Sitting in bed as a married man with his two lovely wives on either side of him, Daneel felt content.
It was the time of the night where a battle was waged between the armies of light and the lingering domain of the dark, and in the quiet that accompanied it, his thoughts went back to what everyone on the continent must be thinking.
Just one more day…
Since that moment when his master had shown him the vision about the Church, it felt as if time had passed so quickly that Daneel had never had a chance to enjoy anything fully. Even being married was a feeling that would only be with him for this day and the next, and after that, everything was uncertain.
With this thought, he came back to the present and decided to focus on something trivial first before turning to the problem presented by the Basilisk two days passed.
All around the room were strewn the gifts that he had been given by all of his well-wishers.
At first, his gaze went to the more normal ones which had been given by those who didn't know him very well. Still, they had been a part of his journey, so he had treasured them enough to have them placed in his room.
There were multiple protective trinkets from the Heroes of the Order who had supported him when others didn't. Knowing that these were all things that he could obtain easily, the Head had instead chosen to gift Eloise and Xuan by bestowing upon them so many weapons that an arsenal was present in one corner of the room.
Others such as Rayen, Raul, the bandit queen, and the Watcher had all made the wise decision to give him something personal. The first two had compiled everything about their Paths and given it in the form of two leather-bound books, which he appreciated as knowledge truly was one of the most valuable things in the entire world. True, he knew everything that was written in them due to the system, but still, it was a gesture that he really appreciated.
The bandit queen had apparently been a renowned artist before the fall of her family, so she had gifted him a vivid painting of one of the most important moments in his life. She, after all, had been in one of the best locations to see it, so while looking at the scene of Daneel triumphing over the Heroes of the Church, he smiled.
The Watcher had also given him a painting, but this was of his disguise. It was a good reminder of the steps he had had to take when he was weak, so Daneel had felt quite thankful for it.
The elf queens had given him decorative daggers, and the Chief of the Fortress had made a gift of a tome of Fighting techniques… to be used in bed.
This one had startled Daneel as it had not been present even in the annals of the Order, so he had thanked the man who had winked at him and told him to have fun.
Finally, after glossing over a few other unremarkable gifts from those who apparently were not very talented in this area, he came to a small box that had been fussed over repeatedly by his two queens.
All it had inside were a few purple pills, but when the one who had given them had described it, all three of them had been struck dumb.
"On the Mainland, it is said that the art of pill-making is so advanced that those who are well versed in it rise to the very peak. I have made my own research into this area over the long years that I spent alone, and this is one of the results that I am proud of. It is not for you, Godking, but for your two lovely wives. Everyone knows of the low reproductive rate of those who walk the Path of Power, but if this pill is taken, I can guarantee that both of your wives will be with child in a year. Now, all I pray for is that there is a chance for that to happen…"
It could be said that this gift from the Mother of Healing was priceless, so after looking at it for a few seconds, he finally turned to the few objects that had been placed aside from the rest.
These were the gifts that meant the most to him as they were given by his family who had all put a lot of thought into each and every one of them.
From Kellor, there was a small woodcutter's axe meant for the hands of a child. It encompassed all of the mysteries about the art of woodcutting that he had learned in his long life, and when he had given it, he had blessed the three of them with many sons and daughters whom he all hoped to play while he taught them using this axe.
All the love that he held for the three of them was represented in his gesture, and they had all assured him that it would definitely happen.
From all the commanders together, there was a lifelike miniature model of the first battle he had ever taken part in. It was that moment when he had taken command and blustered in front of the army of the Kingdom of Axelor, and on seeing it, he had truly been pleased regarding just how far he had come.
Each of them had added different details to make sure that it was as accurate as possible, and he had thanked them all for the incredible amount of effort it must have taken.
From Aran, there was a stone bed. He had given it with the message that it would stand strong no matter how intense the lovemaking got, and hearing him, both the woman had punched him on either side and sent him away wincing.
From Faxul, there was a small Black Raven that could be bonded with. It was one of the most precious beings in his Kingdom, and all three of them had laughed happily when the Raven said their names.
Finally, from the Emperor, Queen Arafell, and Drakos, there was a book that he looked at fondly even now.
The Emperor had always been famous for having a way with words, and the Queen was an expert in illustrations. Together with Drakos, they had captured all the details of his journey so far that few knew…and transformed it into an epic tale.
There were even many songs within which the bards of the continent had already begun to sing, and reading the first page, Daneel had almost gotten tears in his eyes.
"For my second son, who I am proud to say has exceeded all expectations I had on my heir. May this tale have a much better ending than mine.
-Fenoras."
Remembering it, he felt like getting up to go see that message again, but discarding this thought, Daneel turned his mind back to the problem.
All of their calculations had been based on the trump cards they had carefully crafted to handle any and all situations that might be thrown at them.
With the development that the assassins could not be used, they had tried their best to adapt and shift around their plans so that the best outcome could still be obtained, but Daneel just wasn't happy with the simulations that he had had the system run.
In the worst case, the death toll had risen to a million.
This was just too big a number to ignore, so Daneel had decided to look for one last ace up his sleeve.
The best thing would have been if he could break through to the Hero realm. This had been on his mind for quite some time, and after the upgrade, he had even asked the system regarding whether it was possible to expedite this process.
Alas, this breakthrough was too important. There was no way that he could go about it in a haphazard fashion, and right now, he didn't even have a clue about the deeper meaning in his Champion Path that he had to find if he wanted to break through naturally.
The problem was…time. Too little time had passed since he had become a Champion, and even in that period, he had never had the chance to sit down and look within himself.
It was supposed to be something that would take years, so with even the system telling him that it was not possible now, Daneel reluctantly set aside this plan and started to look for something else.
Only, this brainstorming was something he had done multiple times recently, so the answer was right in front of him.
With his mind free, now, Daneel saw that he could not be held back by fear anymore. No, if he wanted to do the impossible, he had to risk it all, so setting his jaw, he made the decision and whispered it beneath his breath.
'Ancient Godbeast, here I come. '