Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage Chapter 624: Illusionary Gaze

The party quickly shifted to the BattleBane training grounds.

Alex, Eleanore, and Udara stayed positioned on one side of the arena, as Dalton and Lady Rosa settled on the far opposite side.

Dalton promptly delivered a string of strict commands to the guild's training members there, instructing them to evacuate the space ahead of the impending duel.

"In the end, it still led to a fight," Eleanore whispered softly. "You could have just agreed to the duel from the beginning if that's how things were heading."

"No choice in the matter. The strategy demanded a clash with him regardless," Alex responded steadily. "I simply couldn't agree right away without first emphasizing your exceptional skill as an alchemist."

"And precisely who gave you permission to unleash your Intent like that?" Eleanore retorted, barely holding back an eye roll.

"That's my fault. Still adjusting to having it," Alex conceded readily.

"Can you pull off the intended outcome with these restrictions? The majority of your spells are basically off-limits," Udara warned, her voice pragmatic rather than worried.

"It'll sort itself out," Alex replied with a relaxed shrug. "Plus, I'm eager to test just how much my close-quarters fighting skills have advanced."

His spellcasting—more accurately, OmniRune’s spellcasting—had advanced to Grade 8, elevating his practical casting prowess to that of a Class 4 spellcaster, the Great Mage tier.

Although Alex had committed numerous Grade 9 spells to memory—and even held the conceptual blueprints for multiple Grade 10 spells in OmniRune’s vast archives—OmniRune was unable to cast them.

Spells at the Grand Mage level demanded profound grasp of core planar principles to operate correctly.

Alex’s spellcasting stayed limited to Grade 8 naturally, as he hadn’t encountered those advanced concepts yet.

This cap endured even though OmniRune could theoretically assemble the required spell structures—and Alex had ample mana reserves to power a single such spell.

’The universe keeps its equilibrium. Nature stays just.’ That notion arose spontaneously in Alex’s thoughts.

’No surprise they didn’t limit OmniRune’s casting power. A built-in mechanism already blocks it from surpassing Grade 8... still two whole grades above my Elite-level capacity.’

’Perhaps once OmniRune gains true awareness, it could grasp those concepts on its own.’

No unbreakable cosmic principle existed except that solely conscious entities—or some degree of sentience—could explore deeper planar concepts, let alone the Planar Laws themselves.

Alex gave a slight shake of his head.

Those wandering musings were dismissed by him.

His eyes fixed again on the foe opposite him in the arena, who had completed directing his subordinates.

Alex held some doubt about matching a Combat Master in hand-to-hand combat alone.

"Well... it’s not like I stand zero chance," Alex murmured quietly.

He felt confident handling anyone short of Veteran rank in pure physical battle.

Yet Dalton Asheton ranked as a two-star Combat Master, equivalent in Pangean ranking to early Veteran stage.

Just a single stage beyond Alex’s safe zone, leaving him fairly assured of managing to stand his ground at minimum.

’No way to tell without attempting it,’ he reminded himself silently.

’Fortune favors the bold.’

A comforting look was sent to his wives before he advanced, heading to the weapon rack by the arena’s border.

Alex’s brows arched mildly in surprise and humor upon noticing a metal rod amidst the arrayed arms.

’Seems BattleBane has some rod fans too,’ he pondered with a soft laugh.

’He wouldn’t... would he?’

Udara eyed him warily as she saw him halt before the rod.

Defying her assumption, though, Alex skipped it and chose a long-shafted half-moon war axe instead.

The weapon was weighed easily in his hand, then twirled gently as he fine-tuned his hold bit by bit until its balance point felt natural.

His attention darted momentarily to a longsword on the rack. Moments of silent consideration passed before he grabbed it too.

Nearby belt hoist proved decisive, allowing him to fasten the blade securely at his hip.

War axe slung over his shoulders, Alex strode leisurely into the arena proper.

He and Dalton converged shortly at the arena’s heart.

"You can still back out if you’re unsure. Yielding to a superior foe carries no dishonor," Dalton stated evenly.

