The Oracle Paths

Chapter 1197  Stardom Across Worlds

It was the first time a camp had two command centers. Since both Cho Min Ho and Jake claimed to be the legitimate Soulmancer Kings, it was inevitable.

Jake could've been a pain in the ass by forcing Cho Min Ho to come to him, but he had neither the patience nor the time for such childish games. It might make him appear weak in the eyes of the other generals, but he didn't give a damn about those ass-kissers who went wherever the wind blew.

The Korean's pavilion was easy to spot. For starters, the guy had made sure it was the most majestic and spacious of them all, but it was also the only one in white, ironically matching the tents of their enemies. If that was intentional, it was brazen.

Was he that eager to remind everyone that between the two Soulmancer Kings, Jake was the target? Choosing the same color tent as the enemy to signal they were basically on the same side?

"At least he's not hiding it," Will sighed with exasperation. The merchant had never held the idol in high regard after Amy's departure. Before, he might've just been jealous of his looks or fame, but now that time had passed, his judgment was purely logical.

A Player plotting against his allies to serve his own interests could only provoke his aversion, despite his tendency to see the good in others. As the one managing the finances of the Myrtharian Nerds, he also knew much more than Jake about the actions and expansion of King's Idol Alliance.

If Amy had seen firsthand how his faction and its leader had changed over time, she didn't know all the behind-the-scenes details. Behind his pretty face and benevolence, the Korean was above all a cruel and unscrupulous businessman. He didn't have the typical vices of low-level criminals known only for their depravity, but he could easily turn a blind eye to far more serious crimes committed by his subordinates if it brought significant benefits to his faction and himself.

In contrast to Will, whose merchant ambitions manifested through the development of his commercial empire and the enrichment of their faction, Cho Min Ho had troubling financial behaviors; his tendency to spend lavishly often went against his members' medium-term interests.

But if you dug a little deeper—which the dragon rider had obviously done—you would realize it all made sense if every action, deal, and expense undertaken by the idol aimed to rally more and more people under his banner. The official members of his faction actually represented only a tiny fraction of that number. If you counted his connections, his popularity, and the people he'd helped in one way or another who were indebted to him, the tally was much higher.

Now, Will really wanted to know what was the point of having the recognition, respect, and loyalty of all these people. For those who weren't official members of his faction, there were neither contracts, IOUs, nor promises. As a businessman himself, he knew better than anyone how quickly people forgot the favors and kindness they received.

At best, those he'd helped might have a positive opinion of him and be grateful, but most would quickly move on, too caught up in the ups and downs of their daily lives. The vast majority would never return the favor.

The theory his Oracle AI and he had come up with was that Cho Min Ho was doing all this to gain power. Whether it was his bloodline, his Soul Class, or some other obscure ability, he needed the support of all these people. It was just their hypothesis, but he was convinced they weren't far from the truth.

On the way, he briefed Jake on all his discoveries and deductions concerning the other Oracle Knight. He expected to see his friend and leader surprised, but he was taken aback when he received no reaction.

When the white pavilion was only a few steps away, Jake turned to him and said out loud, knowing that people around could hear every word,

"Everyone has their own vision of what it means to fight and live. The battle ahead surpasses our rivalries, so I'll turn a blind eye to the little schemes as long as our overall interests aren't compromised. Of course, my kindness has its limits. If certain behaviors end up compromising my own Ordeal Rating when these mishaps could have been avoided, I know how to be... vindictive."

Enunciating the last word distinctly, Jake didn't forget to shoot a piercing glare at the generals gathered around a certain replacement Soulmancer King. Even with a thick layer of hemp canvas between them, each of them stiffened like deer caught in headlights. It was absolutely terrifying.

The battle-hardened elite soldiers who stood guard in front of the pavilion thought they'd seen it all, their crisscrossing scars a constant reminder of how many times they'd braved death. Yet, faced with Jake's intense pressure, not one of them dared to breathe, let alone step in to subject him to a "search."

With neither fly nor man daring to block his path, Jake and his crew entered the pavilion without further ado. Once again, he didn't care what people might think of him. Aside from Will and the two sisters, only Ceythie and Sank-Uk accompanied them. Crunch and Lord Phenix had been left in their own camp for obvious reasons...

Oh right... There was indeed one more person in their group: Ekho. The young, perpetually inebriated conscript had oddly insisted on accompanying them during this courtesy visit. Today, he was sober. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Participating in such a high-level staff meeting was clearly far above his pay grade, but Jake had sensed strong distress and a lot of determination in his request. In the end, after a brief hesitation, he had agreed to let him tag along.

It wasn't just that he felt generous or that he liked the young barbarian. Frankly, the reason he had accepted was more motivated by pity.

Ekho was still totally oblivious to the fact that among the natives of his squad, none of his brothers and sisters in arms were real people except Claire... Sank-Uk and Meribelle didn't count; the significant status gap between them complicated the emergence of true camaraderie.

Jashuzen, the educated barbarian, son of the chief of a small tribe treating his enchanted battleaxe as a precious heirloom...

Thonzo, the group's recruit in his prime, both quick-witted and observant, bringing a touch of maturity and serenity to the group...

Scelacabe, the female barbarian—neither beautiful nor pretty, with a plain appearance—but who loved teasing the other boys with her sarcasm, especially... Ekho. Not that he noticed, always being drunk.

As for Claire... No matter what he thought of her, she was the false appearance hiding the main soul of an Artifact Spirit, aka the mysterious Soulmancer King. The real one.

The four recruits still existed, continuing to live their lifelike automaton existence without even being aware they could be duplicated, recreated, erased, or recalled by a single thought of the soul to which they belonged.

Apart from Jake, Asfrid, and a few other Players with extraordinary extrasensory perception, how many had seen through the masquerade? In this camp alone, these soul clones numbered in the hundreds.

As for why Ekho was so keen to come along, Jake had a pretty good idea.

As soon as Jake and his crew crossed the threshold of the pavilion, the appearance of the generals and Players present was fully revealed before their eyes.

Cho Min Ho sat on a throne at the back of the tent, his gaze fixed on the map spread out on the long table before him. When they entered, he calmly lifted his eyes to them.

To his right stood a three-meter-tall hulk with iconic sandy-blond slicked-back hair, whom Jake recognized as the bodyguard Kang Jun assigned to his protection. To his left stood a Player he'd never seen before—a middle-aged man with harsh features and a sleazy expression. He looked human, but that was if you overlooked his ashen complexion and shark-toothed grin.

'Zelorian Quen. That's his producer,' Will clarified telepathically, following Jake's gaze. "Not the one from when he was a star in Korea. That guy got eaten on the first day on B842 by a horde of Digestors... This producer is different; no one really knows how they met, but we can assume it's via the Mirror World. It may seem absurd, but if a film or a song becomes a hit in the Mirror World, it's like becoming a celebrity in a multitude of Mirror Universes overnight. Even if access to the film or music is only 1 Aether Point, it represents an unimaginable sum."

A spark lit up in Jake's eyes upon hearing that. Cho Min Ho was thinking big!

'Feel like making a movie when we get back?' he casually threw out while pretending to coldly stare down each general and Player in the room.

"..." Will refrained from answering, preferring to keep his thoughts to himself.

Jake seemed ready to press further, but a tremor behind him—coupled with a sharp killing intent burning with hatred—brought him back to reality. It belonged, unsurprisingly, to Ekho, and the target of all this fury and resentment was one of the Underworld Barbarians seated at the table: Great General Sheanu, the undisputed leader of the Wargod Raiders.