So he hadn't completely gone into 'cucked' mode after all.

Nodding, Daneel looked toward Lean in order to continue their tour.

This was the last part, so they were just shown the cafeteria once more before Lean left after giving them a communication trinket that they could use to contact their group if needed.

He repeated the same thing as Tall- that they would be waiting for a positive response, to which Daneel simply replied with a smile.

Finding themselves alone again in the guest quarters, Daneel first asked Drakos to deploy a Hero-level anti-eavesdropping stealth formation.

This was a special formation to be used in cases where a location might be under the active surveillance of someone. The formation would both prevent others from listening in, and also project a fake one that would make it seem as if they had gone to sleep, or were training.

Daneel had the formation after breaking the third seal anyway, but he asked Drakos to deploy it as he didn't want to shock the Ancient Dragon too much by showing that he could deploy it without getting a splitting headache, as would be the case for even the most highly talented Warriors.

After it was active, he nodded to Elanev to indicate that they were cloaked, following which his elder brother immediately smashed a table near him.

"I HATE BEING MANIPULATED!"

Yes, he had definitely understood it too.

The Central Continent was just a place where there were many more instances of using underhanded methods and scheming.

Elanev was also the son of the Righteous Hawk, who had uncovered many treacherous schemes in the Kingdom of Lanthanor over his long tenure. So, it obvious that some of that knowledge had trickled down to his elder brother, too.

Chuckling softly, Daneel said, "So you found out, too?"

Sitting down explosively on a sofa near the fireplace, Elanev spat out a reply.

"Of course! I know women. Her statement was rehea.r.s.ed, and she hadn't even done a very good job at it! Well, I've seen my fair share of acting from those who wanted to cheat me, so I could sniff it out right away. And that guy! So amateurish. I'm still affected, though."

Oh? Daneel hadn't noticed that.

Well, different people did have different talents, after all.

Smiling, he, too, sat down and said, "That's all right. It's just good that you know. We have to collect information which isn't manipulated by that group. I have a suspicion that its pretty powerful, and that they will be actively looking to monitor what we hear."

"But how? I seem to be public enemy number one, and it doesn't look like not many people like you, either. Well, there might be sycophants like those guys, but I doubt that they will be any help."

"Haha, that's simple. Give me a second."

Saying so, Daneel closed his eyes and said, "System, create a new Eavesdropping Module using all the Hero-level spells that we have. The objective is to collect information only by breaching anti-eavesdropping formations which can be broken through without alerting anyone."

[Affirmative. Creating module. Checking formation and spell repository. Shortlisting spells. Base spell: Hagaro's 'Find whether your wife is cheating on you without alerting anyone' spell. Creating module by adding other spells…]

Daneel got an amused grin on his face as he heard this part. Clearly, poor Hagaro had created this spell after a very bad experience.

Barely a few seconds later, the system was done.

"Use the module to collect information from my surrounding areas regarding all the major factions, and their members. In particular, focus on their reputations and past deeds, and any rivalries that are present. Keep running this module. Of course, keep making sure that no one detects it. Safety is paramount-its fine if less data is collected because of that."

Daneel insisted on this, as he had no intention whatsoever of fighting that Chief, or alerting him. No, he was just a bit too out of his league right now.

Gossip was basically an ephemeral force that was essentially omnipresent in most social settings. Even if some places might have anti-eavesdropping formations, there would definitely be many places where people might be talking in the open after just making sure that no one was around.

The number of things that were said by over a thousand people over the span of a few minutes, itself, couldn't be underestimated.

Just 5 minutes later, the system had an answer for him.

[Major Factions: 3

Faction 1. 'The Unnamed': Contains those who enter the sect with common backgrounds. Created to rally against those who have a background in the sect. Although resource distribution is completely based on talent, there are various things which can only be attained, or can be attained faster, by those with a significant background. The objective of this group is to rise to the top and show those who disdain them regularly what they are worth.

Faction 2: 'The Glorious'/???: No unified name. Simply a loose organization by those with background which only congregates when things are serious.

Faction 3: ????: Name not found. Only referred to by p.r.o.nouns. Comprised of the topmost individuals in the sect. An exclusive clique that many yearn to get into, but cannot do so unless invited.

Rivalries: Factions 1&2 - Direct rivalry. Compete in every contest to prove who is the best. A lot of talk was currently eavesdropped on regarding the Legacy Battle, for which secret bets seemed to have been made between these two groups.

Factions 3 and (1+2): An ever-present rivalry between those who achieve at the peak, and those who seek to do so.

Both factions 1 and 2 are known to use all means possible to obtain what they want.]

Well…that was a pretty d.a.m.n good summary.

