CH275 Rune-Net Capitalism

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Now that Alex had a working proof of concept—battle-tested in the crucible of war—he was eager to push the boundaries further.

He had already proven he could convert Spell Formations into Array Formations, and even transform an Array Formation into a Rune Tattoo.

He now turned his attention to converting a Spell Formation directly into a Rune Tattoo.

That breakthrough alone would unlock an entirely new field of possibility.

Take [Link], for example. If adapted into a Rune Tattoo, it could bind an entire group together, forging a metaphysical network that allowed the sharing of resources—Mana, Internal Energy, Spiritual Force—along with their momentum and even their defence.

Alex envisioned a cavalry unit bearing this [Link] Tattoo, both riders and mounts bound together into a single, unified force. At the moment of charge, the Rune Tattoo would weave them into a metaphysical spearhead—pooling power together to slam through enemy ranks with overwhelming might.

Once that base was in place, other tattoos could be layered on top and the cost distributed evenly across the linked unit:

[Speed Boost] to accelerate the charge, with [Link] ensuring their collective momentum didn't scatter but locked into formation.

[Reinforcement] to harden their bodies and mounts, making them resilient enough to withstand the brutal impact.

[Rejuvenation] to restore stamina and recovery during prolonged engagements.

And those were only the most immediate applications. The more Alex thought about it, the more pathways unfolded before him.

"Thinking about it now… I might even be able to combine all of these into a single Rune Tattoo. The difficulty would rise by several notches, but the result… the result could mark the next evolution of my Rune Tattoos."

This new tier of tattoo would stand to Rune Tattoos as Grand Arrays stood to ordinary Arrays.

In other words—higher-tier Rune Tattoos.

In Alex's minds, Attribute Tattoos were the first tier, basic spell-derived tattoos would formed the second tier, and these envisioned Grand Array-like constructs –combining functionality of tattoos of the previous tiers—would sit as the third tier.

"Only a third-tier tattoo would be worthy of being inscribed on a perfect canvas like Udara's body," Alex reasoned, his mind already racing ahead.

While the concept was sound in theory, Alex didn't actually have much to show for it in practice.

Then again, due to the sheer complexity of the Tattoo, and the fact that it incorporated many more effects than a simple energy-gathering formation, the Rune Tattoo on the Voidheart Core was coincidentally already a third-tier Rune Tattoo—arguably so.

Originally, Alex had planned to take the time after the war campaign to flesh out his new ideas on Rune Tattoos. Unfortunately, it seemed time was no longer on his side.

He pondered for a long while on how he could possibly fast-track the development of these Tier III Rune Tattoos.

Eventually, he settled on a familiar solution—OmniRune Core A.I, his ever-reliable Mage Assistant.

Once again, Alex decided to create a Sub-AI model, this one specifically tasked with converting Spells into Rune Tattoos.

"Well, since I'll have to write out the entire logic routine for it, I might as well make it a full interconversion system for Runic Arrays, Spell Formations, and Rune Tattoos," Alex mused to himself.

"My only concern is the difficulty. Can I even come up with the full logic framework for such an undertaking at all—never mind in time before the scheduled planar travel? Or should I just focus on producing a single workable product right now?" He weighed his options carefully, but no clear decision came to him.

Mostly because there was another matter pressing on his mind.

Alex turned his gaze to another report he had compiled.

The cameras placed around the Ashen Castle training grounds had finally borne fruit. OmniRune's Sub-AI, which had been tasked with processing the gathered training footage of Fury soldiers, reported success—it had successfully deduced the combat manual for the Fury Army's basic fighting method.

With an upgrade from Alex, the Sub-AI could also process hours of combat data captured by him personally, process it, and extract the useful information to further update and refine the combat manual it had already compiled.

This was crucial.

Once the Nest Queen became fully operational, a completed combat manual could be slotted directly into her drones, drastically reducing the time needed to turn them into effective assets on the battlefield.

There was, however, a slight complication.

The necessary update Alex needed to provide to the Sub-AI was not without difficulties.

Most of the hours of combat footage from his own memories, that he had passed along, were largely of the Exercitus Alexii, the Fangs, and the Fortress defence forces—in other words, mostly elite units of the Fury Army.

Their methods went far beyond simple physical combat that could be pieced together with ease. There were metaphysical components mixed into their techniques as well—subtle layers of force, will, and intent that transcended the purely physical.

Alex's upgrade would have to account for this.

He needed to teach the Sub-AI how to recognise these metaphysical components, identify their patterns, and properly catalogue their effects.

"This isn't something I can accomplish in a limited time, especially not on my own." Alex frowned, frustration flashing across his face.

But then, a realisation struck him.

"That's it. On my own, I won't be able to do everything in time. But… what if I brought in help? Even if they don't know they're helping me." A cunning smile crept onto his lips.

His eyes drifted to another document spread across the rune table. The title read: "Rune-Net Expansion."

Alex had already begun to feel the limits of the knowledge he had acquired from the DragonHold Enclave's library. If he wanted to push RuneTech further, he needed more—many more—databases to expand his personal library of knowledge.

Just as he had done with the Enclave's public library, his gaze now turned greedily toward the vast stores of information housed within every major organisation on the continent of Arun.

Together with Baldrick Pinchcoin and Cromwell Haggleworth, he had drafted a plan: the rollout of Rune-Net servers to every major organisation.

According to the plan, he would first deploy local servers within each organisation, restricted so that only their members could log in.

At the start, these servers would only be accessible from designated stations located within the organisation's facilities—locations carefully chosen by the organisations themselves. But once the members grew dependent on the convenience of digitised information—and if the DragonHold Enclave was any example, they surely would—Alex intended to offer them an irresistible 'upgrade.'

For a significant fee, members of these organisations would gain access to the digital library from anywhere across Arun, provided they used compatible stations—or, for those willing to splurge on the higher-end luxury versions of the Rune Phone, directly from their personal devices.

Furthermore, remote access to an organisation's server from stations not officially tied to that organisation would require a 'modest' subscription fee.

"I'll call it Rune-Net data bundles," Alex muttered with a sly grin. "Not the most original name, I know, but if it ain't broken…"

He chuckled darkly to himself.

Alex was on the verge of introducing an Arun-wide Internet—Rune-Net. One that he had a monopoly over.

"Not only will they be handing me their libraries on a silver platter, they'll even be paying me to take them. Ah… and to think I used to complain about capitalism."

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