Chapter 613 'Welcome to the Fortress.'
Before Daneel could say anything in response, he received a message from the system.
[Incoming teleportation attempt from a Hero level individual. Would host like the system to oppose it?]
Without hesitating, Daneel shouted, "No!"
The next moment, he felt his eyes being blinded by a flash of bright light, following which he found himself in a completely different place.
"Daneel?! Are you alright? What the f*ck just happened? That giant was going crazy there, and I was teleported somewhere before it smashed me to bits!"
Before he could gather his bearings, he got this panicked message from Elanev through the communication trinket that both of them had, and he decided to reply.
"Yes, I'm alright. I was teleported away, too. Sit tight. We're inside the sect. I'll explain later "
Although Elanev looked like he wanted to say more, he understood that Daneel was probably in some sort of situation where he couldn't talk as it looked like he was trying to send the shortest reply possible.
Indeed, that was the case, as Daneel had just realized that he was not alone.
In front of him stood a thin old man with a hunched back who was holding a wooden walking stick while looking at him with an indecipherable expression on his face.
He was short - he couldn't be taller than five and a half feet, and the fact that he was hunched caused him to look even smaller.
However… Daneel felt a very acute sense of danger from him, and it was much stronger than what he had felt before when he was being attacked by Bam.
In that situation, he had at least been confident that he was equipped with all the tools to protect himself.
Yet, in this one… If this man tried to kill him, even though Daneel did not know what method he might use, he had a hunch that it would be an even competition, and that it would be left up to luck whether he would be able to get away or not.
Of course, in both cases, there was no scenario where he could beat them - all of this was only regarding whether he could at least get away with his life.
The old man was the first one he saw wearing normal looking clothes. He was wearing a grey colored robe that looked like it would tear easily, but the truth was that it was made of some sort of material that even Daneel couldn't understand.
All he knew was that there were faint Energy vibrations being emitted from it, which meant that it was not as simple as it looked.
The old man was clean-shaven and also had a bald head, which reminded Daneel of the Shaolin monks back on Earth.
After noticing all this, he finally took stock of the room that he was in.
They were in a large audience chamber, and the first thing that stood out to Daneel was that it was made of the same material that he had seen before, when gazing at the castle.
He had seen this after receiving the message from Elanev, itself, which had been the reason why he had given that reply.
Now, as he asked the system regarding it, he found out that he was right - he had been teleported into the fortress directly.
As for exactly where they were, Daneel had no idea.
This question was answered by the old man, who once again spoke in that same calm voice as before.
"Welcome to the audience chamber of the Fortress of Unyielding Might. This room is seldom used as disputes are typically settled in the fighting ring - but I decided to open it now as we have someone who was actually acknowledged by the Head, himself. I was apprehensive, at first, but after seeing the way you handled Bam, I must say that I can see the reason why he likes you. That was a nice force reversal spell, by the way. And I have a suspicion that you learned it recently, right after seeing your friend use a similar technique against the one who was leading you. If that is true, it is really commendable that you managed to learn it after seeing it once, and then was capable of using it so quickly. Your skills are worthy of someone who managed to beat a Champion with a high tear Champion Path even while being just a Warrior."
Daneel raised both of his eyebrows on seeing the in-depth analysis of the old man in front of him, but he simply nodded in response and once again folded his hands behind him.
Taking a moment, he reflected on what had just happened.
Daneel had known all along that it was a pipe dream to want to beat the giant directly, so he had resorted to the oldest trick in the book: cheating.
His objective was just that he did not want to be humiliated in this way everywhere he went during his stay in the sect, so he had simply wanted to use the opportunity to make that happen.
If it wasn't obvious that this was a giant who, for some reason, had the intellect of a child, Daneel would never have dared to do something like this, as it would have resulted in more problems popping up.
He had simply been hoping that after the defeat, he could manipulate the childlike innocence to make the giant follow his word while disregarding everything else.
And the old man was right - the whole idea had sprung up from seeing Elanev redirecting the force of the man in bearskin.
After studying it for a bit, Daneel had realized that this could be emulated using elementary particles too - instead of using the parts of the body to skillfully let the force be guided by Inner Energy, like Elanev had done, the same could be achieved using a simple construct.
He hadn't even needed the system for this. Daneel was also skilled in making simple spells after seeing it done so many times by the system, so he did it himself and simply activated the Basilisk's Breath to use the exact moment of opportunity between him saying 'one' and the giant putting forward his force to conjure the construct and use the giant's own strength against him, which had resulted in that incident taking place.
In any other situation, this would not have worked as Daneel would not have had the element of surprise.
