"We…are going to get posts inside the Central Tower."
"Nope."
As Daneel made this announcement in his dormitory room where the Shameless Sect was gathered, their reaction was something he couldn't have expected.
After exchanging glances between each other, all 4 of them said that word in unision before walking out the door.
Finding himself alone in the room and still staring at the door, Daneel couldn't believe what had just happened.
As the fatty's head popped into his vision, he realized that he wasn't seeing things.
"Hey, no hard feelings, but success has gotten to your head. We have no intentions whatsoever of flying too far into the Endless Sea and dying. In fact, you don't even need to repay those Ker Gems you owe us! If you need any other help thought, feel free to ask. Bye!"
As Daneel heard the fatty's words, he felt a vein throbbing on his head as he realized that this sect was living up to its name.
They really were shameless!
Well, looking at the facts, he had to admit that they had their own reasons.
The minimum power level required for someone to enter the Central Tower was to be an Eminent Warrior, but some of them were still only Exalted Humans.
Besides, there were stories about how some people had overestimated their abilities and challenged posts inside the Central Tower, which led to their ruin.
There were only two methods to get such a post: one, the challenger had to defeat the one holding the post in direct combat or two, the one holding the post had to willingly hand it over.
All jobs inside the Central Tower paid very well, and there was also special access to a host of techniques which would send any Warrior drooling.
Finally, it was said that those who showed promise in their posts might be selected to receive Tier 3, or even Tier 2 inheritances.
In the Big 4, inheritances were separated into three Tiers in ascending order of importance.
Tier 3 meant those inheritances which gave the user a significant boost in combat potential.
Tier 2 covered the inheritances which gave even more of a boost-categorized as those which would allow one to jump over their power level to fight opponents.
And lastly, Tier 1 inheritances were those which fundamentally changed the working of the body or mageroot to give a boost that was incomparable to the other two tiers.
Typically, Tier 1 inheritances were all 'core' inheritances, such as the Basilisk's Breath.
In a challenge for a post in the Central Tower, although killing one's opponent wasn't allowed, forfeits were also forbidden to dissuade those not serious, and to make it so that those who had the posts wouldn't be pestered by challenges all the time.
Some sect members who pitied their opponents might leave them after a beating, but other, more twisted ones would opt to severely disable their opponent to the farthest extent that the rules allowed.
Although healers would be able to get such people back to their prime, it would require time, during which the individual's peers would cross them in power level.
All in all, it was a very serious and risky business, so there was a valid reason for Daneel's 'friends' abandoning him.
They were only a group of people who had banded together because of their common origin and for their common good, so when a task came along which involved too much risk, then they had no obligation to stay, even if Daneel had made it possible for them to earn more than they ever could have alone.
Should he call them ungrateful? Cowardly?
No, Daneel just decided to call them 'shameless' and let it go.
After all, self-preservation was one skill crucial for all those on the path to power.
Besides, he had no more debt to pay!
As he arranged his thoughts in this way and leaned back on the chair with a smile, he noticed a conundrum he had overlooked.
He also had no Ker Gems to train with!
He had dumped everything he had for the key to the Central Tower!
With one eyebrow twitching, Daneel considered going to these 4 and using emotional blackmail to get more Ker Gems, but he was a King! He couldn't possibly lower himself to such levels…
Still, he fondly stared at the door as this was the easy way, but he finally gave it up after a little while and got off his ass to go earn some Ker Gems.
….
4 hours later, Daneel was happily munching on some Energy infused bread, that tasted excellent.
Due to his increased status that Ashahell had been so kind to grant, he was allowed to eat this food that was usually reserved only for Eminent Warriors.
Of course, his side dishes were the many jealous glares from the Exalted Humans and Amateur Warriors that were also having their meals.
He had spent the past 4 hours finishing up some simple tasks, such as checking on the quality of trinkets and ensuring that formations weren't being worn down.
All formations, unless they reached the level like those that protected the Palace of Lanthanor, were subject to being ruined by time, hence, this was a daily sect mission, as there were numerous formations all over the sect for miscellaneous purposes like plumbing, etc.
