['Goddess' Champion Path analyzed.
'Goddess' Champion Path: A special Champion Path listed in the data obtained from the Hero, Rayen. Said to be the core Champion Path of the Goddess's Sanctum, and the reason behind their continued existence. According to the one who wrote a book regarding it, it is a Path which can only be trained by a select few. High talent is only one of the prerequisites. The author suggests that one connects with their inner 'Goddess', but that this term is not related to deities, in any way. Rather, this 'Goddess' is more accurately supposed to be called a 'Goddess of Sanctum', as in, a person who is the best in giving Sanctum. The original name of the Path is also 'Goddess of Sanctum', but it was shortened over time. Other details are shrouded in secrecy, but the Champion Path gives one an amplification of all spells to a minor degree, and also supremely greater effectiveness when using healing/purification spells.
Current Form of Champion Path On Display: Domain/Projection]
As Daneel stood there gawking at Xuan, it looked more like his reaction was because of the proclamation by Molan, but instead, it was because of what he had just heard from the system.
So, such Paths also existed?
So far, Daneel had only seen Champion Paths which worked on one attribute or the other, giving one a specialty that they could call their own. They would use this in innovative ways to achieve victory, but they would be limited by that domain.
Daneel had already thought a lot on this, and he had realized that this meant that there was always some or the other flaw that could be used by their opponent. For example, theoretically, in the case of Ashahell, one might be able to completely cut off all their senses and still fight using some method, in order to achieve victory.
How one would do this, Daneel had no idea, but this could be inferred by anyone as long as they knew the particulars of his Champion Path.
As for Raul, his flaw seemed to be that whenever he conjured an attack, it would take a little bit of time for the world to create another one in order to mimic it for 'Balance', which would give one an opportunity to exploit, if they so wished.
Similar inferences could be made for all Champion Paths, but he was sure that all those who chose them would definitely have ways to counter these, as they were most apparent and would definitely be targeted by anyone in the event of a fight.
However, for the first time, Daneel was hearing of one which seemed to have no flaws, whatsoever.
Amplification of all spells!
He had to say that he was thoroughly impressed by this. It sounded a lot like the Rulers Inheritance, but without the need of constantly having to suffer from one's head being almost burst open due to the myriad voices of all those they connected to.
But, at the same time, the Rulers Inheritance was also pretty overpowered, so finding out that someone could replicate the effects without the side effect was really shocking.
However, because the system had used the word 'minor', Daneel could guess that the amplification was not that high.
Yet, that wasn't the only additional power.
In fact, that other one had been experienced by Daneel, himself, before.
Back in the Black Raven Kingdom, Daneel had been grievously injured by that Black Robed man and had been on the verge of death. Although he might have been able to cling onto life using the system and healing spells, he had been healed by the Matron.
Now that he thought about it, he realized that she must be on this Champion Path too, as her healing spell had had the most gentle and powerful effect than any other that Daneel had ever seen, even though he had gone through the extensive medical records of the Mad Doctor.
This was really something to be marveled about, as the Mad Doctor was someone who had traveled to most of the Big Four and compiled records regarding their medical expertise.
However, it did make sense that he didn't write down about these… 'Goddesses', because it was a very exclusive power.
Right now, Daneel didn't know how to react.
He had no intention of calling this woman 'Goddess', both because he now knew that the term was generally wrong and was only a short form of the actual name of the Champion Path, and because doing so would place him in a position of subservience, which he wasn't willing to be in.
Besides, this was a friend. In fact, if it wasn't, he would have taken this in the same way as he had during his meeting with the Queen of Arafell - as a direct challenge to his own authority.
If Daneel was still a normal kid from the slums of Lanthanor, he might not have cared as much about these things, but his position right now did not give him the luxury of being able to ignore them.
So, putting away the shock, Daneel folded his hands behind his back and said nothing, while Molan started to glower.
However, Xuan only laughed and walked forward, before soon reaching a spot only a step away from him.
Around them, except for the woman with the glower on her face, there was nothing but the spotless sky, which made for a moment which was truly beautiful in every sense of the word.
Of course, most of this was because of Xuan's new temperament, which made her seem like some sort of unreachable person who wasn't meant to converse with mere mortals.
This was also the first time that Daneel was seeing some auxiliary effect like this to a Champion Path. Was it because Xuan was doing it consciously? Or could it be some side effect with the connection that she made when she became a Champion?
If things had felt the same as before, Daneel would have asked unhesitatingly, but he now wondered whether their friendship, or whatever they had, still existed.
She answered this in the most "Xuan" way possible.
