The Oracle Paths

"No need to feel anxious, sir. Just a routine test and you will receive your Identity Card giving you the same rights as all other citizens of Lodunvals." The bearded guard tried to encourage him as he saw his sullen face.

Because of his appearance, they had subconsciously lumped him into the "nobility" box. Hence their politeness and friendliness.

"This will only take a few minutes." He added perfunctorily.

Jake said nothing, but his face spoke volumes. Still, he agreed to follow the procedure. Unless he was going to break the rules as soon as he arrived and alienate the whole city, he couldn't hide his abilites.

"All right. How's the test going?" Jake reluctantly agreed and tried to collect some information.

His question made the two guards frown slightly and he realized that he might have made a mistake. What he didn't understand was that being ignorant about these tests was common among peasants and ordinary citizens, but the aristocracy usually had access to these magical technologies at a young age.

Although his question was not problematic, it raised concerns about his social status. This was reflected in the guards' attitude afterwards.

Accustomed to this kind of inquiry, the guard who had stopped them with his hallerbard explained humbly, but with no honorific this time,

"Guards like us without mana are not qualified to use a Mana Tool unless there is a special authorization. And we would still need a Mage to recharge it after use."

"So?" Jake raised a puzzled eyebrow.

"It's Miss Rumplesky who will be handling your test." The guard replied coldly, already annoyed by the newcomer's slightly too laid-back attitude.

"Very well. Shall I wait here?"

"No, follow me." The second bearded guard motioned for him to follow, pointing with his thumb to a small door behind him giving access to one of the two stone towers supporting the drawbridge.

Trash didn't know if he should just walk away and grab the opportunity to go home or continue following them. The guard with the halberd, noticing his hesitation, was surprised by his behavior and asked,

"What are you waiting for? Don't tell me you want to see the results of his test."

The boy bobbed his head up and down vigorously, "I want to see."

"In that case, wait here with me." The guard agreed.

He could not allow the boy to accompany him because these tests were private. The person in charge of the test had some authority and could decide to withhold some crucial information after the result was reported to his superiors.

Leaving the teenager and the first guard behind, Jake bent his head slightly to pass through the door that stood a tad too low for him after the second guard removed the padlock blocking access.

"This door usually stays open, but with all these wars and monsters the security has been tightened." The bearded guard apologized as he saw his gaze linger for a few seconds on the large lock in his hands.

"I was rather wondering how Miss Rumplesky is supposed to get out of this tower if the lock is blocking the door from the outside." Jake admitted honestly with a shrug. His next look at the guard was far less kind. "Don't tell me you're sequestering this Miss Rumplesky inside?"

The guard immediately displayed a startled expression before exclaiming with an outraged voice,

"Of course not! Are you out of your mind? You'll understand better when you meet her in the flesh."

The guard's words tickled his curiosity, but Jake refrained from scanning the building for fear of alerting this Miss Rumplesky inside. From what the guard with the halberd had hinted, this Rumplesky was capable of using Mana, and therefore a mage.

It remained to be seen what Mana was compared to Aether, but it should be a relatively neutral and abundant energy because he hadn't felt any abrupt changes, or weakening as with the Fluid from his previous Ordeal before he understood its workings.

Jake silently followed the bearded guard down a short hallway, plus a long spiral staircase until he reached the highest floor of the tower, about 20 meters from the bridge. The guard knocked respectfully on the door, then a surprisingly thin voice stuttered,

"C-come in!"

Not really surprised that the door opened by itself, the guard invited him in and then closed the door behind Jake, leaving Miss Rumplesky alone with her guest.

Inside the luxuriously furnished room, Jake stood stupidly stiff for a few seconds, his confusion written all over his face. It wasn't because of the desk buried under multiple piles of parchments and grimoires, nor because of the exquisite decoration that clashed with the military austerity of the rest of the tower, but because there was no one in the room!

