A feeling of being threatened wrapped around his whole body, freezing him completely and even making him stop breathing.
Only resuming after the man took a seat and looked at him, Daneel felt like he was between the crosshairs of the most deadly predator in the world.
Thankfully, this faded away after a few seconds, after which the man smiled slightly and said, "I am Ashahell, your sect leader. I usually don't make public appearances, so you might not have seen me. However, I trust that you heard of me?"
No. He had to control himself and act.
Quickly, Daneel realized that he was in the most dangerous situation yet right now.
Even though that feeling of being targeted had left his body, there was still a prickling sensation in his spine, as if he was staring down the barrel of a gun.
The system's notification didn't help.
[The person sitting in front of host is at Peak Champion Level. An attempt to check for disguise techniques was made, whose level came close to the system's.]
Great. He was a peak Champion to boot!
With all his might, Daneel assembled his thoughts and managed to make small changes to his facial expression so that it would only look like shock.
After all, everyone had heard of the great Ashahell, who was said to have been born to save Angaria.
Tales and legends were still told about him by the lecturers, with all of them regarding him as someone who had directly stepped down from the heavens to grace the Angarians.
Thankfully, it seemed to have worked, as Ashahell only stared at Daneel with that small smile, not showing any sign that he was suspicious of anything.
After a second or so, Daneel's spoke in a quivering voice.
"S=sect leader! It's an honor!"
Quickly, he stood up and prepared to bow.
Of course, as this was the man who might potentially be the one who would cause the destruction of all of Angaria, Daneel had no want to give him any honor or respect.
However, he wasn't foolishly proud to refuse to bend the knee even if it meant that his cover might be blown.
Any sect member, especially someone like him who had no background, would prostrate on the ground if necessary when they were spoken to by the sect leader.
However, just when he was about to complete his bow, a formless force seemed to hold his shoulders and make him stand up straight.
"A member of the Sect of Hedon must always stride forward to take what he wants from life with a straight back. You don't need to bow to me. Sit down."
His voice was genial, and if Daneel had had no prior impression of the man, he would definitely have been quite impressed by the wisdom and experience that it seemed to carry.
However, all he felt now was wariness. Extreme wariness.
He had expected Ashahell to be someone like the King of Axelor-proud, arrogant…basically like a typical evil character in a book or movie.
Yet, the man in front of him looked completely normal, and even likable and followable, because of what he said next.
"On behalf of the Sect of Hedon, I would like to thank you for being a part of us. By finding that inheritance site and letting us know about this particular inheritance that has never been seen before, you have done us a great service. Henceforth, your status will be upgraded to that of a 'Benefactor'. In essence, what that means is that you will be eligible for treatment that is one level higher. Do you have any questions for me?"
Honestly, Daneel was pretty stunned on hearing this.
He had been expecting suspicion and all kinds of questions, but all he was getting was a pat on the back.
Also, from his words, this Ashahell appeared to be someone who was humble and honest.
He still had to keep up his act, so stuttering with surprise, Daneel once again tried to bow while saying, "Sect leader! I am honored! Thank you so much!"
Once again, that formless force stopped him, while Ashahell sighed and said, "Like I said, no bowing."
Standing up, he laid an arm on Daneel's shoulder.
This almost made Daneel flinch, but thankfully, he controlled himself at the last moment.
Looking deep into Daneel's eyes which had varying amounts of relief from not being suspected and joy at being able to access better resources, he said, "Train well. Tough times are coming. It is likely that the war that everyone is preparing for might come sooner than anyone expected. When it comes, there will be many chances to grow exponentially. You must train well now, so that you can stand in front of our enemies later to defend Angaria."
Leaving these words and sighing once again, Ashahell walked out, while Daneel was left just standing there, awestruck.
The man had been talking sincerely: when he said the words 'defend Angaria', Daneel had seen a resolve that seemed no weaker than what he possessed.
