Augmented Aspects: Chapter 106: The Two Oracles (Patreon)

Chapter 106

The Two Oracles

I awoke to the sweetest sensation there was, to the act of leveling.

Experience Gained: 54,320 / 54,320

Ding.

Level up.

Your Void Healer class has increased to level 124.

Your Simulacrum Master class has increased to level 121.

Mentally I calculated everything that happened to me from this experience. I realized that both classes had increased by four levels each. Additionally, I realized that this was the seventh of twenty such days, or that I roughly had thirteen more days like this left. Of course, the changes didn’t end there as I was met with my final update.

Nature’s Friend (Max): You have helped clean up over eighty thousand pounds of trash and have been recognized as one of nature’s true champions. Rewards: Life and Nature based Spells are now 50% more efficient. Neutral rating to most woodland and creatures found in the wild.

I had finally maxed out the Nature’s Friend Title, which capped out at what I was tracking as level ten, which at a five percent increase per ranking was not bad. This meant that my simulacrum and I would only be doing these next thirteen days of turn ins for just levels, levels, and more levels, oh well.

Still, I couldn’t help but feel a little giddy at the idea of leveling up so much, and still having so much more experience left to gain from this whole thing.

However, before I could get too indulgent into my own thoughts, I realized that there were two main issues. The first was that I was still in severe pain, as there was a throbbing sensation right at the core of my head. The second thing I noticed was that my field of view was limited, but I was able to take in everything around me at a microscopic level. Almost as if I could feel every mote of energy, every atom of air around me, everything was visible to me.

This was when I made my third revelation, that as always, Mallory was right there.

Given how close she was to me, showed that she was sitting down, right next to me, while I was laid out on the floor. This was good, for if Mallory was sitting it meant one of two things. The first was that she had killed all the elves and orcs and was just waiting for me to come back to the living. The second was that she did not feel threatened, I was hoping for the latter as my healer’s conscience wouldn’t let me sit idly by if I could heal people.

Being this close to Mallory, and not being able to focus on more than the immediate area around me, I once again took in the various nuances to her core and her high-level body. From here, I could see that the initial flight spell that had been engraved into her core had been stretched and faded over time, either from constant use, or that this might be something that the game does naturally. In fact, her entire core and energy system seemed to have scars and callouses for lack of a better term built up. Looking at it, I could see times when she pushed herself too far, in my mind I could almost see her casting one last devastating spell to fend off evil, or to conquer one last enemy before collapsing from pain. Her internal body showed the scars that her pristine external body never would, and it was amazing to see just how much she had gone through, from a magical perspective.

“It would appear that our little healer has awakened.” One of the oracles called out, though it was far away, or at least farther than my now limited view of the world could provide, I recognized her voice and tone as being the oracle for the orcs.

“Can you get up?” Mallory asked, as she placed a hand on me.

Pain.

With her touch, the pain in my forehead began to throb, as I could feel a connection being made with her. Once again, I saw more, but this time I saw the minor chips and abrasions to her meridians that were within her arms, and flowed throughout her body. I could see how she was originally right hand dominant but had to switch to using her left hand more due to how much damage she inadvertently channeled through her right hand.

“It is best that we leave her for now, she has not quite gone through the final stages of her transition.” The second oracle spoke, again her voice father away than I could see, but I took her voice to be the melodic voice of the elven oracle.

Hearing that, Mallory turned her head to look in the direction of the second voice, then turned back to face me.

“Are you okay?” Mallory asks.

At this, I felt somewhat like I was floating within my own body. Only now did I notice that I was in a field of saturated air filled with mana, mana that was having a direct impact on me and my body.

“The air?” Was all I could manage, my tongue feeling bloated within my body, while I tried to cast a spell to fix my state, but found that my healing myself only caused the sensations going through my body to be heightened. This of course caused the throbbing headache I was feeling to expand, as I began to feel something wrong.

“Yes, that is the field of purification. Once you collapsed the oracles said this was where we needed to take you, to help speed up your conversion.”

“My conversion?”

“Yes, you are going to become a Legendary Bloodline holder.” Mallory stated, a note of excitement in her voice.

“A what?” I asked, and could already feel the throbbing within my head pounding away. The before I could get too much further, I cried out in pain. “Ahh!”

“Here feed her this.” The orc oracle said, then Mallory reached out and then grabbed a plate of brightly glowing fruit.

