The Oracle Paths

Arriving in front of the designated annex a moment later, however, Jake reconsidered, deciding to revise his definition of recklessness.

The building seemed welcoming at first glance, even luxurious, as one might expect from a place used to receive diplomatic envoys from various kingdoms and vassal nations of the Radiant Conclave. The problem was, it was entirely made of wood.

And not just any wood: Anthace's wood. If Jake hadn't scanned the city with his mental sense upon arriving, he would have suspected the Titan tree had sprouted this spacious residence in a hurry just to trap him.

The problem remained the same, though. As arrogant and confident as he was in his own power, his power had not yet gone to his head to the point of intentionally entering a domain controlled by the enemy. Maybe he was overestimating the enemy and just being paranoid, but he didn't want to give them any chance.

As the two female envoys dashingly stepped into the building, the door opening like a plant valve to accommodate their large size, Jake came to a halt.

"Is there a problem?" Lady Lyria inquired tactfully, noticing he wasn't entering.

"I'm not going into a Titan's body. The negotiations will have to take place elsewhere."

The two women exchanged a confused look before coming to a realization. The Archive Keeper, supposed to be in charge of negotiations, was somewhat disconcerted, not used to this kind of protocol.

"Ah! Of course! Where were our heads?" Lady Faye took over from her socially awkward colleague and immediately corrected course by leading them to another construction in the neighboring street.

A minute later, a traditional three-story white stone building appeared in their view. It was undoubtedly the villa of an significant dignitary, but it was currently unoccupied for some reason.

What Jake didn't know was that it was the property of one of the many immensely wealthy Lifemancers whose sudden death he had caused a few days earlier. In such a short time, all the estates left without an owner had not yet been sold.

"A bit austere and monochrome for decor, but it'll do," Jake conceded with appreciation before noticing the front door.

It was of normal shape and dimension, but was made of tempered steel as if it led to a vault. It might seem absurd, but Jake figured it wasn't so strange for a noble to use metal for a sense of privacy if the only alternative was the wood of a Titan tree capable of establishing a close psychic connection with the countless artifacts and furnishings made from its own growths.

However, it quickly became apparent that the issue was not the composition of the door, but its size. Its dimensions, suited for a human of two to three meters at most, were not even sufficient to accommodate the two young women. As physically perfect as they were, with such Life Lumyst cultivation, they both measured a little over five meters.

Wondering how they intended to enter the building, Jake was nevertheless transfixed in place when he suddenly saw their appearances shrink noiselessly to comfortably pass through the door without risking a bump. They now measured just the standard size of a top model on Earth.

Such an ability wasn't so rare, with Jake himself also able to compress his body to a certain extent. The reason he was so shaken was something else: The method used was different.

In fact, it was far superior to his!

With his Cosmic Sight constantly activated, he hadn't missed what had happened, and he had clearly seen how their cells had deflated as their biomass converted into a strange variation of Life Lumyst. This Lumyst then went to lodge in a certain area of their heart, or in other words, their Lumyst Core.

Interestingly, Jake also noticed that the two women didn't have just one Lumyst Core, but several. Each seemed to have a different attribute, occupying different organs so that their incompatible natures didn't conflict.

The heart contained two of these Lumyst Cores, the densest. The first, by far the brightest, contained the same hybrid Life Lumyst contained in the atmosphere and Lumyst River while the second contained only a massive amount of lifeforce. It was this one they had used to store their biomass after converting it into Life Lumyst.

On the surface, this ability to miniaturize by converting excess organic matter into another energy source resembled the True Miniaturization Spell sold in the Oracle Store, but while the latter reduced size in a limited manner, the version used by the two women apparently had no limit. Moreover, its effect was instantaneous and could be reversed just as quickly.

The other Substantial argument for their method was that Jake didn't feel that their physical capabilities had diminished much. The biomass converted into Life Lumyst now circulated in their bodies in another form, able to be mobilized differently, such as for passively boosting their athletic prowess or regeneration, but also cultivating Life Lumyst faster, their Lumyst Core being denser in this state.

