The Oracle Paths

Once the game officially started, Jake shifted his focus to the small cohort of Kintharian nomads. With time ticking away quickly, it was only by pushing his brain to the limit that he could tenuously monitor their ventures.

He knew he was wasting time watching them, but he needed to understand this tablet's limitations. Zooming in with his mental senses, he unknowingly spied on them, studying their behavior and customs and overhearing their conversations.

The more Jake accompanied them on their journey, like a spectator detached from their reality, the more solemn he became.

Each of these nomads had a name, a personality, friends, memories, a background, and a certain level of talent. Their Bloodline also had different levels of purity and power.

The leader of this nomadic tribe was a Kintharian woman named Ruda. She was over two meters tall and almost as strong as Gerulf back then. Like all Kintharians, her mind was relatively unsophisticated, but every decision she made exuded wisdom.

In this untamed, lush jungle, there were no predators, insects, reptiles or plants that could directly threaten their lives. The weakest child in the tribe was an infant barely a year old, but he did not slow the group down.

Like all curious children his age, he had a tendency to put anything in his mouth. Jake couldn't count the number of rocks, poisonous spiders, and other toxic stuff he'd seen him swallow with no consequences other than a few stinky flatulence.

Even if Jake let these nomads roam free, under the leadership of their sage, Ruda, these Kintharians would sooner or later prosper and found a civilization. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to let nature take its course.

Because Jake had successfully detected the Eltarians' camp after a thorough and painstaking mental scan. He had first spotted a young woman filling a bucket of water near a river and then tracked her mentally back to the rest of her people.

When Jake first saw the Eltarians' situation, a cold sweat ran down his spine.

'How is this possible?!'

In the space of about a week, but only a few minutes to him, the Eltarians had not only established a settlement, but its construction was nearly complete. An aqueduct was nearly complete, a three-meter-high palisade circumscribed their territory, protecting it from all threats.

Meanwhile, his group of nomadic Kintharians were like a gang of lazy chimpanzees, too busy sleeping, foraging, or hunting to think about setting up camp. The environment posed no threat to them, and they seemed content with sleeping on rocks.

'Isn't this a little too efficient?!' Jake was alarmed when he saw each Eltarian working at 200% as if a war was about to break out.

In any group, there were always one or two slackers living off the society. The selflessness and seamless cooperation of these Eltarians was closer to that of ants in an anthill than to humans with their own consciousness and emotions.

This was not a simple racial difference. Asfrid's influence was at work behind their every move.

Jake stopped taking the test lightly, his competitive spirit frankly flaring.

Instead of going back to his tribe, Jake began to intently scrutinize some of these Eltarians, looking for any hint. They still had their personalities and nothing seemed to have changed, but all of a sudden he felt the heavy presence of Asfrid's Soul enveloping the village.

Several idle Eltarians after finishing their task abruptly showed a change of expression, as if they were both humbled and honored to receive a divine command. They then promptly went back to work, starting another task. Usually what they were doing was within their field of expertise, but not always.

The most interesting part was the children. They hadn't technically learned anything, but they were still able to contribute like the other adults, whether it was in complex masonry work, weaving or cooking.

The only difference with their older counterparts was that their movements were somewhat robotic and their gaze completely blank.

'A possession! She takes control of their minds against their will and manipulates them like puppets directly.'

Jake mind-scanned the village again and counted one, two, three, six, seven, nine, seventeen individuals with robotic movements. Asfrid was controlling seventeen people at once! The others, more capable and autonomous, were no doubt receiving their instructions by telepathy or imaging.

At the same time, Jake also became aware of the incredible "luck" that these Eltarians seemed to be enjoying. The prey was abundant, meekly drawing near to the hunters. The weather was always good, but it also rained when the water tanks needed to be filled.

