The worst part was actually that the old man did not give Daneel any ti to say anything before walking off in the corridor.
Daneel had to curse under his breath and move his legs to follow the man, as he did not want to be left behind in this place that he knew nothing about.
All through the journey, the damn guy in front of him kept humming a rry tune to himself, as if he was very happy with sothing.
And of course, this irritated the King of Lanthanor very, very much, as he continued to grumble and scold the guy in front of him in his mind while thinking back to that room and what he had heard regarding the Ultimate Path.
One thing was definitely clear: the word ’Ultimate’ definitely fit.
As he thought about it, Daneel also realized that this was the natural evolution from Champion and Fighter Paths that he should have figured out as soon as he heard the word "Ultimate".
The old man had been right: only sothing which could unite the two Paths in one’s body and give them an extra thod to influence the world around them deserved that na.
He had expected a lot from it, and all of his expectations had paid off, but he had been rcilessly... Well, clickbaited.
Daneel even wondered whether this was the damn Head’s doing, who always kept wanting him to join so or the other part of the Big Four.
Sowhere in the sky, the Head coughed as this thought ca in Daneel’s mind, and if he found out that it was because the King of Lanthanor was cursing him with frustration, he would definitely pretty bemused.
Forcefully calming himself down, Daneel asked the system to give him any information about the Ultimate Path that the old man might not have ntioned.
That was not the case, as the old man had been quite succinct.
This incensed Daneel even more. Even Drakos was dumbfounded as to how soone could have done sothing like that, and that too in a ti of such chaos, but he did admit that if it was possible, then it would only be so during such a ti as the old man had been right in saying that difficult tis really did give birth to geniuses.
After all, it was said that the Emperor had also been a product of such a ti.
Daneel could just imagine it. Hell, he didn’t have to imagine it. Behind the third seal, there was a visual ssage of the recording of soone who had succeeded in training the Ultimate Path to beco a Champion that stood above almost all of his peers.
The only ones who were supposed to be able to give soone like that a challenge were apparently Bloodline Possessors who were also in command of their technique that brought out their Bloodline powers in full effect. And even then, it was said that it would be a fair matchup.
Pumped full of expectations once again, Daneel first judged the distance in front of him, and only entered the visual ssage after seeing that he had at least one minute before they would reach the end of the corridor that they were walking toward.
Of course, he also told the system to imdiately wake him up if he was needed, as it would be controlling his body while his mind was elsewhere.
After ensuring that everything was in order, Daneel closed his eyes, and opened them to view an open field filled with lush grass that waved in the wind which was gently blowing across it.
Right in the middle, he could see a man dressed casually in white robes.
He was sitting on the ground with his legs folded, and his hands were resting on his knees while he breathed in and out calmly, as if he was one with the world.
The system spoke in his mind, disturbing him from this image in which it almost looked as if the man had lted into his surroundings, and was no longer visible unless one paid a lot of attention.
This was the first ti Daneel was seeing anything like it. If he had to describe it further, it was like seeing soone who had perfected the art of staying so still that they would disappear from one’s vision.
[This is a recording made specifically for researchers to use to entice talented individuals to try out their thods to obtain an Ultimate Path. Such thods had to be used as rumors beca more and more wide-spread that trying to obtain an Ultimate Path would only result in doom.]
It made more sense now that sothing like this existed, as Daneel had been puzzled before regarding what the purpose might have been behind recording the power of such an individual unless it was to show off.
A mont later, the demonstration started along with a voice that was heard all over the area which gave him the details regarding what was happening.
The first thing Daneel saw was the man standing up and putting on an expression of determination while looking at a spot in front of him, as if expecting an enemy to pop-up right there.
Soon, it beca clear that that was the case, as soone did appear in front of him to challenge him.
"This man has trained in the simplest Ultimate Path, as he is not soone who has extrely high talent in either Path. His Mage Champion Path is that of fire - resonating with the understanding of the elent that he gained after studying it deeply for nurous years, he was able to use this Path that allows him to gain an amplification in his attacks when they are fire-based. His Fighter Champion Path is that of strength - pursuing power over everything else, he trained his body to value strength above all else, allowing him to understand the route that one must take to beco all-powerful. Lastly, he also managed to gain an understanding regarding how strength could be used to take one’s inner fire to new heights, allowing him to obtain the ’Ultimate Path of Fiery Strength’. The result is in front of you."
