The Oracle Paths

Jake stared at these few words for a long time. The difference was only one digit, but the implications were staggering.

[Grade 8 Myrtharian Bloodline: Level 2]

[Mytharian Body lvl2: The robustness of a Kintharian, combined with the intellect of an Eltarian and the fighting instinct of a Myrmidian. The physical and brain abilities are four times (twice at lvl1) as good as a normal human, but without the limitations. Your digestive abilities allow you to digest almost anything in a short time. 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].

[Mytharian Spirit Body lvl2: The Eltarian Spirit Body solidifies the Spirit Body and strengthens the Kintharian Aether Skills by adding telekinesis. The Spirit Body of a Myrtharian is six times greater(thrice at lvl1) than that of a normal human and has a natural instinct conferring a form of prescience. These faculties double at every level].

[Myrtharian Soul lvl2: Slight heat, earth and light(radiation) attribute (Attributeless at lvl1). Able to feed on the Aether contained in heat or radiation to survive and strengthen itself. ]

[Aether Bloodline Skills:]

[-Accelerated Myrtharian lvl2 growth: Closely related to positivity, determination, pride, fighting and anger. The effect doubles with each level.]

[-Accelerated Myrtharian lvl2 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 lvl2: As a result of the above-mentioned emotions and the will to vanquish in battle, the body stats will be temporarily increased by 100-200% (50-100% at lvl1). The effect doubles with each level.]

[-Spiritual Myrtharian Trance lvl2: By calming the mind through meditation, it is possible to amplify the mental stats as well as the quality of the Spirit Body from 100-200% (50 to 100% at lvl1). The effect doubles on every level.]

[-Spiritual Myrtharian Eyes lvl2: 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 lvl2: The body can withstand high temperatures and radiation, including high pressure and friction.]

[-Heat and radiation tolerance lvl2: The body temperature is no longer fixed at 37°C and can withstand a much higher internal temperature without shutting down.]

[-Earth Manipulation lvl2: 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. At lvl2 you can now bend rocks and boulders to your will. The delicacy of control and perception doubles at every level].

[-Heat and Radiation Control lvl2: It becomes possible to thermally and energetically excite any object, including one's own body. At lvl2, you can now perform basic heat and radiation manipulation. The finesse of control and perception doubles at every level.]

[-Telekinesis lvl2: It becomes possible to control objects remotely via the Spirit Body. At Spirit Body and Physical Body equivalent, it is only possible to exert 100% (50% at lvl1) of the strength of the Physical Body. Control is also limited to simple actions. The effect doubles at each level.]

[-Accelerated Healing lvl2: It is possible to heal even the most lethal and disabling wounds by burying oneself underground in a warm space. At lvl 2, the body acquires a Passive Regeneration ability without any need to bury oneself. (Half the effect, slow limb regrowth) . Dependent on the environment, the body's tolerance to heat, radiation 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.]

It was pretty scary. Jake couldn't really feel the difference right now because of his weakened state, but the simple fact that each of his bloodline skills had doubled in potency meant that he could now take on a dozen of the old him without even breaking a sweat.

Take telekinesis for example. At lvl2, the power of his telekinesis had doubled, but his telekinesis was also dependent on his Intelligence, Perception and Extrasensory Perception stats, as well as the resilience of his Spirit Body, which had all doubled accordingly.

This meant that his telekinesis was now 4 to 8 times more powerful than before, not to mention other stats such as Constitution and Vitality that would allow him to spam his Aether Skills without any restraint.

His Body Status hadn't changed much, but now that he was aware of the power-up of his bloodline, he noted a change in one small detail. Thankfully, he hadn't grown too much.

[BODY STATUS:]

[Physique: Myrtharian Body lvl2]

[Height: 2.14 meters] (2.11>2.14m)

[Weight: 38kg]

[Strength: 74 points (68.3>74)

[Agility: 66 points] (60.5>66)

[Constitution: 94.3 points] (87.2>94.3)

[Vitality: 91.6 points] (84.6> 91.6)

[Intelligence: 39.1 points] (36.4>39.1)

[Perception: 32.8 points] (31.6>32.8)

(NB: Average human stats: 2.5 points (5pts when his bloodline was lvl 1 and 10pts when he was still human)

In other words, even though his body stats had improved only slightly, his actual capabilities had doubled. Even regardless of his Aether stats, his body's ability had already far surpassed that of any human. The best Earth athlete or genius was probably between 7 and 10 pts for his highest body stats.

Such was the importance of a high grade bloodline. Trying to remain human at all costs was completely stupid if one had any kind of ambition or a well-developed survival instinct.

When Jake had finished discovering his new abilities, he had a big childish smile reaching up to his ears. He was as happy as a child who had just received his Christmas presents early. He had completely forgotten his frailty, aching, and thirst.

And most importantly...

Jake raised his head again towards the lava lake above him with a mischievous expression.

"Xi, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"It might work, but you'll have to get your strength back first. You should also..." As she said these last words, her mocking gaze drifted down to his crotch before meeting his gaze again with a smug face.

Following his AI's gaze, Jake noticed that he was indeed naked. His leather armor had not survived his lava bath. The armor itself he didn't care, but the wasted Grey Aether was lost forever. The good news was that his appearance hadn't changed much. He still looked mostly human.

Suddenly he remembered that he had also devoured his machete. What had happened to the Grey Aether inside. Could his body really digest such energy, or had it also dissipated?

He got the answer after further physical inspection. The Grey Aether had not disappeared, it had simply concentrated in its claws and fangs. Every claw, hair and tooth in his body seemed to be considered as a separate entity.

The enhancement was not much after it had been evenly distributed, but it was not negligible either. The sharpness and strength of his claws and fangs had increased by about 25%.

This was not really a problem at the moment, but it could become dangerous if a normal human came in contact with them. Fortunately, he could retract his fangs and claws with a simple thought.

Once the plan was established, Jake took action. With a simple thought and without the slightest difficulty, he managed to accomplish what the Kintharian Gerulf had once accomplished in front of him at the end of the First Ordeal: diving into a rock ceiling as if it were simply water.

In one jump, he burrowed into the ceiling and swam up until he reached the volcanic chamber. As expected, he felt the heat increase, until the rock around him began to glow red. However, it was no longer unpleasant. Instead, his new passive regeneration was activated and the pores of his skin opened to absorb the magmatic rock.

His body in turn turned red like a piece of hot metal and his body temperature rose rapidly. Watching his Body Status, he then saw his weight of 38kg increase sharply.

Direct contact with lava was still too risky for him, but was no longer lethal. His Vitality and Constitution formed a status quo allowing him to recover easily from these levels of burns.

Once he was less than a meter away from the volcanic chamber, Jake closed his eyes and began to meditate on the spot while waiting for the healing to take place. Approximately 8 hours later, he was back to his original weight and beyond. He now weighed over 200 kilograms.

During this forced convalescence, Jake did not twiddle his thumbs. He was now familiar with his new abilities and he had never felt so overpowered. For the very first time in his life, he was truly confident as if nothing could stop him to succeed.