And this was a pretty d.a.m.n good way to hide one's reputation.

If everyone were thieves, then how could the reputation of one who was mixed in the middle be distinguished from another?

As Daneel went through this again with Elanev, the latter gaped at him and asked, "What the f*ck? Have you been here before?"

"Oh, a little bird just told me."

"Then point me to it, and I'll go pay it my respects. Anyway, what do you want to do? We didn't really find anything to go by, right?"

"Let's wait. Let more time pa.s.s. I'll have more information, too, that way. Tomorrow is Monday. So let's meet again the next Monday to talk again regarding this. I guess you're going to be pretty busy till then?"

This made a dejected expression appear on his face before Elanev said, "Yes…busy is one way of putting it. This old guy in my head is going crazy with excitement. I guess all top fighters need to be s.a.d.i.s.ts in order to go that far."

Chuckling, Daneel lay a hand on his elder brother's shoulder before both of them went to their rooms for the night.

The next morning, Daneel woke up to a knock on the door.

Waiting for him was a messenger, who handed him a closed bowl and said, "From the Chief."

Before Daneel could respond, he left, leaving the King puzzled as he walked inside and opened it.

As soon as he did so, a trinket latched onto his palm.

"Owww!"

It seemed to have teeth, as it bit a spot right at the center of Daneel's palm before burrowing into his body.

[Foreign object detected. Does host want the system to abolish it?]

Daneel was about to scream yes, as this was a scene right out of horror movies. In fact, the image of a grotesque creature bursting out his stomach and crying like a newborn devil even appeared in his mind, adding to his panic.

However, he forcefully controlled himself and asked, "What kind of complexity is needed to stop this thing?"

[Hero-level. Even Champions cannot defend against it.]

"Then don't! Let it do as it wishes and only stop it if it threatens my life!"

[Affirmative.]

Daneel had no other choice, as he really didn't want to expose his Hero-level knowledge.

So, screaming with agony, he felt the d.a.m.n thing burrow through his body like a worm. He hadn't seen it before it entered him, so he just had this image in his head which made it all the more worse.

It was traveling up, so injuries appeared all over Daneel's body which would have killed him if he weren't a Peak Warrior level Fighter, too.

He cast healing spells to keep healing the damage that was being done, which was when he realized that this…thing was also healing him, which meant that its objective was not to kill him.

When it punctured his trachea and entered his windpipe, though, Daneel's panic increased to a different level, and he almost screamed at the system to kill the d.a.m.n thing.

From his mouth, it entered his face, and to Daneel's extreme bad luck, there was a mirror in front of him which showed him everything in clear G.o.dd.a.m.n detail.

Squirming exactly like a worm, it roamed around near his cheeks inside his skin as if it was looking for something. Finally finding its target, it shot to his forehead, where it stopped right near a spot near the middle of the forehead.

[Ent.i.ty destabilizing into a lesser being. Lesser being wrapping around Mageroot. Mageroot has been disabled due to the peculiar property of the creature. Forceful abolition of creature is possible, and it can be done by even a Warrior. The creature only blocks the Mageroot from accessing elementary particles outside a small area from it. In that area, a tiny attack can be created to puncture the creature and restore the Mageroot. Does host want the system to carry out this attack?]

Before Daneel could marvel at the astonis.h.i.+ng actions of this being, or whatever it was, a voice emanated from the trinket that was also in the bowl.

"King Daneel. Pardon the pain, it was necessary. Your Mageroot is now sealed. You can probably tell that you can unseal it at your will. But if you do, you will be disqualified from the Legacy Battle and thrown out of the Sect. Our Sect is a Sect for Fighters, and Fighters only. I await you in the same hall that we spoke in before."

…

"NO! I WON'T LET YOU!"

Meanwhile, in the underground cavern in which the 'Road' had been established.

Ca.s.sandra was standing in front of her family, while the two individuals who had murdered them in front of her eyes slowly walked forward, with their eyes glinting with cruelty and sick expectation.

She tried to summon her Mage Powers to stop them, but to her horror, they were gone.

"Sis! Please save me this time! I don't wanna go back to that dark place!"

As this voice was heard from behind her. Ca.s.sandra froze.

W-would she really have to relive the most traumatic incident in her life?

Was there really no way to stop it?

As she asked herself this while watching the fear that was slowly creeping into her mind and swallowing the semblance of normalcy that she had regained after many years of hard work, she felt a wall inside her mind.

And beyond that wall…seemed to lie something magical.

But how was she supposed to push it?

Even as she asked this question, one thing soon became clear.

If her worst fears came true and if she did go through this again…she would certainly go insane, and her mind would certainly be lost in the throes of her nightmares.