The Oracle Paths

"And you will always be my first mentor." Jake grinned happily. Glancing secretly in the direction of a certain Gremlin, he then whispered, "At least you actually taught me something."

"I can hear you!" Cekt's croaking voice suddenly boomed in his left ear as if the alien had just teleported to him. When Jake reflexively turned his head in the direction of the noise, he was dismayed to find that it was indeed not just an impression.

Judging by his sulky countenance... the old alien was offended. Lucia also sensed that something was wrong because she let go of his embrace and stepped back with a self-conscious look, although with her olive skin it was hard to tell if she was blushing or not.

Master and disciple clashed with their stares, and Gerulf could almost see an electric arc forming between the two. Comically, because Cekt was so small he was forced to look up and this gave the illusion that he was the disciple and Jake the master. Because of the blank and guiltless expression of the latter, it was really quite confusing.

The arrogance and stubborn pride of a Myrtharian facing the infamous capriciousness of an old Wendok of cosmic renown. The outcome of such a dispute was a foregone conclusion.

Bam!

Jake didn't give an inch, but in return he reaped a vicious cane blow on the top of his skull. In addition to the searing pain that made him see double for a few seconds, a frightening bump the size of an ostrich egg swelled on his skull, almost looking like an exotic hat.

A bump like that on a normal human would have been treated with the utmost seriousness, but on Jake it was more of a cosmetic annoyance than anything else. With his Vitality, he could heal this type of injury in an instant if he focused.

Glaring at his master, Jake waited for the lump to subside, but his expression changed when he saw that the pain and the lump were not diminishing. Becoming solemn, he checked his Oracle Status, but found nothing wrong.

'How did he do this?'

As Jake and Xi tried to make sense of this sorcery that even the Oracle Device couldn't detect, Cekt cackled childishly,

"Don't bother. You're still too wet behind the ears if you think you can stop one of my techniques. Just behave yourself and it will go away in an hour or two."

Jake became stern, but what could he do but accept his punishment. Lucia couldn't take it anymore and started giggling. Gerulf gave him a look of sympathy, but he seemed to be relishing his fate.

At least, even on B842 there were things that didn't change. Jake was still someone's whipping boy.

"Meowhahaha!" A burst of laughter closer to a muffled mewl came thundering in to Cekt's sadistic chuckles and Lucia's reserved mirth.

Who else could it be? It was obviously his beloved cat, Crunch.

Gerulf and Lucia looked seriously at a huge ball of black fur almost as massive as an elephant. The chubby, short-legged feline was rolling around on the ground, obviously in the throes of an unprecedented seizure.

Perched on top of him, a moody orange turkey waddled on top of him as the cat kept rolling on the ground to stay in the same position, like a house mouse running on a wheel for exercise.

Undoubtedly, it was Lord Phenix. Both of them had survived the Dungeon.

If the turkey was so disgruntled, it was obviously because not all the chickens, ducks and other fowl in his original gang had made it out. Their numbers were greatly reduced, and only a plucked swan and a young one-legged hawk were left. The rest had ended up in the stomachs of the goblins and orcs of the Second Floor.

What was a Lord without his retinue? He had every reason to be cranky.

Just as the laughter seemed to be going on for a while, another couple of footsteps approached them and Jake saw two humanoid aliens, a man and a woman, whom he was meeting for the first time.

The man was not human. At least by human standards he would have been considered extremely repulsive, if not downright terrifying. His body was beefy, about Jake's size but with the absurd build of Gerulf. His feet ended in dark hooves and his skin was covered in dense, short-haired red fur. His face was less hairy but with large nostrils and two long horns curved on either side of his skull that could serve as excellent coat racks.

But the most striking thing was not his morphology, nor his mech suit or his futuristic glasses full of gadgets, but the ten mechanized arms connected to a device placed along his spine.

This guy was most likely a scientist.

The woman at his side could have been mistaken for a normal human, and even a very pretty one if it weren't for the fact that her skin, her hair, her clothes were literally plastic white. The only exception was the bluish light animating her irises. Each of her movements, though graceful, was accompanied by clicks and clanks that were imperceptible to a normal Evolver, but clearly audible to Jake and anyone else with fine hearing.

This woman was an android.

"It would appear that another disciple has joined the ranks of those caned by Master."The horned alien guffawed loudly as he pulled out a jar of ointment from his Space Storage, which he handed to Jake as he prescribed in a practiced manner, "Apply the ointment until it penetrates and do not touch it again. The pain should pass right away, but it will still take ten minutes for full resorption."

Jake did not hesitate to apply the ointment to his football-sized lump. His instinct was to pop it as if it were a nasty blister, but his common sense dictated otherwise. The bump was filled with blood... It was his body's way of protecting itself, isolating and expelling the afflicted blood.

After he finished applying the ointment, the pain immediately subsided and he thanked the horned alien profusely. The altruistic scientist nodded as if nothing had happened, while the female android took over the introductions.

"My name is Siri, a Delcron android. The horned Vrusug who just helped you is Syrbarun the fifth disciple of the B842 generation. As for me, I am the third disciple." She began to recite with a soft and hypnotic voice, but not robotic and monotonous as he had originally imagined.

In any case, there was no condescension, in his two fellow students. And their Aether fluctuations were comparable to his.

"You can call me Syr." The Vrusug said as he shook his hand. "Welcome aboard."

Only now did Jake learn that he was the last disciple recruited by Cekt. At least, that's what he thought. As Syr and Siri quickly explained to him, neither of them were qualified to study with the Aetherist. The bits of information they had might not be up to date, and Cekt was the type to recruit new disciples on a whim.

Apparently, this Master was not the most reliable mentor when it came to teaching and ethics. However, Jake didn't complain. Surely not all Aetherists were willing to go to such lengths to save disciples they barely knew.

One can't have it both ways.

Listening with a distracted ear, Cekt straightened up with his fists on his hips and lifted his chin with dignity, then bragged,

"If you want to learn from me, stop complaining and work hard. The day you can cast an Aether Spell instantly without any help, I will welcome you with open arms."

Siri rolled her eyes as she heard the alien preach the gospel with fervor.

"You heard him. None of us are qualified."

Familiarizing themselves with each other, they chatted freely for about ten minutes, exchanging information about their recent adventures in their respective Dungeons. It turned out that Jake and his group were not the only ones unlucky.

What had happened to them had happened everywhere else. Thousands of Oracle Shelters had fallen to the Digestors before being rescued just as quickly by the dispatched Oracle Guardians.

Cekt knew a little more, of course, but he told them it was none of their business. Annoyed that they were trying to worm the truth out of him, he announced that it was time to leave. It was time to go home.

Lucia and Gerulf obviously wanted to talk more with Jake, but they too knew that this was not the time. When it was time to leave, Will and the rest of the Myrtharian Nerds gathered around their leader. This also included a recalcitrant Shaktilar, a resolute Melkree, and a vigilant Fumdalf and Nawais.

When Lucia and Gerulf spotted Will, their eyes widened violently.

"You... aren't you supposed to be dead already?" The blonde warrior asked with a bewildered look.

She vividly remembered his miserable end in the coliseum. He was one of the last survivors and his performance had been admirable for such a poorly trained gladiator.

Will winced when she reminded him of that first embarrassing death, but he knew she meant no harm.

"We weren't there for real. For you it was real, but for us it was nothing more than a simulation, a test." The businessman explained concisely.

"We'll have plenty of time to discuss it when we get back." Jake cut him off emphatically.

"I remember you were hanging out with four other gladiators at the time, one burly guy, another cute guy, and two siblings. I guess they're alive too then?" Lucia inquired, leering at him playfully.