Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage-Chapter 575: Kavakan’s Killing Intent

CH575 Kavakan’s Killing Intent

***

Kavakan had long since lost track of how much time had passed within his trial.

All he could do was kill and kill.

Whenever the corrosion born from endless slaughter began to flood his mind, he would intentionally trigger [Lycanthropic Transformation], shifting into his tiger beast form.

He relied on the subconscious, self-imposed time limit of the transformation.

When the transformation ended, the forced reversion back to human form would wash away the corruption clouding his mind.

Unfortunately, this strategy was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain.

It was getting harder to remain sane during the transformation’s cooldown period— sane enough to trigger the transformation again.

Even after transforming, the risks did not end there.

Kavakan was beginning to feel the limits of the cleansing effect on his mind once the transformation wore off.

At first, the leftover corrosion had been negligible.

But now...

With every cycle, more and more residue remained within his mind after he returned to human form.

It was only a matter of time before the corruption fully consumed him.

’I can’t go on like this,’ Kavakan thought as he used the enhanced strength he had accumulated to swiftly slaughter another group of attackers before they could surround him.

’I need to think of a solution.’

’There has to be a way to survive this trial.’

Unfortunately, thinking was not exactly his strongest skill.

He had always been more of a ’hands-on’ person.

’If only Boss were here,’ he muttered inwardly while cutting down another ambush before it could fully form.

Since Alex was not here, Kavakan turned to the next best thing.

’What would Boss do?’ he asked himself.

Unfortunately, just like before, no answer came to mind.

In fact, instead of finding a solution, he simply ended up recalling a recent memory.

—

"Ah, Boss... I can’t. This thinking stuff just isn’t for me," Kavakan grumbled as he sheepishly scratched his head.

Spread between him and Alex was a detailed map of the Wildlands, which Alex had obtained earlier from the branch master of the Dragonstone Oasis Adventurers’ Association— Wayne Achard.

Alex had proposed a hypothetical situation and asked Kavakan to come up with a solution. However, even after several minutes of thinking, the weretiger could not produce one.

"It’s not that you can’t," Alex said patiently. "It’s more that you choose not to think."

"You’re used to letting others think and make the decisions for you. But that has to change if you want to lead your own unit on my behalf."

He gestured toward the Orcs and Barbarians he had placed under Kavakan’s command.

"You wouldn’t want your subordinates to die because of your incompetence, would you?" Alex asked calmly.

"No..." Kavakan replied, deflated.

Alex shook his head slightly and fell silent for a moment as he thought.

Then he suddenly asked, "Do you know the difference between humans and beasts?"

Without waiting for Kavakan’s response —which he knew would not come— Alex answered the question himself.

"Beasts rely on instinct, whereas humans think and ponder."

He pointed a finger directly at Kavakan.

"You’re a weretiger kin. For the sake of this analogy, you stand somewhere between a human and a beast."

"As a result, your instincts won’t be as sharp as those of a true beast. But at the same time, you may not be able to ponder as deeply as a human either."

"However, what you do have is the advantage of both beastly instinct and human intellect."

"All you need to do is learn how to use both."

"Use both?" Kavakan perked up slightly. "How, Boss?"

"Rely on your instincts first," Alex replied. "Then scrutinise that instinct with your reasoning and decide whether you should follow it."

He shrugged casually.

"Or you could do it the other way around— think first, then use your instincts to test that decision."

"But the most important thing," Alex said, "is to use one to evaluate the other."

"And by doing that, I suspect you’ll find your answer."

—

Kavakan’s eyes sharpened.

Remembering Alex’s advice from that memory, he stopped trying to force his thoughts and instead reached inward, probing his instincts.

’How do I get out of this?’

A moment later, after killing another pair of combatants in the battle royale, Kavakan felt something tug at his instincts.

It was subtle, but unmistakable.

It turned out that his inner self had noticed something all along— something it had been urging him to act upon.

