The Oracle Paths

Seeing a vein bulge on Jake's forehead along with his eyebrows curving sharply downward, Lucia and Hade didn't need to be geniuses to figure out what was going on.

"Please Jake spare the chair armrest. It took me a while to craft them." The former Fluid Grandmaster groused apprehensively as he saw Jake's hands clutching the armrests of his chair a little too hard."

Jake snapped out of his trance and apologized profusely.

"I'm not in the mood for conversation anymore. Let me know when everyone is here, I need to blow off some steam." He announced as he stood up before striding to the exit.

Hade and Lucia exchanged an awkward glance, then the Fluid Grandmaster reminded him,

"Keep the Communication Artifact I gave you handy so we can contact you."

Lucia bowed in appreciation of Hade's hospitality, then ran after Jake.

"No matter where you go, I'm coming with you."

Jake gave her a sidelong glance, but eventually gave up.

"Whatever you say."

His gaze drifted to the northeast and with a bang he took off into the sky, breaking the sound barrier and leaving a supersonic boom in his wake. Lucia glared at him, stomping her foot on the ground grudgingly as she watched him fly away.

"Jake, wait for me!"

"Hmm?"

The Gold Myrtharian who had already gone far away turned his head and almost burst out laughing. He hadn't thought about the possibility of Lucia being unable to fly. Chasing after him, she was bouncing several kilometers high like a grasshopper to catch up with him, but she was rendered helpless when his figure blurred into the clouds.

Feeling a bit guilty, he returned down to fetch her.

"Damn it, did they ever teach you chivalry?" She grumbled adorably, her face red with embarrassment.

After her lament he heard her mumble to herself,

"...I must learn to fly for the next time."

"Sorry, if you're a good girl I'll teach you. Now that I'm officially an Aetherist I should be able to do it." Jake sheepishly apologized.

"I'll take your word for it!"

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry. I only have one word" He bragged while lifting his chin up with a smug attitude.

After that, Jake scooped her up with his telekinesis and the duo flew to the Ret'Asi Empire capital. After a while, not holding on anymore, Lucia asked,

"Why do you want to go there? Kanui may be the hub of the empire, but in my opinion Laudarkvik is much more interesting."

"I want to check on Will's situation. He's the only one who hasn't responded and what you just told us has raised my suspicions. I hope I'm wrong, but I want to be sure."

Quietly stalking his Shadow Guide, Jake traveled up the trail to Will until he saw a lush valley trapped between three mountains a few dozen kilometers from the capital. Hastening his descent, he coolly observed the landscape, looking around for his friend.

This valley didn't look like much at first glance, but as he ran an Oracle Scan Jake was alarmed to find that many winged creatures resembling the dragons and wyverns of legend were swarming this place. They were not as large as Hade's dragon, but more than big enough to take on most large dinosaurs.

In the heart of the valley, there was a secluded village with a dated architectural style, but what set it apart from the other towns was that every building was made of stone and everything seemed to be oversized. The height and width of the doors, windows, walls and ceilings were more than enough to fit 15 or 20 meter tall giants.

In the streets, Jake and Lucia saw a few men, women and children wearing traditional clothes and what they all had in common were the two horns on their foreheads and the gem-like scales covering part of their faces.

Ignoring them, Jake continued to follow his Shadow Guide and eventually landed in front of a stone building even larger than the others whose vaguely pyramidal structure loosely evoked that of a temple or a mausoleum, but in any case an important building.

"Halt! Only authorized guests and Soulspeakers are allowed to pass." An imposing warrior whose armor was as emerald as his scales barred their way with his spear.

Not angry, Jake calmly looked at the guard as he released a sliver of his aura along with his new Gravitation Skill and said,

"I'm looking for one of my comrades. His name is Will Hopkins and I know he's here."

The guard's expression changed slightly, his eyes immediately growing wary.

"And you are..."

"Jake Wilderth."

The guard's slit-pupil eyes widened with a gasp and he yelled hostilely,

"Leave. If you refuse to comply I will have no choice but to kill you."