“Here try this.” Mallory said, as she took one of the golden glowing slices of fruit up and moved it towards me.

“I don’t need…” I tried to say, but before I could speak, Mallory shoved the golden fruit into my open mouth. I tried to get up, only to find that my body was not responding to me. Only now did I realize that the air I was in was making me high, making it so I had no control over my body or my movements, even talking was a challenge. Then as I was mentally cursing my condition, I felt the golden energy of the fruit touch my tongue and then explode in flavor.

Fwoom.

The fruit was unlike anything I had ever had in my life, either of them. The last time I ate was a few days ago, when Mallory gave me some of her food. Then before that, I couldn’t recall eating. That was why I had chosen to run my class the way I had, as I didn’t want to be bound to needing to eat to survive. I don’t know if that lack of normal interaction with food caused this golden fruit to be that much better, or if it was just so amazing that I had no choice but to accept it, either way, I wanted more.

“Zis zis good.” I tried to say, my words slurring as I both ate and tried to speak around my swollen tongue. Then once that piece of fruit disappeared, Mallory diligently continued to feed me golden slice after golden slice. The more I ate, the more energy I felt coursing through my body. There was so much energy that it almost hurt, but there was a benefit from it, as the migraine I had been feeling began to subside.

Relief.

To go from a pounding headache to just a mere throb with the eating of one piece of golden fruit was heavenly. Once the piece was done, I opened my mouth for the next.

“Oh looky here, we have a baby bird.” Mallory stated.

“You know…” the minute I began trying to offer a rebuttal, Mallory shoved in the next slice of golden deliciousness. I can’t quite explain the taste, it was as if all the fruits of the world were blended together into one delicious bite and topped off with an aftertaste of ripe mango and berry. It was heavenly.

With each slice, the pressure on my forehead began to slowly die down.

“What should she do now?” Mallory asked the oracles, while I dutifully ate the slices of heaven.

“This is but the first step in her transformation, she will need to take the energy that is coursing through her and forcefully mold it into the shape she desires, though she will clearly have to give a large portion to her peripheral node. From there she will need to strengthen both her mind and core, at minimum, with the rest of the energy she can do with as she pleases.” The elven oracle stated.

With that, I remembered back to when I broke into the Royal Bloodline, where I had to do something similar. Then I only gave a half node to my perception, allowing my mind, core, and appendix to have full nodes. Mentally I understood the task before me, I had either grown too much with my Perception Attribute or had made it so Perception was so much more important to me and my lifestyle, that I needed to make it at least on par with my Mind and Core nodes, both of which would need to be increased as well.

That said, I knew I had done a lot with my magic efficiency by increasing my Appendix, the spiritual representation of breaking down magic and refining it into smaller and better parts. With these points in mind, I began taking the abundant energy that was just burning its way through my system and doing as the oracle stated.

Within moments, I entered a trance like state where I took the ambient energy within my body and began replicating the magical nodes that had been provided before. This time, the challenge was that I first needed to create the shapes that had been provided before. Now that I had the chance, I didn’t just create the shapes, I improved upon them. My reason for doing so was multifaceted, first I just wanted to see if I could do something like this, secondly, I knew that the better I made everything, the more powerful the benefits from my Legendary Bloodline would be. Thirdly, I felt that this was part of the test needed to prove that I could in fact be a magical surgeon, the next doctorate that I could earn if I got to floor 200 of this tower. I felt that this test had been put here, right at this time to push me, to give me the chance to prove to myself and the world what was possible as a Magical Enchantment Surgeon.

With so many things on the line, I was glad that my vision had been limited to that of my body and my immediate area around me. This allowed me to see first the form of my prior structures that had formed the basis for my Royal Bloodline, but also allowed me to copy, or better still improve upon them as well.

With a smile, I began building my first construct, which would be a full node and a half fused together, but I felt that this was wasteful, and yet needful at the same time. Mentally counting I had enough material for six full nodes. This was in addition to the eight full nodes I had prior, but that was if I took all the components and pushed them all together.

This time I worked on creating a perfect core, using the resources I had to create a fully formed three node component. After piecing everything together, I realized that if I specialized, I could make it so the component, rather than just being a modular plug and play piece, could be a truly refined organ, which was what I did. Focusing on the goal of this three-node piece, I designed it with the intention of it being my new core. I even went so far as to transfer the markings made by my Spirit, Life, and Nature resonance bands within the core, using the equivalent of one section for each primary focus, while also allowing them to interweave with each other, thus multiplying their resonance compatibility with each other right from the start.

