[Parameter unclear. Please clarify.]
Daneel was taken aback as he heard this from the system.
Huh? Which part of his simple question had been unclear?
As he asked the same, he got an answer that almost made him wonder whether the system was mocking him for his stupidity.
['Strongest' parameter is insufficient to list Bloodlines. Different bloodlines are strongest in different scenarios. The Bloodline of the Divine Snake is most adept in dealing with stealth blows, which are guaranteed to take the lives of all those who are unaware. The Bloodline of the Flaming Hawk is strongest when dealing with opponents who rely on low-temperature based attacks. Hence, more parameters are required.]
Daneel blushed, and felt glad that no one else was around to see him in this awkward situation.
Right.
The excitement had gotten to him, so he had gotten ahead of himself.
But after thinking for a bit, Daneel realized that his original idea had been right.
Although it was the truth that something that could be called the 'strongest' in each and every scenario was something that one wouldn't see every day, that was exactly what he wanted.
After all, wasn't that the true meaning of being 'domineering'?
Yet, it looked like such a thing was not possible through the list of Bloodlines that the system had just obtained.
So, thinking for a few seconds, he asked, "All right, what is the most fearsome Bloodline- that which can be used to dominate one's opponent in the most number of scenarios?"
Daneel had made this question up based on what the system had said. He was very interested in all Bloodlines, and those that the system had mentioned had sounded pretty damn impressive.
But, he still held on to the hope that he could find something that could satisfy his own criterion.
As he waited for the system to go through the data and give him an answer, he sat back down and took another sip of the wine.
Only, when the system did answer…Daneel spit out this wine with shock and wondered whether he had gone crazy and heard wrong.
[Bloodline of the Divine Cockroach]
What the…f*ck?!
As he asked the system to repeat the answer, Daneel realized that he had right.
A cockroach?!
He had always known that a lot of species were common between his home planet and this one, and this had always led him to wonder how that was even possible. Of course, he only did that idly, as he knew that the answer was most probably something that he couldn't find out with his current power level.
As such, he had gone about noting the ones that were similar. There were some which shared characteristics but had additional properties due to being mutated by Energy: such as the mosquitoes. This was a species which was close to his heart because he had dealt with it a lot during the time when he had been much weaker.
Cockroaches were another species similar to mosquitoes, which had taken on strange characteristics due to being on Angaria.
For one thing, they never grew to be as large as the ones on Earth- the biggest ones were at most the size of a fingernail.
For another, they had no wings on their back.
Instead, they were blessed with an ability to dash away at high speeds.
Cockroaches usually survived on anything that could find, and they were hardly a menace. Even here, they were known for their tenacity of being able to live through almost anything.
At most, there were a few simple substances that could be blended together to make a product that kept away cockroaches from a home.
Apart from this, most Angarians didn't bother with this species unless they were elves who had taken up biology out of interest.
Of course, this was vastly different from the mosquitoes, which, up until recently when Daneel had messed with their ecosystem causing them to change their prey to other living beings instead of Energy resources, were a severe nuisance to all Angarians.
Daneel couldn't help but think through all this as he wondered how it was possible for a Bloodline like the one that the system had just stated could satisfy the parameters he had given.
He got no answer, so he gave up and asked.
[Bloodline of the Divine Cockroach: Lends one the ability to survive the onslaught of any opponent at or near their level. Unless there is a major level difference, those who have awakened this Bloodline will live on because of their nigh-indestructible bodies and terrifying regenerative abilities. Only, the drawback is that they cannot output much power, as these abilities eat away at their other abilities. All in all, this is a Bloodline opted by frontrunners in armies, who typically perish in the first charge. Also, it was a favorite for those who feared death, as it is almost guaranteed that a Bloodline Possessor of the Divine Cockroach will live to his maximum lifespan.
This Bloodline has been chosen based on a book written by the Emperor, himself. He stated that those who have the Bloodline of the Divine Cockroach have the ability to assess any opponent through a fight and then run away while staying in possession of their life to plan a counterattack after identifying weaknesses. As the Bloodline Possessor would mostly be able to survive no matter who he was up against if the power level difference wasn't too much, he is the one who can handle the most scenarios.
Parameter 'Fearsome' also matches, as those who are capable of doing this effectively do strike fear into the heart of many. All who know of the properties of such a person would hesitate to provoke them, as they would be aware that they would be gaining an enemy who would be ready to do anything to take revenge.]
Daneel could only shake his head with an expression of bewilderment as he heard the answer.
Oh, yes. 'Fearsome' and 'dominating' indeed.
He couldn't help but react with prejudice initially, but when he calmed down, he could see that the system was right.
However…this Bloodline didn't suit him, as it was also an objective of his to be able to awe people in order to bring them under his wing, instead of making them laugh when he turned tail and ran whenever he met an opponent he couldn't beat.
