The Oracle Paths

[Rune Engraver.] Xi spoke without hesitation.

"Rune Engraver?" Jake was slightly unsettled. It wasn't the Soul Class he would have thought of first. Sure, it was Tier 5, but engraving runes wasn't really his style either.

Of course, he could guess at the logic behind this suggestion, or at least the highlights of this Soul Class for a future Aetherist like himself.

A Tier 5 Soul Class wasn't just about carving weird inscriptions into rock. If its potential was limited to carving, engraving, and basic notions of archaeology or esotericism, this Soul Class would not have made it past Tier 2 or 3.

To reach Tier 5 and stand alongside such inspiring Soul Classes as Sunlord, Paragon, or Myrtharian, this Rune Engraver Soul Class must surely have some unique quirks.

As a disciple of a Rank 3 Aetherist, Jake knew full well that Aether Runes turned into Aether Symbols, which turned into Aether Spells. This was part of the fundamental principles of the Mirror Universe.

Casting an Aether Spell by spontaneously manipulating the ambient Aether or an Aether Core was already within his grasp, but so complex that it simply wasn't worth it in a combat situation.

Even for most Aetherists, casting an Aether Spell invented on the spot was not a viable way to fight. If an Aetherist was able to cast an Aether Spell repeatedly, he would probably turn it into an Aether Symbol, which he would then graft to his body as he did with a Bloodline.

This would then allow him to be able to cast the spell subconsciously without having to think about it, in the same way that his heart beat and his lungs pumped in and out of air without his help.

The catch was that an Aether Symbol, in order for his Aether to remain stable and not disperse, had to be etched on something. The only thing capable of manipulating the Aether was mental energy, which is why all enchanted objects and permanent spells were engraved on a piece of Spirit Body that the user then severed from his person.

The danger was that Soul and Spirit Body were one and the same, and to detach a piece of one's Spirit Body was literally to damage one's own consciousness. Novice Aetherists first had to learn to separate their Soul from their Spirit Body, learning to control their Spirit Energy without being tied to it.

Jake had already taken this step when he created his Aether Sun Core. Cekt Mogusar had upgraded his Light Aether Spell to a true sun, but Jake had still created a stable Aether Spell by his own hard work.

That was the main reason Cekt was so tolerant of him, although he was still unable to instantly cast an Aether Spell on his own.

If he became a Rune Engraver, he could expect to progress much more smoothly in that area. Simple Aether Spells that still took him long minutes, if not days for more complex Aether Symbols, would perhaps become as simple as eating or sleeping with this Soul-Class.

From this perspective, Rune Engraver only brought positives, but so did the outstanding Tier 6 Soul Classes. What really needed to be considered were the downsides to these tantalizing abilities.

[Yes, Rune Engraver.] Xi repeated slowly. [You've understood my reasoning, so there's no need to elaborate. If you weren't interested in this class, I would have suggested Geneticist or Arcanist. Geneticist is a much more limited Tier 4 Soul Class, but can greatly facilitate your path to becoming an Aetherist, and Arcanist is a very good Soul Class, but with a much wider range of interest. You wouldn't be a Jack of all trades, but the benefits you'd get from this class in a specific area would be less than lower tier but more highly specialized Soul Classes.]

"What I want to know instead, Xi, is what do I risk?" Jake cut her off impatiently. "Ordeal Ace would have made me a selfish psychopath, Plot Armor Wearer would have made me mindlessly reckless and arrogant, while Harbinger of Chaos would have turned me into the devil himself. Rune Engraver... What's the big deal?"

Xi was silent for a short while, then answered apologetically,

[The catch is that you'll become slightly passionate about rune engraving and anything else that's remotely related to it.]

"Passionate?" Jake perked up warily.

Xi cleared her throat uneasily.

[Ahem, more like obsessed, like a real manic disorder.]

"Oh... That's it?" Jake replied with admirable composure, but having their souls linked Xi could sense that a dangerous volcano was about to erupt. Unsurprisingly, Jake snapped right after.

