Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 542: Wildlands Grand Formation I

CH542 Wildlands Grand Formation I

***

When Alex arrived at Sugud’s location, the dwarf–elven hybrid still wore the same perplexed expression he had earlier.

Initially, back then, Alex had assumed the mechanic had been stunned into silence by the grotesque sight of the berserk humans.

Now however, judging by the complex diagram Sugud had sketched into the dirt with hurried strokes, that clearly wasn’t the case.

”What’s this?” Alex asked, stepping closer.

”Young Master, you’re here.” Sugud’s eyes brightened immediately. ”Young Master, can you look over there? What do you see? I mean the mana flow.”

Alex’s eyes sharpened.

”Why are you asking me that?” he replied carefully.

Sugud paused, realising his excitement had gotten him ahead of himself. So, he explained.

”As we approached this location, I felt something was out of place,” he began. ”But I couldn’t pinpoint what it was. It was only after I saw the mountain directly that I realised what felt wrong.”

Alex turned his gaze toward the mountain again.

On the surface, it looked unremarkable.

Yet— It wasn’t.

The berserk humans gathered below had all halted at its foot, refusing to take even a single step further.

Even the strongest among them—the reptilian Class 4 unique variant—could only approach up to a certain invisible boundary before stopping.

This created an odd visage... or rather, sensation.

’Close to the goal... And yet impossibly far.’

As though some unseen force prevented them from crossing an invisible threshold.

But aside from that strange phenomenon, nothing visually stood out.

”What about the mountain?” Alex asked.

Sugud hesitated, then gently pulled Alex aside, clearly intending to speak privately.

Understanding immediately, Alex gestured with a wave of his hand for the others to give them space.

Once they were alone enough to speak freely, Sugud lowered his voice.

”Young Master Alex, my cultivation method is... special,” he revealed. ”My parents used all the merits they accumulated with the Craftsmanship Association to obtain it for me. It’s a top-class cultivation method that makes me especially sensitive to formation arrays.”

Alex’s gaze sharpened slightly.

’Formation arrays? Now that’s interesting.’

Alex nodded in understanding.

Sugud’s dream was to become a Magic Armour designer. Sensitivity to formation arrays was a fundamental requirement for the profession.

A cultivation method capable of enhancing such sensitivity would be highly coveted—especially by parents whose children aspired to become Magic Armour designers.

Revealing that Sugud possessed such a cultivation method could easily place him in danger.

Hence, the caution.

Sugud’s parents must have hoped that strengthening this parameter would increase his chances of success.

Alas...

”You’re sensing a formation nearby?” Alex asked.

Sugud relaxed slightly and stopped whispering.

”No.” He shook his head. ”We’re already inside it.”

”What?” Alex’s brows shot up. ”Since when?”

”I’m not certain,” Sugud admitted with visible frustration. ”I suspect since we entered the core region of the Wildlands.”

After a brief hesitation, he added quietly, ”It’s also possible we’ve been within its area of effect since we first entered the Wildlands.”

Alex’s eyes widened as an unsettling thought surfaced in his mind.

However, he forcefully suppressed it for now.

”Since you didn’t mention anything earlier, it means the formation’s influence only recently became strong enough to trigger your sensitivity,” Alex reasoned aloud. ”That suggests we’re approaching the centre... or the source.”

He looked at Sugud.

”Is that correct?”

Sugud wasn’t surprised Alex pieced it together so quickly. Not only was Alex well-versed in formations due to his class, but he had always been frighteningly quick on the uptake.

And this was, admittedly, the most intuitive conclusion.

Sugud nodded.

”I believe the formation originates from that mountain.” He pointed ahead. ”And this isn’t some ordinary array. It should be a massive Grand Formation—on a scale I’ve never even heard of.”

He exhaled slowly.

”I’ve tried every discernment technique I know. Even those capable of detecting traces of Tier V Grand Formations.”

His eyes grew grave.

”I found nothing concrete.”

”You have methods to discern Tier V Grand Formations?” Alex asked, genuinely surprised.

Sugud nodded sheepishly.

”I learned them from my mother. Arrays at that level require really high-grade materials, usually alchemical ones. I am essentially sensing for those alchemical materials.

”While I won’t be cracking such formations any time soon, I can at least reasonably deduce whether one is nearby.” He revealed.

”Fascinating.” A small smile tugged at Alex’s lips.

Sugud continued, ”For several reasons—its sheer scale, the way it evades my discernment techniques, among others—I believe this formation is at least a Tier VI Grand Formation.”

”Are you certain?” Alex frowned. ”Even on Pangea, never mind the resource requirements, the number of people capable of deploying such a formation are less than a few.”

”I am confident,” Sugud affirmed.

Of course, Alex didn’t miss the distinction.

Sugud said confident—not certain.

The two sounded close.

They were not the same.

Still, Alex chose to trust his craftsman’s judgment.

”Even though I cannot confirm the formation’s presence with absolute certainty, that limitation lies with my abilities alone,” Sugud added. ”If I had assistance from someone with exceptionally strong mana perception, I might be able to verify it.”

He hesitated briefly before continuing.

”I already approached Lady Eleanore. She tried... but couldn’t detect anything concrete. She suggested I speak to you instead. She said your mana perception surpasses hers.”

Alex nodded slowly.

”What exactly am I looking for?” he asked.

”A flaw,” Sugud replied immediately. ”Or a discrepancy. A subtle distortion in the ambient mana flow.”

He gestured toward the mountain.

”For a formation this well concealed, the irregularity must be something that exists... yet does not alter the normal function of mana. Something present—but imperceptible to ordinary usage.”

Alex’s eyes flashed.

Sugud, who had turned toward the mountain while speaking, didn’t notice.

”I suspect one of the Grand Formation’s subordinate—or component—arrays is responsible for attracting and/or restraining the berserk humans.

”If you can clearly perceive the distortion, I might be able to deduce what kind of formation we are dealing with. And if I can do that... we might find a way around it.”

”I can see it,” Alex said calmly. ”There’s definitely a distortion in the ambient mana flow here. I believe you’re right about a formation being in place.”

He narrowed his eyes at the mountain.

”Now that I’m observing it with this perspective... the distortion does appear to originate from the mountain’s peak and spread outward.”

Sugud turned sharply.

”Can you describe the distortion to me?” he asked, barely containing his excitement.

Alex began explaining what he saw—meticulously and painfully so.

It couldn’t be helped.

What Sugud was attempting bordered on blind calculation. Without direct access to the array itself, he had to reverse-engineer its existence from environmental anomalies alone.

That required precision.

As such, Alex was extremely careful, clear and exhaustively detailed.

He described the density fluctuations. The subtle warping in mana currents. The faint spiralling of energy that shouldn’t exist in a stable ambient flow. The invisible pressure gradient that didn’t interfere with spellcasting yet subtly redirected natural mana drift.

Sugud’s fingers moved rapidly, altering and adding to the arcane diagram scratched into the dirt.

Lines intersected while symbols overlapped. He erased, redrew and/or layered new glyphs atop old ones.

Soon, the ground before him was covered in a dense cluster of formation notations—so complex that even Alex couldn’t immediately decipher them.

Then—

Sugud stopped.

The exhilaration that had been bright in his eyes slowly faded, replaced by something far more solemn.

***