The Oracle Paths

Then it was Lucia, Carmin and Wyatt's turn to choose a different Soul Class. Since Wyatt and Carmin were not of the same faction, they did not owe them any confession. Therefore, although Carmin was dying to share hers, she was forced to keep her mouth shut after receiving a telepathic warning from the Vampire Progenitor.

Because Lucia was one of the Myrtharian Nerds' sub-leaders, like Ulfar she could not openly reveal her Soul Classes to anyone. Nevertheless, like the King of Beskyr she communicated what her Soul Class was to Jake and her trusted friends, including Ulfar, Gerulf, and Rogen, with whom she had fought for over two years before joining B42.

"My Soul Class is called Divine Princess of Victory."

When Jake heard the name of her Soul Class he had to hold back from breaking into a fit of laughter. The name was so cliché, but it suited her so well. The good news was that it was another Tier 8 Soul Class.

Not long ago he thought it was practically impossible to awaken a Soul Class of Tier 8 or higher. After all, in Tier 7 he only knew the Soul Classes of Aetherist and Archon. Aetherist was the dream class for any future Aetherist and Aetherist was considered the most versatile and reputable profession in the Mirror Universe.

It seemed hard to top and yet his subordinates had one after another attained Soul Classes of Tier 6 or higher.

'That's because you were missing a piece of the picture,' Xi explained in his head.

"What do you mean?" Jake mentally argued with his Oracle AI, his interest piqued.

'First, let's recap what you already know. Quanoth natives change, upgrade or get a new Soul Class every 20 Spirit Body levels. Why do you think this is so?'

Jake naturally came up with an answer. There was only one possible answer.

'Because their Spirit Power, Soul Power and Soul Strength are now sufficient.' He tentatively said.

'Bingo.' Xi exclaimed. 'It means that the Tier is not necessarily representative of a Soul Class' power. Take for example a Tier 6 Soul Class like Aetherist. The soul of a Tier 1 human might be too weak to withstand the alterations the Stele must make to bestow such a Soul Class. This is why the Stele applies some kind of nerf to the Soul Classes of natives and low-level players. For example in your case, your current Soul Class is Beginner Rune Aetherist, which I estimate to be between tier 3 and 4. The soul of an ordinary level 1 native wouldn't be able to handle it. He or she would surely go crazy and their mind would become unstable. On the other hand, a Soul Class like Beginner Puncher can be awakened by almost anyone. Its Tier is what one might call Tier 0.

'However, while a default Tier 6 Soul Class like Aetherist has much greater awakening requirements and versatility, that doesn't mean that a Soul Class like Puncher is doomed to remain at Tier 1. If there really was a boxing freak capable of living for that sole purpose, his Puncher Soul Class would sooner or later rise through the ranks, mutating little by little with his new experiences and accomplishments. A Grandmaster Puncher can compete with other Tier 3 Soul Class. In practice, it's even more powerful. This hyperspecialization exponentially increases the probability of awakening a related True Will-based move.'

As Jake listened to Xi's explanation, Lucia simultaneously told him how her new Soul Class worked. Meanwhile, the remaining Aristocats had also begun lining up to touch the Stele. Crunch and Lord Phenix had finally stopped pestering the other Players to spout the name of their new Soul Class.

After understanding Lucia's Soul Class in-depth, plus Xi's insights, Jake finally figured out how a Tier 8 Soul Class could be awakened and how they theoretically outperformed lower Tier Soul Classes.

What all the high Tier Soul Classes had in common was that they often had complex names, but the name encompassed both simplicity and complexity. They also reflected the life experience of those who unlocked them.

Divine Princess of Victory fitted Lucia like a glove, but as it stood its actual Tier was probably only 4 or 5. Even if she met the requirements for such a Soul Class, that didn't mean her soul could handle it.

