Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage Chapter 591: Origin of Berserk Humans I

CH591 Origin of Berserk Humans I

The Heavenly Venerable observed Alex in silence as the youth traversed the sprawling archive. More than once, he offered a faint nod of approval upon noticing the predatory glint burning in the young man’s eyes. ‘Those are the eyes of a true knowledge seeker,’ the Heavenly Venerable mused. ‘Not merely someone desiring information... but someone who grasp the immense weight of the wisdom placed before them.’

While it was evident that Alex could not fully comprehend every scroll contained within the hall, the fact that he continued to consume and memorize the data without hesitation clearly left an impression. ‘This facility holds the hard-won achievements of over eight hundred years of my life,’ the old man thought silently. ‘During the Era of Sorcery, many would have bartered their entire estates just for a few minutes to browse these contents.’ Despite framing this opportunity as a trial, the Heavenly Venerable appreciated that the youth recognized the value of this chance and was striving to seize it completely.

After an indeterminate but lengthy duration, Alex arrived at the collection of scrolls the Heavenly Venerable had penned during his twilight years. Alex’s focus was immediately snared by a scroll detailing the tempering of muscles to attain a perfect harmony of explosive power, velocity, and durability. ‘So the proposed Man–Earth–Heaven fusion wasn't limited to Elemental Sorcery; it was adapted for Physique Tempering as well,’ Alex noted, deeply intrigued. In essence, the method offered a pathway for anyone capable of commencing the journey of sorcery—or any other cultivation path—to utilize mana or their unique internal energy to refine their flesh. Rather than enforcing narrow, rigid protocols, this system provided a flexible framework applicable to any practitioner regardless of their specific circumstances. Consequently, this required a high level of individual responsibility, as each user needed to tailor the techniques to suit their own cultivation system and personal situation.

‘Tempering muscles to influence the bones beneath and the flesh above... To ensure peak muscle development, each fibre must be systematically tempered using one’s own internal energy, Will and Intent (Man), various rare sympathetic resources (Earth), and finally, one’s conceptual mastery of the Laws (Heaven). By the time Man, Earth, and Heaven have been applied to one's fibre, the resulting muscles will be capable of bearing the burden of Man, the weight of the Earth, and the Will of the Heavens. As the tempering advances, the fibres begin to glow with varying hues representing their rank: Crimson, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and finally returning to the original Crimson.’

As Alex read this segment, he was struck by a peculiar sense of déjà vu. A fleeting concept danced across his mind, but since he could not yet draw a concrete connection to the text, he set the thought aside to continue his reading. Yet, the deeper he delved into the Man–Earth–Heaven fusion, the more insistent his instincts became. His reading speed surged. He scanned scroll after scroll, no longer merely absorbing information but hunting for a specific target. Then—

‘Found it.’ His eyes locked onto a singular scroll. He cracked it open and began to read, a long sigh escaping his lips. “So, my suspicions were correct,” he muttered aloud. “It appears you have uncovered the greatest failure of my final days,” the Heavenly Venerable remarked, appearing suddenly by his side. “You created the Combat Warriors,” Alex stated. “No,” the Heavenly Venerable retorted with a shake of his head. “I conceived the method, yes, but I remained aloof from mundane worldly affairs. I merely handed the technique to one of the Holy Lands.” “Which one?” Alex asked. The Heavenly Venerable shook his head again. “It no longer matters,” he replied cryptically.

Gazing out the window toward the distant horizon, he remained silent for a moment before turning back to Alex. “I committed the error of failing to emphasize the absolute necessity of sterilizing the subjects,” he admitted. “I foolishly overestimated those idiots from the Holy Land. I expected them to consider the repercussions of empowering a group they had enslaved for generations. It was glaringly obvious that once the crisis passed, those people would inevitably rise against their masters to claim power. Not only did they neglect to implement safeguards to keep the subjects subordinate, but they permitted the successful prototypes to reproduce.”

The old man’s tone grew frigid. “Did they truly believe that people who had tasted power—in a world where sorcerers of my caliber were no longer present to exert control—would willingly return to their status as lowly slaves? Slaves to sorcerers they could now crush underfoot?” He gave a sour look. “Even if these Combat Warriors didn't explicitly betray the sorcerers, if a threat emerged that our traditional techniques couldn't handle, all they had to do was step aside and let that threat annihilate the sorcerers. They could then simply repopulate the world. By neglecting to sterilize the subjects, those fools gifted them with the ambition to usurp our place. And that is exactly what transpired.”

Alex looked at him, his mind swirling with questions. “You mentioned that you and the other high-level sorcerers were gone to face a threat. What exactly was this threat?” he pressed. “It is not my place to disclose that to you,” the Heavenly Venerable answered. “Once you complete my trial, you will have the chance to discover it for yourself, will you not?” Alex could only nod. “Then let me ask this: if you were already gone by the time the Combat Warriors rebelled, how do you know of it?” he asked. “You are not the first candidate to emerge within this talismanic field,” the old man replied calmly. “Information regarding the outside world gathered by any of us is shared among us all. Deducing the likely state of the world from scattered fragments is hardly a challenge for someone of my intellectual capacity.” ‘Such humility,’ Alex thought, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes.

The Heavenly Venerable stared directly into his eyes. “You are focusing on the wrong subject,” he said. “You must have noticed something far more critical in that document, have you not? Or have I overrated your intellect? That would be truly disappointing.” “Berserk Humans... they exist precisely because of the methodology used to create the original Combat Warriors, don't they?” Alex finally replied. The Heavenly Venerable did not answer directly, instead posing a counter-question: “Why do you believe that?”