Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 815: Limitless Sacrifice

CH815 Limitless Sacrifice

***

As if responding to his determination, the Limitless Concept marking on his Bloodline manifestation avatar released a strange form of energy into the avatar.

However, just as Alex thought the new phenomenon would strengthen him, he noticed a problem.

His Bloodline Avatar’s form began to tremble unstably.

Fortunately, Alex noticed the issue with his Truth-Seeker Eyes.

‘Fire, Light, and Lightning… Are these the elements of the Heavenly Tribulation?’ Alex wondered.

Whatever type of energy the Limitless Concept had channelled into the Bloodline Avatar, it corresponded to three of the four elements that comprised both his bloodline and his Bloodline Avatar.

One element was missing—Darkness.

If this missing element, or the resulting imbalance, was responsible for the Bloodline Avatar’s instability, then it was clear what he needed to do.

He needed to introduce Darkness.

Just as he reached that conclusion, he saw his Bloodline Avatar’s coating finally force one of the shards from the shattered Draconic Baton out of his side.

At that moment, he instinctively deduced what he had to do.

He needed to make a sacrifice.

A sacrifice of something important.

Taking advantage of the distance that had opened between himself and the doppelganger, Alex retrieved an item from the Sanctuary pocket space.

A cloak.

The Shadow Walker Cloak, to be exact.

It was one of the two trinkets Eleanore had given him on their wedding day.

A Tier III artefact, it increased the wearer’s Darkness affinity, effectively enhancing their Stealth while significantly reducing the requirements needed to cast all Darkness-element spells below Grade 10—that is, below Grand Mage-level spells.

Alex’s hands trembled slightly as hesitation crept into his heart.

However, seeing the hateful Tribulation Doppelganger already striding back towards him—and doing so with infuriating casualness—Alex cast all other thoughts aside and draped the cloak over his shoulders.

‘Sacrifice…’

He muttered inwardly.

As though understanding his intentions, the Limitless Concept made its move.

A powerful suction force emanated from the mark, drawing something out of the cloak.

Slowly, the artefact crumbled into dust before Alex’s eyes, as though his vows were crumbling with it.

Then, in the very next moment, Darkness flooded into his Bloodline Avatar.

The chaotic harmony that defined his bloodline was restored once more.

Yet Alex felt no joy— only a quiet melancholy.

‘One thing after another…’ Alex looked numbly at the approaching Tribulation Doppelganger. ‘…you will take no more.’

Suddenly, Alex felt a change within himself.

He felt… complete.

His All-Weapon Intent surged to unprecedented heights, enveloping his Bloodline Avatar.

The Bloodline Avatar, which had previously existed as an incorporeal coating of energy, mysteriously became corporeal.

Alex found himself clad in a literal suit of armour, its form modelled after his Bloodline Manifestation’s avatar.

His Will Intent had also grown stronger.

He no longer felt as though he merely controlled weapons.

He now felt in control of himself—his ultimate weapon—as well.

True Martial Intent!

‘Haha…’

A wry chuckle escaped his lips.

A mage developing Martial Intent?

What a profound irony.

Then again, this entire day had been one great irony after another, so what was one more?

This transformation had undoubtedly been brought about by the Limitless Concept of his fused bloodline.

‘A concept that ignores the boundaries imposed by systems, huh…’

This was the true nature of the Limitless Concept.

And it still was not finished.

Suddenly, another force entered the equation.

Faced with his greatest enemy yet—the Heavens themselves—Alex’s Limitless Concept reached out to another power that had been promised to him.

Territorial Fortune.

Without warning, the coiled Fortune-Suppressing Dragon appeared above his head.

As though sensing the impending catastrophe, the tiny dragon awoke violently from its forced slumber.

‘Roar!!!’

It let out a cry that was more adorable than intimidating—especially under the current circumstances—before diving straight into the Bloodline Avatar Armour.

In the next instant, the image of a lifelike serpentine divine dragon manifested across the armour’s surface.

Alex suddenly felt a connection he had perhaps always ignored.

A connection to his territory— The Frontier March.

Not merely the land itself, but its people— His citizens.

Their hopes… Their prayers… Their loyalty…

Another transformation followed.

Alex’s cultivation suddenly rose by one rank, reaching the peak of Class 4.

The gulf between him and the Class 5 doppelganger narrowed in an instant.

A gap still remained, but only a single rank separated him from a domainless Saint.

‘I can handle that.’

Embracing the newfound power granted by his Bloodline Avatar Armour, his strengthened Will Intent, and his Domain Fortune, Alex raised his gaze towards the approaching Tribulation Doppelganger.

A metaphorical spark flashed between them.

Then, as though they had reached an unspoken agreement beforehand, both charged simultaneously!

Alex no longer had any weapons, so what followed was a brutal, all-out fistfight.

Understanding his body’s current state, Alex abandoned any flashy evasive manoeuvres.

Instead, he traded blow for blow with the Tribulation Doppelganger, placing his faith entirely in the Limitless Bloodline Armour.

Boom! Rumble!

The sounds of thunder, lightning, and explosions echoed throughout the battlefield as the two resumed their clash.

Anything caught within the wake of their battle was as good as dead as they continued their ferocious confrontation.

Every one of Alex’s punches carried his rage and indomitable will.

Each strike tore away a fragment of the condensed Tribulation Lightning Mana that composed the doppelganger, which was immediately absorbed by the Limitless Concept within the Bloodline Armour.

At first, the battle remained evenly matched.

However, as the fight wore on, Alex’s experience as a seasoned combatant gradually overwhelmed that of the doppelganger, which was ultimately nothing more than an untrained mass of coalesced energy, blindly throwing punches and kicks.

Alex’s attacks were precise, efficient, and utterly ruthless.

The Tribulation Doppelganger threw a punch.

Yet before the enhanced vision of Alex’s Truth-Seeker Eyes, the attack appeared agonisingly slow.

Alex caught the incoming fist with ease.

Without hesitation, he twisted the arm behind the doppelganger’s back, snapping it with a sharp crack.

However, Alex already knew this action was largely meaningless.

The doppelganger was hardly a true physical being.

A broken arm meant little to it.

As the doppelganger turned to attack despite the damage, Alex seized it by the torso before driving one armoured knee after another into its midsection.

Boom! Boom!!

He then sidestepped behind it in one fluid motion, locked it into a grapple, and hoisted it into an overhead suplex.

Boom!

The doppelganger crashed headfirst into the ground.

Alex rolled forward seamlessly, mounting the fallen construct before it could recover.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, he drove punch after punch into the doppelganger’s face, utterly unconcerned by the fact that it wore his face.

Or perhaps, this was precisely the point.

Alex was consumed by rage and wrath. Yet, in truth, much of that anger was directed at himself.

He had made mistakes today— Mistakes that had almost cost him a lot.

No…

They had cost him things precious to him.

Most importantly of all, for the first time in his life, he had broken a promise he had made.

For that reason, seeing his own face staring back at him only drove him to strike harder… And harder.

***