Chapter 603: Rune Sage I - Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

CH603 Rune Sage I *** "How is that possible?" Alex asked. "I am not entirely certain of the exact mechanism," One Heaven admitted. "This was something the Heavenly Venerable devised shortly before the final battle against Gu Mo, when he observed the Dragon Emperor using Dragon Tongue to cast various mystic arts." "The underlying reason appears to be tied to language." "Language?" Alex echoed. "Yes," One Heaven nodded. Stroking his beard, he continued, "For those of us with the required talent, spellcasting is essentially a form of communication— a language used to interact with the Universe and bring about specific phenomena." "However, not all forms of communication— not all languages... are equal." "The Universe responds to some more quickly —and more strongly— than others." "Based on the caster’s rank and providence?" Alex asked. "Those as well, yes," One Heaven replied. "But there are additional factors." "Quite literally, the language you use plays a significant role." "As I mentioned earlier, this theory arose when the Heavenly Venerable witnessed the Dragon Emperor using Dragon Tongue to cast stronger versions of identical spells. "From this, he concluded that Dragon Tongue must carry greater worth in the eyes of the Universe than our Verdantian common tongue." "Wait..." Alex’s eyes sharpened. "Are you saying that literal languages themselves possess Providence in the eyes of the Universe?" "According to the Heavenly Venerable, yes," One Heaven confirmed. "He proposed that there exists a hierarchy of languages, determined by their respective Providence." "The higher a language stands within that hierarchy, the faster and more powerfully the Universe responds to any Mystic Art or spell cast through it." "And based on this conclusion, he formulated two key postulates." One Heaven raised two fingers. "First— the Providence of a language is determined by three factors: "The number of individuals who have ever spoken it— its collective providence. "The length of time it has existed— its longevity providence. "And the number of powerful individuals who have emerged from its users— its elite-quality providence." "Second— each language, based on the Providence it shares among its active users, possesses what can be termed Language Power." "This Language Power determines how much a spell’s difficulty can be reduced, and how much its casting speed can be increased, especially for higher-grade spells." Upon hearing this, Alex immediately experienced a moment of clarity. ’So... that’s why Dragon Tongue is so powerful,’ he muttered inwardly. ’Unlike humans, who have countless languages spread across different planes, there is only one Dragon Tongue throughout the entire universe.’ ’Dragons within a single plane might not be numerous compared to other races... but when viewed on a universal scale, their total number must be staggering.’ ’And beyond that, Dragon Tongue has existed since the very birth of the dragon race— which likely traces back to the first dragon at the dawn of creation.’ ’Its age alone is immeasurable.’ ’As for powerful individuals... that hardly needs explanation. The dragon race has always been the quintessential symbol of power across countless planes.’ ’With those three factors combined... it would be strange if Dragon Tongue didn’t possess overwhelmingly high Language Providence.’ He paused briefly, then shifted his thoughts toward the second postulate. ’As for Language Power...’ ’Although almost all dragons use Dragon Tongue for spellcasting, the number of dragons existing at any given time is probably relatively small— even on a universal scale. ’Especially when compared to the sheer number of human spellcasters within any plane where humans dominate.’ ’It must be because of this smaller numbers of theirs that Dragon Tongue possesses such overwhelming Language Power, making its inherent quality for spellcasting far surpass other languages.’ ’No wonder it is so sought after for casting high-grade spells.’ A faint chuckle echoed in his mind. ’I really lucked out... gaining a dragon — no, an Ancient Dragon — as my master, and learning Dragon Tongue in the process.’ "Finally," One Heaven continued, "the Heavenly Venerable concluded that when casting high-grade spells —that is, requesting the Universe to manifest higher-level phenomena— it is most effective to use a language with greater Language Power." "In doing so, the language itself bears a significant portion of the burden of the spell on behalf of the caster." His gaze shifted toward the scroll in Alex’s hand. "I am telling you all this because to utilise the method contained within that scroll, while minimising reliance on the raw power of Heaven and Earth, we had to rely on —and exploit— Language Power." "The Heavenly Venerable knew of a dead language which, during our time, was used by only a few individuals, yet had existed for an incredibly long period," One Heaven explained. "The fact that the language was no longer widely used actually worked to our advantage." "It meant that its Language Power exceeded that of most other languages we could consider." "So, while this method can, in theory, create any Mystic Art or casting technique. "But whether it actually succeeds in practice depends on numerous factors— factors that someone of your current rank may not yet be able to fulfil. "It would be best for you to either learn and use a language with higher Language Power to reduce the burden... or avoid using this method for anything overly complex." Alex nodded in understanding. One Heaven expected him to simply memorise the method for later use. He was just about to rise and proceed with the final rites when Alex suddenly spoke. "Can I use it now?" One Heaven frowned instinctively. However, recalling the trials Alex had already overcome, he hesitated. The youth was not truly reckless —at least, not entirely— and he had a habit of achieving the unexpected. With that in mind, One Heaven suppressed the urge to reprimand him and instead gave a simple nod. He, too, was curious about what kind of Mystic Art Alex intended to create. Alex nodded in return, then stood up from the pavilion. He walked out into the open garden and sat down directly beneath the clear blue sky. Soon, he began to mutter softly. To One Heaven’s surprise, however, the language Alex spoke was completely unfamiliar. It was not Verdantian common tongue. Nor was it the language used by the Pangean members of Alex’s party. And most surprisingly of all, it was not Dragon Tongue— which One Heaven had fully expected him to use. ’Could it be... that he knows a language even stronger than Dragon Tongue?’ One Heaven wondered. Yet, he did not interrupt. He simply watched. What he did not know was that, Alex was not using any language from Pangea or Verdantis at all. He was using a language from his previous life. English. ***