The Oracle Paths

"I wish you to still hold the same discourse when you reach my level of accomplishment." Cekt simply concluded with a shrug. "I don't think you really realize the sheer magnitude of the task."

Having said his piece, the little alien bid them farewell with a wink, his impish gaze lingering briefly over his three students before departing for good. As he vanished after touching the Yellow Cube, Jake could still hear the voice of his master repeating in his head,

'I'll contact you as soon as I finish analyzing the samples.'

With their all-powerful master finally gone, the atmosphere immediately became more relaxed. Cekt was not a bad guy, but his power and status prevented them from behaving in a completely natural way, especially for those present who were not his disciples.

The good news, for one, was that once he left, the bumps that had sprouted on Jake's skull miraculously went away. Whatever magic was preventing him from healing had been lifted with his master's departure.

Survivors and creatures from other factions or loners began to scatter, some teleporting with the Yellow Cube, others going to the nearest Oracle Pyramid where their personal cabins were, or the Oracle Pentagon where the mission halls were located to do who knows what. Some even went to the nearest Blue or Green Cube to shop or heal.

Garrow also left without a word, like the lone swordsman he was. The albino Nosk had also left without anyone noticing.

"What do we do now, boss?" Ingranus, the old spearman walked toward them, taking the initiative to ask what was bothering the other Myrtharian Nerds refugees.

Undecided, Jake gazed thoughtfully at the mismatched group of survivors, from promising recruits like Ingranus and Nicolet, to the goblin couple Xort and Niss with far more limited intellectual and physical potential.

The refugees endured his piercing and clear-sighted gaze with obvious apprehension. They were nobodies a few days earlier and thanks to him they had turned a new leaf after braving hell.

If Jake decided to leave them behind and go his own way, it would be totally understandable, and with their new mindset and skills they would be able to make a living in the Mirror Universe. For that, they would be forever grateful, even if they did get kicked out of the Myrtharian Nerds.

Yet, deep down in their hearts, they had built up a certain sense of solidarity with each other, and they didn't want to lose that fellowship, which made them bold and made their fear recede. Going it alone meant losing all that and dealing with the same insecurities, the same nagging feeling of not being able to trust anyone or anything.

Not everyone embraced the every-man-for-himself lifestyle with the same disregard as Jake. And as a matter of fact, even he had unknowingly gained companions he could count on. He was never really alone.

If these refugees were worried for all these reasons, Jake, who had recruited them, knew what was bothering them. His indecision wasn't really indecision. From the moment they had decided to take up arms and fight with him, he had already decided not to ditch them.

"Let's go home."

These three words were trivial, but they rang like a salvation to the refugees, who immediately jumped for joy.

"I knew Boss wouldn't abandon us." Xort grinned as he hugged his old goblin wife.

"Praise the boss!" Shouted a few others.

"I can't wait to discover our new base. With their skills Jake and his comrades must have their own HQ in an Oracle City like Bhuzkoc and Shaktilar!" Nicolet mused aloud, shifting the praising to another, much more down-to-earth topic.

"It can't be any worse than the Oracle Shelter I was rotting in anyway." Secyone rubbed her nose, smiling at her two sons.

Anything rather than prostitute!

Listening to the new Myrtharian Nerds fantasize about their new home, Jake and Will immediately began to sweat profusely. Swallowing hard, Jake clutched the businessman's shoulder firmly and whispered quietly, looking him straight in the eye,

"I'll leave you in charge of housing the new members."

Will paled noticeably, his upright and proud countenance drooping a few inches under the pressure of the daunting task. Seeing his crestfallen demeanor, Jake couldn't help but laugh heartily. He felt much better.

"Don't pretend I'm a monster." Jake consoled him, patting his back once in a loud smack. "You know very well that this is the best solution. You were complaining that you didn't have enough workers to build your island and launch your business plan. This should solve all your problems."

"I know, I know. It's still embarrassing." Will grumbled dully.

"It's not like I can get them to come to my Floating Island, right? You know how I train..." Jake pleaded with an apologetic tone.

Will's island had a breathable atmosphere and temperature, and at least one decent building. It wasn't enough to house all that flock of recruits, but they could set up tents in the meantime.

