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At that moment, in the principal's office, Grigori was over the moon after receiving Aurae's promise that the stolen Stele would be replaced by the limited edition A7 model. Humming happily, he brewed himself a cup of his favorite spiritual tea and slumped onto his innocent-looking chair, placing his feet leisurely on his desk, one short leg resting atop the other.
With eyes squinted in delight, Grigori savored a sip of the piping-hot beverage, relishing all of its flavors. Just as he thought he could enjoy this moment of peace and pleasure for a while longer, the giant hologram of Aurae's head with its six blazing eyes appeared above his desk.
"Pffff-GULP! Cough, cough, cough..."
Half of his sip was forcefully sprayed out of his nose like a whale's blowhole, while the other half was swallowed down the wrong way, triggering a miserable fit of coughing. Due to the position of his feet, the toes of the little alien accidentally poked the lower two eyes of the Ancient Designer. Luckily for Grigori, it was only a hologram.
"..." Aurae.
A few seconds later, Grigori finally regained his composure, which, if he were an ordinary alien, would have very likely caused him to die of sudden cardiac arrest. It was only then that he noticed the position of his feet piercing through the lower eyes of his boss, and his eyes widened like saucers.
'Fuck... I'm dead.' That was the thought that crossed his mind at that moment.
Then, his well-honed survival instinct kicked in, and he swiftly and agilely prostrated himself before Aurae, beginning another round of bootlicking, a tactic that he had mastered to perfection. After a few minutes, Aurae was so fed up with his subordinates' honeyed compliments that even someone like him from a biomechanical race known for its lack of emotion began to grit his teeth in exasperation.
"Cough... Enough," Aurae put an end to his subordinate's demonstration of loyalty and got straight to the point. "I'm contacting you again because I forgot to ask you earlier which Soul Class Jake chose. Since the Stele was modified by several Ancient Designers, I no longer have exclusive rights to it. That's also why I wasn't particularly angry earlier."
Grigori, still deep in his role as a fearful servant, raised his head abruptly in confusion.
"Even an Ancient Designer like you can't access the record of what happened in that Stele?" He couldn't help but exclaim with disbelief.
The real question he wanted to ask was why Aurae, like him, had not monitored that moment live with his mental sense. Had someone or something prevented him from doing so?
"...That's why I'm asking you," Aura replied impatiently, with a hint of hostility.
Grigori's heart felt cold, and he stifled his seeking-death tendencies, returning to his role as an unthinking subordinate. After gathering his thoughts, he continued,
"To be frank, I'm rather impressed and a bit jealous. At first, I wondered why the Stele needed to be modified by several Ancient Designers, but after seeing the list of Soul Classes that appeared to him, everything became clear."
"How many Tiers?" Aurae asked succinctly.
"From Tier 1 to 10," Grigori replied gravely. "There were even three options listed at Tier 10. Especially this Soul Class of Everflow Aethermancer. It was the first time I had seen it. Awakened and Hyperion, I've heard of them, but I've never met anyone who possessed them, and the archives of the Oracle System are extremely vague about them."
Grigori wanted to continue prattling on when he felt the atmosphere dangerously chill around him. The holographic head of Aurae above his desk was just that, a projection, but why, at this moment, did he feel an overwhelming murderous aura condensing around him?
"Ahem... Did I say something I shouldn't have?" The childish alien swallowed with difficulty, his mouth suddenly horribly dry.
Holding his breath, he waited with bated breath for the robotic Ancient Designer to deign to answer him. A long minute later, Aurae's angry, booming voice questioned, resonating in the room,
"Wasn't there any other choice? Like a Tier 11? Or another Tier 10 Soul Class?"
Grigori blinked stupidly in response.
'Other choices? Damn it, what other choices do you want? Three Tier 10 Soul Classes are not enough for you?' The childish alien felt deeply wounded in his pride as he unjustly suffered his boss's anger.
Seeing that Grigori really didn't know anything, Aurae became solemn.
"Was there really no other choice?"
"Not that I know of. What other choice could there be?"
Aurae didn't immediately respond and sighed. His sigh seemed to contain all the vicissitudes and weariness of the universe. In an aged voice, he spoke,
"The Soul Class we had specially arranged for him. Mirror Universe's Ch-"
*****
"Aetherdream Inceptor." Jake finished reciting.
After speaking these words, he displayed a strange expression. This name... was not bad? At least it didn't sound like a Soul Class name reserved solely for Digestors.
But what did it mean? Aetherdream... Dream Aether? It was possibly the same thing or at least their meanings were close. One referred to a place or a state, the other to an energy?
Inceptor was already more vague. In the legal field, an inceptor was a person who starts or establishes something, like a contract, for example.
In aviation, an inceptor could be a device or system that allows an airplane to follow a precise flight path based on data provided by the autopilot.
In the context of science-fiction, an "inceptor" could refer to a character who initiates a groundbreaking idea or concept that leads to significant technological advancements. However, Jake couldn't shake the feeling that this term had nothing to do with any of that. It was an instinctual feeling that came from deep within him.
Unable to find an answer, Jake continued to process the rest of the data with his enhanced intelligence. He wondered if he could speed up the process by regaining control of the liquid alloy he had bound to his official bracelet, but he wasn't in a rush. With his Grade 10 Energy, he wasn't going to run out of energy anytime soon.
Hours passed, and the next morning Jake woke up with a pensive expression. He shared a silent moment with Xi, both of them unsure about the new Soul Class. It wasn't necessarily a bad one, but they didn't understand how it related to Jake.
What was even more concerning was that the skills associated with his previous hybrid Rune Aetherist Soul Class had disappeared.
[Soul Class: Beginner Aetherdream Inceptor: 100% All attributes per Spirit Body level.]
[Related Soul Class Skills:]
[Lucid Aetherdreamer: Those who possess this ability are known to be able to perceive the Dream Aetheric currents and channels that flow through the cosmos, and to tap into this energy to augment their physical and mental abilities beyond human limits. You are no longer subject to any illusions and can see reality clearly.]
[Aetherdream Traveler: Allows the user to access the Aetherdream through their Dream Aether powers. In addition to being able to travel and communicate in the Aetherdream, ignoring all notions of distance, the user can also travel to and visit the dreams of others.]
[Aetherdream World: Allows the user to create dream constructs that can manifest in the real world, and even create new dreams that they can control. This power can be described as the manipulation of reality through the manipulation of the Dream Aether. The user can create illusions and bend reality to their will, making them a formidable opponent in battle. As the user can also enter the dreams of others and manipulate them from within, they can extract information or implant suggestions, potentially causing psychological damage.]
[Aetherdream Inception: A dream often hides another. An Aetherdream Inceptor can discern these dissonances and turn them to their advantage.]
In addition to the usual description of his abilities, there was also a small disclaimer at the end of his Soul Class:
[The use of Aetherdream Inceptor powers requires significant mental and emotional control, as the boundaries between reality and dreams can become blurred. Mishandling of these powers can lead to mental instability and even madness.]
This Soul Class... Did not displease him. It was unexpected, but not disappointing. The term Dream Aether was not the first time he had heard it. In fact, he had heard of it for a very long time and it was no secret.
His problem was quite different: How did this Soul Class deserve all these ??? so much that it was forced upon him? What made it stand out above other Tier 10 options like the illustrious Awakened and powerful Everflow Aethermancer?
The question gnawed at him, like a persistent itch that refused to be scratched. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this than met the eye. Was there a hidden agenda at play, or some deeper purpose he had yet to uncover?
One thing was for certain: he would need to tread carefully with this newfound power, lest he risk being consumed by the dreamlike haze it promised.
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