"Make a scam? Huh?"
"What crazy stunt has a sect member gotten upto now?"
"Whatever it is, he'll have it with the new Sect Master! He announced it throughout the whole sect!"
"Make a scam? Don't we do that every day? What's new about that?"
"More resources! I'm interested!"
After Daneel's announcement, there were many questions, but also many statements like the last one, especially from those whose main goal was to get more resources and grow stronger.
These were people who would stop at nothing to achieve this, and that was exactly the kind of mentality that was most prevalent in the Sect of Hedon.
And hence…Daneel had decided on his plan.
Soon enough, more than 3000 people had gathered in the large square with puzzled looks on their faces.
The Fortress had the highest population among the Big Four, and even though only a thousand had come to fight Daneel, they were the most talented in each realm. There were 8 times that number in the sect, and these people had watched on, and were still talking about what had happened right in front of their home.
Due to the scarcity of talented mages, there were only 4000 official members of the Sect of Hedon, and soon, all of them had arrived.
Many had hungry expressions on their faces, only focusing on the resources part of his announcement, and when they arrived to see that there was nothing of the sort, they felt disappointed.
However…a second later, all of the 4000 individuals felt their eyes go as wide as saucers, as a treasure the likes of which they had never seen in their lives appeared right in the center of the square.
100,000 Ker Gems, 500,000 Ether Blocks and, finally…a Natural Energized Training Chamber.
This was but a fraction of the wealth still left in Elysium even after Daneel's and his sovereign's powerups, but it was enough to send the Sect into a tizzy.
"A Natural Chamber! Heavens, I've only heard of them! I want it!"
"All those Ker Gems! With that much, I can break through as many realms as I want!"
"All those Ether Blocks! Oh, I've always loved piling them up and absorbing Energy from them all at once! Mine! Mine! Mine!"
The greed of many could not be controlled, and although most managed to wipe the drool that had appeared at the corner of their mouths, some even made to lunge forward, but felt a barrier stopping their way.
Finally, looking up, they focused on Daneel, again, and seeing that he had gotten their attention, he spoke.
"In case you thought I was bluffing, this is a part of my offering. Yes, you heard that right: it's just a part! And as for the Chamber…it'll directly go to the winner of my contest! So…what do you say? Interested now?"
"You betcha'!"
The enthusiastic response was from one of the youngest sect members, and although some laughed at this break in composure, many simply nodded.
Clapping his hands, Daneel first arranged all of the Ether blocks into a neat formation. He had teleported them over haphazardly, as a mound, so cleaning them up made them seem all the more enticing.
He stacked the Ker Gems next, and on top of that the boulder-like Natural Chamber.
Finally, sitting idly sat on top of that boulder and feeling as if he was channeling a famous duck from a TV show back on Earth, Daneel gestured at his wealth and said, "In short, it's simple: play my game, by my rules, against me, and if any of you win, the Sect of Hedon will receive a massive influx in direct resources, and even support from the strongest individual force in Angaria. The winner will also get the Chamber, and if I'm not wrong, the Sect Master will even bestow upon them many gifts."
The Hero who had also come nodded as he heard this, thereby breaking his cover which had allowed him to be in plain sight, but seem invisible, and seeing him, the sect members finally understood that all of this was real.
They leaned forward eagerly, excited to find out what the contest was, and observing this, Daneel did not wait any longer.
"The Sect of Hedon has always represented the quick-witted side of those on the Path to Power. Today, we will basically be putting that to the test, because my goal here is simple: I wish to crush you all in such a way that none of you will have any excuses later. Keep in mind that if the sect loses today…then it means that everything that all of are so proud of no longer has any value. You will have been defeated, through and through, and after that, even if you want to have a contest of strength, I'm game! Now that that's clear, let us proceed!"
Daneel had purposefully dangled the prize in front of everyone so that he could get their attention before announcing this part, and it had had the intended effect.
It had been greeted by surprise, that was followed by many smirks which indicated that most believed that there was no way that all of them could lose, especially in a contest like this.
The last word he said was still ringing in the air when a change came over the place right beneath Daneel.
He was in the large open space that was typically meant for the entire sect to gather in case an announcement had to be made, so it was big enough to contain over 5000 people. And now, suddenly…walls sprung up out of nowhere, encasing the area and blocking what was inside from view.
