Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 378: The Gate Beckons

CH378 The Gate Beckons

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As Alex expected, Earl Drake Fury sent a message informing him that preparations for the Interplanar portal were complete, ordering him to bring his expedition party along to a secret location.

Alex immediately sent a summons to his party members to come to his dorms.

Due to the sensitive times, the party members took a roundabout route, eventually arriving through a secret entrance connected to Alex’s residence. This hidden passageway lay beneath one of his assigned storerooms—the very same storeroom where Alex kept the interspatial storage chests containing his prepared provisions for the expedition... at least, the less vital ones.

Alex looked over his main party as they assembled before him. Including himself, his wives, and the recruited followers accompanying him, the party numbered ten in total—six males and four females.

The weakest among them was Sugud, a mid-stage Intermediate. Meanwhile, the strongest—at least in terms of cultivation rank—was Eleanor, who dispelled her camouflage to reveal she was actually a mid-stage Elite.

However, in terms of true combat power, the strongest member was undoubtedly Zora.

The Ice Mage remained locked at early-stage Elite rank due to her bloodline problem and Merlin’s training plan. The rank restrictions of the target plane also required her to suppress further progression. Otherwise, she and Alex would certainly have advanced the previous night when the opportunity presented itself during their... bedtime battle.

Even so, while the party looked mostly Intermediate on the surface—with the exception of Sugud—most members possessed combat power within the Elite tier, making them equivalent to a competent Class 3 party. More than strong enough to survive in a Class 3 plane, which matched the preliminary classification of their target plane.

Alex nodded to himself, satisfied. He had indeed assembled a capable main party. Whatever additional troops his father provided would be supplementary at best.

Five interspatial storage chests were arranged at the back of the storeroom. The two big fellows—the barbarian, Mogal, and the weretiger, Kavakan—slung one chest each over their shoulders with almost casual ease.

Havel approached a third chest and tried lifting it by the handle. The weight wrenched at his arm, and he immediately gave up the attempt. Without a word, he drifted toward Mordor’s side and gripped one of the side-handles, silently forcing the orc to hold the other so they could carry it together.

Havel wasn’t about to show off any macho strength by carrying a chest alone like the other two. At the same time, he certainly wasn’t going to pair up with Alex or Sugud—he would end up using far more energy than he cared to expend.

Mordor was the optimal choice. The powerful orc would naturally shoulder most of the weight, allowing Havel to quietly leech off his strength without spending much of his own.

Alex ended up partnering with Silver while Udara assisted Sugud with the last box. Eleanor and Zora—who now carried a cub-sized Fen in her arms—followed behind to lock up the secret entrance.

Senu remained hidden in Alex’s shadow. Her majestic avian form would no doubt attract onlookers any other way.

The group emerged from a secluded area outside the Enclave tower’s walls but still within the city. A transport carriage was already waiting for them. They loaded the supplies swiftly and climbed aboard.

Before long, the carriage rolled out of the Enclave city, heading deeper into the Dragonspine mountain range.

They travelled toward a particular mountain roughly half an hour away by magic horse-pulled carriage. The mountain appeared no different from the countless peaks scattered across the range, save for the concealment and beguilement array shrouding its upper half.

Aside from hiding whatever lay beyond, the beguilement aspect subtly diverted any sapient life—humans, elves, dwarves, and so on—nudging them away without them ever realising something was amiss.

Fortunately, both Alex’s and Zora’s Enclave badges pulsed as they approached, shielding them from the array’s effects.

Thus it became clear that the array did not belong to Earl Drake Fury’s forces, but to the DragonHold Enclave.

The Earl had likely borrowed the location from Merlin to host the Interplanar gate for Alex’s expedition.

Passing through the array’s veil, the carriage emerged onto a terraced plateau at the mountain’s summit—naturally isolated by the surrounding ridges.

A full company of Fury Army troops was stationed around the plateau, securing it against any threat that might somehow slip past the twin-layered array.

Upon approaching the central camp, the group was met with the sight of a majestic structure—at least to those with the eyes to comprehend it.

The Interplanar formation did not merely qualify as a grand formation. It existed in a class of its own.

It was not only a masterwork of Array Mastery; Alchemy and Forgesmithing were interwoven into its very foundation. Such a construction could never be achieved through runic formations alone.

Physical support structures—alchemically treated and forge-crafted to their limits—were required to stabilise the gateway that would serve as a highway between planes.

The distance between planes, and the differences in their planar rules, made it unwise to rely solely on a runic formation for constructing an Interplanar portal.

