Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 510: The Era of Sorcery I

CH510 The Era of Sorcery I

***

For a moment, Baron Belloc looked from Alex to his son, Kron. Then his thoughts drifted to his older son, York, who was currently causing him no small amount of trouble.

He couldn’t help but sigh.

’Is this the calibre of a scion born to a noble house of a powerful plane—one capable of interplanar travel?’ Baron Belloc wondered.

Kron noticed the subtle change in his father’s expression, but he didn’t take it to heart.

Even he could admit that, compared to the youth whose image was projected from the device, he fell short.

”Very well.” Baron Belloc looked back at Alex and nodded. ”I will accept your assurance and work with you to ensure the worst-case scenario you’ve outlined does not come to pass. Verdantis already has more than enough problems as it is.”

As long as Alex obtained the information he needed, he would know who to avoid—and who not to offend. And if he avoided offending the wrong people, then he wouldn’t be pushed to the point of open conflict on this plane, much less forced to call upon the forces backing him.

At least, that was how Baron Belloc reasoned.

Alex understood the man’s logic. He smiled faintly at the cooperation that had, at last, been settled.

”In the spirit of our new agreement, would you indulge me with a question?” Alex asked.

”Ah yes—knowledge on talisman crafting and Sigils,” Kron interjected. ”While such information can be found in Ostmont, it may not be as comprehensive as you require.”

”Any source of knowledge on those topics would be welcome,” Alex replied. ”However, that is not what I wish to ask.”

Alex turned his attention back to Baron Belloc.

”There is something about this plane that continues to baffle me. Perhaps it is due to my perspective as a denizen of a world where mages—whom you call Sorcerers—are as common as warriors. Still, I find it strange that the rulers of your plane appear to have placed an embargo on the proliferation of the ascension branch.”

He continued evenly, ”I can understand the immediate, micro-level advantages of such a decision—primarily the concentration of power within the aristocracy. However, on a macro scale, the indirect consequences are severe. This policy is significantly hindering your plane’s overall development.”

”At first, I hypothesised that this was due to the influence of your world’s Navi—your... deities. However, if that were the case, then powerful ancestral spirit nations like the Celahan Empire shouldn’t have similar embargos in place.

”This leads me to believe that there is more to this decision than meets the eye—especially politically, at the highest levels of the nobility and aristocracy.”

Alex’s projection frowned slightly as he looked at Baron Belloc, his expression filled with curiosity and a genuine thirst for understanding.

”As a ’sorcerer’ myself, I believe it is imperative that I understand the game of power at play here, so that I am not caught unawares.”

Alex’s question caught Baron Belloc completely off guard.

The older man slowly released the breath he had been holding in his chest and rose from his seat. He walked over to the window and gazed out at the city beyond, his expression heavy with contemplation.

Both Alex and Kron were surprised. Neither of them had expected Alex’s seemingly academic question to provoke such a reaction.

Baron Belloc remained there, unmoving, for a good ten minutes.

Still, neither Kron nor Alex urged him to speak. Both could sense that something weighty lay beneath the surface of this silence.

Finally, Baron Belloc turned back to face Alex’s projection.

”What do you think can change the world,” he asked quietly, ”power or intellect?”

”By power,” Alex clarified, ”you mean the kind that comes from high cultivation or ascension ranks?”

”Yes,” Baron Belloc confirmed with a nod.

Alex chuckled softly.

”Forgive me.” He quickly composed himself. ”That question... I have been asked it by someone before.”

”Sounds like a smart person,” Baron Belloc remarked.

”He is,” Alex replied, a faint smile touching his lips. ”Probably the wisest—and most complicated—person I know.”

Another brief chuckle escaped him before his expression turned serious once more.

”I’ll answer you the same way I answered him.

”I don’t believe power or intellect alone can bring about lasting change. Both are required. Intellect to identify the problem and propose the correct solution—and power to enforce that solution.”

Alex’s gaze sharpened.

”Because no change ever comes without resistance from the established system.”

Then Alex smiled faintly.

”But if I could only choose one,” he said, ”I would choose superior intellect.”

”Why is that?” Baron Belloc asked.

”Because with the right intellect,” Alex replied, ”one can obtain the power needed to push through a solution—even if they do not possess that power themselves.

”Take humanity as an example. Humans do not rule most of the planes they inhabit because we are the strongest. In fact, more often than not, we are among the weakest. Yet we rule because we possess greater intellect than most of our competitors.”

Alex’s gaze sharpened.

”With that intellect, we compensate for the raw power we lack by making use of our competitors themselves.”

He concluded calmly, ”If there is a change I need to bring about, I would rather guide—or even trick—people into accepting it, rather than force it upon them through brute power. One approach breeds rebellion. The other breeds unconscious acceptance and eventual adoption.”

The moment he finished speaking, Alex frowned.

It felt as though he had brushed against something important— something just beyond his grasp.

Baron Belloc nodded, offering no clear judgment.

”In that case,” the Baron said, ”let me ask you another question. Relying on intellect alone, how would an ordinary commoner—one with no cultivation or ascension whatsoever—kill a Combat Sage?”

”What?” Kron blurted out instantly. ”That’s impossible.”

Baron Belloc shot him a sharp look, silencing him on the spot.

Alex, meanwhile, fell into deep thought.

After a while, he looked up and said, ”Kron is right. It is impossible for a mortal to kill a Combat Sage.”

Baron Belloc’s expression darkened, disappointment flickering across his face—

”—unless,” Alex continued evenly, ”that mortal relies on cunning so extreme it might be considered outright wicked... or evil.”

”Morality is irrelevant at such a disparity in strength,” Baron Belloc replied plainly.

”In that case,” Alex said, confidence returning to his voice, ”many doors suddenly open.”

”Legends—the ones you refer to as Combat Sages—are still human,” Alex continued calmly. ”And because they are human, they are as fallible as they are powerful.

”Like all humans, they have weaknesses. One of the most exploitable of those weaknesses is attachment.”

Baron Belloc’s eyes narrowed slightly.

”Legends have families. Loved ones. People they care about,” Alex went on. ”All one needs to do is infect a weaker family member or loved one with an illness—one that cannot be cured through conventional means.

”In fact, actual infection isn’t even necessary. Making the Legend believe the illness exists is often enough.”

Kron felt a chill creep up his spine.

”After that,” Alex said evenly, ”information is leaked to the Legend. Information that a cure exists—but that it is a rare resource found only in some distant, remote location. It is best if an exact location is provided.”

He paused briefly.

”Then that same location is quietly passed on to the Legend’s enemies.”

Alex met Baron Belloc’s gaze.

”And the rest is no longer the mortal’s concern.”

”A mortal may not be able to kill a Legend with their own hands,” Alex concluded, ”but that does not mean they cannot make use of another’s.”

He finished softly, ”As long as the Legend has someone they love—and someone of equal power who hates them—this method can work.”

Alex subconsciously shook his head.

’If I truly put my heart into it,’ he thought, ’I’d make a frighteningly competent villain.’

This wasn’t the only method that had crossed his mind in the brief time Baron Belloc posed the question.

Not because he was exceptionally clever—but because he was experienced.

In his previous life, Alex had seen countless examples of how the strong were brought low. Some drawn from history. Others from fiction. Some subtle while others monstrously cruel.

There were cleaner methods with lower chances of success. And there were far more evil methods with terrifyingly high success rates.

He had offered this answer because it lay in the middle— balanced between moral extremes, yet still disturbingly effective, assuming proper execution.

After all, Baron Belloc’s question had never been a theoretical one.

There was far more behind it than that.

***