Jareth sat down as he thought about the advantages and disadvantages of the first and second option.
But no matter how he thought of it, he saw no personal advantages in joining the Grim Corps apart from survival. But survival is man's first instinct. However, he, who had lived one life, sought a free life.
'But why does it feel like Esta is manipulating me into choosing the first? She didn't tell me about the Grim Corps first, which means I would have taken her option if I was a bit ambitious. Her option is even more attractive for ambitious and reckless people.'
Upon thinking to this point, he checked for his comm band to do some research, but he didn't see it.
He got up, went inside and picked it up from his bed before returning outside.
This time, he decided to use the phone version of the comm band as he searched for Grim Corps in the arcanist nexus.
As he scrolled, his face fell. All he saw was about slaying beasts, saving the city by wiping out one colony of some beasts, and more beast slaying.
'No fun at all? But when I think about it, nobody searches about military stuff to see fun and fancy flares. But I've come to a conclusion that I don't like to be in the Grim Corps. Slaying beasts for life? No, thank you. Maybe there's a retirement somewhere but I'm not interested.'
Then he searched: Dummy instructions for new arcanists.
But as Jareth scrolled through, he hardly found anything useful, except a few names for arcanist ranks and some battle videos; there was nothing on how to absorb cores. Most informative videos always pointed him to go to the Arcanist Court, or sign up for the Arcanist College. There was even a warning that new arcanists with mental instability should visit the Arcanist Court for help, which they would definitely provide.
Surprisingly, there were many news stories about mad arcanists, who recklessly absorbed cores, even if it wasn't in his keywords.
'They are really hiding it. From the way it's arranged, I can see that they are trying to stop new arcanists from absorbing cores. Nice plan—hiding the information from the ignorant, and displaying the consequences for those who managed to find it.'
Without any answer, he went and searched about the Sorcerer's Chart and found answers, which were a bit detailed.
First, the body percentage was a display of the affinity towards mana. People with a higher percentage have a stronger perception towards mana, which was a boost during ascension.
Second was the source, which was the root of spells for arcanists. Most arcanists had only one source, with others being lucky to have more than one due to some lucky and fruitful encounter.
Thirdly was the spell, which is linked to the arcanist's mind and can be activated with a mental command. Moreover, the basic description of each spell can be read from the sorcerer's chart by focusing on it. However, it was advisable for newbies to avoid this around people as they might unconsciously activate it, causing destruction or even the death of innocent neighbors.
Lastly was the core, which was the indication of the amount of mana required for saturation. The more cores that are absorbed, the more powerful the arcanist's physique.
After reading through, Jareth suppressed his urge to read about his spells. He also felt uneasy as one of his sources was for oblivium, and he saw nothing about having the source of oblivium on the arcanist nexus.
After more surfing through the nexus, Jareth came to a decision.
'Well, there's nothing to lose. There's nothing about the Grim Corps that resonates with me, so I'll go with Esta's option. Who knows, maybe she's helping out of the goodness of her heart.'
He tried to convince himself with the last sentence but his face scrunched up in disgust as he remembered his manager and bodyguard that caused his downfall.
'If I want to be free, the first option is the best. This is more convincing than my previous thought to take Esta's option.'
Exhaling, he went inside to sleep and prepare for the next day. And it was the first peaceful sleep he had gotten since his life crumbled.
***
Jareth slowly opened his eyes. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up slowly for a few seconds before he went and opened the window. Bright sun rays shone on his face and brightened the dim room.
Stretching his body, he mumbled in a strained voice, "Never had a good sleep in like forever. I feel relaxed and energized. Now, let's go test my skills in the basement."
His eyes shone with excitement.
He hurried towards the door but halted a step from it at the sight of a neatly folded paper in front of it.
Squatting down, he picked it up and opened it.
A clean writing came in his sight.
His eyes read through it:
'FROM ESTA.
The house is empty because you woke up late. The guest comm band on your desk has few aures for food and to get yourself a few casual clothes. To test your skills, use the door behind the stairs to get to the basement and use the AI robot. Lastly, I'll be expecting your answers by tomorrow morning.'
"Pretty succinct," Jareth mumbled.
He opened the door and left the room. As Esta had stated, he found a door that led to the basement behind the stairs and he opened it, entered and shut it behind him, before descending the staircase that sloped downward.
The basement was a monochrome of a dull ash color, illuminated by two rows of dim white light that ran from one corner to the diagonal corner, intersecting each other to form a large 'X' on the ceiling.
On the wall opposite him were different hanging weapons.
Jareth walked towards the black human sculpture standing at the center. He deduced it was the AI robot as it was the only human-like thing standing like a mannequin.
Upon reaching it, he used his hand to feel it as his eyes scrutinized it in search of a button to turn it on. The robot was smooth, with a pair of circular pits for eyes, and hairline cracks around the joint areas. He searched for a few minutes and finally saw one hidden in a pit at the heel of its right foot.
Jareth pressed it and the robot vibrated, before a robotic voice echoed from it, "Good day, Sir. I'm Jareth. What do you want to test?"
Jareth choked.
'I can't believe Esta can play like this. She gave it my name? Or did this robot copy my name after seeing me? Is it that smart? Well, let's just read the description for my spells and test them.'
Shaking his head, he stood up and distanced himself from the robot.
The black robot now had a pair of red glows in its eyes.
"What can you test?" Jareth asked.
"Accurately record your physique attack Force Power and display the data for Rank 1 arcanists and Rank 2 arcanists—Awakened arcanists and Elite arcanists respectively. I can attack you with the agility and strength of an Awakened arcanist. So you can order me for the level of strength you want—an untrained awakened arcanist, a trained awakened arcanist, a mid-level arcanist, and a peak level arcanist.
"I can also be used to test your skills but gives only vague data as there are some skills that depend on the target's state—if it's living, contains blood, dead, inanimate objects, or some other variable."
Jareth took a moment to digest it.
"Attack me with the strength of an untrained awakened arcanist," Jareth ordered.
"Order received!" answered the robot before it dashed at him with sharp speed.
Jareth readied himself as the robot reached and swung its fist.
He crossed his arms and received the punch. As the punch struck his arms, they vibrated as he staggered back before finding his footing.
"Target assessment: An untrained awakened arcanist."
Jareth flexed his arm to relieve the shock before ordering, "Attack me with the strength of a trained awakened arcanist."
"Warning: You're going to hurt yourself!"
"Just do it. I want to see the difference in strength," replied Jareth.
"Order received!" Answered the robot as its body sprinted at Jareth, almost in a blur.
It got to him and flung a swift punch at his face.
Jareth barely placed his arm in front of his face as the punch connected and smashed his arms into his face, sending him crashing and tumbling on the floor.
Jareth wheezed and coughed as he sat up while rubbing his forehead.
"Ugh! That was hard. Come to think of it. This robot is hard but I'm receiving the punches unscathed, with only a slight shock," he mumbled.
"Do you want to continue?" The robot asked.
"Hell no! Let's just focus on my spells." Jareth quickly waved his hand.
His nose and forehead was still hurting from the previous punch.