So… That was what the Order had been doing when millions were being ma.s.sacred throughout the continent, hopelessly fleeing from the monstrosities that Daneel, himself, had seen when he had taken part in the Legacy battle.
He, too, had felt a slight twinge of fear on seeing the ferocious eyes of those who just wanted to kill, kill and kill, without caring for the fact that those that they might have their hands around were possibly the people that they had loved the most throughout their lives.
Daneel was no stranger to records from the Apocalypse, and hence, he had read many sad tales about how loved ones were the first to die right after it all started. Of course, in such a time of danger, it was obvious that they would be the ones who were present beside those that went mad, and hence, they were the first sacrifice to the Grand Inheritance which had repelled back the enemy, but brought destruction upon the world that it was supposed to protect.
He had never blamed the Emperor, even though the man had been racked by guilt. He had done a mistake, and instead of fleeing like many would have done, he stayed back and did all that he could to ensure that the continent would not be lost. He had succeeded, but in the case of the Order… So much could have been done, and so much could have been prevented.
He didn"t agree completely with the person who had written the commentary, because Daneel, after all, had the habit of only listening and then taking whatever he believed instead of just following whatever anyone was saying. On some accounts, it was the right decision by the Order to conserve its power, because if the enemy was really going to return, then it could have acted to direct even the monstrosities to result in a decisive victory, instead of just exposing itself and allowing it to be backstabbed in case someone was watching.
Yet… In that case, Daneel would have advocated for moderation, where a portion of the force could have been hidden for that purpose while the other went out to help those and do the things that the man had proposed.
It wasn"t just these. Many more things could have been none, but it was clear that the Overseer was intent on always following the path with the least risk, and in many ways, it reminded Daneel of some forms of Artificial Intelligence from back on Earth.
Only the end result was important, and hence, all other aspects could be ignored, like a mindless robot which might judge that the best thing for the Earth might be for humanity to become extinct, as was the case in a very famous movie franchise which ended up going down the drain.
It was only because Daneel was so agitated that his mind was going everywhere in this manner, but he reigned it back in and first focused on the rest of the items on the list, because he wanted to find out more about this Order.
However, before he did that, he got a slight suspicion and asked the system, "Where is this rule and commentary in the book?"
This seemed like a very important aspect, and anyone would have expected for it to be at the forefront, or at least in the first few pages. However, while he was pretending, he had already rifled through them, and with his Champion level mind, it had been easy to scan the pages quickly.
It hadn"t been present, and instead of that, all he had read about was all glorious stuff about how it was the honor of one"s life to be accepted into the Order, and how so many amazing people had been a part of it. It almost seemed like a brainwas.h.i.+ng section, and if anyone read it first, they would definitely start to be tempted to make the choice right away, and not waste this opportunity that had been presented to them.
Of course, the cautious would read forward, but it was still a fact that that section would still have that kind of an effect.
Just like he expected… The answer that came from the system was pretty startling.
[This topic has been sandwiched between the creases of the page in tiny and almost illegible letters where it is easy to be dismissed as something else, as there is even a bigger t.i.tle above it which in the wrong place, but makes one gloss over it as it is unimportant. Also, parts of the commentary have been dispersed, and the system had to run a few scans to compile them all together and put them in the front of the list.]
Daneel almost felt like clapping his hands as he heard this, but not with amus.e.m.e.nt.
It was obvious by now that the Overseer probably judged that anyone who read that part might be turned away from wanting to join the Order, which would definitely not align with its objective of getting more people and having them protect the continent and its interests.
It was almost like a political party which had its own agenda, and did not want members to read the negative aspects of it, instead focusing on only the positive and hoping that those would be enough to trap hapless people.
That wasn"t to say that this was Daneel"s final judgment about the Order, so he continued to ask the system to tell him the other items on the list that it had made.
[2nd item on the list: There are multiple references to rewards in the Order which can only be obtained if members swear further oaths. These oaths all seem to be normal, but they allow the Order to forcefully recruit and deploy these individuals in times of war as it sees fit. If one does not agree to swear these oaths, they will not be able to obtain a few items on a specific list, and there is a lot of commentary from many people who say that that list is placed on top of others to entice people, and that it contains all of the best rewards possible.
There is also positive commentary on this aspect, however, because in the many years that have pa.s.sed since the apocalypse, no such event has occurred, meaning that those who held their suspicion against the Order ended up regretting it when they saw their peers swear the oath and use the resources to go much farther than they could ever have done. Seeing this has led more and more people to start swearing the oath over the years, believing that its conditions will not be invoked in their lifetime.
