Chapter 549 - Bets Are Open
With his arrival, while expected, Daniel had been able to attract the looks of the thousands of champions present within the ring-shaped pocket of space. In him they all saw the newcomer who had become notorious within the high circles as the one who was cared for by his lord, and as such, they did not dare to consider him a junior. Unfortunately, that very reputation seemed to have turned Daniel into someone who was better to avoid.
The only person who initially seemed to be willing to speak to Daniel, was a member of Horror's domain, who stood right in front of him, and after showing two rows of rotten and fetid teeth in what Daniel could only guess was a polite smile, asked in a low tone, "Horror's domain welcomes the first champion of.." his already low voice trailed off into an inquisitive tone.
"Karma." Daniel said, causing the repulsive grin to disappear from the monster's face.
While clearly disappointed that Daniel's lord was not someone naturally related to the aspect of Horror, the monstrous champion quickly resumed his task. He turned around, took a step to the side to reveal Daniel and his companions to the public, and with a louder tone that resounded throughout the entire ring-shaped pocket of space, he said, "The first known champion of Lord Karma!"
Finally putting a name to his powerful backer created different reactions within the crowd. Looks of indifference, curiosity, and even elation reached Daniel one after another, making him forget what he was there for.
"Young one!" shouted a familiar tall and scrawny old man from the other side of the pocket of space while trying to make his way through the crowd and towards Daniel. Before he could approach him, however, two similarly dressed men who appeared to be in their late fifties stepped closer to Daniel. Their faces lacked the politeness reserved to him by the domains related to Daniel's, which were replaced by hostile gazes.
"I will leave you to mingle." the monstrous champion of Horror said with indifference before walking away, and leaving Daniel in the presence of the two cultivators who, at the moment, appeared to be more interested about Lilith's presence, rather than Daniel's identity.
While Lilith could only look away uncomfortably to avoid these threatening gazes, Daniel had already guessed who these two men were. "You were right, it did not take long." He said to his fidgety companion.
Lilith's confusion deepened for a moment, then she finally understood. The champions of Competition had recognized her not by the presence of Competition's power, as by not being a champion yet, she did not possess any.. But by the nature of her cultivation, which had been forced into her body when she was just a baby. A method typically used by the domain of competition.
By the time any emotion could appear on her face, Lilith suddenly remembered what kind of entities were allowed to participate in an Exalted Assembly, as well as her extremely low position within her domain. The two middle aged men in front of her were likely to be leaders of first or second ranked families, which put them on an infinite number of steps above her on Competition's hierarchical ladder.
Her body straightened, and she immediately tried to put a few words together, but before she could say anything, the taller of the two men looked straight into her eyes, and ordered, "I want to know whose family you belong to, how you got here, and what are you doing with a champion of another domain."
These words were charged with the full extent of the man's domineering and commanding attitude, so much so that they left Lilith petrified, like a still breathing hare dangling from the wolf's jaw. Tears quickly formed just above her lower eyelids, accompanied by a series of hiccups and panicked gasps which, along with her nervousness, prevented her from uttering a single word.
"You might want to put a stop to that, if you want an answer." Daniel said before brushing the back of his hand against Lilith's exposed arm, injecting her with a calming stream of mental power that completely negated the effect of the champion's domineering attitude.
Now calmer, Lilith took a deep breath, and began to answer her elder's questions. "L-Lilith of the Gardenia fifth-ranked family. Recently studying at the Half Moon.."
Despite being quite concise, none of the information Lilith was presenting seemed to be of any interest to the two elders. It was only once she got to how her path crossed Daniel's, that the two cultivators began to pay attention.
Her story followed precisely the memories that Daniel had implanted into her mind. In them, he was only a wandering cultivator whom she and the others had encountered after being abandoned by the champion of Destiny. From them he had learned of the existence of the multiverse and of his own identity as a champion of Karma, and in exchange for this information, he had promised to escort them back to Competition's domain. It was only after reaching the Trigate that they had encountered other cultivators, and from them, they had learned about the Exalted Assembly.
".. This is how we were able to come here. We were allowed here as his guests." Lilith uttered while looking down in hope to avoid her elder's gaze.
