Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 875: Hidden Title

CH875 Hidden Title

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[A.N: Title at the end of chapter.]

While it seemed like good news was continuously coming from the camp of the Legatee, the same could not be said for the sorcerers who brought back the legacy of the One Heaven Sorcerer to the Holy Lands of Sorcery.

Hiro—the senior brother of the current generation of the Heaven’s Secret Sect—anxiously paced about in his private courtyard.

His junior brothers, Samir and Leo, watched him quietly from the side with their heads bowed.

Hiro stomped his feet in annoyance.

‘I should have killed them all when I had the chance,’ Hiro thought, enraged.

“I am sorry, Senior Brother. It is all my fault.” Leo couldn’t help but say with guilt.

Hiro looked over, then shook his head.

“No, Junior Brother. It’s not your fault. I am just venting my anger. Considering our situation back then, we had no choice but to return as a group. You were right to advise me not to attack the disciples of the other Holy Lands,” Hiro said.

“I just can’t help but think things would have been different if we had returned alone, or at least separately. That’s all,” Hiro said.

“Senior Brother Hiro is right, Leo. We made the best decision we could have in the situation.” Second Brother Samir said. “Don’t worry. I am sure Master will return with favourable news this time around.”

Just as Samir spoke, they sensed an imposing presence arrive at the courtyard.

“Master!” All three quickly dropped to their knees and kowtowed.

“Hmm…”

A white-haired old man in Eastern-style sorcerer robes appeared in the sky above.

He casually walked down from the sky as if walking down a flight of invisible stairs.

“Rise and follow me,” he said as he passed the three youths, heading into the building behind them.

Now seated in the building’s living room, the youngest, Leo, served the group tea he had prepared himself.

He then joined Samir on the left side of the table from the Heaven’s Secret Sect Master, opposite Hiro, who sat on the right-hand side.

The Sect Master took a sip of the tea, almost as if to wet his throat.

“Ah… that’s good.” The Sect Master said, relieved. “I have been arguing with those old things for days. My throat was parched.”

“Master…” Hiro urged carefully.

“Patience, Hiro. You are the senior brother. Don’t show your impatience before your junior brothers,” the Sect Master admonished.

“Well, I can understand your impatience.” He sighed. “I have brought good news. I have finally reached an agreement with the other Holy Lands.

“The Eight Holy Lands have all agreed to send a representative each to study the manual you brought back under the combined guidance and funding of all Eight Holy Lands.”

“Every Holy Land will pull all possible efforts to ensure each and every one of you masters the manual.”

“What?!” Hiro slammed the table. “How can that be? The manual is the legacy of the One Heaven Sorcerer, an ancestor of our Heaven’s Secret Sect!”

“That is exactly the problem, Hiro.” The Heaven’s Secret Sect Master sighed. “The manual is likely the infamous One Heaven Manual that allowed the ancestor to break through the limit and reach the Eighth Circle.

“There’s no way the other Holy Lands would allow any one Holy Land to hold such a manual. Such that, even after a full year of negotiations amongst ourselves, this is the only compromise we could reach.

“It is the best way to prevent infighting amongst the Hidden Heavens.”

“If only I had…” Hiro clenched his fist on the table.

“Don’t think about it, Hiro. You will only open yourself up to inner demons,” the Sect Master said.

“Besides, the situation might actually not be as bad as you think,” he suddenly added.

“Please, enlighten us, Master?” The calm-headed Samir asked.

“To practise the One Heaven Manual, the user must not possess cultivation from any mystic technique or must give up their cultivation of the mystic technique. Due to this, old masters from the Holy Lands gave up cultivating the manual. That leaves only you members of the current generation.

“Amongst the current generation, who else but a member of my Heaven’s Secret Sect—you, Hiro—would have the best talent to cultivate the manual sent down by an ancestor of my Heaven’s Secret Sect?” The Sect Master’s eyes gleamed sharply.

“The disciples of other sects may try all they want, but their talent will pale in comparison to you,” he added.

“All the other Holy Lands will be doing is gathering and offering up resources to be used by you to progress faster,” he said to Hiro. “With the combined efforts of the Eight Holy Lands, you will have access to more resources than our Heaven’s Secret Sect alone can provide.

“And the faster you progress, the more resources from the other Holy Lands you can consume for yourself, strengthening yourself and weakening them in the process,” he added.

Hiro’s eyes flashed.

He was delighted by his teacher’s words. His mood improved immediately as a cold smile flashed across his lips.

The Sect Master nodded to himself now that his disciple had regained his composure.

He turned to Samir and Leo. “Your eldest senior brother will be requiring your help,” he said.

