The Oracle Paths

The implications were staggering. Something had managed to monitor his every move without him even realizing it.

"The only three individuals around us who already have their own Snitch Ring are Thonzo, Sank-Uk, and Meribelle. Four, if we include the hypothetical Soulmancer King," Xi reasoned with detachment. "If this ring indeed has an array of built-in sensors and cameras, then there's no telling if the surveillance is restricted solely to its wearer. On that note, it's pretty much on par with the methods of our Oracle System."

"That hasn't stopped it from letting us down when we need it the most," Jake's upper lip curled up in disdain. "Let's hope this one's a bit more reliable."

Still, casting another grim glance at his Contribution Points, he couldn't help but feel that the displayed number was a tad too high.

"I've only killed a few million troops. Even assuming there's a bunch of Lifemancers and officers among them, where the hell are all these points coming from?"

As he openly contemplated this, a mental interface popped up in his mind, providing a detailed breakdown of his past performance.

[2,750,919 Shimmers killed = 27,509,190 points]

[4,209 Pulsars killed = 210,450 points]

[674 Vitalists killed = 674,000 points]

[87 Light Paladins killed = 1,740,000 points]

[3 Corebearers killed = 45,000,000 points]

[1 Radiant Lord killed = 250,000,000 points]

[4 Light Saints injured = 1,800,000,000 points]

[1 Celestial injured = 3,000,000,000 points]

[1 Titanic Beast injured = 1,200,000,000 points]

[Note: Depending on the targets killed or affected, the number of Contribution Points allocated has been adjusted based on their significance to the Lustra Plains and how this will impact future battles.]

"Whoa, I injured a Titanic Beast?" Jake raised an astonished eyebrow. "When did that happen?"

Anyway, it didn't really matter. What counted was that he had this near-infinite number of points to spend.

"Hey, guys, I got 8 points!" Jashuzen suddenly blurted out, striking a pose full of arrogance.

"So childish to brag..." Thonzo shook his head in a mature manner, before boastfully adding, "I have 11."

Thrilled that their feats had been tallied, the group's newbies eagerly shared their point totals, which were all more or less in the same ballpark. Even Sank-Uk and Hephais had only received a few hundred points each for their past performance.

It just went to show the gaping disparity between Jake and everyone else.

"And you, boss?" Ekho suddenly asked, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

The stares of the other recruits, including Sank-Uk and Hephais, instantly fixed on Jake.

Jake surveyed them one by one with a deadpan expression, then said, "Trust me, it's better for your mental health if I keep that number to myself."

"How many points are we talking about? 5,000? 10,000? 20,000?" Thonzo rekindled his interest before catching himself, "No, to my knowledge a Vitalist is worth around 1,000 points, so it shouldn't go beyond 5,000, even factoring in a victory bonus."

Having officially fought on the other side of the Ironsoul Rampart and been evacuated back to Havocspire for severe injuries, he knew what he was talking about.

"… More," Jake replied vaguely.

"20,000?"

"More."

"50,000?"

"More."

…

"More?"

"More."

By now, even the apprentice Spirit Enchanter watching their exchange was at a loss for words. 'If he's not bullshitting then...'

Gulp.

Realization setting in, the youth made a complete attitude adjustment, assuming the smarmy and submissive demeanor of a shifty merchant. Rubbing his hands together like someone smelling a good deal, while trembling despite himself, he asked obsequiously,

"How may I serve you, Your Excellency? If you wish to purchase the best equipment, I don't claim to be on par with the best in my field, but I can offer you my best at an unbeatable price. In exchange, all I ask is that you give me a little publicity…"

"…" Jake stared at him, speechless. "No need."

The apprentice deflated at his refusal, but his face immediately lit up like a kid in front of his favorite candy when his mysterious client spoke again. Jake had just remembered something.

"Do you sell manuals for learning Spirit Enchantments? I'm interested."

