Rise of the Godking - Chapter 12

For the next two days, Daneel immersed himself into the life of a slave.

It was a simple life, albeit fraught with hunger and occasional whippings. At least, this could be said about most of the slaves… but for him, there was one extra aspect that he was slowly growing to loathe.

And that was… the animosity that the rest of the slaves felt for him.

No matter where he went, he was looked at with disgust and revulsion. No matter what he was doing, he would find himself alone, distanced from the rest intentionally. Even Sebastian and Reese(the old healer) couldn't be found despite his efforts to search for them.

It was almost like they had disappeared, after merely existing as fragments of his imagination that he had conjured to give him hope. Yet, he tried to convince himself that this wasn't true, as he reasoned that if that were so… he would have subconsciously designed them to be perfect, instead of the imperfect and almost unwilling individuals that he had seen them as before.

Exhausted from the events of that first day, he had gone to sleep immediately after figuring out the objective of the town, and the name that had escaped his skimming before. He had woken up to the sound of a bell being rung, and after following the crowds of slaves, he had been ushered into a large, open area where the enforcer stood behind a table, ladling out gruel to those holding metal plates in front of him.

He had rejoiced at the thought of food, and waited patiently until it was his turn. The enforcer had sniffed at him, and for a moment, he had wondered whether he would have to go hungry. After that, though, he was given a dollop like the rest, but when he sat down and tasted it… he had to forcefully stop himself from spitting it out.

It was one of the blandest things he had ever eaten. His life as the young master had been occupied with sampling the best of what the town had to offer, whether it be roast meat that was dressed with honey, or juicy fruits that were forced on him even if he didn't want them as they were supposed to give him strength.



Disbelievingly, he had used his hand to look through the gruel for hints of meat or vegetables. He found nothing.

It was just as grey and lifeless as the slaves, but as it was all he had, he finished it to the last morsel, struggling to keep each one down.

It hadn't even given him much energy. He had been hungry all the way to his cavern, and it was only when the bell rung again that his mood perked up.

The hours he spent studying the patterns of the particles of light passed by in a blink. Then, it was time to eat again.

He had apparently missed this second meal the day before, not knowing that he was supposed to deposit himself to the eating area, or go hungry. Even though no one gave him any hints about what he was supposed to do, he still followed them, and that was how he discovered all the facets of their lives.

They had no means of recreation. They didn't talk much between themselves. Most just stared into the distance, as if lost in the life they had lost to come here, and even when a few whispered things to each other, they would always stop when he came near.

Each time this happened, he felt stymied as to how he was supposed to carry out the system's mission. Deciding that he would think about these things after a few days, he had continued his observations, and after assuring himself that he had seen everything there was to see, he had sat down now to think about his situation, and what he would do to make it better.

'The first problem… is food. No matter how I look at it, I can tell that I'm going to be a slave for quite a long time… so it is foolish to let all of this muscle wither away. I can already feel them shrinking, and if I eat that gruel for a few weeks more… they'll disappear, and I'll be just like the rest.'

This was a problem that was easy to identify, but no matter how much he racked his brain, he found no solution.

There weren't even tiers to the slaves. All of them were treated the same. If there were a few who were allowed to eat better, he might have aimed to reach their position… but there was no such thing.

From his memories, he knew that the other two layers were different. Even though those people also lived underground, they were allowed to go to the surface whenever they wanted. They were also paid a pittance for what they did, and they had no enforcers waiting with whips to send them to work.

Shrugging and giving up for the moment after a few seconds, he decided to continue listing his problems.

'Next up… I need to stop all the slaves from hating me. Yes, they have a due reason, but somehow, they need to be turned. I have a feeling that I might need their support in the future… But this seems like an even harder task than procuring more food!'

Sleeping on his back and putting his arms behind his head, he began to ponder on the two issues, calling on the skill that he had depended on before.

It wasn't as easy, now. Then, desperation had fueled him, making his mind work faster than ever before. Now… it felt muddled.

'It's because of this darkness. Living without sunlight… beats one down, even if there is no evidence of it happening.'

After a few minutes, he understood that this wouldn't work. Getting up, he adjusted the muslin to make sure that his cavern was covered perfectly. He also looked to the left and right, ensuring that no one was awake. Another day of work had just ended, so most had gone to sleep.

Still unsatisfied with his precautions, he laid on his stomach on the bed, and finally shoved his hand into his crotch.

He had seen others take the same position for a different purpose, so he hoped that if anyone saw him like this, they would leave him alone, assuming that he was doing the same thing.

Yet, in truth… he was searching for his most prized possession.

Hidden on the strip of cloth between his genitals and the open air, the tiny crystal was hard to the touch, but warm, like the walls of the pit. He had found no other place to hide it. The clothes given to slaves had no pockets, so after practicing for an hour, he had taken to walking only after tucking the sides of this strip up, to ensure that the crystal wouldn't fall to the floor after rolling down his legs.

It hadn't been hard to sneak away the crystal. None of the other slaves had an incentive to do so; they could do nothing with them, and if caught, an extensive whipping would await them. But he… was different.

It was only half as big as his finger, but it was still bigger than the one he had absorbed before. Holding it tightly in his hand, he reached out with his mind again.

He had practiced this multiple times in the mine, always reaching close, but never being able to touch the crystals for fear of drawing dangerous attention. It had been torture, as the call of all that energy had been oh, so alluring. Now that he could finally take that final step, he felt his heart beat faster with anticipation.

He latched onto the crystals. He breathed in.

The rush of energy that swept through his body made him grin again. His mind once again felt clear and free of all restrictions, so he thought about his problem again, and he found the answer in merely a minute.

'What if… I secure extra food for everyone? Wouldn't it solve both problems, at once? After all, isn't the way to a man's heart through his stomach? Okay… I don't know where I heard that, but it sounds wise. If I succeed, a lot of the hate will disappear, and I'll be able to keep my strength, too. But how should I do it? Well, time to plan…'