Chapter 699 Shapeshifter: Dragon
After checking up on Lan one last time and ensuring that everything was in place for the end of this little operation of theirs Daneel resumed the activity that he had been involved in for the past two days.
He sat in front of the beating dragon heart, and closed his eyes as he sank into the memories of the Emperor.
More specifically, he was going through the memories of dragons that the man had, going back to the first time that he had met one of the individuals of this magnificent species and then studying each and every one that he could find.
Even though Daneel already knew quite a bit about what dragons were, such as the fact that they had the tendency of violently going out to obtain each and everything that they wanted because of the confidence they had in their awe-inspiring power, he wanted to discover more and more things which he could add to his understanding of the species in the hopes that it would help him reach the resonance that he sought.
By achieving this, he was pretty confident that it would give him a formula, of sorts, that he could apply to the case of the cockroach, too. After all, the most important step was always the first one, and if he could somehow figure out how he was supposed to form the resonance with at least one species, he could tell that a lot of the experience would carry over, and give him a much easier time after he obtained the bloodline.
For two days, he had been engaged in this, and now, he sat down and continued for a few more hours, before finally opening his eyes and looking at himself in the mirror.
The mirror was placed right behind the beating dragon heart, and as his image and it became overlapped, he tried to imagine himself as one of the creatures that he had seen in the memories.
Unlike the typical traditional dragons that he had seen on Earth which were more like serpents which had grown limbs, these dragons were akin to the portrayal that was popular in western works. Their wings were attached to their hands, and their legs were stout and sturdy, built to carry their weight even if they had to rely on them if those wings failed their purpose. The wings, themselves, were double the length of the entire body, and when stretched out, it used to be said that they could block out the heavens, themselves. Each scale of the dragon was a treasure, as they could be converted into weapons that were sought after by the entire continent. The teeth and the claws had to be specially mentioned, as they contained penetrative power the likes of which rivaled even other Godbeasts that had been known for their ability to pierce through things. However, all of this paled in front of their real power: fire.
At that time, the Emperor had heard legends saying that where the heart of a dragon was supposed to be, there was an endless pit of burning lava they could spew forth the hottest of fires in unlimited amounts. At first, in those first fights that the Emperor had gotten into with them, he had almost believed this, until he had cut apart one for the first time and seen that although the heart of the dragon really was in such a way that it could interact with the elementary particles all around and convert them into fire quickly and efficiently, it wasn't limitless. Dragon's had endurance, too, and the endurance of humans seemed puny in comparison. This was the reason why he had identified that the beating heart of a dragon was actually one of the best Energy sources available, and that explained why he had chosen it as the energy source for the formations of the Kingdom that was erected here.
Seeing these memories had made Daneel once again scoff at the fake tale that he had heard and believed in since he had first come to this world. Richard Lanthanore, the man who had set up the Kingdom after his name, must apparently have only found a simple drake, which was a descendant that had roamed the continent for a few hundreds of thousands of years even after the apocalypse until the Energy levels dipped too low for its existence. After killing it, they must have found these formations and the beating dragon heart that belonged to Drakos, which was followed by them spreading the fake take to increase their popularity and to attract settlers that it was actually a real dragon, and that its heart was what was present here. Daneel could bet that the Big Four had known the truth, but had kept quiet while laughing to themselves and seeing the childish actions of those they considered primitive monkeys.
Putting all that aside, he finally braced himself and asked the question to the system whose answer he had been waiting ever since he had begun this endeavor.
"Run the simulations again. Using the new base that I found by trying to understand what it means to be a dragon, see if it is possible to overcome the weakness of the Shapeshifter bloodline so that the powers of a dragon can be used."
[Scanning for comprehension. Running simulation using data obtained from analysis of blood of Bloodline holder. Extrapolating results.
Status of creation of module "Shapeshifter: Dragon" has been changed from 'Unavailable' to 'More data needed'. Systems suggests host collect more comprehension.
Achievement Unlocked: 'Assiduous Innovator'
Assiduous Innovator(1): By doing something that was previously said to be impossible by the system, you have proven that you have riser far from the one who had to depend on the system to help you out of situations. A World Dominator's best resource is themselves, and you are following along the path of depending more on yourself, and believing in yourself even if everyone says otherwise. Congratulations!
Conditions to Unlock more tiers of the Achievement: Mimic achievement for 3 and 5 times. Tier Advancement Multiplier: 10x. Note: Module must reach hidden specifications
Award: 50,000 EXP
Total EXP: 717,000]
Yes!
