The Oracle Paths

"Will?"

"Oh, erm... It says his Oracle Heal is level 5. Level 2 (+3) to be exact." Will stuttered, struggling to recover from his dumbfoundedness. "Wait, I'm sending you what I see."

"Just read me what it says." Jake sighed, unable to explain to him why he couldn't access his bracelet. It might have worked, as with the earlier Oracle System notification, but he'd rather not have to explain himself.

The merchant found nothing suspicious in his request and read aloud, "The owner of the Oracle Device will have his injuries, regardless of severity, treated instantly. Range: 100 meters of radius. Allies within the range of the Oracle Heal and designated by the owner of the Oracle Device are also healed. Number of uses: 5 times per Ordeal. Outside Ordeals: the Aether Cost is 100 times that of the Green Cube. Remaining uses: 1/5."

Jake and Ryne were speechless. Aurum had planned it well. This countermeasure was perfect, as if he had foreseen his own demise.

The Myrmidian's Midas Touch was not all-powerful. Although it could raise the theoretical wealth of everything around it, it required a lot of energy and was temporary. Furthermore, the "enriched" item would be " impoverished" in the same way when its upgrade ended. It worked a bit like the Beskyrian curse of misfortune.

To produce wealth permanently, which Aurum was actually capable of, he had to accumulate a fictitious energy which he simply called "Wealth". This abstract concept encompassed his physical and mental health, his Aether points or any kind of currency in his possession, his properties, his powers and so on...

His Midas Magic allowed him to easily transfer wealth from one object to another and it was through these equivalent exchanges that Aurum avoided tapping into his own "Wealth". To upgrade his Oracle Heal, even temporarily by three levels, he had to pay a high price. It was a measure of last resort.

"Thank you Aurum. The faction will do what it takes to compensate you and even reward you for your sacrifice." Jake vowed aloud.

With this Oracle Heal, they no longer needed to look for a costly solution. Without it, their next resort would have been the Divine Academy. Jake was sure that the Divine Academy had the power to heal them, but the cost would certainly have been outrageous...

Thanks to Aurum, all was well that ended well. Their group then proceeded to carry the other Myrtharian Nerds as well as Wyatt and Carmin into Aurum's building, including Gerulf and Rogen whose condition was of much greater concern. His building produced that "wealth" energy so compatible with the Myrmidian and that was the reason his Oracle Heal had not yet been downgraded to its original level.

"Okay, you can start Will." Jake gave him the green light.

The Dragon Soulspeaker nodded and decisively assumed control of Aurum's bracelet and activated the Oracle Heal. A wave of emerald green light spread through the room, flashing their retinas, and then everything returned to normal. Jake and the others wondered if the Oracle Heal had failed, but soon after everyone opened their eyes.

"What happened?" Carmin groaned as she drowsily rubbed her eyes. "And why am I so thirsty?" She complained, moistening her parched lips.

Wyatt was calmer, but as he stared at Jake's chest he remembered the sword he'd stuck in it in an act of self-defense. He stiffened and looking around for a weapon, he condensed a blood blade and stepped between Jake and Carmin, holding up his new sword in a defensive stance.

"Stay away!"

Jake and Will exchanged a glance. The Vampire Progenitor was obviously still a bit confused.

"Wyatt, what are you doing?" Carmine grew impatient as she squeezed his arm to get him to lower his weapon.

"Don't you remember? You drank his blood! If I hadn't saved you you'd be dead!"

A lvl 5 Oracle Heal had apparently not only healed their wounds, it had also recovered their memories. Jake also remembered what he had done while possessed by his second personality and was extremely embarrassed. The image of their heads being crushed in his hand was still a vivid memory in his mind.

"Neither you nor I were in our normal state. So let's just forget about it, okay?" Jake offered with a contrived smile, but from their frightened mouse-like behavior when faced with a big cat he knew it wouldn't be so easy.

Enya's face, which hadn't said a word, suddenly became flooded with tears, guilt drilling a painful hole in her heart. This alerted everyone.

"Enya, what's wrong?" Aisling patted her back, trying to comfort her, but she didn't know what to do to help her.

At least aside from charming a few enemies and stripping in front of Jake and the Undead army she and her mother hadn't done anything too shameful for Succubi. That Jake had shattered her body with a punch had been a blessing in disguise...

Still... As she remembered what she had done, her face temperature spiked and if she didn't have perfect control over her blood capillaries, she would definitely be beet red at this point.

"You killed Asfrid, I almost killed you all." Jake stated gravely as he forced her to meet his gaze. "Are you blaming me? Are you afraid of me?"

The Fire Mage opened her mouth, but as she crossed Jake's gaze her eyes widened with dread and a tinge of enmity. It took all her willpower to suppress those unwanted emotions. Jake obviously noticed this surge of fear and resentment.

"I guess so... Forget what I just said." He apologized, looking away. Just now he had been staring at her throat, and he had been tempted to tear it out of her with a single snap of his teeth to taste her flesh.

Something soft and squishy pressed against his back and tender but strong arms clamped tightly like a vice around his chest. That fragrance and those tanned hands he would recognize even with his eyes closed.

"I will never be afraid of you." Lucia's voice echoed against his back. Something has changed, right? It's okay, you're still the Jake who worries about us or you wouldn't have saved us."

Jake wanted to break free just now, but he gave up when he heard her voice. Right! He may not have been the same, but as long as he remembered what was important to him that was all that mattered.

"Thank you, Lucia." He squeezed her hand to let her know that she didn't have to worry anymore. Then turning to Enya, he took her in his arms, pushing her head against his chest and said, "You have every right to feel guilty or afraid of me. This Ordeal has proven to us that even with the best of intentions, we can still hurt the ones we love. In the future, please keep this mistrust and pessimism so that this situation does not happen again. I also give you permission to keep an eye on me in the event my behavior changes."

Enya lifted her chin to study his face and nodded as she wiped away her tears. "The truth is, I was thinking about what would have happened if Esya had not been eliminated. Maybe she would have died by my own hands. I wouldn't have been able to endure it."

"There is only one real culprit. Psykow." Ryne abruptly stated, ruining their reunion drama.

"Hmm? Who is this woman again? She's still with us?" Xaverie snorted condescendingly as she slipped on a new dress in front of everyone without any sense of modesty.

The others had dressed in a flash as soon as the Oracle Heal had ended. With their Agility, it was almost like a magic trick.

" This is Ryne." Will took over the introductions. "Anti-Life tried to recruit her so she knows a lot about Psykow. For those of you who don't already know, it's Anti-Life's leader who's behind the spell that made you all go crazy."

"You?" Hephais raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, yes, you. I wasn't affected." Will beamed smugly, which earned him a slew of glares.

"Gerulf, Rogen and Drastan, how are you feeling?" Jake then turned his attention to the two giants. They were the ones who had practically merged with the Mana Storm.

The first two were true to themselves. With the same phlegm as usual, they asked in sync, "Who won the fight?"

"Excuse me?"

"Who won the fight between me and Gerulf?" Rogen clarified with a hopeful look.