"Wasn"t that a lost Inheritance?"
"Yes…it was listed in the archives we retrieved, but it was never found. Many a.s.sumed that it was lost in one of the devastating battles that followed the collapse of the Empire. Apparently…that is not the case."
"But what kind of talent would be needed to train in it, and even deploy it to this level?"
"That"s…immeasurable."
Even the two Heroes had to take a few seconds to recover from the ma.s.sive shock that had flooded their minds the moment they understood just which Inheritance this was.
The path of a Paragon was both the most sought after, but also the most frowned upon path, even in the Big 4.
The reasons for the latter were numerous. The speed of growth was agonizingly slow because of the time period needed to understand and master each and every type of elementary particle, and even though there was an insane power boost even in the earlier levels where a Paragon was capable of battling against opponents of higher levels, it just wasn"t worth it when one considered that it was very possible for one"s optimal training age to pa.s.s by while foolishly pursuing this path. Others would have soared to reach greater heights where they would have elongated lifespans, while bones or dust would be left behind for these people who would be remembered as those who had burned bright, but only for a small period of time before getting extinguished.
So, at least in the Central Continent, the negatives greatly surpa.s.sed the positives.
However, in the Big 4, there were a few additional reasons that were known which made a Paragon path so much more enticing.
The main reason was this: in the archives of the Empire, there were multiple mentions about how a Paragon, even at the Warrior level, when paired with the correct spells and Inheritance, was capable of standing undefeated no matter how many Champions a.s.saulted him.
Of course, this kind of invulnerability didn"t last forever, but when one thought about it, this feat of a Warrior standing against multiple Champions was so astounding, so magnificent, and so unbelievable that many had a.s.sumed that it must be an exaggeration.
Yet, that had just been proven wrong in the eyes of the whole continent.
Indeed, even though only these two Heroes had appeared here, the rest were also watching from their own abodes.
The King of Lanthanor hadn"t s.h.i.+elded the spot of the contest from viewing in any way. His whole objective was to warn the rest of the rogue Warriors and Mages, and that wouldn"t have been possible if he went for secrecy.
So, it wasn"t just the spectators who were awed. Even the top-most individuals in the entire continent would never be able to forget this scene which made them rethink all the evaluations they had had of the King of Lanthanor.
Even in the archives, there were few mentions of Paragon paths that were capable of this. And of those people, only 3 were known to have left behind their Inheritances for future generations.
When considered the sheer number of Warriors that had existed during that time, this was a pitifully small number, which showed just how rare it was for even a Paragon to be talented enough to invent something like this.
In fact, some estimations even said that the number of Warriors in that age was comparable to the number of Humans in the present age- which was such an inconceivable notion that many could only scoff at it.
All in all, the Head"s mind was completely blown. When he sat back down, he shot a glance at the man beside him, whose eyes had begun to s.h.i.+ne with that dangerous light again.
So, he employed the same spell as before to make him sit, which made the man look at him with fury.
Shrugging, the Head said softly, "I"m sorry. It seems that fate has other plans for your son. I"m just here to stop you. Even if he ends up dying, you can only pay your last respects. An exiled member cannot be shown any consideration, even at the time of his death. Sit."
While the other man"s fury made even the darkness near him look like it was changing into something much more sinister and dangerous, the Head let out a breath and looked down again.
Viewing the Sun Ray which was still being pushed back, he decided one thing.
His visit should definitely take place soon, and, no matter what, he had to try and pull this kid into the Big 4. Perhaps, even the secret disciples of the Big 4 who were being explicitly trained for the invasion might not be a match for him, if they were made to fight at his level.
Regardless, he knew what he should use to entice him: a library of the myriad Champion Paths known to the Angarians, which was the thing most sought after by someone like him who was at that level.
A few rules might have to be broken, but he was the Head, after all. If even he couldn"t break rules for the good of Angaria, then what was the point?
Of course, he just couldn"t do that in the case of the man beside him, as it would cause a civil war.
Such a talented Paragon just couldn"t be allowed to waste away in the desert that was the Central Continent.
h.e.l.l, at this point, he even regretted the fact that this kid"s talent hadn"t been noticed sooner.
If that had been the case, he would have definitely led him down a normal path, as, with this much potential, it was possible that this kid could have become even a Peak Champion if all the Big 4 poured their resources into him.
Yet, he had wasted time with this Paragon Path. True, it caused heads to turn and was breathtaking to watch, but, at the end of the day, there were no Paragon Heroes even during the age of the Empire. So, it was a futile endeavor.
Still, all was not lost yet. If he could grab him now…maybe, he could still make something of this kid.
With the gears in his head turning, the Head once again laid his eyes on the King, whose idle expression, as if he was squatting a fly that had wandered to the wrong location, was something that greatly impressed him and made him smile.
Such grandeur was absent even in many of the Heroes he knew. Yet, this kid who wasn"t even a century old was capable of such a sight?
"The wonders of Angaria are truly endless", he mused, before going back to the task of making sure that no one from the outside would interfere with what was going on below.
