After sending Ripley with the details of all the schematics he needed, Daneel eagerly walked back into the secret Energised Training Chamber.
A schematic was almost always a trinket in itself, needing to be enchanted by someone who thoroughly understood the design enough. Thus, they could be sold without fear of them being copied easily.
Although there were stores even in Lanthanor, the variety was too low. Thus, Ripley had said that he would contact some old friends who would be able to supply everything he needed.
As this was a matter of vital importance, Daneel had authorized him to use all resources necessary.
Seeing the clone absorbing Energy slowly, he first waited for the one hour time period to be up.
"Attack me using the clone."
As these were just simple instructions, Daneel did not need to shift consciousness like before in order to control the clone.
In an instant, the body which was identical to his turned into a stream of white light that bombarded him immediately.
Even before the clothes of the clone fell to the ground, the attack had already dissipated into the air after scratching Daneel's hand.
Indeed, he had not taken many precautions because the clone had been absorbing Energy for merely an hour.
Thus, he was quite surprised when he saw that the attack had managed to pierce his arm.
[Random attack: energized wind blade was chosen.]
With this response, Daneel's mind started going into overdrive imagining just how powerful an attack the clone would be able to produce if it were allowed to absorb energy for days or even weeks.
Indeed, this had been his dream: to make his own one-time trinket which could output the attack of possibly a Champion level figure.
Yet, at this point, a query arose in his head.
What if it were allowed to absorb energy even beyond this point?
Could he possibly.... stop being scared of Champion level powerhouses if he could perform an attack above their level?
Sadly, all these dreamy thoughts came to an end when he asked the system regarding the maximum limit of the attack.
[As the system is bounded currently at the complexity of Warrior Level, only peak Warrior Level attacks can be made by the clone. If the absorbed energy of the clone exceeds this level, it shall dissipate as the system would no longer be able to control it. To remove this limitation, please upgrade the system.]
This damn system upgrade!
Just when things started going even a little well for him, this notification would pop up to infuriate him.
Of course, what was mainly infuriating was his lack of EXP.
Deciding that he had to find ways to increase satisfaction quicker, Daneel sat down and resumed training.
The clone would be offline for a day, and he did not intend to waste any time. In fact, now that he thought about it, making a clone which could act as a one-time trinket basically meant giving up the advantage of doubling his training speed.
This was because if he kept absorbing the energy, there would be no way for it to build up enough to execute a sufficiently powerful attack.
Therefore, it was a simple choice to make: increasing his own power slowly, or storing energy to make a consumable.
Realizing this, he was reminded of the events that happened outside the palace when he took over the throne. The three members of those forces had actually had to take time to activate a one-time trinket, whereas a true Champion level would have been able to pummel through, just like he had seen in the memory fragment.
While the former had to depend on something external pitifully, the latter could destroy everything in his path with impunity.
Thus, Daneel made his choice without any hesitation.
.....
One month later.
In a certain district in the east of the Lanthanor Kingdom.
The local marketplace which was usually bustling with citizens at this time in the morning was currently almost completely empty.
Panicking at this sudden change, some shopkeepers even called over the constables, fearing that some tragedy might have befallen the inhabitants of this district.
Alarmed, the constables also immediately reported to their superiors, only to find out that all the citizens had been called to a specific location regarding a matter pertaining to the Royal Palace.
Indeed, in a large clearing which had been cordoned off from spying eyes using a cubic opaque barrier, numerous people milled around while waiting to see just what they had been summoned for.
After a few minutes, a panel appeared on a small podium that had been erected in front of them.
Seeing the image of the man who was currently adored by almost all the people of Lanthanor, the crowd knelt on one knee with smiling faces.
Their memories were still fresh with the events in which they had proclaimed their new king. Although there had been a mishap during the execution, the King's promise had ensured them that justice was only delayed, not denied. Thus, they still thought very highly of this young man.
"Rise, citizens of the Darper district. You have been chosen to take part in a special experiment that the Kingdom of Lanthanor is conducting to test the operation of a new type of trinket that we have developed. As you all know, we currently rely too much on importing trinkets, which costs a lot. If this amazing product succeeds, we will be able to attract many more enchanters and smiths who will be able to supply you all with everything you need at a much lower price! Thus, I ask you all to take part and strive to make this a grand success. Members of the newly conceived Research Division will soon be explaining all the details to you."
Hearing these words, expressions of hope appeared on many of the citizens in attendance.
Indeed, much of their budget went to buying important trinkets which they could not do their job without. Thus, if these costs could go down, they would be willing to do anything.
A few moments later, some men wearing blue robed clothes walked in carrying a large bag of what looked like parchments.
To the knowledgeable ones in the group, this was simply a sight to behold.
These were ... all trinkets!
Even if they were the cheapest communication trinkets, the bag would simply cost a fortune-each short-range communication trinket cost 10 Gold Lans.
This was the reason that most of the citizens never had utility trinkets. After all, given a choice between buying something that would only be a luxury and buying food for years, most would definitely choose the latter.
"You don't need to pay anything. Just take them and bind them with your blood, each of you."
This district had been chosen mainly because of the diverse people it contained. From those who wouldn't blink at spending even a hundred Gold Lans, to those who were still wondering about how to earn the next day's meal, almost all sections of the society were present here.
Thus, many of them didn't even know what binding by blood meant.
Thankfully, there were quite a few members of the Research division present to help them in the process.
After everyone had bound at least one communication trinket, Daneel, who was watching everything from the throne room, smiled before ordering the system to check whether everything was going on smoothly.
Over the past month, Daneel had spent almost all of his time training at double speed. As expected, the results had been quite incredible.
[Host status updating. Please standby.
Host status:
Host Fighter Level: Human-4(81%)
Host Mage Level: Human-4(81%)
Host Body Potential: A+
Host Comprehension Level: Gold
Host Condition: Nominal]
Although it had taken him three years to get to the 4th Grade Human Level from the First, that period had also included the time which he had spent to increase both his body potential and comprehension level.
With both of them maxed out, it was only natural that his training speed would skyrocket now.
With the current speed, he was confident that he could get to the peak of the Human level in 4 years.
A 20-year-old Warrior! This was simply something unheard of in all the 6 Kingdoms.
Of course, someone like Daneel who had peak potential, double training speed and near unlimited resources was also an extreme rarity. Hence, it was only natural that he would be able to beat all records currently set in Central Angaria.
Smiling wide at his progress, Daneel walked back to the training chamber and laid down, before sending his clone to continue to handle matters regarding his ambitious plan using the communication trinkets.