Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 740: Genius Employment Agreement I

CH740 Genius Employment Agreement I ***

"That you are not from this plane."

Olyver’s words lingered in the air.

Alex looked at the man for a moment, considered the question, then shook his head.

"I doubt it," he replied calmly. "Most people believe I come from the Hidden Heaven—the safe haven of the supposed renegade sorcerers who reject the authority of the deities."

Olyver nodded, accepting the answer.

Alex merely smiled.

He was not particularly surprised that Olyver had pieced things together.

There had been plenty of clues.

The knowledge he possessed regarding planar geometry, the concepts he casually discussed, and especially the coordinate calculations they had worked through together were all glaring giveaways.

"Is your plane more advanced than ours?" Olyver suddenly asked.

"For the most part, yes," Alex replied. "At the very least, my civilisation has already achieved interplanar travel, whereas yours has not even begun seriously exploring the possibility."

He paused before continuing.

"Though, in the grand scheme of the universe, the gap between our two planes is not nearly as large as you might imagine.

"In fact, had your deities not spent the last millennium suppressing the natural development of this world, I suspect Verdantis would be much closer to my home plane than it is now."

Olyver frowned thoughtfully.

"What do you mean? Deities do not exist on your plane?"

"No." Alex shook his head. "Deity cultivation is regarded as a heretical path on my world. Any deity who refused to abandon that path was hunted down and killed by the major powerhouses of my plane millennia ago."

The statement caused Olyver’s eyes to widen slightly.

Alex continued calmly.

"The cultivation method used by deities is generally viewed as parasitic. It allows a small handful of individuals to siphon resources from the collective population of an entire plane for their own advancement.

"As a result, they hinder the plane, its inhabitants and their civilisation whose growth they are exploiting."

A long silence followed.

Eventually, Olyver asked, "So, from your perspective, our civilisation is backwards?"

"In many respects, yes," Alex answered honestly.

Olyver sighed.

He could not claim to be surprised.

Over the years, he had researched countless subjects condemned as heretical by the deities.

Many of those topics had led him to the simple conclusion that they possessed enormous potential to advance their civilisation.

Unfortunately, they were discoveries that would likely never see the light of day.

After all, regardless of whatever protection the Spirits might provide, the Pantheon remained the single most powerful force upon Verdantis.

And so long as that remained true, progress itself would continue to exist at their mercy.

In reality, non-deity-worshipping powers such as the Celahan Empire were only able to resist the deities and their faithful nations because the Pantheon was unwilling to commit the immense resources required to fully subjugate them.

If the Pantheon truly resolved to conquer the Celahan Empire and the other Spirit-aligned nations, they could likely accomplish it.

The problem was the cost. Any such victory would almost certainly be pyrrhic.

"Why did you come to our plane?" Olyver suddenly asked. "Did you come to prepare the way for an invasion from your own world?"

"Hahaha!"

Alex burst into laughter.

The question caught him so off guard that he nearly doubled over the table. He laughed so hard that tears began forming in the corners of his eyes.

It took considerable effort before he finally regained control of himself.

"You are not wrong to be suspicious," Alex admitted. "That is indeed how many interplanar expeditions from stronger planes to weaker ones begin.

"But in this case, that is not what happened. In fact, I never intended to come to Verdantis at all."

Olyver frowned, "What do you mean?"

"I was dragged here by your plane." Alex answered.

But it did little but deepened Olyver’s confusion.

Alex then proceeded to recount the events that had occurred after his expedition departed from Pangea.

Naturally, he omitted sensitive information, particularly anything relating to the identities of the Guardian Families and other key allies involved.

When he finally finished, Olyver sat quietly in thought.

After several moments, he spoke.

"So, to summarise..."

"You were caught in what was most likely a scheme orchestrated by hostile factions on your home plane. Your interplanar expedition was sabotaged, and by some mixture of fortune and destiny, you survived.

"Instead of dying, you were brought to Verdantis, where you have effectively become a tool meant to help the plane survive a looming tribulation—an external invader threatening it from the outside and the deities undermining it from within."

He looked at Alex.

"Did I understand that correctly?"

"That is essentially correct." Alex nodded.

Something suddenly clicked inside Olyver’s mind.

"Oh." His eyes widened slightly. "So that is why you said you carry the burden of billions upon your shoulders."

