Chapter 454 Planning
10 minutes later.
After the alarm died down due to the discovery that the incident in the bathroom had been due to a small malfunction in the plumbing formation which was actually common, everyone started to return to their duties, including the ones sent to the hidden floors of the Central Tower to guard them.
In the crowd of those going back to their offices was a blonde-haired kid, whose head was bent low, as if he was in deep thought.
After getting to his small office, he first checked if there were any more payments to be made before sinking into the chair and propping his chin on his hands.
Closing his eyes, he asked the system, "Repeat the notification about the tips to find Ker Roots."
[Affirmative. According to multiple scholars who have studied the continent of Angaria, when Ker Roots are formed, the area above that spot becomes deprived of Energy, resulting in the sudden death of greenery. Unlike the formation of Ker Gem Mines, where the indication is lusher greenery due to the higher amount of Energy, Ker Roots first absorb high amounts of Energy in a short span of time, resulting in the sudden drop. However, the indication can vary from the size of a single plant to a large glade.
Also, Ker Roots draw the attention of beasts, which tend to loiter around such places more, as it is beneficial to their power.]
Great.
Before, Daneel had thought that it might be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
No, although the size of the haystack had decreased, the difficulty more or less remained the same.
More than once, he had considered just sweeping through the entire continent, using the system to scan everything below him.
Of course, unlike others who had to split their concentration between flying and looking for the signs, the system was best equipped to give him an accurate appraisal of what was going on below in a timely fashion.
However, Daneel did not want to this unless it was the last option.
How would it look if someone suddenly decided to go on a blanket flying mission which would take him all over Angaria?
Suspicion was the first thing he would face, and after that, he might even be hunted by the Big 4 on suspicion of working for the Church to scout out their competition.
Although he could carefully do it, slowly, without arousing any suspicion, this would take months, and by then, it would already be time to face all the lunatics who could come after him due to the news that he had high-level inheritance.
Indeed, even though the Mad Doctor's son and the other scum were dead, this threat still remained.
Originally, Daneel's plan had been to lure them to Lanthanor being using the Ruler's Inheritance to scare them away once and for all.
Yet, now, that was no longer an option due to the fact that he might be consumed by the Remnant Hero that was the Empire Spirit right after that.
What other option was there?
As Daneel started to think about those who could look for something like this, a name appeared in his mind:
The Watcher.
Of course, that bodyless head would definitely have the spell to view the entirety of Angaria from above!
Not intending to waste any more time, Daneel proceeded to the exit from the Sect that he had been told about by Jessica.
It was in the form of a hidden pathway in the forest that led to a 'breach' in the formation, but when he reached it, he realized that something was wrong.
There were sect officials barring it.
Initially, he hesitated, wondering whether to go forward and show himself.
However, recalling that he was an official member of the Central Tower after all, he walked forward and asked, "Could you let me pass, brothers?"
Travis and his mop of blonde hair were famous among the sect right now because of the way he had obtained his post, and because everyone was waiting to see his ass handed to him in a few weeks, when there came the time for him to be challenged again.
So, seeing him, the sect officials, who were at least 30 years old, sneered and said, "Sorry, this path is closed, as are all the others which lead out of the sect unofficially. We are under high alert, you know."
"Oh, is that the case? I'll take my leave then."
Answering casually, Daneel was just about to leave when he considered whether to Mind Control these two to bypass them.
However, from further inward, he could sense 3 more pairs of eyes on him.
Clearly, the sect was making it a priority to not let anyone leave through indirect channels.
Knowing that this was his doing, Daneel grumbled under his breath while heading back to his dormitory.
What was he supposed to do?
How was he supposed to leave the sect?
It looked like this damn alert wouldn't die down any time soon, at least until they caught the culprit behind the events on the day the Mad Doctor lost his son.
Wait…the culprit?
Could it…be possible for him to pin this on Ashahell?
He had been looking for ways to increase the suspicion on the man anyway.
As far as he had seen, there was no effective way of completely changing the attitude of the High Council from 'suspicious' to 'he's a part of the Church, kill him' with one plan.
So, why not adopt the strategy of slowly accumulating suspicions until they became too many to be ignored?
After all, Ashahell didn't know who his opponent was. He was just sitting in the tower, unaware that he was within Daneel's sights.
If Daneel did more and more suspicious actions in the Sect of Hedon, and even Angaria, after he got out, and found a way to pin them all on Ashahell, he could imagine the High Council changing their attitude.
So, setting a new short-term plan with his primary one still being the goal to obtain the Ker Root so that he could advance, Daneel smiled sinisterly while walking to his office, thinking exactly what to do to make everyone think of at least the possibility that it was their own sect leader who had distracted everyone in order to facilitate the death of the son of the Mad Doctor, among others.
After all, as someone from Earth, he was well-versed in the techniques used to throw blame on someone and completely ruin their public image, even if they had done nothing wrong at all to deserve it.
…..
Meanwhile, in the Black Raven Kingdom.
In the Palace of the Black Raven, in a room reserved for the King's training.
As Faxul punched a bag filled with sand, he couldn't help but feel frustrated, as he had been stuck for far too long.
Ever since that moment when something had awakened within him to allow him to rush through the levels to become an Exalted Human, he had been stalled at the last step that separated him from the Warrior realm.
As theirs was a Kingdom that also had a long history of Kings, many of whom had reached the Warrior level, Faxul had a lot of information to draw on.
After researching thoroughly, he had found out about the method of breaking through using 'need', or constant accumulation.
Knowing that a war was coming soon, he didn't even consider doing the latter, as no one knew just how much time that would take.
As for the former, he didn't know how to proceed.
He had been thinking about 'need' extensively, all the time.
What did he need to do with the power he would obtain?
What was his goal?
If there was only one thing he could accomplish before dying, what could it be?
Questions like these revolved in his mind all day, but sadly, although he was getting closer to figuring out the answers, he had nowhere near the amount of clarity that his friend always seemed to have.
He had considered whether he should contact Daneel to ask for help, but he had hesitated.
Even though Daneel was his best friend whom he could even trust his life with, he had already helped him so much, in so many ways.
Hence, unless there was no other option left, Faxul had decided to forge his own path ahead.
"You're too impatient. Black Ravens wait for the wind to fly them to dazzling heights. We don't flap our wings impatiently."
Hearing the wise voice of the Protector Raven in his head, Faxul smiled slightly before replying, "I know. But you know why I want to break through so badly."
In his mind, Faxul shared a connection where only the thoughts he wanted could be shared with the Raven.
However, it seemed that the other way around wasn't true.
He could sense most, if not all, of the Protector Raven's emotions and thoughts, and right now, he could tell that it was hesitating whether to tell him something.
Knowing that there were some things he couldn't rush, Faxul patiently waited while punching the bag in front of him with all his might.
"Come with me," it said, before flying to the balcony outside the room in which Faxul was training in.
The huge Raven was flapping its wings a small distance away from the balcony, and as Faxul leaped off the railing in a practiced motion, he landed snugly on its back, as if this was something they did often.
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see."
Nodding and closing his mouth, Faxul set his gaze on the landscape while he was flown out of the Black Raven Kingdom, to a random forest east of the Palace.
As he felt the Protector Raven descending, he noticed that they had reached a large waterfall.
"Go in there.", said the Raven, prompting Faxul to enter the curtain of water that had been gestured at by it.
Using a simple spell to repel the water, Faxul walked in and was surprised to see an ancient stone podium that had beautiful patterns carved on it.
"What is this?", he asked, and when he received the reply, he couldn't help but gasp with shock.
"Something that claims it can help anyone reach the Champion level directly."