Chapter 567 'Hopeless' Champion Path
"A Champion Path that can, potentially, defeat any and all that exist."
That was a statement that could give anyone pause.
Daneel was tempted to say 'yes' and find out what the system was talking about right now, but he stopped when he saw Rayen recover his senses.
Any way he saw it, this father-son Hero Champion duo were very important to him. Hence, he knew that he had to take the time out to ensure that they would stay by him, instead of going into a daze like before with Kellor.
Kellor knew that there was a different entity in Daneel's head, but these two would just think that he was acting weird.
So, walking forward, Daneel first greeted Rayen.
"I trust you've been well, Hero Rayen. So the Head finally decided that you're past your mourning stage?"
Raul stayed silent as he saw the King speak to his father, whereas Rayen folded his hands and eyed the King with an indecipherable expression on his face.
However, he had already detected something: the darkness that always swirled around his father was both an offensive and defensive mechanism that came as a result of his Champion Path. He had once told him that ever since he had broken through to become a Champion, he would always have it on, no matter where he was, except on very rare occasions.
Right now, the darkness wasn't present.
Daneel had noticed that, too. Till now, he had only seen this man as that enigmatic Hero of darkness whose eyes were the only things visible.
Now, as he saw a middle-aged person wearing the normal clothes of a middle-class family and looking as if he had just walked out of a merchant store or some other normal occupation, he couldn't help but feel that judging people by how they looked was definitely something that everyone did without even thinking about it.
Taking Rayen for example, first of all, Daneel had almost assumed that someone who was wreathed in darkness all the time must be some kind of villain character, as that was the way they were usually portrayed in various forms of media back on Earth.
Instead, reality was that this was just a man who cared for his son, and also cared for the millions of humans on Angaria.
Secondly, he had thought that Rayen would have an imposing figure, mainly because of his eyes which gave one the feeling that the one in front of them was not to be messed with.
Yet, reality was completely different. The man in front of him was more suited to be sitting on a porch and telling sweet stories to his sons and daughters, rather than being someone who wielded power that could devastate entire swaths of land in the span of a single breath, if Daneel used what he had seen from the Giant as a reference.
Right now, he knew that he was getting all these thoughts, again, because of Faxul.
If someone looked at his best friend from the outside and judged him by how his actions looked, they might think of him as some useless person who had gotten everything he had in life by the grace of others, instead of working for them by himself.
However, if they knew just how much he had had to go through, they would definitely not dare to think so.
He was like a flame that did not wish to be extinguished no matter how much wind came his way.
Deciding that thinking on that matter more might lead Daneel to become even moodier, he forcefully scrubbed such thoughts and waited for the Hero to answer.
He finally did after taking a few seconds.
"King Daneel, my son was right when he said that you've entwined us both around your fingers. Initially, you know that the only reason I agreed to work with you was because you threatened to kill my son brutally, and even showed me a demo of what would happen if I didn't oblige. At that time, I thought of you as some devilish character who is going to drive me like a slave."
Daneel rubbed his nose sheepishly as he heard this.
Indeed, he had been going for that effect, but hearing of it from Rayen first hand made him understand just how effective he had been.
"However, now, I see that I was wrong. There is just…something about you that I can't place. You know, the Head feels so, too, but he won't admit it, as he just assumes that it's because you're someone from a background that none of us can understand. But I can tell that that is not the case. Too many secrets surround you, making you an enigma. I just hope…that they also make you a dark horse in this fight against the Church, so that we can avoid the deaths of many, many innocent people. I trust my son- he is the most impeccable judge of character that I have ever seen. If he accepted to work for you voluntarily, I can assure you that it wasn't just because of your show of force. Instead, he must also have seen what I'm talking about."
Beside Rayen, Raul nodded.
"All in all, what I'm saying is that…you now have a supporter who reprises that role whole-heartedly, instead of being forced into it. The Mephisto family is yours to command, as of this moment. In the records we recovered from the Empire, the Mephistos were part of the Emperor's corps. Their power and purpose are shrouded in mystery, but they were said to be some of the most powerful beings in the continent. As such, high potential is something that has been passed down through the generations. Ah, you probably aren't too interested in the past, which doesn't really matter, right now."
If Daneel hadn't made an immediate effort to hide his shock, Rayen would have sensed that something was amiss by now.
The Emperor's Corps!
This was definitely a coincidence that startled him.
He had just heard about the Emperor's Corps, of which Faxul's ancestor had been a part of.
Did that mean that…these two also possessed some kind of bloodline?
Could there be that much of a coincidence? That he had just found out about these things, and that there were two people under him who had them?
Of course, Daneel turned to Drakos to ask the question.
However, before he said anything, itself, the Ancient Dragon spoke up.