What the hell was going on? Wasn't this supposed to be someone who was hell-bent on destroying Angaria? Why did he seem so passionate about saving it?
Such sincerity and passion couldn't be faked, in any way.
His mind completely muddled, Daneel had to be called twice before responding and being lead out of the room.
After exiting the tower, he couldn't resist but look up at it again.
His clarity about what he was going to do was gone, replaced by a nagging curiosity.
As his thoughts swirled, a horrifying possibility came to mind.
Were…the Watcher and the black-robed man wrong? Were they framing this man whose only purpose seemed to be to save Angaria?
Daneel had never really trusted those two's words, but he had been inclined to believe them due to the supposition that Ashahell had been the one to give the doom mosquito to the King of Axelor.
However, this was also said by the Watcher.
Which version was true? Which was false?
He had no idea, but after a few seconds, one thing became clear:
He could only continue his plan and strive to get more data so that he could find proof to confirm either possibility.
….
After Daneel arrived at his room, he found it empty.
Asking his neighbors, he found out that his friends had also been hauled away for questioning.
He wasn't really worried about this, as he had only told them the 'truth' that he had reported during his interrogation, which was that he had only managed to comprehend what he did because he spent a lot of time alone at the site while being repeatedly beat up and enduring it.
He had hit a dead end, so he had hatched this perfect plan to scam out Ker Gems.
Since they weren't there anyway, he searched under the bed, and to his delight, found the sack with the Ker Gems.
As he plunged his hand into it and felt the rough edges of the gems, he smiled with the happiness that came from accomplishing something.
Hence, putting all his uncertainties and doubts out of his mind, he focused on the counting once again.
The total came out to be a whopping 1250 Ker Gems, which was more wealth that he had ever seen or heard of in his life.
Equaling 12,500,000 Ether blocks, this fortune might be enough to boost Lanthanor's growth enough to directly let him reach the next milestone for gaining EXP.
Only, he faced the same predicament as the diamond merchants on earth: the risk of disturbing the fine line between demand and supply.
Just like diamonds, these Ker Gems were rare and sought after. However, if they suddenly flooded the market, their price would definitely fall.
So, stealing these away before leaving the sect wasn't an option.
However, he could do one thing: buy that fish.
The fish from the Endless sea was known for its exquisite taste whose intensity didn't recede no matter how many times one had it.
One of the known ways of corruption was for those eligible to save away the fish they were given to sell them later for double the price.
Hence, even though a single piece of fish only contained the Energy equivalent to hundred Ker Gems, one had to pay 200 Ker Gems to obtain them through other means.
Quickly grabbing 200, Daneel made his way to the dorm of those who were close to becoming Champions.
These were the only people eligible to get that meat for free.
It was a pretty standard process, so by the time Daneel was back in his room, he was trying hard not to sniff that heavenly fragrance again and again.
Closing the door, without any preamble, he dug in.
Instead of the woman he had seen in the cafeteria, he took a bit, and he understood why she had eaten it whole.
Juices which seemed to have been trapped inside the meat using some method flowed down his cheeks, falling on the floor.
However, Daneel was too busy being lost in the explosion of flavor that was assaulting him.
Sweetness, spiciness, tanginess, all flavors seemed to cycle through his mouth, making his mind go blank.
It was like he was eating many courses at once, instead of only having a single piece of meat.
By the time he swallowed, he opened his mouth with alarm to see the juices that he had wasted.
Still in a daze due to that taste, without thinking too much, he bent close to the ground and looked for the drops to see whether he could still salvage them.
Bang!
When the door swerved open due to being kicked, his 4 friends found him in that position: his ass in the air and his nose to the ground, ready to lick the top of a thick drop of the juice which had a jelly-like consistency.
If they could know that this was the honorable King of Lanthanor who presided over millions of citizens, they would definitely have made the news public, which would have become the talk of the continent.
However, acting in a tactful manner, Daneel sat straight as if nothing had happened and said, "Our first scam was a great success. It's time for our second: create a problem, sell the solution."