Damian searched all corners of the limited area again and again, and finally, deep into one of the earth cracks, he found a dark chunk of rock. It wasn't a rock—it was the mineral called magnetite. He could extract iron from it, but Damian had better plans for it. He put the ore on top of the highest rock formation and, using 60% of his mana pool, weaved a powerful lightning spell.
The massive lightning fell directly upon the magnetite, even blackening it and breaking it into smaller chunks.
But when Damian gathered all the chunks, he smiled like a maniac. It was a success.
He had a magnet—over three solid small chunks of it, even. There were lots of different metals mixed in it, including iron, so Damian picked the other non-magnetic pieces and extracted iron particles from it. Just from this one rock, he had gathered more iron than he would have in 20 days of separation from the dirt.
That was not the only thing he had gotten from it though. Now he just had to use the magnet to sweep it over dirt and sand until it gathered a lot of iron and dirt. Separating iron from that was ten times more efficient than doing it directly.
He thought he would have to spend years if he didn't find this magnetite, but thankfully there was one after a week of searching. Damian gathered boxes and boxes of black iron particles in a cloud and at last used a crucible he had made from an earth spell to melt all the black sand he had gathered.
200 grams of iron. Damian looked up at the stone pillar with a timer on it. 809 days left.
He had gathered 200 grams of solid iron in around 200 days—a gram for each day. That was a really tiring thing to do.
Damian was going mad. All day, every day, he did nothing but just gathered iron particles from the ground. The heat was not much bothersome, but the dry air and occasional sandstorms were a nuisance to deal with. Last time, the annoying Prince was with him and his mind was busy solving all the runic riddles they were facing so he never really felt time passing. This was exhausting though.
He could do more, but frankly, he didn't want to. This much should be enough. Damian looked at the small, less than 3 cm square piece of iron in his hand and then enveloped the thing with over 50 mana threads. Damian wanted it to be the best thing he could make.
He had already spent days separating weak particles from it to make it more and more condensed and solid. The gaps inside its structure were perfectly aligned—it was the best iron he could make.
Now he had to use his runic inscription to the best of his ability too, and make it the best runic iron piece.
Damian filled its every gap with mana nodes—not too much, not too little, just perfect. He could already sense the iron particles, and after 6 months of doing nothing but sensing particles, he had mastered the skill of using mana threads to analyze structures perfectly. It had hugely improved his skill as a runesmith.
He took five times the usual time he would take to inscribe the simple reusable spell. Since he had spent so much time gathering the material, Damian had also spent hours and hours thinking about what would be the perfect spell to use—and in the end, he had created a spell from scratch in the months he was doing the mindless separation.
The inscription was done, and Damian pulled back all the mana threads. The tiny square piece of iron came alive as a runic circle was inscribed on it—covering all four sides since the piece was so small and the runic circle somewhat big.
The stone pillar in front of him suddenly removed the countdown of days, and the top of the stone pillar started glowing slightly, as if telling him to put the thing he had made there. But first, Damian wanted to check his creation. He used the Analyze spell on it, and the info was revealed:
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Item: Raincall Square
Origin: Forged by the Primordial Metal Shaper
Item Type: Runic Tool (Modifier)
A small, darkened square of iron, no larger than a child's palm, yet forged with a devotion few can fathom. Every grain of iron used in its making was gathered from the sun-blasted wastelands by the Primordial Metal Shaper himself—each speck pulled from cracked stone, scorched sand, and never-ending dry land. This was not done for vanity, but for precision. The Raincall Square contains a single rune—not a stormbringer, but a gentle persuader. When placed on the ground and activated, it subtly shifts the air's temperature to coax rain from even the driest skies. It is not fast. It is not dramatic. But when the dust clears and the clouds open, it is nothing short of a miracle.
Activation Time: 3 seconds
Runic Alignment: Tier I
Rainbound Heat – Gently alters the surrounding temperature to trigger natural condensation. Within 5–10 minutes of activation, rainfall begins in a 1-kilometer radius, provided the land is dry enough to accept the change. The rain is steady and soft, lasting up to an hour.
Usable Only in Arid or Wasteland Regions
User Level Required: 30
Ineffective in Humid or Lush Environments
Must Be Placed on Bare Ground to Activate
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Damian smiled. That was perfect. He aimed for Supreme rank but knew it was impossible with just iron—no matter how pure and condensed.
Damian walked near the stone pillar, flew up, and placed it on top of it. It was night, so it took a few seconds for him to realize that the text on the stone pillar had changed. Damian used a quick fire rune to light up and saw what his evaluation was:
'You no longer need ore, you are the forge.'
The second he read it out loud, a blinding white door in the middle of the black night appeared, and Damian exhaled in relief. He was really on edge about the whole thing—thankfully, it worked.