The Oracle Paths

"Are Vampire Progenitors that powerful?" Jake frowned.

There was no doubt about Wyatt's strength, but in the end there was little the vampire could do against his radioactive magic. A small burst of ultraviolet and he'd run off like a dog with his tail between his legs.

Cekt picked at his ear with a fussy air, then nodded,

"They are. Most vampire species have two evolutionary pathways: aging and consuming blood. In ordinary Vampires, even if the one who transformed them is dead, and even if they are very old, they can only consume blood from their own former species. This is the price to pay for a curse with benefits. Ordinary blood will only give them a weak boost and will only satisfy their hunger. If they try to consume a better or slightly different blood, their lives may be in danger.

"It will often take considerable Constitution and Vitality to digest blood just a tad different from what their stomach and curse can tolerate. It's the snake that bites its own tail. Without huge stats, they can't digest more potent blood, but when they can, it's already practically useless... Besides, the strength gain they get from aging follows a logarithmic curve. Young vampires gain strength rapidly in the first few years after their conversion, then this growth slows down gradually until it reaches a certain limit. This is why the bloodline of ordinary Vampires, even when freed from their creator, cannot exceed Grade 5.

"The descendants of Vampire Progenitors are different. Being born this way, they have no evolutionary limit to speak of and their starting point is much higher. Their strength gain also slows down over the years, but their ability to digest the blood of other species is much more developed. The Griffiths clan that Wyatt is from takes this talent even further and can refine different blood to evolve their Bloodline further. It won't be easy, but if he can do it, his Bloodline could one day reach Grade 11 or 12. This example is not common, but not unheard of in the Mirror Universe's older systems either. Digestors aren't the only ones who can mutate by assimilating other Bloodlines."

Jake said nothing, but he was pulling a long face.

'Good thing he didn't drink my blood.'

It was hard enough to fight a young Vampire Progenitor as it was. If this one also became immune to the sun, or even replenished itself with its rays... Well, it was better not to dwell on it.

"I understand the official classification." Jake relented but remained steadfast in his resolve. "However, was it really worth teasing us with these Grade 11 and 12 if you're not going to elaborate on them? Besides keeping us in the dark, I don't see the point. What are we going to do if we really run into an enemy with such a bloodline?

"Err, that's a good point." Cekt rubbed his nose with a falsely embarrassed look. "Fine, it's not a big secret either anyway. From Grade 0 to 2, there is no potential for evolution, from Grade 3 to 5 the potential for evolution is limited except in exceptional cases, while from Grade 6 onwards it becomes possible to evolve in an unlimited way by one means or another. Grade 10 has unlimited potential to evolve in all four Aspects, but it too must meet certain conditions.

"For Wyatt, it's aging and drinking blood. These conditions are simple to meet, but there is nothing else he can do. Training, weight training, fighting, meditating will do him no good except to hone his skills and sharpen his mind. In other words, although his potential is unlimited, he cannot become omnipotent in a snap of his fingers.

"That's the limit of Grade 10."

"So if I understand correctly..." Jake deduced composedly as he paced back and forth. "From Grade 11 on there are no more requirements to evolve. Does everything we do make us stronger?Or will we become monstrously powerful no matter what?"

The last assumptions were not rhetorical. He waited for his master's answer.

" Well, you can look at it that way." Cekt cackled impishly. "But as you can imagine, no one is truly invincible in the Mirror Universe or anywhere else for that matter. That's the extent of the official classification.

"Let's say there's a species out there in the depths of the cosmos with no evolutionary potential, but immediately born with near omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence. Should I label its bloodline as Grade 1 or 2?"

Jake and Tim answered in unison,

"Of course not."

"And you're absolutely right!" Cekt clenched his little fists with a fanatical spark in his eyes. "Let me show you something."

The Wendok ended his levitation and motioned for them to follow him into another room in the back of his lab that Jake had never visited. It was a spacious, dusty storage room filled with wall shelves. What was interesting was what was neatly stored on them.

