The Oracle Paths

Where Spirit Lumyst Water and Life Lumyst Water met, the center of each tributary suddenly widened to form a vast circular lake several kilometers in diameter. This intertwining of fundamentally opposite fluids was like trying to mix oil and water, an intuitively unnatural process. Hence, this double bottleneck that might remind one of some kind of blood clot.

Except here, the two liquids didn't just mix reluctantly. Only the destruction or total transmutation of one into the other was acceptable, and it happened that the collision of these waters with opposing polarity was particularly explosive. Every second, the translucent water of the lake would light up with billions of 'fireflies,' a recurring symptom of a new fusion attempt between these diametrically opposed water molecules.

The aquatic alien Lord Ooom had merely taken advantage of this flashy exothermic reaction to blow up the river earlier, using its own mastery of water and light to amplify its effects. As a Rank 16 Player itself, it was confident it could win in a strength clash against any enemy as long as it stayed safely underwater, or if not, it could escape without issue.

With this belief, following the embarrassing yet eye-opening retreat of the famously feared Iaoth, Lord Ooom, who belonged to Weiss's faction, hadn't hesitated to take its leave. Acting swiftly, yet unhurriedly, it had turned around with a flick of its tail, sinking deeper into the watery abyss from whence it came.

This retreat strategy should've worked flawlessly as always, but how could it have guessed that the one who caused Iaoth's flight had already caught up to it by the time it reached the neutral zone separating the two halves of the river?

Nonetheless, even in this predicament, it had kept his cool... Until its foe dove straight into the lake, personally torpedoing it despite the barrier of Life Lumyst Water coating its amphibian body.

The rest was history, or rather, a traumatizing nightmare...

A few seconds later, the lake's still surface began to swell, then parted to reveal a massive and unsettling extraterrestrial creature without equal.

Emerging from the peaceful abyss of a starlit lake, the gargantuan aquatic titan dominated the scene, its eyeless sperm whale-like head tedious through the souls of the few witnesses of its first ascent to the surface since the beginning of the Ordeal. It was fortunate this creature had no eyes, for otherwise, these fortunate spectators might have noticed they were glassy and unfocused.

As for its serpentine form, it glistened with an otherworldly luminescence, casting a radiant glow that contrasted starkly with the sapphire backdrop of the night sky. The creature's majestic body, adorned with intricate patterns and shimmering scales, undulated gracefully, reminiscent of the Northern Lights dancing in the polar sky. Cascading waterfalls streamed from its vast arching fins, forming shimmering veils that plummeted into the lake below. Rows of phosphorescent ridges lined its back, illuminating the surrounding woods and giving the impression of a starry realm brought down to Earth.

This breathtaking moment, both humbling and magical, worthy of its own painting in a museum, was sadly short-lived. After heaving itself painfully onto its four webbed legs on the lake's surface, like a water spider, the massive creature let out a chilling, agonized wail before collapsing to its side, revealing the monstrous void that had replaced its belly.

The entrance to this cavernous void wasn't that wide, but a glance inside revealed it had eaten away the entirety of the alien. The titanic Lord Ooom, having just met his end, was now but an empty shell.

For a few long seconds, the immense amphibious creature continued to stand on the water's surface, but then the supernatural bioluminescence of its scales, fins, and dorsal crests began to fade, extinguishing completely half a minute later. Another five seconds passed, and what remained of the hollow alien carcass collapsed onto itself, sucked in by some kind of gravitational pull from within.

When the massive corpse was entirely devoured, the devilish silhouette of a sated Jake appeared in its place, hovering a few meters above the lake. His chiseled abs remained flat, making it hard to believe he'd just devoured an extraterrestrial fish weighing several hundred tons.

Having finished digesting, Jake immediately checked his gains, and a satisfied smile brightened his handsome face.

"It was worth it." Jake silently congratulated himself with a rush of exhilaration.

The moment he torpedoed Lord Ooom using his own body, not only had he endured his first Life Enchantment by forcibly breaching the Life Lumyst Water barrier, but he had also acquired all of Ooom's genetic and Aetheric material by consuming it.

