Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 33: Subspace

CH33 Subspace

***

”Ho-ho. Looks like the hand of fate is at work.”

Merlin’s eyes narrowed as he thoughtfully stroked on his long grey beard.

He looked at the young ones waiting for his explanation.

”You are not wrong. These creatures have vanished from our primary plane,” he said. ”However, that is only true for our Realm’s primary space. They still exist within the subspaces of the Realm.”

”Subspace?” Alex asked.

”Spacetime phenomena sometimes cause regions of space to spontaneously shatter. These spatial fragments can become bound within the Realm’s gravitas, developing into small, independent spaces that mirror the region they broke off from.

”You can think of it as a bud growing from the Realm’s primary space, becoming an infinitesimally smaller space that orbits it,” Merlin explained.

”I happened upon one such space about a decade and a half ago, where I encountered creatures previously thought extinct. I deduced that the Will of our Plane must have created that space as a safe haven for these species before they truly went extinct.”

”Like a zoo?” Alex’s eyebrows furrowed. ”Doesn’t that mean the Will of the Plane is sentient?”

”No,” Merlin shook his head. ”At most, it’s semi-sentient. It has just developed enough awareness to gain a sense of self-preservation. The creatures in that space might be important to the realm’s survival in some way, so the Will of the Plane protects them from total extinction in preparation for the time the realm might need them.”

”Huh...” Alex felt a nagging suspicion but couldn’t place why.

”Actually, the reason I asked you both to come after you drew the Rune is connected to that subspace,” Merlin continued.

”You have gained everything you need to grow into a competent mage. The only thing you lack is combat experience. I had intended to send you there to hone your combat and survival skills outdoors. But now, it seems I have another reason.

”The creatures you need to put your idea into motion are found within that dimension. It’s up to you to find them.

”This will be valuable experience for you — you won’t always have an organisation like the Enclave to assist in sourcing the resources you need.”

Alex nodded solemnly.

”It goes without saying that you will go alone. Your survival will be your responsibility for the duration. Whatever challenges you face, you must overcome them if you want to return. Whatever challenges you experience there will pale in comparison to what awaits when you begin your foray into other planes,” Merlin added.

Though Merlin addressed Alex, it felt like his words were meant more for Zora than for him.

Outside Alex’s sight, Zora pursed her lips and glared at Merlin unhappily before turning to resignation — but the expression vanished the moment Alex turned to look at her.

A thought came to Alex.

”Master, you said the subspace is like a safe haven the Will of our plane created for these creatures. Wouldn’t it be displeased if I barged in and started hunting them?”

”Though limited in size, it is still a relatively large space. The ecosystem of the subspace has been stable for centuries, if not millennia, and the population has grown to a point where even a Legend would struggle to wipe out every creature within it in the period of time it would be accessible.

”You won’t be able to cover the entire subspace within your allotted time — even if you focus solely on that — let alone kill enough creatures to draw the Will’s attention.”

In other words, Alex was too weak to make any impact on the space.

He nodded wryly at the subtle diss.

”The subspace will orbit close enough to the primary space for me to open a stable portal within three days. Use that time to prepare everything you will need for survival. The portal will remain stable for thirty days, so I expect you to spend at least twenty of those inside the subspace,” Merlin instructed.

”What is the power cap within the subspace? Is it the same as our primary space?” Zora asked.

Realisation dawned on Alex.

He’d overlooked an important question. The power level across different planes wasn’t equal; it made sense that a plane’s subspace would have its own limits as well.

Merlin gave Zora a pointed look before answering.

”The strongest creatures in the subspace should be early Class 3 at most. They won’t be able to grow beyond that due to the space’s inherent limits.”

Alex heaved a sigh of relief.

A Class 1 beast equated roughly to a Beginner Rank, so a Class 3 was comparable to an Elite rank. Since that was the power cap, only a handful of creatures should reach that level.

Thanks to his Fusion Spells, although he was at Peak Beginner Rank, his peak combat power likely placed him somewhere in the mid-to-late Intermediate rank.

As long as he kept his distance from the Class 3 beasts, he should be able to handle everything else within the space.

At the very least, he could retreat as long as the creature was under Class 3.

Merlin beckoned him closer. When Alex approached, the old man handed him a satchel pouch.

Peering inside, Alex found a palm-sized orb the size of a snow globe. His eyes lit up instantly.

”Thank you, Master!”

One thing Alex disliked about this world was... the lack of interspatial storage devices.

Storage rings and storage pouches? Sorry, they simply didn’t exist.

What did exist was a rare crystal called Nullcore Crystal — a spatial crystal mined by Grand Mages and above from planar rift zones. It contained a null space, a dimensionless void capable of storing non-living matter.

Due to its extreme rarity and associated risk, it was only used by upper nobles for important occasions like interplanar travel or raiding.

The orb Merlin gave him was a refined high-grade Nullcore orb with a 1:500 size-to-space ratio.

Alex ran a quick mental calculation.

’The external size looks roughly a thousand cubic centimetres. That means its internal volume is about half a cubic metre.’

Channeling his Spiritual Force and Mana into the orb, Alex confirmed the internal space was roughly the size of a large trunk.

It was nothing compared to the minimum room-sized internal spaces of storage rings and pouches from novels in his previous life, but it would have to do.

He couldn’t find a better palm-sized option with more internal capacity.

”Hmm...” Merlin nodded thoughtfully, then said dismissively, ”I can’t have my True Disciple looking poor.”

Alex smiled thinly.

”All right, off you go. Make the necessary preparations. I’ll see you in three days.”

Alex bowed respectfully before opening a portal back to the Enclave and leaving with Zora.

It was time for his first real adventure since arriving in this world.

***