A day after the launch of Oracle, millions of orders flooded in for the Oracle Helmets. The long-awaited VR platform had finally gone public, sending everyone into a frenzy of excitement. Joon and his team had anticipated this massive demand and had prepared accordingly.
They’d manufactured a vast stockpile of helmets for their first big sale, ensuring that despite the overwhelming number of orders, deliveries were running smoothly without a hitch.
The excitement surrounding Oracle was palpable, with people eager to dive into the digital world Joon and his team had crafted. The buzz continued to grow as more users joined in, and Oracle’s influence was quickly becoming undeniable.
Klaus and his friends, who decided to stay at Stone Valley for a few days before leaving for the Genius Gathering at Senji Valley, spent the last few hours exploring the Mountain Forest Monastery—the monastery Klaus had modeled in Oracle.
“This place is beautiful,” Klaus’s mom said, admiring the Butterfly Garden that Klaus and Queenie had designed. Perhaps because Queenie had gone a little extra with the flowers, the garden was indeed stunning.
Klaus smiled, but deep down, he felt a bit sad. This had been his home after his mother sacrificed herself to send him away from their pursuers. But now, after reviewing the second part of his past self’s memories, he knew the monastery had also been destroyed forever.
He couldn’t endure all those emotions without thinking about killing. But despite the pain, he just smiled and led his friends through the vast and beautiful monastery.
“There’s something strange about these statues,” Miriam said as they stopped in front of one of the large statues.
“Indeed,” Klaus replied with a smile. “I call this statue Master Kluitox, a Mental Sage. Just being near it or staring at it from a kilometer away will affect your mental state. Since Oracle is 100% immersive, the changes that happen here can affect your mind even outside this space,” he added.
“Are you saying this statue can strengthen our mental resilience?” Lily asked.
“Exactly,” Klaus nodded. In truth, the past few days since he had awakened his memories had been spent adding these effects to various parts of the monastery.
Thanks to Yuying’s teachings from the second part of his memories, he now understood more about the mind, soul, body, aura, and Qi cultivation. He had become something of an encyclopedia, filled with vast knowledge of different types of cultivation.
He had imbued most of the statues with different types of effects, so anyone who neared them would need the strength to resist, or else, to a certain extent, they could die and be ejected from Oracle.
“Mom, you probably shouldn’t get too close to any of the statues,” Klaus said, pulling his mom away. Among them all, she was the weakest, and he didn’t want her to get hurt over something like this.
After a while exploring the rest of the monastery, Klaus and his mother exited the space. Miriam and the others decided to stay and gain some clarity from the strange, ancient things they had encountered.
What none of them knew was that, since their helmets were neuro-linked, the effects happening inside Oracle would have the same impact on their minds in the real world.
After exiting Oracle, Klaus and his mom climbed to the top of the Oracle building to watch the sunset. A while later, Lucil came to inform him that he had a guest.
Klaus was puzzled because he wasn’t expecting anyone, but he went to see who this mysterious guest was.
Lucil led him to a meeting room. As soon as Klaus entered, he sensed a powerful presence emanating from a man who looked like he was in his late 30s. The man had long dark hair, refined cheekbones, and a rather unusual set of pink eyes.
The moment their gazes met, Klaus felt as though his soul was being sucked out of his body.
‘Brat, that man is a powerful soul master. It would be in your best interest not to antagonize him, or else you won’t even know how you died,’ the senior’s voice echoed in his mind from his soul sea.
‘No kidding, genius,’ Klaus replied, fully aware of the danger the man before him posed—very dangerous.
‘But we’ll talk about those eyes later,’ he added, cutting off the connection between them.
“Nice to meet you, Klaus. I am Dharma, the Overlord of the Northern Union, but you can call me Brother Dharma,” the man said.
Contrary to what Klaus expected, when he approached the chair reserved for him, Dharma extended his hand for a firm handshake.
“Well, you already know my name, but it’s nice to meet you too, Brother Dharma,” Klaus replied, flashing a small smile. While those pink eyes radiated danger, he sensed no killing intent from Dharma, so it seemed safe to assume he wasn’t in immediate danger.
Dharma smiled upon hearing Klaus call him “Brother.”
“So, what did I do to warrant a meeting with an Overlord?” Klaus asked after sitting down.
“Shall I list them? You’ve done more than enough to deserve a meeting with an Overlord,” Dharma replied with the same charming smile.
Klaus was handsome, but the man before him was not only handsome, he exuded a dangerous yet calm presence that Klaus couldn’t quite put his finger on.
“Maybe we should get to the main point—I have caused quite a bit of chaos, after all,” Klaus said with a hint of shamelessness. Dharma simply smiled and retrieved a space ring.
“You managed to complete the quest set by the Overlords, so I’m here to reward you as per the rules of the quest.” He handed the ring to Klaus.
“Full disclosure: I added something extra in there as a thank you for making my Union look good these past few months,” Dharma added with a smirk.
While there were many geniuses out there, what Klaus had achieved was simply too grand. From the moment he awakened until now, he had accomplished feats that even seasoned warriors couldn’t imagine attempting.
He had killed the five devils in the Demons Abode which was a quest set by the Overlords. He knew his rewards would come soon enough, so he wasn’t shocked to receive the space ring.
“Thank you, Brother Dharma,” Klaus said, pocketing the ring. He wanted to check its contents immediately, but the look on Dharma’s face told him that the Overlord wasn’t finished with what he came to say.
“Klaus, I know about your situation with the Duncan Legacies, and though I would love nothing more than to help you resolve it, you’ll have to handle this on your own,” Dharma said with a slightly regretful expression.
He had wanted to assist Klaus, but their leader had instructed him not to. Klaus needed to solve his own problems, and if the Overlords or the academy stepped in, many would accuse him of receiving special treatment. Therefore, this was a challenge he had to face alone.
“Don’t worry about that, Brother Dharma. Those idiots… the Legacies, won’t know what hit them,” Klaus replied with a smile. Truth be told, he didn’t want the Overlords’ help. He relished the mischief, and the Duncan Legacies had just walked onto his playing field.
Dharma smiled and stood up. “Still, be careful. The Legacies are no easy targets. They have connections, and with the Dark Order hot on your trail, you don’t want to incur their wrath.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. And thank you for the gift,” Klaus said, shaking hands with Dharma before the Overlord vanished from the room. Klaus sighed and leaned back in his chair.
“Tsk, a bunch of arrogant rich bastards. When I’m done with them, even their shadows will be afraid of me,” Klaus muttered coldly.
Somewhere far from the Oracle headquarters, Dharma smiled and shook his head. “I should probably give the War God in Union City a heads-up not to interfere in his business. Klaus, I look forward to a good show.”