The Oracle Paths

Chapter 128 Lucias“ Misery

” Pardon? ”Princess Lucia gaped when she heard his proposal.

She had been watching their brutish training since they started and just by watching them sweat and make faces she could tell it was a pain. Furthermore, she only had dresses and tunics suitable for a young woman accustomed to the palaceʼs etiquette.

As Jake contemplated her behavior, it was easy for him to guess what thoughts were going through her mind. He may have been a former anti-social with a low emotional quotient, but it was hard to miss these details with an Intelligence as high as his.

Firstly because time passed more slowly for him, so that he didnʼt miss any changes in expression, and secondly because his brain could process much more data at once. Finally, he was calmer. He was gradually getting used to interacting with people for information or profit.

”I guess youʼre the kind of person who mopes that your whole life has been hell and thereʼs nothing you could have done to change it, right? ”Jake decided to taunt her a little bit to get her out of her comfort zone.

Contrary to his hoped-for reaction, she sat on the bench with her arms folded in a nonchalant manner.

”So what ? That is indeed correct. ”She simply replied without embarrassment.

”Youʼre wrong. And you know it. ”Jake objected coldly. ”That would be true of anyone else, but not a pure-blooded Myrmidian like you. ”

The young woman frowned, her arms crossed and slightly twitching. Finally a reaction that showed she wasnʼt completely ignorant. All was not lost.

”Do you realize that the recruits and gladiators here use the diluted Myrmidian blood of Priscus or Khazus for their training, yes or no? ”

”Yes...” Lucia admitted with a nod. She couldnʼt walk in broad daylight in the arena, but between her mother Anthoniaʼs passion for gladiatorial combat and her older sister Liviaʼs passion for gladiatorial combat, she knew all about how a Ludus operated

.

”So you know that the portion given to a recruit is 100 times less pure than the blood of a nobleman, which is four to five times less pure than yours. Moreover, the fact that you are Myrmidian means that your body also benefits from Myrmidʼs Blessing. True so far? ”

”Thatʼs right...” The princess was brooding now. She knew exactly what he was going to say.

”Therefore, for you a day of intensive training like ours is at least a yearʼs worth of recruit training. So tell me now, arenʼt you responsible for your situation? Your skinnyness, your anemia, your physical weakness? These are just excuses! ”

Jake was rather pleased with his speech, but when he saw the young womanʼs body begin to shake and her eyes getting wet, he regretted his words. Though, only for a second. After all, she needed a good kick in the buttock to get out of this vicious circle of self-pity.

He let her sob for a moment without saying anything, then when he saw that she was calming down, he began to speak again in a softer but firm tone, allowing no possibility of refusal.

”Now that the problem has been identified, you will practice with us every day and eat exactly what I tell you to eat. If you refuse, I will spoon you down. Iʼm sure your mother and sister would be on my side. ”

For a brief moment the Princess showed signs of hesitation as if looking for a valid excuse to refuse, then like a balloon with a hole in it, she shriveled on herself with a long sigh. Even her personality was too tame to decline.

A few minutes later Jake was back after having picked up some rookie clothes in the right size for the princess. He then used his Oracle to concoct a suitable training program for the young woman, and then simply wrote it down on a piece of parchment.

After that, he resumed his own training while supervising Luciaʼs from time to time. He soon realized that she was indeed extremely weak. Even a kindergarten child was stronger. Her sprint speed was comparable to that of an obese person weighing 300 kg on Earth, while she herself weighed only 40 kg.

Even so, she obeyed. Her willpower was weak, and in order for her Myrmidian blood to activate, she had to keep up. Thatʼs why Jake had designed a program within her reach that any recruit would consider ridiculously simple. Whenever he felt she was about to give up, his Shadow Guide would make him shout a well-meaning remark, skillfully playing between compliment and humiliation.

Every time Lucia thought she had done enough, her gaze would meet that of Jake, full of disdain and mockery, and every time the flame inside her would be rekindled as she gritted her teeth to focus on her exercise.

But Jake hadnʼt lied. Her blood was truly exceptional. After only half an hour of training she felt her Myrmidian blood awaken for the first time in years. The only times this had ever happened were when she had accompanied the Imperator to war and planned the strategies for future battles.

Her intelligence was the only thing that was really above the rest and that had been strengthened by her Myrmidian Blood. Even though it had partly been drained from her by repeated blood sampling, she remained one of the greatest minds in the Empire.

When her blood was activated by her determination and effort, the Aether in the atmosphere she could not see began to flow towards her, and by a mechanism too complex to be understood, bound to her cells, transforming her organism in depth.

Where a non-Myrmidian could only see his Aether increase by consuming blood, Luciaʼs body was then profoundly altered, the Aetheric and Genetic Code interacting in a mysterious way, connected by an invisible link.

If she needed Jakeʼs encouragement and mockery to persevere at first, that changed radically when the Blessing was activated. Each hour was the equivalent of over two weeks of training for a recruit regarding the Aether, and even though her body wasnʼt evolving as fast due to lack of nutrients, it was still terrifying.

Jakeʼs Extrasensory Perception was still low, but he could sort of instinctively feel the difference. The way the Aether seemed to come out of nowhere to join the Princessʼ body could be felt by Jake as it grazed him.

The biggest mystery was that the density of Aether in the air didnʼt seem to decrease, as if no matter how much Aether a person could steal, this world would retain its 8-point density forever.

Jake didnʼt know if the Aether was infinite and the question was far beyond his grasp. So he dispelled those fleeting thoughts to continue his training now that the young woman was on her way.

At noon he took it upon himself to order the Princessʼs meal according to the Shadow Guideʼs instructions, and the portions were copious to say the least. A wooden table had been set up under an awning in the secondary courtyard where they practiced so that the Princess could eat with them out of sight.

Hugo didnʼt say much, but he understood Jakeʼs intention and thought it was a great idea. It was hard to know if the result would be successful, but it could only benefit the Princess.

Lucia was not frail without reason. Having been weak all her life, she had developed a birdʼs appetite. Her digestive system was certainly fragile and the volume of her stomach small, but she absolutely had to eat like an ogre if she wanted to regain her weight and strength.

So when Jake saw her put her chicken leg down after pecking a few tiny bites with princess decorum, he went into action. He ruthlessly asked Hugo for help, and the two of them managed to force the Princess to swallow two bowls of groats and a generous portion of meat.

When they finally let her leave the table, Lucia was feeling nauseous and on the verge of vomiting, but when she saw Jakeʼs eyes, she swallowed the vomit that rose to her mouth. Jakeʼs menacing look made it clear to her that if she threw up what she had just eaten, he would make sure she had a full stomach again before resuming her training.

Soon after, Luciaʼs training resumed again, marking the beginning of 19 days of misery for the princess, but also a change in her life for which she would be forever grateful.