The Oracle Paths

961 Are You A Trojan Digestor?

It was Syrbarun who had roared in disbelief, his shock as plain on his face as ink on parchment. All save for Epsilom, the other disciples were equally confounded, unable to grasp what could have spurred such a sudden decision.

Their master was riddled with faults, but he hardly seemed the type to show favoritism or succumb to bribes. What could Jake have shown him to make him change his stance so swiftly?

"Master, what's going on?" Drakon inquired politely, but the way his pupils narrowed into thin slits, the Draconian's dormant pride was clearly threatening to rise to the surface.

Cekt was no Machiavellian puppet master who thrived on division and chaos, stoking the flames of jealousy and hostility amongst his disciples for his own amusement. Thus, he withheld nothing, clarifying the reasons behind his decision to avoid any misunderstandings.

"I have consulted Jake's Oracle Status. Be it his bloodline, his Aether manipulation, his Oracle Rank, or his accomplishments as an Aetherist, he is qualified to receive my teachings. You would understand what I mean if you had seen what I just saw. To prevent the brewing of any sense of amongst you, I will only say this: Bronze Aether Artefacts. Jake can craft many of them from his own body without spending a single Aether point."

The other disciples grew solemn at this. Bronze Artefacts was a rather vague term, but one thing was certain: their price ranged between 1 and 1,000 Quadrillion AP.

The reason being that most of them were not just incredibly hard to destroy or overpowered, but passively generated Aether Points. Take the Purgatory, for example. It produced 1 billion AP per day on B842, where the Aether density was 260.

Acquiring such a Bronze Aether Artefact, even if it was priced at 1,000 Quadrillion AP, could be paid off in a few thousand years. That might seem long, but any Evolver capable of spending 1,000 quadrillions without batting an eye generally boasted an incredibly long lifespan.

And that's when the Aether density was low. In those Systems where the Aether density was measured in millions, the same Bronze Artefact would be many times more efficient at harvesting Aether.

"It's insane..." Syrbarun murmured, casting his eyes down to his mech suit, his gaze hollow.

His precious mech suit, which he had spent so much time fine-tuning, was only an Advanced Aether Artefact, and that was only due to the set effect. If each piece was considered separately, the quality would be deemed a notch below.

"Life is really not fair," Siri concurred, having finished a series of mental calculations.

While the Vrusug was merely envious, she was looking ahead. If Jake needed an entire year to produce a Bronze Aether Artefact, their master would not have made such a fuss. It meant Jake's body was producing the required materials quickly enough to be highly profitable and impress the old Wendok.

As for Jake's Aetherist skills, that was a mere detail. She was interested in leveraging their relationship as fellow disciples to secure a stable supply of Bronze Materials at a discount.

She used to go through the Oracle Store or other Evolvers for her supplies, but the prices were exorbitant and the supply was not always reliable. Now that the Oracle Store was planning to charge them the full delivery fees, she would have to change her plans.

In the same vein, Siri kept staring at Drakon Solara's scales, their ruby hue speckled with gold. To her, the Draconian was just another inexpensive resource within her grasp.

She then set her gaze on the Gorgonite, her eyes gleaming with the same hunger at the sight of the magnificent gems jutting from his body. The stone man subconsciously shivered as the android's gaze locked onto him, sensing an indescribable danger.

"If there's nothing more to say, it's time to move," Cekt clapped his hands, punctuating the end of briefing.

Drakon appeared ready to protest further, but seeing his master's impatient expression, he swallowed his words. During the mission, he'd have plenty of opportunities to prove his worthiness.

Each member having their own Space Storage, none required time to prepare. However, those with their factions needed to relay the reason for their extended absence, Jake included.

Of his three companions, Jake had to delegate a messenger role. Without much deliberation, the role naturally fell to Lucia. Sensing his intent as his gaze fell upon her, she vehemently protested,

"No way! I'm coming with you!"

Suddenly, Jake felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him as he realized that the stubborn Myrmidian princess wouldn't budge. With his new girlfriend tagging along, the mission was bound to be eventful.

Knowing when to retreat from a lost cause, Jake reluctantly conceded, "Fine. But don't regret it."

In the meantime, the question of the messenger was still unresolved. Jake was about to resolve to contact Will directly through the Faction Chat, ready to blow a few trillion AP, Ulfar blurted out of the blue,

"Go on without me. I have a bad feeling about this."

Jake and Hade's expressions shifted drastically upon hearing these words. 'Fuck! Is his legendary luck warning him against joining us?'

If so, it suggested that this seemingly innocuous field mission might be more perilous than anticipated. When Jake and Hade voiced their concerns to Cekt, the Wendok frowned, albeit briefly.

"This only confirms my suspicions, but it further proves that this mission must continue. Expect to encounter Digestors on site," Cekt warned with a stern look.

"What kind of Digestors are we talking about?" Lyra asked, her voice tinged with excitement. It had been a while since her last battle.

"The that can kill a Sylian like you if you don't take them seriously," Epsilom retorted icily on behalf of his master. Being Cekt's sole official disciple until a few minutes ago, he had a good idea of where Cekt intended to take them.

"He's not lying," Cekt confirmed with a nod. "Where we're going, the primary Digestors you'll encounter are Cosmic, Space, and Void Digestors. Among these three categories, there are many Digestors capable of killing even a Zephyrim. They may not physically harm you, but they can devour your vital energy in an instant."

Turning to the others, Cekt added, "That goes for everyone. Don't let them touch you. It's advice that holds even for the terrestrial Digestors of flesh and blood."

Immediately after, the Vrusug enthusiastically raised his hand.

"Yes...?" Cekt sighed, visibly annoyed, anticipating a pointless question.

"If the mission is so dangerous, may I wait for you here in the lab?" Syr attempted hopefully.

"You're coming!" Cekt cut him off mercilessly.

Stubborn as a mule, the Minotaur wouldn't admit defeat so easily and thus suggested in a hushed tone, "In that case, can we recruit some additional bodyguards?"

The Vrusug was poor, relatively speaking. His 300M AP was more than enough to hire a handful of Fifth-Ordeal Evolvers from the bottom of the barrel.

"Please, shut up," Cekt snapped. "If you want to hire mercenaries, by all means, do so, but you'll be footing their travel expenses, okay?"

Realizing his blunder, Syrbarun's face twisted into a grimace, and he grumbled beneath his breath, mind..."

Speaking of additional bodyguards... Jake and his companions suddenly looked around, searching for a certain four-armed alien.

"Uh, aren't we missing someone?" Ulfar coughed awkwardly, vocalizing the concern that had been gnawing at all of them.

"We're missing Saros," Hade confirmed calmly. "He must have gotten stuck outside the lab."

Overhearing their conversation, Cekt confessed with a mocking chuckle, "Heh, if you're talking about the Oracle Guardian that came with you, I left him cooling his heels outside. Every time I let them in, they pester me until I promise them what they want. Pehh! These Oracle servants have no manners..."

Regrettably, Jake would have to disappoint him this time. "Master, I'm afraid he has to come with us. He has been ordered by the Oracle System to watch over me twenty-four-seven. He's not allowed to let me out of his sight, but in return, he plays the role of my protector."

Cekt was taken aback by this development, but after reading Jake's extensive file, he narrowed down the reasons that could explain such treatment to only a few possibilities. Not wanting to alarm the other disciples, he inquired telepathically, "Are you a Trojan Digestor?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Jake responded ambiguously, easing the alien's concern. Then, clearing his throat to hide his discomfort, he added, "But I've devoured one..."

"..."