Chapter 1163 The Fourth Rank 17 Player

Chapter 1163 The Fourth Rank 17 Player

"By the way, I've got some more bad news that's not about Jake, but it directly affects our Mirror Universe's odds of winning." Nathan blurted out of nowhere.

The solemn and oddly cautious tone he suddenly adopted was a stark contrast to his usual bug-like inexpressiveness. Cho Min Ho and Kang Jun had their doubts, but their faces froze as they thought of something.

"Did you find out what's causing our Oracle System to fail?!" The two Koreans exclaimed excitedly. If they could fix this issue, their Ordeal Rating would shoot up.

Unfortunately, they seemed to have already forgotten that if this were good news, Nathan wouldn't have delivered it so grimly. After a brief, deadly silence that dampened the humans' spirits, the insect man explained,

"Not only did I find the cause, but I also know how to end the problem. As we suspected, it's indeed an enemy Player with the Oracle Hacker Soul Class."

"So it's real!" Kang Jun could hardly believe their least likely hypothesis had turned out to be correct.

"I bet even Jake has no clue about the truth," Cho Min Ho admitted gravely. "Great job on this discovery."

The insect man nodded impassively, hardly moved by the compliment. As for Jake, it wasn't that he hadn't considered this possibility, but he had deemed it nearly impossible.

For starters, Oracle Hackers had a terrible reputation in the Mirror Universe. The Oracle System tended to track them relentlessly, and no authorized Aurae Stele would issue them such a Soul Class.

Regardless of the Soul Class, knowledge about the Oracle System's engineering and its various devices was highly confidential. Not the kind of information that Fifth Ordeal Players like them could access.

Moreover, even if they managed to acquire these theoretical insights, whether through their background, sheer talent, or perseverance, as long as they wore their bracelet, the Oracle would be immediately informed.

If their deepest intentions contained even a shadow of malice, the liquid alloy permeating their bodies would ignite, blowing up their brains and souls. The Oracle System was meticulous in these situations.

But despite all its meticulousness, Oracle Hackers still thrived, and in all Mirror Universes. That's because the first thing such a hacker would do upon developing such a taboo ability would be to tamper with or get rid of their Oracle Device.

The incident closed, Cho Min Ho turned back to his slave and asked with furrowed brows,

"What exactly bothers you about Kang Jun's plan, though?"

The Korean had flown off the handle upon learning of Jake's policy change, but he was far from stupid. On the contrary, he was very calculating and cunning, paying attention to every detail.

If his bodyguard wasn't sure what the insect man thought, he had a small idea. Nathan's disdain was real.

"He's too weak," the latter clarified calmly, ignoring Kang Jun's dark look. "You didn't let me finish earlier. The Oracle Hacker we're talking about is also a Rank 17 Player."

"What?!"

The two Koreans exclaimed in unison. This changed everything! Not because it was a tougher Oracle Hacker than expected, but because each camp of Players was supposed to be equal.

For the moment, counting Shadrex, Weiss, and Kaelum, the opposing camp already had three Rank 17s. In contrast, their own camp had only revealed two, namely Jake and himself. The identity of the third remained a mystery to almost everyone, but now they learned there was a fourth.

His focus shifting back to the fact that the Ordeal was supposed to be balanced, and the fact that their Oracle System was the only one that had been hacked, Cho Min Ho then came to a terrible hypothesis.

"Don't tell me..."

"You guessed right," Nathan nodded, sketching what could only be described as a bitter grimace with his mouth. "We also had a Rank 17 Oracle Hacker in our camp."

"Had?" Kang Jun finally reacted, though he was a bit slow on the uptake.

"Indeed," the insect man shrugged before giving them a cold stare. "Don't bother looking for him. He died at the start of the Ordeal... Killed by the Myrtharian Nerds."