The pay wasn't much, but it was an honest day's work.
Daneel had basically been scrounging up enough Ker Gems to visit a very special place that one could go to to acquire information in the field he wanted, so although he had grumbled a bit and wondered just why he had let his 'friends' off so easily, he had continued his work.
Besides, it felt like a nice change of pace compared to all the hair-raising action he had been going through lately.
He could have sold this meal for Ker Gems, too, but he had chosen not to as he realized that he had truly become a foodie for Energy infused foods.
According to the secret archives, these were plants that required extensive resources and care to grow, but unlike the demonic plants that had been grown on the land of Lanthanor, these didn't destroy the earth.
After having a hearty meal, Daneel made his way outside and headed to a remote corner of the sect.
It was a 3-hour walk or 2 teleportations for an eighth of a Ker Gem each, so he chose the former, also using the time to recall all he could about corruption on earth to give him ideas.
The main thing he remembered about corruption was that it was all about greed. On Earth, greed had shown that it could bring down entire organizations and countries, if one man became prepared to do anything and everything necessary in order to get what he wanted.
Also, Daneel was reminded of the importance of keeping the hierarchy of an institution in mind before trying to infiltrate it.
Of course, there was still the route of directly challenging someone above his level, but Daneel didn't want to take such risks and draw attention.
Besides, there were records of Amateur Warriors gaining places in the Central Tower through their enormous contributions, or their wit.
Only, it was so rare that it had been deemed important enough to be written down in the secret archives, which was how Daneel knew about it.
The place he was going to was a 2-story villa overgrown with creepers which looked abandoned.
After reaching it, he knocked twice on the door before scratching it with his nails.
This…was the weird secret signal that was recorded in one of the journals he had recorded during his extensive sweep of the Central Tower.
He had donned a typical black mask, and when someone opened the door 15 minutes later, he noticed that the other party was masked too.
This 15-minute wait was the second secret signal: if someone stayed in place without leaving for that long, then it meant that they had the right to enter.
After entering, Daneel saw 5 people, who were also masked, with the one who opened the door simply waiting with an outstretched hand.
After handing over all of his hard-earned money, Daneel heard a scoff from the man as he said, "This much only gives you 1 minute. Good luck memorizing more than 10 of the over 500 sect members who work in the Central Tower. Be careful: you don't want to jumble up information and bring disaster upon yourself."
In response, Daneel nodded before entering the room and reaching a large, 10-foot wide display trinket on which faces and names, along with various information was written.
Indeed, this was an underground information dealer who specialized in providing information to those who wanted to challenge or obtain a seat in the Central Tower.
Each person was described very extensively, from their likes and dislikes to their weaknesses in combat.
Only, because there were so many people, the flashing and changing, making it so that one would have to examine for a long time if they wanted to get all of the information they wanted.
Also, the one in control of making the letters appear was carefully watching each person's eyes to make sure to make things difficult for them so that they would fork out more Ker Gems to stay longer.
1 minute of time required payment of 15 Ker Gems.
This was why the two in the room looked at him like a madman, and when they saw him vaguely glancing at the list without paying too much attention, they became convinced that this guy was here to either cause trouble or fool around.
Well, if he wanted to stay longer, he would have to pay.
However, to their surprise, the blond-haired man walked out even before the one minute was up.
Of course, with the system, Daneel had no reason to be confused like the others.
Simply ordering the system to list prospective subjects, Daneel started walking back to the dormitory.
After thinking for long, Daneel had realized that he had two ways to reach a top position that would give him free rein in the Central Tower:
One, he had to convince someone to give up their job willingly after either making them commit a crime and ensuring to cover it up, or two, he had to give them enough reason to leave their post.
Either way, this was going to be fun.
…..
Meanwhile, in the covert underground room where Percy's elder brother was advancing quickly to become an Exalted Warrior.
Everyone was bored while just enduring the pain and waiting for themselves to grow stronger, so they had gotten to talking.
Right now, the topic they were discussing was quite strange.
It was the topic of why Percy had spent so much time in the bathroom, when he had come here accompanied by the Mad Doctor.