Chapter 148: Oracle
Keesha, Evelyn, and Khadijah waved at the man after they dropped them off at their dorm before entering the elevator.
"Are you really interested in Myk?"
"I don’t know. All I know is it’s been two months since I broke up with that loser and two months in this damn school. Mama needs some action," Keesha replied.
"Hey."
"Oh, sorry, Khadijah."
"No need to tiptoe around me."
Evelyn felt relief. "Honestly, it’s been more than a year for me."
"Jerome hasn’t touched you in a year?"
"I wouldn’t touch that sleazeball with a ten-meter pole. Anyway, his role is to appease my parents until I get my inheritance."
"What if they insist you marry before your inheritance?" Khadijah suddenly asked. "Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to pry."
"No, it’s fine." Evelyn waved her hand. "I know they will, and I’ll just do it. Anyway, he’ll have to sign a prenup, and I know he’ll cheat."
"You really be playing chess with your life," Keesha said, giving her a thumbs-up.
"Forgive me for asking, but is it worth it?" Khadijah asked. "With the tower and your talent, you have the means to live a luxurious lifestyle. Is your inheritance worth all that trouble?"
Evelyn sighed. "You have no idea the absurd amount of money involved. Plus, I’ve been playing the good girl for so long, and I’m so close to the finish line — how can I easily give up? Not to mention, I would rather die than leave all that money to my egotistical brother."
"With the next shift, that might be the case," Keesha commented.
"That’s why I’ve decided to survive no matter what — even if I have to crawl out of the pits of hell. Anyway, I won’t leave all that money to him."
Khadijah was speechless. She never knew spite could be such a powerful motivator. "I must admit: I admire your conviction."
"I know, right? My girl is quite feisty. Although she doesn’t look like it, she has that dawg in her."
"I’m curious. How long have you two known each other?"
"We met in the academy," Evelyn replied.
"Really? You two seem like people who’ve known each other for years."
"We just clicked."
"We just clicked."
Keesha and Evelyn paused and looked at each other.
"Jinx."
"Jinx."
They laughed. Khadijah looked at them with slight envy. The three talked for a few minutes before Khadijah left for her floor, and the others returned to their dorm. Meanwhile, the boys were still walking back to their dorm.
"Z, what’s the situation with Keesha?"
"What? Interested?"
"Of course. She’s gorgeous."
"If you say so." Keesha was indeed beautiful, but she wasn’t his type.
"So, what do you think?"
"She’s a cool girl, but she’s too curious and has some issues with personal boundaries."
"That’s not too bad," Myk remarked.
"Normally, that’s true, but if you add the fact that she’s an extremely talented mind mage and studying to be a mind healer —that is a recipe for disaster. "
"So, that’s a no?"
"If you’re interested in something casual and fun, go for it — just be upfront about it. However, if you want something deeper, I recommend you be careful, and maybe invest in a couple of mind protection enchanted items."
"Don’t worry, my willpower is top class."
Zane was speechless. While willpower was a form of spiritual power trained by knights, he didn’t think Myk could resist a mind invasion from someone of Keesha’s caliber. "Whatever makes you happy. Anyway, have you thought about what I said about hunting partners?"
"Will they really accept me?"
"They should, but even if they do, it’s better than being alone."
Myk pondered. He had hunted with his roommates before, but after his reckless behavior and debts, things were a bit strained. "They won’t mind the debts?"
"Let’s ask them." Zane approached Ahmed and Devonte and asked them to partner with Myk.
"No problem," Ahmed immediately replied. In the last session, Khadijah suffered the most injuries because she’s the team’s main tank. But with someone of Myk’s skill, they’ll have someone to share the burden.
"Don’t be too quick to answer," Zane said before explaining the issue of debt.
Ahmed frowned. "Can you take Rank E missions?"
"With our team, there shouldn’t be an issue."