No longer having any qualms about scanning the room with his mental sense, Jake unexpectedly detected a powerful spiritual presence on the other side of the desk. If it was a human woman, even a small one, he should have been able to see the top of her hair from where he stood, but the heap of grimoire seemed to be enough to conceal her entirely.

Not in a hurry, he waited for the spiritual presence behind the desk to deign to show itself. After a moment, he heard a rustling of parchment and faint gasps of breathlessness, then the pile of grimoire at the edge of the table fell to the floor, revealing Miss Rumplesky hiding behind it.

Jake's eyes widened slightly in disbelief at her appearance, but this was not his first emotional rodeo since arriving in the Mirror Universe. After a short moment, he recomposed himself and observed the woman in front of him more attentively.

The first word that came to his mind was 'cute'. Because this young woman was not really one.

Literally as tall as a large apple, she wore a short, tight dress covered in sequins and behind her back a double pair of small fly wings flapped furiously, her face flushed with embarrassment under his intense gaze. If there was another feature, besides her small size and her wings, that attracted attention, it was the halo of electric blue light enveloping her body and giving her an unreal poise. Her long hair of the same color was tied in two long pigtails on each side of her head, giving her a rather childish appearance despite her fully mature curves.

A fairy! Jake had just met his first fairy. He had met Vampires, monsters, one of his cousins was a Werebear and another a Water Elf, but this was by far the most surprising encounter. This one sent him straight back to the fantastic folklore of his childhood reading.

"What?! Have you never seen a Minmin?" The little fairy finally took offense at his attitude, which made her feel like a rare collectible.

Jake realized that his insistent stare might seem disrespectful and he sincerely apologized. The Minmin was obviously not the type to hold a grudge, nor was she used to being treated with respect, because hearing his good faith apology she started to get fidgety again, joining the tips of her index fingers together as she lowered her head.

"It's not a big deal. It, it can happen to anyone." She babbled with difficulty before regaining her composure. "Are you here for the test?"

"I am."

" Hmm, wait for a second."

The fairy disappeared briefly, literally, into one of her desk drawers, and emerged with a strange silver shisha-like device covered in cryptic engravings.

"Am I supposed to smoke that?" Jake asked with puzzlement. This wasn't really his thing.

"Smoking? What do you mean?" The Minmin repeated without understanding.

"Forget what I said." Jake shook his head.

"Hmm. You just have to touch the Arcanitor and wait for all the runes to light up." Miss Rumplesky said as she fluttered over to him carrying the Mana Tool larger than she was. Even while flapping her wings fervently, she seemed to have difficulty supporting its weight with her small arms.

Out of reflex, Jake supported the weight of the object with his telekinesis and the fairy was deeply shocked, so much so that she almost dropped the Mana Tool in her hands.

"Telekinesis!"

Jake learned then that it was not common magic on Quanoth, even among the Mages. Delighted to meet a fellow mage, the little fairy forgot her shyness and took the initiative to answer his questions about how the Arcanitor worked.

First, she would fill the Mana Tool with Mana, then activate it after entering the password. Yeah, a password of several hundred symbols.... Good luck to whoever would try to steal this thing. Without being an expert in hacking magic items, it was just a waste of time.

A few minutes later, Miss Rumplesky, who called herself Jeanie, was sitting comfortably cross-legged in the palm of his hand, her nervousness gone, and Jake attributed the feat to his natural charm. The Arcanitor was also in the middle of his palm, ready for use.

"The test is about to begin." Jeanie warned him as she flew up temporarily so she wouldn't be tested at the same time as him.

Jake kept the same posture and one by one the runes of the Arcanitor lit up until the whole device glowed like a lantern. But the object did not stop working. Ten seconds, thirty seconds, one minute, two minutes...

After five minutes, even without the ultra-shocked reaction of the fairy whose facial expressions were like an open book, Jake knew something was wrong.

And the sad thing was, he knew exactly why.