Because he had devoured it whole rather than just 'tasting' it, he also absorbed all the energy within Ooom's cells, and most importantly, its Aether Code. In essence, the full potential of his bloodline.

In other words, it was as if Jake had just ingested the entire Blood Essence of the prey who became his meal.

[Spirit Body level: 100>107]

[Species: Cosmic D Starfeyrves]

[Physique: Cosmic D Starfeyrves Body lvl1]

[Height: --]

[Weight: --]

[Soul Class: --]

[Strength (G5): 140 >330]

[Agility(G5): 270>630 ]

[Constitution(G5): 420>980]

[Vitality(G5): 380>880]

[Intelligence(G6): 120>280]

[Perception(G6): 42>98]

[Extrasensory Perception(G6): 60>130]

[Luck(G5): 2.5>5.8]

[Aether Stats(G5): 3.1>4]

[Energy: Grade 10>10.6]

­[NB: G= Grade, G1=1, G2=100,G3=1000, G4=10 000, G5=0.1M, G6=1M]

Somewhere during his year-and-a-half training inside the Dungeon Digestor, the interface displaying his stats had evolved to better represent their growth and to make their interpretation more intuitive.

The mention of the Grade, whether for his Real stats (Body stats multiplied by Soul Class coefficient) or his Aether stats, now introduced a nuance that wasn't there before: the Aether quality, or more precisely, its degree of compression.

In theory, no stat, whether physical or Aetheric, could climb infinitely without increasing its Grade, as the capacity of the vessel is limited. But there were exceptions. For instance, by gaining muscle or increasing one's size, it was possible to boost one's Strength without raising its Grade.

This detail was significant, especially concerning the Constitution attribute, because its Grade directly determined what concentration of Aether his cells could comfortably handle before starting to sustain damage.

Therefore, the Grade of his body was also the primary ceiling holding back his Aether stats from skyrocketing, his current Grade 10.6 Energy Body reflecting the highest quality of Aether that his cells could currently produce. This meant that to utilize the Aether his body harvested, he had no choice but to decrease its quality – a function that, fortunately, his body managed on its own.

Returning to his status, devouring Lord Ooom undoubtedly had a positive impact on it, boosting his Real Stats by about 20%. Not counting the boost from his Lumyst Aura, Jake was now roughly three million times stronger than an average native or Fifth-Ordeal Player.

This incredible increase couldn't be justified solely by the alien's power, even if it was an impressive Rank 16 Player. The key was its size. Due to the massive volume of its body and spirit, Lord Ooom contained far more Aether than its Oracle Status might suggest.

Faced with this realization, Jake couldn't help but let out a deep sigh, a conflicted expression hardening his face,

"No wonder these Digestors are all going batshit trying to devour us down to the last crumb. It's so simple to level up if you just toss your morals out the window."

He had never seen a Digestor leave even a bone of its prey untouched, which, given what he'd just experienced, now made a hell of a lot of sense. But his stat gains weren't the reason he'd grinned so contentedly just now.

Although the description of his Cosmic D Starfeyrves Bloodline hadn't changed, Jake could feel it had taken a huge leap towards its next advancement. Level 2 was within arm's reach now.

The water that Lord Ooom had manipulated so expertly was encompassed by his Cosmic Manipulation; this element was part of the cosmic matter, like almost all physically observable matter in the universe. However, just because water was included didn't mean he could control it as smoothly as earth or steel.

The legacy of his previous Myrtharian Bloodline and, consequently, the time spent training in specific environments or consuming the right materials couldn't be easily dismissed. Catching up on each element encompassed by his Cosmic Attribute would take time. Time, which, sadly, Jake was running short on.

By devouring Lord Ooom, he had just made up for a significant portion of his backlog. Well, at least regarding water. Its impact on his Energy Attribute was negligible in comparison.

Still, once his hunger was awakened, it wasn't so easy to put it back to sleep. Floating alone above the lake, Jake's ravenous eyes naturally drifted to the tributary from the Lustra Plains that flowed into it, and a predatory glint flashed within.

If enemy Players had the balls to hunt them in their territory, how could Jake not pay them a visit in kind?