"Just obsessive-compulsive disorder, huh... SERIOUSLY! Damn it, Xi! Don't you have a better crappy idea up your ass to come up with?!"

It took the poor Oracle AI many minutes to convince Jake that this was the best solution. Whatever his choice of Soul Class was, it would result in major behavioral changes.

Myrtharian? He already had a Mytharian Soul. In some ways he already had a Soul Class since he got his Bloodline. This explained most of his personality changes like his propensity to challenge himself and seek victory.

With the addition of the Silver Alloy he had absorbed, he had achieved a remarkable balance between his different personality traits and was pretty much in control. According to Xi, if he chose Myrtharian as his Soul Class, all of his Bloodline personality traits would be drastically enhanced. It was not worth the risk, and she felt that his mental strength and True Will were not nearly strong enough to withstand such changes. Before he could even think about remaining himself, he would slowly become a true Myrtharian.

The other Soul Classes were no different. Paragon sounded good, but it implied the notion of being and wanting to be a role model for all. Like Ordeal Ace, it impelled one to be the best at everything in an inherently wicked way.

Sunlord was the only Soul Class that Xi didn't have much of an opinion on. The term was vague enough that no one had a clear idea of what it entailed. Control the sun? Become the sun? Literally? Figuratively? Either way, she believed wholeheartedly that a Soul Class with such an iconic and catchy name would have heavy consequences for its wearer.

So, after a long conversation where Xi did her best to reassure him, Jake selected Rune Engraver as his first Soul Class. In making his choice, he was as nervous as declaring love to his first crush. The result was a disgraceful rejection, but that wasn't the point...

[Selection of Rune Engraver as your Soul Class confirmed]

[Soul Class: Beginner Rune Engraver: 25% Intelligence, Perception, Extrasensory Perception, 15% Vitality and Constitution per Spirit Body level]

[Related Soul Class Skills:]

[ Rune Engraving: Easier understanding of any Rune. Any Rune that is drawn, engraved once correctly, can be instinctively reproduced the subsequent times.]

[Deciphering/Coding: Rune Engravers are experts at deciphering languages using unknown alphabets or symbols and excel at creating any form of coherent code based on clear principles...]

[Word of Power Magic: By infusing enough willpower and Soul Energy into the written words and runes, these can come to fruition.]

BOOM!

As soon as Jake received the notification, it was as if an atomic bomb had just exploded in his head, sweeping away his old soul and rebuilding it in a different way, with a stronger foundation.

Even before he received his Soul Class, his Spirit Body was already level 28. His Intelligence, Perception and Extrasensory Perception had just been instantly multiplied by 7. It was the biggest instant intelligence power-up he had ever received in his life and the feeling he got was unimaginable.

An unparalleled mental clarity as if he was opening his eyes for the first time, an unreal feeling of being able to predict and calculate everything, and simply the ecstasy of going from dullard to prodigy in the blink of an eye. The feeling of confidence and control it gave him was simply intoxicating.

Then, all that he had lived and experienced in his life came back to him, in a completely different light. His disgusting handwriting in high school? If Jake wasn't in spirit form, he'd already be tearing his hair out in shame and frustration. His native language, French? A language with unnecessarily complicated grammar and spelling. English, a language too simple but with too many words with redundant meaning!

From this point on, Jake started to lose himself in sharp criticisms against his friends' writing, to rant inwardly against the spelling mistakes in the subtitles of his favorite movies and series, the inappropriate choice of certain words, the questionable aesthetics of this or that slogan, etc. It was an endless and uncontrollable spiral of criticism.

When he thought about the vain pride he had felt when he finished his first Aether Rune, he was so angry that he could have killed himself because he was so ashamed of his past performance.

'What the fuck is this ugly Rune?!'

It was only after many hours in the Prophetic Stele that he finally managed to calm down. It wasn't on purpose, it was just that after spitting out all his venom, he had finally grown tired. Rather than dwell on the past, he simply swore that he would never again be such a despicable and mediocre human.

All the while, Xi stood back silently, trying hard not to burst out laughing.