Rise Of The Godking

They had come to be after a long conversation that he had just had with the old man after returning to his home. His rant had been very informative, and the system"s message had bolstered Daneel"s determination and made him understand that he first needed to get everything he could from this great source of information that he had found.

In front of that ma.s.sive edifice, they had waited until all of the people had left for their homes. The layer got its name from the central tower which was where the refining of the crystals mined in the pit below actually took place. There was nothing else to see, so they had headed back.

After arriving, the man had brewed some tea for himself. Daneel hadn"t asked for any, and he wasn"t offered, either. Then… they had sat down, and Daneel had asked everything on his mind and received answers that were short, yet informative.

The old man had made it very clear that he was talking only because he valued his son"s trust, and his judgment. He had been quite blunt about the fact that he had doubted it a lot because of Daneel"s famous pa.s.sed, but apparently, he had changed his decision after actually seeing him in the flesh.

Daneel had no idea which aspect of him had caused this change, but he felt grateful, all the same. He had started his questioning session saying that the answers would all be important for him to fulfill his task, and that was what had finally gotten the old man into a talkative mood.

Apparently, it wasn"t very uncommon for slaves with an education to be sent to the Refinery as their knowledge could be used for free, instead of having to pay someone from the other layers for the same job. Reese was one such individual, too, and he also had the skills of a healer that made him travel quite often to the surface. He had apparently been summoned on a task when he had found Daneel and healed him, the first time they had met.

As for the connection that made the fulfillment of his promise important for the old man, too… it was that the same individual whose name he had found out from the succubus was responsible for the hard life of the inhabitants of the Refinery.

Apparently, in those years when the slaves had had enough to eat, those in this layer had money to spare and had hence been a much happier lot with even aims and aspirations. All of that changed when the taxes and food costs were manipulatively set so that they were trapped in a cycle of endless suffering and hards.h.i.+p. If Daneel solved the problem for the Pit… he would usher in the return of such an age here, too.

He had shaken his head after finding it out. One man. Just one man was responsible for the empty stomachs of so many… and the familiar hate that he now recognized to be one that was born out of seeing injustice began to rise again.

He had shelved those emotions then, but he let them flow now as he was alone.

"Was I really someone righteous in my past life? It doesn"t feel so… because if it were true, I wouldn"t be cunning, right? Well, I"ll find out about it when I do…"

His thoughts then went to the wan faces of all those he had seen here. Even though he didn"t want it to… he felt his heart go out to all of them, in the same way that he had hated to see so many starving slaves in the Pit below.

"But what are they to me? We"re not related in any manner, right? So why should I care for them? They even hate me, and if given a chance, they would sell me out in a heartbeat! If so… why should I risk myself so that they all can eat better? If I wanted, I could simply get a lot of food from that crazy guy who called me "brother"…"

He knew this to be true up in his head… but no matter how much he tried, the inscrutable, yet idiosyncratic thing down to the left, below wouldn"t accept it. Something… was stopping him from doing so, and after struggling with it futilely for a few moments, he cast about for a way to avoid this fight.

He found it easily.

"From everything I"ve seen so far… the system is so d.a.m.n powerful, and I was so dumb that I didn"t even sit down to ask it everything it can do! I"ll do it ASAP! Anyway… my main objective is to unlock all the skills and find myself, and for that I need information. And of course, for information and to maintain my strength, I have to fight against this avaricious swine who is eating away what should belong to thousands of Graitonians. Yes… what other reason do I need? That"s it!"

Satisfied, he got up, and he found the decision made him feel pumped. Knowing that it was good to capitalize on such a feeling, he saw that it was best if he took the measure of his opponent now, if possible.

He had obtained a list from the succubus, so after going back to the old man who was still holding his cup of tea, he narrated the names and asked whether any of them could be found in this layer.

"Two of them live just a few houses away. Enforcers here have a different purpose. They oversee the work in the Refinery, so although they may share the same name, they are a world apart. They need to be skilled enough to ensure that the refinement meets the standards set by your father. The haughtiness is the same, though."

Daneel ruminated on the information for a minute. The old man nonchalantly drank his tea that, for some reason, now smelled like something had been added to it. His ruddy cheeks were enough to guess what he must have done, but Daneel really didn"t care about it.

He kept thinking, and slowly, elements of the plan he had already made before, in his cavern, with the help of the energy from the crystals began to fall into place. As for what he was supposed to do, now, a bold notion came to him, and although he hesitated, for a bit, he quickly realized that it didn"t feel…right, to be afraid.

"Where can I find them, again? Exactly."

"Eh? Oh, the enforcers? Three houses—"hic!"—back, the two at the end of the lane. W-why?"

The alcohol was getting to him, and despite a bout of hiccups that appeared out of nowhere, he mumbled out the answer.

"To introduce myself."

Daneel was out of the house by the time the old man was able to understand what he had said. An unintelligible shout erupted from behind him, but he ignored it and continued to his destination with quick strides.

On the way, he had a fruitful conversation with the system, which ended with him smiling by the time he was about to arrive.

The smile vanished when he reached the porch of one of the houses of the enforcers, and saw two individuals merrily partaking of a feast laid on a dining table.

There were roast capons, grilled meat from an animal he couldn"t identify, glazed vegetables, and numerous tarts and savory bites. His stomach rumbled, reminding him of the fact that he hadn"t eaten in two days, and he gritted his teeth, comparing this sight to the hungry tide of hardworking people he had seen before.

It was obvious that the succubus had been right. These two were in cahoots with the one gouging the food of Graiton, so they were able to enjoy something like this while so many had to drink water and sleep.

His timid self which had come to be due to the extremely harsh and unforgiving situation into which he had arrived surfaced, urging him to rethink his decision…but he shut it up easily. He felt himself shedding that form, driven forward by everything he had experienced and also everything he wanted to achieve.

He reached the door. It was open.

He walked in as if he owned the place, and saw the enforcers freeze, then stand up, incensed, due to the interruption.

"Who the f.u.c.k do y-"

"What do you thin-"

Their curses abruptly stopped…when Daneel jumped forward and somersaulted effortlessly. When he was in the air directly above them, his hands moved at lightning-speed to bash their heads together, and like a master making his move to awe a watching crowd, he landed neatly in the empty chair in front of the table, not a hair out of place.

[Command carried out successfully. Energy usage was kept at a minimum.]

The two enforcers slid to the floor, unconscious. A wave of fatigue arrived to wash over Daneel, but it was nowhere near as bad as the first time he had been helped by the system.

With a smile, he stretched his legs, making them rest on the faces of the two beneath. Then, he raised his hands, and after licking his lips…he tucked in.