Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 590: Pangea’s Ascension & Verdantis’s Sorcery

CH590 Pangea’s Ascension & Verdantis’s Sorcery

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Due to their limited information, Alex and his party had initially assumed that Verdantis’ Combat Warriors were the plane’s equivalent of warriors, that Sorcerers were the equivalent of mages, and that the Clergy roughly corresponded to warlocks.

He later received important information which led him to suspect this was wrong. And now, after reading through the knowledge preserved by the Heavenly Venerable, Alex confirmed his doubts.

’The different branches of Sorcery contradict that characterisation,’ Alex mused.

’Sorcery appears to be an entire cultivation system in itself.’

’In fact, one could argue that Sorcery is the true cultivation path of Verdantis, while the Combat Warriors and Clergy are merely substitutes created by the Navi after the exile of the Sorcerers at the end of the Era of Sorcery.’

’If that is the case, then I should be comparing Sorcery with Pangea’s entire cultivation system, rather than comparing it solely with the magic system.’

Alex slowly sat down on the floor beside the shelf he had been reading from.

He placed the scroll in his hand on the ground and sank deeper into contemplation.

’Even then, directly comparing Sorcery to Pangea’s Ascension path is also inaccurate. Sorcery and Ascension are asymmetric systems that should be examined on their own merits rather than forced into an artificial equivalence. Their goals are fundamentally different.’

’Pangea’s Ascension system is structured so that the three Class branches —Mage, Warrior, and Warlock— are essentially independent, and often even xenophobic toward one another. Once one commits to a particular class branch, one cannot train in the others.’

’The only exception tends to be individuals with exceptionally powerful bloodlines —like mine— that can forcibly bridge the gap between branches.’

’Verdantis’s Sorcery, on the other hand, seems to display a strong interconnectedness among its seven or so branches.’

’According to the scrolls, being a sorcerer of the Physique Tempering branch does not actually prevent one from casting ”mystic arts”, which is what they call spells here.’

’Likewise, a sorcerer of the Grey School, who specialises in hexes, debuffs, and control-type spells, can still possess considerable proficiency in the techniques of the Armament School, and so forth.’

’At a surface level, Pangea’s Ascension system resembles what could be described as a Hard cultivation system, whereas Verdantis’s Sorcery functions more like a Soft cultivation system.’

’This asymmetry makes it extremely difficult to draw rigid parallels between the two systems using a strict equivalence model.’

’Any meaningful correlation between them would likely need to be handled case by case.’

As Alex continued to delve deeper into the cultivation knowledge of this unfamiliar plane, he found himself pondering something he had read in one of the scrolls.

’Essentially, Sorcery is like a great tree.’

’Its branches may diverge, but they all remain parts of the same whole.’

’The origin of Sorcery began with the Elemental School, where ancient sorcerers drew mana directly into their bodies.’

’By casting and activating mystic arts within their bodies and minds, they could replicate, resonate with, or impose those mystic arts upon reality outside themselves.’

’This is what the Heavenly Venerable referred to as the Man–Earth–Heaven fusion.’

’Because the operation of mystic arts requires both mana within the body and emotional energy within the mind, when other branches of Sorcery later emerged, Elemental Sorcery gradually came to be referred to by some groups as Internal Sorcery.’

’At a time when Elemental Sorcery was the dominant path, a group of sorcerers proposed a new method to support it— the Physique Tempering method.’

’This group compared the human body, which draws in and contains mana, to a vessel holding water or another liquid. The larger and stronger the vessel, the more liquid it can hold.’

’Following that principle, they proposed that sorcerers should temper their bodies to enlarge and strengthen the vessel used to contain mana they use for their Elemental sorcery.’

’Thus, the Physique Tempering branch was born.’

’It was never intended to replace Elemental Sorcery, but rather to support it.’

’The same pattern can be seen in other branches— Armament, Craftsmanship and Alchemy, Anima, and even the Grey School.’

’None of these were created as alternatives. Instead, they were conceived as additions to the original system.’

Alex’s eyes flashed with understanding.

’This might be the biggest reason why the Ascension system and the Sorcery path differ so greatly.’

’Unlike Sorcery, whose branches are interconnected and function as extensions of one another, the class branches in Pangea’s Ascension system are essentially alternatives.’

’For those with cultivation talent, the path splits into three choices— Mage, Warrior, or Warlock.’

’Unless some external and extraordinary factor is involved —such as a powerful bloodline or a unique training manual— once someone aligns with one branch, they cannot pursue another.’

Arriving at this conclusion sparked a trace of fascination in Alex’s eyes.

’I wonder if every world has its own unique cultivation system like Pangea and Verdantis.’

’How incredible would it be to travel across different worlds, uncovering new truths about the universe and the countless civilisations within it?’

A hungry light flashed in his eyes.

Turning back to the countless shelves that remained unread, a sudden surge of motivation filled him.

He rolled up the scroll he had just finished, returned it to its place on the shelf, and strode forward to devour the knowledge contained in the remaining shelves.

The more Alex read, the more he began to realise something.

While a handful of books clearly originated from elsewhere —particularly those containing unique perspectives or rare insights— the majority of the scrolls in the hall had been written by the same person.

Most likely, the Heavenly Venerable himself.

The shelves revealed a clear progression in the knowledge base of the scrolls’ author.

At first, Alex could easily keep up with the contents.

However, as he continued reading, that became increasingly difficult— even with the advanced knowledge he possessed from his previous life across numerous fields.

Eventually, it reached a point where Alex could only read the scrolls. He could no longer claim that he truly comprehended them.

The concepts had simply become too advanced— even for him.

Once again, he felt like a newly admitted university undergraduate who had accidentally wandered into the postgraduate section of the university’s central library.

He could understand the words written on the page, but the deeper theories and principles those words attempted to convey escaped his grasp.

Even so, that did not stop Alex.

He continued devouring the knowledge within the scrolls, allowing OmniRune to store, process, and catalogue the information so it could be properly reviewed later— once his own understanding had reached the level required to interpret the material.

’Reading these texts, it almost feels as if the author only chose to specialise in the Physique Tempering path because, at the time, it appeared to be the branch of sorcery most capable of extending their lifespan.’

’More time to continue their research... and accumulate more knowledge.’

’Even though they specialised in Physique Tempering, they clearly made major breakthroughs in many other branches as well— often building those discoveries upon the foundation of Physique Tempering.’

That observation alone was enough to confirm Alex’s suspicion.

The author of these scrolls was almost certainly the Heavenly Venerable himself.

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