The feeling of getting an achievement after so long added to the joy he felt, and seeing the total EXP, he felt his heart swelling with pride. Slowly, by saving up each and every bit of EXP that he didn't absolutely need to use, he was reaching that point where he would finally be able to upgrade again, which was his other main focus at the moment. Just the knowledge that he was getting closer was cause for celebration, and Daneel felt like jumping up into the air.
However, he controlled himself, as this was only the first step.
It was still possible that no matter how much data he collected, the creation of the module might not happen, but it was, just like the system had called it, quite a major achievement.
Until now, the system had been completely flummoxed in this, and he had only been continuing while trusting his own hypothesis which was based on his understanding regarding the World.
The World always rewarded those who had the courage to think in different ways, and to try and achieve things that were beyond them using their Will and grit.
He had trusted his gut feeling in this, and it felt really good to have done something that had been said to be impossible by the system, where, typically, the system would be the one turning impossible things, possible.
Of course, he couldn't rest on his laurels. Instead, Daneel resumed his study as he could tell, more and more, that the key to understanding what a dragon was did not lie in superficial things like their rage and their power.
No, the simple proof that that was not the case was Drakos, who did not follow those norms, but was still a dragon.
This meant that he had to identify the very core of what being a dragon meant, and Daneel was excited to discover what this was through his own thoughts in the process that he was following- by seeing their actions and trying to place himself in their position.
This was obviously what an impersonator would try to do, so it fit beautifully into the idea of a Shapeshifter.
A few hours later, though, he couldn't help but stop, as it was finally time to see what kind of a man the one whose Bloodline he was going to awaken was.
Changing into the persona of the paranoid Warrior mage that he had used to talk to Lan, Daneel traveled to the mansion of the Viscargo family, where Lan was currently in the form of Dominic.
Startled on seeing him suddenly appear, Lan had to take a few moments to calm his emotions, and the moment when Daneel had arrived, he had seen that the expression on Lan's face had been one of indecisiveness, almost as if he was considering a very important choice that he should make.
Well, that meant that everything was going perfectly, so Daneel asked, "I understand that the money is on the way?"
Nodding, Lan said, "Indeed. I'm ready to impersonate the one from the bank to ask the guards to remove the seals on the money before the oath is made. You will have to step in to disable them after I'm done."
With a nod, Daneel answered, "Of course. And after that, all we have to do is leave with all of it. I must say that I'm quite impressed with your ability to handle everything that has been thrown at you so far. Well, it's the final stage, so let's get it done."
The way the Bank worked was that any money being given as part of a loan had advanced formations imprinted on it so that it could be tracked in case it was stolen. After discussions, it had been decided that a bank official would be present to authorize the use of each part of the loan, as it was a huge amount, for each portion of the construction. Also, there would be an oath taken from the head of the family that he would do his best to use the money to the fullest. Lan's job was to bypass that by impersonating as this bank official and telling the guards that the plan had changed, and because he was the one with the highest standing, the guards would obey him if there was no suspicion that he wasn't who he said he was.
Daneel acted like he did not notice a lot of things.
He acted like he didn't notice the orphans who ran out to greet Lan, in Dominic's avatar, when he walked out of the mansion to reach the gates. Lan tried to tell them not to come, but they did, anyway.
He acted like he didn't see the additional weapon that had been tucked into his belt. It was a crossbow- a special weapon that wasn't in production, but was famed for its speed in releasing a projectile much faster than any other means available to regular Fighters.
He acted like he hadn't noticed the micro-expressions on Lan's face when he had left, which was, of course, something that could only be spotted by the system, or by someone using the Basilisk's Breath.
Seeing all of these things gave Daneel hope, as he had never been ready to give the power of someone who would become a Champion level Warrior very quickly to someone whose character he didn't trust. The truth was that even though the Shapeshifter was said to be the weakest among the Godbeasts, it was still a Godbeast, and the bloodline possessor would definitely be able to smoothly advance and even breakthrough to become a Champion when the time came. Besides, even though he might not have the system which would be instrumental in Daneel overcoming the limitations of the Bloodline, he might be able to use some tips to possess more power than he was supposed to. All this meant that it was imperative that his motives and thoughts be clear, and it would also let Daneel know whether he would just be a 'bloodbag' who could be discarded after the operation was done, to whether he could be given the chance to live.
The main question was simple…would he value his own life over his roots, or would he go against it all and risk death?
Looking forward to the answer, Daneel sat on a throne he had just conjured, and waited.