Rise of the Godking - Chapter 131

Daneel broke into a grin, then laughed out loud after being assured by the system that the man had fallen unconscious.

Bending, he picked him up as if he was just a sack of vegetables and began to walk in the direction of the teleportation matrix that he had come from. 

His forehead that was burning once again suddenly felt its load lightened when the false image of him being a bald man with bristling muscles disappeared. Returning to his usual self, he walked with a smile on his face, but inwardly, he was wincing continuously due to the pain that just wasn't leaving that all-important spot on his brow.

He didn't feel any dizziness, though, so feeling grateful for the fact that the system had been perfectly able to follow his command and cast spells only within his limit, he continued onwards, trying to ignore the throbbing sensation that only grew worse and worse.

To distract himself, he thought of the reason behind this elaborate plan. Using the communication charm that the elf had produced magically from wherever he kept his trove of charms right before he left, Daneel had been informed of the direction in which the man had left. It had been quite easy to figure out his route; he had already known that direct messages couldn't be sent to those on the Mainland by anyone at his level, so Daneel had guessed that he would take the shortest path to his master. Hence, after having the system use the information given by the beggar king to map all probable roots that he could take, Daneel had been pleasantly surprised, but not shocked, at all, when he found clear tracks of the man walking along hurriedly on just the first island he checked.

After knowing that he could even figure out where the mage was going to be, he had started to think about what he should do. The easiest option was, of course, to kill him, but this time, he found himself very averse to this method.

Already, he had created threats behind him that were certainly still searching, itching for his blood due to the dead body he had left behind in Marillein, so he had completely been against the possibility of adding another force to that of the man whose voice they had heard while in the library outside the beggar king's vault.



With this conclusion made, it soon became obvious that there was only one other thing he could attempt to do. If he could somehow make the mage faint, and hide him away until the scam was done…even if he woke up after that, he wouldn't be able to do anything as Daneel and the others would be long gone. After reasoning out that the least amount of risk was present if he chose this path, he had made the decision and ran forward to an island that the man would definitely be passing through soon. 

In fact, three plans that he could use to take advantage of someone with such a personality had come to him, of which two were perfect, and one was a bit flawed, and maybe even a bit silly. Contrary to what he might usually have done, he had chosen that last one, tucking away the other two for an opponent who might be more of a danger than this mage.

The three spells that the elf had given him were a defensive cloak that fit closely around one's body and protected them from any attack, either magical or physical, a spell that could highlight tracks on the ground, and finally, one that could increase the toughness of his body for a limited period of time. At his disposal were two vajrams and over twenty processed crystals, so after planning a bit with the system, he had decided that he would once again try to witness more spells that he could copy.

This had gone wonderfully, of course, as it had been quite easy to goad the maje into doing his best after bringing him over to a secluded place using the woman conjured using the elf's doppelganger spell, which he couldn't detect. As for how he was able to stand up to the man's attacks even though he had been at least two levels above him…it was simple. He had tasked the system with using both the defensive cloak and the spell that increased toughness intermittently, distributing any attack that was sent at him throughout his body, letting both spells take the brunt to protect him. As he needed to keep whatever he was doing secret from the mage, though, it would have been a problem if these actions of the system had been witnessed by the man…so with a flash of inspiration, he had commanded the system to cast the elf's spell of disguise over his body, thereby concealing both his true features, and the spells he was using underneath.

Elvish magic was like a layer that could not be pierced by human mages, apparently, or at least those who were weak. It had been a gamble, and he had even been ready to just scrap the plan and kill him if he saw what he was doing…but it had all worked out, and right now, all that was left was to store away the mage somewhere while they happily went about their plan.

Right as he got to the teleportation crystal, though, the pain became so bad that he couldn't even take another step forward. Flashes of light appeared in his vision, and his entire body felt as if it was burning. Somehow, he also felt hot even though he knew that he was in the grips of a dangerous fever, and with growing concern, he asked the system what the hell was going on.

None of his symptoms matched with his frae being overloaded. His panic grew even further when the system took a moment to answer…but when it finally did, all such negative feelings left his mind, and he immediately dropped the mage who just moaned sleepily, then lay still.

[It is possible that host is undergoing a breakthrough. It is recommended that host meditate, thereby taking control of the process rather than being controlled by it.]

Immediately, he sat down and focused on the sensations emanating from throughout his body. The pain was still there, but a few seconds later, he realized that something at that spot was trying to… grow, or at least, break apart from some obstruction around it.

While the system had been casting the spells a few moments ago, he had clearly seen the process it had used. Energy was drawn from an external source that he was in contact with, channeled through the cells of his body, congregated at his head, then made to build until it was strong enough to draw the particles from the other realm. While these particles were manipulated, that same energy would be depleted as the frae, or, the 'seed' of magic in the ancient tongue, used it in a way that he, or even the system could not understand to mold those tiny beings of the beyond.

The size of the frae dictated the amount of energy that could be used. After being pushed, until now, he could see that somehow, some of the energy that had been used had been left behind there, and it was this power that was being used to break the limit of what he was capable of, at the moment.

Without the system telling him, he could feel that nothing external could be used to help. Slowly, he understood that this energy that had remained behind was actually that which had been made his own. He had reached some sort of a limit, and hence, it was being depleted so that this very limit could be broken through…so with patience, he just let it contract and expand, trying, failing, then trying again to leap for the heavens, or at least get closer to that peak.

It was something that could not be pushed. An hour passed, and then another. He endured the pain and the gut-wrenching sensation of fire burning through that spot on his head. Others would have tried to restrict the frae so that they could escape this suffering…but knowing better, Daneel held on, endeavoring to give it the best conditions to do what it wanted.

Finally, three hours later, it stopped completely. Daneel wondered whether it was giving up, and whether he would have to go through all this again…but suddenly, it gave one last push, and with a sound akin to something solid crumbling, it grew to three times its size.

A clarity unlike almost anything he had felt in his life came to him, and even his vision seemed to have been improved. He could feel even the faintest breeze in the air, and for a few seconds, he just lost himself in the pure beauty of the world…before feeling a pang of loss as these heightened senses left him. 

When the system's message appeared in his head, he opened his eyes, and for a brief moment… they seemed to burn with the desire for more, as if the very sun was within them.

[Breakthrough to Neophyte Magus level successful. Spells of greater magnitude can now be cast. Host can now hold energy of his own to cast spells.]