Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 469: Berserk –Valuable or Worthless

CH469 Berserk –Valuable or Worthless

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Bark! Bark!

When the rest of the group approached to deal with the beast corpses, Fen rushed over to Alex, insistently protesting that his hunts should be kept, and that only the beasts killed by Havel were to be sold off.

Chef Fen shared his several ’colourful’ thoughts about Havel’s killing methods—thoughts that were best left untranslated.

Alex chuckled and waved his hand, pulling out a storage box from the Sanctuary Pocket Dimension. At his instruction, the two preserved corpses were stored inside.

Only then did Fen finally settle down.

He reverted to his cub form and strutted back into Zora’s arms as if returning his rightful position.

Aylora stared at the wolf with a conflicted expression, disbelief foremost among them.

’Is that cute little cub really the same big wolf that just killed two peak Silver-ranked beasts?’ she wondered, even though she already knew the answer.

Meanwhile, Naena’s gaze remained fixed on Alex.

His use of a spatial method had not gone unnoticed.

Her interest in Alex—and his party—quietly deepened.

’Is he like Naena?’ Yerion mused. ’Is that why he seemed so interested in her?’

Following their agreement, once the Fury soldiers finished extracting the beast cores, Naena stepped forward to transfer the remaining haul back to elven territory.

Well—almost all of it.

The Crystal Scorpion’s corpse was conspicuously left untouched.

”Is there a problem?” Alex asked, noticing their hesitation.

”We cannot take that corpse,” Yerion said.

”Why?” Alex raised an eyebrow.

This time, it was Yerion’s turn to look at Alex with furrowed brows, clearly puzzled that Alex didn’t already know the answer.

”Because its flesh has been contaminated by berserk energy,” the middle-aged elf replied.

However, instead of clearing things up, this only deepened Alex’s confusion.

”Aren’t all berserk beasts corrupted by berserk energy?” he asked.

”No.” Yerion shook his head. ”All berserk beasts carry berserk energy, and to some degree are influenced by it, yes. But that doesn’t necessarily mean their flesh is contaminated by the energy.”

Alex understood the words. He just didn’t understand the meaning.

’He really doesn’t get it?’ Yerion thought, thoroughly baffled.

’Where is he from that neither he nor his party knows something so basic?’

Seeing that Alex was genuinely confused, Yerion decided to explain.

”Berserk beasts primarily store berserk energy within their beast core,” he said. ”As a result, the core is usually where the energy is most concentrated. The mutations we see in berserk beasts are caused by the unstable nature of berserk energy as it flows through their energy pathways. However, most of the time, the energy remains concentrated in the core—and to a lesser extent, the pathways—sparing the flesh from direct contamination.”

He continued, ”That changes when a beast feels its life is threatened to the extreme. When it decides it cannot escape and chooses to take its killer with it, it floods its entire body with berserk energy to fuel one last devastating attack.”

”As a consequence, the flesh becomes saturated with berserk energy, which is essentially a poison to anyone who consumes it.”

Yerion paused before adding, ”In truth, most berserk beasts release their energy throughout their bodies before they die. It is actually quite rare to kill one while its flesh remains edible. That is why we were surprised to see you leave such valuable corpses behind—and why we took the risk to follow you.”

”If we were the ones killing the beasts ourselves, there would be a much higher chance they would go berserk before we could finish them off.”

Realisation finally dawned on Alex.

’That also explains why it felt strange,’ he mused. ’If berserk beast nests are common enough that almost every settlement has to deal with them, why would the elves still dispatch Lightfinders just to gather meat?’

’At first, I thought the elves had found a way to eliminate their nests entirely. But now it seems the real issue is that they cannot reliably hunt berserk beasts without triggering full contamination before death.’

Alex looked up at the Crystal Scorpion’s corpse, which was still emitting a baleful purple aura of berserk energy.

Even someone ignorant of its dangers wouldn’t want to eat meat like that.

’...Unless the meat is treated somehow,’ Alex muttered to himself.

Then another thought struck him.

”If contaminated flesh has to be discarded,” Alex asked, ”doesn’t that mean beast cores are worthless, since that’s where berserk energy is concentrated?”

Yerion nodded, clearly pleased by Alex’s line of reasoning.

”Not quite.” He shook his head. ”Just like the flesh, the value of a beast core depends on its condition.”

”When a beast goes berserk and spreads its berserk energy throughout its body, the beast core is actually purged of that energy. What remains is a relatively clean energy source—similar to a berserk stone.”

He paused briefly before adding, ”Only cleaner.”

”I see...” Alex nodded contemplatively while staring at the corpse. Countless thoughts rampaged through his mind.

He suddenly looked back up at Yerion.

”Let me guess—you want to buy the beast core, right?” he asked.

”If you are willing to sell it, yes.” Yerion nodded.

”Sure, why not?” Alex smiled.

”Really? Are you certain?” The middle-aged elf looked surprised. ”The beast core is the only valuable part of this creature. If you give it up, there won’t be any trophy worth keeping from such a difficult hunt.”

”That’s where you’re wrong.” Alex’s smile widened slightly.

He turned to Kavakan and beckoned him over with a wave of his hand.

Alex briefly explained the situation to the weretiger, then asked, ”Do you mind not keeping anything from your hunt?”

”What do you mean, boss?” Kavakan replied without hesitation. ”I already took the most valuable thing from that scorpion.”

Alex raised an eyebrow. ”Oh?”

Kavakan thumped his chest lightly. ”Its life is now one of the stepping stones paving my path forward.”

Alex laughed softly and nodded.

”Very well.” He dismissed the hulking weretiger with a wave.

Then he turned back to Yerion.

”Do you understand now?” Alex asked.

”I do.” Yerion nodded solemnly. ”Thank you for opening my eyes.” He bowed deeply.

Alex returned the gesture.

”And thank you for enlightening me as well,” he said.

He continued calmly, ”That said, if we’re trading the beast core, it will be at full market value. That’s the only way this remains fair to my people.”

”As it should be, Young Master Alex.” Yerion nodded in agreement.

The trade was swiftly concluded.

Alex wore a faint smile as he absorbed the new knowledge he had gained about the world he now found himself in.

’So... interesting,’ he thought. ’This must be one of the charms of interplanar expeditions—stepping into a new world and uncovering its hidden rules, knowledge, and secrets.’

A whimsical thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.

As the group continued their journey toward the core of the nest, Alex walked over to his wives and subtly motioned them aside, away from the elves.

He summarised what Yerion had explained, then voiced his thought aloud.

”Both contaminated berserk beast flesh and cores are considered worthless,” Alex said. ”But what if someone discovers a way to remove the contamination?”

Eleanor’s eyes lit up.

”If done properly,” she replied, excitement creeping into her voice, ”that person could gain power—and wealth—overnight.”

***