Giving up on his quest to receive a direct answer from the system, he just told it to give him a list of all the Bloodlines.
This resulted in him receiving a large infodump that almost made him get a headache again, so Daneel decided to go through it calmly later on, even though a few did jump out, such as:
[Bloodline of the Divine Dragon: A Bloodline solely focused on destruction through fire and fury. Destruction begets power. Has the ability of growing more powerful during a fight if the possessor is capable of getting enraged without losing himself in the process.]
This wasn't too surprising, given what he had heard about Dragons in this world from the Emperor in that vision.
It was certainly interesting, but again, it wasn't really applicable in all scenarios. Already, he could see the weakness that if there was a foe who fought defensively, the Bloodline possessor would get frustrated instead of aggravating himself on seeing the aggressive moves of his opponent.
Almost all of them seemed to have a weakness, and some were also peculiar, like:
[Bloodline of the Divine Earthworm: Bloodline Possessors have increased fighting prowess when surrounded by earth.]
All in all, there were many more Godbeasts from the time of the Empire than Daneel could have imagined. Initially, he had thought that there only might be a couple.
"System, what happened to all of these beings?"
[They went extinct during the catastrophe, as they all are born with the ability to resonate with the World to some extent. Hence, each and every member of all species of Godbeasts went mad and destroyed everything around them, and then themselves during the catastrophe.]
Daneel felt sad as he heard this. He could just imagine a vibrant world filled with powerful creatures and limitless possibilities, but that had all been taken away from Angaria due to one incident.
Setting aside such thoughts, he got to the other part of this question.
"Even if I choose a Bloodline, what method can I use to possess it even if I don't have it in my blood?"
Daneel asked this because of the fact that each and every Bloodline, even those which only gave limited boosts in power, when awakened, was capable of letting one break through and become a powerful Champion level Fighter, just like what had happened with Faxul.
He could guess that the Emperor only chose those with extreme potential to be in his private corps, but it was a fact that the rest were also wildly popular due to this reason.
As he waited with bated breath, the system finally gave him an answer.
[In the case of host, it is impossible as host's blood only contains very, very trace amounts of all Bloodlines. If any one is present in a higher amount, as was the case with the individual known as 'Faxul', an Awakening can be brought about using artificial means. But, this prerequisite of is necessary, and it can be achieved if there is a way to obtain the blood of a living Godbeast.]
He heaved a sigh of relief as he heard this.
Daneel had already imagined that this must be the case, but he had been afraid that even this method might be absent to him.
"Drakos, your heart is beating, so it can be considered to be a living object, right? A living part of a Godbeast?"
After a pause, Drakos answered.
"Um…I know what you are thinking, Young King. Alas, that is not true. It is only artificially being stimulated using the formation. The only way I can give you a Bloodline is if I somehow gain my body again."
This was a curveball that hit Daneel in the gut. However, he plowed on.
"And…that is possible if I win the Race, right?"
"Yes, the Emperor said that he had laid down a spell in the Grand Inheritance where it can be used to recreate the body of one of us if we succeed in helping the one who wins the Race the right way. It was meant to be a reward to motivate us."
The King of Lanthanor smiled happily as he heard this.
"Good. Prepare to bestow it upon me, then."
"Of course, Young King. It will be my honor."
With this matter settled quite quickly, which was against his expectations, Daneel felt quite good.
For now, regarding this matter, he would continue to check out all the Bloodlines available while looking forward to the time when he could take Drakos's Bloodline. After all, he still felt that the Dragon's Bloodline didn't really fit him, and he yearned for something even better.
But, he had no intention of giving up and holding off of a major increase in power when he had the opportunity to obtain it.
So, Daneel finally moved to the last question, but this time, as he had learned his lesson, he changed it.
Initially, he had wanted to find out whether there was a way to fix the 'Hopeless' Champion Path.
Now, he knew that this was a shortcut question, just like the one where he had asked before regarding the 'strongest' Bloodline.
What if there was something even better in everything he had obtained now?
So, he asked the system to give him the exhaustive list of ALL the Champion Paths it had recorded.
There were hundreds of them, and he knew that this would take time.
But he was determined to go through them all, as he knew that this was crucial if he wanted to choose the best for himself.
Also…he wanted to test himself and see whether he could come up with an answer to this question himself, instead of depending on the system.
So, the King of Lanthanor leaned back and closed his eyes.
If anyone saw him, they would think he was sleeping, but, in fact, he was going through thousands of pages of information that anyone in the Big 4 would kill to obtain.
Only…as he was too absorbed in this, he didn't notice that two figures had appeared at the gate to the Palace.
They were Xuan and Eloise.
Looking at the Palace, both of them put on determined expressions on their faces before looking at each other, nodding, and entering the abode of the King of Lanthanor.
The moment they did so, they both sent a message to the King.
"Daneel, we wish to have a word. Come meet us in the grounds of your Academy."