The Oracle Paths

Jake exuded a haughty confidence, but inwardly he knew it was going to be a tough fight. A prepubescent kid with an incomplete bloodline like Tim could already curse to death a deadly Player like Ostrexora that even he had to take seriously. Ulfar was literally their king, so there was no doubt about his ability.

Asfrid worried him less, but her Spirit Body was extremely condensed. Her Aether aura was nothing special, hovering around 100 points, but her mental power was far more consolidated than his. His Spirit Body had just reached level 22 last night, but it looked as brittle as a porcelain vase next to hers.

In the end, Jake was only partially Eltarian. Although Cekt did his best, it was impossible to surpass the original bloodline.

He owed his telekinesis, the increased power of his mind, the Spiritual Trance skill and the multitasking ability to this bloodline component. His Spirit Body was also advancing faster than the other Evolvers. Only the Oracle knew what a pure Eltarian was capable of, but he would soon find out firsthand.

As Jake mentally conditioned himself for his "test," Ulfar and Asfrid exchanged an unsure look. Was it a bluff or was his cockiness justified?

Of course, they weren't really afraid. Their hesitation was mostly due to their personal pride. Asfrid felt it was beneath her to go first, feeling as though she was publicly acknowledging the fact she was taking a test instead of testing him.

Ulfar was not so convoluted. His reluctance was purely tactical. All he wanted was to let Asfrid test the kid first. Even if she failed, at least it would force him to reveal some of his tricks.

The stalemate seemed destined to drag on forever when Lucia grabbed Alfrid's hand and looked at her like an abandoned puppy.

"What difference does it make who is testing who?" She exclaimed softly. "You're not acting for yourself but for all Eltarians."

Hearing her state the obvious, the priestess was left dumbstruck, but she soon laughed bitterly.

"You're right, Lucia. Why am I getting worked up over an ego thing. I'm not Myrmidian after all. Fine, I'll let you win the verbal battle. I wanted to test your intelligence, but I guess a fight will do too."

"A test of intelligence?" Jake repeated, his curiosity suddenly aroused. This was less boorish than he'd imagined. "What kind of test?"

Alfrid sighed, showing for the first time a hint of vulnerability and emotion. "I wanted to test you through a game of strategy and cunning that we use in the Eltar Temple to train the new priestesses. It tests your intelligence, but also your power control. It also says a lot about your personality, which is ideal in this case."

Lucia opened her mouth, then closed it again, nodding her head after thinking of something. She seemed to have a good idea of what kind of game it was. Then, suddenly she shook her head again and tactfully objected,

"It's a good test, but unfair to Jake. He doesn't even know the rules while you' ve been playing it since the cradle. Except for the temple's head priestess matching you, you're undefeated at this game as far as I remember."

"That's why it makes it a good test in my opinion." Alfrid justified herself without the slightest embarrassment.

Jake rolled his eyes.

"So basically, if I get this right, the plan has always been for me to lose." He gave a forced laugh. "As long as my playing didn't make too bad an impression, you would have chosen to stay and my losing would have been an excuse to establish a relationship based on mutual respect."

Jake thought for a couple of seconds, ignoring all the stares, then praised,

"It wasn't a bad plan. Let's go with this test. Let's play this game. What are the rules?"

Ulfar displayed a disappointed frown as he realized he was not going to see the fight he had been expecting. A board game would not reveal anything. But according to Asfrid, it was a key process in the training of temple priestesses, so maybe he could glean something for his next fight with Jake.

The two opponents sat cross-legged across from each other a few meters apart. Asfrid asked Jake to move back a little more until they were five meters apart.

"Should I move back a little more?"

"No, this is the proper distance." The priestess replied kindly. It was hard to believe that they had been on the outs a few minutes earlier.

An old Eltarian in a threadbare robe came and reverently placed a strange rectangular tablet between them, black and smooth as ink. Given his precautions, it was a very important relic.

"What is it?" Jake raised an intrigued eyebrow.

"You'll soon find out." Asfrid smiled enigmatically.

The old Eltarian did not return to his seat afterwards. Instead, he joined seven other Eltarian men and women who positioned themselves in a hexagon around this tablet. Sitting cross-legged, they closed their eyes and Jake felt rather than he saw an amazing current of spiritual energy surging from each of them and linking their minds together.

In no time, the black tablet became the eye of an unprecedented psychic whirlwind. With their minds connected, their mental energy began to resonate and converge toward the tablet, which suddenly started to flicker feverishly. Jake then heard Asfrid's calm, relaxed voice telepathically whispering in his head,

" Link your mind to the tablet."

Feeling no hostility nor danger, Jake complied obediently. A blink of an eye later, his Floating Island had vanished, replaced by a territory hundreds of kilometers long with different biomes.

With his aerial perspective, he could easily zoom in or out and move his sight from one point to another. Whether it was animals, vegetation, fish, or other inorganic resources, he could access all their details with a single thought. There was also a minimalist mental interface that looked very much like the Oracle System.

"Where are we?"

"In the tablet." Asfrid was still calm, but her voice was now deferential. It was an instinct ingrained in her after decades of serving in the temple.

"Legend has it that Eltar created our world with this tablet. Unfortunately, this is not the original, but a copy. The original tablet kept in Eltar's great temple disappeared two years ago with the onset of the war against the Brain Eaters.

Jake didn't think much of this news. He had met the hero Myrmid. With the same status as a deserter, if Eltar was still alive he must have relocated quickly after hearing about the disaster. At least, that's what he would have done in his place.

"So how do we play?"

Asfrid then began to explain the rules to him. Jake's face became more and more bizarre as she went on. This strategy game wasn't particularly revolutionary. In fact, he had played dozens of games like this one before.

In simple terms, it was an RTS game. Two or more civilizations were warring against each other and players had to bring the ones they controlled to victory. In this world, they were like gods and had some power over its environment and population.

However, there were two major differences with these video games.

The first was that the creatures and inhabitants evolving under their eyes had an autonomy and a credible behavior nearing that of real people. On this point, the tablet was not inferior to his Bronze Aether Artefact and he already felt strong suspicions.

The second difference was that Jake and Asfrid were not just players here. They could of course directly command their troops, but they could also use their minds and even telekinesis to influence the environment.

In fact, they were more like gods.

Nevertheless, the map was large and neither Jake nor Asfrid could follow everything that happened on it in real time. Time also passed much faster, making each of their actions and decisions all the more irrevocable.

There were several playable civilizations, the Myrmidians, Beskyrians, Eltarians, Kintharians and Throsgenians. The number of playable civilizations was limited to 5, but their racial and cultural characteristics had been impeccably represented.

As the explanation went on, Jake understood why the Eltarians used this tablet for training. Properly handled, it was a comprehensive training method that could strongly stimulate their bloodline and sharpen their minds.

"Choose a civilization." Asfrid chivalrously left him the first pick for his first game.

Perhaps out of affinity, or simply because he felt their gameplay would be more to his liking, Jake chose the Kintharians. The priestess said nothing, but he detected a slight sense of surprise in her eyes.

As he expected, Asfrid decided to play the Eltarians. His gut was telling him that she had probably never played any of the other civilizations. Misplaced pride was something that afflicted not only the Myrmidians.

Once their side was selected, the map was randomly reconstructed and Jake saw before his eyes a group of nomadic Kintharians in exodus cutting their way through the forest. There were a few hundred of them and they looked completely lost.

Jake then scanned through the map in search of the Eltarians controlled by his opponent, to no avail.

"May the best man win, Jake." Asfrid said, her voice nothing more than an echo in this imaginary world.

The test had already begun.