The Oracle Paths

To make matters worse, it wasn't one of them who had uncovered the deception. It was an unexpected encounter that very morning with a Player from the surface that had exposed the trickery.

The Player in question: Natan.

The insect-man was already suspicious due to his disturbing and inhuman appearance, but his spiritual fluctuations didn't lie. Besides, he was from the same Mirror Universe as them. He had nothing to gain by lying.

Unfortunately, even if he hadn't been suspicious, their group of Corrupted Players wouldn't have been able to restrain themselves from attacking, their hatred for anything not like them beyond comprehension. Lucia had been the first to succumb to the impulse, striking at him with her sword.

A sword that the ectognath stopped with two fingers, his obsidian eyes unreadable. Yet, the crimson slash had opened briefly, revealing a row of serrated teeth expressing only deep contempt.

"So weak... In addition to being a cognitively inferior species, your fragile will reflects your insignificance. Losing sight of your purpose here at the mere sight of an ally... I don't know whether to pity you or kill you now. No matter. I'll do the job myself."

Faced with Lucia's bloodshot eyes and the other Corrupted ones, Natan had just snorted in disgust. With just a gaze, a primal, predatory spiritual pressure invaded their souls and paralyzed their nervous systems.

Aside from Hade and Ulfar, who could still move with difficulty, the other Players, obsessed with their murderous thoughts a second before, had already fainted, convulsing in terror and curled up on the ground. As for those still standing, like Lucia, their bodies were petrified by an alien fear, their limbs refusing to obey despite their desire to fight.

Or rather, a version so evolved that it was almost unrecognizable from the original Myrmidian ability. Only its essence remained, an infusion of energy of extreme purity motivated solely by victory. Boosted by this aura, Lucia was a different person, her physical and mental stats dozens of times higher than her base form.

Enveloped in a golden halo like some sort of legendary goddess of war, the young woman counter-attacked instantly, charging at the insect-man. This time, her scarlet blade found its target, penetrating deep into the alien's chitin with a cracking sound.

"Even corrupted to the core, the preservation instinct serves its purpose," the insectoid commented in a grating, archaic voice as if stating a simple fact. "Rejoice. As useless and insignificant as you are, our camp sadly does not have the luxury of choosing its allies."

That was all it took for Lucia to snap. Who was this bastard to disrespect her? Treat her like an inferior being! Corrupted or not, her pride couldn't tolerate it! What made this chitinous thing different from the other abominations crawling in the depths where they were currently rotting?

A blinding shockwave of unprecedented violence exploded from her body, breaking the hold and blowing the other Players away like candles. Warrior Trance on!

Or rather, a version so evolved that it was almost unrecognizable from the original Myrmidian ability. Only its essence remained, an infusion of energy of extreme purity motivated solely by victory. Boosted by this aura, Lucia was a different person, her physical and mental stats dozens of times higher than her base form.

Enveloped in a golden halo like some sort of legendary goddess of war, the young woman counter-attacked instantly, charging at the insect-man. This time, her scarlet blade found its target, penetrating deep into the alien's chitin with a cracking sound.

'Fuck...'

It was too easy.

Lucia's eyes widened as she felt her sword slice through the insect-man's flesh without resistance. By the time she reacted, only a few pieces of chitin remained at her feet. As for Natan, he was already gone.

Fortunately, before continuing his scouting mission, he hadn't forgotten to leave them one last gift via his bracelet: a comprehensive report of everything they had missed on the surface. Whether they liked it or not, there was no longer any doubt that they had royally screwed up with the other Oracle Hacker.

Once the non-corrupted one was gone, their group regained their senses, returning to their usual mental acuity. The decision was quick:

"We need to kill this Zane," Hade declared with surprising calm given their blunder. Zane being the name of the enemy Oracle Hacker, assuming that was even his real name.

At the same moment, Caphriel reappeared, her usual deceptive, smiling priestess facade absent.

"Where were you?" Lucia yelled sharply.

Ignoring the warrior's anger, the Schwazen angel simply announced with a frown, "I followed that Natan while you were losing it."

"And how could you do tha-?"

"Because I've had nearly a thousand years to learn to control myself around non-corrupted," Caphriel retorted sharply.

What she didn't mention was that from birth, she was a Digestor Trojan and had shown remarkable self-control from the start. Otherwise, Aurae would never have noticed her and certainly wouldn't have let her live this long.

The angel then revealed what she had seen. Natan had a brief exchange with the Oracle Hacker, testing him with a few attacks before retreating, slightly injured... The same Natan who had just humiliated them a few minutes earlier.

"I suppose that confirms what we just learned," Hade sighed wearily as he saw the unconscious Players regain consciousness one by one.

How many of them were going to die to complete this Side Mission? They had already lost half just to eliminate one Oracle Hacker. From their camp, sure... But that didn't make the matter any less depressing. For if they knew one thing for sure about this second Oracle Hacker now, it was that he was far stronger than they had imagined. Ridiculously stronger.

"When do we move?" Lucia asked, lacking her usual enthusiasm.

"When everyone's back on their feet," Ulfar growled, nodding towards the other Corrupted still dazed and sweating.

The young woman was holding it together, but for someone so proud that it affected her bloodline and Soul Class, these successive defeats were starting to weigh on her.

It had started with the extermination of her planet and people by the Digestors, then more recently her defeat in the Dungeon against the Digestors, and finally against herself, failing to resist Corruption. Thinking she could redeem herself with this Ordeal, Ulfar had to save her from trouble in the first minutes, and though she had performed decently afterwards, it was clear she wasn't the top dog in these depths...

Then Natan showed up and put them all in their place in an instant. The same insect-man accompanying Cho Min Ho when they met Oros and who she hadn't even noticed back then.

Most likely a Rank 17 as well... Life was really cruel.

Dealing with repeated failures and the heavy impact on self-esteem and confidence was the lot of every Player, but her choices and personality made it even worse. These past few days, Lucia felt like she was sinking. As if she was underwater and someone was sadistically holding her head down to prevent her from breathing.

In such moments, Lucia found herself thinking about Jake and wondering what he would do.

'He'd probably have thrashed that Natan with a single slap...' Thinking that, she couldn't help but smile faintly. Anyone who knew her and saw her expression in those moments would have pinched themselves, thinking they were hallucinating.

When it came to Jake, she could set aside her ego, even though deep down she hadn't abandoned the idea of surpassing him. The only thing she dreaded was the day she might no longer be able to resist killing him. When that day came, she would have truly failed...

And it wasn't just a metaphor. Although her bloodline had gradually reduced the repercussions of a real or perceived defeat, they hadn't disappeared entirely like they had for Jake. In the end, her path was one of extremes, pursuing victory at all costs. Her progress could be rapid, but the wall stopping her in case of defeat was even harder to overcome.

She was ashamed to admit it, she even had nightmares about it, but it had been a while since she had made any real progress. Since the beginning of this Ordeal, neither the cultivation of her Lumyst Aura nor the absurd number of monsters killed had managed to reverse this trend. She was barely staying afloat...

She could no longer afford any defeat.

"Let's kill that two-faced asshole." Lucia rallied with determination once everyone was back on their feet, more to encourage herself than out of a real thirst for battle.

Their debacle against Zane a few minutes later and the ensuing massacre in their ranks spoke for itself.

Lucia had failed again. Once more.

From the bloody head and collarbone that remained of her ravaged body, tears of blood streamed from her eyes. Just before her consciousness faded into a restorative coma, she murmured in despair, her broken trachea producing only a pitiful, inaudible rasp,

'Jake, where are you...?'

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