The Oracle Paths

"How do you feel? "Cekt Mogusar asked in a procedural tone, while mentally consulting the Status that Jake was sharing with him in real time.

While Jake usually just checked his stats from time to time, as well as certain health parameters such as his blood pressure, hydration level, and heart rate, the Aetherist was reading the millions of variables regarding his levels of various proteins, hormones, and growth factors as if it were as relaxing as watching his favorite TV show.

After a few moments, his eyes focused back on Jake and he produced a satisfied, carnivorous smile.

"No problem in your Status at the moment. "The alien commented in an indifferent tone. "The new genes are synergistic and your metabolism has already begun to produce new proteins. With your Vitality, the physical changes will manifest themselves fairly quickly. If you notice any inconveniences, don't forget to let me know. "

Now that he was finally sure that everything was fine and had gotten used to the new sensations of his body, Jake took a look at his new Status.

For the moment, the Aether, Body and Soul Status hadn't changed yet, but there were signs of progress in most of the stats. The process was slow, but noticeable.

A new tab for his Myrtharian bloodline was now available. He hadn't chosen a name for it, but it turned out that the Oracle System had the same naming sense.

[Grade 8 Myrtharian Bloodline: Level 1]

-Myrtharian Body lvl1: The robustness of a Kintharian, combined with the intellect of an Eltarian and the fighting instinct of a Myrmidian. The physical and mental abilities are twice as good as a normal human, but without the limitations. At each additional level, the physical and mental abilities will be doubled as well as the speed of progression, tolerance to heat, pressure and radiation.

-Myrtharian Spirit Body lvl1: The Eltarian Spirit Body solidifies the Spirit Body and strengthens the Kintharian Aether Skills by adding telekinesis. The Spirit Body of a Myrtharian is three times greater than that of a normal human and has a natural instinct conferring a form of prescience. These faculties double at every level.

-Myrtharian Soul: Attributeless, but able to feed on the Aether contained in heat or radiation to survive and strengthen itself. ]

[Aether Bloodline Skills:]

[-Accelerated Myrtharian lvl1 growth: Closely related to positivity, determination, pride, fighting and anger. The effect doubles with each level.]

[-Accelerated Myrtharian lvl1 decline: Closely related to negativity, shame, weakness of mind, fear, and feelings of defeat and failure. The effect doubles with each level.]

[-Self-Encoding: There are no longer any limits to the Aether Stats, as the Aether is constantly being compressed to make room. However, the cost in Aether required to increase stats will quickly become exponential. Using the Aether encoded by the Oracle Device to increase the Aether stats is no longer recommended if the Encoding level doesn't match].

-Aether and Soul Tribute: A defeated enemy will surrender a fraction of his Aether and soul in proportion to the threat he posed to the bloodline holder.]

[-Warrior Myrtharian Trance lvl1: As a result of the above-mentioned emotions and the will to vanquish in battle, the body stats will be temporarily increased by 50-100%. The effect doubles with each level.]

[-Spiritual Myrtharian Trance lvl1: By calming the mind through meditation, it is possible to amplify the mental stats as well as the quality of the Spirit Body from 50 to 100%. The effect doubles on every level.]

[-Spiritual Myrtharian Eyes: It becomes possible upon activation to analyze one's opponents to understand their physical, mental and Aetheric weaknesses. Passively, it is possible to see Aether at a certain distance without going through the Extrasensory Perception of the Spirit Body. With each additional level, it will be possible to obtain more information].

[- Stone Skin lvl1: The body can withstand high temperatures and radiation, including high pressure and friction.]

[- Heat and radiation tolerance lvl1: The body temperature is no longer fixed at 37°C and can withstand a much higher internal temperature without shutting down.]

[-Earth Manipulation lvl1: Including all the minerals, atoms and inorganic traces found in the soil of Kinthar's home planet, which is a small volcanic telluric planet very close to its sun. The delicacy of control and perception doubles at every level.]

[-Heat and Radiation Control lvl1: It becomes possible to thermally and energetically excite any object, including one's own body. The finesse of control and perception doubles at every level.]

[-Telekinesis lvl1: It becomes possible to control objects remotely via the Spirit Body. At Spirit Body and Physical Body equivalent, it is only possible to exert 50% of the strength of the Physical Body. Control is also limited to simple actions. The effect doubles at each level.]

[-Accelerated Healing: It is possible to heal even the most lethal and disabling wounds by burying oneself underground in a warm space. Depending on the body's tolerance to heat and the quality of the soil.]

[Spirit of Revenge: After a defeat, and if the host's will has not wavered, the bloodline will be greatly stimulated.]

The Myrtharian Bloodline undoubtedly lived up to its Grade 8. Even after re-reading its Status several times, he found no real drawbacks except for the potential regression of stats after a defeat or negative emotions.

What he feared the most, namely the regression of his intellectual faculties, seemed to have instead been clearly improved, as everything else. Perhaps his mental faculties were not as good as those of a pure Eltarian because of his Kintharian genes, but at least the balance was positive.

He didn't feel even more intelligent, nor more alert, but second after second he could feel his consciousness changing as his neurons slowly began their transformation.

The Aetheric Code, on the other hand, was already fully active. He discovered how easily he could control and manipulate the objects around him with his telekinesis and found the familiar sensation of the Aether under his feet, emanating from the different waves in the air.

"You and Sarah needs some rest for the moment. "The gremlin gave him a few routine recommendations before signaling him to leave. He was clearly eager to continue studying the pure blood samples that Jake and Sarah had left as payment.

"Don't give blood lightly either in the hope of helping your friends. It will only weaken you in the long run. You'll understand better once you get used to your bloodline. It would also be useless as it is. The Aetheric Code is simply too weak at the moment.

"A bloodline builds up very slowly, even with active use and always proportionally. For example, to get to level 2, the density of your Aetheric Code will have to double and it could take for example 1 year if you train seriously. A person with the same bloodline, but an Aetheric Code half as dense will lose at least a year to get back to your starting point, if not more.

"If you are losing blood, the Aether in your Aetheric Code will also not stupidly escape in the lost blood, or it would be impossible to maintain the power of a bloodline through regular injury. This is something that is certainly not mentioned in your Status, because all Bloodlines of Grade 1 or higher can do this and it is the ability to instinctively choose whether you want to inject some of your Bloodline Aether into the donated blood.

"In conclusion, your normal blood contains your genes and your Aetheric Code, but the transferred Bloodline would be at Level 0. Such a Bloodline is considered useless without Black Aether. And Black Aether, unfortunately only the Oracle System can encode it and maybe some Aetherists in System A1."

That last debriefing answered the last questions that Jake had been wondering about. He had indeed intended to sell his blood to the Oracle System to get some Aether easily, but apparently it wasn't that simple.

The blood had to contain a sufficient level of Aether, and Xi confirmed that such blood was called Blood Essence in the Mirror Universe. By slashing his finger with his knife, he was indeed able to confirm that the spilled blood was nothing special. His genes were there, but all the magic was gone.

''Does this mean that Khazus and Priscus were slowing down or even regressing every time they gave us their blood? Jake theorized inwardly, remembering that their blood contained a significant amount of Aether.

That, or they couldn't control their Aether at all. Maybe, they hadn't awakened their Seventh Stat after all.

With the mystery solved, Jake bid farewell to Cekt Mogusar, who allowed him to come visit him when he would have finished reading the two novice manuals. He met up with the rest of the group in Jay Parks' office, who had climbed out of the crater where the alien had sent him a few hours ago.

Looking at his bare feet and torn pants, Jake realized it was time to go shopping for some more durable clothes. And so did the rest of the group.