The head bookkeeper who was in front of him only smiled cryptically before handing over a large bag filled with Gold Coins.
Although these were similar in size to the ones used in the Lanthanor Kingdom, they were stamped with a Raven instead of the usual Lanthanorian Crest.
Hefting it in his hands, the man only shrugged as if it were all in a day"s work before walking towards the exit of the stadium.
Indeed, this was Elanev, who had left the Lanthanor Kingdom in pursuit of power.
After traveling all over the Kingdom for months while seeking out fights which usually saw him battered and b.l.o.o.d.y, he had made his way over to the Black Raven Kingdom due to a rumor he had heard in one of the villages he had visited.
"The Black Raven Kingdom will soon enter a period of turmoil"
Although he had had no reason to believe this rumor, he had decided to travel here anyway due to the fact that he had always been fascinated by the renowned Black Raven Soldiers.
On arriving, he had coincidentally displayed his power that was well beyond his level at a mercenary station where someone had tried to rob him of his belongings.
The astute Head Bookkeeper had grasped that opportunity to approach him with this deal.
Of course, although the consequences of potentially losing the chance to partic.i.p.ate in any other Battle Royale existed, he hadn"t cared as his plan was to return to Lanthanor soon.
Just as he was about to exit the door which led outside, Elanev punched to the side to make the wall beside him cave in.
Seeing this, the men who had been making rounds in the crowd to take bets gasped.
As this was an area that occasionally held beasts against which Fighters and Mages fought, the walls had been coated by a material that required at least a peak Exalted Human Fighter"s strength to break.
"Don"t even think about following me. I"ve already lost count of the number of bodies buried in the earth because they decided to cross a certain mercenary who looked like he had too much wealth. Don"t say later that I didn"t warn you."
After leaving these domineering words, Elanev left the stadium, causing a silence to fall on those who were in the hallway.
"Boss, di-did he conceal his strength?"
Without giving an answer, the Head Bookkeeper walked to the spot where a crater had formed due to Elanev"s punch.
As someone who was the owner of such a large establishment, his strength of being an Exalted Human Fighter was barely enough to protect himself from the threats that arose from running such a risky business and even pulling tricks like these occasionally.
With his heightened senses, he reached a hand forward to touch the center of the crater, detecting the faintest hint of blood.
"No. He really is a peak Eminent Human Fighter. But one which can punch with a strength three levels above his. Stay away from him. Such a man can only mean trouble, and we have enough of that as it is."
Meanwhile, the man who was being thought about with awe by the bookkeepers had currently stopped at an inn nearby.
With an expression which looked like he was bottling up some emotion, Elanev ordered a cold gla.s.s of wine before giving strange instructions to send ice and a bowl.
Taking a private booth, he waited for a while before closing the door on receiving the order.
On checking the booth thrice and making sure that there were no trinkets of any sort watching or hearing him, he immediately dumped the ice in the bowl before plunging his hand inside and yelping loudly.
Indeed, it was the one with which he had punched the wall. At the moment, the knuckles and fingers were so bruised and swollen that no one would have been able to believe that this was the same man who had made such a cool exit just a few moments before.
If Daneel could witness this scene, he would definitely have been reminded of the moment when Elanev had done the same after the fight with the constable all those years ago in front of the Town Library.
Grumbling to himself that it was getting harder and harder to earn enough money to maintain his journey, Elanev slumped on the sofa and took a huge gulp of wine before recalling everything he had found about this Kingdom since coming here.
One of the unique points of the Black Raven Kingdom was that its people were some of the most devout in the entire Continent.
Of course, the deity whom they wors.h.i.+pped was the Legendary Black Raven which had apparently been the one which was responsible for establis.h.i.+ng this safe haven in the first place.
The society here was completely based on the factor of a certain type of strength.
Only those who could seamlessly connect with their Black Raven companions to display a strength that far exceeded their level were revered and allowed to hold wealth or command people.
Apparently, this showed that the blood of the deity they wors.h.i.+pped flowed strong in these individuals" blood, meaning that they had been blessed with a life of fortune.
As for the Battle Royale"s which were quite popular in the Kingdom, it was due to the fact that the people loved seeing others defeated by their brethren who were helped by the offspring of their ancestor.
Although Elanev had already heard that all Black Ravens were strictly regulated and could not be bought, he had been hoping to find some way to circ.u.mvent this law.
Yet, it was only on arriving here had he learned that this was one of the most rigidly enforced rule in the Kingdom.
Feeling the pain in his arm subsiding, Elanev gulped down the last of his wine before walking out the inn.
He was currently in a village that had sprung up around the stadium which was 10 km from the capital.
The general topography of the Kingdom was arid land with only the occasional bushes and ferns.
As for the capital, it was a sprawling rectangular city bounded by 10 m high walls that seemed like they had been made out of some sort of yellow rock.
Taking off at a run to reach it before the gates closed for the day, Elanev looked forward to finding out just what turmoil the Kingdom would fall into, and whether it would allow him the chance to obtain a companion that he would be able to call his own.
.....
Back in the Palace of Lanthanor, Daneel had just exited the Energized Training Chamber in which Faxul was continuing his training.
"System, is the countermeasure in place?", he asked again while walking through the hallway to his Chamber, unable to forget the expression of hatred that had pa.s.sed through his friend"s face when he had attacked him before.
[Affirmative. The technique that host has pa.s.sed on will result in an immediate purging of the physical link of the ent.i.ty in the event of a takeover.]
Sighing with relief, Daneel entered his own Training Chamber before conjuring his clone and sticking his hands in the red goo to continue his own training.
He had personally witnessed how the ent.i.ty had been able to somehow inhabit his friend without his knowledge, and even manage to take over temporarily in order to carry out the attack.
Thus, when Faxul had stated his decision, he had almost decided to go ahead anyway to purge the ent.i.ty.
Apart from his own memory of feeling frustration and anger at his parent"s condition, Daneel had remembered his friend"s expression when he had seen the last recording of Faxul"s father.
Along with the yearning to save, the yearning for retribution which his friend always carried was also definitely a factor which had led him to make that decision.
Hence, only after ensuring with the system that such a countermeasure could be put in place, he had allowed his friend to fulfill the desire to speed up his training speed exponentially in order to get revenge for his parents who had been killed.
After all, Daneel wasn"t dumb enough to keep a ticking time bomb in his friend"s body especially after personally experiencing how strong it was.
If Faxul could endure the pain to become a strong ally who he was very much in need of, it was all well and good.
Otherwise, his friend would simply have to go back to training "normally".
For the good of Lanthanor and Angaria, Daneel hoped for the former to happen while losing himself in the pleasure of growing in power.
.....
The next day, a girl and a woman appeared at the gates of the Palace holding a black box.