novelLegacy Disciple 4
| ← Ch.0651 | Ch.0653 → |
The word popped in front of his eyes almost as if it was written in golden, glowing letters, even though it had just been underlined with a flourish by whoever had written down this book.
With the Legacy Battle done and with him receiving his rewards, Daneel didn't care anymore. With a simple thought, he broke the trinket that was obstructing his Mageroot, which made him feel like stretching out his Mage powers as it felt that they had been sleeping for far too long.
Various elements sprang into existence all around him - balls of concentrated fire, lightning, water, ice, earth, and then, multiple constructs also sprang into being before disappearing one by one and then being replaced by a grand throne on which Daneel comfortably sat.
For the first time in a long time, he did not ask the system to scan the book in his hands to tell him what it contained - no, he decided to read it himself, so he put on a calm expression on his face and began to go through the book that actually did not contain too many cases.
'Need'. What could the sect founder have meant?
With each page that turned in the silent room, the answer to this question became more and more apparent to Daneel.
There were only 10 cases in total. And there was a good reason why it was so.
For a long time even after reading the last page, Daneel just sat there, lost in his thoughts.
Finally, he stood up and walked to the door before knocking on it, and being teleported out once again.
A moment later, when he blinked and looked around to realize that he really was back in the same audience chamber where he had first been received by the Chief, he also noted that two men were standing in the room along with him.
Even after blasting off that attack that had decimated a part of the sky and had only not affected those in the Pavilions and the battlefield because of special formations that had been activated at the last moment by the Chief, the man still looked pretty normal. In other words, he did not at all look like the pyromaniac who had just set fire to the sky.
As for the Chief, of course, he still had that small smile on his face, and he was the one who spoke first.
"So... I gather that you found out what you were looking for? Why don't you tell us, so that we can make sure that you are on the right track."
With a nod, Daneel answered.
"'Need'. It is need that allows a Human to break through to become a warrior, and the sect founder found out that it is the same'need' that can allow one to build a resonance later on even if they do not plan beforehand and spend time to choose Paths that go together. His favourite quote always was that'Necessity is the road to power'. In many ways, it could be argued that even the other methods that are used by Humans to break through to become Warriors have something to do with need. When they attack that bridge for a long time, the body feels the need to cross over or perish from old age, and it succeeds. And, of course, Angaria, itself, has everything to do with need. A Champion manipulates the elementary particles and draws them to him when he uses his resonance to make his need known to the world. Even the inhabitants of Angaria who feel the need to grow stronger find themselves enabled by the continent to accomplish that using the energy resources that can be found in the ground. So... When the sect leader was placed in a position where he was going to die against the monstrosities, which would definitely have set back that general area of the continent for quite a long time as no one else was present who was as powerful as him who could take the mantle and let humanity rebuild, he felt the'need' and erupted in power. However..."
"No one can explain exactly what was different about him that allowed him to do so properly, while most of the others who tried the same failed, and even had to suffer horrible consequences."
The Chief spoke up to finish Daneel's sentence as he paused while thinking back to the failures that had been listed in the book.
Indeed... the answer was'need', once again, just like it had been when Daneel had broken through to become a Warrior.
In a harmonic way, it made sense, as it could be said that the world, itself, functioned on this singular concept.
Only, the problem was that even the Sect Founder could not explain further.
All it needed was a moment for that resonance to be formed, and after that, one would have already have set foot firmly in the Ultimate Path.
But to get there... was a perilous process.
Seeing the slightly disturbed expression on Daneel's face, the Chief said, "You must be remembering those failed cases listed down. Be aware that those were only the few that were written down, and there are many, many more. These cases were special because the leaders at the time believed that they would be useful for those in the future."
Daneel nodded as he heard this, as he had already deduced as much.
Taking the clue from the Sect Founder, many had tried multiple ways to simulate similar conditions so that that same'need' could be used.
It had never succeeded.
All those who were success cases were either senior leaders in the Sect, or sect leaders themselves.
Apparently, they had felt the'need', somehow, due to factors that hadn't been figured out yet.
Just like the sect leader, they tried to explain how they had done it where so many others had failed.
Daneel had gone through those testimonials, and they were pretty useless. All these people said was that they felt a burning desire to make it happen, and it just... did.
So, basically, they were clueless.
