Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 888: Alex, the Product

CH888 Alex, the Product

***

Rather than respond, Zora took out her Rune Phone—a high-end model with all the released functionalities of a Rune Phone—and sent a text document to Megan’s Rune Phone.

Megan raised an eyebrow when she received the message, but it didn’t take long for her to deduce that Zora had likely gotten her Rune Phone ID from Udara.

However, this was wrong. Zora had simply used her Sub-Admin access to request the ID from Orion.

‘For accepting this meeting, a sum of 5 million gold coins and a squad of Tier III Magic Armours from a Grandmaster-owned or affiliated Magic Armour design company!’

Megan’s eyes shook when she saw the content of the text document.

“What is this?” she asked.

“Earl Drake informed me in a previous private conversation of your base demands for a suitor…” Zora spoke. “Alex can more than cover the list of your demands. Therefore, by your own given standards, that is proof of his capability.

“Of course, knowing him, he likely won’t go this route, which is why Earl Drake didn’t tell him about it and instead informed me. Likewise, I doubt you actually intend to use this metric. I suspect it is just something you put out there to dissuade certain flies from hounding you.”

“You expect me to believe Alex can afford this?” Megan said.

“The Magic Armours are already en route to your fiefdom. As for the gold, you can call the Golden Palace branch manager in your fiefdom. I am sure they can confirm that the gold is available for you to use or pick up at any time convenient to you,” Zora replied.

She looked at the woman opposite her.

“You mentioned Alex has no qualities to point to? That’s because he is an enigma. Unlike other nobles his age, he keeps his achievements under wraps. If his achievements were made known, he would be amongst the most eligible bachelors—not only in the Fury Clan, not even in the Virellian Empire—but in the entirety of our Plane,” Zora said.

She paused for a moment.

“Then again, perhaps that’s why he keeps things under wraps. He knows first-hand the dark side of people’s expectations.” She said, shaking her head.

“You expect me to believe all that?” Megan said.

Although Megan’s words sounded like she was in disbelief of what she had heard, Zora noticed that there wasn’t actually disbelief in her tone, but rather…

‘A request for confirmation…?’ Zora wondered.

She doubted whether she had heard correctly.

“Yes,” Zora nodded. “Although it isn’t publicly known at the moment, Alex is one of the biggest self-made individuals on our Plane. Your entire fiefdom’s holdings amount to five million gold coins annually, right? Well, Alex makes at least 200 times that annually. In fact, the allowance Eleanore, Udara and I get annually is far more than your entire fiefdom makes, which is why I am able to pay for this meeting out of pocket.

“This isn’t to diminish your efforts for your fiefdom or your own value. I am simply stating Alex’s financial capability—a particular capability that you and your domain lack.

“Despite making millions of gold coins annually, I suspect that all that amount is reinvested wholly back into your territory, considering its poor geographical location.”

One of the reasons Countess Megan, a commoner within Clan Fury, was able to become a noble was because her original IronRose Barony was located in a barren area. It lacked both food and any major profitable resources. This was a big reason why Megan took a more militant approach in the operation of her territory, sacking and taking over nearby territories for their resources and supply routes.

The battle between her and Earl Hertarian—father of Marcus Hertarian, Alex’s failed bully back in his first years in the DragonHold Enclave—originated as a result of food trade and trade route disputes.

Earl Hertarian not only seized a valuable food convoy heading to Megan’s fiefdom, but also completely closed down a key trade route used by her domain.

Megan attacked to recover the convoy and seize control over the trade route, preventing such future actions.

Due to a lack of many essential resources and a resulting prioritisation of military might, most, if not all, of Countess Megan’s earnings went back into her domain in one form or another, particularly as recurring expenditure primarily used to obtain food and equipment for her citizens and army.

If Megan were to form a union with Alex, much of her money and resource problems would be solved, literally overnight.

A domain and its army which could already make a name for itself as one of the strongest, especially amongst a militant bunch like the Fury Clan; one could imagine the heights it could reach when it had access to better resources.

“Aside from his financial capability, Alex also has an extensive network that can get him almost any resource he wants—at the very least, he can provide you with the resources your domain needs.

“For instance, I believe you are aware that the design companies that make the best Magic Armour of each tier often have trade agreements with established Houses. As such, it is difficult for young nobles such as yourself to obtain the true gems of this important armament. Alex has no such troubles and can help you with that.

“And this is not limited to Magic Armours; it includes other resources as well,” Zora revealed.

“Then, there is his own power,” Zora said enticingly. “Alex is a Rune Master, a special class that is essentially proficient in all uses of Runes; Inscriptions, Formations… Alex can do them all.

“Then there are these…”

Zora suddenly removed her top to reveal her torso. She willed it, and her Siphon and Spell Enhancement Rune Tattoos revealed themselves.

Megan was surprised when the woman suddenly removed her clothes; however, that gave way to greater shock when she saw the Rune Tattoos on the woman’s arm.

“Wildkin’s Ancestral Markings?” she uttered.

“No, but close.” Zora shook her head. “They are called Rune Tattoos. They are one of the different proprietary applications of Alex’s unique Rune Master class.

“They are similar to the Ancestral Markings of Wildkins that you mentioned, in that some Rune Tattoos mainly serve to increase a bearer’s attributes while others grant the bearer special abilities. But they are so much more than that.”

Zora casually conjured a small ice nail. However, as insignificant as it looked, Megan detected that the small ice nail packed more power than something of its size should.

Seeing that her audience got the gist of her demonstration, Zora dismissed the spell.

“You can think of them as serving a similar function to Magic Armours, only that these Rune Tattoos are inscribed directly onto the bearer’s skin.”

Zora spoke as she put her clothes back on.

She looked at Megan and said, “Financially, politically, militarily, hard power, cultivation influence… be it for you personally or the domain and people you care about and have gone to great lengths to provide for, Alex can assist.

“And this is on top of the advantage that you know him and care for him—perhaps not romantically—as he cares for you too. He is arguably your best option amongst the possible candidates,” Zora concluded.

‘I know him?’ Megan thought to herself. ‘I don’t think I do—not anymore.’

The Alex Fury she knew, and the one Zora had just described to her, were a far cry from one another.

It reminded her that she hadn’t had a proper conversation with him since he came of age. They had been too busy with their own lives to properly catch up.

She shook her head slightly, then turned back to Zora. Now that parity of value—to an extent—was established, there was only one thing she should obviously do.

“Alright, I’ll hear you out on terms.”

***