Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 3 - Rune-Tech Magic I

CH3 Rune-Tech Magic I

***

One month later...

Alex woke up to a world bursting with vibrant colours. Every morning for the past month, his eyes had opened to the swirling colourful world of ambient mana.

According to Merlin Pendragon, his new magic teacher, this unique perception was the result of an ocular mutation, a rare manifestation of his bloodline.

Alex found this explanation too simple. The ability to perceive mana was an inherently mage-like ability, however, the Furor Bloodline was a warrior-type lineage. He found it contradictory.

His ”reader senses” tingled.

It could only mean one thing; there was another pure bloodline in his body, likely from his motherʼs side.

Unfortunately, he knew almost nothing about her. She had died when he was very young, and heʼd been raised by maids and nannies at Ashen Castle before being sent to the lodge.

Still, he suspected her bloodline wasnʼt ordinary. After all, it had somehow overridden the powerful Furor Bloodline. Perhaps it was why his Furor talents had failed to manifest at all after the Familyʼs awakening ceremony.

Too bad contacting Ashen Castle was not possible. His father had severed all communication until Alex returned a proper mage.

That said, while Spirit Sight was the most prominent ability from his ocular mutation, it wasnʼt the only one.

There were also Enhanced Vision and Eidetic Memory.

-

Alex climbed out of his king-sized bed.

His dormitory at DragonHold Enclave was so opulent it made his prized apartment from his previous life look like a broom closet.

Eleven rooms made up the suite: a bedroom, living area, dining room, meditation chamber, combat room, a general-purpose lab, and five specialized magical laboratories.

On top of that, a detached storage annex held another half-dozen rooms for his growing collection of magical items.

Each space was tastefully furnished in the elegant, arcane style favoured by mages.

-

He had just finished cleaning up when breakfast arrived.

A young female acolyte—around fifteen or sixteen—had been assigned to deliver his meals by the Enclaveʼs task hall ever since his arrival.

Perks of being the personal student of the Enclaveʼs master.

As usual, the girl emphasized that he could call on her ”whenever, for whatever.” She always ensured there was some form of skinship, however subtle.

Alex, of course, understood her intentions, but he feigned ignorance. The girl had a sweet voice and was still growing into her looks, but to him, she was just that— a girl.

While his current body was ten years old, and adulthood in this world began at fifteen, the thirty-something soul in him still held onto the basic morality of his previous life.

”My name is Asta. Donʼt forget it, Alex,” she said for the nth time, flashing him a smile as she left.

Alex sighed.

The girl was nothing if not persistent.

Heʼd deliberately avoided calling her by name, hoping sheʼd take the hint and lose interest. Alas, she mistook his aloofness for shyness.

Worse, she saw him as an innocent, oblivious —and more importantly, handsome— ten-year-old boy.

He pushed the matter out of his mind and focused on the meal in front of him.

Awakening a bloodline ability had its perks, but it came with a downside—his appetite had increased significantly.

Especially since most of his bloodline abilities were passive and constantly drained his energy. If he didnʼt eat well, heʼd burn out.

He devoured the meal quickly and prepared for the day.

-

If Alex had to describe DragonHold Enclave in one word, it would be: university.

The mage towerʼs structure and operation were strikingly similar to the universities he knew from Earth.

There was a research wing, filled with mages studying magic, and an academic wing where formal classes were taught by high-ranking or exceptionally knowledgeable mages. Acolytes and even full mages could attend these lectures.

For an acolyte to graduate and be recognised as a full mage, they had to demonstrate mastery of the fundamentals of a chosen Mage Class (magic path specialisation); usually through a practical demonstration or a detailed research paper, akin to a thesis.

Each student was assigned a Supervisory Lecturer. In Alexʼs case, that meant Merlin Pendragon.

Which, in the analogy, placed Zora akin to his graduate teaching assistant, though her responsibilities were far more significant.

”I never thought Iʼd be back in university... in another world.” Alex chuckled at the thought.

Ordinary acolytes had the freedom to pick and choose their classes—provided they could afford the tuition.

Class fees and materials were collated and the bills were sent out monthly. No payment, no access to new classes.

Alex didnʼt have that freedom. Merlin had handpicked a rigorous curriculum for his first month, filled almost entirely with foundational subjects:

Mathematic, Planar Geometry, Magic Philosophy, World Theory, World Systems, Planar Organism Study (essentially biology), Analysis of living beings (Anatomy), Matter Composition study (Chemistry), History of races, Spell Formation and more.

His schedule was crammed—comparable to that of a postgrad student on a crash course.

His monthly bill was sky-high. Only then did Alex understand why his father had to pay so much upfront.

He wondered how other students managed with the intensive curriculum. He had only survived thanks to the Eidetic Memory ability.

For a significant mana cost, Alex could record anything he saw through his eyes and replay it later.

If he actively reviewed the footage and focused on the important parts, it would be etched into his long-term memory, becoming impossible to forget.

Today marked the final class of his brutal first month.

After that... he would have to make an important decision about his path forward.

-

Foundational Magic Philosophy was an open class available to anyone in the tower.

Alex noted a diverse group of students—humans, elves, orcs, trolls—ranging from children to elderly octogenarians. Yet, even the oldest among them didnʼt have mana signatures above Intermediate Mage level.

ʼMagic demands talent,ʼ He mused. ʼFor something so logical, it can be illogically cruel.ʼ

He took a seat at the front.

A few minutes later, a bearded elf entered, causing a stir.