If there was a drawback to mention, it was that more biomass and stronger cells could tolerate and benefit from more Lumyst. In other words, except in cases of extreme emergency, it was better to keep one's regular size.

In summary, this ability was exactly what he needed to avoid having to access his Inner Space every time he needed to renew his biomass or store the excess.

If I had any doubts about the relevance of cultivating Lumyst, now I have none, Jake concluded inwardly, promising himself to devote all his attention to it as soon as he returned to his camp.

[You could also chow down on that Player who just got captured by Featherfall.] Xi suggested in a mischievous tone, reminding him that the giant appeared indeed capable of modulating his appearance in Substantial proportions or he would never have been able to fit in a Conclave Tower room.

This private joke between them was a frequent occurrence, and he knew her well enough to know she was only half-joking. If somehow he ended up going through with it, it surely wouldn't be her judging his dietary tendencies.

"Good idea." Jake approved with a small evil laugh, sending shivers down not only the two women but also Crunch and Lord Phenix perched on his shoulder.

*****

At the same time, without knowing why, Kaelum, who was non-stop roaring in pain in Featherfall's 'nest' from constantly being pecked by its hungry chicks mistaking him for a worm, suddenly shivered with a sense of foreboding. At the moment, he was so surprised that he even let one of the chicks tear off an arm, eliciting another groan of pain.

In his surprise, he temporarily forgot the menacing presence of daddy eagle, and with his other arm swelling like a truck, he accidentally smashed the chick that had just gobbled his arm. A splash of blood instantly painted the entire nest.

"I... I swear I didn't do it on purpose... No, no- Aaaaaaaarrrrrghhhh!"

The hitherto reluctant Featherfall, content with keeping an eye on him at the Celestial's request, was now personally invested in the chick-pecking... Kaelum wasn't about to come down from the tree anytime soon.

The tree in question was, of course, Anthace.

*****

After compressing his body with some difficulty to the point of feeling discomfort bordering on pain, Jake managed to get through the door. Crunch and Lord Phenix, already in their miniature form, had no issue entering the construction either.

Faye and Lyria, however, cast a strange glance at the trio as they passed through the door, especially at the two pets following him everywhere. Titanic Beasts were generally adept at altering their dimensions, but only a minority could do so. The two women could easily discern that these last two didn't yet have a Lumyst Core but something else serving a similar function.

Having access to Crunch's status, Jake knew that his cat had for a time relied on the Miniaturization Spell like him, but that had changed during the last evolution of his bloodline.

Creatures originating from Earth had received, like young children and the disabled, disadvantaged, or just lucky, an innate ability guaranteeing them the bare minimum they needed to hope to survive in the Mirror Universe despite their limited intellect. Without it, even Rank 3 Digestors would have exterminated the fiercest species to total extinction within a few weeks, with a few exceptions.

This talent specific to Earth's beasts was rather straightforward, allowing them to grow in size and strength indefinitely by feeding on their prey. Past a certain evolution threshold, many creatures would acquire enough intelligence to either obtain a proper bloodline or further evolve this initial innate ability.

One of the possible, cheap evolutions was to condense a Beast Core, a sort of internal organ the size of a small gem capable of containing all sorts of abilities. Core structures in various forms appeared to be a constant evolutionary element in numerous strength systems.

In the Beast Core's case, this marvel of evolution was quite handy, serving as a core for various energies, bloodline abilities and even a Soul Core. Although extremely hard, and offering all sorts of benefits for the beasts that condensed it, its destruction or extraction usually meant their death or irreversible weakening.

In some bloodlines of mythical creatures like those of Lord Phenix, whose Beast Core could survive and even find a second wind after its own cremation, they could even regenerate as long as the soul contained inside was relatively intact.

As for his cat Crunch, as incredible as it might seem, his bloodline had also reached the level of a mythical creature.