[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-re-tales-of-the-rune-tech-sage":3,"chapter-re-tales-of-the-rune-tech-sage-re-tales-of-the-rune-tech-sage-chapter-68":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},147731,246,"Chapter 67: Worst Case Scenario","re-tales-of-the-rune-tech-sage-chapter-68",68,"\u003Cp>CH67 Worst Case Scenario\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>***\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The way creatures reacted to life depended not only on their nature, but also on their nurture — the environment that shaped them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During his time in the Subspace, Alex had witnessed how the Crimsonspine-Frostback pack defied natural hostility between their breeds. The lack of environmental adversity allowed two typically warring wolf strains to evolve into a coexistent tribe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, with the Spindlecarve Mite, Alex saw another side of nurture: adaptability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After almost two months in captivity, the Mite had stopped resisting or trying to escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its rudimentary intelligence made it possible for Alex to train it in some basic behavioural commands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once awake, the Mite didn’t even attempt to escape, despite Alex having undone its bindings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, its beady eyes turned to him, awaiting instruction. According to its conditioned training, it would either be directed to its insect accommodation or given food.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Essentially, it had grown accustomed to the soft life under Alex’s care.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>--\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Using techniques he’d learned from a Beast Tamer at the Enclave, Alex had gradually trained the creature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the aid of his Spirit Sight, he had also begun deducing the likely function of the Ancestral Marking on the Mite’s carapace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His current hypothesis? The marking was a filtration mechanism — capable of detecting and separating mana and bloodline essence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It made sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Spindlecarve Mites bored into bones to absorb lingering Essence. Over time, they had likely developed a specialised structure to prevent overload or corruption from foreign magic and bloodlines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Organic tests conducted by a bio-alchemist confirmed that the Mite’s genetic material was extremely unstable. Under magical radiation, it mutated at a high rate — a likely result of feeding on varied bone and blood sources.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ancestral Marking must be the creature’s natural regulator — a sort of biological firewall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the old saying went: Mother Nature always finds a way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>--\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, this was all theoretical.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thankfully, Alex now had the Detector Rune to put his theories to the test.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He instructed the Mite to fly into its feeding enclosure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Obediently, the carapace split, exposing transparent wings that buzzed softly as it took flight and landed in the feeding case.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alex dropped in a bone still dripping with blood and fat — freshly harvested from a Class 1 Magic Beast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This had been the Mite’s diet for nearly two months. Luxurious, by the scavenger insect’s standards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>--\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alex watched intently, recording every movement, every response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Mite fed as expected. No strange behaviour. No magical feedback.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything remained normal — a good sign. Stability was critical if he hoped to get clean readings when the Ancestral Marking activated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>About an hour later, the Mite had hollowed out the bone and, a little wobbly, returned to its insect accommodation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It curled up to rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, faintly at first, the Ancestral Marking shimmered to life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>--\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The response was promising.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The marking synchronised perfectly with the Detector Rune, which began transmitting readable signal patterns to the OmniRune Core.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alex sat back, cautiously optimistic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ancestral Marking usually stayed active for about half the time the Mite spent feeding. After thirty uninterrupted minutes, Alex finally let out a sigh of relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything was going according to plan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>--\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He closed the pen housing the Mite and headed over to review the data processed by the OmniRune Core’s internal AI.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as he began mentally parsing the results, a sudden thudding noise from the enclosure made his eyes snap open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud. Thud. Crash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alex rushed over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through the transparent, reinforced glass, he saw the Spindlecarve Mite convulsing violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>--\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through the OmniRune Core, Alex immediately sensed a spike — a resonance surge between the Detector Rune and the Ancestral Marking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then something went wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Rune Tattoo began rewriting itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Line by line, glyph by glyph, it merged with the Ancestral Marking — forming a new composite structure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not just a reaction. A fusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>--\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, the disaster with the Spatial Formation Array had taught Alex a painful lesson.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, he had embedded a failsafe within the rune logic — a command layer that would force a controlled self-destruction if the rune deviated from its design.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That trigger activated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rune initiated a breakdown sequence, burning out key lines of its structure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>--\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it was too late.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The merging was already complete.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Rune and the Ancestral Marking became one — a new entity — and faded into the Mite’s carapace, absorbed completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alex stood there, silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The consequences... unknown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alex frowned deeply—about as much as his facial muscles allowed—as he observed the alarming, unexpected turn of events.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The plan had been simple. In theory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Develop a Detector Rune capable of monitoring the function and behaviour of a single Ancestral Marking. Then, once stability and accuracy were confirmed, gradually scale up to observe larger and more complex Markings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the data gained, Alex could slowly build a true understanding of these so-called Ancestral Markings—what they did, how they operated, and how they interacted with magical systems.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eventually, he hoped to create a Rune–Ancestral Marking Interface—a framework to safely apply runic modifications to these mysterious biological inscriptions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the vision. A long-term, layered plan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before any of that, Alex had to overcome the first major hurdle: creating a Detector Rune that could safely interact with and analyse an Ancestral Marking without interfering with its function.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The requirements were strict. The rune had to:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Detect the operation of the Ancestral Marking. Maintain zero interference—no feedback, no mutations, no changes to the marking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alex had been meticulous. He had written strict rune logic protocols to prevent interference, even encoding a failsafe: if the rune detected anomalous interaction, it would self-destruct before any instability could spread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet... the worst-case scenario still occurred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’How could this happen?’ Alex calmly mused, expression blank but mind racing. ’I followed every protocol. I accounted for all relevant variables when writing the rune logic. I even consulted a Master Bio-alchemist. I took every precaution.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His frown deepened slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’This shouldn’t have happened.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was almost completely—99.98%—certain that the catastrophic fusion was not caused by a fault in his rune’s design.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Then that only leaves one possibility. The issue didn’t come from my side... but from something outside my understanding.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His ruby eyes turned toward the most likely source of that unknown variable:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ancestral Marking itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>***\u003C\u002Fp>",1065,"2026-05-29T03:49:10.136Z","2026-06-01T04:29:07.188Z",1,"novelbin.me","f9dbf4c23f0718e7a29e2515df58f6dfabc7bda04ad8b67c73f53b2e56c8aee7","re-tales-of-the-rune-tech-sage-chapter-69","re-tales-of-the-rune-tech-sage-chapter-67",692,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fre-tales-of-the-rune-tech-sage-cover.jpg"]