The Oracle Paths

The fourth plateau was their final destination. One more plateau and they would be on their way to the flattened peak of the mountain on which Laudarkvik was built.

From their position, the group already had a perfect vantage point on the nine factions' palaces ringing another domed building where the City High Council convened. The architectural style of each of these palaces was quite distinct and reflected the identity of the race they represented.

Jake and his companions admired the view for a while despite the thick fog, then set off again. To save time, they had already taken the shortest route by positioning themselves at the right checkpoint from the first plateau. Once the correct staircase was chosen, all they had to do was follow the main path to eventually find the Mutant Headquarters.

The few buildings on either side of the road were rather disparate, and often clashed with each other. Yet they were spacious, clean and reeked of opulence. This district belonged completely to the Mutants, but not all Mutants could afford to live here. Those who were too poor often had to resort to living on the Second Plateau, or even in the Outer City at the foot of the mountain.

The reason why the Second Plateau was not called the First Plateau was simply because the base of Laudarkvik was already elevated a few dozen meters above ground to facilitate its defense. The Outer City could therefore be considered the First Plateau.

In this district reserved for Mutants, there were all sorts of strange humans and his Oracle Scan's report revealed the presence of all sorts of bastard species that he didn't know existed until then. These hybrid species could have unappealing names like gnome-lycans, fairy-specter, or mino-ghost, or they could be much more commonplace but highly discriminated.

Generally speaking, those who walked around with their heads down, hooded, trying to avoid crowds were often Mutants fearful of being recognized.

Ironically, it was rarely the more monstrous and inhuman Mutants who hid, but rather those half-elves, half-orcs, half-goblins, etc. Most often, they were the unwanted offspring of their respective parents, unwanted offspring born of rape or prostitution, or who had been forced to flee their native land to survive.

Observing their surroundings like curious children, Jake and the others continued to stroll along the main road towards a huge building at the far end. From their vantage point, they could clearly see a large five-story Victorian mansion. It was impossible to miss and this was their destination.

Even taking their time, it took them only a few minutes to reach the majestic mansion.

The walls were made of red brick, the tiles of black marble, and statues representing various creatures and heroic personalities embellished every corner of the doors and windows. Circumscribed by a high fence coated in gold paint, a large stylized forged steel plaque read "Mutant Office."

This was apparently not the headquarters they were hoping to find, but a Mutant interviewed on the way in had already confirmed that all general Mutant affairs were handled by this office. If they really wanted to reach the Headquarters, they would have to pass the last checkpoint to reach the corresponding palace on the peak of the mountain.

The portal was already open and Jake and the others entered the compound without any problem. Surprisingly, there were no guards, as if they were not afraid of anything or anyone on their turf.

PLAF!

As soon as they pushed open the heavy wooden door, a plate flashed past their eyes before smashing into the adjacent wall. Bewildered, they identified the culprit of this murderous throw at a glance, or more precisely the victim who had dodged in extremis.

Long silky black hair, outrageously short burgundy evening dress, stiletto heels, pale skin, dizzying curves... The woman who had just dodged the plate was turning her back on them, firmly anchored on her feet to prepare for the next plate launch.

'Why does this figure remind me of someone?" Jake fretted as he compared it to another person he didn't expect to see again anytime soon.

And yet, come to think of it... what place was more suitable than Laudarkvik to run into these bloodsucking troublemakers?

Jake then looked around the rest of the hall and without surprise he found a red-eyed girl of about 9 years old wearing a black gothic dress and a handsome man in a baroque aristocrat suit with curly blond hair. Not far from them, a busty brunette lolita wearing a dress identical to the girl was crossing her arms and stamping her feet impatiently.

'Damn it, I should have known. But why are they here?' Jake cursed inwardly.

How could he not recognize them? The red-eyed girl was Lily, a Blood Human, the elegant blond boy a Vampire Progenitor named Wyatt Griffith and that loathsome lolita... Seren Yelmaer an extremist Vampire Noble, who didn't recognize any legal rights to her 'food'.

By process of elimination... The splendid woman in a short dress turning her back to them could only be Carmin Liche, the little girl's older sister.

