Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage Chapter 579: New Trials

CH579 New Trials

***

Havel awoke with his eyes fluttering open, discovering himself positioned once more in front of the Armament Stele.

"That cursed sadist!"

Right at that moment, a complaint echoed from nearby.

To his astonishment, the voice came from Alex, who had just finished his own Armament trial.

Alex wore a deeply shadowed expression.

He struggled to contain the intense desire to swear at the Sword Emperor’s entire lineage.

His trial in Armament had been nothing but a brutal, one-sided thrashing from the Sword Emperor.

Under the guise of practical instruction via combat practice, the Sword Emperor had hammered Alex repeatedly using the broad edge of his blade.

’And I even likened him to Jared.’

’Next to that infernal Sword Emperor, Jared seems like a gentle caretaker!’

Alex clenched his jaw tightly.

Nevertheless, despite his grumblings, Alex had to admit that the Sword Emperor’s method proved marginally more impactful than Jared’s approach.

’Only slightly,’ Alex mused obstinately, reluctant to credit his ’tormentor’ excessively.

Against what Alex anticipated, the Sword Emperor hadn’t imparted any intricate sword moves.

Rather, Alex remembered the man’s straightforward words.

"I don’t have any sword arts. I don’t use them. Why would you need a sword art just to swing a sword?"

"Look, kid. A sword art is simply a method someone created to show others how to swing a sword."

"Are you so inept that you need someone else to teach you how to swing a sword?"

"Just swing your sword however you like. Keep repeating it until you find a way that feels comfortable and produces the best results."

"It’s that simple."

Alex had been utterly stunned upon hearing those statements initially.

The Sword Emperor’s manner of speaking evoked memories of the prodigies from his past life’s tales, as well as those he’d met in this realm.

Such prodigies could unravel ten insights from one hint. Yet, they often failed to convey even a single idea out of many clearly.

They held the expertise and applied it flawlessly. However, expressing it plainly and instructing others posed a whole separate hurdle.

These prodigies simply functioned on another level.

In essence, they formed a distinct category apart from regular folks.

Hoping they could instruct anyone besides fellow prodigies was nearly futile.

Yet, the Sword Emperor had succeeded.

True to his words, he merely had Alex swing his sword throughout their practice bouts.

Any error or weakness Alex displayed earned swift, merciless correction via a fierce strike, compelling Alex to fix those issues on his own—frequently on pure instinct.

Per the Sword Emperor, Alex now stood capable of matching a Sword Expert in a straightforward blade contest.

As Alex staunchly declined to commit to the sword—or any weapon—he couldn’t ignite Sword Intent.

Thus, he didn’t qualify as a full Sword Expert, despite his skills now equaling one.

Alex felt content with that outcome.

Titles and designations had never mattered greatly to him.

While massaging his palm in anticipation, Alex faced the enigmatic elder.

Yet the elder merely shook his head.

"A lesson from the Sword Emperor is a reward in and of itself," the elder stated evenly.

"You will receive nothing further from the stele."

Alex’s enthusiasm collapsed in an instant.

The elder then shifted his attention to Havel.

"I am certain you understand why you are not entitled to an additional reward either."

"Yes," Havel answered steadily.

"I have already received a precious gift. I cannot, in good conscience, ask for more."

Alex nearly itched to swat Havel’s cheek.

’What do you mean in good conscience? You have a conscience?’

Recalling Havel’s past deeds, Alex almost rolled his eyes.

Still, this Noble race rogue dared to invoke having a conscience.

Alex directed his eyes at the elder next.

’You’re stingier than a dragon hoarding gold.’

’Your plane teeters on the brink of ruin, but you refuse to hastily supply your heirs with the tools and relics to bolster their power.’

He grumbled inwardly.

Abruptly, the elder turned to Alex, seemingly peering into the young man’s mind,

"It is not that I am stingy and unwilling to give them to you," he said calmly.

"It is simply the rule established during the creation of this Heaven–Earth Concordance Talismanic Field."

"There is very little I can do about it now that I exist in this form."

Alex hastily averted his gaze in embarrassment.

"Argh!"

At that instant, another participant finished their ordeal.

"Are you alright?" Alex inquired, hurrying over to Mogal.

"I... am fine, Leader," the massive barbarian assured him.

