The Oracle Paths

Fortunately, although the cutting was crude enough to make the task insolvable in a short time, his intelligence and powers of observation were not what they once were. To become a competent Aetherist and warrior he had long ago memorized the human anatomy and those of many other species by heart.

Putting each piece of Wyatt in its place was no picnic, but the process, nauseating as it was, took only a few minutes. If he hadn't been forced to dry the Vampire's drowned limbs and organs, it would have taken only a few seconds.

After putting the pieces back together, Jake frowned at the fact that Wyatt wasn't healing. His flesh was completely inert, but he could still feel his spiritual presence evenly distributed throughout his comatose cells. When Jake scanned him with his Oracle Device, he discovered that the once-vibrant Player was down to 0.01HP.

The good news was that even in this state, this last HP did not seem to be about to yield. On the other hand, there was no indication that he would be waking up anytime soon. His HP regen had fallen to 0, the Digitization clearly reflecting his near-death state.

[He needs blood.] Xi reminded him tactfully as she watched Jake admire his masterpiece.

"I know." He said, "I was just wondering if all vampires are as tough as he is. While I don't envy his condition, his near immortality is truly enviable. If all the Myrtharian Nerds were as tough as he is, I wouldn't have to worry about them."

[... You do realize that you have been practically disintegrated twice and are still alive to boast about it, right?] Xi snorted, completely bluffed out by his nerve.

"That's different. If I didn't have my Aether Sun Core, it would take me a long time to rebuild my body. Not to mention the fact that it would dilute my Bloodline. To recover, it would actually take me several weeks or months under normal circumstances."

[... Yeah, my guess is that if Wyatt got disintegrated like you did, he'd be quite happy to recover in a few months...] Xi coughed in a stiffled voice.

"Well, whatever, here we go." Jake half-heartedly slashed open his wrist with one of his claws, then clenching his fist he poured a few cups of his blood on Wyatt's body.

He didn't need to pour the blood into his mouth, the skin of a Vampire Progenitor was already a blood sponge. As soon as the first drop of his blood touched Wyatt's skin, it was absorbed inside and a pinkish tinge spread across its surface. Within seconds all the blood was absorbed and the Vampire's reattached body, which had been held together only by the power of his telekinesis, finally reconnected.

Once the activity of his cells was revived, Wyatt demonstrated his prodigious regenerative abilities. The lesions closed in an instant and twenty seconds later he opened his eyes, a complicated expression between gratitude and embarrassment flashing across his face.

"Thank you. I owe you one." Wyatt sighed as he stood up.

"Don't thank me, they got Carmin and the others." Jake shook his head.

The Vampire looked frazzled and disoriented, but his recent injuries had nothing to do with his condition. Jake knew very well why, and he made allowances. Wyatt had been in a perpetual drowning for a number of hours or days and in some ways it was worse than immolating his Spirit Body as he had done for the past three months.

The main difference was that Jake had agreed to undergo this torture on his own free will. He could stop as soon as he couldn't stand it anymore. Wyatt, on the other hand, did not know how long this torture would last and the dismemberment of his body made him totally helpless. Added to this was the concern for Carmin and his other subordinates.

"Selen?" Wyatt inquired suddenly. She had been with him when he had been trapped.

"No idea, but if she was with you when you were captured, she should be here if they didn't kill her." Jake replied without confidence.

"I see..."

The young man had regained his alert gaze and suddenly thinking of something, his face broke down in despair, panic evident on his face. His left hand squeezed his right wrist and feeling only a tiny response, his heart sank.

"Those bastards! They took almost all of my liquid alloy..."

Jake didn't say anything. He could have very well given him some of his personal stock of liquid alloy, but they weren't close enough to justify such generosity. By saving him, he felt he had done more than his share. Wyatt knew to whom he was indebted, and he made no unwelcome demands either.

"Let's look for Selen first, we'll worry about saving Carmin and the others later." Jake stated factually, ending his embarrassment.

"Okay."

