2 days after the incident which had shaken Central Angaria and almost resulted in a war between nations.
The area where the Ker Gem mine had been found was already abandoned for the most part, except for a few stragglers who checked every nook and cranny around the site of discovery in hopes of finding any precious materials.
Ker Gem mines were usually found in places where the natural energy was the highest. After crossing a certain threshold, it was posited that a condensation occurred after which the concentration goes back down.
As such, all the areas where mines appeared were only recorded and checked periodically. Because there were simply too many spots, it was impossible to check each and every one very frequently.
One man who had trekked all the way from Eldinor in hopes of finding something felt the ground shake under him, as if some sort of disturbance had taken place under his feet.
Manically, he started digging with a furor which shocked Daneel who had just teleported here.
Immediately teleporting to a different location where he wouldn"t be detected, he heaved a sigh of relief before ordering the system to continue towards the location of the high grade energy signal.
Since the notification from the system had sounded in his mind after holding the Ker Gem brought by Luther in his hands, Daneel had been waiting to go and check to see whether there would be better results if he brought the Natural Energized Training Chamber over.
Finally, after being cautious to not venture out immediately, he had taken care of pending matters before telling Kellor that he was going into closed door meditation for a while.
In fact, this was quite a common occurrence in Lanthanor and the other Kingdoms in Central Angaria. King Richard had even spent most of his time in close door meditation, except when he came out to give orders to get more Ker Gems to train.
Thus, the King of Lanthanor entered his first secluded training after taking the throne.
Only teleporting under ground for the most part, he had skirted the Kingdom of the Elves to finally arrive below the spot where the Ker Gem Mine had been found.
[Host has arrived at the signal. Please stand by.]
Although the fact that he had gotten nothing from this whole expedition stung, Daneel was thankful that he had gotten the chance to see the military in action with his own eyes.
Due to this experience, he now had a clearer perspective regarding how he wanted to develop his army.
Although the Domination Corps had been given the technique, they were still too young and weak to be considered a deployable a.s.set.
Thus, he had to find some other way.
[High Grade Energy Signal a.n.a.lyzed. Ker Gem Energy production rate by Natural Energized Training Chamber: 1 Gem every 50 days]
Smiling wide, Daneel reveled in the sensation that things were finally going in his way again.
The exact spot of the signal was over 50 feet below the Ker Gem Mine, which made it safe from people who might try excavating at the site in hopes of finding more treasure. Thus, although it was still risky, Daneel decided to go with his plan.
After making an exhaustive list of trinkets he would need to take precautions, the King of Lanthanor proceeded back to his Kingdom to finish the preparations as fast as possible.
At least in this matter, there was no one else he could trust except himself.
...
2 days later.
In a room two pa.s.sageways away from the King"s chambers.
Since a week ago, a lot of people had been going in and out of this room.
Multiple building materials and strange objects had been brought inside, while people dressed in white clothes whispered among themselves while going about their tasks hurriedly.
Now, it seemed that their mission was complete, as they all stood at the door while waiting for someone to arrive.
After a few moments, footsteps could be heard from the corner of the pa.s.sageway.
Many maids and servants had gathered at this location to find out just what the hubbub was all about.
Seeing three people walking towards the room, everyone who was present first kneeled on one foot after realizing that one of them was the King of Lanthanor.
Of the other two, one supported an old man with a brand on his face which marked him as a deserter. Although his clothes were not flashy, they seemed to have been made from a good material.
The other was a woman who was wearing a yellow gown. She had a broad smile on her face, as if something she had been waiting for for a long time was finally going to happen.
"Who are the ones beside the King?", asked one servant who couldn"t figure out just where he had seen these two before.
"You must be new here. They are the King"s parents! Although they can control the whole Palace, they are friendly with the servants and even take care of us. The other day, a maid fell down the stairs and broke her knee. You know that we have no special medical allowance; no matter what happens, we pay for the medical fee from our own pocket. But Lady Maria who was nearby personally took her to the infirmary and had her healed for no cost. No wonder she gave birth to someone who is so upright and just!"
Seeing the burning pa.s.sion and reverence in the eyes of the servant who had answered, a smile of pride also appeared on the one who had asked the question.
....
After entering the room, Daneel closed the door behind him before turning around to look at the square pool which had been built in the center of the chamber.
Inside, there was a s.h.i.+mmering, silver liquid that shone with a radiant hue.
"Will-will that heal your father?"
Hearing these words said by his mother, Daneel turned and smiled at her before nodding.
Recently, he had been making sure to send a clone to spend time with his parents as frequently as he could.
Each and every time he entered their chamber and saw the smiles of joy on their faces, he would feel rejuvenated and ready to tackle anything that came his way.
Now, finally, he could do something which had been on his mind for a long time: heal his father.
In fact, the method was already in the secret library.
On asking the system, he had been quite startled to find out that the complexity of the spell to reverse the branding exceeded what the system could handle.
This meant that this was a Champion Level spell!
On checking the records, he saw that this technique had in fact been handed down along with the magic tank formation by the first Lanthanore who had set up this Kingdom.
As far as he knew, these were the only remnants of that time, as the memoirs of those Kings were missing for some reason.
Although there were other techniques which were very interesting, again, they couldn"t be a.n.a.lyzed by the system.
Even if this frustrated him to no end, he had no choice but to thank his lucky stars that the spell to reverse the branding didn"t need to be a.n.a.lyzed to be cast: it only required a few instructions to be followed.
The delay so far had been to develop this solution; apparently, along with the technique, vials of a compressed form of this solution were also present. There were only 8 remaining after using one now.
That compressed form had needed to be soaked in water for a certain period of time before the branded victim had to be submerged inside that. After that, the spell had to be cast.
"Mother, stand aside."
With a serious expression, Daneel spoke to his mother before asking his father to head over to the pool and take off his clothes.
Since the moment he had found out that he was going to be healed, Robert hadn"t spoken a word. Even now, his expression was that of someone who didn"t want to speak and find out whether they were in a dream.
After following his son"s instructions, Robert entered the pool and went under.
Standing a few feet away, Daneel ordered the system to cast the spell.
As he raised his arm, a silver stream seemed to pa.s.s from his fingers to the solution which made the liquid light up with a dazzling brilliance.
As it had happened suddenly, Daneel and Maria had had no choice but to close their eyes.
Only a second later, they adjusted their eyes while hearing a splas.h.i.+ng in the pool.
After regaining their vision, they saw a topless man standing in the solution. His body seemed to have been born anew, with strong muscles rippling across his frame that hadn"t been there before.
"Son, your father, Robert Anivron, is no longer a useless man."
As these words resounded in the room, Maria and Daneel couldn"t help but drop their jaws seeing a man they only remembered in their memories; known as the "Spear of Kindness", he was someone who had dominated the battlefield and made his name known among the surrounding nations of the Kingdom of Lanthanor.