The Oracle Paths

Throughout the continent the same script was playing out over and over again.

Deep in the heart of the forgotten Drutsia Tundra, northwest of Quanoth, a lava lake about 100 meters wide and 30 meters deep was spewing out suffocating sulfur fumes. The blizzard raging over the area was unable to freeze this anomaly.

Suddenly, the magma in the lake began to swell, bulging as if some abysmal monstrosity were trying to escape. An explosion resounded, followed by a geyser of lava as high as a skyscraper. As the lava poured back down, the cooled fragments were blown away by the icy winds, revealing a dark and imposing figure in the center of the former lake.

This dark-skinned human was as muscular as he was intimidating, and even sitting cross-legged he was as tall as an elephant. Totally naked, the translucent fangs of his lower jaw were so massive that they jutted out of his mouth like a pair of short tusks, giving him a primitive look and a crude elocution. His claws were like red-hot daggers and with each exhale a cloud of flames would shoot out of his nose, putting the finishing touches to this scary picture.

In front of him, a huge sword radiating an unbearable heat at the origin of this lava lake was stabbed deep into the cracked rock. With a 1.4m handle and a 4.5 meter long blade, 45 centimeters wide and 16cm thick at its thickest part, this weapon was just like its holder: An abomination reeking of brutality.

Opening his eyes with a sleepy face, Gerulf scratched his head in a daze, then looking for his sword, a stupid smile spread on his face when he finally found it. After standing up and causing the earth to shake, he retrieved his sword and set off, muttering in a sleepy voice,

" Above all, not confuse the Shadowguide with one of these snow trolls or I might get lost again... "

There was only Gerulf to make such an error in judgment.

*****

In Skalurvi, a volcanic archipelago region in the far south of Quanoth, a man with a physique just as oversized as Gerulf's was sleeping curled up in a ball in a huge glacier filling the crater of the only dormant volcano in this barren land.

A notification from his bracelet rang in his mind and he opened his eyes. His muscles tensed and the enormous glacier, almost a kilometer thick, suddenly softened and he swam to its surface.

Rogen, the leader of the Throsgenians, was also planning to join in the fun.

*****

Closer to Laudarkvik, in the neighboring province, a young woman with long silky blue hair glistening like seaweed and eyes as clear as water commanded a group of people, who dressed and looked different, but had in common the same focused forehead.

From this group was gushing out a fantastic spiritual energy and they were currently using it to lift a boulder as heavy as a small mountain that had recently ravaged the city they had settled in. Two days prior, a Grog, a mountain titan revered as a local deity, had suddenly flipped out, destroying the valley and surrounding mountains where it had lain dormant for nearly a thousand years before stomping off northward, causing havoc and desolation in its wake with countless earthquakes.

Without Asfrid and her Eltarian friends, the city would have been wiped out. In exchange for generous rewards, the group of Players agreed to help rebuild the city when they all received a notification from their wristbands at the same time. After seeing the message, their eyes simultaneously locked on the seaweed-haired young woman as they awaited her decision.

Inexpressive, she telepathically relayed her answer and the tight-knit group headed west with nary a word once Asfrid returned their rewards to the stumped city marquis.

*****

By a river, in a badly damaged crystal city, thousands of water elves danced and sang in celebration of their victory over the wood elves controlling the vast surrounding forests. Year after year, their situation had deteriorated until the appearance of a certain Guilty, who was also a Water Elf like them.

Vincent Wilderth was currently sitting with a crestfallen and self-conscious face on a crystal throne, a pretty elf wearing a tiara sitting on each of his laps with their arms entwined around his neck. The two local princesses were gazing adoringly at him, and Vincent just like the two women wore an identical crystal ring on his right ring finger much to his chagrin.

Right next to them, a gray-haired elf still handsome and bearing a resemblance to the two princesses was staring at them encouragingly, along with a score of menacing guards, as if he wanted to make sure the groom wouldn't try to sneak away.