With the core complete, I focused my mind and then doing my best Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom impression, I paused and focused. Then I took a deep breath, held, then on the release I moved. With one string of Telekinesis, I grabbed my old core and ripped it away, while with a second string of Telekinesis, I pushed the new core into the place, and then immediately went about the painful process of welding the broken seals to my meridians back in place. Fortunately, this pain was nothing compared to the pain I was feeling in my forehead from earlier.

With the first and arguably hardest part done, I began moving pieces around. The old core, the one with the three clearly carved magical specialties within it, I polished up a bit, smoothing out the calluses and build up that had appeared on it over the last six months. Then I used the old core to replace my old appendix node. While this was effectively a one for one exchange, I now had a specialized appendix for mana that was particularly good at processing mana dealing with Spirit, Life, and Nature mana, the three main forms of mana I had in my system.

Now with five remaining nodes, well three untouched, and the two from my old appendix, I began working. I took the three remaining clean nodes that were part of this new evolution and fused them all together to form one giant node that would go to my mind. I even made sure that the connection node section to the perception and core would be twice as wide, meaning more energy could be cycled through the points quicker and more efficiently. Then once again focusing I swapped out the newly made three-node mind core for the old two-node mind core that was there.

This left me with two sets of two nodes that were fused together, but in a haphazard state. Seeing them, I took the nodes, broke them down into base components, and created another three-node section for my ocular node. Of the four exchanges, the changing out of the ocular nodes was the easiest to perform, perhaps because it was the fourth, or maybe due to the fact that the ocular node was considered a secondary node. Still, regardless of the rationale, the process went off without a hitch. This left me with two half nodes, which I then used as components to widen the meridians throughout my body, especially between the ocular and mind nodes, the mind node to the core, and the route that my appendix would use to get mana and return it back to my core.

Once that whole process was done, I felt the last remaining vestiges of my pounding migraine alleviate, as my mind slowly began to take in more of the world around me. I paused there, waiting for a system message, something telling me that I had completed the tasks early, but nothing happened.

“Oh, she is done.” The elven oracle said, as she came near. I could still see everything within her, I could see that she too had an enhanced ocular node, along with a mind node that was also developed, but I could see that they were nothing like mine.

“Yes, and sooner than expected.” The orc oracle said.

I tried to sit up, but still found that my body wouldn’t move.

Spasm.

“Not yet little one, you have only taken the first step. The next step will be once you acquire the last piece of your evolution.” The elven oracle said, a calming voice to her.

“What was that fruit?” I asked.

“That was the fruit of the great tree Yggdraspirit, it was but a gift of thanks for saving both our people and for not destroying our homes.” The elven oracle stated.

At that I nodded, realizing that I could have let the elves and orcs die. In fact, the elf had died, but I brought him back through Resurrection.

“We will let you two rest, before you prepare for the next step of your journey. Travel well little one.” The orc oracle stated, as and the elf bowed to me.

“Wait, I have so many questions. What can you tell me about the Angel’s Sight?” I asked.

With that the two just paused and shook their heads, before the elven oracle spoke, “I am sorry little one, but you would be the expert when it came to such a topic, as your sight is far more advanced than either Rui’marru or I could ever hope to be with the sight. The only thing we could offer you is how we evolved into oracles, but it seems that you have evolved past that point and have taken a far more direct role in your own personal evolution of the sight.”

“What evolution?” I asked, my mind suddenly confused by the statement.

“You have evolved your sight to see not just the future, but all magic, making you far more adept at embracing all challenges before you.” The orc oracle, Rui’marru, stated.

“All magics?” I parrot back, my mind still foggy from the potent mana in the air.

“Yes, now rest little one. Once you have finished your evolution, if you still have questions, we will be more than happy to answer, but first you must solve the problem with the dragon nests.” The elven oracle speaks, and before I can utter another word, a system prompt appears, letting me know we have a new quest.

Hidden Quest Discovered: Blocked Passageway: You have discovered that a nest of dragons won’t allow anyone to pass. You have managed to uncover part of the problem, the fact that the nest of dragons is suffering from the Blight. Help the nest of dragons, thus freeing up the transportation up to other floors, while also increasing travel to and from the center of the great tree Yggdraspirit to the many villages and towns that exist on the branches of the great tree. Rewards: Experience, Class and Bloodline evolution markers, variable.

