Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage Chapter 604: Rune Sage II

***

'English is basically a forgotten tongue in this realm,' Alex thought to himself.

'In my past life, countless folks must have spoken English, fluent or otherwise, right?'

'Having endured for ages, the language ought to carry substantial longevity providence.'

'Regarding mighty figures... I doubt any are linked to it here.'

'Yet that probably won't pose a big issue. After all, scarce few would employ it for incantations anyway.'

'Given all this, English should hold viable Language Power. Fingers crossed that being its sole practitioner worldwide provides sufficient boost...'

'If not, this effort crumbles to nothing.'

The incantation Alex aimed to forge was outrageously overpowered—far beyond what even mighty Dragon Tongue might handle adequately.

Thus, he opted for an alternate path.

Rather than banking purely on a known tongue, he wagered on the Providence and Language Power of an unused, alien language.

'Crafting the spell feels surprisingly straightforward,' he contemplated. 'It's akin to... exactly—crafting a directive for an AI.'

'An incredibly sophisticated one.'

'Simply craft the directive with utmost detail and precision...'

'...and then—presto.'

["Activate."]

As soon as Alex voiced the last term, reality around him twisted dramatically.

The area enveloping him distorted wildly.

In the blink of an eye, Alex stood amid the cosmic void, encircled by churning nebulae and myriad far-off stars.

'Why have I—?'

Before the notion completed, a colossal balance scale—vastly dwarfing his frame—materialized ahead.

One pan held a sphere.

Faintly, a murmur emanated from it.

'That's... my own voice.'

'That's the incantation I sought.'

The opposing pan gleamed with recognizable golden radiance.

Providence.

However, a subtle variance marked it.

The scale tipped.

Alex's requested incantation side outweighed the Providence side.

'Ah, got it...'

Insight struck him.

'My desired spell remains excessively burdensome... exorbitantly pricey... beyond my current holdings.'

'Thus, merely two paths forward...'

'Lighten the spell's burden... or proffer equivalent value to even the scales.'

A vital truth hit him.

'The cosmos demands equity. It forbids granting such an absurdly potent spell absent curbs... or exacting a toll from me.'

'Even permitting me to select my own curb or toll counts as a massive leniency.'

'No grounds for grievance.'

'Now, I must choose.'

Alex sank into profound contemplation.

"This spell is exclusive to the Rune Master class," he proclaimed, setting his initial limit.

The scale nudged... yet merely a tad.

Alex let out a bitter chuckle.

'Naturally... that alone suffices not.'

Briefly, he weighed narrowing the spell's breadth.

But he swiftly rejected it.

'No way. Diluting the spell defeats its purpose.'

'What further limit might I set...?'

Suddenly inspired, he declared anew—

"This spell stands unique, usable solely by me, Alex Fury."

This occasion, the scale swayed markedly more.

Alex scowled.

'...Am I imagining, or does this mechanism prize personal sacrifices highly?'

'Truly, no gratis meals exist... To claim this might, a commensurate toll is mandatory, huh?'

His stare intensified upon the scale's spell-bearing pan.

'Yet securing it... utterly revolutionizes everything.'

A savage spark ignited in his gaze.

'Thus... no toll proves excessive.'

Calm Madness.

An icy composure enveloped him.

With eyes aflame in frigid, deliberate frenzy, he lifted his gaze and voiced an utterly drastic stipulation—

"Upon first employing this spell... I forfeit all bloodline talents, barring my True Name concepts..."

"...and my capacity to invoke any other spell."

Instant those terms escaped—

A shift transpired.

A fresh entity materialized nearby.

Thwack!

"Argh!"

A twig struck Alex’s head’s rear.

Gripping his cranium, he yelped in agony while spinning about.

There stood... the ethereal bonsai from his Sanctuary pocket realm.

"Hey—what’s that for?!" he grumbled.

Lord Bonsai hoisted another vine-branch—

Thwack!

"ARGH!!!"

Ere Alex responded, the tree unleashed relentless barrage.

Twigs hammered down pitilessly, one after another.

Alex tumbled over the void floor in torment as Lord Bonsai administered a sound thrashing.

"Child abuse!" Alex howled.

Lord Bonsai remained utterly indifferent.

Having duly chastised the wayward youth, the bonsai’s spectral form pivoted to the cosmic scale.

Unhesitatingly, it harvested the scarlet fruit from its canopy and proffered it to the scale—seeking to revoke Alex’s self-inflicted limit.

Regrettably, events unfolded otherwise.

Though Lord Bonsai reclaimed the bloodline limit on Alex, the scale rigidly retained the mage ability stipulation.

The trade proved... incomplete.

Bereft of options, Lord Bonsai retracted its branch gradually.

The limits... locked in.

The scale lurched sharply.

Then—

Equilibrium held.

Flawless parity attained.

A radiant shaft plunged from the scale, imprinting the conclusive clauses into Alex’s psyche with pristine precision.

—

’The Spell, @#$%^&*, stands unique, castable solely by Alex Fury, the Rune Master.’

’Every invocation demands a fragment of false deity divinity as catalyst.’

’Post-initial casting, Alex Fury forfeits permanently the power to cast other spells independently.’

—

Upon absorbing the terms, Alex’s thoughts blanked abruptly.

In his Bloodline Space, a deep metamorphosis unfolded.

The long-veiled runic True Name... at last unveiled.

It emerged as a Greater Rune.

Its essence boiled down to one word.

Sage.

As the Runic True Name unveiled, the obscured spell title in the limit began altering.

The haze dissipated, birthing a title.

Rune Sage.

This unveiling sparked further response—from OmniRune.

The construct in Alex’s Mindspace warped and reformed, cycling through infinite rune arrays at breakneck speed.

Endlessly, form after form.

For minutes, the flux persisted—until settling into a sleek, unified shape.

Then, fresh notification bloomed in Alex’s mind.

—

[Rune Sage: A unique spell enabling Alex Fury to grasp any plane’s magical glyph arrays.]

[Via OmniRune, foreign glyphs undergo dissection, conversion, and fusion, empowering Rune-Tech to mirror their traits in runic frameworks.]

—

A subsequent clause appeared.

—

[Hidden Restriction: All assimilated glyph essences usable exclusively via Rune-Tech.]

***