[Due to the higher complexity of active absorption of energy, clone must be within a radius of 5 meters of host. If a larger distance exists, the clone cannot absorb energy. If no absorption takes place, the other parameters are the same.]
Getting all the information about the new clone technique, Daneel first breathed a large sigh of relief.
Although there were limitations, the benefits far outweighed all of them.
For instance, when he heard only the first part, he had been dreaming about training with his clone while his main body could go out and battle.
Alas, this couldn't be done. Due to the radius limitation, he could at most be inside the King's chambers when the clone absorbed energy.
Of course, the best thing was that he could train along with his clone.
Essentially, by absorbing 4 times the energy that Daneel did, his clone could double his training speed.
So, if he were consuming an Ether block to progress by a certain amount before, he could now consume 5 Ether blocks in total and progress by double that amount in the same time frame.
Indeed, this was simply a godsend technique. Since many days, Daneel had been quite worried about his power level even though he had been finding more time to train recently. His rate of growth was too slow, and events were moving too fast.
Power was the most important thing. With the additional information about the plans of the Church, Daneel had been feeling an urgency.
Now, with this technique, power was within his grasp.
Of course, all he needed was resources, which was at least not a problem right now.
He was still at the Eminent Human Level, and thus the amount of energy he absorbed was still minimal. Even when this number was increased due to the clone's absorption, it was still something he could bear easily. After all, he was the King of Lanthanor.
Yet, the matter of resources would become a larger and larger problem as he progressed in levels.
Of course, although he realized this, there was nothing he could do about it right now.
"System, let the clone absorb energy for 1 hour."
After giving this order, Daneel walked to the chamber above.
Next up was the test for the energy attack.
Initially, when he had heard about this feature of the clone, he had been imagining something like the incredible attack of the crane during the execution.
Although he was currently in possession of a few one-time use trinkets, they were a limited commodity that he wanted to save for as long as possible.
This was also because he hoped to someday analyze them with the system. It had already tried, but there was no result because the complexity had apparently been too high.
This was to be expected from trinkets supposedly made by Champion Level figures, thus Daneel hadn't been too surprised.
Thus, his idea was to possibly absorb enough energy into a clone to use it like a one-time trinket if the need arose.
The only way to test this supposition was to have another clone absorb energy for an hour like before.
Even though he wouldn't be able to do accelerated training for a day, it was still worth it to collect data.
After entering his chambers, Daneel first thought for a bit before calling over the head of the Research Division, Ripley.
While waiting for him to arrive, Daneel glanced at the pot in the corner of the room where he had planted an Echer seed.
This sight made him sigh, as he was reminded of the plan he had made regarding these plants.
They had already been planted at the border as per his plan, thus he could only harden his heart and carry on.
Since the first meeting after his Master had left, an overall plan had been forming in Daneel's mind.
In fact, it was so ambitious that he had never voiced it to himself completely.
Yet, the first part of this plan was quite clear: handle the two prominent threats- Eldinor and the Black Raven Kingdom.
Of course, by 'handle', Daneel did not simply mean to resolve the problems he had with them.
Hearing the knock on the door, he was pulled out of his thoughts.
As he opened it with the system, the man who had enabled him to begin on the path of enchanting walked in through the door.
Unlike before when he had a morose or stoic expression usually, Ripley now smiled ear to ear.
Noticing this, Daneel asked, "Enjoying your new job?"
Taking a seat in front of the dragon heart, Ripley first chuckled for a bit before saying, "In a way, yes. Actually, I think I've found my calling! Every time I see those wimps wince when I scold and direct them, it fills my heart with happiness! But it seems that what I truly enjoy is seeing them improve. Makes me wish I had someone like me when I was at their level."
Hearing the response, Daneel sighed as he remembered this man's lonely past.
In fact, he had already sent out orders to track the woman who had given the condition that she would only be with someone who reached a certain level as an Enchanter first. Regrettably, there was no news yet.
Changing the subject, he asked, "How is the production of the communication trinkets coming along?"
"Grandly! The first batch of 500 trinkets will be ready soon. Will you now tell me why you need so many?"
Indeed, Daneel had ordered the entire Research Division to completely focus on communication trinkets for now.
Initially, it had been his idea to use this simple modified schematic to have the Research Division get used to the assembly line. Yet, after hearing about the Church's threat, a different plan had started to form in his mind.
"Yes. But before I do that, tell me more about how Eldinor chooses its leader."
Although Ripley was a bit puzzled when he saw Daneel ask this question, he simply shrugged before launching into an explanation about Eldinor's democratic system.
Daneel had already read about it before, but he had still wanted to confirm everything from someone who had actually lived in the place. And for this purpose, there was no better person than Ripley.
After listening for a while, he understood that he had been right: it was quite similar to the one back on Earth.
All elves registered with the government were eligible to a vote. Anyone could stand in the election, and the person with the highest majority would win.
Of course, one small change was that the winner was required to take an oath to work for the welfare of Eldinor. This was to keep away those who might have plans to bring harm to the nation by winning the election.
"How do the candidates reach out to others?", he asked next after Ripley was done with his explanation.
"Using their own expenses or expertise, elves build trinkets which spread information. In fact, the present Queen was the inventor of the 'tweet' trinket, which is a bird-like object that goes around a location broadcasting its message to all those on the streets. Although it is annoying, it gets the job done. This, along with some other methods she used, allowed her to win with a resounding majority. There is another election coming up soon, so it is still in the air whether her plans will work again. I studied the trinket myself, and it was quite ingenious."
"Oh? What's stopping others from copying her trinket and using it for themselves?"
"You can only think of that possibility because you aren't an elf, Daneel. Due to their strong individual nature, they feel it is beneath them to take other's creations without their permission. Besides, there is also a method in Eldinor to counteract this: a public debate. If someone believes their design has been stolen, they can challenge the other party to a public debate where the nuances of the schematic are discussed to find out who the owner is. Being the designer, the challenger would have the upper hand, resulting in the disgrace of the other party due to the fact that the elves abhor such practices."
This last part came as a small surprise to Daneel, as it reminded him of the patent system which he wished existed in this world.
Regardless, he continued and asked the main question he had on his mind since making the plan.
"Do you have any schematics for something which can send messages to numerous communication trinkets at the same time by being at a certain distance away from them?"