" Get the fuck out! We don't want any future traitors in our ranks!" The woman, more furry and beefy than a wild bear, who had thrown the plate immediately flung a second one at Carmin after uttering her threat.

Notwithstanding her pumps, the young woman nonchalantly dodged the projectile with a disdainful snarl.

"You can throw as many plates as you want, I have no intention of leaving and neither do my friends." She declared in a firm, uncompromising tone.

Jake then noticed that the plate-thrower's anger was not only directed at Carmin. From time to time, she would throw equally hostile glares in the direction of Wyatt, Lily and Seren. Except that for some reason, she chose to go after Carmin alone.

Was it jealousy? Jake immediately refuted that assumption. This Mutant didn't seem to fear Wyatt and Seren, but she was clearly cautious of them. What was the reason for this?

Jake already had a small inkling.

As the door closed behind them, the heavy gate creaked loudly and the quarrel was abruptly brought to a halt. All of the mutants present, including the plate thrower and Carmin, turned to face the newcomers and a stunned silence settled over the hall.

When Wyatt, Carmin, Seren and Lily recognized the handsome guy at the head of the group, their eyes widened, but not for exactly the same reason. Wyatt's eyes narrowed immediately afterwards, his fighting spirit erupting forth upon running into one of his only rivals, while Seren nearly fainted upon encountering the devil haunting her nightmares for the second time.

"It's-it's that raving lunatic! Jake!" The lolita yelped in horror as she recognized Jake. Disguised or not, she could recognize that cold and arrogant face between thousand!

Being yelled at and insulted on top of that, her "nightmare" scowled at her and she immediately fell silent, cupping her hands over her mouth to stop herself from saying another crap. Lily, who also had a traumatic memory of Jake immediately hid behind Wyatt's leg.

Conversely, upon hearing his name, Carmin's face lit up.

"Jake! You here too?" The gorgeous young woman, who was dressed as if for a gala began sashaying toward him with a flirtatious swagger as if she were strutting at a fashion show.

The plate thrower had been completely snubbed.

"Like Wyatt and Boris, I finished my Third Ordeal with flying colors so why not?" Jake chuckled. "The most surprising thing is that we are both partaking in our Fourth Ordeal at the same time."

"About that..." Wyatt joined in the conversation.

Ruby furrowed her eyebrow with an annoyed look as she saw this femme fatale approaching Jake, but only an ignorant moron would have assumed it was jealousy. Heaven only knew what was going through her mind as she glared at this woman. Perhaps she perceived her as a dangerous competitor?

"Who are you?" The plate-throwing mutant asked warily as she saw the warm, but uneven welcome given to the newcomer.

For a brief moment, the man's words had become unintelligible as if her brain had suddenly stopped working and it was just terrifying. The other Mutants present had just undergone a similar experience and all had a horror-stricken expression. The Oracle System's censorship was not to be taken lightly.

Jake understood why they were here after receiving Carmin and Wyatt's explanation. To be honest, without his master's hint, he would never have known that he was being treated differently than the other players for his Fourth Ordeal. However, as soon as he found out that it would be held on Quanoth, he realized that other participants who had performed as well as he had in the past could also be sent here.

The real coincidence was that they were participating in their Fourth Ordeal at the same time, but according to Wyatt and Carmin this was no coincidence. After returning from the Third Ordeal, Carmin had not met Jake again, but she had kept in touch with the Myrtharian Nerds through Will and some of the acquaintances they had made during the previous Ordeal, such as Kewanee, Svara and the two sisters.

As for Wyatt, he had kept in touch with Kevin, his cousin. Jake was delighted to learn that Kevin was also present in Laudarkvik. He had apparently joined the Were-beings faction earlier.

Jake was apparently the only one who did not know about their joint Ordeal project. Will feared he would refuse because of his previous conflicts with Wyatt. This wasn't the first time the merchant had played a trick on him, thinking he was doing the right thing, and this time was the last time.

Opening a private communication to Will through the Faction Chat, Jake sent a crisp but unambiguous message.

"Will, we need to talk."