Chapter 140 Advanced Clone Technique
After a few minutes, Daneel calmed down from his outburst of happiness. After all, the recent few hours and days had been some of the most stressful in both of his lives. Thus, when good news came this abruptly, he couldn't help but let go and rejoice.
Yet, now that he thought about it, he noticed something strange.
This technique crossed all the bounds of complexity of everything he had managed to analyze so far. Even counting the Fighter Replication Technique, the system had so far been limited to a certain extent in the aspect of the value of the techniques it could develop.
In other words, this technique seemed too good to be true.
Thus, Daneel chose to ask the system why this was so.
[Replying to host, this technique is an amalgamation of the Fighter Replication and Advanced Magic Clone techniques that the system has analyzed. The system has identified a link between these two techniques, and it is possible that there is one Grand Technique which has been split into parts to make these two techniques. As it is simply an amalgamation, system's current complexity of Warrior Level was enough to combine them. If host can find more pieces of this technique, it is possible that the Grand Technique can be developed. With the present data, it is impossible to predict the level of the Grand Technique, but the system can posit that it is at least above the Champion Level.]
Hearing the long response, Daneel was simply dumbstruck.
A Grand Technique split into parts? What the hell?
The abruptness of information like this which changed his whole perception of techniques was so large that his brain couldn't even function for a few seconds.
Although the fact that techniques could be split into parts wasn't new information, Daneel had thought that this was only in the case of Fighter Techniques, such as the Hidden Kill technique which he had won in the Fists of Justice Training Hall which had different levels.
Regardless, the main thing which kept resounding in his mind over and over again was the phrase: at least above the Champion Level.
At his present level, he was already an ant to those at the Exalted Warrior Level.
Besides, he had seen the sheer amount of power a single attack from a Champion Level powerhouse had during the execution.
With that image appearing in his head, he couldn't even imagine just how powerful one above this level could be.
Indeed, he simply felt like an ant.
This feeling served to bring him back to reality, making him realize that this was all something too far away from him right now.
"System, is there any way to actively search for such techniques? And is the Grand Technique only related to cloning? So will it work if I gather all manuals of cloning techniques that I can find?"
[Negative. Although there is a higher probability of finding pieces in cloning techniques, the Grand Technique can be comprised of other pieces too. There is no way the host can search for a technique. It can only be revealed as a piece after the system analyzes it.]
Just as he thought, although all this sounded fantastical, there was nothing he could do with this information right now.
Power was what he needed. And now, he had finally found a way to run faster on that race to obtaining power.
"Develop the technique."
[Affirmative. Time required: 12 hours]
Although he still didn't understand what exactly affected these time periods that the system needed, he was relieved when he saw that it wasn't an abnormally long time.
Controlling the excitement in his heart, Daneel stayed still and ordered the system to deploy the development techniques.
The Ker Gem still lay in front of him, but he had decided to hold off on experimenting with it until he could see just what kind of improvement in speed this technique could give.
...
Meanwhile, in the Throne Room of the Black Raven King.
Although the King was in the room, he did not dare to sit down on his own throne due to the status of the man whom he was meeting with right now.
Thus, he stood below the head of the Black Raven, politely waiting for the man to arrive.
Although the old man was present in the room, he had a reluctant expression on his face as if he had no choice but to be here. Standing in a corner, he seemed to be trying his best to slink into the shadows.
At precisely the appointed time, a bald man wearing light orange robes walked through the doors and smiled slightly on seeing the waiting Black Raven King.
Yet, this smile seemed to carry a coldness with it that made the King himself shudder unconsciously.
"King, Old Fool, I trust you have been well. Now, is the report correct? You have managed to convince a neighboring Kingdom to plant the echer seeds?"
"Yes. The plants will be delivered as per the agreed schedule. I've also taken care not to divulge any information that was deemed.... secret."
The Black Raven King winced as he said these words.
Seeing this, the orange-robed man's smile only became wider.
"Let's go see."
Saying these words, the man pointed at the King and the Old man standing in the corner.
Suddenly, a CRACKing sound could be heard in the room, as all three disappeared from their places in an instant.
In the farms near the border of the Lanthanor Kingdom, numerous farmers were carefully tending to the earth which seemed to have been recently tilled.
Almost all of them had smiles on their faces, mainly due to the fact that they would soon be earning a substantial income from just one yield of this plant. Compared to usual crops, they had been told that they would be paid at least triple the rate.
The trio from the Black Raven Kingdom appeared in the air above this scene.
Both the Black Raven King and the old man had expressions of shock and, to a certain extent, fear on their faces.
After all, their palace had been equipped with a space lock that could only be broken by a Champion Level powerhouse.
Did this mean that this man was a .. a ..
As the realization came upon them, the shock was completely replaced by fear.
"Hmm. They seem to be doing a good job. Remember, in one year, the plants must be delivered. Along with the plants, you can send the two individuals who will train in my sect's secret spell technique. Although it is not the best in the Big 4, it will at least double the effectiveness of a mage who is practicing the pathetic spell technique present in the 6 villages."
Seeing the two nod, the man teleported them back to the throne room before leaving.
Unknown to anyone in Lanthanor, a figure had calmly invaded their border and left after doing whatever he wanted to do.
...
If the King of Lanthanor knew of this incident, he definitely wouldn't be smiling foolishly like he was right now.
In the Energised Training Chamber, a figure which looked exactly like him was lying on the ground and breathing in the Energy inside the room.
Seeing the white mist go inside the clone's nostrils, Daneel finally believed that he wasn't dreaming.
The clone made by the Advanced Clone Technique had been absorbing Energy for the past one hour. Seeing that the time he had set in the clock had been reached, Daneel said in his mind, "Absorb the clone and tell me how much I gained from it."
[Affirmative. Host must touch the clone in order for absorption to occur.]
This was a limitation that Daneel had just been told about. In the case of absorbing Energy, physical contact with the clone was necessary.
After bending and touching the clone's arm, Daneel watched on with awe as the body he was touching suddenly dissipated into something that looked identical to the swirling mists in the room. The clothes fell to the floor, while this cloud of white mist was absorbed by Daneel by the pores in his hand.
Stepping back, the King of Lanthanor put his hand to his mouth due to the sudden gag reflex that he had felt after the mist was absorbed. It was as if he had swallowed a full meal in an instant, resulting in a 'full' feeling.
What was strange was that although Daneel likened this feeling to eating by instinct, it was actually coming from all over his body instead of just his stomach.
Luckily, with each second, the feeling subsided until it completely disappeared, making Daneel remove his hand and smile wide.
Right now, he felt as if he had spent a whole night calmly meditating, absorbing the magical Energy while traveling further on the path to power.
After a few moments, the system spoke again in his head, giving him the answer he had been looking forward to for what felt like a very long time.
[Efficiency analyzed. With host's current strength, one clone can be deployed which can train alongside host. If the clone is destroyed in this time period, there is a one day recharge time in which another clone cannot be deployed. This does not apply if the clone is absorbed.
Energy Consumption: 2 times of what the host consumes
Energy Efficiency when Absorbed: 1/2 of what the clone has consumed
Conclusion: The clone can consume 4 times the energy the host consumes in a certain period of time to double host's training speed.]