Chapter 420: Berserk Stones

CH420 Berserk Stones

***

When Alex arrived at the study, a thought struck him—

Language.

Thanks to Eleanor’s [Translate] spell, he had gradually picked up the Verdantian common tongue in speech, but reading it was another matter entirely.

With a sigh, Alex stepped back out of the study and instructed a Fury soldier to fetch Kron Belloc.

When Kron arrived, he froze a little when he heard Alex’s request to teach him how to read.

Teaching someone how to read was not something the nobleman-turned-expedition-member had ever imagined doing. But thankfully, Baron Helton possessed a shelf of introductory reading materials—likely meant for his sons’ early education.

Using those books, Kron only had to teach Alex the alphabet, the sounds, and the fundamentals of forming words.

Since Alex could already speak the language to a passable degree, learning to read became significantly easier. Within minutes he was piecing together sentences; within an hour he no longer needed Kron hovering over his shoulder.

But instead of diving into the books immediately after learning to read—

Alex set the books aside.

And instead started thinking up a code for a new function within OmniRune.

He began constructing a translation program.

He could speak Verdantian thanks to Eleanor’s [Translate] spell, and by leveraging that familiarity he rapidly put together the logic framework for the program.

Once finished, all OmniRune would need to do was scan the dictionary and several books on grammar, syntax and literature. In theory, OmniRune should then be able to translate Verdantian common tongue into Pangean common tongue automatically.

That meant he wouldn’t be the only one learning the language; even his more... intellectually disadvantaged party members wouldn’t need to struggle through the learning curve.

More importantly, the translation program would serve as a prototype—a structural framework—for the far more complex Sigil–Rune translator he needed to develop.

Alex worked for three hours without pause.

By the time he stopped, the first rays of dawn spilled through the study window, bathing the floor—and the dozens of scattered, open books around him—in pale gold.

The door swung open and Zora stepped in.

She folded her arms –with her expression set in a chiding glare– when she saw what he was doing.

Alex looked up from where he sat cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by papers and book with a few runic diagrams and half-drawn translation matrices projecting before him from the Beta Bracer.

The entire scene looked reminiscent to the state he had been in when researching Runes back on Pangea—at the DragonHold Enclave—right before the birth of Rune-Tech.

If past experience was anything to go by...

Had Zora not walked in, he might very well have forgotten they were still inside a conquered enemy fortress and not inside a research lab.

"What are you doing right now?" Zora asked slowly.

"I’m working on turning OmniRune into a convenient translator," Alex replied, showing off the projection of a half-finished runic matrix. "If it works, it’ll give me the confidence to move on to the Rune–Sigil conversation function I need to solve my Rune-Tech bottleneck."

He added casually—far too casually, "I figured, with you and Eleanor handling the looting operation, this seemed like the best use of my time, for everyone’s benefit."

Zora stared at him flatly.

"Uh-huh," she said, unimpressed. "You really think I don’t know you lost track of time? Just because you delegated the responsibility to Eleanor and me doesn’t mean you get to abandon the entire process. What if we make a decision that goes completely against your wishes?"

She stepped closer, voice sharpening.

"And weren’t you the one who said we need to attack, loot, and leave fast? Yet you’re the one delaying us. Right place, right time, Alex."

For a brief moment, Zora wondered—again—why the men in her life, otherwise brilliant individuals, could be absolute manchildren when unsupervised.

Alex recognised that expression immediately.

From the countless singles’ soul-crushing couple-skits he’d watched in his previous life, he knew very well anything he said here would only make things worse.

So he deployed his last resort.

He stood up, arms open, and walked toward her.

"No. Absolutely not." Zora side-eyed him. "Don’t think you can escape with a hug."

Alex ignored her warning and wrapped her in a firm embrace, even sneaking in a few stolen kisses before pulling back with a pleading, puppy-eyed expression.

Zora’s first instinct was to bite him for his shameless tactics.

But... she was weak to his stupid face.

She sighed.

"Fine."

"YES!" Alex pumped his fist dramatically in victory.

Zora rolled her eyes so hard her head nearly followed.

"At least tell me it was worth it—and that you made progress."

"It was worth it and I made progress," Alex repeated instantly.

"Are you being serious?"

"I’m serious. The translator is nearly done. Once OmniRune handles the heavy lifting and fills in the missing linguistic gaps, I’ll polish the output. After that, the translator should be fully functional."

He tapped the communicator on his ear.

"If all goes according to plan, it’ll turn these earpieces into mobile translators—real-time translation of anything the wearer hears. Meaning Eleanor won’t have to burn mana casting [Translate] on everyone."

"I see..." Zora murmured, unable to hide her surprise—and reluctant approval.

Alex grinned.

"So, how’s the loot?"

Zora gave him a long, pointed stare before answering.

"We recovered mostly equipment—both from the stores and from the soldiers’ corpses—before having the surviving civilians give them proper funeral rites. But the main loot was the Berserk stones. We secured around a thousand full stones of various grades from both the temple and the fortress vaults... including Baron Leland’s private stash."

"Yeah, one of the soldiers mentioned them earlier. What are these Berserk stones, anyway?" Alex asked.

"You would know this if you checked in before locking yourself in here," Zora replied without missing the chance to verbally jab him. "According to Kron Belloc, this plane doesn’t have mana stones. Instead, they have Berserk stones.

"And unlike Pangea, where commoners trade with copper, silver, and gold, people here use Berserk stones. Commoners transact with its shards. High-level transactions and cultivation require full stones."

"Is there an exchange rate between shards and full stones?" Alex asked.

"A thousand shards to one stone is the official rate," Zora said. "But Kron says you’re lucky to find it at 1,100 shards. It usually goes for 1,200."

She continued, "While shards can power equipment, they cannot be used to cultivate. Only full stones can. So—"

"So the stones are more valuable, meaning full stone sellers dictate the trade," Alex finished.

"Exactly." Zora nodded. "And like mana stones, Berserk stones are divided into Low-, Mid-, High-, and Top-grade depending on purity."

"No Peak-grade Berserk stones?" Alex asked.

"Kron doesn’t know." Zora shrugged. "Not surprising. Even on Pangea, only scions of major powers know about Peak-grade stones. Most people never even see High-grade stones in their lives."

And Verdantis, it seemed, followed the same rule.

Alex nodded, absorbing the information—until another thought struck him.

"If Berserk stones are functionally similar to mana stones, why are they called Berserk stones here? Does this world refer to mana as ’Berserk’ instead?" He paused, raised an eyebrow. "...Or do they?"

"It’s better if Kron explains that to you directly," Zora replied. "You’re done here, right?"

Although phrased as a question, the tone was not.

Alex heard the implication underneath it.

’Looks like my research time is over.’ His lips twitched wryly.

He quickly walked to the neatly arranged pile of books he had taken from the shelves. With a mental prompt to OmniRune, all of them vanished—transported into the Sanctuary space.

He repeated the process with the scattered books he had been studying while writing the translation function.

Once everything was packed away, he walked out of the study with Zora by his side.

He was about to discover yet another difference between Verdantis and Pangea.

**