After hearing Daneel say these words, the 4 who had appeared at the door stared before breaking out into bouts of laughter.
However, this laughter immediately stopped when they saw the piece of fish in Daneel's hands.
It couldn't be mistaken for normal food in any way: the fish steak shone lustrously in the light, as if it were a treasure instead of food.
The fatty was the first one to run forward and point at it before stuttering. "I-is that…"
"Yes. Here."
Sighing, even though he felt reluctant, Daneel handed over the piece of which he had only taken a small bite.
After all, they had all worked together for it, and he actually liked these 4.
They were simple, honest teenagers who just wanted to find ways to lead life more easily.
With a flash, the fatty snatched it away and bit, but before he could eat more, he, too, entered a trance just like Daneel, savoring the incredible taste.
This resulted in the fish switching hands to Clyde, who had the same reaction, and then to another one, before finally being finished by the last.
As Kator saw his empty hands, he couldn't help but glare at the others while chewing.
He had had the smallest piece!
Seeing that they were done, Daneel said, "That price of that piece, we will cut equally from our shares. Like we discussed: I get 50%, and the rest of you share the rest among yourselves.
Daneel had established this beforehand, as this entire thing wouldn't be possible without his involvement.
If he wished, he could turn his back on the Shameless Sect and set everything up by himself, but he hadn't done so.
So, they appreciated it and also respected him due to his decision, but that respect had mostly gone after the scene they had witnessed.
Still, they held on to the agreement, as even the dumbest among them could guess that their friend had changed into a golden-egg-laying goose.
After all 5 resolved to get more pieces of the fish soon, Clyde asked, "Why don't we take a break? We might draw too much attention to ourselves after this if we start a new gig straight away."
The other 3 nodded, but Daneel frowned.
He didn't have time.
In the Sect of Hedon, everything was corrupted.
So, there was also a price to pay to enter the secret archives of the Sect, which were located in the Central tower.
No core inheritances could be obtained, but some very high-level techniques, along with the books regarding history which were locked to regular sect members, were available.
This had raised a red flag in Daneel. How could the sect allow for something like this to happen? The secret archives must have had a reason to be…well…secret.
Apparently, the one who facilitated this was a sect member who had entered the Central tower as the one who took care of the library.
He needed a lot of resources, and according to him, getting access to techniques was hardly enough to reach the peak of one's realm. As for the history, his opinion was that what was dead and forgotten wouldn't affect the present too much.
So, he allowed anyone in for a whopping fee of 10,000 Ker Gems.
His customers were usually peak Warriors who hoped that learning a high-level technique which they would only be able to access when they reached the Champion level(which was whom this archives room was meant for) might help them in some way to either advance or fight better.
Mostly, his constant customers were those who were stuck at the peak Warrior level, looking for any and all ways to find a chance to make themselves break through.
All in all, it sounded legit in many ways, and even though it would be strange for someone as weak as him to spend everything to access the library, weirder things happened every day.
As for finding out Ashahell's plans, Daneel had a plan for that too: infiltrate the tower first, and try to find a way to uncover what he was doing.
All in all, he needed 10,000 Ker Gems, which was no small number.
This scam had been wildly successful, with more gains than he would ever have expected. However, he only had around 700 Ker Gems now.
"Pfft. Only."
Hearing himself use that word to describe that many Ker Gems, he could only chuckle with resignation, as a change in the living atmosphere really did bring a great change in one's worldview.
"No. We should do this now, before someone else thinks of it. Come on, where's your spirit? If we delay, who knows whether someone else will get the same or a similar idea and ends up eating our revenue…"
As Daneel's sentence trailed off, the 4 looked at him with wide open eyes.
He was right! They couldn't delay if it was that kind of idea!
So, putting on ingratiating expressions on their faces, they said as one, "We are at your command! Shameless sect, arise!"
…..
The next morning, Percy had just returned to his dorm after spending 2 days in the medical ward of the Sect.
He still had pain all over his body and his face had a haggard look, but he had insisted on leaving and taking bed rest instead of being in the sick bay.
The problem with the sick bay was that there were just too many people who kept coming up to him to ask questions.
He had always hated others snooping into his business, so this riled him up enough to decide to go home.
His 'house' was on the top floor of the second dormitory, as he was the one right now with the most chance of breaking through to become a Champion.
All he wanted to do was sleep, so that he could rest and get back on his feet as quickly as possible. After all, he still had that task he had to accomplish for his master.
So, imagining himself being worshipped by millions of people, he closed his eyes with a smile.
BZZZZZ
A weird buzzing noise woke him up, making him look around with a puzzled expression before falling back asleep.
It had stopped when he opened his eyes, but when he closed them again, it resumed.
Once again getting up, Percy activated his elementary vision this time, ready to catch the culprit in case they were foolish enough to prank him again like this.
However, a few seconds later, after he dozed off once again, that same BZZZZ sound woke him up, this time seeming like it had grown in intensity.
Again he went out to check, and again, this time, he found absolutely nothing.
Thinking that it must be some low-level insect which couldn't be found, he went back to what he was doing.
This continued for a day, before a select few in the dormitory opened their eyes with huge bags underneath them.
One such victim happened to be the one inhabiting the floor right below Percy, so he quickly walked up to him and asked whether he was experiencing the same things as me.
However, finding out that the timings of hearing the noise and a few others were different, he kept quiet.
The meeting was to discuss what to do about this menace, as this place was something run by the sect.
After a discussion, it was decided that a peak Warrior level guard will be posted for an entire night.
Hoping that it would make a difference and having a nagging feeling that it would not, Percy went back to his room and hesitantly tried to sleep once again.
Yet, sadly, the buzzing was there to welcome.
It didn't leave no matter what he did: stuffing his ears, begging, threatening-nothing was effective.
He went and complained to the Sect, who assigned someone else, but they had the same report.
All in all, this turned out to be the gossip of the sect.
What was causing this?
How did it choose its targets?
How was one supposed to make it stop?
All kinds of 'solutions' popped up, but nothing seemed to work.
Finally, 2 days later, when it looked like all those affected might die at any point due to lack of rest, someone looked at them with a gleam in his eyes.
This blond-haired kid smirked to himself before saying to the room he was in, "Watch and learn, boys. Watch and learn. Remember, be sure to cover your identity when you set up the stage. Go."
….
Back at the top of the tower, Ashahell was standing while holding a data trinket in his hand.
In it, detailed information about the King of Lanthanor's last seen action, which was the grand announcement to the people, was written.
After that, it was reported that there were many eyewitnesses who had seen the King of Lanthanor enter his Chambers and stay there, as teleportation was impossible in the Palace.
The King of Lanthanor could only at most be an Amateur Warrior. So, Ashahell believed this report as no one at that level would be able to master the teleportation of the Palace completely in order to be able to teleport out.
While he flicked through the data, his usually deadpan expression was replaced by one of excitement, as if he had a great deal of interest in what he was doing, or what he was going to do.
As many possibilities surged through his mind, he finally selected one before saying to himself, "King of Lanthanor, it's high time you know who I am."