“There are materials and resources that are required to practise the mystic technique written within the manual—resources and materials which are now scarce within the Hidden Heavens.”

“In order for eight people to train in the manual, we will be sending out more sorcerers, especially those of you from the younger generation, to go into the main Heaven to secure these resources,” he informed them.

“We will do everything we can. For Big Brother, for the Heaven’s Secret Sect, for the Heavens,” the two younger brothers vowed.

“Good.” The Sect Master nodded, stroking his long white beard. He paused for a moment and gave words of caution. “Your goal is to acquire resources. As much as possible, do not attract the attention of the cults of those traitors and the foolish, brainwashed powers occupying the main Heavens.

“The time for war will come, but it is not yet time.”

“We will not let you down, Master,” the brothers said.

The Sect Master didn’t respond. He sighed, lifted his teacup to his lips, and drank from it.

Although he sounded confident to his disciples, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease. Sending so many True Sorcerers into the main Heaven would no doubt draw the attention of the deities and their brainwashed cults—it was almost inevitable.

‘It would have been better, or easier, to train a Legatee if all the Eight Holy Lands chose to focus their resources on one candidate. Alas, we could only agree on this method, which will only end up wasting a lot of resources on the other candidates when there will only be one Legatee at the end,’ the Sect Master thought to himself.

‘Alas, none of the Holy Lands is willing to bow their heads to the leadership of another.’

‘What foolishness… We have a grand opportunity, but infighting will prevent us from making efficient use of it.’ He sighed.

Though the Sect Master thought this, he himself could not resign himself to watching another Holy Land’s member become the Legatee—not when, in his view, his Sect’s number one disciple was obviously the best candidate to train in the manual left behind by their Sect’s ancestor.

Even while he was not naïve enough not to recognise his bias, he too could not step back, allowing the choice of the most efficient path.

At the end of it all, the Holy Lands had ‘no choice’ but to choose the wasteful method. For it was the one that best guaranteed peace and prevented infighting within the Hidden Heavens.

But if this method would also prevent fighting against the nefarious traitorous forces now inhabiting the main Heaven, that remained to be seen.

Elsewhere in the Luxen Duchy of Lumeria, a parade was ongoing to celebrate the return of the expedition party led by the Marquis of VirtuousLight, Clinton Luxen—the heir apparent of the Luxen Duchy.

The Marquis had taken upon his shoulders the difficult burden of culling the beasts’ numbers within the Great Berserk Beast Forest.

Not wanting to weaken the Duchy’s armies, the Marquis used his own personal troops as well as rallying volunteers from across the Duchy, eventually amassing a corps of 25,000, which included artisan, logistics, and support groups.

Even the Archbishop of the Juror Temple in the Duchy answered the Marquis’ call.

However, even against beasts, war was a bloody business.

While the corps succeeded in killing their way through the Great Berserk Beast Forest, they did so by sacrificing a great number of people.

York Belloc, the son of Baron Luth Belloc and elder brother of Kron Belloc, looked around at the procession.

Although this was a happy parade to the citizens, it was anything but to those who had returned.

Of the 25,000 who went into the forest, only a mere 9,000 or so returned—a staggering two-thirds casualty rate.

York had been excited to head into battle, but the man who returned was a disillusioned veteran who wished they had never gone to battle.

‘What did we even fight for? For the citizens of the Duchy, or for one man’s ambition?’ He thought as he looked at the man at the head of the procession who was accepting everyone’s applause.

York hung his head.

He had confidently left home and attached himself to the Marquis of VirtuousLight, hoping to rid his family of the stigma that marked them.

But now, he couldn’t even bring himself to look at the man. He was too disgusted to do so. Worse still, he couldn’t even bring himself to leave the man’s retinue, as he was too ashamed to return home when he had left with his head held up so high that his nose touched the skies themselves.

York shook his head.

‘But why do I find the Marquis so disgusting now? Surely, I am not too surprised by what he had done. After all, he hasn’t done anything beyond what aristocrats do,’ York mused to himself.

He couldn’t understand it.

Later that night, after the procession had died down, the Marquis of VirtuousLight held a meeting with the Archbishop of the Luxen Duchy’s Juror Temple.

“How are you getting used to the power bestowed by the Old One, Marquis?” the Archbishop asked.

The Marquis clenched his fist and opened it, evaluating his strength.

To the outside world, the Marquis of VirtuousLight was a Combat Master. Unbeknownst to them, after the expedition, he had finally risen to become a Combat Saint.

“My power is continuously rising. My Saintly power has consolidated significantly,” the Marquis said.

