The Oracle Paths

"Anyway... I guess I fulfilled my intended objective." Jake pushed his doubts from his mind, then summoning his Purgatory starcruiser once more, he fired up the thrusters and shot straight for Quanoth.

He could have ingested the magic metals on the spot, but he was afraid Xi's prediction would come true and he'd be stuck outside the planet's atmosphere.

It was okay if he was alone, but he had just rallied all the Myrtharian Nerds in preparation for a life-and-death battle, and as a leader and organizer he absolutely had to be there or he would be unable to look them in the face at their next reunion.

A few moments later, the planet Quanoth, but more importantly the gigantic silhouette of Aurae, came into his field of vision. Quietly peering at the Mana Superstorm, Jake suddenly suggested,

"Hey Xi."

[What's up?]

"You don't think I could do the same thing to this Mana Superstorm that I just did to that star? A Mana Conversion Aether Symbol should be a breeze next door, right?"

[...]

"Xi?"

[You can try, but it won't work. Ultimately, that Mana Superstorm and those black clouds belong to Aurae. I doubt he'll let you destroy his creation with impunity, or this Ordeal is no longer relevant.]

" But how can I know without trying?"

[Then try.] Xi sighed, having no doubt about the outcome.

Jake trusted Xi's judgment, of course, but sometimes you had to see the result in person to be fully convinced. A few seconds later, a new Aether Core that looked a little different from the others was born.

With a thought, he steered it toward the Mana Superstorm and the Aether Core disappeared inside. Jake waited patiently with bated breath, but a few seconds later their mental link was severed.

'What happened?' His eyes widened sharply.

[No idea, probably a Reverse Spell. This Mana Superstorm contains millions of variations corresponding to different spells. It would be amazing if there wasn't one to convert Aether into Mana. By throwing that Aether Core in there, you probably helped the storm grow a bit].

" ... " Jake's face turned ugly as he realized he had done all this for nothing.

[I told you so hehe.] Xi laughed mercilessly in his head.

Jake's ego was triggered and his Myrtharian vanity immediately entered the fray,

"Hmmph, I refuse to believe that I can't destroy this Mana Storm if I cultivate an Aether Core strong enough."

[Stop it.] Xi stilled him with an exasperated voice.

"What if I create a Mana Core directly?"

[Forget it. That won't work either.]

Jake racked his brain for a solution, but in the end he was forced to give up. There were plenty of ways to get rid of this Mana Storm, but each required a level of power and technique he didn't have yet. Some plans seemed viable, but that was only because he didn't know what this storm was really capable of.

"Never mind, let's go back to Quanoth then." He said cheerlessly, somewhat dispirited.

He still gave Aurae a middle finger, figuratively making Xi sweat profusely, but the colossal entity continued to ignore them. Who knows if it got the message...

Snorting, he activated his Oracle Shield, then crossed the Mana Storm in the opposite direction. Once Jake was gone, the six lightning suns serving as Aurae's eyes blazed brighter as if they could finally express their anger.

"This Earthling sure is impertinent. If it weren't for the rules I set myself, I would have taught you how to treat your elders with respect.

Then the Ancient Designer turned his attention back to the planet, forgetting about this insignificant ant who was just one Player among millions.

A while later, Jake descended from the sky with a supersonic bang, landing above his underground hideout and generating a crater several meters in diameter as well as a deafening shockwave.

"Jake, you're finally here!"

"Hmm?" Jake was surprised, recognizing familiar voices.

Turning his head, he saw two beauties in armor, their pink shoulder-length hair floating in the wind behind them. Their skin had acquired a healthy tan and they looked better than ever. Their aura was also much more imposing than at the beginning of the Ordeal.

The hair and irises of both sisters were still pink, but there were subtle differences between them now. Enya's hair tended more towards red, while Esya's hair tended towards white. It was clear that their recent experiences and new Soul Classes had changed a few things.

"Enya? Esya? You' re here already? I thought you were on a ship lost in the ocean." Jake raised a bemused eyebrow.

Esya giggled happily, boldly pulling him into a hug with a kiss on his cheek before he could react.