Obviously, Asfrid also used her telekinesis to influence the weather. In the real world, this would have been a feat beyond the reach of either Jake or the priestess, but in this miniaturized world, their psychic abilities seemed to be enhanced greatly. It was indeed possible to perform such miracles.

"I understand now. So that's how the game should be played." Jake realized with sincere admiration towards the creator of this tablet.

It was undoubtedly the perfect tool for sharpening the mind.

"Aren't you tired of spying on me?" Asfrid quipped amiably. She had sensed his curious presence for a long time.

"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle." Jake ranted obscurely without the slightest guilt.

"Wise words. But why do I get the feeling they're not from you?" The priestess snickered, seeing right through his bullshit.

"Whatever. I've seen what I need to see. It's time to play seriously."

As he made this bold declaration, an inexhaustible fighting intent erupted forth, setting off a hurricane in this miniature world.

"Oops. I need to better rein myself in, hehe."

His laughter echoed in Asfrid's mind as he returned to tend to his "people". Supervising these nomads again, his chuckling ceased and he became extremely stern and grave.

He had shown no signs of weakness, but the priestess was not complacent for nothing. It was not going to be easy to win.

He had just noticed another detail that was likely to be more and more critical as the game went on: time was flying by faster and faster.

It wasn't obvious at first glance, but the days were indeed going by a little faster than they had a few minutes ago. If the game went on forever, years would eventually pass in a matter of seconds.

At that point, neither he nor Asfrid would have any control over their two nations. They would then be forced to watch the two peoples battle it out in freewheeling fashion until a clear winner was decided.

In other words, the beginning of the game was the most important and he had already wasted the first few minutes.

As he watched the stupid, lazy bunch of Kintharians napping in the middle of the jungle again, all of Jake's good feelings about them evaporated. For a moment, he almost regretted his choice.

'Kintharians are still Kintharians after all. I've been too careless.'

[Individually, Kintharians are far more robust and tough than Eltarians. Even their lifespan is longer. On the other hand, their mindset is no different than Melkree's. At heart, they think and act like trees. If their bloodline were purer, they might have simply buried themselves in a sunny clearing until they died.] Xi, who had remained passive until now, suddenly felt the urge to participate as she sensed his annoyance.

'Yeah, yeah, I know, maybe the Kintharians weren't the ideal choice for a first game.' Jake conceded honestly. "But, that doesn't mean it's hopeless. Even a slacker can get off his ass if the right carrot is dangled under his nose. If that's not enough, I can also use force. In reality, their instincts are not totally inconsistent. If I exploit their vice well, I can easily turn the game around.'

[Then do it. Show me your wits.] Xi teased him.

'Fine. Just sit and watch. Now I shall show you how I cheat within the rules. I call this grand strategy bullying the weak.'

With the current Aether density, Jake's brain was over 300 times more powerful than a normal human'. In his Spirit state, and without his physical constraints, the Myrtharian Spirit and Soul increased his mental faculties twelvefold, turning him into a true supercomputer.

The accelerated time flow limited his prowess, as much of his attention was spent tracking what was going on down below and scouring the map, but anything Asfrid could do, he could certainly do as well.

Jake wasn't just smart. He was also a scholar. He tended to forget it, but he had a degree in cybernetics and programming. From medicine to agriculture, from steam to electronics, most sciences were interconnected by fundamental principles.

With his current memory and ability to understand, he could derive all sorts of modern technology that he had not been taught if he put his mind to it. How could an admittedly intelligent but ignorant priestess like Asfrid compete?

"One two, one two. This is your supreme god Jake talking to you. Come on, you wankers, it's time to get to work!" Jake mentally bellowed into the heads of all the Kintharians, who jerked in terror upon hearing him.

The ones who were gorging themselves spat out their fruit, the yearling involuntarily swallowed the rock he was sucking on, and the oldest suffered a mini stroke.

'Now that's more like it.' Jake nodded inwardly in satisfaction. 'You're a bunch of losers now, but I'll make a man out of you.'