This has, of course, changed in the present age, where the war is imminent, but even then, over time, the negative halo around the Order which was created at the time of the Apocalypse after seeing its actions that could have prevented the deaths of millions has been whittled away methodically, until it is almost absent among the general population of the current Order, many of whom seem to have already sworn these further oaths as they believe that it is their duty to fight(some other brainwas.h.i.+ng might also be at play).
This has been gathered from the commentary that has been a.n.a.lyzed over all of these years, which has shown this trend, and although it is not clear just how it has been achieved, it is obvious that it was an intended result, mainly because there is a historical logbook of changes to the rule book which shows that this act of hiding such information in such a manner as has been done with the first item on the list has been done over a long time, with multiple changes that all seem to not result in the present state individually, but somehow made it happen through a confluence of side effects.]
After this extremely long explanation of the system, it was almost like it had been talking to him, and hence, Daneel couldn"t help but ask, "Are you paraphrasing all of these things? Or has some module been opened which allows you to phrase information in this manner? Wait… I also seem to have gotten a message before, during the fight, right? What was it? Repeat that notification."
[System informs host that information was mostly paraphrased, but arranged in such a way that it will be easy to understand. The commentary"s objective is to make the reader aware of everything he or she is getting into. Hence, most information is given in the form of conclusions drawn by individuals, in the hopes that they can carry their point across by showing their reasonings.
Repeating notification.
"Secret Module "Word of the World Dominator" unlocked. Conditions met. Mission has been set down. Fulfill the mission to earn EXP based on final result"
Rechecking parameters. Mission has been dissolved as it has been determined that its premise was false. Module shall remain unlocked. Conditions for a statement to qualify as a "Word" remain hidden. If the conditions are met, a mission will once again be given.]
"Word of the World Dominator?"
Checking his memories of that time, Daneel saw that it was when had completely let himself go so that he could just act as he pleased, without caring for any consequences. It was the time when his emotions had run rampant, and he had allowed them to, which had probably unearthed some of his true feelings in the process.
Another time that did come close to this measure of emotion felt was when he had stupidly shown pity that had resulted in the deaths of hundreds, but then, rather than righteous anger, it had been shame.
This module was definitely handy to earn EXP, and as he was so close to the upgrade, it might even prove vital in allowing him to cross the final hurdle and reach the goal.
Although Daneel was pleased and wanted to see whether he could use it right away, he knew that this was not the time, and as if to remind him of that, Cain spoke up from beside him.
"Do you wish for a chair? There are typically two types of people who come to this stage- those that already know the rules, or don"t care for them, and hence just make their choice as they have already decided it before. Others, like you, study the rulebook carefully, and because it is so large, it takes time. Thankfully, all we have is time. Take that chair, and I"ll also go crack open one of the Order"s special bottles of Merrywine."
The man"s tone wasn"t really warm, per se, but what he said and how he said it did make Daneel feel more welcome than anything else he had seen and heard so far.
The rulebook was many thousands of pages long, and it was a fourth of the size of a full-grown man. Sitting down comfortably in the plush chair that had appeared, Daneel continued to act as if he was reading the book while Cain disappeared.
Of course, inside, he was quickly understanding about the real Order, and the more he found out, the more disconcerting it was.
He had already expected that there might be something to pull people in further later, and that had been confirmed. So, it remained to be seen what else the system had picked out.
[Third Item: System has found a lot of similarities between the workings of the Order and that of a specific methodology of business from host"s memories. The methodology in question is one that gives "trial runs" which cost nothing, where its policy is to pull people in with a trial first, before addicting them and making them pay ever-increasing prices to fuel their addiction. There is commentary regarding how the rewards of the Order are plenty at first even though the oath is lax, but as one starts getting more, they start dwindling, until the person is convinced that they must do everything in their power to get more. Some people say that this is justified to spur people on so that they will become stronger but still be bound to fight for the continent, but others insist that it is just a rat race where the Order just wants strong scapegoats who will swear to fight and die for the continent.
Last item: Through the commentary, it has been determined that the Order contains information and items both for high realms and low. The former is more sought after, so the latter can be obtained easily. The method of "proving one"s worth" is simply the act of carrying out certain missions that the Overseer deems necessary for the Order, or pa.s.sing certain tests of power which will also be kept secret. Some of these items are: large-scale army formation for Warriors, co-sharing of power by a Champion to increase the training speed of multiple Warriors, formations to increase focus forcefully for a large number of lower realm Fighters in battle, an object filled with the insights of a renowned commander which can be studied to learn tactics, formation to simulate exercises to develop teamwork and gain the ability to handle battle situations, etc. They have been mentioned by many people who complained that such "useless" things are given to them, while they yearn for ways to make themselves grow stronger.]
