Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 207: Makings of A Grandmaster

CH207 Makings of A Grandmaster

***

When most people thought of plasma, their minds often jumped to the hot varieties—those associated with stars.

These plasmas reached such extreme temperatures—millions of degrees, with quark-gluon plasma climbing into the trillions—that they could never be stored or confined within any material medium.

Any such medium would simply burn away under the immense and unrelenting heat.

Meanwhile, antimatter was, as its name suggested, the opposite of matter—defined by the relative charges of its sub-particles.

Whereas matter had negatively charged electrons and positively charged protons, antimatter possessed positively charged electrons (called positrons) and negatively charged protons (called antiprotons).

Due to this inversion, whenever antimatter came into contact with matter, they instantly annihilated one another—releasing vast amounts of energy in the process.

As such, no material medium could ever confine antimatter; all matter-based containers would be destroyed upon contact.

Instead of using physical or material confinement, scientists for both antimatter and plasma turned to field confinement—often achieved by using components of the electromagnetic field in a vacuum, trapping the volatile substance without any physical contact.

Alex’s eyes lit up. ’Field confinement... that’s exactly what I’m looking for.’

If he could design a formation capable of generating a confinement field to hold Spatial Energy—isolating it from the general fabric of space—it would be unable to trigger any spatial phenomenon. That meant it couldn’t escape or be drained unintentionally.

And with his Rune-Tech—practically more magic than science—he didn’t face the same engineering limitations that plagued scientists.

A suitably powerful formation would be enough to achieve the result, with the world itself handling the rest.

Perks of having the code to the world’s operating system.

Alex wasted no more time pondering. He knew he had just found the best available solution.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t start right away.

The work required for both upgrading the Voidheart Core and creating a confinement formation for the produced Spatial Energy would be nothing short of extensive.

Like the Rune Tattoos he planned for Udara, these were not projects that could be completed in a single day—nor did he currently have the required materials.

Both projects needed specialist components he didn’t have on hand.

In many ways, he missed his hermit life back at the DragonHold Enclave.

Life had been simpler and calmer back then. All he’d needed to do was focus on his craft, with few concerns outside of it. Sourcing materials had been as easy as making a request—well, most times.

At least, unlike the Rune Tattoos for Udara, he now had a clear plan for what he wanted to do. It was simply a matter of finding time once the materials were in hand.

With that in mind, Alex clapped his palms together, returned the nest to the Bonsai Tree’s crown, and left the Sanctuary Pocket Dimension.

He composed a long, detailed message and sent it to his two gnomish friends—Baldrick Pinchcoin, Chief Financial Officer of the DragonHold Enclave, and Cromwell Haggleworth, CEO of Golden Palace—requesting their assistance in acquiring an extensive list of materials for his Spatial Energy project.

Once the message was sent, Alex found himself with nothing urgent left to do.

That was when he remembered someone he hadn’t checked up on since returning from Warlton City in Kellerman Fief.

Without hesitation, he rushed out of his officer’s quarters and made straight for the cultivation room he had reserved for Fen.

As soon as he neared the cultivation room, the door swung open—and a black figure pounced on him.

It was none other than Fen.

Woof! Whine~

The wolf complained bitterly about Alex abandoning him. Alex could only chuckle wryly and offer an apology.

It didn’t take long for Fen to let it go, his excitement quickly overtaking any lingering complaints.

Pulling Alex into the privacy of the cultivation room, the wolf proudly began showing off his changes.

First off, Fen now looked like a proper adolescent wolf—an adolescent direwolf, to be precise. He stood at five feet tall, measured roughly eight feet in length, and, judging from the force of his pounce, Alex estimated he weighed close to two hundred kilos.

”You’ve grown well. All that food you’ve been eating hasn’t gone to waste,” Alex said, ruffling the thick fur around Fen’s neck and face.

Woof!

Fen barked excitedly in agreement, missing the subtle jab entirely.

The most striking physical change was in his fur colour. The pure-white coat Fen once had was mostly gone.

Now, his fur was almost completely black, with only his spine—likely due to his Crimson-Spine and Frostback ancestry—and his mane retaining their snow-white hue.

Yes, Fen had grown a mane. Not unlike a lion’s... or perhaps more like a massive mastiff’s.

Alex rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ”Hmm... keeping you as my secret weapon and protector is going to be harder now that you look so intimidating and gallant.”

Indeed, the sight of Fen’s bared canines could strike fear into the heart of even the most battle-hardened man.

Woof! Woof!

Fen gave a shake, and in an instant, his body shrank back to his cub form.

Now, he looked even more adorable—and harmless—than before.

He winked at Alex, flashing a wolfish grin that all but said he hadn’t forgotten the importance of concealment.

Alex was momentarily taken aback.

He was the one who had asked for this, yet Fen’s practised response made him wonder if he’d led the wolf a down a stray path.

Fen wasn’t done. He showed off further refinements to his size manipulation ability—growing or shrinking specific parts of his body without leaving his cub form.

[A.N: I don’t want to see any comments from you people of culture. Please, keep it to yourselves. This is a sensitive space.]

For example, he enlarged and shrank his front paws to adolescent and even adult size without changing the rest of his body.

It was then Alex realised Fen was now a mid-Class 2 (Intermediate Rank) Beast.

Woof! Woof! Woof!

There was one last change Fen was eager to reveal—one he was clearly most proud of.

[Fire Breath]!

”You’ve fully awakened your Fire Manipulation?”

Woof!

”Congratulations,” Alex said with a smile.

Fen had always wanted to awaken his innate Fire ability—it was crucial to his wolfish dream.

His dream of becoming the first—known—Wolf Chef and Culinary Grandmaster!

Alex was speechless, but as the indirect cause of this dream, all he could do was cheer him on.

Anyway, Alex thought, the beauty of chasing a dream is in the chase itself.

’The journey matters more than the destination. Even if he never becomes a culinary chef, I should make sure he enjoys the path there.’

Cooking, to Fen, was like Rune-Tech projects to Alex. While the results were satisfying, it was the process—the tinkering, the experimentation, the discovery—that truly mattered.

At least, this was Alex’s belief.

***