Rise Of The Godking

He didn"t really mind it, though. The time he had taken so far had served to help him calm his nerves, and digest all the information he had been given.

This… was a test, loud and clear.

"But why is he even interested in testing me, in the first place?"

Daneel had wished that he could fathom the workings of the Lord"s mind by his actions, but so far, he was quite stumped. He had managed to detect enough to find out the hate he felt for his father, and that had helped him to get until here… but from the point he was in now, he didn"t know where to go. He hated to be in the man"s palm, unaware of the plans he was making for him, but at the moment, that was how it was unless he found a way to change it.

As for the dilemma regarding nutrition… the answer to it was the same as the one for the problem he had just been about to solve before being interrupted so lovingly by the Lord"s servant.

Crystals.

Just thinking of them made him feel a pang of longing, recalling just how incredible it had felt each and every time he was able to breathe one in and absorb that heavenly energy. It seemed straightforward, the surface, but still, he decided to confirm whether his plan would work by asking the system.

"Can the nutritious food that is required to train be replaced by absorbing energy from crystals?"

[Responding to host. To a large extent, this is possible. However, it is recommended to also consume at least marginally nutritious food to offset a complete dependence on absorbed energy.]

"Yes!"

He punched the air triumphantly, then winced as it hurt, having been bruised after breaking his fall in the aftermath of one of those world-shaking slaps before. His cheeks were still throbbing painfully, too, but he tried to ignore them as best as he could as he made his way back to the clump of crystals that would take him to the Refinery.

In the last part of the journey, he planned out the rest of his day. By then, the sun was s.h.i.+ning above, making sweat run down his face in rivulets, so even though he wanted nothing more than to lie down in his little room and sleep, he knew that he would have to make use of daylight when it was there.

He found the two enforcers looking around warily in front of the crystals, their lips pursed with displeasure as if they really wanted to just leave.

One of them jumped when Daneel appeared in his vision. He pointed him out to the one beside him, and for the first time, Daneel properly studied their faces which he had ignored until now as he hadn"t thought that he would be dealing with them after knocking them out before.

They were quite similar, with very minor differences which led him to wonder whether they were related, in some manner. Both of them had brown hair, medium builds, and long noses. One was slightly taller than the other, and he also had a wider forehead and a sharper chin.

It was the other one who had spoken, for the most part, until now. He moved to greet Daneel now, too.

"Er..we"ve been ordered to take you back. We"ve also been informed that you"ll be making this journey every day. We will wait outside your residence every morning. Is that alright?"

They still seemed to be scared of him, and Daneel wondered whether he had really hit them that hard in their first meeting. Then… he thought about the events that had transpired afterward, and saw that their fear might be more because of the fact that he had lived after being taken to that infamous Lord.

Daneel simply nodded in response, making the enforcer let out a sigh of relief. He turned around and walked to the crystal, and soon, Daneel was deposited back in front of the old man"s house.

This time… Reese and Sebastian"s father was at the doorstep, glaring at him reproachfully, his lips smacking against each other as if he was resisting the urge to make a scene on the street, and his hands clutching his walking stick so tightly that they had gone white.

He burst into a litany of curses as soon as the door closed behind them.

"What the f.u.c.k did you do? How did you get the enforcers to give you an escort?! And why the h.e.l.l did they look scared?? I drink too much for one day, and so much happens! I knew this was a mistake… I knew it! Maybe I should—"

Daneel just raised one hand to stop the man. Either because of his calm countenance or something the old man spotted on his face, he stopped speaking and fumed, even though it might have been expected of him to just continue after ignoring Daneel.

"I said that I would keep my promise. Well, I"ve set a few plans in motion. I think its better off if you don"t know about them. Just trust in me as your son has done, and help me in every way you can. Wasn"t that what he must"ve said before sending me here?"

The old man blinked and nodded, and Daneel knew that he had hit the nail right on the head.

Clearly, most of everything he had seen until now had been empty bl.u.s.ter, designed to create a healthy fear of the man in Daneel so that he would listen when it was needed.

"I don"t blame you for that… But I"m done with not having control in every aspect of my life. I didn"t know it before, but I"m sure about it now: I"m a control freak, and I"m not embarra.s.sed about that, at all. After all, without control, how can any plan be carried out?"

Musing in this manner, he walked to the dining table and took a seat. The old man arrived and did the same after a minute, his face s.h.i.+fting between anger due to how the status quo between them had changed so abruptly and frustration, as he surely wanted to know about the treasures that were on the table, and the reason behind him being escorted by those two instead of following their orders like a dog.

Indeed, the food he had stolen was here, in front of them. He hadn"t really bothered to hide it, but it had been in his room. Yet… the entire house belonged to the old man, so Daneel couldn"t begrudge him for, perhaps, checking to see whether he would find a note regarding his whereabouts.

Clearing his throat, Daneel looked into the strong eyes of old netizen of the Refinery and spoke in a tone that brooked no argument.

"I know that you wanted to stay in command. There is nothing wrong with that; you have age on your side, and this is also your home. However, over the course of last night, I"ve realized that if I want my goal to come true, I need to be firm in everything I do. Today, we have two things to do. First, you will show me all the ins and outs of your trade, including all the details of the Refinery that I need to know. And, second…I want to know why both of your sons are in the Pit, slaving away their lives. The first one is something I need. The second one is something I want. One must happen, and the fulfillment of the other is in your hands. Make your decision."

The mention of the fate of his sons made the old man"s face go blank, and then fill up with rage. He had glowered at Daneel during the rest of the speech as if he was his mortal enemy, but after he was done, he kept staring… and the anger slowly leaked out of him.

Daneel almost felt pity as he saw the old man slump into his chair, his back no longer rigid, his eyes no longer holding the strength that had given him character. Weariness set in all of a sudden; the weariness of an old man who had lived to see things he had never dreamed he would have to.

Instead of responding, he got up, and Daneel understood the choice he had made.

For the rest of the day, he was given instructions on everything that an accountant was supposed to do. He was taken through the process of checking the Refinery routinely, gathering accounts from different sections in the town, performing abrupt checks to prevent anyone from slouching… the list went on and on, and if it weren"t for the system, Daneel was sure that he would have been left clueless by the end of the day.

He only paid attention for an hour or so, and he left the rest to his inscrutable friend. While acting as if he was listening, he thought about the future, and slowly… he realized that he actually felt elated about the entire thing.

The world revolved around power, and his very enemy was helping him to become powerful. Of course, the man was doing so because he had no idea that Daneel had such a secret weapon up his sleeve… and for as long as possible, his ability to absorb energy had to be kept under wraps.

"But how am I supposed to do this?"

He spent most of his time thinking on this topic. He was so engrossed that he didn"t even notice that something was different when they were back in the dining table, exactly in the way they had sat in the morning.

When the old man spoke, it was different from the brusque, instructive tone he had used all day. Hearing it made Daneel drop everything and focus, and in the perpetual light that danced in through the windows, his host laid his heart bare.

"Confidence and talent. Two things that are solely in short supply in all three layers below the ground. You have both. So did my sons. I shall give you the second thing you asked for for one reason, and one reason alone: I do not want history to repeat. I don"t even know whether it"ll be helpful… but here goes. Reese and Sebastian became slaves… because they flew too close to the sun, and were hence cast into the Pit, their wings burnt and their hopes broken, as after all..those above are the only ones who can dream, while those below must only keep their heads down and serve."