…
"Making a sky of stars appear…is-is he a G.o.d?"
In Ophelia"s house, there was not one person who remained seated on seeing this awe-inducing sight.
The Throne of the King stood defiant and proud against the attack, and although the scene was tense and filled with danger, the expression of the King resulted in a contrast that made the minds of the hundreds of thousands of citizens blank.
As one of them said this, the others started to nod. For them, a G.o.d was someone who could command their fates with impunity.
If so, wasn"t this a G.o.d, who deserved wors.h.i.+p?
Even though their minds told them that this man just still a mortal who had ascended from a background where he had lived in the slums to the position where he was in, their hearts said otherwise.
Their hearts…told them that they were witnessing something so great, that it could no longer be explained in human terms.
Even if the term "G.o.d" was wrong, there was practically no difference between what they a.s.sociated that word with, and what they were watching.
Hence, even though none really bowed down, the image in their hearts that had formed over all this time changed again, for one last time.
For Lanthanorians, who already had the strongest and most favorable image possible, it reached oh, so near to the level where they would want to bow down right away.
For the Eldinorians, who were next if a list was made on how well a specific group thought about the King, the image changed from the kind Warrior with immense talent who had saved them all, to that of someone who surpa.s.sed even this level and had to be praised as the strongest Mage they had ever seen, which was something that meant more to them anything else.
As for the rest, King Daneel became a figure to be admired, and not just respected, like before.
When they thought of him, they would think of this moment, and remember the way their hearts had stopped as if to pay obeisance to the glory of the King.
…
In the Kingdom of Arafell, the Queen was also one of the spectators who was silently viewing this image that would soon become tantamount to a legend on Angaria.
She was in the Palace, but she was somehow in possession of a Network Trinket that Daneel had distributed only to citizens.
She could tell what kind of effect this would have over almost all citizens, regardless of nationality. Angarians valued power, and there probably no scene that displayed power better than this one in any of their living memory.
Her expression alternated between one of gus.h.i.+ng veneration and acclaim from Priscilla, and one of anger laced with frustration which belonged to the Queen.
Yet, slowly, with each switch, that anger seemed to diminish and slowly be replaced by a different emotion.
The Queen, herself, didn"t know what that emotion was, but, for some reason, she was reminded of the memory of when she had first met the Emperor.
She shook her head to get rid of that, but one thing was now clear to her:
The King of Lanthanor had been right. She had definitely thought much, much less of him, and, right now, he looked like a juicy onion whose layers she wanted to peel away, one by one, to get to the center.
If Daneel were here, the hair on his hands would definitely have stood up straight, while his skin would have been crawling on seeing the way the Queen was looking at him through the display trinket.
…
["Starry Skies" has reached the optimal level needed to break the opponent"s attack. Would host like to activate this effect?]
"Meh, let it continue. Why cut the fun short? Let them all see what will happen if they dare to make plans against me again."
Unaware of all these reactions, Daneel was idly enjoying the feeling of making a Champion feel helpless.
This spell also had negatives: for example, it depended a lot on the opponent"s strength.
If the opponent was weak, then this spell would also look weak.
As the lengthy name suggested, it was designed to be a "Quagmire" which had the same properties as the word. The more one struggled, the more one would be pulled in.
Thankfully, there was no one in this age who knew that little tidbit, so he guessed that they must all be amazed.
Which was exactly what he wanted.
After this, any Warrior would have to shake in their boots if they even thought of stepping inside his Kingdom.
Judging that it had gone on long enough, Daneel prepared to order the system to "break" the spell, which would result in a backlash that would momentarily leave Raul defenseless. Initially, he had planned to let the man go due to his inclination to care for normal people, but after seeing the way in which he had been about to kill him, Daneel decided to end his life.
Also, it would make for a fitting end to "Mercy for the Wicked".
True, a Champion was valuable, but with all the stuff he was soon going to "download" from Drakos, Daneel was pretty confident that he could boost some of his own to that level through acquired paths.
Besides, when even Oaths couldn"t be fully trusted when it was related to Champions, why would he want to trust someone like this who could backstab him at any time.
Daneel had made his decision. However, just when he was about to command the system to go ahead, it sent a message in his mind.
[Incoming voice transmission from unknown source. Source is at Hero level, which has been judged from the complexity of the spell that was used.]
Hmm…that was odd. Which Hero wanted to talk to him?
Thinking that he had nothing to lose, Daneel told the system to let the transmission in, but when he heard the contents of the message, he couldn"t help but frown.
"King Daneel, I am one of the Heroes of the High Council of Angaria. The man you are about to kill is my son. I ask you to let him live. The only reason he was exiled is that when he was given the order to kill 10,000 citizens to save the lives of 200 important members of the Big 4, he chose to save the citizens. Even though he was my son, I had no other option but to allow him to be exiled as the sons and daughters of other members of the High Council were among those who were killed. He is a good man. If you let him go, I shall be in your debt. But if you go ahead and kill him, I will make it my life"s goal to end your life and lineage. If you were a father, you would understand my anguish. I hope you choose the right path."