Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 555: Mysterious Old Man I

CH555 Mysterious Old Man I

***

Sometime earlier...

Light cascaded across Alex’s face, prompting his eyelids to quiver.

Soon, his eyes opened groggily as he regained consciousness after suddenly blacking out.

Opening his eyes to the sky above, Alex felt an odd sense of déjà vu. He recalled the day he first opened his eyes in this new world.

He had been taken aback —even slightly fearful— by the way he had been brought here, but beyond that there had been a strange sense of ease.

An emotion he had not truly felt in a long time during his workaholic life.

Not even the myriads of web novels, games, literature, and other forms of entertainment had been able to give him that feeling.

’Wait... fear?’

The memory of how he lost consciousness suddenly came flooding back. His awareness sharpened instantly as he took in his surroundings.

He realised he was still within the arid desert, enclosed by sky-high monoliths on every side.

’Yes, that’s right. We are inside the illusionary labyrinth generated by the grand formation we encountered in the Wildlands,’ Alex recalled. ’I suddenly lost consciousness when—’

He noticed something else — something that sent a chill straight through his core.

’I can’t see it...’

Horror filled his expression as he stared up at the sky.

His right hand rose to cover his face —his eyes— as the colour drained from his features.

’My Truth-Seeker Eyes... they’re gone?’ he realised.

His vision had returned to ’normal’.

He could no longer feel his unique ocular prowess— the sensation of peering into the true nature of everything within his sight.

Enhanced Vision, which improved the distance and clarity of what he saw.

Spirit Sight, which painted the world in a vibrant spectrum of mana only he could perceive.

Death Perception, which allowed him to discern the weak points of anything that fell within his gaze.

All of it —particularly Spirit Sight, which had defined his perception for more than six years since arriving in this world— was now locked away from him... as if it had been forcibly ripped out.

”Ah!”

Alex suddenly clutched his head in pain.

His skull throbbed in intermittent waves, sharp pulses that seemed to echo behind his eyes.

The throbbing only eased when he shut his eyes.

”Alex, Alex... are you okay?” Alex felt someone quickly steady him, arms supporting his weight.

Even without opening his eyes, the familiar scent and warmth surrounding him told him exactly who it was.

Alex forced himself to take a slow, deep breath, struggling to regain control.

”Zora...” he said weakly.

”Are you okay...?” Zora asked carefully.

Udara and Eleanore knelt beside him as well, worry evident on their faces.

Alex did not answer, but the trembling of his body spoke volumes.

”Looks like it is as I suspected.”

At that moment, Alex heard an unfamiliar voice.

He instinctively opened his eyes to look at the speaker, only to be struck by another sharp spike of pain.

Still, he endured it.

Ahead of him, Alex saw his followers forming a defensive stance. Beyond them stood an old man who appeared to be in his late sixties or early seventies.

He was average in almost every regard —height, appearance, presence— yet an extraordinary aura surrounded him.

Not even Alex’s father, Earl Drake Fury, carried an aura so potent.

’This man... he is above Legend!’ Alex thought.

The moment the thought formed, more memories surfaced.

While searching for distortions in the flow of mana under Sugud’s guidance, Alex’s Truth-Seeker Eyes had been drawn to a point above the portal door.

There had been a thin line connecting the door to higher spatial dimension— or at least, to a different dimension entirely.

His Truth-Seeker Eyes had been drawn to that position, almost as though they had developed a will of their own— determined to peer into that spatial dimension.

So much so that he had not realised his eyes were bleeding.

”You... it was you, wasn’t it?” Alex spoke.

Everyone glanced between the old man and Alex in confusion, their guard rising even further.

”What did you do to my eyes?” Alex asked.

”From what I have seen and can tell since you entered this talismanic field of mine, you are quite an intelligent lad. Surely you must understand what happened,” the old man said, casually stroking his torso-length grey beard.

”Alex, talk to us. What’s going on?” Zora pressed urgently.

”Master...” ”Alex...” Udara and Eleanore muttered worriedly.

Alex closed his eyes once more.

Calm Madness!

”My innate mana perception... my Spirit Sight... it’s gone. I have lost it,” Alex said. ”My brain is currently undergoing sensory or perception withdrawal because of it.”

Even with his eyes closed, his wives sensed the activation of his bloodline’s unique trait.

Alex was using the controlled state of Calm Madness to endure —or outright ignore— the pain. For him to go this far... his wives felt a deep ache at the thought of what he must be experiencing.

”Don’t be so dramatic, boy. You haven’t lost your ocular prowess,” the old man said calmly. ”It has merely shut down temporarily to protect your brain.”

”You attempted to pry into secrets far above your level. You are fortunate to be alive— a clear testament to the strength of your ocular prowess... and your Fortune.”

Alex’s eyebrows furrowed.

He could not see the old man’s expression clearly, but he instinctively knew the man was telling the truth.

He had indeed attempted to peer beyond the distortion in the flow of mana above— into what might have been the foundational core of the Grand Formation that he and Sugud suspected was a Grade Six... or even a Grade Seven Grand Formation.

More than that, Alex was beginning to suspect that what his Truth-Seeker Eyes had instinctively tried to pry into was not the formation core itself— but this old man.

”All of you, stand down,” Alex said, forcing himself to rise to his feet.

”Sir?” Kavakan looked back in confusion.

Alex offered his wives a reassuring smile, even though his eyes remained closed.

”He is an Excellency above the Legendary rank at least. If he wished to kill us, none of us would even be able to react. Standing on guard like that would simply be rude,” Alex explained calmly.

”Stand down,” he ordered, his tone turning firm.

Kavakan, Mogal, Havel, and Silver reluctantly lowered their guard and sheathed their weapons.

The old man looked at Alex with amusement. He was wise and experienced enough to recognise that Alex’s words were not truly meant for his followers— but for him.

’Interesting lad,’ the mysterious old man thought, stroking his beard.

Alex turned towards the old man’s direction. Even with his eyes closed, he could feel the man’s gaze fixed squarely upon him.

For a moment, he had the strange illusion that the old man had never taken his eyes off him— or perhaps that the old man had been watching only him all along.

He could not help but consider what was happening... and why the old man had suddenly appeared.

Alex offered a respectful bow.

”Would Your Excellency please enlighten us as to who you are, and why you have taken the effort to appear before our little party?” Alex asked.

His tone was neither servile nor arrogant, which only deepened the old man’s amusement.

”It is as I believe you have already suspected,” the old man said. ”I am the creator of this Heaven-Earth Concordance talismanic field.”

***