Jake's eyes narrowed and his expression darkened. Lucia also smirked as she unsheathed the Myrmidian sword that had accompanied her since her very first Ordeal. In a cold voice he replied,

"Are you sure you want to stand in my way? As long as you bring Will in front of me, I'll gladly stay out. Otherwise, don't blame me if I accidentally destroy your valley while trying to reach my friend."

At that moment, he fully activated his Gravitation Skill and released all the spiritual pressure he was capable of pumping out. The temperature shot up, arcs of electricity began to sizzle around him, and the ground hundreds of meters around him began to ripple like the surface of the ocean in the midst of a storm.

The guard gulped with difficulty, then with a dry voice he stuttered,

"I-I will pass on your request."

Drenched in sweat and with his valiant bearing nowhere in sight, he bolted for the building without looking back, leaving them alone to stand outside. A few moments later, an elder wearing a long golden robe walked out to meet them, a scornful and condescending look on his face.

Unlike the guard, his horns and scales were as golden as his robe, and an oppressive spiritual presence spilled from his body without any apparent effort. When his gaze fell on Jake and Lucia, he said,

"Jake Wilderth and Lucia I presume? Will is not available at this time. Please come back later."

The frown on Jake's face intensified, but he was beginning to realize that he may have been overreacting for nothing. These natives didn't seem to have any connection to Lost Divinities.

"Can I at least know what he's doing and when I can see him?" Jake inquired patiently.

Eyeing them with a self-important air, the elder snorted,

"Will and his dragon Charizard have been chosen to become our new Soulspeakers. They are currently undergoing intensive training under the supervision of our Dragon King."

'So cliche!' Jake was speechless. Why wasn't this kind of encounter happening to him?

When he'd heard about his cousin Vincent's hilarious plight, he'd already been flabbergasted, but now it seemed like something straight out of a webnovel.

"And may I ask what a Soulspeaker is and what his duties consist of?" Jake ignored the old man's haughty attitude and continued asking his questions.

"A Soulspeaker uses his Soul Force to command the forces of nature and other creatures with his Soul. Here is an example. Kneel!"

Before they knew what had just happened, Jake and Lucia found themselves kneeling in front of the elder, who flipped his white hair and gave them a dismissive look before heading back inside the temple.

Jake and Lucia's civilized facade shattered simultaneously.

"You... Son of a..."

Jake teleported without warning and before the cocky old man realized the danger, a foot powered by a force equivalent to tens of thousands of tons and enhanced by his Gravity skill stomped on his skull, embedding his thunderstruck body into the temple's stairway.

BOOOOOOM!

A crater several dozen meters deep was formed in an instant with the old man stomped in the center and a powerful seismic wave spread through the temple, then the whole valley, causing the structure to collapse. An energy barrier activated, encompassing the building and saving it from total destruction.

Jake's leg had already turned to adamantium, and the sheer power of the kick sent the old native rocketing several kilometers underground, through multiple layers of bedrock before ending up embedded far below the surface, his condition unknown.

"Proud that you made me kneel with your magic trick? I don't need that to make you eat the ground." Jake said as he spat into the hole at the center of the crater.

Plop!

It took a while, but eventually he heard his spit hit its target. The wet impact woke up the battered old man, and when he realized where he was and what had happened, he went berserk. And yet, a trace of fear flitted across his face. This near death experience had been an eye opener.

Jake knew that his kick would not kill the old man. He had done a scan just before and the result had baffled him.

[Jinlong (Golden Dragon), Grandmaster Soulspeaker lvl 90]

As he counterattacked, Jake had been taken aback by the strength of his kick and for a split second he had been worried that he might have killed him. Fortunately, all was well that ended well. The old dragon was in bad shape, but with the Digitization and his high stats he would be fine.

"Cough cough..."

A moment later, the old man with no visible wounds and even his hair combed back emerged from the crater. His countenance was now much more humble, much to Jake's satisfaction.

"Let me escort you to Will."

"See. It wasn't that hard." Jake smiled as he entered the temple, followed by Lucia who broke into laughter alongside him.