Only now did he finally realise it.

Kavakan focused inward, trying to understand what his inner being had sensed.

Then the idea surfaced clearly in his mind.

’Should I?’ he asked himself.

’I should!’ he decided after a brief moment of consideration.

He immediately made his move.

[Call of the Wild]!

He activated the unique ability of his kin.

Instantly, a reddish hue began to gather around his body.

However, before the crimson aura could fully condense and enhance his physical abilities, Kavakan felt something unexpected.

A brief disconnect between himself and the corrosive force gnawing at his mind.

Sensing the opportunity, he acted immediately.

Using sheer willpower, he severed the link between his consciousness and the creeping corrosion.

Then he redirected it.

Instead of resisting it, he guided the corrosion into the crimson aura forming around him.

The corruption flooded into the aura without resistance.

Almost instantly, the red hue produced by [Call of the Wild] partially separated from Kavakan’s body.

Instead of wrapping around him like a warrior’s mana coating, the crimson aura condensed into the phantom form of a tiger behind him.

It resembled Mogal’s beast totem.

The phantom tiger’s eyes radiated terrifying malice.

Wherever its gaze fell, the combatants caught within its sight collapsed instantly.

Dead!

"Killing Intent!" Kavakan exclaimed.

He finally understood.

The so-called corrosion plaguing his mind was actually Killing Intent.

That was why the combatants within the battle royale gradually lost themselves and became mindless killing machines.

By redirecting the Killing Intent into the phantom tiger, Kavakan freed his mind from its corrosive and corruptive influence while still harnessing its terrifying power.

Realising this, Kavakan slowly turned his gaze toward the remaining combatants.

What followed was nothing short of a bloodbath.

—

Without worrying about losing his mind, yet still benefiting from the killing boost of the intent, Kavakan slaughtered his way through the battle royale.

Before he realised it, he stood alone atop a mountain of corpses, with nothing else alive around him.

More importantly, his innate Killing Intent had risen to Tier III, making him an Expert slaughterer.

[A.N: Think of it as similar to a Tier III Sword Expert.]

"ROAR!!!"

Kavakan suddenly felt something swell within him.

Before he knew it, both he and the phantom tiger behind him bellowed out a thunderous roar that sent a beam of crimson light shooting into the sky.

All the absorbed yet undigested Killing Intent surged upward with the roar, blasting into the heavens and shattering the sky above.

Before Kavakan could even process what was happening, the trial space collapsed.

The next moment, he found himself back before the stele.

However, because he had just emerged from an endless battle that had lasted an unknown amount of time, he failed to suppress the momentum of combat still coursing through his body.

This immediately caught Alex’s attention, pulling him out of the stunned state Udara had left him in.

"Kavakan, control yourself!" Alex ordered sharply.

Kavakan quickly came to his senses and forced himself to relax, gradually reining in the violent aura around him.

"I’m sorry, Boss," he apologised.

"Move to the side and meditate. Get yourself together," Alex said with a dismissive wave.

Kavakan immediately moved away, lest his uncontrolled combat momentum disturb the others still undergoing their trials.

Alex shook his head wryly.

Seeing Kavakan sit down and begin meditating to regain control of himself, Alex turned his attention toward the remaining steles.

Curious about the changes both Udara and Kavakan had undergone, Alex moved toward the Armament Stele and sat down before it.

His Spiritual Force flowed into the stele, and his consciousness was immediately pulled away into the Armament trial.

Meanwhile, after some time of meditation, Kavakan finally succeeded in bringing his Killing Intent and combat momentum fully under control.

By then, Alex had already begun his next trial.

Kavakan looked around and noticed that Udara was now seated before the Grey Stele.

It did not take long for him to piece together that it was possible to attempt more than one trial.

The brute did not even think to ask the old man.

Instead, he simply strutted over to the Anima Stele, sat down before it, and began another trial.

***