Crystalline spheres the size of bowling balls. At least the ones near the entrance. The dimly lit room stretched like a long, endless corridor and the spheres got smaller and smaller with distance, but not just because of the perspective. Beyond a few hundred meters, these spheres were no bigger than a marble.

Inside these spherical crystals, Aether Symbols composed of countless Aether Runes floated within. Indeed, each of these spheres contained an Aether Spell or Skill ready to be learned on the spot. All one had to do was touch them and accept the Runes' transfer.

Reveling in the dumbfounded and mouth agape reaction of his disciple, Cekt laughed out loud with pride and explained,

"I see you already know what it is. I guess you must have gotten some of them in the Dungeon, right? It may have been a fluke, but you were right not to use them. I'll show you why and you'll understand better right away."

Jake and Tim then silently followed the little alien as he hopped from one shelf to another to retrieve different sized crystal balls. They noticed, nonetheless, that the Aether Symbols inside were always the same, with a few rare exceptions. It was the same Aether Skill every time.

After walking for several kilometers, Cekt was done with his errand and they returned to the main lab loaded with several hundred crystal balls.

Jake and Tim were still in shock. With a fortune like that, Cekt could probably buy an entire planet, and he had hinted in a mumble that he had hundreds of warehouses like this elsewhere.

The Aetherist then positioned these crystals on the floor in a precise order, then happily admired his work before beckoning them to approach the largest sphere on the far left.

"Take a good look."

Cekt dipped his consciousness into that first sphere and the Aether Symbol inside activated at once. Under the Aetherist's masterful Aether Control, the Symbol was drawn out of its receptacle and floated up into the air before them. The alien then emitted a brief psychic pulse at it and the spell inside was initiated.

A white lightning bolt cracked the air bringing forth a peal of thunder, but the Wendok confined the electricity looking for an outlet until the spell expired.

Without a word, he redirected the Aether Symbol into his crystal, then repeated the demonstration with the next, slightly smaller sphere. Each time, a blinding bolt of white light shot out before being neutralized by the Aetherist.

After a few dozen demonstrations, Jake and Tim were no longer in the mood to admire the show. They understood what Cekt was getting at.

"All of these lightning bolts have the same power. But the Aether Symbol's size is not the same." Tim commented clear-headedly.

"Exactly." Cekt ruffled the boy's hair before sighing. "In absolute terms, the power of these spells is the same. Yet the price of the smallest sphere is nearly 1000 times greater than the largest. Why do you think there is such a difference?

"Does the body have a maximum amount of Aether Symbols it can handle?" Jake had already been pondering this in the Dungeon and that was why he hadn't rushed to assimilate these Aether Skills.

"It makes sense, but not quite." Cekt refuted cheerily. " Just watch the next part, you'll get a better understanding."

The alien returned to the first sphere and pulled out the Aether Symbol like the previous time, but without activating it. He then did the same with one of the only spheres with a different Aether Spell inside. Then he superimposed the two Aether Symbols and...

Nothing happened.

The Aether only reacted to very high concentrations of Aether and/or mental fluctuations. These Aether Runes intertwined without conflict.

Then Cekt activated both spells simultaneously. The Aether circuits ignited and the Aether that was supposed to go one way took another because of the overlapping of the two Aether Symbols. A white flash of lightning took shape along with a strange reddish aura and both Aether Symbols collapsed at the same time. The Aether stored in their Runes dispersed at once, merging into the atmosphere.

"Do you get it now?" Cekt asked grinlessly.

"I get it." Jake replied slowly.

The alien nodded in approval, then pointed to the largest sphere and the smallest one, which was about ten times smaller.

"That's the unofficial classification we Aetherists use. The first and last spheres are the difference between a Grade 1 and 2 Bloodline, but on a microscopic scale, since unlike an Aether Spell that is placed directly into one's body, the Bloodline is imprinted in every cell."

With a very grave demeanor, the little alien caught his breath and concluded his lesson with a final statement.

"The higher the Grade, the smaller the Runes making up the Bloodline's Aether Code and the more you can fit. It is the miniaturization of its Aether Code that determines a Bloodline's Grade."