The Oracle Paths

Chapter 192 Ordeal Rewards

Jake interrupted his experiment and looked up at the pink-haired noblewomen with a puzzled expression.

”If your Extrasensory Perception and Intelligence are high enough, it comes by itself. As natural as breathing. ”Jake explained in a calm tone, without showing any sign of contempt or judgment.

It turned out that this information was new, not only to the two sisters, but to Sarah as well. Kyle knew about the Seventh Stat because he was with Jake when Lu Yan first told them about it.

In an early Ordeal oriented towards physical training and hand-to-hand combat, if a Player wasnʼt actively trying to increase his Intelligence or harvest Aether it wasnʼt so easy to improve those stats.

Despite Willʼs physical weakness, Jake suspected him of having a much higher Aether Intelligence stat than he let believe. After all, he was the only one whose Ordeal wasnʼt fully focused on fighting.

Sarah had just awakened her Seventh Stat during last nightʼs battle against the Digestors, while the two sisters had just enough to maximize their Vitality and pay their rent for the coming week. Although they had a few hundred points left, they were in no hurry to spend them.

Seeing that none of the three women were familiar with the term, Jake told them what he knew, not to mention the circumstances in which he had awakened his own. Hearing Jakeʼs simple but clear explanations, the three women sighed, but for different reasons.

Sarah regretted that she had been too dumb and that she had not used the Myrmidian blood effect to exercise her intellect through learning, self-control, or meditation. She wanted so much to become a strong woman capable of surviving on her own that she had completely abandoned herself in training during this Ordeal. If she had been able to think calmly for even a moment, she could easily have realized her mistake.

”If I had known...” Sarah couldnʼt help but mumble with regret on her face.

”Itʼs not entirely your fault. ”Jake comforted her in earnest. ”Donʼt forget we had the Throsgenian body and the Blessing that went with it. Our cognitive faculties were reduced and our aggression and impulsiveness increased. This Ordeal was not meant to make us smarter, but to increase our chances of survival in the Mirror Universe. ”

”But that didnʼt stop you from doing the right thing...” Sarah snorted.

”Just luck.” Jake replied with a smile of false modesty.

Both sisters lamented learning this so late for a completely different reason.Their Ordeal had a similar purpose, which seemed to be a common feature of the first Ordeals, even though the sandbox character of the Ordeal Worlds offered all kinds of opportunities to those willing to seize them. It was clear, however, that they hadnʼt seized any of them.

What they regretted was that it was clear that their chance to regain their magic lay in the improvement of these two Aether stats. If they had made the right choices, they might have awakened their Seventh stat much sooner. Then their Fireball skill might not have been so useless.

Having finished with his tests, it was time to move on to the critical step: Breaking his knee again. Alas, Jake may have been brave and hardened, but it was different when he had to break his own leg. Just thinking about it made him shiver.

His old habit of procrastinating came back at full gallop at that very moment, and in a split second he found something else to talk about to postpone the inevitable.

”What did you choose as a reward at the end of the Ordeal?” Jake inquired with heartfelt curiosity.” Sarah, I know about your gladius, but that shouldnʼt be your only reward, should it? ”

Taken aback by the impromptu question, Sarah remained silent for a while, her puckered lips and furrowed blond eyebrows showing that she was immersed in intense reflection. In the end, she preferred to speak frankly.

”The gladius was indeed my special reward, but I got another one that I havenʼt used yet. I left it in my cabin, though. ”

”Whatʼs that, blood? ” Jake thought it was most likely.

”Yes... Myrmidian blood, but not pure. So I wasnʼt really interested. And the negative effects of this bloodline in the event of defeat are too risky. ” Sarah justified her choice as best she could.

” So you must have some credits left? ” Jake asked again to confirm his deduction.

” A few yes... ”

Sarah clearly didnʼt want to answer that last question and Jake didnʼt insist. It was possible that some of her credits had been spent on improving her gladius or improving the purity of the Myrmidian blood. There were plenty of other possibilities, but these were limited to rewards worth less than 200 credits.

”What about you? ”Jake turned to the two sisters who had remained quiet during their exchange.

The two princesses exchanged glances and then came to the realization that they were still alive only because of him. Keeping a secret about an Aether skill they had used constantly during last nightʼs battle was ridiculous. It was Enya who answered.

”For the same reason we stupidly rented a furnished cabin with a bed and a bathroom, our Ordeal rating was pretty poor. We merely finished the Ordeal by doing the minimum required, despite our belief that we had gone through a real hell. We only had 100 credits, so we bought the only Aether skill within our reach that could suit us.”

A demonstration being worth more than a long explanation, the young woman raised her hand in front of them, palm towards the ceiling, then a fireball was slowly generated in the middle of her hand until it was the size of a tennis ball. The process had taken more than ten seconds.

Although the magic trick was impressive, that was all it was, a magic trick. You couldnʼt hope to kill a Digestor with it. Apart from warming their backs, the effect of such a spell was extremely limited.

Nevertheless, Jake, whose stats were higher, perceived more. Although it was clear that Enya hadnʼt yet awakened her Seventh Stat, the surrounding Aether was slowly converging towards her hand as if it was under her control.

Jake could certainly do the same with the Aether within ten meters of his person, but he couldnʼt possibly reproduce the last stage in his normal state. That is, the step that transmuted a simple mass of Aether into flame, then controlled those flames to make them take on a spherical shape and finally cast the spell on the enemy.

Right now, however, things were different. The Kintharian blood was still active and that gave him instinctive control over the earth, but it also gave him an acute sensitivity to anything that gave off heat. Yet this did not mean that he could replicate this spell.

Flames were the result of an exothermic chemical reaction called combustion and it was clear that he could not exercise such fine control over matter. All he could do was thermally agitate the matter, hoping that the increase in heat would produce the desired effect.

He was only an amateur and the little magic he had he owed it to the bloodʼs properties. Once the effect faded, he would once again become unable to perceive or control these elements.

There was, nevertheless, one thing he could do in his normal state, and that was enough to make this lvl 0 Fireball skill viable.

”The shape is set? Can you affect the formation of the spell? ” Jake asked a series of questions to satisfy his need for understanding.

Enya didnʼt think heʼd be as interested in their Aether spell, but she tried to answer as best she could.

”We have no control. The fireball is always the same size, always forms at the same speed and is thrown at a fixed speed as well. Thereʼs nothing we can do. Just wishing to cast the spell is enough. Itʼs completely instinctive. ”

After that, Jake remained silent for a while, lost in thought. The lvl0 was probably due to the fact that the effects were too limited. There was no freedom of action. The Kintharian bloodline was much more interesting in comparison.

In addition to being able to control the earth as if it were its own body, it could also generate heat and feed off various electromagnetic radiation. The possible spells were only limited by the casterʼs imagination. If Jake learned more about Aether manipulation, he could most certainly produce the same fireballs with this elemental bloodline affinity without learning any Aether runes.

The earth and the warm, bright environments nourished his body and also accelerated his recovery, making the Kintharian bloodline a balanced and versatile bloodline. By contrast, this Fireball skill was indeed a bit lacking.

ʼStill... I can at least check one thing.ʼ Jake thought as he stared at the levitating fireball above Enyaʼs palm.

”Let me try something. ”Jake finally said as he put his hand under Enyaʼs.