In comparison, Jake's island was a barren metal disk of rocks and pebbles piled high and nothing else. The two energy shields in place were only there to separate his training area from the tiny habitable outer portion. Because he always carried his Aether Sun Core with him, his Floating Island was right now about as hospitable as Pluto.

"I have my own Floating Island too." Svara offered kindly. But like Will, she had only built a rudimentary cottage there for herself.

The Nawais' masonry skills were limited to making huts and arranging caves, so her offer wasn't worth mentioning. Fumdalf was pretty much in the same situation despite his status as a Fourth-Ordeal Evolver.

Melkree had already accepted Will's invitation to join the Myrtharian Nerds, but she shamelessly admitted that she didn't have a Floating Island to her name. She was just a tree not so long ago and the notion of material possessions eluded her.

Shaktilar had been silent all this time, but when his evil master glanced at him condescendingly, he shivered inside despite his Ice Mage status, and graciously shared access to his private estates.

The Oracle City where his mansion was located was technically right below them, but neither he, Jake, nor anyone else had any intention of ever returning here. However, as a Shyril aristocrat he had more resources than his rivals.

His Floating Island was the size of Jake's, but perfectly functional. The only problem was that it was extremely far from theirs, in the space zone arbitrarily reserved for his species.

Neither Will nor Jake had needed to educate themselves on the matter, but according to Siri, teleporting a Floating Island was extremely expensive. If it wasn't too well developed, it was better to create a new one.

The problem was that only the first Floating Island was " cheap ". As Xi and Jake had already personally verified, the welcome pack for the new Evolvers included shockingly low prices, but as their strength and financial capacity increased, the prices would skyrocket back to their real value.

In the case of the Floating Islands, the main metal making up their island was Oranium, an iron equivalent relatively abundant in worlds with an Aether density over 100,000. At that moment on B842, it was a resource millions of times rarer than diamond.

Checking prices, Shaktilar flatly refused to move his island closer and even Jake, who could order him to do so, didn't have the heart to force him. There was no hurry and the Shyril fortune would not be enough anyway.

The first repositioning was discounted to a round price of 1 billion Aether points, regardless of the size of their Floating Island, and Jake preferred to wait as long as possible before using it.

"Shaktilar's Island may be a solution in the meantime." Jake finally nodded. "We'll let the new members choose where they want to go."

Will gathered their group and laid out their options. Surprisingly, no one chose to go to Shaktilar's furnished island. It wasn't the palace they were hoping for, but Will's island had at least the merit of being positioned within a few kilometers of Jake's. And it couldn't be worse than the slums where they lived before.

Lucia and Gerulf were a little at a loss, but when asked their opinion they chose without hesitation to stay with Jake, despite all his attempts to talk them out of it. Gerulf was okay, but a princess like Lucia would feel out of place there.

"Don't underestimate us. I'm not a flowerpot." The blonde warrior became slightly annoyed, releasing a sliver of killing intent real enough to prick up the hairs of the nearby refugees.

Not wanting to fall out with his old friends right after their reunion, Jake capitulated.

Shaktilar was supposed to reluctantly follow his new master, but Jake didn't want him there. It was decided that he would be at Will's command, assisting him in all his projects.

The surprise guest, this time, turned out to be Melkree. As a young Dryad, she had the disposition of a tree and was only looking for a sunny patch of land and some peace and quiet. Now that she had joined the Myrtharian Nerds, the Myrtharian Body Passive had begun to alter her constitution, making her able to withstand harsher weather conditions.

In addition to Lucia, Gerulf and Melkree, Jake was of course accompanied by 15 felines, the lioness Zira having died in the Dungeon because of Hecate's spell.

After promising Syrbarun and Siri to come and visit their laboratory one of these days, Jake and his clique touched the Yellow Cube together, formally saying goodbye to this burial ground.

When a few hours later, the Black Cube was completely deserted, Citro and Cekt gone, the Evolvers and beasts far away, the Digestors that had been keeping a low profile hundreds of kilometers below came out of their burrows and started hunting, eating and proliferating again as if nothing had changed.

Weeks, months, or years later, a new Dungeon Digestor would emerge in this land and more heroes would rise up to vanquish it. Except this next time, the story might not have such a happy ending.

That was the way of life in the Mirror Universe.

A never-ending war.