In a scene that was very reminiscent of what had happened in the time when the name Travis Eclair had been heard throughout the Sect of Hedon, the Shameless Sect was gathered around a mountain of Ker gems with wide-open eyes that were staring at it almost as if they were afraid that it would sprout legs and run away if they blinked even once.
It wasn't just what they were seeing that had transfixed them so, though - they were also remembering what they had just gone through in the stall, and even now, they couldn't believe that it was actually the King of Lanthanor who was now renowned throughout the continent who had acted as their friend and lead them to the jackpot of riches which had almost been ready to be depleted, but had just been refilled almost miraculously with his return to the sect.
He had appeared in front of them and transformed into their friend before saying that the Shameless Sect was reunited again, and after a brief period of shock, they had all had no trouble believing it, because even they had noticed a few differences between how their friend had been when he had accompanied them through everything they had done in the sect, and when they had met him later.
True, there were all subtle, but as friends who had known each other for more than a decade, they had stood out, but the four had attributed them to the change that would come over anyone who had gone through a drastic alteration in their lifestyle.
Following that, they still remembered his words:
"I'm doing this scam for the good of the Sect of Hedon, which needs to unite and strive for greater power if we want to have at least a chance of saving this continent when the time comes. I was looking for someone to help me secure my victory, but you four came along, and I think you're perfect - yes, the formation which chooses the randomness of the rolls is visible to all, but I purposefully made it so complex that not even a hero can tell even if I tweak the outcome just a bit. When you four go in… That is just what I'll do, and you need to decide between yourselves regarding who will be the ultimate winner. Whoever that is, they will be responsible for antagonizing the rest of the sect and making them move so that even they will want to achieve the same thing, but even the other three will have the responsibility of spreading as many rumors as possible that will pull the most people to the stall. And of course, I need you to squash all of the negative information going around about the stall, even if it's true, if it might hurt the number of people who come to get their money stolen. What do you say, Shameless Sect? Shall we repeat our success from the last time I was here? Or have you all turned over a new leaf?"
Of course, they had all turned to each other and paused before bursting out in laughter on hearing the words 'turning over a new leaf', and that had been followed by the four of them picking straws to see who would take the role of the antagonizer.
This had led to the fatty winning, so in a way, his proclamation about the Heavens favoring him was true.
Still, they would now be sharing the rewards between all of them, and after taking their fill of the view of the Ker gem mountain and assuring themselves that it wasn't going anywhere, they left to take care of their duties.
Over all this time, each of them had joined different groups in accordance to their different skills, and even though at their core, they were still part of the same sect that they had formed when they were just Human-level mages, they now had other people whom they could use first to spread the word regarding the King's stall.
Surprisingly… That stunt of making the fatty strut in front of everyone had actually been quite successful, resulting in many wanting to rush to the stall and test their luck at least once.
This had led to a large push from the best performing stalls of those from the sect, and they had immediately started telling everyone about how they would be benefiting him in the end, and how they had to help each other as they were all part of the same sect.
This went on for the better part of half a day on the final day of the event, but of course, the Shameless Sect make sure that it was not very effective.
First, they paid a few Humans who had already lost all of their Ker gems elsewhere to run around the entire event area and sing praises for the King's stall with a large trumpet that they secured from somewhere. True, they could have used a simple trinket, but a large brass trumpet was a much better sight which would stick in people's minds, and it worked - their announcements about how they were actually benefiting from the King by taking all of his techniques which he must've collected with a lot of difficulty, and which they would not be able to obtain if they did not use this golden opportunity even if it meant losing a few Ker gems which could be earned back resulted in even those who had not considered going in order to try their luck elsewhere to feel foolish, and immediately walk to the centre which continued to be the busiest area.
This group had to constantly keep running, though, as they would sometimes be attacked by the stalls from whom business would be taken away, but with foresight, the Shameless Sect had only chosen the fastest Humans who had the most expertise in running the hell away whenever things got sour.
