Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage Chapter 566: Alex’s Alchemy Innovation I

CH566 Alex’s Alchemy Innovation I

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Even as thrill pulsed through his veins, Alex refused to let it obscure his clear thinking.

He settled into a seated position and entered meditation, carefully steering his mind toward a steady, composed condition.

With his mind now organized, he started to develop his concept further.

Collaborating closely with OmniRune—and tapping into the enormous reservoir of information housed inside it—Alex set about building an groundbreaking approach to alchemy that neither Verdantis nor Pangea had witnessed before.

He and the AI companion scrutinized every phase in detail.

Suppositions underwent rigorous examination.

Variables got recomputed.

Viability was verified against his present skills.

In time...

“What’s the chance of it working?” Alex inquired with composure.

OmniRune launched swift simulations, simulating the procedure using established factors and surrounding limitations.

[95%]

Alex’s eyebrows rose just a touch.

‘Ninety-five percent... That exceeds my expectations.’

Considering that this technique’s base came from a completely different realm—reworked and rebuilt solely with the resources and concepts of this world.

By now, it bore only the name of the original method.

He deemed it nearly ridiculous that such a blended idea, so awkwardly fitted to this place, promised such an elevated likelihood of triumph.

‘Well... maybe that underscores my brilliance—and the diligence in adapting it right,’ he mused with a hint of smug approval.

He offered himself a quiet mental commendation.

“Then... we’ll get started.”

Alex stepped into the storage chamber for materials and thoughtfully chose the plants needed for a simple restorative elixir—one potent enough for the middle Beginner level.

Attempting something more sophisticated would add needless complications.

His goal wasn’t to invent a fresh recipe.

He aimed to forge a wholly novel way of performing alchemy.

To validate the technique, he didn’t need an advanced outcome.

In fact, simplifying it would remove extra uncertainties.

Once he confirmed all necessary plants were available in the chamber, he headed back to the primary bench.

Yet he held off on starting the concoction right away.

Rather—

He set to work reshaping the bench itself.

Piece by piece, the tools and devices on the bench gained enhancements—at least according to Alex’s criteria.

Certain ones got etched with elementary runes.

Some received linked runic pathways.

A handful needed small array setups.

And particular parts were marked with straightforward Greater Runes.

The cauldron, though—the central tool for creation—experienced the deepest overhaul.

Alex embedded his top Semi-Greater Rune-driven Grand Array into it.

This task proved so elaborate and taxing that, in some ways, it matched the labor he’d put into the Voidheart Core.

That showed the gravity with which he approached this project.

Time slipped away unnoticed.

Completely absorbed, he devoted every ounce of focus to the endeavor.

He had longed for this sensation.

The rush of inventing a fresh Rune-Tech creation.

The subtle excitement of unraveling intricate, interconnected mechanisms.

A well-known wave of delight surged inside him, driving him onward relentlessly until flawless results emerged.

He had indeed yearned for this.

‘Sigh...’

Upon etching the last symbol—oblivious to the elapsed duration—Alex let out a profound breath.

The cauldron glowed softly.

For an instant, it appeared nearly alive, as if recognizing its renewal—not just a magical relic anymore, but a complete Rune-Tech device.

True to his routine, Alex sat to meditate.

He restored his mana.

He steadied his Spiritual Force.

He regained his mental sharpness.

Only after feeling equilibrated again did he stand.

“Alright... time to launch this groundbreaking alchemical technique.”

A smile crept over his features.

He lifted his palm.

A vivid fire dragon twisted into being on his hand.

“Your performance will decide if this works or not, little one,” Alex murmured to AetherKindle.

The Primal Origin Flame responded with a whimsical spark—then broke off a piece from one of its talons and presented it to him.

Rather than positioning the fire under the cauldron to light traditional kindling—Alex tossed the shard of Primal Origin Flame straight into the cauldron.

The moment the fire fragment touched the cauldron, a preset runic array flared to life.