"The Mephistos! Of course! It makes sense. They were a clan who insisted on marrying with those of high potential, so that their power would continue through the ages. It makes sense that they retain their power to this day, and that they are part of the Big 4. Their bloodline is too thin to be of any purpose right now, but high potential is definitely something that can be retained."
As Daneel heard this, he realized that maybe…this wasn' as coincidental as he had thought.
To confirm his suspicion, he decided to ask Rayen a question.
But first, he had to respond to the man's words.
"It makes me really glad to hear that, Hero Rayen. I can promise you that you will not be disappointed, and that if you have any wishes, they will be fulfilled in the same way that Raul's will be."
This made Rayen look at his son with one eyebrow raised, but he just frowned and didn't say anything.
Clearly, there was a story there, just like Daneel had thought before, but, again, he decided not to dig.
If he needed to know something, he would.
He proceeded to ask the question.
"Tell me…are a lot of prominent families in the Big 4 also descendants of famous figures or families from the time of the Emperor?"
Rayen answered without a pause.
"Why, yes, of course! While there were many who didn't enforce any kind of rules which made it so that they more or less decreased in power with each subsequent generation, there were also many who had strict rules of marriage. Some even forbid relationships with outsiders, and promoted inter-family marriages. This was rare, though, as it was known that the only thing that matters is that both parties in a marriage possess high potential or comprehension, which is typically passed down to the child. In fact, it was some of those families which set up the largest sects which became the Big 4, in the first place. I can tell you that at least half of all the prominent figures and families have the type of ancestry you asked about."
Seeing that his suspicion was right, Daneel nodded.
This seemed like crucial information, but he decided to put it to the side, for now, as he had a lot of other pressing things to take care of, first.
Like…the Champion Path that the system had just mentioned.
Still…he felt that it was a good thing, and that he had lucked out by getting two supporters who contained bloodlines possibly as strong as the one in Faxul.
"All right, I was just curious. You can't come in now, right? Next, I need you to gather as much as possible from all other sources, too. As you know, I'm trying to decide on which Champion Path to choose, and I wish to read about as many as possible. You can meet Raul at any time, of course, and as for the other two conditions, send me all the data via trinket."
"Of course. I shall take my leave, then. It is not safe to create a void in surveillance for too long, either. Someone might notice something amiss. King Daneel, I will send what you asked for soon, and I'll also head to some of my friends to gather all the Champion Paths they have. I can use my grief as an excuse. Farewell, then."
With a nod to Daneel, who nodded back, and a slap on his son's shoulder, Rayen vanished, while Raul also did the same to get back to his…'duty' of torturing all those people.
Finding himself alone, Daneel finally asked the system to tell him about what it had mentioned.
[Name: 'Hopeless' Champion Path.
Description given in the record: The name 'Hopeless' was given by the creator of this Champion Path to refer to the feeling that is supposed to be felt by the opponents of those who walk this Path. It was originally designed to be something to be chosen by the most talented, as it could potentially give them the ability to win no matter who their opponent was, given that the opponent was on the same level. Even against those of higher levels, those who choose this path were supposed to be able to put up a fair fight.
However, it later became known as the path that only 'Hopeless' people chose, because of the problems that were revealed when one really did try this Path.
The 'Hopeless' Path seeks to use one's opponent's Champion Path against them. In a fight, the strategy was that using this Path, one would be able to defend while understanding the weaknesses and strengths of their opponent's path, before either nullifying them or beating them in their own game, so to speak.
The prerequisite was also low: one was only required to have a scheming brain that would allow them to actively scheme against their opponent in this way, while also having high potential/comprehension to ensure that they were talented enough to use the Path effectively.
The problem was that no amount of Talent was enough to understand one's opponent's path in a short enough span of time for it to be effective in a fight.
Also, in other Paths, one could use their Mageroot to make the effect of their Champion Path stronger.
In this path, no such conscious amplification was possible, as it was something that related to one's understanding, instead of relating to power of a tangible nature.
All that the Path was capable of was giving one the ability to better look into their opponent's Path, but this was in no way enough to achieve the effect of understanding and countering them.
Hence, it was deemed as a failure, but it became famous due to its low and simple prerequisites. Peak Heroes who failed to resonate with any other Path chose this even though they knew they would be weaker than most others, as it meant that they would still have an increase in lifespan and power. After all, a scheming side was present in everyone.
In the end, this Path that was created with lofty ambition was disgraced in this way. Some said that it also lead to the early death of the creator. I, for one, still believe that his idea was right, but that it wasn't right for this continent. Maybe there would have been more success in a place with a higher ceiling of talent.]
As the end of the record approached, Daneel's eyes were shining.
An ability to understand the other's Champion Path, and use it against them.
How cool and awesome would that be?
Yet, he saw why it failed.
After all, who would be able to understand one's Path instantly?
As Daneel got this thought, he suddenly got the feeling that he had missed something important.
Hmm? What could that be?
Standing there outside his border, the King mulled over this question.