200,000 Ker Gems?!
After getting rid of that strange feeling, these were the words that got stuck in Alfonso"s mind.
For a second, he became distracted as he imagined what he would do if he had such a fortune.
Getting to the Champion level would no longer be a pipedream!
The older one was, the harder it would get to absorb Energy, both for the body and the mageroot. So, he had always been hoping that he would come across some opportunity to obtain enough in one strike so that he could just go into secluded meditation to reach the peak.
This was his chance!
As Alfonso was busy daydreaming, he didn"t notice the flash in the blonde-haired kid"s eyes.
Suddenly, he felt a p.r.i.c.kling at the back of his head, and a vague feeling that something was trying to…invade his mind.
This was something that he had never felt before, and with a start, he quickly scanned all around him, wondering whether someone was trying to eavesdrop.
The feeling had vanished, but unlike Sister Xuan who discarded it thinking that it was a figment of her imagination, Alfonso clung to it and checked the formation he had set up for blocking outsiders from listening in.
The formation was controlled by him, and it was said that when someone with a higher skill in formations tried to take control of one that was already being controlled, the one who was controlling the formation would feel as if their mind was being invaded.
The core of his formation had been covertly placed in a tree to the side, so as he walked towards it with a deep frown of suspicion on his face, he didn"t notice that for a split second, the blonde-haired kid had narrowed his eyes.
However, after that, an expression of happiness replaced it, but again, this was very brief.
Right before Alfonso reached the core, he once again felt that p.r.i.c.kling, and although it wasn"t exactly the same as before, it was similar enough for him to think that he had been right.
Moreover, as he saw the core of the formation which was in the form of a triangular metal trinket that had various patterns embedded on it, he noticed that a small crack had appeared on one side of it.
Yes! Someone was trying to eavesdrop!
Immediately, he said, "I like your proposition. We can talk on it tonight, and we can also go out to verify whether what you are saying is true. For now, it seems that someone is trying to listen in. I"m leaving. Meet me at midnight in the glave 200 meters south of the 3rd northern exit."
Saying so, Alfonso didn"t give a chance for Daneel to reply. Picking up the core, he deactivated it and left swiftly, while glancing around and trying to spot the "enemy".
After waiting for a moment and checking with the system that no one was watching him, Daneel smiled wide.
He was very happy with the way this meeting had gone.
The p.r.i.c.kling, of course, had been the natural defense of one"s mind against invasion by the system, which wanted to hijack its inputs and show it a false image, just like with Sister Xuan and that vision. This was a very advanced spell, and even though the system was at the peak of the Champion level, only using it on a Human would allow it to proceed without giving any indication to the target.
Also, Daneel had to make sure that the target was distracted when the spell was cast, as someone who was completely in control of the faculties of their mind would be able to notice the invasion faster and try to resist.
If they were distracted, it would be over before they realized it.
Daneel had worried a bit when he saw Alfonso get suspicion on his face, but when he saw him walking towards the core of the formation, Daneel had quickly asked the system whether there was any correlation between anti-eavesdropping formations and spells like these, where the objective was to send a simulation to one"s mind.
After finding out that an attack on the formation would have the same effect, he had immediately made one, which resolved the situation and sealed Alfonso"s fate.
However, Daneel realized that he had landed himself in a small dilemma.
Alfonso wanted to go today, itself, to check out the mine. Initially, Daneel had planned to delay the man until the time when he could leave the sect so that he could set it all up before they went.
Even now, he didn"t panic too much, as if worst came to worst, he could simply knock Alfonso out.
With his inheritances, he would definitely be able to take on this Exalted Warrior. A prolonged fight might be a bit difficult, but Daneel was confident of winning a short engagement.
The limitation of the "Mind Control" spell, which had been ambitiously named by Daneel after being derived from the ability of the system to simulate scenarios for him, was that a single "invasion" could only result in one simulation.