Instead, much of the burden was shifted onto specialised physical structures crafted from natural or synthesised materials—materials capable of providing far greater stability under the strict, unforgiving conditions required for planar travel.

Just powering the formation demanded a hundred mid-grade mana stones—worth at least 500,000 gold—for a single trip. That alone was enough to kill any dream of widespread interplanar travel.

And that wasn’t even considering the cost of the professionals, the specialised equipment, or the price of acquiring the spatial coordinates of the target plane.

This expedition was only aimed at a Class 3 plane, yet Alex had still paid Earl Drake Fury’s forces nearly 6 million gold coins from the expedition investment fund his father provided just to set up the portal.

It was no wonder only the nobility and major powers undertook interplanar expeditions. Who else could possibly afford such absurd expenses?

And these costs would only rise exponentially with the class of the plane.

Looking away from the massive structure, Alex turned his attention to the three individuals making final adjustments to the twin curved pillars that arced toward the sky like the trunks of a colossal earth beast.

These individuals were Spatial Mages.

Unlike most mages—whose class names reflected their elemental affinities (Ice Mages attuned to ice mana, Fire Mages to fire mana)—Spatial Mages did not wield space mana.

At least, not directly.

Spatial Mages possessed an innate instinct for space itself. Their spatial sense allowed them to perceive the fabric of space far more vividly and sharply than other individuals –professionals and non-professionals alike.

With that heightened perception, they could locate spatial points, fault lines, and ley lines that made navigating through space exponentially easier.

They didn’t manipulate space outright—the common consensus held that spatial energy/mana was too evasive, too intangible to be controlled at will. Instead, they identified the weak points and paths of least resistance woven through the fabric of the world.

In other words, space was coaxed, not forced or coerced.

This was the same reason a Lightning Mage like Norton Stormwind—the Earl’s dependable, but money-grubbing hound—could also be considered a Spatial Mage.

He didn’t possess space-elemental mana. Rather, he perceived space differently and moved through its corridors, giving the effect of teleportation—exactly how most teleportation spells and formations functioned.

Even Asta, despite her affinity with the fire element, had been steered toward spatial magic. Alex had discovered her instinct for space early on and pushed her to develop it, making her one of the rare few capable of the role.

In essence, being a Spatial Mage was closer to a lifestyle-type profession—like healers and craftsmen—than a true professional (cultivator) class.

As part of their training, Spatial Mages learnt how to intuitively feel and methodically calculate spatial positioning, travel paths, spatial distortions, and the countless micro-variables that determined whether travel through the void would be smooth... or fatal.

This was why they were indispensable to interplanar travel.

They were the ones who calculated the true distance between Pangea and the target plane, determined the best and most stable route—or at least the path of least resistance—and calibrated the interplanar gate according to those findings.

Which was exactly what the three Spatial Mages were doing now.

They worked together in seamless rhythm, adjusting the physical components, runic formations and energy conduits of the towering structure to ensure the process unfolded as safely and efficiently as possible.

Alex and his expedition team’s lives rested squarely in the hands of these Spatial Mages—just as the lives of anyone who dared cross planes depended on the competence of the Spatial Mage guiding them.

This was why competent Spatial Mages were among the most sought-after individuals on the continent. No sane person would place their life in the hands of an incompetent one.

Most higher noble houses therefore raised their own Spatial Mages.

Who better to trust with your life—and the lives of your subordinates—than someone trained within your own household?

Unfortunately, due to the terrible mage culture of the Fury family over the years, Norton Stormwind remained their only true Spatial Mage. The three individuals calibrating the oval, cone-shaped interplanar portal were essentially long-term contractors hired by Earl Drake—loyal by coin, not by blood.

This was precisely why Alex placed such emphasis on Asta... and on the potential promising recruits from Echelon.

He was determined to cultivate a Fury branch that would be truly self-reliant. Only then could Earl Drake’s ambition—whatever shape it would take—become a feasible reality. And the Earl understood this well, which was likely why he kept his true intentions hidden behind an ever-present mask.

Alex’s mind wandered to the long list of things he would need, both before and after taking over from Earl Drake. It made him shake his head slightly.

He cast the thought aside and refocused on the stalwart man standing before the portal, watching the Spatial Mages like a predatory hawk.

Earl Drake Fury himself.

Alex signalled for his party to offload the chests from the carriage. He gestured to Zora to take charge, then walked up to stand beside his father.

**(28/70)**