It was crafted exactly for this moment.

The array not only anchored the fragment but swiftly distributed its primal blaze across the cauldron’s interior surfaces, providing uniform warmth to the whole structure.

Alex sensed an intensified bond with the cauldron via AetherKindle.

Via that connection, he could adjust the inside heat with remarkable accuracy—intensifying, diminishing, or focusing it as desired.

‘First phase... done.’

He shifted focus to the components for the healing elixir.

The elixir called for two main plants, one aiding trigger substance, and liquid mana—rendering it, by usual measures, a fairly basic mixture.

Typically, liquid mana would enter first as the base liquid.

But—

Alex intentionally ignored it.

He grasped the solid components and dropped them right into the cauldron.

At once, AetherKindle’s blaze swallowed them, turning them to cinders.

This was by design.

The elixir didn’t need the herbs’ material remains.

It needed their core.

Normally, that core would emerge slowly via breakdown in warmed liquid mana.

But Alex had conceived a different path.

AetherKindle.

The Primal Origin Flame wasn’t just ordinary blaze—it was a spiritual entity too.

And the core he aimed to draw out was the same.

Beneath AetherKindle’s effect—similar to how they’d behave in warmed liquid mana—the aiding substance yielded a triggering element amid fierce heat.

That trigger sparked an interaction between the two main plants.

Shortly after, a combined core emerged.

As the core appeared, several runic arrays sprang into action.

One drew off the leftover cinders from the ruined plant remains.

Another confined the drawn core in a managed pocket space within the cauldron, keeping it hovering—still wrapped in AetherKindle’s blaze.

Faithful to its role as a fire of cleansing and honing, AetherKindle labored patiently and systematically on the drawn core.

Bit by bit, it removed contaminants... every sign of volatility and every leftover bit of mismatched elemental trace.

Inside the cauldron, the auxiliary runic arrays functioned in flawless harmony—pulling away the contaminants detached by the Primal Origin Flame and venting them into pre-set holding conduits.

Bit by bit...

Just the cleanest core lingered.

Still, Alex permitted no hint of ease.

The trickiest part arrived now.

His Spiritual Force delved further into the device, taking even tighter command of the inner mechanisms—temperature shifts, energy waves, pressure fine-tunings.

Meticulously managing the total heat—occasionally dropping it by the slightest amount, at times increasing it by a precise degree—Alex densified the purified core.

With AetherKindle’s regulated burn and the anchoring power of the Semi-Greater Rune Grand Array, the formerly liquid spiritual core steadily compacted.

It grew denser, squeezed, hardened...

Until—

It formed into an ideal orb.

Indeed.

Alex’s major breakthrough for Verdantis’ Alchemy involved bringing in the Alchemical Pill from the eastern fantasy cultivation tales of his former life.

Droplets of perspiration gathered on his forehead and trickled down his sides as the demanding purification pressed on.

Moments extended into minutes.

Minutes melted into possibly hours.

He lost track.

His whole awareness focused on upholding form stability while averting energy breakdown amid the ultimate squeezing.

A single error, and the whole pill could unravel.

Or worse—burst apart.

At last—after an unknown length— a golden pill hovered calmly at the cauldron’s heart.

Alex gradually reached out and took it.

He brought it near his face.

No scent wafted.

No trace of healing energy escaped.

The core and power were fully enclosed—secure, balanced, and impeccably maintained.

‘A total victory.’

Barely had the idea surfaced when the ground quaked.

The surroundings altered.

The vast alchemy chamber persisted—but every bench had disappeared.

Replacing them rose a lone raised platform.

Alex realized he stood atop it.

Ahead of him— a gathering of spectral forms.

The identical presences he’d seen in the wall paintings.

The trailblazers... the forerunners... the builders of Verdantian Alchemy through the eras.

The need became instantly clear.

‘So... I have to showcase my invention to the legends of Verdantian Alchemical past.’

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