The Oracle Paths

1179  The Enchanter's Touch

Back to the present, after hearing all these revelations, Jake's plan hadn't changed. His immediate goal was still the unification of the continent, the downfall of the Radiant Conclave going hand in hand with the conquest of Lustris.

However, a few adjustments had become necessary... starting with making a few visits.

But before that, Jake needed to upgrade his equipment. Now that he had regained a significant portion of his powers, retrieving his real combat suit and weapons from his Space Storage was no longer a challenge.

Not being able to use the marvelous armor he had spent almost a month forging just for this Ordeal had driven him nuts, but that torture was finally coming to an end! When the sleek set of jet-black steel armor appeared floating before his eyes, a shiver of anticipation ran through his body.

'My baby...'

The futuristic suit was made up of numerous pieces that could be equipped separately or together. When combined, their mutual energy amplified their respective prowess synergistically, making the overall performance of the complete armor greater than the sum of its parts.

The main material was Horizon Hardstone, and Jake had gone all out. Of the month spent reforging his equipment, only the last few hours were actually used to design this armor. The rest was spent consuming Voidsteel Alloy composed of 10-20% Horizon Hardstone, then after digestion, expelling the indigestible Horizon Hardstone dust.

The result was the gem before him.

[Bronze Aether Artefact: Horizon Combat Suit: A full exoskeleton armor made of thousands of meticulously crafted pieces. With a Horizon Hardstone content exceeding 99%, its solidity is matched only by its price. Each piece is equipped with a customized Aether Extraction Array that can be activated with a simple mental command, allowing the Horizon Hardstone to regain its malleability. Due to its main material, this masterpiece forged by Aetherist Jake Wilderth has no special properties or skills, but compensates with its near indestructibility and a stat bonus close to the theoretical limit of a Bronze Aether Artefact. If not for its default rigidity, high weight, and low capacity to absorb shocks and other energy attacks, this armor set could have reached the rank of a Platinum Aether Artefact. Attributes: All stats +10,000%, Customized Aether Extraction Array.]

Unlike his previous creations, this armor wasn't as fancy, lacking any passive or active skills that boosted his bloodline abilities. Bronze Aether Artefacts could have up to five skills, and from that perspective, this combat suit was a failure.

On the other hand, a +10,000% stat boost was top-tier among Bronze Aether Artefacts, and this was only possible by combining the effects of multiple or large armor pieces like this one. But one shouldn't get too carried away. First, you had to consider who the Artefact was intended for.

In Jake's case, with his real stats far above those of a Fifth Ordeal Player, a genuine amplification of 1,000% would already be incredible. In reality, Bronze Aether Artefacts remained valuable even for Eighth Ordeal Players, but their value plummeted severely if they only played an amplification role.

Depending on the materials used in their design, a Bronze Aether Artefact offering a genuine 10,000% boost could disintegrate from the pressure of its wielder's power. Sometimes a simple iron armor was worth more, as long as the iron came from a world with a high Aether density.

Jake's forged equipment wasn't that primitive, and he had used a few tricks during its design. Even if the stat boost someday became negligible, its near indestructibility alone would allow him to use it for a long time.

And it was precisely this last property that excited him so much. That damn Horizon Hardstone could withstand the gravitational pressure of a black hole from a world with an Aether density of over 5 million, so it could surely handle a few enchantments, right?!

Jake couldn't wait to find out.

"Hey, Claire, I suppose you know a thing or two about enchantments?" he called, tapping the chalice beside him.

The young woman reappeared like a genie from a lamp, a half-serious, half-smiling expression on her flawless oval face.

"And here I thought I could rest after finding the new chosen one to serve..." she sighed dramatically, spreading her hands.

Jake felt a twinge of annoyance from Xi in response to those words, and he was somewhat puzzled before quickly understanding why. His Oracle AI could get jealous of Lucia or other women around him, but without her own body—not permanently, at least—she could only tolerate it.

It was different with the former Soulmancer King, who was just a Spirit Artefact. Their nature had more similarities than differences.

That was where the problem lay: Claire had no issue existing pseudo-physically thanks to her Soul Clones.

It was embarrassing for Xi, but she had no idea how the Spirit Artefact did it, despite having scoured the entire Aether skills section of the Oracle Store. If such a skill were accessible to an Oracle AI, likely in the form of an Oracle Skill, it must cost an astronomical amount of Aether Points, not to mention other conditions to meet, or she would have found it in the catalog long ago.

'You should see the bright side,' Jake tried to console her. 'At least now we know such a power exists, and we have someone right next to us who can teach it to you.'

Xi didn't think it would be that easy, but his optimistic tone gave her a glimmer of hope. Claire watched their telepathic exchange with great interest, having already noticed their unusual bond.

Feeling the mischievous gaze of the Spirit Artefact, Jake scowled and snorted, "So, can you help or not?"

"Of course, I can. Without boasting, I dare say there's no better enchanter than me on this planet, excluding Klayr. Because he's a corpse... In case you didn't catch that the first time..." Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Yeah, thanks, Captain Obvious. How about we drop the condescension and get to work?" he suggested sarcastically.

"Sure~"

A few hours later, shortly after nightfall, the enchantment session ended. Jake, Xi, and Claire were left staring in awe at the result.

[Silver Aether Artefact (can evolve): Horizon Combat Suit (+14): A living full exoskeleton armor originally crafted by Rank 1 Aetherist Jake Wilderth. With a Horizon Hardstone content exceeding 99%, its solidity is matched only by its price. After enduring the baptism of its forger's various Lumyst, the initial artefact raised its quality to the same level of enchantment as its creator's Lumyst and established compatibility with it. Its vitality and spirituality have awakened, and the artefact has received corresponding Graces. Its instincts are still embryonic, but the initial artefact has already undergone profound transformations. The Aether Extraction Array engraved on each piece has disappeared, but the artefact's cells have inherited its properties, among others... Only time will tell what this living artefact is truly capable of... Attributes: All stats +?????%, Abilities: Living Artefact, Aether Manipulation, Lumyst Cultivator, ???.]

The description took him by surprise. It was Claire's idea to infuse the artefact with his own Lumyst instead of exposing it to the Lumyst River water. Sure, the degree of enchantment would be limited to his, but at least their compatibility would be optimal.

On the other hand, it was also to prevent the artefact from becoming too powerful and independent… Even someone as knowledgeable and ancient as the Soulmancer King didn't know to what extent Horizon Hardstone could handle these successive enchantments.

If it turned out that the artefact could withstand the Lumyst directly from the cascade, then it was possible that its Spirit Artefact would be born immediately, becoming an unpredictable variable for the rest of the Ordeal. Limiting its power to that of its wielder was the safest choice.

All those ???? were disturbing, but Claire immediately reassured him, saying it was normal. The artefact was alive, but its Spirit Artefact wasn't mature yet, so its performance might vary.

It would take time to determine the artefact's limits with certainty. However, since its rank had been elevated to that of a Silver Aether Artefact, he could be sure that the stat boost would meet his expectations.

Having finished with the armor and bolstered by his first success, Jake moved on to his sword and other equipment pieces. By the way, all were forged using the same method and primary material.

99.9% pure Horizon Hardstone...

Edit: Apparently many saw the word Jake replaced by Jacob at the end of the chapter. The error is not mine, as my version of inkstone is correct. I also see the error when I try to read the chapter as a reader, but I can't correct it, since the version in inkstone that I can edit is already error-free. Surely Webnovel still doing its thing to catch bots and pirates, and hopefully this will disappear in time.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Arkinslize

Creator's Thought