The Oracle Paths

The path to acquiring a Soul Class turned out to be much more straightforward than he assumed. On Quanoth, Digitization merged body and soul and this had as many cons as pros.

The downside was vulnerability. On Quanoth, few believed in an afterlife, let alone a heaven or hell. A destroyed body meant a destroyed or at least damaged soul.

The souls that survived their death would literally become undead or tormented ghosts, rehashing their regrets and last wishes. Some were able to regain a normal life, which could be viewed as a second lease on life, but this would irrevocably end with the doomsday foretold by the prophecy.

The perks, though he could have guessed, were unexpected... and welcome.

Soul and body being highly synchronized, they affected each other. Furthermore, Quanoth's world laws had been enacted in such a way that this singular aspect was fully exploited.

Every action and thought on Quanoth had consequences that were far more perennial and irreversible than in the rest of the Mirror Universe.

What the heck did that really mean?

Well, roughly speaking, that a guy who liked to train with swords and very emotionally invested would eventually awaken a Soul Skill like: Beginner Swordsmanship, then other auxiliary Skills like Stab, Slash, Cleave, Hack, Parry ect...

This resonance depended on their Soul Power, and therefore Spirit Body level. As for the body and the Aether Skills, the Spirit Body had a limit of Soul Skills it could support.

As a result, early skills and even Soul Classes could be awakened relatively easily, usually before the age of 12 for natives of this world. By contrast, if their level stagnated, awakening new skills would become increasingly difficult.

A curious and restless child could very well awaken various Soul Skills such as "Running", "Painting", "Lying", "Drawing", "Singing", etc. But these many incompatible Soul Skills would eventually limit his potential.

Of course, it was not enough to do something to awaken the corresponding Soul Skill. It required a genuine commitment of mind and dedication.

This brought us to Soul Class awakening. Jake initially thought that Soul Glyphs and Soul Classes were a blessing, but he was more leery now.

Because ultimately a Soul Class was like a Bloodline for the body. Could engraving Aether Runes on one's soul really be so harmless? Afraid not.

The Soul Glyphs forged by a professional Aetherist like the ones in his Purgatory were comparable to knowledge for the brain. Knowing how to speak Italian didn't mean that one would start craving pasta or pizza all the time. They were relatively harmless and, on the face of it, only beneficial.

But a Soul Class was something else. A Swordsman would end up developing a calm and sharp personality. An Ice Mage would become cold and detached. A Fire Mage a more explosive and fierce temperament and so on.

This was a reality of Quanoth that the natives of this world simply accepted without challenging it. The only reason Trash knew all this was because it was super easy to verify. Everyone he had ever known or knew had a personality consistent with their Class.

Of course there were variations, a Soul Class was not everything, but its influence on individuals was much stronger than elsewhere.

Even on Earth, practicing a profession for decades could shape stereotypical personalities strongly influenced by their professional environment.

Except that on Earth, in most cases the vocation had been deliberately chosen. On Quanoth, the Soul Class made this choice for them and eventually transformed their mentality to fit the requirements of the profession.

Building on these fundamentals, there were therefore two commonly accepted methods of awakening a Soul Skill or Soul Class.

The first was the previously mentioned method of repeating an action or routine with spirit until their efforts were rewarded with the corresponding Soul Skill or Soul Class.

This was the ideal way, because it was a gradual process and the Soul Class was a fair reflection of the individual's personality. In this case, it was just like on Earth, the calling and passion that led to the job and not the other way around.

Tragically, as on Earth, there were many people on Quanoth who had complicated childhoods or who simply had no particular passion. There were others who had so many different hobbies and interests that it was impossible for a Soul Class to emerge.

This is where the Prophetic Steles came in. Prominently displayed in front of every chapel, church and cathedral in Aurae, all one had to do was touch them to obtain a Soul Class.

Unlike natural awakening by repetition and vocation, these displayed a list of Soul Classes to choose from, unique to each individual and based on their experiences, accomplishments, skills and to some extent personality.

Using the analogy of a certain wizard's magic hat with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead, a House could be more in keeping with a character, but the wizard was free to make the final choice.

Since Jake had not awakened any Soul Class when he arrived on Quanoth, despite his many Soul Glyphs, it was only natural that he would go with the second option.

