained here would be processed by his own people, as he did not trust the guild master. While there were still unexplored areas within the dungeon, there were other matters he needed to focus on.

“Ye’re drawin’ attention.”

“That can’t be helped.”

They soon arrived at Hasim’s workshop. The moment the door opened, the familiar scent of metal and soot filled the air. The other craftsmen were already at work, and none of them stopped hammering when their leader entered.

“I bet ye don’t have such a grand workshop in that Albrook o’ yers! Look at all these apprentices, their focus can’t be easily broken, not even by a dragon’s roar echoin’ through the halls. Proper dwarven discipline, that is!”

As before, Hasim began boasting the moment they stepped inside, his voice carrying over the rhythmic clang of hammer against metal. Sparks flew from several workstations, briefly illuminating focused faces that did not so much as glance up at their master’s return.

Roland had to admit that Hasim ran the place well and had far more experience when it came to leading and teaching others. Millie would be his first true apprentice, someone he intended to guide properly. Even so, he was unsure what her unusual class would ultimately become. He already had certain titles and skills in mind for her, but only time would tell if she would develop into something truly exceptional.

It looked chaotic at first glance, yet everyone worked in unison. There was a steady rhythm to the workshop. Though dozens of craftsmen filled the space, no one collided or disrupted another’s work. Tools were passed without words, and materials moved from one station to the next as if guided by an unseen hand. It was loud, far from quiet, yet there was order within the noise.

“It’s efficient.”

Roland spoke after a moment as they made their way toward the area where the teleportation gate would be assembled.

“Efficient? This here is art, lad! A true dwarven workshop!”

“Indeed.”

He nodded in agreement, which made Hasim grin as if he had won some private victory. Roland did not particularly care. To him, this was simply an opportunity to learn and adopt any ideas worth keeping.

“Here we are then, lad. Are ye really sure ye want to do this? Perhaps ye should come back wi’ a few helpers an’ assemble the blasted thing later?”

Hasim opened the door to a chamber that had once been used as a vault for rare materials, but now served as little more than storage. The walls were thick, and with golems guarding the only entrance, it would be difficult to breach. It was a perfect place to install a teleportation gate.

“No, it’s fine. This should be enough. We might have to widen the space later or make a separate room.”

“A separate room? Fer what exactly?”

“A charging station. Perhaps a generator, too.”

“A generator?”

Hasim frowned, clearly confused. He had no knowledge of Roland’s renewable energy technology, whether wind-based or geothermal. For now, Roland had enough mana fluid stored to sustain the gate for a few jumps, but in the long run, it would be more cost-effective to share the technology with the dwarf. Their relationship was still in a testing phase, however, so Roland kept some of his secrets to himself.

“It’s something that generates more mana. If we set it up properly, it will supply the gate with enough energy to operate without draining expensive resources each time.”

Hasim narrowed his eyes, his thick brows furrowing as he stepped into the chamber. The skepticism on his face was clear, but so was his curiosity. He ran a hand along the stone wall, as if imagining the device already in place.

“Ach, that sounds like a fairy tale straight outta the old legends, laddie. How about ye first build me a proper gate right here, solid as the mountain itself, an’ then we can talk about that fancy generator o’ yers. “

“Also, let’s not forget the tower spirit unit. We will need a place for it as well.”

“Aye… that too.”

Roland nodded and waited for a few people to arrive. The chamber was cluttered, so it needed to be cleared out first by apprentices and helpers, one of them being Ermes.

“Aren’t ye glad? If this works, ye can finally crawl outta this smelly dungeon an’ live up top like a proper surface-dweller. Just don’t forget who helped ye, who hammered the path open fer ye in the first place, ye hear? “

“I… I won’t, master!”

Ermes was one of Hasim’s apprentices, but now he was preparing to leave. Fortunately, Hasim was not the kind of master to hold contracts over his apprentices or demand payment. The relationship between master and apprentice was usually one of mutual exchange. The master provided knowledge and a place to practice the craft, and the apprentice repaid that with labor and by selling the items they produced.

Ermes carefully lifted one of the heavier crates and grunted as he carried it toward the corridor. He was not alone. Others stepped in to help move the boxes filled with metals, ores, and unfinished products. Once enough space had been cleared, Roland finally decided to reveal what he had been working on.

What he was assembling was the same type of gate he had already placed in two other locations. To him, it was nothing remarkable. It was simply a system of interlocking joints and connectors designed to fit together with precision. Most of the effort lay in planning the parts. The rest was careful assembly, not unlike putting together furniture he used to order in his old world. To the residents here and the workers of the smithy, however, the process was astonishing.

“All those parts, they connect so easily. No need for adhesives or magical welds?”

“It’s all coming together so smoothly. Half the gate is already done. You could make one of these so fast?”

“How grand…”

Although Roland had asked Hasim to keep things discreet, he allowed the tier three runesmiths to observe. To them, the method was entirely new. They watched closely as he drew components from his spatial rune and assembled them with ease, as if building a toy from pre-created blocks.

This was the third gate he had constructed in the dungeon, so the process moved quickly. By now, he could complete it with his eyes closed. He even made use of his multiple minds trait along with the mage hand spell, guiding parts into place while using his own hands to adjust and refine the runes.

As Hasim had explained earlier, teleportation within a dungeon carried significant risks. The dense mana within it formed a shifting ecosystem, constantly changing. Without careful calculation, a gate could collapse or send someone into solid rock or the depths of the ocean. Normally, a tower spirit was required to stabilize such travel. However, as long as Roland himself was the one traveling, he could bear the strain, allowing for safe movement between locations.

Hours passed quickly. The craftsmen, despite having their own work to attend to, remained in the room, watching in near silence as if afraid that even the slightest sound might disrupt the process.

At last, Roland set the final component in place and pressed his hand against the core assembly. A soft pulse of light moved through the structure. When the runes settled, he knew it was complete.

“That should do it.”

The circular frame of the gate stood finished, ready for activation. Soon, he would be able to leave this place and return to managing Albrook and his other responsibilities.

With the schematics he had received from Hasim, he could begin designing the frame for his new golem project, which he planned to undertake in about nine months. There was also his new apprentice to guide, along with the more demanding duties of his role as High Knight Commander.

But before anything else, he would have to deal with the situation he had created. When he turned to face Hasim and the other craftsmen, he found them staring back at him, their mouths agape in astonishment. It was clear he had gone too far. By using magic in ways ordinary runesmiths could not, he had sped up the assembly far beyond what they considered possible. Now they looked at him as if he were some kind of monster or a figure out of legend.