As they explored the rest of the dungeon to find Selen and the other subordinates of his Faction who had joined him in the last three months, Jake filled him in on what had happened in the meantime, including the crucial role of Vhoskaud, the Shapeshifter Player and the fake Remus. After that, he also told him what he had learned from the Mimic.

The ease with which Jake had so easily foiled Vhoskaud and Remus' evil scheme left Wyatt in awe. That Jake could kick the ass of an army of Vampires didn't surprise him. That was definitely his forte. But that the meticulously planned ambush of a Player with a higher Oracle Rank than him had failed was the real surprise of the day.

Of course, as one might have guessed, neither Vhoskaud nor the Shapeshifter Player had the required Oracle Rank to predict Jake's movements. The Shapeshifter had simply lied to destabilize him and Vhoskaud had lied to his Shapeshifter buddy to convince him to participate in his capture plan.

The reality was actually much more complex and funny than that. Vhoskaud did have a higher Oracle Rank than Jake, but that was only when Jake wasn't using his Oracle Skills like Oracle Cloaking and Promotion.

After his near defeat three months ago, Jake had learned the hard way that he now had to deal with many players who were just as talented or more talented than he was. Even with absolute confidence in his strength, he was lucid enough to understand that an enemy who could predict his movements was an enemy he didn't have a chance against.

That's why, a few days into his training, he had activated his Oracle Cloaking. What was magical about this skill was that it didn't simply make him disappear from the radar of the enemy Oracle Devices. The Oracle Paths involving him continued to be calculated, but based on the last known information about him.

Unless the enemy Player had an Oracle Rank difference of three or more ranks, their entire plan was based on the abilities and stats preceding his massive power-up. It should not be forgotten that his Oracle Cloaking was a bit special. As a custom reward offered by Ancient Designer Xion Zolvhur, his level 1 had the same performance as the lvl2 Oracle Skill of the same name. Even with the Oracle Skill Promotion, the enemy had little chance of outperforming him. .

So their evil plot was bound to fail.

What Jake and Wyatt didn't know, however, was that Vhoskaud hadn't planned this alone. Somewhere far away, a cataclysmic quarrel was about to break out.

After a few minutes of exploration, the duo found Selen's cell. Luckily for her, she had only been sentenced to Eternal Drowning. After flushing out the water of her lungs and consuming some blood she recovered without any problem.

Her mental strength was unfortunately far from Wyatt's. For a long time after waking up, she continued to shake like a leaf, her face turning livid every time she saw a coffin or a puddle of water. The bone deep haughtiness of the pro-pureblood Vampire lolita had been eradicated, but another method would probably have been better.

The six other Vampires from Wyatt's Pureblood faction who had joined him were found in the nearby cells. Like Seren, they were fine, but their mental state left something to be desired. Wyatt was heartbroken to see them so fragile and his anger at their plotters only grew.

Now that they were free, Jake went back to exploring the dungeons, but this time with a very different focus. Carefully reading the wooden signs nailed to each door, he continued forward until he halted in front of a peculiar one

[Prisoner #7103: Vlad Dracul: The Vampire Progenitor's sole brother, he committed fratricide in year 7 of this era to take his place. Incompetent, lecherous and a lazy leader, his cruelty was matched only by his vile nature. Since then the Dracul clan lost its hegemonic position and continued to slowly deteriorate until Grimwald Dracul deposed him in the year 114 and forced him to accept the Eternal Rest.

Sentence: Eternal Rest]

His treatment was different from other prisoners. Because of his status as the former leader of the clan for over 900 years, and brother of the Original Vampire of the Dracul clan, they could not punish him for his crimes. The Eternal Rest was a meager punishment for such an infamous criminal, but it allowed them to get rid of him for good.

For Jake, it was a godsend and he never thought he'd find such a rare gem. A Vampire Progenitor in perfect condition just waiting to be studied, sold or dissected!

"Good, I'll take it." Jake laughed happily.

Continuing his walk, he took his fill of the dungeon, snatching six more talented criminals from other clans to add to his collection of guinea pigs. Finally, after a long walk he reached the end of the dungeons and stopped in front of the last cell.

[Prisoner #9888: Grimwald Dracul]