Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

CH722 The Great Berserk Beast Forest II

**[A.N: Mass Release Chapter: 10/10]**

The half-elven woman, who had remained mostly silent throughout the journey, gently spurred her horse forward until she stood just a single step away from truly entering the region of the Great Berserk Beast Forest.

She slowly closed her eyes as her Combat Energy flowed around her in a special manner.

”What is she doing?” Alex asked quietly.

”Searching for threats ahead,” Saul replied.

A few moments later, Sinia’s eyes suddenly snapped open.

Without hesitation, she pointed towards the north-east before guiding the party forward.

’A Pathfinder, huh...’ Alex mused inwardly.

Due to the overwhelming number of beasts inhabiting the Great Berserk Beast Forest—and the region’s exceptionally dense concentration of Berserk Energy—the area was riddled with enormous numbers of highly dangerous nests.

This transformed the already deadly region into something even more treacherous.

Fortunately, there existed a rare group of individuals capable of detecting and navigating around the hidden entrances to these nests. Such people were simply known as Pathfinders.

Within the Great Berserk Beast Forest, Pathfinders were practically indispensable.

Over the next four hours, the expedition travelled under Sinia’s guidance. Remarkably, during that entire period, the group did not accidentally stumble into a single nest.

Unlike the others, Alex could distinctly perceive just how densely spread the nests truly were through his Spirit Sight.

Based on the mana signatures flickering in and out of seemingly empty space, there appeared to be at least one nest hidden every half-kilometre or so throughout the region.

Alex’s gaze settled upon Sinia’s back.

’Without her, we probably would have wandered into at least six nests already,’ he estimated inwardly.

However, it quickly became obvious that Pathfinding was far from an easy task—even for a half-elf Combat Master naturally attuned to the forces of nature.

Before long, Sinia’s breathing became noticeably laboured as she struggled to maintain her sensory ability continuously.

”Let us rest for a while,” Saul finally called out.

It took nearly two full hours before Sinia fully recovered her strength.

Afterwards, she once again guided the team for another four hours before exhaustion forced her to stop a second time. Fortunately, by then, nightfall was already approaching, and the expedition had planned to set up camp regardless.

Alex unfurled a scroll onto the ground, and almost immediately, a formation expanded outward from it, forming a golden hemispherical barrier around the campsite.

The barrier’s primary purpose was to repel and purify ambient Berserk Energy. It also possessed a secondary defensive function that also stopped nearby predators and wandering beasts from entering, though this aspect was comparatively weak—effective only enough to buy time for the group to wake up, preventing them from being ambushed in their sleep.

Still, that alone was more than sufficient.

The internal space of the barrier was large enough to comfortably accommodate over a hundred people, let alone their small party of fifteen. As such, the group had more than enough room to establish a relatively comfortable camp.

”I do not know whether it is because we are still at the outer periphery, but the beasts here are surprisingly docile. We have only fought three times so far,” one of the Fury Rune Soldiers commented while helping prepare the campfire.

Alex, who stood nearby, shook his head inwardly.

’It is not that simple,’ he thought as his gaze drifted towards the woman who had silently guided them throughout the entire day.

More than anyone else present, Alex clearly understood that their relatively peaceful advance was largely thanks to Sinia.

’But I do not think she can maintain this pace for the entirety of the expedition,’ Alex reflected.

From experience, he knew how difficult it was to sustain a cycle of constant mental exertion followed only by brief periods of rest. Eventually, Sinia would inevitably require an extended recovery period if she continued operating under such strain.

And if she failed to properly rest... she could easily collapse from exhaustion.

Within a place like the Great Berserk Beast Forest, such an outcome could very well prove fatal.

’I cannot allow that to happen,’ Alex decided.

He walked over towards Sinia, who was currently recuperating quietly by herself.

Rather than call out to her immediately, he patiently waited for her finish her recovery instead.

Fortunately, Alex had already fulfilled his own responsibility for the evening by setting up the formation barrier around the camp.

”Can I help you, Young Master Alex?” Sinia asked softly once she noticed him.

Her voice was astonishingly pleasant—soft and melodic, almost musical in quality.

At that moment, Alex finally understood why the half-elf woman rarely spoke.

It was because hers was the sort of voice many people would eagerly wish to hear... yet very few would actually pay attention to what she was truly saying.

”I have fairly strong senses,” Alex replied. ”If you are willing to teach me Pathfinding, I might be able to help share some of your burden.”

Sinia’s eyebrows furrowed slightly at his words.

”You should understand better than anyone that you cannot maintain this pace indefinitely,” Alex continued earnestly. ”It was my stubbornness that brought us here in the first place. So let me help carry the burden.”

After a brief pause, Sinia finally nodded.

Carefully and patiently, she began explaining her Pathfinding process to Alex.

As it turned out, the method relied heavily upon her nature-elemental affinity. By resonating with the nearby flora, she could subtly perceive abnormalities and disturbances within the surrounding ecosystem.

From there, identifying potential nest locations was largely a matter of experience and knowing what signs to search for.

The true mental strain came not from the sensing itself, but from constantly shielding her mind against possible infiltration from the dense Berserk Energy permeating the environment.

Once Alex understood the core principle behind her method, he turned the focus of their discussion towards teaching him the identifying signs used to locate hidden nests.

By the following morning, Alex had already grasped most of the fundamentals.

Spirit Sight! Phantom Sight!

Utilising the mana perception and pseudo post-cognitive abilities granted by his Truth-Seeker Eyes, combined with the knowledge Sinia had taught him, Alex moved alongside the half-elven Combat Master while predicting the potential locations of nearby beast nests.

Four hours later, when Sinia once again needed to rest, she confirmed that Alex had indeed successfully learned the fundamentals of Pathfinding.

More importantly, the mental burden imposed by Alex’s sensory abilities was significantly lighter than the strain she experienced through her own method.

As a result, Alex was able to guide the team for far longer periods while acting as the party’s Pathfinder.

Before long, his ability to detect threats with his Spirit Sights ahead of time allowed him to fully assume the role of the expedition’s primary Pathfinder, leading the group through the dangerous terrain of the Great Berserk Beast Forest.

Two weeks later, the expedition finally arrived at the location that had once been Anakor—the former capital city of House Skywalker’s Tat Espa territory.

The ancient city had long since been reclaimed by nature.

Vegetation had overgrown the ruined structures while countless beasts had transformed the city’s abandoned buildings, alleyways, and streets into their dens and hunting grounds.

More strangely, the Berserk Beasts inhabiting the ruins had not formed the typical spatial enclosed structures known as beast nests. Instead, they simply gathered throughout the city itself, forming packs, dens, and roaming herds within the remains of the ancient settlement.

In other words... there was absolutely no way for the expeditionary party to sneak through the remnants of Anakor without alerting the beasts inhabiting it.

A dangerous battle through the ruined city was now inevitable.

’I knew things had been going far too smoothly,’ Alex sighed inwardly.

The entire party silently prepared themselves for what would likely become a prolonged and brutal battle through the fallen city in order to claim their prize.

***