"I am merely getting used to some... changes. I will be fine soon."

"Leave him be," the elder instructed calmly.

"He will require some time to complete the metamorphosis triggered by that fellow’s training."

With a gesture of his hand,

Mogal disappeared from his spot and materialized on a bed within a close-by hut.

"Go. Continue your trials. Your companion will be fine," the elder directed.

Mogal showed no clear signs of distress, and the Dravo barbarian himself claimed to be okay.

Thus, Alex chose to let it go.

He scanned the area and saw that Kavakan and Udara had already started a fresh trial.

"What are you going to do now?" Alex questioned Havel. "Start another trial?"

The Noble race ally shook his head.

"I have undergone too great a change during the trial. I need time to consolidate my gains," Havel explained.

The elder, still caressing his lengthy beard, nodded in approval.

He quietly endorsed Havel’s sharp awareness of his state.

Upon hearing his subordinate’s reply, Alex nodded and proceeded to his subsequent trial.

Prior to that, he shot a quick, concerned look at Zora, who appeared to be battling her trial.

Given her possession of the most exceptional magical aptitude Alex had witnessed, her difficulty with the Elemental Trial caught him off guard.

Regardless, he remained convinced she would triumph in the end.

Alex settled down and projected his Spiritual Force toward the stele, commencing his Elemental Stele Trial.

In the meantime, Havel approached the hut housing Mogal and assumed a cross-legged position at the doorway.

He laid his sword over his knees and slipped into meditation.

Hum—

Gradually, his sword emitted sporadic humming noises as he acquainted himself with his freshly ignited Sword Intent.

Sword Intents appeared in diverse manifestations.

Fundamentally, though, they enabled a swordsman to infuse specific elements of their sword or techniques with their Will and Intent.

For Havel, his Sword Intent distinctly bolstered one quality over the rest.

Speed.

This very boost had permitted him to execute the fourth concurrent strike of the [Ultimate Quickdraw Art: Death Phantom Razor].

-

"Let my Will be unhindered like the Heavens. Let my body be boundless like the Earth."

At the same time, within the hut, Mogal whispered those phrases while the muscles under his skin writhed and contorted in a horrifying manner.

The burly barbarian bore the agony as his form drove toward its ideal configuration, remolding to more effectively embody the Dravo Clan combat style he practiced.

It represented a fusion of Will and Body—Heaven and Earth—as instructed by the enigmatic savage in the trial realm.

Even after imparting the knowledge and the approach to harness his Will to amplify every move, the savage never disclosed his identity.

He didn’t even provide a title for the technique.

"You don’t need a name," the man had declared.

"All you need is the method... and now you have it."

Those marked the last utterances from the man before expelling Mogal from the trial space upon its conclusion.

Unlike the savage, who had demolished the behemoth’s whole frame, Mogal had solely demolished one of the creature’s pillar-like limbs.

Nevertheless, having duplicated the Will technique successfully, the savage deemed the trial fulfilled.

—

Shortly after Alex initiated his Elemental Stele Trial, Udara’s eyes abruptly flew wide.

She had finished her Grey Stele Trial.

The enigmatic elder grinned with insight as Udara—a subtle flush coloring her cheeks—hastily withdrew and hid the markedly intensified aura of seduction and appeal enveloping her.

She reverted to her typical composed and restrained bearing.

Udara hesitated briefly, as if contemplating a matter.

Then she dismissed it with a shake of her head.

Standing from the Grey Stele, she headed to a different stele.

To everyone’s surprise, it turned out to be the Elemental Stele—the very one Alex and Zora were tackling.

Her choice drew Eleanore’s notice.

The healer at last raised her eyes from the alchemical parchment that had held her rapt attention and directed a puzzled sideward look at the Amazonian–Drow woman.

From a Pangean viewpoint, the Elemental Stele Trial was undoubtedly a casting trial.

That is, it suited mages.

Witnessing a fighter undertake such a test was quite out of the ordinary.

Udara merely gave a soft smile, providing no justification.

In truth, she pursued it purely on impulse.

She took a seat in front of the stele and sent her Spiritual Force into it.

Against Eleanore’s assumptions—and Udara’s too—the instant her Spiritual Force connected, her mind got drawn within.

And so, her Elemental Stele Trial commenced.

***