This time, Alex’s nod was slower and far more solemn.

"Yes."

Olyver fell silent.

Then, after a long pause, he spoke again.

"I take it back."

Alex blinked.

"Take what back?"

"I do not envy you anymore."

For a moment, Alex simply stared at him.

Then he broke into a wry laugh.

"Well, that is fair."

"Your plane possesses more advanced magical development, does it not?" Olyver suddenly asked as a while.

"If you manage to return home, wouldn’t you be able to bring back higher-ranked individuals to assist you? You come from a powerful House, correct?"

In Olyver’s mind, the answer seemed obvious.

The fact that Alex’s House could afford to send one of its heirs on an interplanar expedition suggested immense wealth and power.

After all, interplanar travel sounded like the sort of undertaking that should be far beyond the means of an ordinary noble House.

To his surprise, however, Alex shook his head.

"I do not think it would be that simple," he replied.

"While it is true that the powers of my nation—never mind my plane as a whole—could likely subdue your Pantheon with relative ease, calling upon such powers is neither something I can readily do nor something I particularly wish to do."

Olyver frowned.

"Why not?" He asked.

"Because the more advanced a civilisation becomes, the more factions, divisions, and competing interests it develops." Alex smiled wryly.

"Such is the irony of humanity." He added.

In a crude sense, Verdantis—a potential Class 8 plane—already belonged to him.

Or at least, it possessed the potential to become one of the greatest opportunities of his life.

Unfortunately, bringing in the overwhelming power necessary to immediately crush the Pantheon would also mean surrendering many of the benefits associated with laying claim to the plane for himself.

Even if he called upon Merlin’s assistance, mobilising the force necessary to resolve the crisis outright would still come at a tremendous cost.

Ideally, such a price should be insignificant when weighed against the lives of billions.

Realistically, however, very few people—Alex included—would willingly surrender such benefits.

Humans were rarely that selfless.

Alex’s gaze drifted into the distance.

’Besides, if I bring in forces capable of dealing with an entire pantheon of Class 7 Navi and a Class 8 interplanar invader, those powers will not simply leave once the battle is over.’

His expression darkened slightly.

’They would inevitably develop interests of their own. And, in the end, they would simply replace the very threat they displaced.’

’At the end of the day, the better solution is to resolve Verdantis’ tribulation gradually rather than relying upon a quick fix.’

Alex inwardly nodded.

’It is the best win-win outcome for both myself and Verdantis.’

At the very least, that was what he chose to believe.

Olyver looked at Alex and sensed that there was more behind his reluctance than a mere struggle over benefits.

He also understood, at least vaguely, that it would not bode well for Verdantis in the long run if greater powers from Alex’s home plane arrived here.

Alex bore no hostility towards Verdantis.

However, that was Alex.

One could not assume stronger individuals would share the same sentiments.

Power often changed people. And even when it did not, power tended to attract interests.

Both men fell silent, contemplating the matter from different perspectives, yet arriving at much the same conclusion.

After a while, Alex shook his head. There was little point dwelling on it for now.

He pushed the subject aside and turned his attention back to Olyver.

"Enough about me," he said suddenly. "Let’s talk about you."

"What about me?" Olyver asked.

Alex smiled.

"What are you planning to do now? Are you going to compete for your father’s seat?"

"Why would I?" Olyver replied, shaking his head.

"You could raise the Duchy to heights it has never reached before."

Olyver shook his head again.

"Raising the Duchy much higher than its current position would place it in direct contention with the Imperial Family," he said.

"If I wished to do that, I would need capable subordinates at my side. Unfortunately, I lack the charisma required to attract and retain such people."

Alex opened his mouth to respond, but Olyver raised a hand and cut him off.

"I know what you are about to say. You are going to tell me that I can bind people through wealth, opportunities, influence, or some other form of benefit."

Alex smiled faintly.

Olyver continued.

"And you would not be wrong. However, as you pointed out earlier, humans are irrational creatures."

"The very benefits I provide could become the source of their greed. The opportunities I create could encourage greater ambitions. And the rewards I offer today may cease to satisfy them tomorrow."

A trace of helplessness appeared in his eyes.

"There are countless ways things could go wrong."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"But that is not the real issue.

"The real issue is that, because of my nature, I lack the social instincts necessary to notice those changes before they become dangerous."

***