While this was going on, the Shameless Sect also paid a few more Humans to spread disinformation on those spreading disinformation regarding the King, and for this, they didn't even have to search much to dig up dirt. In the King's case, he was actually giving value even though he was supposed to be scamming everyone, but that was definitely not so for the others who were quite successful - one of them was actually giving out tickets which could be redeemed later for an hour of instruction from a Champion, and he was shown to be a fraud who actually hadn't asked for the permission of the Champions to do so, and had only planned to cheat everyone after the event was over.
Another successful stall was one with a dice game, which was quite popular in the sect, but the one who had set it up had found a novel way to cheat, by using an individual who was skilled with mind control to make people think that they were seeing the wrong number showing on the dice, even though the actual ones would make them win.
This one was outed by the Shameless Sect planning for 50 people to go at once, who could all not be controlled at the same time, and like that, one by one, each of the stalls that were doing well began to be targeted and attacked until they had no choice but to admit that there would be no way for them to win.
Seeing all of this, Daneel really had to admit that these four were pretty damn talented in scheming, and that they should probably be putting these skills to better use by helping the continent.
Deciding that he should definitely set up a secondary circle of people who would be below the sovereigns and setting a task for himself that he should first think up a name for them, Daneel began his preparations for what was surely going to come next.
Already, he was seeing the anger on the faces of many talented mages as they looked towards his stall and gritted their teeth, and he knew the decision that all of them would take.
His preparations didn't need much time, and this turned out to be a good thing, because by the evening of the second day, with a few hours left until it the entire thing would end, the leader of the sect came to him.
"King, the number of people lining up to challenge you is growing steadily - by now, at least half have signed up, and initially, I was prepared to let the challenge happen because I knew that you would not be harmed. However, now… With the number of Champions and Warriors, I am genuinely concerned about your health, which I am aware is still recovering. You can only control an apparition, but if your form is forced to disperse by the attacks of thousands of mages, it will damage your consciousness, and I do not wish for this entire thing to culminate in a situation where you might lose your anger and unleash your 100 Heroes on all these poor kids who will not be able to do anything to oppose them. How about we cancel this competition? In spirit, you've already shown that you won… I'm just afraid that if it goes on, bad things will happen which are not good for the continent, itself. What do you say?"
Looking at the leader, Daneel felt like summoning the Heros right now and stringing him up so that he could get the answer regarding just what he was relying on to speak like this in front of him.
However, he controlled himself, as he knew that that was not the right way to do things - and at the same time, he also realized that this situation of having the status where he did not need to worry about any individual force on the continent was a dangerous one which might be misused in a heartbeat if he gave in to his emotions. Daneel knew that it was this kind of thing that had brought ruin to many rulers who might even have had good intentions back on Earth, and with the vow that he would never let himself do the same, he said, "I appreciate your solution, but trust me - I can take them on. If you really have that much of a doubt, then how about this - I, Daneel Anivron, hereby swear that I shall not deploy the 100 Heroes under my command in the Sect of Hedon no matter what happens. The oath has been made. Happy now? In the next 24 hours, I can definitely not escape it, so you should have no problems, right?"
Daneel's sudden move startled the leader, as he had definitely not expected something so drastic. It was clear that he had been hoping that things would go in a different path, but now that the oath had already been made, he could only fumble and say, "O-of course! I'll set up the arena…"
With that, he left, but Daneel continued to stare at the spot where he been standing for a few more seconds.
It was only when Eloise appeared beside him that he snapped out of his musings, as she said, "Daneel, are you sure about this? That was at least a battle between Fighters in the Fortress which could be dominated using your methods… But these are mages! If they all band together, even a bunch of Heroes would find it difficult to go up against them! Can you really defeat them all?"
With a smile, Daneel was going to give her the answer, but thinking about what was going to happen, excitement filled his mind, putting him in an exceptionally good mood.
With a playful look in his eyes, he suddenly swept Eloise into his arms and laughed as he felt her freeze.
From the way he held her, though, she soon understood why he had done so, so responding accordingly, she put her hand on his shoulder, and Daneel gave the answer after taking her into a perfect dip, and then a twirl during which she couldn't help but laugh with happiness.
"Yes, my dear sovereign, and it's going to look spectacular! So prepare a crew, as this will be another opportunity to push our agenda of making me into a God! Ha, what perfect timing! Everything is ready! I'll be taking my leave, then…"