Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 520: Berserk Humans

CH520 Berserk Humans

***

Dragonstone Oasis, Hollowcrest Wildlands, Verdantis

Alex woke to a new day, blissfully unaware of the winds his forces had stirred on Pangea and how it now swept through the Virellian Empire.

Perhaps he would have worn a proud smile if he could see his organisations —his living legacy— operating with flawless precision in his absence.

Alas, he knew nothing of it.

And his hands were more than full here in Verdantis.

Still, there were upsides.

After his conversation with Baron Luth Belloc the previous night, the Baron had acted swiftly, sending much-needed succour in the form of talisman knowledge circulating within Ostmont City.

It wasn’t extensive, but the knowledge packet transmitted through the Communication Cube was far more comprehensive than anything the elves had shared with him.

Beyond mere identification of Sigils and vague hints at their meanings and functions, the Baron’s materials contained foundational principles of the Art of Talisman-making itself.

For the first time, Alex — or rather, OmniRune — learned the governing rules behind stringing Sigils together into basic talismanic logic.

If he were to draw an analogy with Runes, OmniRune had just acquired the equivalent knowledge of how to form Sigil Circuits.

As for constructing arrays and complex formations on the fly the way it could with Runes...

That would still take time.

Because the Baron had transmitted the information discreetly through the Comms Cube, the data fed directly into OmniRune. The AI assistant immediately began incorporating the new knowledge into its Emulator-Translator module.

Alex had briefly considered studying Sigils himself.

But he saw no real need.

His excuse remained the same— he had to keep his Runemaster Class pure.

So he left the entire task to OmniRune.

After all, he had already written the programs and logic the AI needed to make it work.

With that handled, and after a good night’s rest, Alex descended into Dragonstone to experience for himself what the oasis settlement had to offer.

As the expedition party roamed the town-level settlement, they quickly realised something unsettling.

Dragonstone was indeed larger, more developed, and far more prosperous than Camp Red Rock.

But that did not mean it was in a better position overall.

What immediately stood out to them was the living condition of those at the very bottom of the settlement’s totem pole.

Hidden away in narrow alleyways —out of sight from the wide, relatively clean roads— were people quietly dying.

From malnutrition.

And from berserk poisoning.

Alex and his wives exchanged looks the moment they noticed it.

In Camp Red Rock, they had almost never encountered a case of severe berserk energy poisoning among civilians.

Yet here, in Dragonstone, one only needed to glance into a random alley to find a commoner —someone with not even a trace of mana— heavily corrupted by berserk energy.

It didn’t take long for the situation to escalate before their eyes.

They had just stopped at a roadside stall when a commotion broke out ahead.

”Berserk! He’s losing control!”

A malnourished man staggered onto the road.

A thick, visible purple aura of berserk energy seeped from his skin like smoke from burning charcoal.

Then his body twisted.

Bones cracked.

Joints deformed with nauseating, resonant crunches.

His spine arched. Limbs elongated. His jaw unhinged as if his skull itself were being reshaped from the inside.

He was becoming something that was clearly no longer human.

Swoosh!

Before the transformation could complete, a passing swordsman moved.

A clean flash of steel.

The man’s head separated from his shoulders and fell to the ground.

The swordsman exhaled slowly, pity in his eyes, and returned the blade to its sheath as murmurs spread through the street.

Alex’s expression had gone grave.

The man had been an ordinary commoner— with no cultivation nor internal mana.

Yet as the transformation progressed, Alex had clearly perceived his energy signature rise...

...to Intermediate rank.

Had the swordsman been even a second slower, that thing would have torn through the surrounding civilians before anyone could react.

’So berserk transformation can turn an ordinary human into a Class 2 berserk human...’ Alex thought darkly.

’Is this the norm... or an exception?’

’If it was the latter...’

Then this was a far bigger problem than he had initially realised.

Looking to his wives, Alex quickly realised they had arrived at the same conclusion he had.

The scene was cleared quickly... perhaps too quickly.

’That was too smooth. Too practiced. They do this often,’ Alex deduced as his gaze swept across the crowd.

’They’re more shocked than panicked. That means they’ve been desensitised to this.’

’This happens a lot...’

”Change of plans,” Alex said to his wives. ”Let’s head to the Adventurer Association.”

He needed information, and they currently had far too little of it. There was only one place in a settlement like this that would reliably have what he wanted.

”Hopefully, registering will be enough to loosen the Branch Master’s tongue,” Alex muttered.

The group of four quickly made their way through the streets and arrived at the Adventurer Association.

The Association clearly played an important role in maintaining the settlement’s security. Its building stood in a prominent location, positioned so it could be seen almost immediately from the town gates upon entry.

The interior wasn’t too far off from what Alex expected, based on the stereotype of such organisations from fiction in his previous life.

The lower floor resembled a tavern.

In fact, there was an actual bar section already serving alcohol despite the early hour.

Alex and his wives approached the long counter where the Association staff were stationed.

He stepped forward to a young staff member—a teenage boy, only slightly older than Alex himself.

”We’d like to register as adventurers,” Alex said.

Then, after a brief pause, he added, ”Can I register a party and sign up its roster in one go?”

”No, you have to—”

The teenager stopped mid-sentence as he raised his head from the counter and properly looked at Alex.

His eyes widened.

”It’s you!”

”You’re not yet an adventurer?” the young man asked in disbelief.

Alex nodded. His wives behind him did the same.

The young staff member took a moment to recover from the stunning presence of the women—even though they were veiled—before quickly turning his attention back to Alex.

”So, you want to register now?” the young man asked.

Alex nodded once more.

He noticed the young man’s gaze was slightly unnatural—as if he desperately wanted to look at the women again but was forcibly keeping his eyes on Alex instead.

Alex’s smile widened in amusement.

The young man shivered in his seat when he saw that smile. He abruptly stood up.

”I-I’ll go report to the Branch Master!”

He dashed off as if fleeing for his life.

”You scared the life out of him,” Eleanore commented.

”But I didn’t do or say anything,” Alex replied with a wry shrug.

”You didn’t have to,” Zora said dryly.

A moment later, the Branch Master, Wayne Achard, arrived, with the young man carefully keeping his distance behind him.

”You are here, Young Master Alex,” Wayne greeted warmly. ”We just finished collating the haul from yesterday’s excitement. I was about to send the requested beast cores to you.”

For the life of him, Wayne still couldn’t understand why this sorcerer wanted to be paid in useless berserk beast cores. But since it helped him clear space in the Association’s warehouse, he chose not to pry and simply complied with the request.

”Excellent. Good thing I came, then. I’ll pick them up on my way out,” Alex said with a smile.

”Martin here will help with the registration,” Wayne said.

He turned to the young man. ”Go assist these fine ladies with their registration while I have a chat with Young Master Alex.”

Alex nodded to his wives before following Wayne upstairs to his office.

After taking their seats and exchanging brief pleasantries, Alex leaned forward slightly.

”I must confess, Master Wayne, I don’t actually know much about Adventurers. Only that the identity is convenient when travelling across the continent,” Alex said.

”Well, that’s understandable. It isn’t every day we have a man of your... standing join our ranks,” Wayne replied politely.

”Well, simply put, Adventurers travel the continent doing three things—raiding berserk beast nests, hunting berserk beasts, and putting berserk humans out of their misery.”

***