"There's no disgrace in defeat against such a foe," Alex responded calmly. "Then I'll take my chance. Rare are the moments to clash with a superior rival—and unleash fully."

Dalton's gaze sharpened just a touch.

"Make sure to guard properly. As the inferior in this bout, I won't go easy on you."

"Haha... That's exactly how I want it," Dalton chuckled.

With a single hand, he lifted his massive greatsword, aiming its tip at Alex.

"Come on," he provoked.

A subtle smile played on Alex's lips.

Calm Madness!

Instantly, his ruby-red eyes intensified to a striking crimson hue.

Yet more occurred—around their edges, his pupils gained a thin golden outline, lending an uncanny, supernatural glow.

What fueled Alex's assurance in a pure hand-to-hand fight against a Veteran, shunning mighty spells, stemmed exactly from his Truth-Seeker Eyes.

The greatest advancement he'd gained entering Elite rank, post Heaven–Earth Concordance Trials, involved precisely these eyes' transformations.

Similar to countless matters, full grasp of this extraordinary power dawned on Alex only after the trials—especially the Heavenly Venerable's challenge.

Truth-Seeker Eyes weren't a bloodline gift, nor innate to the prior Alex Fury.

Merlin revealed them as a singular power emerging straight from Alex's soul, its various 'sights' molded by his soul's essence.

Back then, Alex thought he'd grasped Merlin's words. But delving into a Heavenly Venerable record showed his insight's true superficiality.

Soul resides in the body as its container. Like everything cosmic, a fine equilibrium linked them.

Strength in the body must suffice to house the soul; a frail soul can't dwell in an overly mighty frame.

Equilibrium ruled all.

Alex's case stood apart... His soul possessed remarkable potency.

Merlin noted his dual bloodlines—troublesome at first—precisely enabled his frame to endure the soul's weight.

Far from crumbling the body, an extraordinary event transpired. Surplus soul power spilled past its container's bounds.

Instead of vanishing, this overflow reshaped the container.

Such an event birthed Alex's Truth-Seeker Eyes ultimately.

Put differently, Truth-Seeker Eyes arose not from bodily traits, but soul's character.

His soul burned with curiosity—probing the world's veiled realities to grasp, then wield them for his aims.

Thus, inevitably, this soul-spawned force enhanced his worldly comprehension.

Enhanced Vision. Eidetic Memory. Spirit Sight. Phantom Sight... These eye powers bolstered his unyielding quest for wisdom and the universe's buried secrets.

Yet further, sensing pursuit's perils, Truth-Seeker Eyes bestowed survival gifts to sustain his truth-hunt—Death Perception. Spirit Sight Level 2.

Fresh from Heaven–Earth Concordance Trial—and facing inner frailty anew—the Truth-Seeker Eyes advanced again, bestowing twin fresh powers.

One arose straight from trial's demands, the other from profound soul shifts amid it.

Alex's faint smile lingered as he dropped into a bizarre pose, war axe thrust out sideways.

More akin to a spear's jab form than standard war axe grip, built for chops.

A slight furrow creased Dalton's brow, puzzlement flickering. Yet he dismissed Alex bungling his picked weapon. Vigilant, he tracked every Alex motion closely.

That choice... became his fatal error.

Alex surged ahead.

Explosively, he dashed in, jabbing the war axe.

Dalton countered swift, sweeping to deflect the blow.

But right after, shock ballooned his eyes.

'It's light?!'

Blade clashing axe felt... off.

Far too light.

No—on impact, zero feedback hit.

Greatsword sliced right through the axe thrust like mere phantasm.

Instincts forged in battle screamed, hurling him back instantly.

Boom!

Right in that split second, a fierce gust of wind surged past his chest, something barely dodging him before crashing thunderously into the earth behind.

Dalton instinctively lashed out in retaliation, compelling Alex to fall back as well.

Once again, the pair swiftly expanded the gap between them.

Dalton fixed his gaze on Alex, astonishment and bewilderment vividly carved into his expression.

Alex, by contrast, held onto his customary subtle smirk.

Yet inside his thoughts, the designation of his Truth-Seeker Eyes’ latest power rang out distinctly—

Illusionary Gaze.

***