Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 605: Fortune-Suppressing Dragon

CH605 Fortune-Suppressing Dragon

***

The void space collapsed.

The next moment, Alex found himself no longer within the Heaven-Earth Concordance space, but inside the Sanctuary— standing directly before Lord Bonsai.

A whip-like branch swayed slowly in front of him.

Somehow... Alex understood what it was saying.

”What do you mean it was a stupid decision?” Alex argued immediately. ”It was a well-thought-out decision.”

He folded his arms, clearly defensive.

”I simply gave up things I either don’t use or can easily replace,” he continued. ”I’m not just a mage— I’m a Rune Master. I don’t need to cast spells through chants. I only need to prompt OmniRune to generate the appropriate spell circle, and the spell activates.”

He scoffed lightly.

”Not being able to cast spells with my own power...” Alex sneered, ”...isn’t a handicap at all.”

”As for my bloodline talents—please. Since when did they truly matter?” he added dismissively. ”The talents that actually matter are tied to my True Name now, not my bloodline.”

He shrugged.

”So realistically, I’m not losing anything significant. The only real loss would’ve been Calm Madness.”

He paused briefly.

”Let’s be honest... is Calm Madness really that big of a loss?”

Thwack!

The branch struck him squarely.

”Hey! What was that for?!” Alex groaned, clutching his head.

The branch swayed again— this time more sharply, almost aggressively.

”Of course I know it’s my family’s iconic and distinctive talent,” Alex retorted. ”But if I don’t mention it, who’s going to know I lost it?”

He smirked faintly.

”And besides... is there anyone who would deny I’m a Fury just because I don’t use it?”

His eyes deepened into a richer crimson.

”Let them try.”

Calm Madness.

The branch tapped his head again— lighter this time.

Alex burst into laughter.

The irony of his own actions didn’t completely escape him.

”So... are we good?” he asked.

Rustle...

The entire tree trembled, its leaves shivering softly.

Alex got the distinct impression of an exasperated adult staring at an ’incorrigible’ child— one they didn’t quite know how to deal with, yet could only accept reluctantly.

”Now’s not the time to be exasperated,” Alex said, unfazed. ”There are still plenty of crazy things waiting for us in the future.”

He smiled and placed a fist lightly against the tree’s trunk.

”We’re in this together, partner.”

For a brief moment, Alex was certain that if the tree could roll its eyes, it absolutely would have.

Instead—

Smack!

The branch whipped his hand away.

Alex burst into laughter.

The fact that Lord Bonsai was far more animated than before —likely due to its gradual recovery— was not lost on him.

Still, he trusted the tree enough that it didn’t trigger his usual wariness.

’...Or should I say, pessimism?’ he corrected inwardly.

Setting aside his banter with Lord Bonsai, Alex finally took notice of the changes within the Sanctuary.

There were... new additions.

Near the Heartwood Tree stood a small sapling.

Alex immediately guessed that Eleanore must have transplanted it here.

’It’s similar to Lord Bonsai... it feeds on Providence,’ he mused. ’So placing it here actually makes sense. She wouldn’t be able to make use of it until it blooms anyway.’

Then his gaze sharpened.

A slender root extended from the Heartwood Tree... connecting directly to the sapling.

At the same time, his Spirit Sense detected a steady flow of energy moving along that connection.

’...It’s nurturing the sapling.’

Alex’s expression softened slightly.

”Thank you,” he said.

Rustle...

The leaves stirred gently— both in response, and as if to draw his attention elsewhere.

The vine-like branch reached upward into the tree’s crown, and brought something down.

The Legacy Egg.

It was passed into Alex’s hands.

The moment he touched it, he paused.

It felt... warmer than before.

Clearly, Lord Bonsai had done something to it as well.

Alex didn’t even bother wondering how the egg had made its way into his Sanctuary.

An object that could enter his Bloodline Space and Soul Space at will... appearing in his far more accessible Sanctuary pocket dimension was hardly worth questioning.

As he continued examining the egg —finding no noticeable changes aside from the warmth— it suddenly released a powerful suction force.

Mana surged out of Alex’s body involuntarily.

Startled, he instinctively tried to let go—

But the egg clung to his hand as though glued in place.

In mere moments, it drained nearly half of his mana.

Crack~!

A fracture spread across its surface.

’Huh?!’

Alex’s eyes widened in shock.

From within the egg, a small, palm-sized serpentine (eastern fantasy) dragon emerged, slithering gracefully into the air before him.

It resembled the Infernal Dragon Alex had seen within the Fury family’s ancestral grounds in Ashen Castle.

But there was a stark difference.

Where that dragon bore dark, ominous scales, this one shimmered in radiant gold— its colour nearly identical to that of Providence itself.

In fact...

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this dragon had been born from condensed Providence.

A faint purple-gold aura radiated from its body, echoing the unique signature of Alex’s fused bloodline.

More importantly, unlike the Infernal Dragon it mirrored in form, this wingless serpentine creature did not exude pure malevolence.

It felt... balanced.

Or rather—

It carried equal parts benevolence and malevolence.

Its gaze met Alex’s.

Gentle on the surface, yet beneath it lurked the unmistakable presence of a predator.

The dragon hovered calmly before him.

Its aura was unmistakably draconic— but layered atop it was something else...

A regal, kingly presence.

And beneath that, an imposing sense of tyranny.

On its forehead, a familiar mark gleamed.

The National Fortune Greater Rune— the very same rune that had appeared on the egg after absorbing Alex’s energies.

’A Fortune-Suppressing Dragon, huh...’ Alex muttered to himself.

He wasn’t entirely sure whether it was coincidence or not, but the Empire Providence legacy passed down to him by One Heaven bore a striking resemblance to the Dynasty Fortune methods often depicted in Eastern fantasy literature from his previous life.

Because of that, Alex felt he might actually understand the system better than One Heaven himself.

’In fact... I doubt One Heaven even came up with the method,’ he thought.

One Heaven’s earlier explanation had been somewhat disjointed— less like a creator explaining his work, and more like someone trying to recall and relay knowledge that wasn’t originally theirs.

’I suspect it was the Heavenly Venerable who conceived it... and One Heaven merely implemented it using the power of the Heaven and Earth,’ Alex mused.

He shook his head lightly.

’Well, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that the method is now in my hands.’

Alex extended his hand toward the Fortune-Suppressing Dragon.

The little creature responded by gently rubbing its head against his palm.

Then, as if satisfied, it floated away— returning to Lord Bonsai’s crown, where it nestled among the leaves and curled up to rest.

As he watched it, a subtle understanding surfaced within Alex’s mind.

Whether through instinct, or through his connection to the dragon—

He knew.

The dragon was condensing the Providence of his party into its own form, storing it so that he could draw upon the power born from it whenever necessary.

He didn’t need to actively manage the process.

It would happen, automatically.

More than that, the dragon also served as a living indicator of his organisation’s growth.

The Fortune-Suppressing Dragon was essentially a physical representation of the organisation’s Providence.

Its growth was the growth of his power.

Alex nodded slowly, satisfied.

Then, he shifted his focus away from the Sanctuary and its inhabitants.

There was something far more important waiting for him.

’I should leave,’ he thought.

’I have a spell to cast.’

***