Chapter 416 The Sect of Hedon 2
Percy was here? Then this meant that… The Mad Doctor was also in the same sect as Ashahell?
Initially, Daneel rejoiced as he realized this fact.
His plan before had been to find a way to also infiltrate the sect that the Mad Doctor was in, in the case that it was different from the one into which he was going in as Travis.
However, now that that wasn't in the case, he would be able to finish all of his objectives in one fell swoop.
However, after that, as he heard the kid talking to him in his irritating tone, he almost felt like taking off his disguise then and there.
Of course, this was only a momentary thought, before it was replaced by the action that Travis would usually do if he was confronted by someone of higher social standing.
"Lanthanor? Everything remains the same, senior brother. If you wish, you can tell me what you want me to find out, and the next time I go there, I can definitely make some inquiries. After all, simple missions like these are best suited for weaker junior brothers like us. We are all depending on you to help us, so this is the least we can do to make sure that you can focus your time on training and becoming stronger."
If he hadn't become quite an accomplished actor after coming to Angaria, Daneel would definitely have had great difficulty in reciting this line in front of the individual with the most punchable face in the entire continent.
"Humph. If you get any news regarding the King of Lanthanor, just let me know."
Leaving these words, Percy thankfully trudged away and teleported, leaving Daneel alone.
Sighing with relief due to the fact that his disguise seemed to be perfect, Daneel started to make his way to where he was lodged.
The Sect of Hedon was a very peculiar place due to the fact that it had no specific direction like the other three, at least according to what the Watcher had told him.
The other three of the Big 4 either worshipped some specific entity, like the Goddess's Sanctum, or had a specialty, like one of the other big four which was apparently focused on only the path of Fighters.
As for the Sect of Hedon, they only prioritized power.
Their motto was "Power is King", so the entire sect functioned in this way.
Incidentally, this was also the sect behind Axelor, because the long-standing wish of the Sect of Hedon was to conquer the Central Continent and take it under its wing.
This was simply to satisfy the thirst for conquest in the leaders of the sect, and also apparently due to the fact that this sect had once ruled the entire continent for a time before crumbling upon itself due to various reasons.
This was all based on the information that Daneel had gotten from the Watcher, so he decided to head to the library first in order to understand everything about the sect clearly.
The Watcher had said that this was all hearsay that he had obtained from his colleagues, as he had never been very interested in finding out more about the outside world, instead focusing on 'Watching' Angaria on the whole in his post from which he had been kicked out mercilessly.
This was a sect that reminded Daneel of the novels he had read when back on Earth, with a contribution points and mission system which allowed disciples to take on tasks to earn resources and give contributions so that they would be considered for more advanced training.
The criteria to enter was also simple: one simply had to have high-grade talent in either the path of a Fighter or Mage.
Daneel was quite happy that everything was progressing so smoothly, but he still kept his guard up as he never knew when something might occur which would risk him exposing his identity.
In fact, he had already been scanned once by some sort of device which originated from the central tower of the sect, but because his camouflage technique had been upgraded along with the system's upgrade to be at the peak Champion level, he hadn't been detected.
Teleportation was allowed in specific spots in the sect, which were indicated by podiums with teleportation doors on which one could stand and transport themselves to a different podium in a different area of the sect by selecting their destination from a floating stone slate beside it.
If anyone teleported to anywhere else, they would immediately be apprehended and fined heavily.
Although Daneel was quite impressed by this smart system, he found the first incongruity in the sect when he approached the podium and saw a kid around 17 years old sitting in front of it and barring everyone's way.
"1/8 of a Ker Gem, you know the drill."
Nodding, Daneel conjured a knife and carefully sliced off a part of his newly earned resources and passed it on, before being allowed to get on the podium.
Here, strength reigned supreme, and only the strong could hope to retain all of their resources.
People like these, who were usually on a higher level than the average sect member, would use their hard-earned power to run side operations like these where they could get extra resources to further their training.
The one who had just taken the part of the Ker Gem was apparently an Eminent warrior who was known for his mastery of metal and gravity elemental particles. Travis had practically been the bottom feeder of the sect with his level as an Exalted Human before his recent breakthrough, and he had taken this mission right after as it was only allowed for Warrior level individuals.
He hadn't had a chance to show his power yet, so he could only still act meekly in front of people like these.
Besides, Daneel had no intention of drawing more attention to himself than necessary.
His clothes were dusty from the travel, so Daneel first made his way to the dormitory where all sect disciples had single rooms.
He was supposed to have quite a few friends, but thankfully, they seemed to have gone out to attend some lecture or the other.
Lectures were frequently conducted by the senior officials of the sect, who expounded on the tricks and tips to manipulate elementary particles to output the best result.
Of course, contribution points were needed to pay for these lectures, but according to what Travis had told him, there was a sort of black market where those with connections used communication eyes to transmit the lecture to display trinkets so that those who didn't have the cultivation points could still watch and listen after paying a small amount of money.
Here, money meant resources, and the most common denomination was fractions of Ker Gems.
Daneel was starting to get more and more surprised by this internal structure of this sect, where corruption was rampant everywhere. All of the core functionalities of the sect seemed to be compromised using such underhanded means, so how did this sect even function?
Deciding to find out, Daneel headed to the library, where he once again had to pay 1/8 of a Ker Gem to access something that was supposed to be free for all disciples.
As a warrior, he now had access to both the first and second levels of the library, with the second holding techniques to augment a warrior's output of strength.
Daneel had already obtained many techniques like these, which was similar to the hidden kill fist technique that he had gotten so long ago. They all used one principal or the other to make it so that Warriors would not waste their strength when fighting opponents.
For example, Daneel had just seen a fist technique called the "Dragon's Fist", which apparently used the concepts of a dragon's movements to make a Warrior punch with extra power by using a different kind of stance.
Just as he was going through it, he heard a voice calling him.
It had already called three times, but because Daneel still wasn't used to being called Travis, he had had to take this long to notice it.
Now that he did, he looked up and saw a round individual with chubby cheeks and short hair striding towards him with a wide smile.
This was Grod, one of Travis's closest friends.
"There he is! Became a Warrior and set out without telling any of us? We of the 'Shameless Sect' were all going to have a meeting the night you left! We had to carry on without you."
The 'Shameless Sect' was something that Travis and his friends had formed, as they were all background-less people who had entered the sect through their talent alone.
Only, they didn't have very high talent, so they were used to being kicked around by those above.
So, these 5 students had banded together with a single motto to help them meander through this sect:
"When you can, bluster. When you can't, be shameless!"
Clearly, this was exactly what Travis had been doing when he had been interrogated by Daneel before.
"Oh? Yeah, I was completely out of resources, so I took that mission. So what did you discuss in that meeting, anyway?"
Sitting down on a table nearby, the fatty gestured at him to come.
Putting the technique book back, Daneel walked to the table and sat down, grimacing at the strong oily smell that was coming from the fatty.
"This is top-secret! With you, we have 3 Warriors now. It's about time we set up our own side operation! There aren't that many gigs left, you know. Our goal is to get more resources and contribution points so that we can access more parts of the library and hidden areas of the sect! Do you have any?"
Hearing this, Daneel was really taken aback.
The things that the fatty had mentioned were exactly what he wanted.
So, pondering after a while, he said, "Yes, but not here. I'll tell you when we are alone."
While he was saying this, Daneel had a mischievous smile on his face.
Corruption? Well, as someone from Earth, he was the forefront authority on the matter.
It seemed that this trip might end up being much more fun than he had thought.