If it was just this, Daneel would have felt that the book was wasted, too, and that he had been chasing something that hadn't been seen on this continent in thousands of years.
Indeed, the last person who had succeeded dated back to the early few thousand years after the passing of the apocalypse. After that, there had been no success cases whatsoever.
It was exactly because the book told him why that was so, did Daneel feel glad that he had obtained it, and that it was worth it all.
This included what was there on the scroll, too. Without this additional information or what the Chief would have told him if he hadn't fulfilled that favor, it would be useless.
All the information... pointed one to what they shouldn't do.
Each one who failed was very clear about what they had done wrong.
During the process of forming the resonance, one of them had been interrupted.
So, it needed to be an uninterrupted action, but that man had been in the thick of battle, so he had failed, and he became an example for others to learn from.
Some of them had used mind control to think that it was the apocalypse, again.
This had been a strange case. By many accounts, it should have worked, as they were the exact conditions which the sect leader had had to face.
Only... the results were varied, and none of them succeeded.
One of them was killed because he couldn't do it till the end.
Another felt something- an instinctual response from one's own body that was supposed to be the trigger for the formation of the resonance, but it had been too feeble to result in anything.
As more and more began to fail, this method had been ruled out, as a theory was born that even though one could fool themselves using this way and although it might be effective during the breakthrough from a Human to a Warrior, a Warrior's consciousness was developed enough to know that there was no need for true'need' to erupt.
And each failure... was also accompanied by damage to both one's mageroot and body, as combining things without knowing how to properly do so could be pretty damn dangerous.
Daneel knew this perfectly, as he still remembered when he had mixed two elements to result in an explosion that had burned his hair.
All in all, the book and the scroll were a guidebook to prevent one from going wrong, so that they could save themselves when pursuing this supreme power.
So... they were practically priceless.
Daneel had already begun to find some clues in all this, but he could tell one thing: he had now equipped himself with this knowledge, and when the time came, he was sure that it would sprout like a seed to give him the power he wished. He had also found a direction which he could follow to find the answer, and that was what he needed most, as he was equipped with the system which could do wonders if it was given all the data it needed.
He would not have been thinking so positively if it weren't for a single thought that had occurred to him, and had gotten stuck in his mind.
The sect leader's'need' was to save humanity.
Since then, had there been another situation where the continent was threatened on that scale?
Definitely not.
Now, Daneel was in the same unique position.
His'need' was to save Angaria, and he knew for sure that it was at least as powerful as that felt by the sect leader.
The more he thought about it, the more he believed that this... was the key.
So, he was positive that the Ultimate Path was now available to him, and all that was left was for him to decide on his Champion Path, and his bloodline.
All in all... he was ready to call this trip a grand, grand success.
He had obtained the method he needed, and although it wasn't a perfect step-by-step guide, he had gotten all that was there to get. If anyone could tread the Ultimate Path simply by getting these two things, then there would have been so many more with that kind of power, but that was really not the case.
When something was so rare that it had gone unseen for millennia, the path to obtaining it would definitely not be one that could be walked by anyone easily.
Secondly, he had basically set himself up to rule the sect later on, and although there might be problems on that end when the time came, Daneel was sure that he would be able to handle them.
Hence, all that was left was to handle these two so that he could leave and check on his brother, before departing together to Lanthanor.
Looking up again and realizing that he had become lost in his thoughts for a minute, Daneel said, "I have gotten the clue that I always wanted to find, so I am satisfied. What is it you wish to speak to me about?"
The Chief was actually a bit surprised as he heard this. Raising his eyebrows, he hesitated a bit before saying, "Well, I wasn't expecting that. I've seen many get angry that there isn't a checklist they can follow to obtain the Ultimate Path."
Daneel felt like laughing as he heard this, as he could understand their mindset, and he had almost reacted in the same way.
Yet, because he had confidence in what he had discovered, he really was satisfied.
Shrugging, the Chief continued, "Anyway, first of all, your role as a Legacy Disciple allows you to take a role that is only beneath mine. Even the elders will have to listen to you, and all the secret techniques, weapons, and resources will be yours to use. You can practically strut around as if you own this whole place, and when you become a Hero, you can take my place, too. Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?"
If Daneel hadn't already suffered multiple times at the hands of this old man, he would have celebrated by now, but he knew that a catch was coming.
