Rise Of The Godking

He didn"t feel much better than when he had hobbled into his cavern. In fact, he felt worse, but immediately, he knew the elixir that he needed if he wanted to get back to his normal self, so that he could stop wasting the limited time he had.

Joining the stream of slaves heading to their mining s.h.i.+ft, he tried to lose himself in the sounds of the Pit. Alas, even though he tried… his thoughts kept going back to those who had died.

In the hours he had spent thinking of them, he had slowly reached the decision that he would not let their sacrifices go in vain. He had even marveled about how it was possible for someone with a heart like his to be a con man, and after that, he had wondered whether this estimation of his past life had been wrong, after all.

After reaching the mine, Daneel looked around, trying to see whether there were any obvious differences due to the collapse yesterday. During the planning process, he had learned that they weren"t very rare. They happened once every one or two months, and each time, the Slavequeen would arrive to clear away the rubble and extract the crystals trapped beneath.

She had been seen hefting a boulder ten times her size as easily as if it was a pebble. The enforcers were capable of no such things; they were all just normal humans, and they, apparently, could only stand in awe as she exhibited her power.

Picking up the hammer and nail, Daneel thought about how she hadn"t seemed that powerful in their time together. Even though so much time had pa.s.sed, just remembering how magnificent she had looked made him get thoughts that he had to struggle to put aside.

He had also figured out a key point regarding her power, but he didn"t know how it would be of use to him. He decided to think on it later, as first… he had to get rid of the enervation drowning his mind and body.

He started chipping away at a certain vein of crystal, having chosen it due to the tiny deposits that were also present nearby. After finis.h.i.+ng with the main vein and putting away the fist-sized crystals, he looked around and ensured that no one was paying any special attention to him.

It was only then that he attacked the tiny crystals, and as soon as he dislodged three of them, he stored one away and absorb the rest.

The rush of energy made his eyes snap open fully for what felt like the first time in a long time. He had been loath to leave behind this cheat of his when going to the succubus, but knowing that she would be stripping him bare, he had seen that it would not be wise to reveal his secret so stupidly. He had also understood that unlike the enforcers who definitely didn"t know anything about what he was doing, she was an individual of power who might have a clue and hence be able to spot his special ability, so it wasn"t wise, at all, to tempt fate.

As blissful clarity returned to his mind, he went through everything that had happened the day before and saw even more of the glaring mistakes he had committed. Towards the end of the encounter, he saw how foolish it had been to go forward and throw himself into her spell. Now that he thought about it, there were other ways that he could have used to ensure that she would answer the question, and besides, with time, she might even have realized that even if she gave him the information, he was a slave who could do nothing about it.

During his musings, he enjoyed the feeling of the energy burning away the tiredness, leaving behind a comfortable sensation that made him smile foolishly. He had to hide it while working on a different vein nearby, and as he extracted another large crystal, he wondered how it would feel if he absorbed it, too.

It was a dangerous thought. Crystals as small as the tip of his finger were giving him so much, so he imagined himself bursting into a million pieces if he tried something like that. With a s.h.i.+ver, he put away the crystal, and as his line of thinking continued down the path it had embarked on and finished the a.n.a.lysis, he suddenly got a thought that made him feel absurdly dumb.

"How… could I not have seen this, before? I have so few tools at my disposal, but I still failed in utilizing all of them! But wait… I should first see whether I have reason to be scolding myself. System… is it possible for the body a.n.a.lysis capability to scan anyone I come into contact with, or can it only scan me?"

The answer made him bend forward, and smack his head on the crystal in front of him.

[Responding to host. System can scan the body of any target that host touches.]

Ma.s.saging his temples, he thought, "Okay… I deserved that. And that should remind me not to make the same mistake again! System, tell me what you scanned from the SlaveQueen."

[Target Name: Madeira, the Slavequeen

Age: unknown.

Capable of absorbing the life-force of those under her spell. Needs explicit permission before she can do so. In the absence of said permission, even touching her target causes pain.

Side-effects of life-force absorption for victim: Memory loss, deadening of senses, loss of general will to resist, lessened thinking faculty, addiction to memories of having life-force absorbed, which leads to subsequent visits

a.n.a.lysis data has been stored under the name "Succubus".]

"I was right!" He exclaimed as he heard the system, thinking of the conclusion he had reached after studying the Slavequeen.

And as he went through the list of side-effects again, he trembled with fear, seeing that it had been a much, much closer shave than he had thought.

On the surface, it only looked like she was taking away the age of a victim…but underneath, so many vile side-effects were present that effectively ruined one"s life.

"Maybe this is why I was only able to talk to those who have visited her very recently. Perhaps, with time, all of them go back…"

He suddenly imagined a thousand empty husks filling her residence, their lives sacrificed to sustain her wretched existence.

"She has to die!"

Without warning, he felt anger cloud his vision, while hate burned in his mind.

Both of them froze when he heard a voice nearby say, "Hey! I know what all of you did yesterday. I overheard your plan. What do you think will happen if I take the tale to the enforcers, or maybe…to the queen?"

His heart began to thunder in his chest as he turned to his side. A squat man stood there, with a shaved head and a toothy grin filled with mischief and greed.

"I-if you heard us…then you must also have heard why I"m doing it all."

The short man scoffed. "So that all of us can eat meat and veggies? Oh, I"ll eat well, alright, if I expose you lot…h.e.l.l, I might even make it out of here!"

Daneel didn"t know what to say. It felt as if the ruin of their little gang stood in front of him, but quickly, he saw something that didn"t fit.

"If that"s true…why are you even talking to me?"

The answer made him widen his eyes and stare, hardly able to believe what he was hearing.

"Because the boss told me not to do it. There are over 1500 slaves in the Pit…did you think that that old fool, Reese, and that oaf, Xander, were the only ones with ambition? There is someone far older that they don"t even know about…and you"ve caught his eye. After the s.h.i.+ft ends, follow me."