Daneel almost got up with shock as he heard the system.
Until now, most of what he had found had been making him feel as if it might be best if he didn"t swear the Oath and put himself, potentially, at the mercy of this Order which was rubbing him in all the wrong ways.
The third item wasn"t even that surprising, as it had been indicated by the second item. Addiction was an excellent aspect of individuals to exploit to make them stay, after all.
The fourth item, though...finally made Daneel feel more interest in the Order.
True, he had already been pretty d.a.m.n interested both due to the information about his Master that had been promised, which showed him that the means of the Order might be beyond what he could think of, and the formations that he had seen so far which had not been present even in the Empire.
This last item, though, was attractive in even more ways than these other two.
His army had been something that he had been trying to develop since a long time in the hope that they would make a difference in the upcoming war.
Clearly, the Order must contain ways to make that happen, and if they were somehow supercharged by the system...Daneel felt himself getting excited even thinking about it.
However, first, he calmed himself down, as he had to make a decision first.
If he agreed, he would get access to a lot of things, but he would have to swear an Oath.
If he didn"t, he could still retain his memories about it and act with the knowledge of its existence, but he would be saying goodbye to many things that he might never find anywhere else.
What should he do?
He found himself being swayed toward both sides of the choice, but the more he thought about it, the more Daneel felt as if he was missing something.
Perplexed by this feeling, he decided to do another run-through of everything that had happened so far, and that...was when he realized why he had been getting it.
Almost inadvertently, Daneel had thrown the matter of the Overseer causing those deaths and making Ca.s.sandra go through such a horrendous childhood aside.
Normally, this wouldn"t have bothered him much, but when it combined with the fact that he didn"t like both the choices, but had still been considering choosing one among them...it brought his attention to something new that was now present within him.
And that "something new"...had been born because of this momentous day.
For the first time, in that fight before, he had completely unleashed himself, and it had felt...good.
More than "good", like he had remarked before, it felt right, almost as if it was something he had been heading towards all his life without even knowing about it.
At that moment in time...he had been a World Dominator. In other words, he had been the person who had been born after all his years of struggle, and right away, Daneel realized something.
Henceforth...that should be the person making the decisions.
He had had enough of leaving alone those he should be crus.h.i.+ng just because they might be too powerful at the moment, and he had had enough of making do with choices where he would have to give up something.
As soon as this became clear, an almost mischievous smile appeared on Daneel"s lips, as he understood that he had been going about it the wrong way.
When given a choice, a World Dominator was not one who would meekly a.n.a.lyze them both and choose the one that was better than the other, even though he did not really like either.
No, a World Dominator would smash his fist through the face of the one giving the choice and make them add an option which he wanted, or experience the feeling of having their nose and mouth on opposite sides of their head.
Feeling a kind of clarity in his mind which made the World, itself, seem different, Daneel got a sudden thought, and he went with it. His high spirits also made him want to add a twist, and his smile broadened as he saw the final result.
"This is my World to conquer, my World to rule. Like all the others, I shall bring the Order under my feet. Harken, Overseer: your days are numbered. Such is my Word, and my Word shall be kept."
[Conditions met. Module "Word of the World Dominator" has been invoked. Mission deployed. EXP will be awarded based on final result.]
A grand laugh would have really gone a long way in cementing this moment in history, but although it came till his lips, Daneel only let it erupt in his mind.
Standing up, he asked the system one last thing before making his choice.
"I guess the oath is also present in the rulebook, right? Is there any risk of me putting myself in danger by swearing that preliminary oath, except for that where my mind might be erased?"
[Negative. System has found that the same method used on host after host exited the Arena will be the one deployed when the Order wishes for any other memories to be erased. Hence, it can be circ.u.mvented in the same way.]
Almost letting the laughter in his mind touch his lips, Daneel gave a reply to the system.
"All right, then. Let"s go enter this Order, and then find a way to crush it, like an a.s.sa.s.sin entering a Kingdom to destroy it from within. Overseer...you will pay for everything you have done, both to Ca.s.sandra, and to all those who could have been saved if it weren"t for you. Order, welcome me, the one you will forever regret accepting into your ranks. Oh...we are going to have a blast!"Was going to make this rhyme, but I couldn"t decide whether it would make it better. What do y"all think? Should I come up with a rhyming version?