ʼA bearded elf? Thatʼs rare. Elves usually considered beards a Dwarven trait and avoided them entirely. Mustʼve been raised in the tower,ʼ Alex reasoned.

The elf ignored the stares and began his lecture.

”There are many schools of thought in Magic. One of them is the Top-Down Philosophy, which proposes that we must first understand the world before we can empower ourselves.

”A plane and its Laws are integrated into one as such one must obey the laws of the plane if one is to grow within it. Even the strong cannot escape this fact; Grand mages who rise by understanding derivative-pseudo law, risk punishment from the plane while Legends who have begun to touch upon the true basic fundamental laws risk having to battle against the entire plane.

”The laws of a plane defines its fundamental characteristic nature and power system. If you ever travel to another plane, your first step should be to analyse its laws and power system, then adapt your battle method accordingly, allocating resources and exploiting the environment instead of fighting against it, and ending up being restricted by it.

”Always remember, from top to bottom– from the plane to thy self...”

The lecture went on for an hour before it ended.

-

On his way back, Alex ran into Zora.

”Lady Zora,” he greeted respectfully.

Though he privately thought of her as Merlinʼs ʼgrad assistant,ʼ in reality, she was the Enclaveʼs majordomo and seneschal. Her authority was second only to Merlinʼs.

”How are you, Alex? I stopped by to remind you about our meeting later today. You havenʼt forgotten, I hope?”

”Of course not.”

”Good. I trust youʼll have made your decision by then.” She gave a small nod. ”Alright, off you go.”

Alex returned to his dorm.

According to his schedule, it was time for spell practice, then meditation.

He had chosen two basic Grade-0 spells as his starting point: Magic Arrow and Magic Ball.

Both could evolve into higher-tier elemental variants—like Fire Arrow or Fireball.

Other acolytes mightʼve moved on to flashier spells, but Alex stuck with them to build his basics

Hiss Spirit Sight allowed him to observe how mana behaved during casting, and his engineering mindset pushed him to optimise as much as he could.

For example, Magic Ball originally took two seconds to cast, had a five-meter radius of effect, and consumed five mana particles.

With practice over the latter part of the month, Alex had managed to reduced the casting time to under one second (near-instant cast), doubled the area of effect, and kept mana cost the same.

Now he was working on reducing the mana requirement altogether.

Eventually, he succeeded during this practice session.

”Four mana points for Magic Ball. And I was also able to add horizontal spin to Magic Arrow...” Alex grinned at the battered training dummy riddled with holes.

The dummy, said to mimic the defence of a fully-armoured knight, had been utterly wrecked.

”Iʼll need a new one. Thatʼs going to hurt my budget.”

Each dummy cost 1,000 gold coins—outrageous, considering one gold could feed a family for a month.

Who gives a ten-year-old boy a budget in a costly place like mage tower without supervision?

Merlin, apparently.

According to the old mage, ”A proper wizard must possess both intellect and wisdom. Managing coin is part of that journey.”

Alex downed a 70-gold mana potion and began meditating.

”Meditation is hard with an overactive mind... Still, Iʼve reached 13 mana points. Almost a mid-stage Novice.”

Afterward, he relaxed in a steaming bath, mulling over the upcoming meeting with Merlin and Zora.

Once a practitioner surpassed the Novice rank, they were required to choose a Class to specialise in.

Earl Drake had become a Berserker. Knight Jarred was a Dark Knight. Zora was an Ice Mage while Merlin was something called a Dragonslayer Mage

Things worked a little differently for the personal student of the Dragon Enclaveʼs Master

Unlike regular students, Alex was required to choose a Mage Class earlier than usual. Merlin insisted on this so he could tailor a personalised lecture itinerary to suit Alexʼs chosen path.

Unfortunately, after attending over a hundred lectures in just a month, Alex still hadnʼt been able to narrow down his choice.

There were simply too many fascinating options, and for a reincarnator like him, the possibilities felt endless. He was spoiled for choice.

Absentmindedly, Alex muttered the chant for the Magic Arrow spell

A translucent spell circle formed above his palm, and a glowing arcane arrow materialised, floating steadily under his control.

He didnʼt fire it—he just observed it.

His attention lingered on the spell circle. Most people couldnʼt even perceive one, but Alex could see the spell circle with Spirit Sight.

Adding on Enhance Vision, he could even see clearly the runes that made up the structure of the spell circle.

It intrigued him.

”Kind of reminds me of the Smart Ink project the team was working on before I ended up here. Leave it to a bunch of techy web novel nerds to come up a Tech-tattoo idea for the military. I still canʼt believe the DOD Generals actually signed off on that madness,” He thought with a chuckle.

”If only I could apply that kind of knowledge to this worldʼs magic system... How amazing would it be to create my own custom Class?”

The moment that thought crossed his mind, something shifted.

An idea—no, a seed—took root.

His eyes remained fixed on the faintly glowing spell circle. His mind raced, recalling fragmented details from dozens of lectures and disciplines heʼd studied in the past month.

”Thatʼs it!” Alex exclaimed, leaping to his feet.

He dismissed the floating arrow and scrambled to get dressed.

Moments later, the strange sight of the Dragon Enclave Masterʼs newest student sprinting through the central campus drew curious stares from all directions.

Alex was running as if his life depended on it.

Maybe it did.

The seed of an idea in his mind had sprouted into a fragile sapling, and Alex knew he had to water and nurture it quickly before it withered away.

For that, he needed to see his master ASAP!

***