THE RUNIC ALCHEMIST

The people of this sand region must have come after those from the mountainous region. All the carvings here were far more detailed, and there was even a slight shift in the language. To them, though, it was all just random lines.

Still, the pictures alone told a somewhat clear story. The civilization had thrived, and the Sun God seemed to have left the land to go to a place depicted as a palace in the clouds? That part was strange. But after his departure, the people of this land stopped believing in his might over the generations, eventually forming new beliefs and religions.

The Sun God had not been pleased. In response, he demonstrated his power—by bringing the sun closer?

Damian hadn’t expected absolute truth from such an ancient civilization. There had to be countless superstitious people and myths. Maybe this so-called god had been some kind of esper with temperature or fire-related abilities. If he transcended beyond a certain level, perhaps he really had the power to alter the entire region. But why had he left his people? There had to be some truth in this depiction of him going to the clouds.

There was more. Realizing his mistake after seeing people starving and dying from the heat, the Sun God had stopped his punishment. After that, all the carvings focused on how the people had survived the catastrophe on their own, without divine intervention. They emphasized hard work, morals, and self-reliance—faith, but not worship. No further mention of the Sun God himself. There were, however, many depictions of angry people, their rage directed at the god who had brought the famine. To them, he had become more of a troublemaker than a deity.

Damian wondered why no other structures from this civilization remained in the region, but when he looked down standing in the middle of the broken structure and saw sand instead of stone beneath his feet, he had his answer. This must have been a massive structure, its ruins buried beneath the desert. The ordinary houses had long since been swallowed by the sands.

Had it been mere chance that only the information about the Sun God had survived? Or had the dungeon itself chosen to present this specific story by creating these carvings? If so, that would mean the dungeon was capable of having thoughts..

Even after finishing his drawings and eating dinner, Damian couldn’t stop thinking about it until he finally drifted off to sleep.

Reize had insisted he rest for at least a few hours. She could maintain the shield, watch over it, and reinforce it if necessary. Damian didn’t want to take risks, not with the Highswords on their trail, but his lack of sleep had been wearing him down. His mind and body both needed time to reset, he had never stayed up for such a long time. So, he accepted her offer and, for the first time in a while, slept soundly.

He awoke feeling refreshed after a solid four hours. Letting Reize get some rest in turn, he joined the night watch shift, which consisted of Sariel, Amy, Karl, and Grace.

“Why do you keep copying all these weird drawings?” Amy asked him.

The night should have brought some relief from the heat, but the difference was barely noticeable. They were still in the Dreamlight, seated in the control room, each doing their own thing.

“It has something to do with that strange creature that keeps appearing in them,” Sariel answered before Damian could. “Something related to the sun, I assume.”

“He is these people’s Sun God, I think,” Damian clarified.

“Sun God?” Karl raised an eyebrow.

“These people?” Amy asked.

Damian glanced at the three of them before speaking. “My theory remains the same as what I said on our first day of history of magic class. I believe the dungeon is another world, separate from ours—perhaps somewhere far across the universe. I think it’s showing us the history of the people who once lived here, people who, for one reason or another, are no longer around.”

Their eyes widened. The concept of planets and the universe had not yet been introduced to this world, but they understood enough to grasp the idea of another world. To them though it might just be another land far from home.

“This Sun God is from another world? So, he’s not the same as ours?” Karl asked, skeptical.

Damian nodded.

“Wait a minute!” Sariel suddenly sat up. “How can you be sure the dungeon isn’t just making all of this up? If it can create monsters and dungeon relics, what’s stopping it from fabricating a few wall carvings?”

Damian sighed. “I’m not sure. But if the dungeon is just making things up, then what’s the point of it all? Why would dungeons exist at all? At least this way, it makes sense. It gives purpose to why the dungeon welcomes challengers, why it rewards those who uncover its knowledge.”

“That’s.. one way to look at it, I guess,” Sariel admitted after a few seconds of thought.

The other two weren’t convinced. Amy, at least, had a reason—her worldview had been shaped by hundreds of magic theory books. Karl, on the other hand, simply refused to acknowledge the importance of any god or world beyond their own. Everyone had their own beliefs.

Morning arrived without incident. Damian and the others enjoyed breakfast inside the Dreamlight, none of them eager to step out into the scorching heat without good reason. Once they were ready, they ascended to the next level.

Level 24.

Unsurprisingly, it was still just sand in every direction. It was hard to tell whether the temperature had risen, but given the dungeon’s theme, it likely had. They continued fighting monsters—mostly the same ones as before—but with two new additions:

Scorched Bonewalkers—skeletons wielding weapons forged from flame and Chitinous Juggernauts—massive beetles with impenetrable armor.

The battles felt repetitive, as if they had never even changed floors. They maintained the same strategy as the past few days, going through the motions of survival.

Then, after about thirty minutes of combat, something appeared before them.

Enjoy more content from My Virtual Library Empire

Something that might finally be the answer to their heating problem.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!