"Then there is no problem," Ahmed said, then suddenly remembered something. "Where are my manners? Devonte, what do you think?"
"I have no problem. With more people, we can take more difficult missions."
"I’ll have to ask Khadijah’s opinion, but I’m sure she’ll agree."
"Then it’s settled," Zane said.
"Thank you," Myk said, shaking their hand. His previous team was good people, but after what happened, a subtle tension lingered. Myk could tell they wanted to kick him out, but out of respect and their previous friendship, no one had said anything. He understood how they felt; after all, he willingly placed their lives in danger. But now, with a new team, he can avoid any conflict with his roommates, and more importantly, he had learned from his mistake.
After reaching Crimson Scale Yard, Zane didn’t immediately return to his dorm; he visited Myk’s instead. His room was the largest, with three mages, three knights, and two warriors. Zane got to know everyone and quickly realized that while the room had no major problems, it was sharply divided: the mages and everyone else kept to themselves.
After a brief conversation, Zane realized the setup was similar to his: one of those people was probably on the Eastern Europe High Potential List, followed by two other talented mages, two talented knights, and Myk. Of the three mages, two were in the Elite Class, and Myk and two knights were in the Elite Knight course. Zane exchanged crests with a few individuals, and secretly gave Myk the same warning he gave Keesha before taking the elevator back to his dorm.
Tuesday arrived, and it was a peaceful day — until the evening. Zane was having lunch with Tom and Evans when the conversation in the cafeteria suddenly shifted; everyone became more animated, and the noise level in the room increased. Intrigued, Zane and his table stopped to listen.
"No way!" Tom Nguyen said as he swiftly used his crest to log into the student board. Zane followed him, and the most popular viral post was at the top: [Earth’s First Official Transcendent], written by the Oracle. The article is only a couple of hundred words, and it’s about how, after only 66 days, Lee Woo Soo, from the East Asia Division, became Earth’s first 1-ring, or in this case, 1-pulse, shaman.
"How is that possible? It’s only been two months." Tom Nguyen couldn’t believe or accept this.
"It’s indeed absurd. Even with an abundance of resources, it’s difficult to overcome the 0.7 barrier," Evans added.
"The article tells you how. He was a practicing shaman before the tower’s arrival, and he’s 30 years old, which means —-"
"He’s been training for decades, and his mental energy was probably already near 0.9," Tom Nguyen said. "With the tower’s descent, he only needed to focus on raising his natural energy, which is far easier than training mental energy."
Evans furrowed his brow. "Doesn’t that mean all those experienced practitioners will soon become official transcendents?"
"My cousin told me their teachers encourage them not to settle for only 0.7 natural energy and to raise it to the limit. That’s the only reason many of them haven’t succeeded yet. And this Lee Woo Soo—he’s either short-sighted and didn’t wait that long, or he’s filthy rich and used resources to raise his natural energy to the limit at record speed. Either way, his actions will soon open a floodgate. Soon, we will hear more and more news shamans condensing their first pulse."
Tom suddenly lost his appetite. "Logically, I understand how he did it, but emotionally, I still feel —"
"Demoralized?" Evans asked.
"Yes."
"I feel you." He had access to such vast resources, but his mental energy was still stuck at 0.6.
"I don’t care about Lee Woo Soo," Zane said. "My worry is with the writer."
Tom glanced at him. "The Oracle? What’s wrong with him?"
"The information he published is too detailed." Lee Woo Soo’s height, age, and even some brief description of his past and personality were recorded in that article. "To access all that information, the Oracle must either be someone close to Lee Woo Soo, and they discuss the article before publishing. Or, given the name they chose, it might be a powerful diviner."
"Impossible, right?" Tom Nguyen asked. "It’s only been two months. There is no way there could be such a powerful Diviner already, right?"
"I hope so." Diviners might be more terrifying than mind readers. Zane values his privacy, and he really didn’t like the idea of someone who could retrieve his personal information on a whim.