Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 805: Fortune Standard Combat Energy (FoSCE) Training Manual II

CH805 Fortuna Standard Combat Energy (FoSCE) Training Manual II

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These Apertures were similar to Mana Pathways in that they served as vessels through which energy flowed throughout a professional’s body.

However, they differed in one crucial respect. Unlike Mana Pathways, which were innately fixed, Apertures were more akin to a brain’s neural network—they could be formed, strengthened, or broken down according to one’s needs and continued use.

The brain forms neural networks that instruct different parts of the body to carry out specific tasks. The more frequently those tasks are performed, the more the brain strengthens the corresponding neural pathways—and the opposite is equally true.

Strongly reinforced neural networks are what enable instinctive actions such as muscle memory and even addiction withdrawal responses.

Applying this analogy to Apertures, they function as energy networks that channel Combat Energy throughout the body along predetermined pathways—an Energy Circulation Network.

Every Combat Energy Training Manual possesses its own unique Energy Circulation Network. Superior manuals establish more efficient circulation routes, allowing Combat Energy to move more effectively throughout the body and to and from the Aperture Cluster, or Combat Energy Core (dantian).

The malleability of these Aperture Networks is what allows a practitioner to change Combat Energy Training Manuals with relative ease.

It is essentially a matter of dismantling the existing Aperture Network—or circulation route—created by the previous manual before constructing a new one according to the requirements of the replacement.

A Combat Warrior’s talent is therefore determined by the number of Apertures they possess. Sixteen Apertures indicate mediocre talent, thirty-two is considered average, while sixty-four is regarded as gifted. Historical records even mention individuals possessing one hundred and twenty-eight Apertures, although such cases were only documented during the ancient era.

The greater the number of Apertures, the easier it becomes to construct the circulation routes required by Combat Energy Training Manuals. Generally speaking, the higher the quality of the manual, the more intricate the circulation network it demands. As such, possessing more Apertures makes forming these complex pathways throughout the body considerably easier.

Alex’s plan was actually quite simple. He intended to merge Verdantian cultivation methods with Pangean ones by taking advantage of the flexibility and interconnected nature of the Aperture Network.

‘Master would never have imagined I’d use the Astral Manual like this,’ Alex chuckled to himself.

The cultivation manual taught to him by Uthvaazgol allowed its practitioner to channel mana directly from their Mana Pathways into their cells, blurring the line between Mage and Knight.

Alex intended to apply a similar principle.

‘The idea is to create an Energy Circulation Network using Apertures that feeds circulating Combat Energy into the blood vessels in such a way that it is carried throughout the body’s cells, much like Internal Energy,’ Alex mused to himself.

With OmniRune’s assistance, Alex deduced the most efficient Combat Energy circulation network theoretically possible.

The end result wasn’t a single, simple circulation route, but rather a network that became increasingly complex depending on the number of Apertures possessed by the practitioner. In theory, it could therefore be cultivated by anyone, regardless of whether they possessed sixteen Apertures or the theoretical maximum of five hundred and twelve.

Why five hundred and twelve Apertures?

According to OmniRune’s calculations, the most efficient possible energy circulation throughout the human body could only be achieved with a network of five hundred and twelve interconnected Apertures.

Since no one had possessed even one hundred and twenty-eight Apertures for a very long time—let alone five hundred and twelve—OmniRune simply simplified the circulation network for practitioners with fewer Apertures, inevitably resulting in reduced performance with each lower Aperture count.

Having derived the optimal circulation route for every known Aperture talent, Alex then applied the principles of the Astral Manual to connect the free ends of the Aperture Network along the theoretical circulation route to nearby blood vessels throughout the body.

In this way, whenever someone cultivated the method, they would effectively be linking their Combat Energy circulation with their blood circulation.

In theory, this would allow Combat Energy to mix with the vital energy contained within the blood and cells—Vitality—to produce a new form of energy similar to Internal Energy, while hopefully eliminating Combat Energy’s greatest flaw.

Well… that was the theory.

On paper, it should have worked.

The method even performed perfectly within simulations run using OmniRune’s simulation function.

Reality, however, proved far less cooperative.

The first iteration of the Fortuna Standard Combat Energy (FoSCE) Manual was conceived just one month after the Domain Council meeting.

Five months later, the results of the manual’s beta testing were finally available.

The method wasn’t the resounding success Alex had hoped for.

It successfully introduced novices to the world of Combat Energy cultivation, steadily producing a number of Combat Warriors candidates who were able to sense and absorb energy into their bodies.

Existing Combat Warriors candidates who switched to the method also finally completed their first circulation, thus advancing to the Bronze rank, becoming true Combat Masters in their own right.

However, that was where the successes ended.

None of the Bronze-rank testers or those above them advanced to the next rank. In fact, they all reported reaching a cultivation bottleneck. Before long, many even began to experience a gradual decline despite continuing to practise the manual.

This meant the first version of the FoSCE Manual was only effective up to Bronze rank.

Even so, it wasn’t an outright failure.

The Bronze-rank Combat Warriors and those above who had trained using the FoSCE Manual before switching back to more established Combat Energy Manuals reported significantly greater familiarity with, and ease of adapting to, their new cultivation methods.

At the very least, the FoSCE had proven itself to be an excellent introductory Combat Energy Manual—one that greatly simplified the transition to more advanced cultivation methods.

Thanks to this, the number of Bronze-rank Combat Warriors within the domain increased significantly in the months leading up to the expected Berserk Beast Tide.

However, no matter how many times Alex examined the FoSCE Manual, he still couldn’t identify the cause of its failure.

His methodology was sound, and the fact that the manual functioned at all suggested that its underlying principles were valid.

Unfortunately, as always, he simply didn’t have the time to thoroughly investigate the problem. Too many matters throughout the domain demanded his immediate attention.

All he could do was delegate the issue to OmniRune, instructing it to compare the FoSCE against the other Combat Energy Manuals they had collected and identify potential points of failure.

With no better option available, Alex was forced to set the matter aside as heavy rains heralded the descent of the Berserk Beasts upon the Frontier March.

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