That message was enough to tell me that the final step to my bloodline evolution was finally close at hand. Just one last quest to finish, before I could get the final component needed to complete my evolution. Thinking back, I realize it all began with the one lucky item I got as a gift bag from the roaming shop that had been put in place to take away excess experience. That one potion was the first step, then there was nothing for so many levels, until I was nearly drowned by the mana infused water that flows in the root system of Yggdraspirit. Then just now a special fruit from the great tree, I could not even begin to fathom what the last piece of my evolution would be.

By the time I am done rummaging through my thoughts, I realize that the two oracles have left. I can see them with my once again regular range of Angel’s Sight activated, they are breaking apart and talking to two different groups of people that are outside the doorway leading to the dense mana chamber that we are now in. Thinking about it, this chamber’s mana infused air might also be another component that was needed for my bloodline evolution. Before I could get too caught up in my own thoughts however, Mallory breaks the silence.

“So are you done passing out and being a damsel in distress?” Mallory states.

“Hey, I am no damsel in distress.” I state.

“Oh really, what was with the, catch me.” Mallory states, putting her wrist up to her head in an overly dramatic pose.

“Oh yeah, well at least I don’t have the equivalent version of a Class specific tramp stamp.”

“A tramp stamp?”

“What else would you call your little wings that appear, it is right there just above the middle of your core, and has writing getting it to activate from left to right.” I state, before continuing. “What is worse, is that because you chose it, now every future Valkyrie will also be forced to get their own tramp stamp as well.”

At that Mallory looks like she wants to comment, but then lets out a breath, before sighing and stating. “Yeah, we all make bad decisions at one point in our lives.”

“I know the feeling; I too was married once.”

Chuckle.

“I take it, it wasn’t that good?”

“I got four great kids from it, well three great, and one good kid.” I state, being completely honest.

More laughter.

“You know, you are honest to a fault, something I really appreciate about you.”

“Ahh, look at you, getting all sentimental.” I state, trying to reach my hand out and poke her lightly, but all I can manage now is what looks like my hand trying to imitate a fish doing its out of water dance.

Chuckle.

“You are really high right now, aren’t you?”

“Extremely. This mana infused air is amazing.” I state.

“You know, I think you are one of the few people that would truly be affected by this much mana in this way.” Mallory states.

“Right, that amazing Endurance of yours has nothing to do with your ability to deal with mana.” I state.

“Well it might, but really I think you are just naturally more responsive to mana.” Mallory states.

At that I nod, realizing she might be right, I do have a much easier time dealing with magic and magic related phenomena than others do, at least that is what I think from remembering how Magic users who would frequent the Mage’s Guild would act, when I was younger. I remember seeing their spells and realizing that certain people were far more capable at magic than others, then I just focused on those that could wield magic really well. Then I remember how Mallory was one of the first to truly be a hybrid, a melee and magic user, making her twice as deadly as others. As I think that, my thoughts go even further, as I realize how much more fun life is with Mallory.

“Thank you.”  I state.

“For what?”

“For being you.” I begin, but then continue, “also sorry for saying you have a Class provided tramp stamp, it is, but I probably shouldn’t call you out on it.”

“Gah!”

“I think I can fix it, or at least make it so it is a little lest trampy.” I state.

Chuckle.

“You are going to laser remove my tramp stamp now?”

“More like give it a few touch ups and make it look like it is a new tattoo, versus one you got in your wild rebellious phase, but then have to hide from your kids with shirts that are longer in the back.” I state.

“You speak from experience?”

“Maybe…” I state, making sure to draw out the word so there is little doubt as to my true meaning.

And that was how I spent the hours after creating my new nodes that would potentially define the way my bloodline would evolve.

After what felt like hours, but was likely just a few minutes, I was finally able to sit up. Then from there it was just a matter of getting up. As I stood up, Mallory had her hands out ready to catch me, should I fall.

“I’m fine.” I say, only to stumble back and be caught by Mallory’s hands.

“Clearly.”

With that I cast Spiritual Drift, “okay, now I’m fine.” I state as I being to float in the air.

“You sure you are ready to go out already?” Mallory asks.

“As ready as I’ll ever be. Also, I think these dragons are on a timer of sorts, so at the very least getting there quickly will be better in the long run.”

“Well then, lead on.” Mallory states with the wave of her hand, and I did just that.