In a flash, she made a kind of shimmering mirror made of mist appear between them and Molan, which deceived her eyes into thinking that she was still seeing them standing as they were before.
This was a simple trick that would have been seen through by anyone who had access to elementary vision, but because she did it so fast, anyone would have been hard-pressed to understand what it was before they saw just the elementary particles fading away, not revealing the patterns they had been in which would give a clear indication of what they had been doing before.
In that flash, Xuan leaned in close to Daneel's left ear and whispered, "Nothing has changed between us. I'm still interested in you, and I'm still waiting. I'm a Goddess now, though, so if you accept, you would have to be fine with being the less powerful one in the relationship. Matron always said that a man should never be coddled, and that he must be rigidly controlled, but I don't agree with her. Anyway, I've made preparations for us to have a small getaway. I'll explain later, when Molan isn't here."
She said all this in a single breath, and if Daneel wasn't a Warrior whose mind's complexity made it so that he was adept at taking the information, slowing it down in his mind and understanding it, it would have sounded like gibberish.
By the time he got the meaning, though, Xuan had already leaned back, and a slight blush had started to creep in to her cheeks as she looked down, shy.
At this moment, Daneel couldn't help but remember a very famous dialogue he had heard back on Earth.
"Beauty that could cause wars."
He could totally imagine Xuan being a princess of sorts who might be sought after by all the princes and Kings of the continent, even waging wars in an attempt to win her favor and make her theirs.
Such was her beauty right now, which, combined with her aura, would definitely make one feel as if they were experiencing both the happiest and the saddest moment of their life.
They would be happiest because they would bless the good fortune that enabled them to witness her, in the first place. But they would also be sorrowful as they would realize, without a doubt, that they would never be able to interact or even speak to a woman of such earth-shattering beauty.
This was to such an extent that even Daneel, who hadn't been swayed by these matters all these years, was affected to some degree.
Unconsciously, he almost raised a hand to her face, as if to find out if she was really as exquisite as she looked, and to ensure that she wasn't some illusion.
Thankfully, at the last moment, he stopped himself.
Yet, he couldn't have predicted her next action.
The shimmering list was still present, and Xuan had just noticed that Daneel's hand had risen halfway before coming to a stop, while the King of Lanthanor went rigid.
She remembered all that lonely time spent training when she had kept reminding herself of him, and of that feeling that she was sure that he would definitely be capable of accomplishing more than anyone else on this continent, which was partly the reason why she had fallen for him in the first place.
She was a Seer, after all, and although she had never told anyone this, there were also certain feelings that were formed from unconscious glimpses into the future, which was a different method of expression of her power as compared to the usual one of visions.
This wasn't written anywhere in the records, either, but she just knew that it was right.
Now, as she saw the effect that she had just had on him, she couldn't help but feel immensely ecstatic.
Playfully biting her lip, she caught his hand, which made him freeze even further, and made his index finger stroke her cheek gently, before letting go and walking back quickly.
By the time the mist cleared and allowed Molan to see what was really going on, all she witnessed was the King of Lanthanor flushing so fiercely that his face had turned crimson.
She couldn't imagine, for the life of her, what Xuan might have done, but she did not want to ask because, one, it was her duty to keep an eye on her and make sure that she wouldn't get up to any actions exactly like these, and two, if she did report it, she would be the one being scolded for not doing her job properly.
Indeed, she had noticed the mist, but it had all happened too fast for her to do anything, so she was left knowing that something had happened, and that she was powerless to do anything about it.
Even now, as she saw Sister Xuan smiling as if she was very satisfied and happy with something, she could only glare and wish that the girl's self-control was still present.
Meanwhile, that moment when Daneel's hand had touched her skin was stuck in his mind, as he replayed it over and over again.
It was definitely the softest thing that he had ever touched his entire life, and the way she had looked into his eyes when she made him do it was what affected him the most. In them, he could clearly see just how much she admired him, and he would be lying if he said that it didn't shake his decision of not dabbling in these matters at all, at least a little bit.
Finally, after a few more moments, Daneel regained his senses after taking one last look at his hand.
Thankfully, Sister Xuan's next words made him refocus, and allowed him to forget, or at least put aside, what had just happened.
"Forget that Goddess thing. Molan was kidding, it's just a formality for the members of the Sect. There's no need for outsiders to call me so, too, and I would never want you, of all people, to do that. Now, if you're not doing anything, why don't you make a trip with me to our sect? The orders have already been passed down, and the Matron has accepted. I'm free right now as I just broke through, anyway, and I took special permission to be the one to lead you around. Oh… And I might have the key to the secret archives, as well. Might you be interested in those, King of Lanthanor?"