Daneel had to re-read the line 3 times to make sure he wasn't seeing things, but by the time he was ready to form any thoughts about it, he heard the maintenance man walk towards the door.
If he left, Daneel would be trapped in here indefinitely, as the core formation would 'lock up' the room.
So, quickly putting the book back and taking one last glance at the items from Lanthanor, Daneel quietly made his way back to the door and exited along with the maintenance man.
After that, he went back in the same way: making the formation think that he was an insect.
It was only after he finally got back to his dormitory did Daneel sit down and revisit the revelation he had just been subjected to.
His fingers forming a tent, he placed them below his chin to prop his head up before closing his eyes.
The Empire Spirit…was not a sentience, as had been indicated by the system when he had first come in contact with it.
If he thought about it, the system had never actually said that it was artificial; only, no one could have made the connection that it was the remnant consciousness of Heros.
If what he had read was right…then Daneel had conversed with someone who had been dead for tens of thousands of years.
For someone like that, the only desire would be to leave such confinement, and apparently, he was supposed to be the route for it to accomplish just that.
Taking a deep breath, Daneel first thought back to every interaction he had had with the Empire Spirit.
Now that he thought about it, all the Kings before him had been fascinated with the knowledge that was supposedly stored inside it.
Each and every one of them had even made it their goal to find out just what amazing techniques and secrets the Empire Spirit was hiding, but none of them had succeeded, except for him.
It was so obvious!
Even from the Empire Spirit's attitude!
That aloofness, arrogance, and pride would make one think that it truly was some wondrous man-made sentience left behind to be inherited by future generations, but the truth was that it was all an act to draw them in and give birth to interest, and need.
The 'satisfaction level' was definitely to bar entry to all but those who were most talented, and it was also possible that it was important for some other reason, like, for instance, mastering the Ruler's Inheritance, which clearly depended on having people loyal to oneself around them
To think that he had been so excited when he had finally been able to unlock its first level and obtain that inheritance.
He had even done so much keeping this objective in mind!
At this moment, Daneel felt a sheer mass of frustration overtake him.
All this time, he had thought that the Empire Spirit had rewarded him for accomplishing something so significant, but instead, it had only been judging whether he was good enough, while encouraging him to fatten himself up for slaughter.
He felt like clapping at the intelligence of whoever the Empire Spirit was a remnant of. All this time, it had simply been sitting and waiting for the perfect body and mind to come along, and it seemed that it's wish had finally come true.
Immediately, Daneel said in his mind, "System, is there any backdoor in the Ruler's Inheritance? Any side-effect, which can enable the spirit to take control of me if I become adept enough in it?"
[Negative. System has found no such mechanism.]
Great. Then that just meant that whatever was hidden inside was beyond the level of a Champion.
Daneel didn't even doubt for a second that the information in the book could be wrong. It had been stored in the most secure vault in the Sect! Just him being able to reach it was a miracle, so the information contained in it was definitely very important, and very true.
Besides, all the facts just added up! It was like a jigsaw puzzle falling in place, but the problem was that Daneel hadn't even known that he had a puzzle in his hands for the first time.
This really taught him not to believe anyone or anything on this land.
The only one he could trust was himself.
Of course, this didn't mean that he would go around suspecting everyone.
No, Daneel decided that he would just take everything with a pinch of salt, even if it came from someone very close to him.
He knew better than anyone just how powerful spells like Mind Control were, and he knew for a fact that Champions were capable of casting spells like those, let alone Heros, whose means were mysterious, but definitely much more frightening.
With a sigh of relief, he felt really glad that he hadn't placed too much focus on the Ruler's Inheritance before going to the Sect of Hedon.
It had been dumb luck!
Daneel had had a mission to go out of his Kingdom, so he had abandoned it temporarily while resolving to come back to it when he had the time. After all, a 5x amplification wasn't a joke.
Instead, if he had chosen to stay and master it, he couldn't even begin to think about what might have happened.
Wiping the sweat that sprang up on his forehead at this thought, Daneel sighed with relief and asked the system to relay the other important information that it had recorded from the other books in the Vault.
It turned out that he had struck the motherlode.
[The data collected is about the travels that scholars from different generations embarked on to discover more about the Empire spirits and the parts of the inheritance and trinket left behind by the Empire of Angaria. System has noticed a general trend in their discoveries, and this has been remarked upon extensively, being the basis from which the line that host read was derived.
The information can be summarised in 5 important points.
Empire Spirits are not named so because they can only be found in the present 'Empires', as some believe. Instead, their name is derived from the fact that they are the living remains of the last Empire of Angaria. They exist in all of the forces in the Central Continent, but one by one, they started to cease to exist. There have been cases of them finding suitable hosts in the past, but the Big 4 have always been able to find these hosts and kill them before they got too powerful. Once, this even resulted in the decline of a then-powerful part of the Big 4, the Withering Leaf Sect, as their Hero-level elder and several Champions died during the battle to stop the Empire Spirit from accomplishing its goals.
2. All the information found in all Empire Spirits is the same- they entice people with authority using top-notch Core Inheritances. The specific one chosen to give to an individual varies. The method and the checklist of things that need to be fulfilled for the Empire Spirit to take over a person are unknown.
3. The most popular theory regarding Empire Spirits was that there were many more of them even outside the main forces of the Central Continent, but they were the remnants of weaker Heroes. Continuing to exist as an Empire Spirit requires an iron will to not succumb to boredom due to the passage of time, which is not capable of all individuals. Only the strongest remain.
4. There are 4 Empire Spirits left on Angaria: one each in the Kingdoms of Lanthanor, Arafell, Eldinor, and Axelor.
5. There is a prominent theory with proof that the Core Inheritances contained in the Empire Spirits are lesser versions derived from the Root Inheritance which was split apart by the Empire.]
As Daneel slowly digested this pile of information, he once again reaffirmed his decision to not touch the Ruler's Inheritance again, no matter what.
But…what if the Basilisk's Breath was also something like that? What if it had been given by the Empire Spirit to the founders of the Hidden Kill Sect to be used on those who wanted to learn? After all, only one with true talent could comprehend it by being beaten up, which sounded just like another test to choose a suitable host for an Empire Spirit.
Those bastard Heroes.
Why couldn't they just die in peace and leave the future generations alone?
And wait…the Kingdom of the Elves had an Empire Spirit? Why hadn't he found one?
Oh, yes. He hadn't looked for one, and he hadn't exactly been interested in finding other Empire Spirits-that thought hadn't crossed his mind, as he had been too busy busting his ass trying to satisfy the one he had, while it kept watching on as the chicken it was going to cook and eat paraded around, getting fatter and marinading itself for its pleasure.
Well, he still couldn't get over this frustration!
Calming himself down, Daneel asked the system whether there was any information regarding the locations and number of the other parts of the inheritance and trinket left behind.
He hadn't given up on finding those: in fact, Daneel would be lying if he didn't admit that he hoped that finding them would allow him a way to use the Inheritances without running a risk of becoming a sacrificial goat.
[Affirmative. There are 6 parts. Their locations are the 6 major forces in the Central Continent.]
Wait..what the hell?
So it was as he had imagined?!
Then where had the parts that were supposed to be in Eldinor and the Black Raven Kingdom gone?!
Who the hell could have taken them?
Suddenly finding his quest much harder than he had imagined it to be, Daneel was going to sigh in exasperation when a communication trinket vibrated in his pocket.
It was the one he had given Percy as Master Novrain, which meant that the Mad Doctor had left the sect, giving him the opportunity he had been looking for.
Finally, at least something was going his way.