The Oracle Paths

Chapter 720: New Member

Jake did not stay in town after leaving the Mutant Office. In a very taciturn mood, he strolled with a perpetual frown down the stairs to the lower levels. Sensing his unfriendly disposition, none of the guards had the nerve to control him. After he walked by, all of them sucked in a deep breath, aware that their foreheads were dripping with sweat.

ʼWe better not be the enemy of this Mutant.ʼ This was the thought that flashed through the minds of all of them.

As he entered the slums of the Outer City, Jake saw multiple ghosts and other clusters of negative thoughts swarming around him, frantically trying to inhale his own spirit emanations.

”Fuck off!” Jake unleashed a blast of mental power, and the spirits, invisible to the average local folk, scattered in a wisp of smoke, spilling dozens of puddles of ectoplasm onto the cobblestone path.

After this incident, the other ghosts with a bit of intelligence left him alone. The others were wiped off the surface of Quanoth with the same ruthlessness.

A moment later, Jake crossed the western drawbridge of the city and once out of sight of the guards, he dived into the ground, which seemed to liquefy under his feet. A few seconds after his departure, two individuals appeared at his last location.

”Where did he go? He couldnʼt have just vanished into thin air.” The man on the left, an albino Vampire with an effeminate look and wearing variegated tails, snarled as he stomped on the otherwise perfectly regular ground.

There were no footprints, no traces of mana indicating the use of an Earth Spell.

”It doesnʼt matter. ” The dark elf woman to his right crisply chided as she crouched down to press her pointed ear to the ground. ” He is moving underground, but he is already pretty far away. This ability is troublesome. There are very few places in Laudarkvik that he canʼt access.

”Can we catch him?” The Vampire asked, licking his lips in anticipation.

The elf woman hesitated briefly, but eventually shook her head.

” No way. Heʼ s too far below the surface. Without a very powerful Earth Mage or Digger, itʼs going to be very difficult and time consuming. Enough time for him to run away ten times.”

”In that case, letʼs go back and report to our clans. Theyʼll decide what to do next.” The Vampire decided arbitrarily. ”But this Jake must die. According to our sources he is the Guilty one who saved Aisling and Haynt. He also killed Lansho, the Alpha of the Golden Were-Eagle and seriously injured my nephews. Quillan and Riah are completely traumatized since their encounter with him.”

The elf woman was deeply shocked to learn that one Guilty had caused so much mayhem in one night. This guy really didnʼt know how to spell death.

”You are free to do whatever you want with him when you catch him. Iʼm just a humble tracker.” She replied dryly, having only one desire, to extricate herself from this mess.

”And you better remember that. Damn it, Iʼm hungry.” The albino Vampire sniffed as he transformed into a blurred trail of afterimage, which escalated the Laudarkvick compound without drawing the guardsʼ attention.

The dark elfʼs face scrunched up once the abhorrent queer Vampire left, but inwardly she pitied his soon-to-be victim. These Thrajah Vampires were all bastards. Eventually, she too returned to the city through another door.

*****

Kilometers underground in the large natural cavern where he had healed Haynt, Jake sneered as he watched his two pursuers give up. Even without the Oracle Scan, he had spotted them long ago. These two shady guys had supernatural stealth abilities, but not to the extent of avoiding the sharp, crystal clear vision of his Myrtharian Eyes.

”I finally lost them. Still, I better change my hideout.” Jake reminded himself. A little caution never hurt.

Navigating the underground cave system, Jake eventually reached a magma stream and after following it for a while, he found a magma chamber opening into another spacious cavern. Above it was a small, ordinary mountain. No one in Laudarkvik knew that under this rocky mountain about 50 kilometers west of Laudarkvik was a potential dormant volcano.

”This place will be perfect for my training.”

Right, Jake had decided to forgo the rewards of his third Side Ordeal Mission. He was definitely withdrawing from the war between RetʼAsi and Khinchod to focus on his training. The results of last nightʼs bloody battles had made him realize that his power was far from adequate.

”It is hot here! Jeanie has a headache.” The smeared little fairy grumbled from inside his pocket, her food bundle gone. All that was left was a used towel covered in crumbs and grease.

Jake let her sit in his hand, his expression softening slightly as he looked at her.

