Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 73: Birthday Gift, Everspring Rune

CH73 Birthday Gift, Everspring Rune

***

A silver-grey-haired youth sat at a workbench in a Rune lab, focused intently as he worked.

The Rune Pen in his hand moved with careful precision, drawing stroke after stroke, curve after curve, breathing life into a complex Rune Structure.

It appeared at first glance to be a single lifelike glyph, but in reality, it was a sophisticated array—an intricate lattice of Runes compressed into a minute, compact form.

A Greater Rune.

And the youth, of course, was none other than Alex Fury.

He had just finished inscribing the Rune when the first light of sunrise spilled into his dorm room.

’I made it on time.’

Alex let out a breath of relief as he set the pen down.

His eyes shifted to the reflection on a polished metal ink jar nearby. The weary but determined expression staring back at him made him chuckle softly.

”Happy Birthday, Alex Fury,” he whispered. ”You’re officially an adult in this world now.”

It felt as though the old soul—True_Sage—was addressing the original Alex Fury, the boy whose body he’d now called home for nearly five years.

Almost five years since he’d awakened here.

Five years of chaos, obsession, and discovery.

A wild ride of relentless projects and desperate power-seeking, all driven by purpose—and passion.

Somewhere along the way, birthdays had become... secondary.

He hadn’t marked the passing years. No gifts. No cake. No quiet moments of reflection. Just work. Projects. Runes. Research.

But this year, he’d decided things would be different.

Fifteen.

The age when one was recognised as an adult in this world—no longer a minor, no longer bound by childhood limitations. He would be seen, heard, and held accountable as a grown man.

He wasn’t about to throw a grand party or anything. That wasn’t his style.

But a gift? That, at least, he could do.

And the gift he’d just completed?

The Everspring Rune.

A custom-designed Greater Rune built by combining the principles of both Vitality and Endurance Runes. It would vastly enhance his physical and mana recovery rates, as well as boost his stamina and resilience.

Designed with his own physiology in mind—both magical and physical—the Rune was tuned to the precise parameters of his body. In theory, it was the most energy-efficient enhancement he could currently create.

If his calculations were correct, it should grant a 100% boost in all the targeted areas.

But Alex didn’t rush to bind the Rune.

Instead, he took a long bath, then settled into meditation, gradually restoring both mind and body to optimal condition.

Because the next step wouldn’t be easy.

Unlike Zora—whose Rune Tattoo he’d inscribed slowly over two careful three-hour sessions—he wouldn’t have that luxury with himself.

Tattooing a Greater Rune onto his own body manually? Not an option.

Which meant he had to rely on a different method.

Rune Scroll Grafting.

He was going to use the same method he’d used on the ox—magically grafting a Rune-bearing scroll directly onto his body.

The scroll would act as a slot, a kind of Rune-port embedded in his skin. Once grafted, Alex could connect this slot to his energy pathways and activate the Rune from within.

The concept was based on a scroll-binding method commonly used for weapons.

Instead of hiring a Runesmith to etch Runes directly onto a weapon, most weapon owners purchased special Rune-scrolls. Any trained mage could then activate the scroll to etch its contents onto the weapon, cutting both time and cost.

It was a mass-production technique. Efficient. Fast. Affordable.

Of course, the result was always a little less effective than a custom-crafted Rune etched by a Runesmith’s hand.

Still, considering how expensive it was to hire a Runesmith—especially a busy one—most people didn’t complain about the loss in efficiency.

Alex had simply adapted that system for his own body.

His ’slotted’ Rune Tattoos worked on the same principle. Slightly less efficient, yes—but since the Rune was tailor-made for his body, Alex had accounted for the loss in advance and carefully minimised it.

There was, however, one thing he couldn’t account for.

The pain.

’Sigh... Here goes nothing.’

He began by mixing a set of oils and alchemical liquids in exact proportions—each ingredient chosen for compatibility with his skin and the beast hide used for the Rune scroll.

He rubbed the concoction on the lower right side of his torso—just above the ribs, where his lungs sat underneath. That was where the Rune would go.

Once his skin was prepped, he placed the carefully shaped scroll against the area, then began chanting the modified grafting spell—one designed specifically for applying Rune-scrolls to living flesh.

”ARGH!”

The scream tore out of him the moment the spell took hold.

Despite his high pain tolerance, Alex couldn’t suppress the cry. It felt like molten iron was being pressed into his side.

The beast skin—acting as both medium and Rune-scroll—flared with heat, branding itself onto him in a slow, excruciating burn.

The scroll didn’t just sit on the skin. It sank in.

Inch by inch.

Magically grafting itself to the tissue beneath, fusing Rune structure and flesh into one.

Alex gritted his teeth, muscles tense with effort, but groans still escaped through clenched jaws.

This was the one part of the Rune Scroll Grafting process he could do nothing about.

No shortcuts.

No workarounds.

Just raw, searing pain.

If only he had access to a gentler material—something like the hide of a Crystal Stag. The beast’s light-element hide was prized by him not only for its affinity with healing spells but also for soothing pain during Rune grafting.

It would still hurt, of course—but the light-element properties would’ve dulled the agony significantly.

Unfortunately, beast hides with light affinity—suitable for scroll crafting—were rare and expensive. And when they did show up, they were immediately snatched up by elite artisans and high-ranking mage guilds.

Could Alex have gotten his hands on one?

Probably. He had enough social capital and personal clout now.

But spending all that effort and currency on what amounted to a magical anaesthetic just didn’t seem worth it to him.

He did have light affinity himself, and he knew some basic healing spells. But casting them during the grafting process was a no-go—the active healing would interfere with the fusion.

Unlike the passive healing effect of a light beast hide, spells would force his body to reject the graft.

So, he made a simple choice:

Grin and bear it.

***