Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 65: Intermediate Rank Mage

CH65 Intermediate Rank Mage

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Alex sat in meditation within the high-grade cultivation chamber of his dormitory in the Enclave.

His breathing was calm and deep, while his body remained completely still.

His consciousness had long since withdrawn from his physical form and retreated deep into his mind.

Normally, this internal space would have been a black void. But now, it shimmered with sparkles of multicoloured light — even more vivid than the spectrum he usually perceived through his Truth-Seeker Eyes’ Spirit Sight.

These lights were, of course, the various types of elemental mana.

In this state accessed through deep meditation, a mage could absorb mana into their body to fuel their cultivation — a process influenced heavily by their chosen mana cultivation technique.

This made one’s technique extremely important.

It determined not only the nature of the mana absorbed but also the rate at which it was drawn in.

Mana cultivation was a simple yet profoundly complex process.

A mage would draw in mana from the meditation space through their mana pathways, directing it toward their Mana Heart. In many ways, this process mirrored blood circulation in the body.

Mana flowed inward through a network of channels known as the Inflow Pathways. Much like veins, these were relatively narrow, delicate channels that carried absorbed mana to the Mana Heart.

Most cultivation techniques pulled in either a chaotic blend of ambient elemental mana or the neutral variety found in Mana Stones and naturally mana-rich environments.

Once this mana reached the Mana Heart, it would be refined — converted into the element most aligned with the mage’s affinity.

A mage’s affinity could be determined by bloodline, innate constitution, or their chosen Mage Path. Whether their affinity was attuned to a single element or a specific set, the Mana Heart’s primary job was to filter and convert incoming mana accordingly.

Once refined, the converted mana was stored within the Mana Heart.

When needed, mana flowed outward through a second network: the Outflow Pathways. These channels were much like arteries — thicker and more robust, designed to carry mana at high pressure to wherever it was needed in a near instant.

In the grand scheme of mana cultivation, the most critical role of a technique lay in the absorption stage.

A good technique determined not just how fast mana could be absorbed, but also what kind of mana was absorbed.

The faster the absorption, the quicker the mana could be refined and used. The closer the nature of the absorbed mana was to the mage’s affinity, the easier the Mana Heart’s job became.

For instance, take Zora — an Ice Elemental Mage. She would gain the most benefit from using an Ice-aligned cultivation technique. Such a method would draw in Ice Mana directly, minimising the need for the Mana Heart to refine it. In essence, the mana would be almost immediately usable upon absorption.

This distinction might not matter during casual practice — but in battle, it could mean the difference between life and death.

Conversely, if Zora were to use a Neutral cultivation technique, which were the most common and widely available, she would absorb a chaotic mixture of elements or neutral mana. Her Mana Heart would then need to spend valuable time filtering and transmuting that blend into Ice Mana.

That kind of delay may not hinder her in peaceful times, but on the battlefield, it could prove disastrous.

However, in the worst-case scenario, if a Mage were to use a cultivation technique aligned with an opposing element — say, an Ice Mage using a Fire-elemental cultivation technique — they would be forced to manually assist their Mana Heart in converting the fire-elemental mana into Ice Mana.

This was a thankless and exhausting task that made cultivation unnecessarily difficult. Worse than being ineffective in battle, such a mage wouldn’t even be able to perform basic tasks during regular training.

Their focus would have to remain absolute, undistracted — even the wrong gust of wind could destabilise their internal flow, causing a mana deviation. And if that happened, the opposing elemental mana could go berserk inside their body.

This was one of the many reasons why selecting the right mana cultivation technique was such a critical decision, made only after great deliberation.

That said, this didn’t mean that specific-element cultivation techniques were inherently better than Neutral ones.

It always depended on the mage’s personal circumstances.

Mages with multiple elemental affinities, unless they possessed a unique cultivation technique tailored to that combination, were almost always better off using Neutral techniques.

In fact, the most powerful and well-regarded cultivation techniques in the world were often Neutral in nature, making them universally compatible.

--

The cultivation technique Alex used was the Astral Training Manual, gifted to him by Merlin.

But this wasn’t just a typical Mage’s cultivation method.

It was a rare, multi-faceted technique — one that could be used by Warriors to train their Internal Energy and by Warlocks to cultivate their Spiritual Force.

A true jack-of-all-trades, yet also an expert in all.

It was a testament to Merlin — or rather, Uthvaazgol’s — brilliance.

The secret behind this technique lay in its unique energy source: Astral Energy.

Astral Energy was a higher-order force energy compared to ordinary Mana. Not only was it purer and more concentrated, but it was also vastly more adaptable — far easier to transmute into other forms.

Within the dark, meditative space of his mind — now filled with sparkles of elemental mana — Alex ignored the familiar lights and instead searched for something rarer.

He pushed deeper.

And eventually, he found it: a faint band of purplish energy. Astral Energy.

That single thread held more power than most of the mana clusters he had bypassed.

His breathing slowed further. With focused intent, he extended his Spiritual Force toward it. The thread untangled under his touch, and he carefully drew out a single strand.

The Astral Energy flowed through his Spiritual Bridge, slipping into his body.

Alex guided it, watching as the purplish stream made its way along his Inflow Pathways — from his wrist to his elbow — and toward the Mana Heart.

The moment the energy reached the Mana Heart, it dispersed.

It instantly expanded into a massive volume of elemental mana — aligning perfectly with his affinities: Fire, Light, Lightning, and Darkness.

His Mana Heart barely had to do anything.

The Astral Energy had already handled the conversion.

However, before this newly formed mana could be stored, it had to pass through a final gatekeeper — the caretaker of his Mana Heart’s core:

The AetherKindle Primal Origin Flame.

Named after a flame from a novel Alex had read in his previous life, the AetherKindle flared to life.

It leapt upon the incoming elemental streams, purifying them with intense scrutiny.

Only the purest mana would be allowed into storage under its watchful gaze.

Any mana that didn’t meet its standards was incinerated.

Only after passing the AetherKindle’s test did the refined mana settle into the Mana Heart.

--

This process repeated within Alex’s body again and again...

Until finally—

Crack~

Roughly two months after his return from the Subspace,

Alex Fury broke through to the Intermediate Mage Rank.

***