Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage Chapter 617: Mark of Slaughter

CH617 Mark of Slaughter

***

Once that quick discussion concluded, Alex advanced to the primary unveiling.

His eyes landed initially on Kavakan.

Crafting an appropriate design for the weretiger had turned out... surprisingly challenging.

Initially, Alex had pondered employing him as the base for a typical Rune Soldier setup—

A complete array of basic Rune Tattoos, occupying every one of Kavakan’s seven Rune slots.

Yet—

’Too simplistic,’ Alex mused.

Even more crucially, he doubted Kavakan required boosts to his core attributes.

Thanks to his Call of the Wild skill and lycanthropic shift, his bodily prowess was already thoroughly addressed.

Truth be told, it bordered on overkill.

The key reason boiled down to something much more straightforward.

’It’s dull. It fails to leverage Rune-Tech’s fresh potentials.’

Thus, Alex redirected his attention to what Kavakan truly missed—not in power—

But in mastery.

Alex selected one of the displayed Rune blueprints, enlarging it to dominate the screen.

"The Mark of Slaughter," he announced.

"This Rune Tattoo merges perfectly with your physique, your energy... and your Intent."

"True to its title, it connects straight to your Killing Intent."

"Killing Intent builds in intensity with every kill—particularly during rapid sequences of battle."

He halted for a moment.

"That said, from what I saw on our travels, much of that power gets squandered."

Kavakan furrowed his brow a bit.

"Squandered?"

"Indeed," Alex confirmed with a nod.

"I figure around ninety percent of the emotional power from your Killing Intent spike vanishes right away."

"Just ten percent lingers—applied to hone your resolve and boost your Killing Intent for good."

Kavakan blinked in surprise.

"Killing Intent creates energy?"

"Naturally," Alex stated plainly.

"What else powers up your fighting prowess through Killing Intent?"

"Something can’t emerge from thin air."

He lifted a finger just a touch.

"Belief spawns Will."

"Will spawns Intent."

"Each one—belief, will, intent—produces a type of unseen energy."

"I term it... emotional energy."

His stare intensified.

"So, where do you suppose divine energy originates? The kind Navi draw from worshippers?"

"It’s merely a polished version of belief energy—faith—funneled their way."

"A cleansed offshoot of the core concept."

Alex shook his head gently, recentering.

"Thanks to my Rune Master class, I’m no longer limited to handling standard mana and similar forces."

"I can now—though with constraints—engage this neglected emotional energy."

He motioned at the hologram.

"The Mark of Slaughter revolves around this novel ability."

"Whenever your Killing Intent produces emotional energy, the Rune Tattoo seizes the portion that would normally escape."

"It stockpiles it as what I name... Slaughter Energy."

Kavakan’s look grew keen.

"Right now, I’ve set this Slaughter Energy for three key roles."

Alex held up a finger.

"One—it solidifies the energy from your Killing Intent."

"This enhances your ability to direct that energy into strikes."

He eyed Kavakan.

"I’ve seen you falter at imbuing your weapons fully with Killing Intent."

"This will boost that dramatically."

His voice hardened then.

"But make no mistake. This isn’t a shortcut. More like an extra boost."

"To heighten its impact, you must still refine your command of Killing Intent."

"Yet should you manage it—"

"—the Mark’s output will grow too, correct?" Kavakan cut in.

"Precisely," Alex agreed with a nod.

That was intentional.

He might have crafted the Rune Tattoo to auto-adjust and purify Kavakan’s Killing Intent—

Yet that would prove unwise.

Excessive meddling would hinder progress.

Kavakan required total dominance over his Killing Intent to advance it further.

Instead of fostering reliance—

The Mark of Slaughter acted as an incentive mechanism.

A booster for skill.

Alex pictured it clearly—

A time when Kavakan’s Killing Intent achieved such purity it fused with his concepts.

’Then, slaying foes with a mere look—or aura alone—could become reality,’ Alex pondered.

He pressed on.

"The second role extends duration."

"The Mark of Slaughter prolongs the boost from your Killing Intent."

He crossed his arms lightly.

"From what I’ve observed, your present buff endures about five minutes post-final kill."

"Beyond that, it fades."

"This tattoo stretches that by nearly fifty percent."

Kavakan’s gaze brightened faintly.

Alex went on steadily.

"It does so by drawing in the emotional energy your form emits after those initial five minutes."

"Next, it feeds back that energy—transformed to Slaughter Energy—as backup fuel."

Kavakan’s eyes gleamed then.

Alex proceeded,

"I first aimed to prolong it more. After all, that ninety percent of lost emotional energy is... plentiful."

"But a realization hit me."

"Your body vents that surplus for good cause."

"It can’t bear it indefinitely."

He fixed his gaze on Kavakan.

"You grasp that more than I do."

Kavakan inclined his head.

"Killing Intent cuts both ways. Push too hard, and I vanish into it."

He reflected briefly.

"The technique I devised... what was it you named—"

"False Avatar method," Alex provided.

"Right," Kavakan agreed. "...the False Avatar method, like you explained, confines the Killing Intent to part of my soul."

"Should even that segment overload..."

His face shadowed a touch.

"I could lose myself entirely."

He breathed out.

"That accounts for why my gut responds as you noted."

"I agree," Alex confirmed.

"Thus, imposing longer duration without thought would risk disaster. So I set the extension as an active feature."

"You must deliberately trigger it."

"Clear?"

"Clear," Kavakan answered resolutely.

"Excellent."

Alex nodded sharply.

"Now for the third function."

"The Mark of Slaughter will steadily infuse your body with Slaughter Energy, under strict control."

"This lets your body, energy, and Will adapt to Killing Intent’s impacts."

He paused a beat.

"In time, it ought to build your endurance... and sharpen your command."

A minor shrug came next.

"At minimum—in concept."

Kavakan blinked.

"You’re uncertain?"

"Correct," Alex admitted frankly.

Kavakan appeared briefly shocked.

Alex dismissed it casually.

"Mull it over while I talk to Mogal. This Mark means major shifts for you."

Kavakan nodded thoughtfully, absorbed.

Alex shifted focus to the barbarian.

"Yours," he stated evenly, "I crafted as the Chains of Unyielding."

He paused—

Then appended with a subtle, aware grin,

"No denying it."

"This might be the oddest Rune Tattoo I’ve devised."

Quiet hung briefly.

"Since..."

He locked eyes with Mogal.

"Its core purpose... is to sap your strength."

***