“This is the power of the Old One, whom even our Lord follows.” The Archbishop smiled. “This is merely a taste from offering a few thousands of souls. As you continue to offer more souls to the Old One and our Lord, so too shall your powers increase.

“The Combat Sage, even the infamous Combat Emperor rank, will be within your reach,” he added temptingly.

The Marquis of VirtuousLight turned to the window, looking down at Radiant Rose City—the capital of the Luxen Duchy—below.

“It will be difficult to get more sacrifices any time soon. Short of a war, I don’t think even I can muster such a large number of souls quickly. I may have to take things slowly,” he said.

“Unfortunately, that is not an option, Marquis,” the Archbishop said. “The Old One offered you this much power simply because They are in need of the souls as quickly as possible. The more time it takes to get the souls, the lesser the strength you will gain with each sacrifice.”

“Then what would you have me do, Archbishop? Risk my position? I would be of no use to you if that happens.” The Marquis scowled.

“The Marquis is wise. I am sure you will come up with a solution,” the Archbishop replied with a patronising smile.

‘Sly snake.’ Clinton Luxen thought to himself.

He didn’t trust the Archbishop. He didn’t have any faith in Juror nor this ‘Old One’. If it wasn’t for the power They could grant—power he needed—he wouldn’t be bothering to play this farce with Them.

‘I cannot out-scheme that brother of mine. My only option is to crush him with overwhelming power that his schemes can do nothing against,’ Clinton thought to himself.

Then his eyes lit up.

‘Yes, that brother of mine is making wild moves. Wild enough that an extreme action from me is… understandable.’ Clinton thought to himself.

‘Very well, Asher. Let’s play the games that you love so much.’

“Prepare what is needed. War will descend on the Duchy soon. Be prepared and don’t waste my efforts.”

“As you wish, Marquis.” The Archbishop smiled eerily.

A special energy converged on the room, then a moment later, the Archbishop disappeared.

Had Alex been present, had he laid eyes on the energy possessed by both Marquis Clinton Luxen and the Juror Archbishop, he would have been shocked.

The energy they were using so freely was Divine energy and… Berserk energy.

Even more shocking, at the Berserk property contamination levels their energy signatures would show in Alex’s True Seeker eyes, both men should have long since become Berserk Humans—yet, they looked perfectly normal.

—

A few days later…

BRD R&D Manor, outskirts of Ashwell Town, Frontier March.

The day had finally come. It was quietly a big day within the Frontier March domain.

After more than two years of being stranded in Verdantis, it was finally time for the expedition party to attempt a return to Pangea.

The modified—or improvised—Interplanar Gate Formation was fully built and ready for use.

The previous day, a quick back-and-forth trip using one of the wolf drones had been used to test the formation, and, at the very least, they had proved that the formation worked and didn’t send them to a hostile area.

It also showed that distance could disconnect a drone from the hive, but the imprinted instructions in the drone would still function even after the disconnection.

This effectively meant Alex could station drones on different planes. While the drone wouldn’t be able to connect and receive ‘upgrades’ from the hive, it would perpetually continue to do what it was ‘programmed’ to do until the end of its relatively short lifespan.

Now, Alex and his Pangean group of twenty-three readied themselves to return home.

“I will leave the domain under your leadership, Saul,” Alex said to the Saint.

“I will do my best,” the old man replied. “How long should we expect you to be gone?” he asked.

“I’m not sure,” Alex replied. Then he said thoughtfully, “It could take up to a year or more, as I have a lot of things to do back home. But however long it takes, I should be able to bring back significant support.

“As for how much support I can bring, however, will also depend on how much the domain grows in my absence.”

Even Alex’s ‘modified’ Interplanar Gate couldn’t get around the limitation on the number of people passing through the formation. The planar Providence of the user directly correlates to the number of people said person could bring through the Interplanar Gate.

Hence, the faster the domain grows, the more Providence it gains. And the more Providence it gains, the more Verdantian plane Providence Alex gains as the domain lord.

Alex nodded to Milton, Kron Belloc, and Tivela, who joined Saul as the only onlookers allowed to be present.

With the last pieces of pleasantries said to the upper echelon of the domain, Alex and his expedition party stepped before the gate.

He looked on both sides at his wives, his retainers, and the Fury Knight who had sworn fealty to him.

“Here goes nothing.” Alex smiled.

He activated the Interplanar Formation. It shimmered to life with a beautiful white-blue glow. Then, without further ado, Alex and his expedition party stepped through the Interplanar Gate, disappearing from the sight of the four onlookers.

Eventually, the four turned around and walked away, silently praying for the safe journey and return of the party.

Chapter Title: Returning Home

Volume 2 Ends…

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