The speech wasn’t all too impressive in itself. These two were so of the most common Paths that Daneel had seen, and although many struggled to at least use these in this age, he knew for a fact that during the ti of the Empire, these Paths were frowned upon by even those with middling levels of talent.
If such kinds of Paths were used, how good would an Ultimate Path be even if it was the case that there was an additional resonance to draw power from?
A few words floated above the man who had just appeared as if to answer Daneel’s question.
"Mage Champion who has trained in a Lesser High-tier Champion Path and is on the sa level as his opponent."
Even High-Tier Champion Paths were separated into multiple categories, and the most common classification was that of Lesser and Greater ones. There were a few which didn’t fall into either category, but these made too little a number to be considered.
Raul’s ’Balance’ Champion Path was also a Lesser High-Tier one, from what Daneel understood regarding this classification, so he interestedly looked forward to what this Ultimate guy could achieve.
And in a few seconds... he was gobsmacked.
They were goddamn even!
Daneel had been expecting so sort of hard contest, as just the concept that soone who trained in trash tier Champion Paths could contest against one that was pretty much guaranteed to reach the Hero level as long as they were living during the ti of the Empire was sothing so crazy that anyone who heard it would definitely scoff and think that whoever was speaking had gone mad.
Yet, that was exactly what he was seeing.
The third resonance allowed this man to close the gap which would typically have taken at least four or five levels to overco.
Daneel had thought that the amplification might not be too large, but he had to change that opinion now.
True, he had not seen the full extent of potential of an Ultimate Path yet, but what he had seen so far was more than enough to pique his interest and yearning even more.
Before, he had been captivated enough by it to decide to get it even if he had to go out of his way.
Yet, now... it was no longer an option that he would let it go.
He needed it. That damn scroll had to be in his hands, no matter what he needed to do to make that happen.
He had already arrived back in his body, and as he looked forward, he saw that there was still a mont before they reached the end of the corridor.
So, he allowed himself that mont to daydream.
A Mage Champion Path that would allow him to stand against all those at his level even if he used its power alone. A Bloodline that gave him incredible powers the likes of which would be enough to defend against any other Champion who dared to challenge him. And an Ultimate Path that united both of these, and allowed him to use them to blast his enemies with even stronger attacks, so that he would be able to add ’Killing enemies with shock and depression that they will never be as powerful’ to his list of killing moves.
This aweso dream was interrupted by the old man pushing open two large wooden doors which looked exactly like the ones that they had exited when walking out of that room into which Daneel had been teleported.
And in this one... The first thing he saw was the giant which had been ready to kill him just a few minutes ago.
For a mont, Daneel wondered whether this guy was leading him into a trap, but he relaxed when he saw that those red eyes had disappeared, and that the giant was also looking down as if it had just been reprimanded severely by soone.
Focusing his elentary vision, Daneel got a glimpse of the remnants of a clone spell, which revealed the mystery that it was probably this old man, himself, who must have been using a clone to speak to the giant while his main body was in the company of Daneel.
This room was also almost the sa as that other one - bare walls, and an almost empty floor. In fact, Daneel even began to wonder why they hadn’t bothered to just stay there.
However, he got the answer to this when he saw a very peculiar... Chair that was on the podium in one corner of the room.
It was this chair that the old man walked to and sat down, and as he did so, his whole aura seed to change.
That wasn’t the only thing that changed, though.
His thin, frail body suddenly began to fill with flesh, muscles, and sinew, and even his height began to increase, as if Daneel was seeing a sped up version of soone taking steroids.
Soon enough, a middle-aged man with flowing hair, a dium-length beard, and a body even buffer than that of those who had welcod them was in front of him, and Daneel was so flabbergasted by this transformation that he had to take a few seconds to ask the system just what the f*ck it was.
[Blood Absorption Training Technique: Allows one to absorb vast amounts of blood to maintain their strength and power even if their age results in them growing weaker. Also extends lifespan to a degree depending on the overall level of those who shed the blood. A banned technique during the ti of the Empire because it was repeatedly abused by those who did not care for common people.]
So...this was where all that blood was being transported to.
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