Taking this logic to the extreme, Jake even went so far as to speculate that the ultimate Soul Class an individual could awaken would simply have their first name. But the Oracle System would of course never use an Evolver's first name to name a Soul Class.

Using the example of the Tier 1 Soul Class of Puncher, Xi theorized that Tier 8 Soul Classes derived from it could have overly pompous and arrogant sounding monikers like "Ironfist Annihilator", "Ultimate Fist Emperor", "Apocalypse Fistbringer", "Divine Fist Guardian" and so on.

Indeed... Soul Classes like that sounded much more terrifying than a timid Tier 6 Aetherist.

A few minutes later, everyone except Jake, Ashun and Ryne had obtained or changed their Soul Classes. The Aristocats were more mature and careful than they normally appeared because they kept the details of their Soul Classes to themselves. They would report privately to Jake and Will later.

The only Soul Class Jake should have been able to know immediately was that of his cat Crunch because they were bound by a Pet Contract. Alas, because he couldn't access his bracelet's interface, he had to stay in the dark for the time being.

Ashun took all her time to change her Soul Class, sashaying sensually to the Stele to give all her male audience a chance to admire her curves. If Jake hadn't grabbed Lucia by the collar she probably would have chopped her head off from behind during the second of unawareness the goddess touched the Stele.

Ashun was playful and prankish, but in the end they were not of the same faction. No matter how friendly and teasing she was, she kept the secret of her new Soul Class to herself.

Then it was Ryne's turn, who silently proceeded to change her Soul Class with a poker face. Being factionless for the time being, nobody forced her to reveal anything and she didn't open up either. She probably needed more time to trust them.

"Looks like there's only me left..." Jake smiled as he calmly approached the Stele before the burning stares of his companions.

He gracefully and relaxedly touched the Stele. Nothing happened.

" ... "

He touched the Stele again. Still nothing.

" ... "

A vein began to throb on his forehead and his lip twitched. Now he was in a bad mood.

When he was about to try for the third time, his mental sense picked up a stream of encrypted energy at a certain frequency and using his abnormal brain power he managed to decipher its message.

[The Stele is now in maintenance. Please try again later in 156 minutes and 17 seconds]

" ... " Jake clenched his fists until his knuckles were white. Was this Stele messing with him?

The other Myrtharian Nerds were also puzzled, but hearing his reason no one doubted it. It was a huge coincidence, but it was just bad luck. Some, like Crunch and Lord Phenix, could not help but gloat mockingly.

He had wanted to be last. So he had no one to blame but himself.

Jake was thinking the same thing and stifling a sigh he waved at them, "Don't wait for me. Go about your business. I'll stay here. I have some things to check on."

Lucia offered to stay with him, but he insisted that it wasn't necessary. He really had things to do. When everyone had finally left, including Ashun and Ryne, Jake leaned back against the Stele and closed his eyes.

'Xi, you said I devoured my own bracelet and should have retained its abilities?' Jake asked gravely.

'If your new abilities are related to Digestors, then yes. Probably..." Xi confirmed in a serious tone.

'Let's try to check it out, then.' Jake scrunched up his face with determination.

Diving into the depths of his mind, he scanned each cell with his mental sense to better understand the changes in his body and gradually entered a deep state of meditation. So deep in fact that he had never experienced anything like it before.

Soon, countless lines of Aether Code and combinations of organic molecules flashed before his eyes and the most shocking thing was that he felt he understood everything. With a thought, he could recombine all kinds of nucleotides with all sorts of Aether Symbols and even change the epigenetic expression of his own DNA. This mental space was like an experimental laboratory, except that he could easily reproduce these results in reality.

Suddenly, his attention was drawn to a certain combination of atoms and molecules arranged in a certain structure in his mind. As if he had just zoomed in on it, the tiny strands of light intertwining it grew thousands of times larger, unfolding into a long, almost endless string of Aether Runes.

Got it!

Jake abruptly opened his eyes. He knew how to get his Oracle Device back