When Daneel woke up, there was such a pounding feeling in his head that he felt as if he had been secretly abducted and beaten senseless by those that existed on the continent who still disliked him.
Holding his head, he waited with the hope that it would go away if he remained conscious for a longer time, but with each second that pa.s.sed, the pain only grew worse, so at last, he grudgingly told the system to block it.
The system did so without giving him a reply, but he was not prepared for the wave of tiredness that hit him in the absence of the pain.
It looked like it had been concealed behind the agony, and not for the first time, he told himself that he should not mess with the natural functions of the body, all of which had a certain purpose.
Right now, though, he knew that there was no way that he could allow himself to sit back and rest when there was so little time on his hands, so flicking his fingers, he made a few Ker Gems appear.
It was only after sitting for an hour in meditation and then eating a large meal that he began to feel more like himself. Until then, his thoughts had wandered on unimportant things, so seeing that his mind needed to rest, he had let it drift.
Now, though, knowing that he should get back to reality, he shot one last glance at the bed while remembering the wonderful time that he had spent on it just a few hours ago.
He wished that he could drop everything and call his two queens over, but letting out a sigh, he closed his eyes and asked the system to tell him about everything that had happened since he had fallen unconscious.
He still remembered the exact moment when the aura of the Divine Dragon had overwhelmed his already fragile mind that had been on the point of giving up and letting go due to all the strain that he had placed on it. Like a small pebble that could start an avalanche and bring the entire mountain down, the aura had tipped the scales.
That was not to say that the majesty of the Divine Dragon could be described by the word "small", in any means. On sensing it, for the first time, he had felt the same impulsiveness to bow with fear that he knew he projected onto others whenever he wished to.
Now that he was a.n.a.lyzing the moment more, though… He saw that something was off. All of the aspects that it was supposed to have were there… But something was missing.
After a second, it came to him: the intensity.
Like the fury of a river that was being made to travel through a small pipe instead of bursting forth in waves and waves of endless strength, the intensity of the aura was low. And as for the reason behind it… It became clear when he asked the system what it had meant by the success rate it had stated at that moment.
[Original parameters for the attempt set by host dictated that the goal was to create an Amateur Hero level body. However, due to the precautions being engaged before the goal could be reached, only a Peak Champion level body could be created. A few hours after host lost consciousness, it was detected by G.o.dnet that the individual known as "Drakos" broke through to the Hero realm after absorbing Energy. Judging by the ancient records of Energy absorption that are present in the Order, the fact that the body created was of the highest potential has been corroborated.]
So that was the problem!
Knowing that breakthroughs were difficult, Daneel had decided that he would give his mentor a body that was at the beginning of the Hero realm. Progressing in the same realm was much simpler than breaking through to the next one, so the idea had been that the Drakos would have enough time to reach the Peak before the Church arrived at their doorstep.
Only, now it looked like he had underestimated his old friend. Before setting himself on the task, he had studied the ancient texts regarding Dragons and seen that it was said that their power level was related more to their consciousness, unlike humans who had to painstakingly train their bodies and minds separately. Also, the consciousness of Dragons tended to naturally grow stronger as time pa.s.sed, so in every way, it could be said that they were a blessed race. Each and every member of their species was guaranteed to rise to peaks that could only be dreamt of by most humans, and if it weren"t for their dreadfully low reproductive rate when compared to all other species, they would have ruled Angaria without a doubt.
As Drakos had been alive for so long, Daneel had known that he must already have preached the peak that was possible to him long back. Still, with the intention of seeing for himself whether he could truly wield that much power precisely, those were the parameters that he had set, but thankfully, his failure had not hindered his old friend.
He still shuddered when he thought about what he had had to endure when using the Grand Inheritance. It felt like a bad dream now, especially with the warm sunlight on his face as he sat in the calm atmosphere of the Royal bedchambers in the Kingdom of Lanthanor, but still, but for a moment during which he went back to that nightmarish experience, his entire body shook at the very thought of going through it again.
Shaking his head to dispel these thoughts, he got up and dressed himself before realizing one very important thing.
Riding a Dragon was supposed to be such an exhilarating experience that had it been dreamed of by all humans in the age when they still existed, and now, he had had the grace of getting an opportunity to experience it… But he had been unconscious.
If the people of Angaria knew that they had been praying to a G.o.dking who had been asleep while being flown around Angaria… Even the notion made him blush, so he decided that no one except those who already knew would ever find out.
After thinking for a bit about what he should do now, Daneel decided that he needed to have another conversation with the Emperor, whose intuition and knowledge about the art of war were probably the most precious things that he brought to the table in this situation.
Well, that and… His incredible knack for planning, of course, which Daneel intended to make full use of even though he shared this particular talent.
There was the matter of his power, too, but more than the impact that a single powerful Hero would make on the war, these two were definitely greater.
When he sent the message, the Emperor arrived in barely a few seconds. This made Daneel guess that the man might have been waiting for such a summons, and as soon as he arrived, he said, "Well done. As you already know, my first attempt was disastrous… I trusted yours to go in a much better way, but I could never have expected that you would succeed in your first try. I was always good at judging things, but I keep being proven wrong by you again and again, so much so that I"ve become numb it! There is the matter of your secret, of course… But even then, the pain of being connected to so many must have been borne by you, alone, so I commend your strength."
Daneel smiled while hearing the praise. After all, what could make one"s heart fill with pride more than hearing their idol compliment them so much?
Conjuring the same chairs in which they had gotten themselves drunk before, he sat down and said, "I have already made multiple plans to get us through this war… But I would appreciate your help and guidance. So, I thought that we would have a planning session. What do you say?"
For the Emperor of old, just the signs that said that he might soon smile meant that he was in a very good mood. Now, as Daneel saw them, his smile grew even broader.
"If I"m being frank, planning is one of my favorite things to do. Many times, even when I try to empty my mind to meditate, plans keep appearing to me. Backup plans, plans for the worst cases, plans for the best case,s plans for unplanned events…during my reign, I often tried to search for someone with whom I could discuss them, but I never did find the right person. I have a feeling that I"ve finally succeeded. It would be my honor to engage with you in this all-important quest. Please…let us begin."