And of course, after waiting for a few moments and seeing that the King wasn't falling for it, the Head smiled softly and spoke up.
"There is a catch, as you are expecting. You must join the Big 4 to take up this role, and when you do, there is also something else waiting for you. Are you tempted to join, now? You will be more powerful than almost all disciple in all of the Big 4. You will grow much faster than them, and you will-"
"Not interested. Anything else?"
This time, it was the two Heroes' turn to gape, while the King felt like laughing, as there was just something great about seeing such an expression on individuals who held as much power and prestige as these two.
After all, anyone normal would have jumped for this opportunity. Yet, Daneel was already equipped with so much more than they could ever give him. Even in the area of resources, he was flush, for the moment, and before he broke through, he couldn't use anything, anyway.
So... anyway he saw it, there was no reason to change his original plan.
Clearing his plan, he decided to say just that.
"At least, for now, I have no intention of doing so, even if this is the case. I wish to continue handling my Kingdom, studying the people, and going through the libraries of the other sects in the Big 4. After I break through, we can speak on this, again. So..."
"All right, fine, the Head already mentioned this. Then, there's one matter left. Those techniques..."
"Were found by me without even me trying too hard. These are the locations of the inheritance sites. It was almost like the world was helping me."
Saying so, Daneel threw a data trinket, which the Chief caught, while both of them had the same thought flash through their minds.
Angaria... must have been helping him, as was written in the records.
Could such a thing be explained even by Heroes?
Not a chance.
So... that left almost nothing else on their agenda.
With his hands behind his back, the King waited patiently for the men to speak up.
He had already placed those inheritance sites for the techniques he had used during the Legacy Battle, knowing that he would be asked about them, and he had decided to use this excuse which couldn't be refuted. Hey, it was possible that it was true, and the two Heroes couldn't prove otherwise, so they just had to accept it.
Not expecting this conversation to go in this way, the Head and the Chief had to exchange glances for a moment to figure out what to say next, and it was the Chief who finally spoke up again.
"Oh, yes, about that method you were using. You must already know that it won't allow you to break through, right?"
Knowing that this was the last thing, Daneel smiled and said, "Of course. I have a different plan, and I'll be shifting to that now. I only used that method before because I wanted to win the Legacy Battle, which I did."
Hearing the words spoken in a confident tone, the Chief was left helpless. There really was nothing else to say.
Seeing this, Daneel said, "I guess that's it. I'll be taking my leave then, gentlemen. I had a wonderful stay in the sect, and I look forward to my return. And at that time... you can bet that I will be taking control of the whole thing, no matter what anyone has to say about it. Goodbye."
With broad shoulders and a straight back, the King made this proclamation which echoed in the room while he nodded to them both in a royal manner and walked out.
It was only after the door closed after his departure that the two got back to their senses, as it had almost been like a spell had been cast on them by his words and actions.
Chuckling on realizing this, the Chief sat back in a chair that was behind him and said, "He's really something, that one."
The Head, though, had a puzzled expression on his face.
"Why didn't you try to instruct him? I thought that was what you were going to do, as you said that you cared about his future."
The answer was given by the Chief after he turned to look straight into his previous mentee's eyes, and hearing it, the Head felt such surprise that he almost messed up even the simple conjuring spell that he had been casting to make himself a chair.
"You still quite a bit to learn, my oldest disciple. I have a theory regarding this. In this world, there are two types of people. The first are like you and me. When instructed, they follow the instructions and work hard to take each step forward on paths that have already been tread in order to reach the peak, and possibly go even further. And then, there are those who I thought did not exist in this age. They forge their own path forward, and instructing them will be as futile as trying to talk calmly to a raging bull. They have a perfect clarity regarding what they wish to do, and all you have to do is equip them with what they need, and watch as they go forth and surpass all. The sect leader was one such man, and it was said that the Emperor was the same. I have a feeling that he is of that sort, too, and my instinct has never been wrong. Unlike what I said to those people, I follow the instructions of the founder, as that is what I have been instructed to do by my master. I am ready to kneel to him even now, and even though he doesn't know it, I am ready to do anything and everything for him. Just keep watching, Head. This... will definitely not be the last time that he shocks us all."
| ← Ch. 0651 | Ch. 0653 → |