For example, he had "invaded" Sister Xuan"s mind, and played that vision for her to see. If he wanted to do so again, he would once again have to distract her and let her feel that sense of being invaded again, and the chances were also high that she would definitely notice something amiss, as she would be familiar with it from before.
Still, if there was no other way, Daneel didn"t mind using his "invasion" before to make it appear to Alfonso that he had been knocked out by someone or something else while he left to make the fake Ker Gem mine.
After that, he could wait for the man to use a formation again so that he could "invade" his mind again without arousing suspicion.
Only, Daneel preferred if his plan didn"t have variables. If Alfonso somehow had the means to escape his clutches, then he would be placed in a very dire situation.
Hence, Daneel fell into deep thought, wondering what to do.
Getting no solution after a few minutes, he first made his way to the Border Village to thank Jessica and tell her that it had worked.
When he reached the Red Herring, he saw with relief that there was someone other than that woman who had laughed at him before. Still, she giggled when she saw him, which meant that he had already become famous for his "endurance".
Sighing and feeling happy that he was in a disguise, Daneel reached Jessica"s room and knocked before entering.
Seeing that it was him through the peephole, Jessica immediately opened and closed the door behind him before asking in an excited voice, "Did it work?!"
When Daneel nodded, an expression of relief came on her face.
"The first part worked, and the second should go without a hitch."
Even though this was happy news, Daneel was still frowning slightly.
Noticing this, Jessica asked with a frown, "What"s the matter? I thought it went well?"
"Oh, I was thinking about a small problem that I have. I need to go out of the sect today, but my monthly leave is done."
"That"s it? Why didn"t you ask me before? We have a special way in and out which doesn"t require anyone to be allowed to leave. Just leave it to me."
As Daneel heard this, he looked at her and beamed.
He had been hoping that she might have a way because of how resourceful she seemed, so seeing that he was right, he felt really glad that there were no more problems.
Now, all that was left was to put Alfonso behind bars due to his greed which made him dumb enough for sending all the money he had to the "Nigerian Prince" with the belief that he would get much more in return.
As Jessica saw him smile, she felt glad after seeing that everything was going smoothly.
"You"re very cute, you know," she said, making Daneel"s smile freeze.
This made her chuckle softly before saying, "Don"t get me wrong. I just wanted to tell you that we all really appreciate what you"re doing for us. We could say lofty things like "We are willing to follow you anywhere", but we know we are just powerless humans who can"t be of much help to you."
Daneel immediately started to shake his head, but she continued.
"You don"t need to refute this. We will always be in your debt. You can never know all the horrible things that pig put us through. By the way, I really think it"s commendable that you weren"t tempted to go about this a different way. I can tell that that part of life is not on your mind right now. Still, I"ve heard of many who went mad with grief later on because of decisions like these. Rumors say that something like that happened to the Mad Doctor, too, but I don"t know if they have any truth to them. I just wanted to say that if you do find someone you like, don"t hesitate to do everything you can to make them a part of your life. You"ll know that that someone is special, don"t worry- I"ve heard that Warriors and Champions have a special sense in this matter. Anyway, that was just my advice. Now, get out of her if you don"t want it to become known that you"ve suddenly gained a lot of endurance. Here are the instructions for the secret exit."
As Daneel heard the last part, he did feel embarra.s.sed a bit, but he stored the rest in his heart. She definitely meant well, and he even felt that there was quite some truth to what she was saying.
Still, it was true that he shouldn"t arouse suspicion. So, getting up and taking the trinket, he just said "Thank you. I"ll be back after it"s completely done," before walking out, only to find a gaggle of women at the end of the corridor all staring the door to Jessica"s room.
As soon as he walked out, some cheered and others got sad expressions on their faces.
Daneel wondered why that was, and he got the answer a few seconds later, when he saw money being pa.s.sed around.
They were all betting on how much time he would last inside!
Sighing and feeling pity for Travis, Daneel followed the instructions to leave the sect, so he could set the stage for Alfonso.