Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 895: Concepts of the Path of Power II

CH895 Concepts of the Path of Power II

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“Morality?” Eleanore raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean by morality? My goal will benefit a lot of people.”

“On the surface, Your Highness, but the result could be less glamorous once we look deeply enough,” Taman said.

“Please enlighten me,” Eleanore requested.

Taman nodded, gratified. This was one thing he appreciated about Eleanore compared to other Imperial scions—her willingness to be taught.

“An argument against your goal is the fact that there is a likelihood that there is a reason why talent exists unequally—why some people have it, and others don’t. Why, even amongst those who have it, there are those who possess it more than others.

“Off the top of my head, I could make a number of argument—one of which is resources.

“With all due respect, Your Highness, you are a princess, so you have never lacked resources—at least, not as desperately as most. Even though the percentage of professionals is far lower than that of non-professionals, there is still almost always a shortage of resources. Not everyone has access to resources, and this access is often dependent on strength and talent.

“If you make it so everyone can walk the path of ascension, you put a great deal of pressure on an already inadequate resource pool. The number of those who lack resources more often than not overwhelms those who do. If the number swells beyond this, you can expect the battle for resources to intensify further and spill into a war.

“And the current situation is one wherein the great or strong powers are those who control the resources. Against such a force, a high number of weaklings will be nothing. A war will result in nothing more than hordes of weaklings dying for resources they could never get—weaklings who came to be as a result of your method, and might have survived if not for the success of your method,” Taman lectured.

Eleanore’s eyes lost their focus as she gazed at the space before her. She carefully ruminated over Taman’s argument. Eventually, she came to a conclusion of her own.

“I understand what you mean,” she said. “However, I believe this is less a result of a scarcity of resources and more about a poor distribution of resources—with the older, established powers like my own Imperial House hoarding these resources for themselves and progeny yet to come.

“I also understand that the success of my project could result in a war as you mentioned, but due to trying to break the established hoarding of resources. Nonetheless, I can see the issue within.”

“But this is no reason to stop my project, my goal, or my target for my Concept,” Eleanore added suddenly.

She gazed at Grand Mage Taman seriously.

“Achieving success in my goal doesn’t necessarily mean I will freely share the method. Much like with the resources, war will be dependent on how I distribute the method. For instance, if I were to prepare the world ahead of time for the release of my method, the possibility of war may be significantly reduced.

“On the other hand, the method I come up with might not require the same resources as the traditional ascension path. Hence, the increased demand for resources, as you hypothesised, might not happen.

“In other words, war isn’t necessarily certain just because a method for a new ascension path is discovered,” Eleanore argued.

“Whether I release the method after successfully discovering it is another matter. What matters first is that I do discover the method, and that it sets the foundation for the birth of my desired Concept,” she added.

“I am surrounded by extraordinary people, from my husband’s retainers to my sister wives to Alex himself. Each seems more talented than the last. If I was going to stand tall, hold my head high, and remain relevant in such a group, I can’t settle for any old Concept based upon my advantages, which seem the norm in the group.

“I need to achieve something significant in order to birth a strong and unique enough Concept to retain my speaking rights within the group.”

“Even if I fail, it is much better to target the sun and miss than to settle for any mere height. At least, by setting such a high goal for myself and working earnestly towards it, whether I fail or succeed, I would at least have ended up on a high stage,” she expressed.

“Very well. If you are this determined, I can only accept your resolution. I will look into the matter and seek those with the knowledge and equipment you need. However, it will not be cheap,” Grand Mage Taman said.

“I am aware. I have a budget of 100 High-grade Mana Stones. Would that be enough?” Eleanore asked.

‘That’s worth at least 50 million gold coins,’ Taman calculated inwardly.

He nodded calmly to Eleanore. “Although the knowledge and equipment you are looking for are quite niche, your budget should easily cover it.”

Eleanore nodded in relief.

“If you want, I can also help you acquire research assistants with the right knowledge base to be able to assist you,” Taman offered.

“Are they trustworthy?” she asked.

“People like these tend to be commoner mages dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. They will be willing to sign an ironclad magical contract and work for you as long as you can promise them funding for their own research,” Taman revealed.

‘That sounds just like the people our research wing needs,’ Eleanore mused to herself.

“I will accept them on the premise that I gain the rights to all research conducted using my funding, facilities, and resources,” she said.

“That is basic standard practice. However, to motivate them, you will need to give up a certain percentage of earnings resulting from their research. You can also choose to give them an allowance upgrade based on the value of the research they submit,” Taman replied.

“The better the researcher, the more they will want to negotiate a higher value for themselves,” he added.

“I can accept that,” Eleanore said.

Then, she thought for a moment before adding, “I would prefer the selected researchers to not be too old. At the very least, they shouldn’t be rigid and should be open to unconventional approaches.”

“Well, this is the Enclave. That shouldn’t be too difficult,” Taman said.

“Then let’s focus on acquiring the knowledge and facility equipment first. Whatever is left in our budget will determine the number and quality of researchers I will be able to recruit,” Eleanore decided.

“Understood, Your Highness.” Taman nodded.

—

Elsewhere, in Uthvaazgol’s cavern nest…

As Uthvaazgol expected, Alex was a much better storyteller than Zora and Udara.

The Silver Tongue had whipped up an epic tale of the expedition team’s journey through the unknown land—how they grew from essentially being bandits raiding a fortress at the beginning to roaming the untamed Hollowcrest Wildlands, where they came across a massive opportunity in the form of the Heaven-Earth Concordance Talismanic Field, which enabled Alex to fully recover his Rune-Tech platform.

From there, they made a name for themselves within the Wildlands, gaining a usable identity that allowed them to then acquire a faux identity as claimants to a long-lost, important noble house, which they had now used to claim territory in an empire on the new plane.

Uthvaazgol was particularly intrigued by the technological advancements Alex and his crew had brought to the new frontier, as well as some of the ambitions they had not only for the frontier but for both the entire Verdantian and Pangean planes.

The tale was so grandiose that even the timeless Ancient Dragon couldn’t help feeling some excitement, enjoyment, and amusement in his heart.

After listening to the entertaining tale, Uthvaazgol chuckled and said,

“You got tricked by that One Heaven sorcerer. You fell for his trap fully oblivious to it even after all this time.”

***