The Oracle Paths

Chapter 1173  The Soulmancer King's True Identity

"As expected... How long have you known?" The young woman smiled, showing no fear or surprise.

Instead of answering, Jake stared at her coldly. His stone-cold silence didn't faze her in the least, but just as she was about to continue the conversation, he accused her harshly,

"How much longer do you think you can take me for a fool? I said show yourself!" Nôv(el)B\\jnn

This time, Claire's confident smile cracked into a bitter rictus, as if she had just swallowed vomit. A shiver of fear ran through her, making her appear more like a desperate woman. She tried to speak but,

"I don't see what–"

"I'm not repeating myself," Jake interrupted, raising his voice slightly. "Show y-o-u-r-s-e-l-f."

The young barbarian bit her lip as if grappling with a terrible dilemma, then with an overly dramatic flair for his taste, her figure blurred once more. She grew a full head taller, her eyes now level with Jake in his standard human form, and her curves became... more voluptuous.

Similarly, her rough, unappealing features quickly morphed into an impeccably aesthetic and feminine form, her skeleton reconstructing at lightning speed. Her initially grayish, unattractive skin transformed into a healthy alabaster complexion, perfect in a way that even the best wizards of Photoshop couldn't replicate. By the end of her transformation, only her long jet-black hair and intense purple eyes remained unchanged.

Jake watched the metamorphosis without the slightest reaction, noting that this new appearance was likely another illusion intended to earn his trust at best or seduce him at worst.

He was sure of it because the new beauty standing before him was perfectly calibrated to appeal to the aesthetic sense of humans like him. If she had wanted to create an unrivaled beauty from the perspective of an Underworld Barbarian, she would have chosen a much stockier physique, whether in terms of musculature, height, or build.

"Satisfied?" Claire pouted, her confidence restored. His interested look didn't lie; her new appearance certainly caught his eye.

Too bad for her, after the initial curiosity and surprise, Jake looked her straight in the eyes again, expressionless, and retorted,

"Should I be?"

The one bearing the title of Soulmancer King, or rather Soulmancer Queen, saw her confident facade crumble a second time in a brief instant.

"I don't understand," she expressed sincerely this time, or rather she didn't want to understand.

If it was another appearance he wanted, she could do that, but if he wanted her true appearance, they had a problem. Because she didn't have one. Or rather, she could look like anything she wanted. The only established fact was that she defined herself more as a woman, but even that term was inappropriate. After all...

"Do I really have to force you?" Jake threatened, walking toward one of the spared vases and patting it a little too 'vigorously.' "I said show yourself. All of you."

Claire still didn't show any signs of nervousness like sweaty skin or a clenched jaw, but he knew right away that she had finally understood. He knew!

As soon as the cat was out of the bag, the atmosphere around the young woman changed entirely, her presence becoming more vast, imperious, and commanding respect.

With an annoyed 'hmmmph,' she waved her hand, and the three intact vases also began to shapeshift. Moments later, three other individuals with familiar faces appeared in the room, looking confused and lost.

Jake recognized their appearances and equipment immediately. The three additional intruders were also part of his squad.

"Jashuzen, Thonzo, and Scelacabe..." Jake named them with a deadpan face, sneering inwardly at their mediocre acting. "I know there are others, but I suppose this will do."

From the start, he had noticed Claire's abnormal spiritual fluctuations. The subconscious glances Meribelle regularly gave her during critical moments had blown her cover from the beginning.

Without being able to say for sure that it was the Soulmancer King, he had determined that it was someone important. Much more than any recruit.

Piecing together the clues hadn't been difficult. Another problem remained. Quite a few soldiers had a similar, if not nearly identical, spiritual signature. That was enough to catch his attention.

The work was well done, a native, even at Ceythie's level, limited to their manipulation of Spirit Lumyst, had little chance of noticing the deception.

Each of these 'clones,' for lack of a better word, had a unique identity, appearance, background, personality, skills, and mannerisms to perfect her cover. Most Players would have fallen for it too.