His case did not surprise him at all. Between his Myrtharian Soul having several elemental attributes, his numerous Soul Glyphs and his jaded and cynical personality, it was difficult for him to marvel or feel any form of passion.

Generally speaking, a task could take up all of his time and mind, but only because it was an emergency or because he got some much-needed benefit or immediate pleasure from it. It couldn't really be called a passion or his first Soul Class would have been Ordeal Player or Soul Glyph Collector.

Thankfully, his disgraceful past was not taken into account, or perhaps he had changed a lot this past year, or he could have picked up a much less flattering Soul Class like "Godly Wanker" or "Procrastination God".

Intrigued, and out of a childish desire to compare himself to someone weaker than him, Jake scanned the teenager with his bracelet.

[Level: 7 (Digitized)]

[Species: Half-Leprechaun (human)]

[Class: Mercenary (10% of basic attributes per level)

[HP: 7.5 (Regen: 0.38HP/d)]

[MP: 0]

[Strength: 0.75]

[Agility: 1.19]

[Constitution: 0.75]

[Vitality: 1.5]

[Intelligence: 1.2]

[Perception: 1.5 ]

[Extrasensory Perception: 0]

[Luck: 0]

[Reference for an adult human jobless level 1: HP:10, stats: 1 ]

[Class-related skills: Beginner swordsmanship, Beginner bowmanship, Beginner shieldmanship, Beginner axemanship, Beginner equipment maintenance]

[Other skills: Sneak, Dodge, Escape, Run, Cooking, Alcohol Resistance]

The difference between their two statuses was like an unbridgeable chasm.

"Hey, Trash. Do you have a way in this world to know your level and attributes?" Jake asked frankly, abandoning any thought of clearing himself. "I mean, a way to measure your abilities."

He needed to know, what understanding the natives of this world had of their Digitalization. The term attribute didn't ring a bell for the teen, but levels and abilities did.

"The Icarden Province uses a special Magic Machine to test our abilities, but these performance tests are expensive." The kid explained obediently. "It's reserved for the big guilds, the army, and certain academies. If you had asked me six months ago, I wouldn't have known how to answer, but because of the advent of the Celestial City and the prophecy, border and city entrance and exit checks have been tightened.

"One morning, the Lodunvals Mages Guild sent out an order to all inhabitants to come and get their identities recorded by their magical devices and we received an Identity Card that we have to carry at all times. You pay a fine if you are caught without one. Newcomers must also be tested and get their ID card before being admitted to the city. For regulars, you are required to show and update your ID card every time you go out of town. They have a magical device created specifically for this purpose."

Jake frowned upon hearing this. This was likely to cause him some trouble.

"Can you show me what this ID card looks like?" He smiled gently as he held out his open hand, but the teen shuddered when he saw this devil trying to coax him with some human expressions.

Plop.

Without needing to insist, a metal object fell into his outstretched hand. Jake grasped the card between his fingers and lifted it in front of his face to examine it up close. Rectangular and as large as a child's fist, the object looked like a credit card. Turning it over, he noticed several lines of writing in an unfamiliar alphabet. The natives of this world spoke Oraclean, but had their own way of writing it.

'Fuck, another troublesome thing.' Jake grunted inwardly as he handed the card back to the child.

" Can you read me what it says on the back?" He asked anyway.

"I can't read."

"Great... As expected from Trash." Jake's shoulders slumped in discouragement.

The teenager had told him earlier that he was illiterate, but he had at least hoped that he would be interested enough in his own identity to know what was written on it. Except for Aurae's prophecy, his education was close to nothing and he didn't appear to care about fixing that shortcoming...

On the way, Jake and Trash came across several groups of adventurers and mercenaries as well as a company of infantry from the empire doing a round of extermination. They were also attacked by handfuls of hungry or reckless monsters and creatures, but a glance from Jake was enough to make them retreat every time. Those too dumb to sense the danger paid with their lives.

At dusk, they formally left the Wilderness, returning to civilized territory, but for Jake the atmosphere was no better. Torches and lanterns glowed in the distance, but the villages they passed were smoldering ruins and haunts of bandits and drug addicts.

"Truly a shithole..." Jake lampooned as he plodded on.