novelThe Sect of Hedon 1
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The Sect of Hedon.
The name itself caused an unpleasant feeling inside Daneel, making him wonder whether it was tied to the word "hedonist".
Hedonists were those who prized pleasure over everything else, while also being ready to do anything and everything in order to get that pleasure.
In other words, it could also be construed as those who were willing to stop at nothing to reach their goals.
Seeing him ruminate over the name, the Watcher paused for a few seconds before continuing.
"Your disguise is that of a disciple who was sent out on official sect business for a regular check on what is going on in the Central Continent. Here he is."
Once again, a flick of a finger sounded in the room even though the Watcher had no body.
An unconscious male appeared in the room, crumpling on the ground with no support to keep him up.
He was blonde, with a slim build and freckles on his nose.
"Meet Travis Eclair, your new identity. Just like you, he has also recently broken through to become an Amateur Warrior. It is best to not fake things such as power levels, as they can be easily monitored. I have a special spell which makes people lose their memory, so it is your duty to wake him up and find out everything about him so that you can impersonate him perfectly. Take special note of the mannerisms, so that those who are skilled in noticing such things will not see anything amiss. You depart in one week. Just like you, even I think that the sooner you go in, the better."
His eyebrows twitching, Daneel got the feeling that this man had planned everything and kept it ready even though he had only confirmed now.
"How did you know I was coming now? You couldn't possibly have kept this kid locked up for months altogether right?"
Chuckling, the Watcher replied, "You should really think about putting in some sort of countermeasures to stop people like me from knowing almost everything that is happening inside your Palace. Of course, this time, I didn't even need to use the spies inside your Palace. I saw the proclamation, which was quite grand by the way, and I could tell that you would be coming soon. So, I took the liberty of nabbing this little kid. After you're done, come back here."
Shaking his head, Daneel felt weirded out by this happiness that shone in the Watcher's eyes when he spoke about his actions of watching everything while sitting in his room.
Clearly, he was someone who took pleasure in what he did.
Taking the kid, Daneel headed back to Lanthanor, as he didn't want to risk someone finding him out in the Hidden Kill Sect.
He didn't even know why he was calling him'kid', even though they were both almost the same age.
The Watcher had already given his word that this kid wouldn't remember anything, so Daneel just went ahead and directly woke him up.
"Who - who are you? How dare you apprehend one from the Big Dour? I will make sure that everyone you love die a horrible death! Let me go right now!"
Daneel had initially been planning on going easy on this kid, as he was probably just some innocent bystander that had gotten involved in this mission.
However, hearing this clichéd line of someone who was definitely used to using his power for ill means, he decided otherwise.
Unlike on Earth where there was no magic, special tools and skill weren't required to torture in Angaria.
He simply flicked his fingers, and the kid started to scream out loud, as he was being subjected to the feeling of having his entire body being pricked by needles continuously. With each second that passed by, the needles moved further and further into his skin, until it was apparent on his exposed arms that they would soon break the surface and make the man bleed like a pincushion.
It seemed that the kid also understood this, as he hurriedly said, "Stop stop stop, I beg you! I'll do anything you want that isn't forbidden by the oath! Anything! Please!"
Stopping the spell, Daneel stared at the kid with a smile on his face.
He had had the suspicion before that this was someone who had been sheltered all his life, so seeing him break already in such an easy manner, Daneel confirmed it to be true.
"Oh, don't worry, you don't need to tell me anything that is controlled by the oath. Just... Tell me about yourself. Your hobbies, your pleasures, your life in the sect, ..."
"I'm sorry, but I don't swing that way! But I definitely know some of my brethren who do! I can get them outside if you want!"
Hearing himself interrupted in this way, Daneel's lips pressed into a thin line as he realized that he had just been mistaken as some pervert.
Of course, in a way, that conclusion made sense, as he was asking all these personal things about the kid.
However, this knowledge did nothing in decreasing his irritation due to it.
Without a word, he put on a bristling expression on his face and started the spell again, making the kid scream out loud, "Alright, alright! But please, consider the others, I'm sure they'll love it more! My hobbies are..."
Marveling at this kid's ability to rat out his friends at the blink of an eye, Daneel shook his head and conjured a chair quite a distance away from him to not cause any more misunderstandings before settling in and starting to learn.
...
To the west of the Black Raven Kingdom and the north-west of the Kingdom of the Elves, there was a particular location where one would feel as if they were passing through some sort of veil when they progressed on their way towards the endless sea.
Angaria was a landlocked continent with a stormy sea all around it, preventing ships from sailing and fishing, as the waves were too strong and would easily break any civilian boat.
The only ones capable of traversing the sea were mages, but even the strongest mage had had to give up and come back due to a lack of seeing nothing no matter how far he went.
Of course, they had to fly manually, as teleportation was very dangerous above the endless sea, due to the countless thunderstorms that would both interfere with teleportation and also add high risk to it as a mage could simply teleport into one and be burned to a crisp.
And if they teleported too close to the surface of the sea, they might be dragged under.
Even Champion level mages might not be able to withstand the full fury of nature if they weren't sufficiently prepared.
All in all, all the general public knew was that the ocean was untraversable.
Still, many loved to make their way to the scenic spots above the sea where the land ended, to gaze out at its endless lengths and wonder what was out there.
As such, there were small autonomous villages and towns on the coastal areas, but there were no kingdoms.
This invisible veil was something that all travelers went through on their way to reach the coast, but Daneel was now standing in front of it and pondering.
He stepped forward, and back, multiple times, marveling at the smooth effects of the formation that was present here.
The truth was that each and every traveler who passed through here was teleported more than a hundred kilometers forward, directly reaching the coast, after crossing the area where one of the Big Four was present.
This was definitely one of the most ingenious hiding methods that Daneel had ever seen, and although he wanted to examine it more, he stopped himself as he might alert those who were usually on guard at the borders of the sect.
Taking out a strange trinket that looked like a face with its mouth wide open, Daneel held it forward before using blood to draw some symbols.
This part had been given by the watcher, as this was information that was hidden by the oath.
Of course, the blood he was using was from the real Travis, who had become a veritable blood bag and had had multiple bottles of his blood drained just in case Daneel might need it when he was inside the sect.
After doing so and seeing the symbols vanish into thin air, Daneel stepped forward and saw a different sight.
A sprawling area with rich forests, with a singular tower far away in the distance reflecting the sun like a lighthouse.
He couldn't see many buildings, but from what Travis had said, he knew that they were all spread out in these forests, which reminded him of the style in which the Withering Leaf sect headquarters had been constructed. Could these two forces be related in some way?
Hoping that he would find the answer to this question and many more in this trip, Daneel nodded at a short watchtower nearby, where two mages were eyeing him idly.
Walking forward to a stone slate, Daneel once again showed the trinket and said out loud, "Travis Eclair, returning from a routine investigation of the Central Continent."
His voice was low but strong, and as the trinket touched the stone slate, a voice said, "Report your findings to the sect mission headquarters. This is your payment."
A pouch appeared on the slate, opening which Daneel found five Ker Gems.
Already, he saw the disparity between the Central Continent and the big four.
A simple, routine job of touring the Central Continent and making sure that no major threats were present was given a payment of five Ker Gems which equaled 50, 000 Ether Blocks, a staggering amount of wealth that he could only dream of back when he was a normal boy.
Excited, Daneel stepped forward but was confronted by a familiar figure.
"You-how's the situation in the Central Continent? Has there been anything happening in Lanthanor?", asked Percy, in a tone which made it clear that he was talking to someone inferior than him.
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