The receptionist, who had been expecting anything but that, momentarily glitched at the question, his face going blank.

"Excuse me? Uh, yes, we do. The science of enchantment is no big secret, provided one can control spiritual energy."

"Well, I'll take a full set of manuals then," Jake announced calmly. "How much do I owe you?"

"500 points?" The apprentice grimaced, visibly discouraged. Having a golden goose in front of you, but refusing to spend its fortune, was incredibly frustrating. "Are you sure you don't want to buy anything else?"

"Positive. Now, hand over the books," Jake commanded, extending his empty hand.

"Right away…"

Dragging his feet, the young Spirit Enchanter left them with a crestfallen look for a few minutes. Probably to fetch the manuals in question, which clearly weren't on hand.

'Jake?' Hephais questioned him with a look, but the man in question gave him a mysterious wink.

'We'll go fetch some water from the river tonight when everyone's asleep,' the assassin finally heard in his head a few seconds later.

After that, Hephais didn't bother him anymore. Their future gear was in good hands.

A moment later, the apprentice Spirit Enchanter returned, lugging a hefty stack of grimoires in his arms. He unceremoniously dumped them on a cleared table. Brushing off accumulated dust from his robe, the young man coughed once or twice, then announced wearily,

"Here you go! All there, from Volume 1 to 17. The entire collection penned by Grandmaster Soulmancer Lorentz himself."

"Cool."

Jake's lukewarm response was the nail in the coffin, but at least he was done with this crew. The other recruits had also picked their weapons. Just when he thought his demanding client wouldn't buy anything else, Jake made an even stranger request,

"Is it possible to purchase a raw sample of all your ores, gems, and alloys, enchanted or not? A few grams will suffice."

The apprentice scratched his head, his forehead furrowed in perplexity this time, but after some quick thought, he replied hesitantly,

"That… should be doable. All apprentice Spirit Enchanters have those kinds of knick-knacks for practice. Whatever I don't have, my master probably keeps in his workshop or with his blacksmith associates. It'll take some time, though."

"I'm in no rush." Jake smiled politely, already fantasizing about his next mineral-rich meal.

Hephais, aware of his unusual dietary regimen, didn't react. But Sank-Uk and the other recruits were utterly bewildered, giving him weird looks. Naturally, neither Jake nor the Egaean bothered to clarify.

Gathering all these samples took longer this time, but the apprentice was efficient. An hour later, he was back with a dolly loaded to the brim with wooden crates stuffed to the gills.

"Everything's in there," he reported, observing Jake skeptically.

Just when the young man wondered what Jake planned to do with all these samples, Jake opened his mouth and inhaled deeply, creating a vacuum. The crates of samples instantly flew towards his gaping maw, incredibly compressing as they drew near before vanishing inside.

Gulp.

Jake swallowed loudly as if it were no big deal, then picked up the first volume of his new grimoire collection. Within seconds, he leafed through it from start to finish with a casual expression, then moved on to the next tome. In less than a minute, he had finished reading all 17 volumes.

If he'd wanted to, he could have scanned their contents with his mental sense, but that would've rattled the apprentice Spirit Enchanter even more. At least this way, he could make sense of what he was doing.

"Thanks. You can take these back," Jake returned the books, then uttered to the others, "Let's roll."

Stumped, the receptionist blinked dumbly before dashing after them, "Are you sure you don't want to buy better gear for your comrades? They won't get far with a single +1 enchanted weapon."

Jake waved his hand without looking back, "No need. I can forge much better stuff for them."

As the storeroom door slammed shut behind them, leaving the apprentice alone inside, he kept replaying the last words of that unintelligible individual.

'Forge better enchanted artifacts than what I have here for his entire squad? Is he joking? Some of my master's enchanted gear is also stored in this room...'

Lucky for him, the saying 'ignorance is bliss' held true. If he knew the kind of gear Jake planned to craft for members of his new squad, he would have surely repented not chasing after them.