"Because we missed you~"

As he recovered from his surprise, Enya hopped over to him and gave him a kiss on the other cheek. Confused and flustered by their brazenness and the tender eyes they were giving him, Jake blurted out awkwardly,

"Is your father still insisting on this marriage?"

"What? Can't we give you a hug and a smooch after three months of not seeing each other?" Enya chuckled as she took two steps back. Then she looked at him from head to toe and said seriously, "Your power has increased again. I thought I was catching up, but I feel like I'm falling further behind."

Esya also stopped teasing him and observed him carefully. Jake was in his human form miniaturized right now and although a normal human wouldn't know the difference, every cell in his body was bursting with power. Her face showed the same dejection that Jake had in front of Aurae earlier.

It was now his turn to be confident.

"And you haven't seen anything yet." He smiled enigmatically. "Wait a few days and you'll understand why. Ah, come to think of it, I also have gifts for you two."

Both sisters' eyes lit up at the word gift. They had expected local souvenirs, but they became speechless as they watched him summon thousands of Aether Cores and Aether Sun Cores into the sky.

"You can pick one of each." Jake said generously, as if this fortune meant nothing to him when a week earlier he would have rather endured a thousand tortures than part with his one and only Aether Sun Core.

"W-where did you get this?" Esya stuttered, her jaw still dangling to the floor in shock.

"I made them myself using Quanoth's sun." He answered proudly. "You'll never guess who I met..."

The two sisters were burning with curiosity, but they knew he would make them languish until they couldn't stand it anymore before he spilled the beans. Rather than fall for his game, they chose to focus on the Aether Cores above them.

"I want this one and this one."

"I'll take this one and that one over there."

"Excellent choice." Jake shrugged as he called the other Aether Cores back into his Space Storage.

After briefly sharing their adventures with each other, he asked,

"Besides you, have any other members arrived?"

"Only Peter, but the first batch should be here soon." Enya reported reliably. "Lucia and the others won't arrive until tomorrow. Vincent and Sigmar in two or three days. Gerulf and Rogen probably within a week. Will... Still no news. I hope nothing has happened to him."

Sigmar's presence was uplifting. As for Will's silence, there was nothing he could do unless he went to check on him personally, but Jake had other things to worry about.

The trio then looked for Peter, who was suspiciously picking mushrooms in the forest...

"Hey man! Try this mushroom. It's soooo damn good." The emo-looking addict greeted them in flip-flops with a wicker basket in hand, living his best life.

"...Ugh no, but thank you anyway." Jake refused with a stiff face.

The two sisters didn't even so much as give him a glance, harrumphing as they each turned their heads to different sides instead of returning the drugged Player's greeting.

Jake then escorted the two sisters and Peter to his underground lair and introduced them to Aisling, her sister and Jeanie. Maybe it was the female sixth sense, but the Dhampir Succubus and the two sisters immediately sensed tremendous danger when they met, as if their place in Jake's heart was threatened.

'We must not let this woman anywhere near Jake.' Esya whispered telepathically to her older sister.

Enya immediately nodded at the suggestion with a little too much gusto. Peter, on the other hand, was delighted to meet Jeanie and immediately asked her if she could produce some dust like the pixie in Peter Pan.

Seeing him pester the embarrassed fairy who didn't know where to hide, Jake gave her a sympathetic look, then after chatting a little with the rest of the group he went back to the magic room to train with the two sisters who wanted to accompany him. They planned to use the heat from his Aether Sun Cores to cultivate their own Fire and Light Cores.

Jake arranged several dozen Aether Sun Cores around him, then emptied his Space Storage of all his fancy materials, a small mountain of priceless metals piling up before him.

"Wow! You robbed a bank?" Esya whistled admiringly with dollars in her eyes.

"That surpasses the amount of treasure we've stolen during our pirate career..." Enya muttered to herself, somewhat bummed to have lost on that front as well.

Then, before their gawking eyes, Jake proceeded to munch on the pile of treasure, helplessly watching a fortune greater than their own sink into the stomach of a single man.