ρꪖꪁⅆꪖ ꪁꪫꪚⅇ​ꪶ​ ”To be honest, Iʼm surprised your body can tolerate these temperatures. If you want to get to the surface all you have to do is ask.” He offered honestly.

The fairy immediately began to flutter angrily around him, buzzing around like a large fly.

”Jeanie wants to stay here. Minmins are persecuted by everyone, but as fairies we are also Nature Spirits. As long as we are not directly attacked, the environment will never deliberately try to kill us.”ρaꪁⅆa ꪁꪫꪚⅇ​ꪶ​

”I see...” Jake commented in a skeptical tone. ”When in doubt, keep a safe distance from me during training. As far as I know my powers are not environment friendly...”

”No! Jeanie wants to stay close to you. Itʼs safer here.” She refused vehemently.

Jake quickly felt his annoyance and impatience rise at the little fairyʼs persistence. She wasnʼt dead weight like Trash. Her buffing and appraisal skills were really useful.

But with her in his way, it was impossible to train as he wanted. On the other hand, by letting her go he could only blame himself if she got eaten by one of Laudarkvickʼs many scum.

Looking for a way to get rid of her without endangering her or offending her, the image of Sigmar suddenly popped into his mind. It could work. At least it had worked in the past.

”Hey Jeanie, do you want to join my faction?” He asked out of the blues.

”The Mutant Faction?” She repeated cutely with her index finger resting on her lips and nose.

”No mine. The Myrtharian Nerds. A faction of Guilties.” Jake explained succinctly.

Contrary to what he imagined, the Minmin did not hesitate for a second and accepted with infectious enthusiasm.

Reluctantly, Jake offered her a half kilo of liquid alloy from his personal supply, and after letting Xi set up the new bracelet, showed her how to get it in and out of her body. The fairy was a little frightened, but when she saw that he was wearing one too, curiosity overcame her reluctance.

”Oh Jeanie, see a weird message in my head!” She exclaimed as she discovered her new mental interface. ”And I can even see my status!”

Leaving her to marvel for a few seconds as a child would with a new toy, Jake took the opportunity to ask Xi intriguedly how she had fixed the Oracle AI issue.

[I just replicated my base code in her new bracelet.] She answered evasively as if it were no big deal. [Her bracelet is supposed to automatically connect to the Oracle System and an Oracle AI will be downloaded after her access to the system has been authorized.]

Knowing for a long time that these Oracle AIs were not mere artificial intelligences but also had their own consciousness and a Soul Energy-like presence, Jake carefully monitored with his Myrtharian Eyes the descent of this new consciousness, but to no avail.

One second earlier the new Oracle Device was lifeless, the next second it was alive. There was nothing in between. At least, Jake hadnʼt noticed.

”Someone is talking to me in my head!” Jeanie gasped as she dove into Jakeʼs pocket to hide.

”Relax, listen to what the voice is telling you.” Jake tried to comfort her as he petted her hair.

After a few minutes of diligent persuasion, the fairy finally calmed down and even began to look forward to making a new friend.

”Whatʼs your new friendʼs name?” Jake asked with a jaded look.

”Yi!”

”Yi? Xi... Donʼt tell me your names are all monosyllabic i names?” Jake teased her gently.

[Kyleʼs Oracle AI is named Veya.] Xi snorted in his head, immediately refuting his theory. She then conceded in a low voice, [But many Oracle AIs do have simple names to remember...]

With the awakening of her new Oracle AI, everything was easier. Jake extended the invitation and the Oracle AI took it upon himself to accept on Jeanieʼs behalf. As soon as the Minmin joined the Myrtharian Nerds, her body immediately began to change and her tolerance to heat and light began to increase rapidly.

Now the fairy could train here as well, but still at a distance from him. The Myrtharian Body passive skill was not worth his Myrtharian Bloodline, but it was more than enough to break through her old physiological limitations. With the fairy starting from an extremely low point, initial progress would be rapid if she stayed by his side.

With Jeanie engrossed in her new bracelet and friend, Jake finally got the peace and quiet he so desperately wanted. Drawing on his Aether Core and the energy stored in his cells, he then set about restructuring the cavern and magma chamber in which he would spend a long time.

A few hours later, Jake had built his new base and he officially began a long and arduous training, which he hoped would help him avoid future tragedies.