Rise of the Godking - Chapter 34

Daneel didn't like this new method of greeting, at all.

It was a consolation that the brute left his neck a moment later, stomping away in stark contrast to how silently he had come in.

It was almost absurd to think that such a big man could be so quiet, but he hadn't heard a thing. With a sullen face, he said in his mind, 'System… Did you detect him?'

[Affirmative. System is programmed to automatically give alerts only when the situation might lead to death. All other programming can only be added if the relevant skill is unlocked.]

His frown deepened, but he got up when he saw that there was nothing he could do about it right now.

As soon as he walked out of the house, he found the big man waiting for him. His bald head glinted in the light coming from the artificial sun in the Refinery, and for a moment, he almost looked like one of the dwarfs he had seen below, as he suddenly didn't seem so large when framed against the gigantic pillar in the middle of the town.

The feeling faded as soon as Daneel took a step forward. The man towered over him, his shadow big enough to cover Daneel, and as the corners of his disjointed lips rose again, Daneel thought that he might get sick if ge had to look at that face for any longer.



Thankfully, Jezora began to walk in a familiar direction soon after. Daneel hurried after him, having to run to keep up, and soon, they went through the clump of crystals that were the pathway to the surface.



As soon as they arrived in the open air, he hardly had time to take a few breaths before the man was off, again. Strangely, he did not head in the direction of the town; instead, he was walking directly away from it, which immediately made a flicker of panic go through Daneel.

'Isn't the whole area outside forbidden? Is he going to kill me, after making me walk so that he won't have to carry me before I'm buried in an unmarked grave? But… no. If they wanted to kill me, I really don't think they would bother with this much sophistication.'



That last thought gave him comfort. Dawn was just breaking over the horizon. Only a day had passed since his journey from the Pit to the Refinery, but it felt like so much longer. He really hadn't thought that the Lord would get back to him so quickly; he had anticipated that he might have at least a few days to squirrel away a few crystals and keep them with him so that they could be used in case he had to get away, but alas, he hadn't gotten a chance.

The terrain around the town was flat, red earth, for the most part, except for a few clumps of ferns and bushes here and there. It stretched out in front of him, lifeless and bare, for as far as he could see. He had no idea where they were heading, but soon, the came upon a low hill that they began to climb.

Daneel was perspiring, by now. Although the original occupant of the body had been quite interested in his training, the boy could hardly be called a hard worker. He did go just a bit beyond what the taskmaster assigned to him, but in the first place, all the sons of the master were pampered too much. The reason was always that the training that would come later would be far harsher than anything they could ever imagine, so the Master had always been of the opinion that when there was a chance, his boys should be allowed to enjoy their childhood.

And of course, that had also meant that he was able to terrorize the town as he pleased.

As soon as they crested the top, Daneel's thoughts ground to a halt. In front of them was a large area demarcated by ropes running along metal poles placed evenly. The ground inside it had been smoothened out meticulously, with not a piece of vegetation to be seen anywhere. Equipment that he had seen in his memories were strewn about at one corner of it; there were weights to be lifted, barrels to be turned over, blocks to be pulled and pushed, and all sorts of items that were meant to grant strength to those born lucky.

It was empty, at the moment… except for a simple chair at one corner, on which Lord Burrow sat, dressed in tightfitting clothes. The butler from the night before was at his side, serving him a glass of chilled water. His hair was matted with sweat, and his chest rose and fell rapidly.

He looked in their direction when the brute moved forward. There was still quite some distance between them, so no one said anything. The ground was large enough to hold over a hundred men inside, so it was quite strange to see it so barren.

'And in the first place…I never knew that something like this existed! I was always trained at home… so is this, maybe, a training ground for those who didn't have a large garden in their backyard?'

Soon, they were in front of the man, himself. With his head cocked, he looked at Daneel who squinted as the sun was rising right in front of him.

When the man finally spoke, Daneel listened with all the focus he could muster.

"I like it. Harrold hates you. He hates you so much that he didn't even flinch from letting you become a slave. I heard him once say that it was a fate he would not wish on his worst enemies. You're all well-to-do, now, but that's only because of the help of those troublemakers down below, eh? Well, for once, they did something good. They brought you to me. I'll keep it plain: I am interested in a little… collaboration. It's simple: you do what I tell you, and I'll let you keep your head on your shoulders. How does that sound?"

Daneel felt Jezaro move closer to him as soon as the Lord stopped speaking. He could almost hear the man's hands itching to wrap around his throat again, so he nodded as quickly as he could.

Clapping his hands, Lord Burrow got up.

"Good! I knew you were a smart boy! As for all those claims about wanting the world… I will suggest that you forget about them for a decade, at least. If you're still alive by then… we can think about it. Until then, though… I own you. I'm still in the process of figuring out what you're going to be doing exactly, but before that, I need to know what you're capable of. That is why we are here. I don't trust that taskmaster, not one bit. He's so lax that he doesn't even explain the proper power levels to those he's training! It's deplorable, I tell you. You need to be judged properly. And it just so happens that Jezaro's schedule is free. Let's get started!"

No sooner had the last word left the Lord's mouth than Daneel felt a hand on his shoulder that grabbed him and tossed him as if he was just a toy.

The feeling of weightlessness was almost blissful…until he realized that the hard ground was reaching up at him too fast. He barely managed to get his feet up in time, and as he rolled across the earth with his knees flaring in agony, he heard a loud 'thump' nearby.

Looking up, he saw that Jezaro was walking forward, cracking his knuckles menacingly while his lips twitched, as if fighting the urge to smile, again.

Daneel got to his feet quickly. He brought his hands up, with his right palm facing his opponent and his other hand behind his back. It was the traditional stance taught in Graiton, meant to allow the user to defend with his visible hand, and attack with the one hidden when the opponent was least expecting it.

It crumpled in barely a second.

His palm was meant to catch Jezaro's punch, but the man's hand moved so fast that it became a blur. It caught Daneel right in the middle of his stomach, knocking the air out of him, turning the world into a sea of suffering.

He didn't fly back, though. It had been drilled into his body that he should hold his ground no matter what happened, and as that training kicked in, he fought to recover.

From behind Jezaro, Lord Burrow's voice drifted forward.

"You must have only heard of that primitive potential ranking so far! Well, in this world, only power matters, boy! Someone born with no potential can grow to be powerful if they work their ass…and someone like you will always amount to nothing even though you were born with a tiny bit of talent. Jezara, begin his first lesson. Listen well, boy, as she hates to repeat herself."

Despite all the pain, Daneel felt confused as heard the Lord refer to a woman, even though they were alone.

Then…the left half of Jezaro's lips which Daneel hadn't seen open yet moved, and the distinct voice of a woman reached his ears.

"The Lord is correct. I will only be saying this once. Focus, or my brother will toss you so high up that you'll be dead before you hit the ground. Let's start!"