The sect disciples who were standing in places that obstructed the setting up of this wall were forcefully teleported away with the help of the Hero who was currently complying with all of Daneel's requests, and after a few seconds, noticing that there was only one entrance to the area which also had a large banner with the name of the game atop it, all of the members of the sect who were scattered all around began to mill in front of it.
As they all read the rules of the game which were written in large letters on the metallic gate that was below the banner, Daneel disappeared and reappeared in front of 30 Heroes who had just helped him set all of this up.
Even if he was healed, doing such a feat would have been impossible for him. There were just too many metal walls to teleport over, and even with the help of the system, he would have been completely drained, and sent back into a coma.
Hence, he had enlisted the help of a couple of Heroes who were the most open in showing support for him, and they had responded right away.
Of course, at their head was the kind old lady who actually reminded him of one of the most important people in his life: the lady in the orphanage, who had taken the place of both his mother and father to give him a childhood that no one could complain about, even if he was an orphan.
Feeling a pang of sorrow on thinking of her, and all of his little brothers and sisters who had depended on him, Daneel wondered what they must be doing right now, and whether they might be searching for him, in case the organization he went to that had led to him coming here was shadier than he had thought.
Shaking his head to get rid of these thoughts, though, he put on a sincere smile and shook the old lady's hand before saying, "Thanks a lot. It wouldn't have been nearly as impressive if I would have had had to ask everyone to wait so that I can set everything up…"
Tucking a wisp of white hair that had fallen in front of her mature, but wrinkle-free visage behind her ear, the old lady smiled and said, "It was no trouble. Heroes are mostly free- at least, I'm talking about those like us, who have progressed as far as we can with forceful training. At a stage, you just have to let go of the desire to keep pushing forward, and wait for a natural evolution to occur in one's Path. Ah, I speak for only a minority, though. Oh, yes, the rest wanted me to say that they are really interested to see what you have in mind. All of us have been following your actions in the Central Continent out of boredom, and I'll be the first to admit that you managed to surprise me on multiple occasions with the way your mind works. Is it all right if we all stay? And bring a few friends over."
Daneel instantly nodded, feeling that it was truly rare to see a Hero like this, who was asking permission from him.
"It would be my pleasure! Please, everyone is welcome!"
"Great! Everyone, let's set up!"
Hearing his reply, the old lady turned around and shouted in this way, leading to a scene that made Daneel almost drop his jaw.
A large, flat area that could hold over 200 people instantly teleported into the air, with transparent walls all over from which anyone could have a vision of everything below them, and not even a few seconds later, all of the chairs in this area were filled with people who seemed to have already started drinking.
The 30 Heroes joined the crowd, and surprisingly…the kind, old lady was the most raucous of them all.
Snatching up two pitchers of wine in two hands, she downed them both simultaneously by enlarging her mouth using her Hero powers, and after throwing the pitchers down, she shouted, "That's the good stuff! Keep it coming! And call that Head over, he always has the best wine!"
Shaking his head and thinking that Heroes really knew how to party, Daneel descended to the gate, where everyone was done reading the rules.
They went in this way:
Each individual can choose to be a participant or scammer, or both. Each participant will be given a certain amount of resources that must be spent within the designated area. Each scammer will also be given a certain amount of resources, and a stall in the area where they can set up their scam. The goal of both is the same: one must walk out of the area with more resources than they walked in. Additional resources cannot be taken into the area, but other items are allowed. Resources can only be exchanged if the participant has been scammed- no cheating is allowed(cheaters will be dealt with severely). Note: Honest methods can also be used. Eg. One can put up a stall to teach the insights they have discovered into their Path, for a certain sum. They can either do so and earn resources, or fake the teaching and still scam the participant. The one at the end who walks out with the biggest difference between how many resources they had before walking in, and how much they are walking out with, is the winner. Good luck! The event shall begin in 3 hours.
Seeing everyone with thoughtful, and even excited expressions on their faces, Daneel smirked.
Today, in Angaria, one of the most infamous evils(when exploited) of a very large entertainment industry on Earth was going to rear its head, and its name would never be forgotten by any one of the Big Four for as long as they lived.
"Drakos, maybe this is a bit too much on the scamming side for you to watch…wanna go back to your lover?"
"No, Young King! I'll be fine!"
Hearing the Ancient Dragon's adamant reply, Daneel shrugged and replied, "All right then. I really hope I don't give ideas to scammers down the line with bad intentions through my actions here…"