Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 852: Eleanore’s Laboratory

CH852 Eleanore’s Laboratory

***

One month…

They were about a month away from possibly returning to Pangea.

Alex let this realisation sink in for a moment. But then, he shook his head.

‘Not exactly one month till we can return. I still need to inscribe the necessary runes and prepare the required formation core. Since I would have to do it myself, that could add a bit more time to the equation,’ Alex mused to himself.

‘Unless, of course, I complete the instructions Ava needs to produce the rune-inscribing drones,’ he thought.

He paused for a moment to look at the ongoing construction.

‘It might be better for me to focus on the instructions for the drones rather than work out a plan that will allow me to do my part with all this construction going on,’ he pondered.

Magical glyph inscription was a volatile business in some sense. It required a great deal of skill, concentration, and Spiritual Force to inscribe structural runes on an ongoing construction project.

Alex did have the necessary qualifications to get the job done, but it seemed like unnecessary work. Instead, he would rather spend that time preparing the instruction packet and end up with a product that would solve many of his current problems.

“Once I work out a plan to complete my part, I will let you know,” Alex informed Sugud.

The Bureau of Research and Development (BRD) head nodded.

After exchanging a few more words about the project, the group quietly returned to the manor without disturbing the ongoing construction any more than necessary.

When they returned to the BRD manor, Sugud brought Alex to a secluded courtyard on the north-eastern side of the manor estate.

The courtyard housed a simple bungalow.

“This is Lady Eleanore’s private laboratory,” Sugud said.

To Alex’s surprise, the BRD head didn’t take a single step into the courtyard. Instead, he said, “I will return to my work. You can meet Lady Eleanore inside.”

Then he quickly walked away.

No, more like half walked, half ran.

Not just Sugud, even Mordor and Tivela were the same. They even brought the Silver Wolf Guards along with them.

Captain Lopota initially refused. However, Mordor whispered something into the man’s ear, causing his expression to fall. The Sergeant quickly saluted Alex before also rushing away with the rest of the Silver Wolf Guards.

Alex looked as though he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

He assumed the group had decided to give him and Eleanore some space. He nodded, appreciating how tactful they were.

Alas, he was wrong—very wrong.

When Alex approached the bungalow, he discovered a runic lock of his own design that restricted access to the building.

He pressed a few runes on the runic lock, and a beam of light projected outwards from it, scanning his body.

After confirming his identity, the door opened, and Alex walked inside.

The bungalow comprised a few rooms—a small living area, a briefing room, two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a toilet.

There was no workspace or room that even remotely resembled a laboratory, which should have been strange considering Sugud had called the building Eleanore’s private laboratory.

However, Alex wasn’t confused or taken aback by the absence of such a space.

He walked into the briefing room, which looked as though it had been set up for a small group of researchers to meet and discuss the progress of a project.

Alex walked to the front of the room beside the board and placed his hands on what appeared to be an empty section of the wall.

Suddenly, another runic lock appeared, and he was once again scanned.

After the scan, a section of the floor beside him slid open, revealing a hidden subterranean staircase.

Alex followed the staircase underground, arriving at Eleanore’s true laboratory.

‘Yep, Eleanore definitely has style. This whole process screams “proper secret laboratory”—or, even more so, “biotech laboratory”,’ Alex snickered to himself.

This was his first time being here, but he had been aware of the laboratory’s design and construction. After all, he had been involved throughout the entire process and had even offered his own insights.

‘All that’s missing is an elevator. Walking down a staircase that goes about five floors underground is too much of a hassle,’ he thought to himself.

The laboratory was located at least ten metres underground. This had been a deliberate choice made for both secrecy and security.

Finally reaching the bottom of the stairs, Alex found himself in what looked like a lounge area. Beyond it stretched a long corridor with doors on either side.

The entire subterranean facility was illuminated by integrated mana lamps, tastefully designed to mimic an aboveground facility.

With enough mental conditioning, it was possible for one to forget they were underground.

Alex walked into the corridor.

“Eleanore!” he called out.

“Over here. Lab 3!” he heard Eleanore call back.

Alex walked over to the room labelled Lab 3.

When he opened the door, he was immediately greeted by the sight of his beautiful blonde high elven wife, dressed in a cream blouse dress beneath a white laboratory coat.

Wearing a pair of glasses and a serious expression, she possessed an intellectual charm that instantly drew him in.

Splat!

However, as he was admiring the sight, a red liquid suddenly splashed across Eleanore’s face, turning her beautiful visage into a gory one.

“Are you okay?” Alex quickly rushed over to her.

He was about to wave his hand and cast a spell, but Eleanore beat him to it.

She seemed prepared for such an occurrence and had protected herself with a protective spell that applied a thin layer of mana over her body.

It wouldn’t protect her from a powerful attack like a warrior’s Aura Coating would, but it would protect her from accidental splashes in the laboratory.

It was a simple Grade 0 spell with remarkably high utility, even in a Tier V Grandmaster-level laboratory.

With a flick of her hand, the protective mana coating pulsed, pushing the splattered liquid away from her body.

Realising she was safe, Alex finally had the presence of mind to examine the room.

“Heh?!” He was caught off guard.

The laboratory looked like a morgue, with about twenty examination tables lined up in neatly arranged rows and columns.

And on each table lay a horrendously deformed corpse—both human and beast.

In that moment, Alex realised something.

‘No wonder Sugud and Mordor didn’t want to come down here. It’s a horror house!’

“You are here.” Eleanore smiled.

Unfortunately, the red liquid splatters still covering her glasses gave her smile a creepy, almost horrific vibe.

Alex shook his head. ‘Must be all those psycho girlfriends (yandere) and horror flicks I watched in the past getting the best of me,’ he thought to himself.

He took out a handkerchief, then removed Eleanore’s glasses and cleaned them for her before putting them back on.

“That’s better,” he muttered.

Eleanore tilted her head, confused—and a bit cutely.

“What’s going on in your head, Alex?” she asked, staring at him markedly.

“Nothing.” Alex chuckled sheepishly. “What is all of this?” he asked instead, trying to divert the topic.

“I’m using both Ava and Orion. Shouldn’t you know that by now?” Eleanore asked instead.

She removed the stained gloves from her hands, then walked over to the washbasin, where she washed her hands.

“Orion processes a lot of data. It would overwhelm my mind if I tried to keep tabs on every little thing. So, I keep a separation between it and my mind,” Alex explained as he watched her wash her arms.

“That’s why I think of it as a ‘second’ mind as opposed to part of my actual mind,” he added.

“I see. So, it’s like a secondary personality that you don’t always know what it’s up to?” she said.

“Not exactly. I can find out whatever it’s up to at any moment with a simple query… You know what? You are not necessarily wrong,” Alex said.

He was going to explain the true nature of his connection to Orion, but then he decided it wasn’t exactly necessary.

“The point is, while I can find out what you’re doing through Orion, I choose to keep the mystery and instead find out from you,” he said.

He pulled the woman who had finished washing up and was now working back into his arms and kissed her.

“I think there’s something romantic about it,” he said.

His hands moved unchecked over her backside for a moment before they were smacked away by Eleanore.

“What a romantic you are. Pulling off something like that in a place like this.” Eleanore remarked with a shake of her head.

“That actually proves how much of a romantic I am. No place is an obstacle as long as I’m with you,” Alex chuckled.

“Can you listen to yourself? Don’t you see how cringy that sounds?” Eleanore rolled her eyes. “Do you want me to tell you what I’m doing or not?” she asked as she took a seat on the stool beside the corpse she had been working on.

Alex pulled over a nearby stool and sat down.

“Explain away.”

***