Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 936: Levels of Spatial Control I

CH936 Levels of Spatial Control I

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To Alex’s surprise, the usually dispassionate Master Sahira became quite animated.

“What do you know?! Everything about the Coinage Moonstone Ring is brilliant. The rim of the ring was created from high-purity exotic metals which symbolise coinage and wealth across most Planes.

“Orichalcum representing Copper, Mithril representing Silver, Refined Gold for of course, gold, and Adamantium, which represent both the finest Platinum and the perfection of diamond gemstones—each refined to its highest purity and perfectly alloyed together without diminishing either the individual metal’s value or the concept of Fortune they represent.

“Then there is the gemstone itself. Even if you are not a Space Mage, as a Mage yourself, surely you understand how difficult it is to obtain and handle Spatial Energy. Not only did the creator of the Coinage Moonstone obtain a large amount of Spatial Energy, they were able to perfectly handle it—enough that they were able to condense it into the moonstone gemstone that served as the body of the ring’s Interspatial storage phenomenon.”

Alex was taken aback by the Sphinx Master Space Mage’s animated description.

‘Weren’t Sphinxes supposed to be expressionless and dispassionate? Why does she look like a diehard fangirl?’ Alex wondered to himself.

Even Asta felt a bit of second-hand embarrassment on her master’s behalf.

“Is the ring and its creator really that great?” Alex asked wryly.

“Are they that great? What I mentioned aren’t even the most important parts. It is the Interspatial Formation itself,” Master Sahira revealed.

“The Interspatial Formation? What about it?” Alex asked, urging her to continue.

“Two things.” Master Sahira raised two fingers. “First, the Interspatial Formation was so complex that not even the team of Grandmaster Runesmiths investigating it could make sense of how it functioned. All they could do was blindly copy it so that the different major powers could have a copy for independent investigation.”

‘Oh, looks like the encryption held. Between the Semi-Greater Runes and the disarrayed gibberish form of the Formation, it seems the security of the Interspatial Formation remains unbreeched.’ Alex mused to himself.

‘However, I can’t get too cocky. The fact that they were able to breach the gemstone’s structure and copy the entire Runic code was completely outside my expectations.’

‘I wonder if a new Interspatial Ring would form if they activate the copied Formation.’ Alex thought. His eyes glowed with curiosity. ‘That would be interesting.’

“That sounds interesting. How was the Runic Formation stored, Master Sahira?” Alex asked.

“How else? In a magical Rune Scroll.”

Alex’s question caught Master Sahira off guard, and she barely answered offhandedly.

‘Oh.’ Alex became deflated. ‘Are they dumb? Why would you copy a dynamic logic code onto a static medium? At this rate, they will never be able to properly test whether the copied code can be activated as is without Orion initiating the activation.’

Master Sahira missed Alex’s disappointment as she continued.

“The second and most important thing that makes the Interspatial Formation so great is that it shows that its creator—Oni Head, Hattori Hanzo—has broken through the limitations of ordinary Space Mages like myself and stepped into the realm of Spatial Engineering.”

‘Huh? I broke through what?’ Alex raised an eyebrow.

“Spatial Engineering? What is that?” he probed.

Master Sahira seemed to recover herself at the question. She returned to her seat calmly, reverting to her teacherly self.

“I belong to the school of thought that believes Spatial control or usage exists at three levels.

“The first level is Spatial Exploitation, which I have explained extensively, and it’s the level at which most, if not all, Space Mages exist.

“Beyond this is the second level, Spatial Engineering. This goes beyond simply exploiting the nature and reactions of space. As its name implies, it requires extremely advanced, deliberately constructed, stable spatial systems. These systems do not need instability in space; they make space serve a specific function at all times.

“For example, the Interspatial Formation of the Coinage Moonstone Ring, which taps into a region of space and turns it into a stable, safe, permanent storage space.” Master Sahira explained.

“That sounds… impressive?” Alex commented.

It was obvious from his tone, however, that he didn’t really understand the superiority of this level over the previous one.

“Impressive doesn’t begin to do this justice, Young Master Alex,” Master Sahira replied.

“Since almost every Space Mage relies on instability in Space, the phenomena we produce are temporary in nature. That is why portals and other constructs we create only activate for a relatively short period of time—a temporary activation. Once Space returns to stability, the effect disappears with it.

“On the other hand, an Engineered Spatial construct creates a permanent effect because it uses stable Space to create the intended phenomenon. As such, regardless of whether Space is stable or unstable, the effect remains. Essentially, this is controlling or making Space act in a certain way at all times.”

“Aside from the Coinage Moonstone, I know of only two such permanent constructs—the Interplanar Eyes and the Sub-dimensions of our Planes.” Master Sahira revealed.

Then she added, “Well, we can even argue that only the Interplanar Eyes can be considered true Engineered Spatial constructs. The Sub-dimensions are actually products of the Natural Order.”

“Do you now understand its import?” She gazed at Alex.

Alex barely stopped his jaw from dropping.

“You are saying the Coinage Moonstone Ring is arguably on the same level as the Interplanar Eyes—artefacts which ushered our Plane into the era of Interplanar travel and conquest?” he asked, stunned.

“Yes.” Master Sahira nodded without a shred of doubt.

“I see…” Alex was completely stunned.

‘Just what did I create?’ he thought to himself as he leaned back into his seat weakly.

“The different Interplanar Eye constructs held by the various Empires have been the sole Engineered Spatial constructs on our Plane for the past millennium. Oni Head, Hattori Hanzo, broke that record with his Coinage Moonstone Interspatial Ring.

“And judging from the methods he used, we don’t believe this is all he can do. In fact, the major powers expect that Oni Head will deliver another groundbreaking product in the coming years.

“As a result of this, Hattori Hanzo is considered an honorary Tier VI Artisan and Space Mage.”

Artisan—meaning an equal proficiency in Alchemy, Forgesmithing and Runesmithing.

Alex was completely speechless.

He knew the Coinage Moonstone Ring would turn heads, but he didn’t expect the impact to be this earth-shattering.

Asta smiled mischievously while watching the interaction between Alex and her teacher.

“Teacher, what is the final level of Spatial control? You’ve never told me. Surely, you won’t leave Young Master Alex in suspense as well now, would you?” she said playfully.

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