The dust had also been a tactic to not let others understand this, and although it seemed to have worked against those in that area, it wasn't enough to fool this Hero level individual who had also been watching.
Of course, Daneel had known that this was the case, but he knew that if he wanted to hide this from the eyes of this man too, it would result in him being exposed as someone who was capable of casting Hero level spells.
Knowing that it would definitely be a bad idea to expose all of his cards, Daneel had let him watch, which actually turned out to be a boon as he had been saved by the intervention of this man.
After all, how could he have expected that defeat would cause the childlike giant to enter that state of fury where all of his powers had also been amplified to some degree?
And in that state, it looked like no one was capable of calming the giant down who seemed to have lost all sanity.
Indeed, Daneel had had to panic, but even though he could have survived by using all the tricks up his sleeve, he had let himself be saved, as he had also judged that he must have caused enough of a ruckus by that point.
Seeing the King's response, the old man wasn't perturbed.
After a few moments, he spoke again.
"I see that you like to keep your cards close to your chest. Very well, caution is never bad. However, I do wish for you to tell me something. What is your objective in coming here? You are clearly very talented in your Mage Path, and you do not strike me as one who will be stuck as a Warrior. Typically, individuals like those try to seek other Paths to increase their power. I can tell that you can break through to become a Champion at any time that you wish, and that you must simply be looking for the strongest Path that you can find. So, I will admit that I am puzzled. Yes, you also satisfy the conditions that were placed down to identify those that we are obliged to recognize and help with all our might. But again, all the facilities we have are only for Fighters. Are you simply interested in finding out everything about us, or do you have something that you wish to achieve here, too?"
Hearing the question, Daneel wondered what he should say.
In fact, even he had to think of the answer, as the old man was right.
Daneel was now also in possession of all the incredible Champion Paths that were stored behind the third seal, and all that remained was for him to study them all and find one that he was happy with. Or, he could simply ask the system to give him a way to improve the Hopeless Champion Path, as right now, he was leaning toward it the most.
However, he had still decided to come here, and as he thought about it, he realized that the main motivation behind this was… Faxul.
Although Daneel had looked like he was satisfied with the answer from Drakos that he would have to wait until winning the Race to reform the Ancient Dragon's body and obtain a bloodline, the truth was that he still wanted to see whether something else could be done, as he was simply too captivated with the power of a bloodline.
Who could blame him? After all, there could be few things more impressive than a damn black hole that swallowed everything.
This wasn't even counting the other incredible things that he had seen listed in the information about bloodlines that he had obtained from behind the third seal.
So… Other than the idea that he wanted to see whether he could plan any conquest here, the other objective had been to find out whether there might be any information here that he could use on his quest to obtain a bloodline.
After all, this was a Fighter thing, and what better place could exist for him to investigate about it than the sect that solely focused on this Path to Power?
Only… The problem was that he couldn't give this answer to the old man, either.
Although acting arrogant and not giving an answer was also an option, Daneel didn't wish to do that, as he was grateful to this man for saving him and letting him hide his strength.
Also, although he had been domineering in front of the giant, he knew that humility was also needed especially in a place like a sect of the Big Four where there could be threats waiting around each and every corner if he painted a target on his back with his behavior.
So, after putting on an expression as if he was pondering something very deeply, Daneel finally answered after a few moments.
"I will answer honestly, as I'm grateful for your interference before. All my life, I've had to face naysayers who kept telling me that it was futile to want to excel in both parts. I kept proving them wrong, until this point where it seems more and more as if it would be best to focus on the Path that I am stronger in. However, this deeply unsettles me, as the Fighter Path is also something very special to me. Hence, I wish to find out if there is a way for me to still pursue both, and become stronger than any other Champion who might have given in and chosen just one. I know that might sound absurd, but I would never forgive myself if I don't use this opportunity to at least see if it's even possible."
Daneel spoke in an earnest tone, so when the old man actually burst out laughing after he finished talking, he almost got a slightly irritated expression on his face.
However, at the last moment, Daneel realized that this wasn't a laugh of ridicule.
No… It was one of pure pride, and as the old man replied after a few seconds, the King of Lanthanor felt like rubbing his ears to test whether they working properly.
"Ha ha, then you've come to the right place, King! Whoever said that one has to give up this Path in order to proceed? That is simply not the truth. What you seek is possible… But it is not something that anyone has accomplished in the time since the aftermath of the Empire. It wasn't even possible during the time of the Empire, but things have changed now! They used to call it the 'Ultimate Path that Cannot Be Obtained', but in at least this one thing, we managed to surpass those who came before us!"