The damn system had read his mind again, but at this moment, Daneel really didn't care. This was definitely something that needed to be investigated ASAP.
With full control of the Dragon Heart Formation, he simply asked the system to show him the way to the location where the signal for the energy was coming from.
Activating the Heads Up Display, Daneel followed the arrows shown.
After half an hour of wading down staircases and crossing moldy passageways filled with dust, Daneel finally appeared at a dead end.
It was a stone passageway, hewn using an unknown method which made the shape almost perfectly square.
In fact, due to keeping his eyes on the arrow, Daneel hadn't noticed that he had already crossed the passageways used underground for storage of food or prisoners.
This one had no doors, and as he looked back, all he saw was darkness.
He had already been using a ball of light to show the way, yet the light only extended to a certain distance before fading away.
Hurriedly running back to see where he had come in from, Daneel realized that it was actually a secure steel-like door.
"System, who can access this door?", he asked, puzzled seeing that it looked like it hadn't been moved in a long time.
[Replying to host, only the one in full control of the Dragon Heart Formation can access this door.]
It was as he had thought. This was definitely a classified location which could only be accessed by the master of the palace.
The door directly opened into the square cavern he was in. Walking back to the dead end, Daneel first tried using a fire needle to drill a hole or at least leave a mark.
It was of no use. The fire needle simply couldn't move forward, as if an unbreakable barrier was standing in its way.
[System informs host that the location ahead is where the Ultra High-end Energy signal is coming from. It is also the location of the energy source for the Dragon Heart Formation. As system indicated before, the original Dragon Heart Formation was simplified in order to be able to be mastered by one at the Warrior Mage Level. There is a chance that gaining mastery of this original formation might result in the formation in front of host being opened.]
This was actually a formation in front of him?
Daneel walked forward and touched the wall. It just felt rough and course, as if someone had just placed this cube of rock in the cavern and blocked it.
[Host lacks the level required to sense the formation]
With a wry smile, Daneel stepped back and asked the system, "What is needed to master the full formation?".
He had intended to ask this back when he had entered the palace after Laravel's death, when the system had told him about the secondary formation placed on top of the original. Only, time had been short then.
[System Upgrade Required. Cost: 100,000 EXP]
It was just as he expected. The damn system upgrade!
A mysterious, unreachable Ultra High-Grade Energy source and an Empire Spirit which apparently held a treasure within it. These were the both the biggest anomalies he had found since taking control of the palace.
In fact, he even pondered over whether these two were related somehow. Yet, finding no clues, Daneel had to give up.
"Will it be effective to place the Natural Energised Training Chamber here to condense Ker Gems?", asked Daneel, hoping that his dream plan would still work. Power was, after all, a major priority.
[Affirmative. Energy concentration higher than normal, but still very low when compared to the true source. To estimate time required for energy formation and effectiveness of using Ker Gem Energy for training, system requests host to absorb a Ker Gem in order to analyze data.]
Hearing this, Daneel was tempted to go the treasury right now. Yet, he stopped himself knowing that the time was quite late and that he had to meet the envoys early tomorrow. After all, before reaching the Warrior level, no Human level fighters or mages could even think about reaching a state where they could lessen the need for body necessities such as food or sleep.
Also, preparations would have to be made in order to move the chamber to the cavern. Space was kept locked around the palace in fear of someone simply teleporting in in order to carry out assassinations. Thus, he had to find a way to safely move in the chamber without exposing its existence to anyone while also not being able to teleport it inside. Resolving to tackle these issues as soon as possible, Daneel decided to call it a day.
Closing the door, he made his way to his room before promptly falling asleep to dreams of roaring dragons and trapped princesses.
......
Early in the morning on the next day, there was a slight atmosphere of tension prevalent across the palace. Servants and guards hustled and bustled, going about their work with a vigor that had been absent before during the reign of their now-deceased King.
After all, today was the official Royal Court to be held by the newly-crowned King.
The throne room was spick and span, already being cleaned multiple times by the attentive Palace Manager. He was a thin man with white hair and drooping eyebrows, yet he walked around with a jump in his step. With a sharp eye, he commanded the servants as if they were his army which had embarked on the conquest of all the dirt and dust in the Throne Room.
It was impossible to use magic to achieve a thorough cleansing such as this, because no mage in the Kingdom had such fine particle over elementary particles in order to do a job comparable to the Palace Manager's.
The Court was scheduled to begin at 9 am, yet ministers and dignitaries started trickling in an hour before, chatting among themselves, wondering what the new King's plans would be for the Kingdom.
As for the envoys, the gentle-looking giant walked into the throne room a half-hour before the session was scheduled to start. Grinning lopsidedly at everyone who didn't have a choice but to glue their eyes to him, he let out a happy laugh before following the servants who had been ordered to lead him to his specially designed chair.
Skkrag walked in soon after, quickly walking to his seat beside Bos before placing his eyes on the empty throne. The dragons on the throne seemed to appeal to him in some way, and he appeared to be leaning forward slowly as he got lost in the detail sculpted by the master who had made the life-like figures.
Bevis walked in soon after, looking at the dignitaries with a sneer on his face before finding his seat and sitting down.
Not surprisingly, it was the derisive Eldra who arrived last.
As per the orders Daneel had given beforehand, the throne room was arranged in a manner similar to before.
Some of the seats meant for dignitaries were empty, due to the all the nobles currently being locked away on the orders of the King.
Altogether, there were 100 normal seats on both sides of the broad central passage that led from the doors to the throne. Meant for the government dignitaries, they only had minimal cushions and decorations.
In front of these were 30 seats which stood out. Gilded with gold and precious gems, these were meant for the 20 ministers of the Kingdom and any foreign dignitaries who attended the Royal Court.
Bevis and Eldra were seated beside each other on the left of the throne, whereas Bos and Skkrag were on the right.
With everyone assembled, the final seconds ticked away while the buzz in the room slowly receded. Only the envoys simply looked around or stared at the throne, unlike the time they had spent during the Coronation Ceremony.
Finally, at the exact moment the clock struck 9 am, the throne room doors opened while a gong sounded inside, making everyone stand up. This time, even the two who hadn't stood during the ceremony before grudgingly took to their feet.
Daneel walked in with a measured pace, taking care to follow the instructions given by the Kingdom. Not too fast and not too slow, he kept his arms behind his back while he turned his head around slowly while walking to the Throne. Among the ministers, he only nodded and smiled at Elanev's father, while maintaining a neutral expression towards everyone else including the envoys.
Behind him followed 4 people, as if part of his retinue.
They were Faxul, Joshua, Elanev and Kellor.
Already used to the ways of the court, Kellor was most relaxed, striding along without a happy smile on his face. Elanev had had a few etiquette classes forced onto him by his father, thus even he managed to do well and walk with dignity.
As for the other two, this was their first time in such a formal setting. Although they were nervous, they walked forward with stiff bodies and expressions.
As Daneel walked up the steps of the throne, Kellor and Elanev placed themselves on the right of the throne, below the steps while Faxul and Joshua were on the left.
"All hail the King of Lanthanor!"
"Hail!"
As per custom, Kellor spoke the first phrase as soon as Daneel reached the top of the steps. Except for the four envoys, everyone else in the room responded to the call with a passion that was seldom seen in the throne room in recent years.
Gesturing everyone to take their seats, Daneel finally sat down on the throne and prepared to begin the first Royal Court of his life.
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