Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 43: Into the Cave of Opportunities

CH43 Into the Cave of Opportunities

***

Before setting off, Alex made several careful preparations.

First, he uncorked a small vial of antidote—an earthy-smelling liquid he’d personally brewed from various herbs gathered since entering the Subspace—and gulped it down in one go.

The taste was revolting, but necessary.

He was about to enter the territory, and former lair, of one of the deadliest creatures in the entire Subspace. The Sunscaled Viper—a Class 3 apex predator known not just for its deadly venom, but the ambient toxins its body secreted into its environment.

Prevention, in this case, was far better than any cure.

Alex crept his way through the twisted cave passages leading towards the lair, weaving around roaming beasts whenever possible. For those he couldn’t avoid, his spells or newly-mastered wristblade made short work of them.

His proficiency with the blade had grown with each fight—close combat, once a weakness, now felt oddly natural.

After half an hour of tension-filled stealth and bursts of lethal violence, Alex finally reached the entrance of the lair.

He shivered.

The oppressive presence of the Class 3 Sunscaled Viper lingered here—even in death. Its aura had been etched into the stone, the very air.

Most beasts would instinctively avoid this place for some time to come.

But Alex pushed forward, forcing his instincts into submission as he stepped into the cave.

To his surprise, there were still some creatures lurking inside—most of them venomous or toxic species themselves.

But they were weak.

None exceeded mid-Class 1.

From a distance, he picked them off with precise volleys of Magic Bullets. Those with a bit more resilience were met with a Magic Bolt. Quick. Efficient. No wasted mana.

Following the thread of golden energy deeper into the cave, Alex reached a wide craven chamber.

The air here was thick with venom.

The scent of the Sunscaled Viper still clung to the space, mixed with the acrid presence of its secretions—fine mist-like vapours of potent toxins.

But Alex didn’t panic.

He remembered a fundamental principle of alchemy and nature:

’Where there is poison, there is often an antidote.’

The winding cave corridors had been lined with specific herbs—many growing in pairs or clusters—that, if combined properly, could neutralise or at least weaken the viper’s lingering toxins.

Alex recognised them.

He got to work immediately, grinding and mixing the herbs in the right ratios, extracting their juices with practised hands. Then, with a brief pulse of his light-element mana, he purified the mixture as best he could under the current conditions.

The resulting liquid was muddy and foul-smelling.

He drank it anyway.

A wave of nausea surged through him as his stomach rebelled, but he clenched his jaw and endured. Within moments, he felt his blood warm and his breathing ease—the tell-tale sign of successful resistance.

Only then did he press deeper, entering the Viper’s inner sanctum.

Inside, Alex found herbs of high value growing undisturbed. Rare plants that thrived in toxic environments. Scattered across the floor were shed scales—gleaming fragments of gold and crimson from the Sunscaled Viper’s last few moults.

He didn’t hesitate.

He collected the highest-grade herbs and scales, prioritising quality over quantity. Time was of the essence—the antidote he’d consumed wouldn’t last forever.

Moving swiftly, he followed the golden energy signature to a remote section of the lair’s innermost wall.

There, he discovered a hole—a natural opening in the stone from which the golden energy flowed like mist.

Even without activating Spirit Sight, he could feel it.

Thick. Concentrated. Potent.

’So this is why the Sunscaled Viper settled here,’ Alex thought. ’They usually prefer lush, forested areas rich in vegetation. Not caves.’

Then another thought struck him.

’Sunscaled Vipers rarely ever reach Class 3. In fact, it’s considered nearly impossible within environments that cap strength at that stage.’

His gaze sharpened as he stared into the golden mist beyond the hole.

’This... this must be the reason. A hidden source power—it’s what allowed that viper to reach Class 3 within this Subspace.’

And now, that opportunity lay before him.

Waiting.

Alex’s eyes caught something lodged in the walls of the hole.

The viper’s scales were embedded deep into the stone.

’Was it trying to widen this tunnel to reach the other side?’ he wondered.

Unfortunately, before its death, the viper hadn’t managed to make the hole large enough for itself. But the opening was just enough for Alex to crawl through.

He lowered himself into a prone position and began inching forward, scraping his arms and legs against the rough floor.

The passage was tight and uncomfortable.

’Thankfully, I’m not claustrophobic,’ Alex thought grimly, finally dragging himself out on the other side.

A sudden, refreshing scent swept past his nose.

His body reacted instantly—with an intense hunger he barely had time to register.

His pores opened wide, greedily sucking in the rejuvenating air. The more he breathed it in, the more his body craved it.

Alex scanned the cavern around him, trying to identify the source.

He found himself in a vast chamber.

Before him stood six stalagmites, rising halfway to the ceiling.

They didn’t look natural.

The stalagmites formed the perfect points of a hexagon.

Even more incredible, a single stalactite extended down from the ceiling—also halfway to the ground—positioned exactly at the hexagon’s center.

Alex suspected this was a formation of some kind, but he wasn’t sure if it was natural or crafted.

At the center of the formed hexagon, a pool of milky-white liquid shimmered quietly.

This pool was clearly the source of the refreshing scent his body so desperately craved.

Alex was about to examine the liquid when he noticed a viscous substance slowly dripping from the stalactite into the pool below.

Then it struck him.

”Stalactite milk!” His jaw dropped in disbelief. ”It’s real?!”

The liquid resembled the legendary stalactite milk he had read about in countless martial arts novels during his previous life.

Yet in all his research on wondrous resources in this world, he had never come across anything remotely like it.

Even now, his OmniRune Core was scouring its copied archives for any mention—but to no avail.

Taking a deep, refreshing breath, Alex’s mind calmed.

He recalled the universal use of stalactite milk and its variants in martial arts lore: tempering the body at its most fundamental level to unlock and increase hidden potential.

After tempering his body with Elder Dragon Blood and Dragon Heart, he had believed he’d reached the highest level of refinement.

Yet his body’s overwhelming reaction told a different story.

’Perhaps there is still more potential to unlock,’ he thought.

As much as he wanted to plunge into the pool, a sharp thought made him hesitate.

Time.

He had no idea how long this tempering would take.

The last time he had used the Elder Dragon’s blood and heart, over a month had passed in an instant.

And it was already his fourteenth day in the Subspace.

He had less than a week left before he needed to return to the portal.

’Should I or should I not?’

***