Vincent only had to nod his head to move on to the culminating stage of their arranged marriage: the honeymoon. Normally, a single young man like him with a high sex drive would have been overexcited at the prospect of the upcoming threesome, but these elves had a most wanton custom: the wedding had to be consummated in "public" and it was not uncommon for the parents and relatives of the bride and groom to partake in this most crucial hour of debauchery.

When Vincent got an unexpected notification from his bracelet, the overwhelming feeling of salvation he got from it filled him with so much hope and joy that he clung to it like a drowning man fallen overboard in a storm.

After many explanations and pleas, the old elf was full of regrets, but agreed to let him go... Nah, as if it was possible!

Hence, Vincent, his two wives, their father and all their people set off towards Laudarkvik, determined to defend the cousin of their future king...

*****

This kind of scene was recurring in various parts of Quanoth, and most of them, regardless of their circumstances, readily gave up the missions, titles and projects they had undertaken to answer their leader's call. Without this incident, Jake would never have known the importance and prestige he held in the hearts of the other members.

Sadly, this was not so for all of them. Sometimes, even when the mind was willing, the local context and the realities of life simply prevented these players from leaving.

In a luxuriously furnished room with stone walls and a king-size bed large enough to fit five people, one of these Myrtharian Nerds was experiencing this very problem.

The King of Beskyr, Ulfar, jolted upon receiving the notification, but after reading the message he let out a dejected sigh as he slumped back into his seat, his hands nestled comfortably behind his head.

"Damn it, this boring Divine Academy is driving me crazy! It's worse than a prison..."

For a second he considered escaping, but as he remembered what happened last time a chill of utter fear made his whole body shiver. Being teleported from the beginning of the Ordeal into the Divine Academy was a blessing, but the Oracle was fair. To get here so early thanks to his absurd luck was to his credit, but then he had to prove that he deserved to be here.

In reality, the Divine Academy was not much safer than the outside and the Ordeal Missions he had received were insanely hard to complete.

Therefore, after reading Jake's call to battle, he had no choice but to politely decline the offer. In exchange, he ordered all the other Beskyrians who were not stuck in the Divine Academy with him to assist him as best they could. As their former king, he still enjoyed tremendous authority among his people.

Tim Paradis was in a similar predicament, but unlike Ulfar he dreamed of being imprisoned in one of the Divine Academy's luxury suites. Having appeared in Celestial City, his luck had backfired.

Here, the competition was inhumanly tough and the indestructible city had turned into a battle royale where thousands of factions were fighting to secure a piece of land. Because there was still time before the destruction of Quanoth, the factions fighting each other were mainly Drurs, the local aliens ruling the Shatug Empire, as well as lone adventurers and monsters who had arrived here early.

What they all had in common was their immense power. This was the minimum required to have any hope of surviving here for more than a few hours. To survive until now, Tim was doing pretty well... Actually, it was taking all his energy and even if he managed to get out of the Celestial City, he would then have to cross the Shatug Empire under martial law, then the vast Maze of Mirik swarming with Shron bugs.

Crawling through the city's sewers, the boy covered in filth, feces and other questionable fluids couldn't help but burst into tears as he read the message.

[Lily: My dad and I are coming!]

'Fuck! Even Lily will be there with Jake.'

At that moment, Tim wiped away his tears and was momentarily tempted to rush south no matter what, before he came to his senses and remembered that he had no chance of succeeding.

'I miss her...'

Of course, he couldn't show this vulnerable and pitiful image of himself and he summarily replied,

[Tim: I won't be able to come. The Shatug Empire's surveillance is too strict. -_-']

[Lily: Oh no! Don't worry, we'll fight twice as hard to make up for your absence. :P]

[Tim: You mean four times. I'm strong you know. ^^]

At least he hadn't forgotten how to flirt.

Similar apologetic messages were gradually posted after Ulfar's and Tim's reluctant refusals, but their number did not exceed a few dozen. Yet, whatever their reasons for declining, all took the time to respond except for one person:

Will Hopkins.