But not Jake. Anyone with adequate mental strength and perception would also have noticed something was off in an instant. Asfrid, Hade, Weiss...

It probably didn't just stop with these spirit experts. Many Players likely noticed numerous such anomalies, monitoring their actions in vain.

And the reason was...

"Since when did you realize my true nature?" Claire asked curiously, now adopting a dignified, emotionless mask.

Okay, she had skipped straight to the next step... Jake hadn't expected her to spill the beans so soon.

"Assuming I ignore the rumors, there's no smoke without fire. The enemy Players tried to steal the highly guarded Chalice of Nethershade from the capital, but they failed. I know what kind of Players Oracle Knights are. They can't fail at a simple heist, even if it costs them. The presence of Abyssal Revenants or even multiple Great Generals would have been factored into their plans. So, I deduce that they did manage to steal something, but the relic was a decoy. Since Natan also failed for the same reason, it makes sense.

"Rumors that the Radiant Conclave wants to capture you alive to reforge the Lumyst Chalice are also widespread, not to mention all the anomalies surrounding you, like the fact that no one knows your true appearance or that you seem to take a long time to recover from your injuries. Impossible to fool my senses. Your Soul, let's use that term for now, is incredibly condensed, but it's far too weak. If I trust my senses, you're just a ghost."

Claire made no effort to deny or defend herself, staring at him with an encouraging look.

"... That's what I thought until my Lumyst Aura evolved and Twyluxia lifted a portion of its restriction on me," Jake continued. "With more than enough perception now, there's no longer any doubt. You're neither a ghost nor an Underworld Barbarian using some clone technique, but an Awakened Spirit Artifact.

"In other words, you are... the Chalice of Nethershade. Or rather, a fragment, its Spirit Artifact, or what's left of you after you've divided yourself so many times to cover your tracks."

Long after the bomb was dropped, Claire's expressionless face finally softened, a shadow of an enchanting smile breaking the austerity.

"Nice deduction." She finally applauded. "Except for one detail. I am not the Spirit Artifact of the Chalice of Nethershade, but that of the Lumyst Chalice. The Chalice of Nethershade that everyone treats as a sacred relic is just an ordinary chalice that inherited a larger infusion of my Spirit and Soul Power after my soul shattered a long time ago. I only recently resurrected. Before that, I was just a Wandering Soul without consciousness among many others aimlessly roaming the Duskwight Lands.

"Just one question, though. Why didn't you first think that Valandar wants to capture me simply because the real Chalice of Nethershade is with me? It would be more logical than assuming I am a Spirit Artifact capable of walking around with its own body, let alone that of a legendary relic."

"Simply because I know." Jake explained briefly, leaving her in the dark. Having his own Spirit Dimension churning out new Fairy Spirits constantly, how could he not tell the difference? Not to mention the fact that he considered himself a decent blacksmith.

His creations had never awakened Spirit Artifacts before this Ordeal, but just this morning every piece of equipment forged showed unmistakable signs of spirituality. It wasn't a question of if one of his works would eventually condense a Spirit Artifact, but when.

The memory still fresh, determining that Claire was a Spirit Artifact was just the logical next step with his heightened senses.

Jake, however, admitted that he had been wrong about one major point regarding the Soulmancer King's identity. The Lumyst Chalice was very likely the original relic he was supposed to reforge by merging the Chalice of Nethershade and the Chalice of Etherlife.

There seemed to be a catch in the choice of words here. Because he refused to believe that a relic in name only would earn him a Side Mission. Without being pretentious... He knew his worth.

So, either Claire was lying, and the Chalice of Nethershade really existed elsewhere, or it was exactly as she described, an ordinary chalice that had mutated, in which case the term Chalice of Nethershade implicitly referred to its origin, the Spirit Artifact to which it owed its existence.

In conclusion... Jake had already done half the work. And if he already had the Spirit Artifact, all that remained was to find the Chalice of Etherlife, or in other words...

The Lumyst Chalice itself.