Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 559: Walkers of the Heaven and Earth I

CH559 Walkers of the Heaven and Earth I

***

Zora opened her eyes to find herself standing within what appeared to be a cavern.

To one side, she noticed a pool of steaming water.

’A hot spring?’ she muttered to herself.

Then she sensed another presence and instinctively stepped back.

A woman’s head emerged slowly from the hot spring. She glanced around before her gaze locked onto Zora.

Moments later, the woman rose fully from the water.

Impressively, the water clinging to her clothes did not drip to the ground. Instead, as she stepped out of the pool, the droplets gathered together, compressing into a floating sphere of water before her.

The woman extended a hand, and the water sphere settled gently into her palm. Then, astonishingly, the water deconstructed into raw mana and flowed into her body.

The woman turned to face Zora.

”Heaven and Earth provide for all. However, one’s provision does not always come with ease. Sometimes, one must seize their provision from the most unfavourable of places. Only then can one truly call themselves a walker of Heaven and Earth.”

The woman muttered something in a language Zora could not understand. Another bubble of water rose from the hot spring and drifted into her hand, and she cast a spell.

[Water Jet]!

Zora’s eyes widened as the woman unleashed the spell towards her.

[Ice Wall]!

She instinctively quick-cast a defensive spell.

However, instead of the usual thick, boulder-like wall that formed before her, only a thin sheet of ice materialised.

Crack! Shatter!

The Water Jet pierced straight through the fragile barrier, striking Zora and blasting her backwards. She rolled across the cavern floor and collided with a wall.

Fortunately, she did not hit it too hard and only sustained minor scrapes. Moreover, the woman did not pursue her. She merely looked down at Zora’s fallen form.

Zora gritted her teeth and forced herself back onto her feet.

At first, she could not understand why her spell had manifested so weakly, but realisation soon dawned.

’The surrounding mana... it’s entirely elemental,’ her expression darkened. ’Not just elemental... fire-elemental mana.’

Ambient mana was typically neutral— or rather, an amalgamation of various elemental attributes. As such, it could usually be used to cast spells regardless of elemental affinity.

However, clearly attributed elemental mana behaved differently.

Fire mana, for instance, could not be used to cast water-based spells.

And being immersed in an environment saturated with fire-elemental mana meant Zora could not effectively cast water spells.

It was one of the inherent weaknesses of spellcasting.

’Wait... that makes no sense. She’s using water spells as well,’ Zora mused.

’How is she—?’

Realisation struck her abruptly.

She recalled the woman’s earlier words.

”Heaven and Earth provide for all. However, one’s provision does not always come with ease. Sometimes, one must seize their provision from the most unfavourable of places. Only then can one truly call themselves a walker of Heaven and Earth.”

Zora understood.

This was her trial.

She had to comprehend how to extract the water-elemental mana she required from an environment saturated with fire mana... and then defeat the woman before her— who was clearly a formidable spellcaster.

—

Mogal found himself standing upon a vast prairie.

Ahead of him stood a man no more than two metres tall. At first glance, the man appeared somewhat lanky, yet the longer Mogal observed him, the more he sensed a refined strength coiled within that frame.

The man largely ignored Mogal’s presence.

Instead, he crouched low, his gaze fixed upon a colossal beast roughly two hundred metres away.

The creature resembled a mammoth— though without trunks. Its tusks, however, were far more menacing, thick and curved like scythes forged from bone.

Mogal instinctively lowered himself to avoid being noticed by the massive beast. He could not help but wonder whether the man before him was hiding from it... or stalking it.

He attempted to speak, only to realise that no words would leave his mouth.

All he could do was watch.

As he observed more closely, he realised something peculiar.

He could not sense any cultivation from the man— nor from the beast. In fact, he could not sense cultivation from anything across the entire prairie.

It was as though everything here existed without cultivation.

’If that’s the case, how does he intend to hunt that beast without weapons? Or was I correct— is he hiding from it instead?’ Mogal wondered.

Yet no answers came.

”Heaven and Earth are all-encompassing.”

Mogal suddenly heard a voice resonate within his mind. He quickly understood that it was the man speaking.

The voice continued,

”To walk the path of Heaven and Earth is to realise that it is the unfathomable, holding endless possibilities— even within that which our feeble minds deem impossible.

”To walk the path of Heaven and Earth is to understand that the Will of Heaven can make all things possible upon the Earth.”

”However, more than that, one must realise —and be humbled— that the Will of Heaven has granted us the opportunity to do the same within ourselves.

”With our bodies as the infinite Earth —the universe— our souls as the unfathomable Heavens —the Universal Law— and our minds as the unyielding Will of Heaven —the Natural Order— we too can forge an unrivalled creation.”

As the voice echoed within Mogal’s mind, the behemoth continued grazing, wandering to within a hundred metres of the man’s position.

”Let my mind will it. Let my muscles and flesh enact it. Let my bones bear it. Let my blood fuel it. Let my Will be... UNHINDERED!”

”Unrivalled Speed!”

Boom!

Before Mogal’s eyes, the seemingly ordinary man burst forward, moving at blinding speed and arriving before the behemoth in an instant.

He barely reached the creature’s knees.

It could not even be likened to a child attacking an adult. And yet, the man’s eyes burned with unwavering confidence.

He drew his arms back, preparing to strike.

”Let my Will be unhindered!”

”Unstoppable Force!”

Time seemed to slow in Mogal’s perception.

Every movement of the man became crystal clear —the surge of blood through veins, the contraction of muscle fibres, the ripple of flesh, the bracing of bone... and finally, the pure simplicity of motion.

But more than the mechanics, something else seized Mogal’s attention.

Though he appeared no more than an ant standing before a charging carriage, as he unleashed his punch, his eyes blazed with absolute belief.

The belief that his seemingly weaker body could fell this behemoth with a single strike.

BOOM!

Crack!

The punch connected, and a thunderous cracking of bone reverberated across the prairie.

At first, Mogal thought it was the man’s bones shattering.

But reality revealed otherwise.

It was the behemoth’s.

When the punch landed, the force first shattered the creature’s skull. The impact then travelled down its spine, propagating through its frame and splintering every bone within its massive body.

The beast’s enormous form lifted off the ground and was hurled back several dozen metres before crashing heavily upon the prairie.

It was unquestionably dead.

The man slowly turned towards Mogal. His eyes flashed with a dangerous glint.

In that instant, Mogal understood the nature of his trial.

He had to forge a body of Earth and a Will of Heaven— such that he could accomplish any feat through his flesh alone...

Or perish trying within this trial.

***