Her explanation did not leave any question unanswered, and yet, Daniel could not see any trace of gratitude or relief in the faces of the two elders. It was clear to him that they had no interest in the lives of the lost girls, and that instead, they only cared about ascertaining what sort of connection a few small high immortals from their domain had with the mysterious champion of Karma.
This lack of interest was made clear the moment the taller of the two elders unfolded his arms, let them fall by his sides, and said to Daniel with a thankless tone, "We appreciate you taking the time to guide a few lost ones back to the fold." He then turned to look at Lilith, and added, "You may stay with us until we go back."
"Elder.. The others.." Lilith muttered, confused as to why the two old men had already forgotten that the people Daniel had escorted back to them were five young women, and not just one.
"We will find your friends later. For now, come to us." Said the taller elder with a seemingly irritated tone, right before reaching for the girl's arm.
His attempt to grab Lilith's arm was suddenly stopped by Daniel, who lifted his right hand up to his chest, and said with a calm, yet cold tone. "On second thought, I should entrust a lost person to their family, and not to a stranger. Can we arrange that, once the assembly is over?"
"Nonsense!" barked out the second champion of Competition. "Should we assume your domain plans to hold our people hostage? Is that why you have shown up with only one of them?"
"Think what you will." Daniel said before suddenly grabbing Lilith's wrist, and walking past the two elders and towards the now familiar old man.
"Why not let me go with them?" Lilith asked with confusion.
Daniel responded with an indifferent shrug of his shoulders. "You aren't being held against your will. You are free to go." He said before taking a small pause, at the end of which he added, "But I was just hoping we would not have to spend the next couple of days by ourselves." These words were aimed at giving a more amenable Lilith some sort of gratification, and yet, they did not reflect the truth.
The real reason why Daniel had chosen not to hand Lilith over to the two elders was a darker one. One which he thought Lilith did not need to know.
After becoming a semi-aspect of existence, Daniel had noticed that the fragments of power hidden within the bodies of the other champions, triggered different sorts of reactions within him. The more an aspect of existence had in common with the concept of karma, the more he would feel some form of familiarity with them. A feeling which he had felt when, in the restaurant, he had stumbled upon the members of Morality's domain.
What he felt towards the fragments of the aspects of Competition hidden within the bodies of the two elders, on the other hand, was a repulsion which, while unable to affect his free will, still made it clear to him that his nature as Karma, and the nature of Competition were incompatible. Similarly, to the champions of Competition Daniel felt like a natural enemy.
What Daniel had guessed correctly, was that instead of having to justify the presence of a few more people to the organizers of the event, and therefore publicly declare a connection with Daniel's domain to the entire multiverse, the two elders were better off simply killing Lilith and the others once in their custody. With the few of them dead, no one would have a chance to connect the two domains to one another, and none of Competition's allied domains would have a reason to accuse them of foul play.
"Young one, still instigating left and right, I see." Said the older gentleman whom Daniel recognized as one of the two old cultivators who had tried to save him from the champions of War. As he spoke, he tried to ignore the grievous stares that came from the two entities who were standing behind Daniel, and instead focused on his careless appearance.
"It wasn't my intention." Daniel said calmly before slowly looking at his surroundings. He then added after a few moments, "I am here for the same reason as everybody else.. To participate in the betting." As Daniel once again mentioned betting, the surrounding cultivators looked at him with irritation, before going back to their conversations.
"I am afraid your Lord's previous intervention has made it.. Inconvenient.. For us to bet with you." Said the old man awkwardly. "No one here would expect you to defy your Lord if he simply decided to aid you during the fight.. Why don't we leave, and have a chat? My elder sister has been waiting to talk to you for the past few-" He then added before being interrupted.
Daniel already knew what the old man wanted, and yet, he was not interested in anything he could offer.. As what he wanted was for his name to become even more notorious. "I am not the one going on the ring. He is." Daniel explained while nodding in Ashura's direction. He then added, "Also, I have something I can bet with." As he reached the end of his explanation, Daniel moved his consciousness into the pocket dimension he had created inside the front pocket of his pants, and from it, he took a fist sized orb.
From the eyes of an inexperienced cultivator, this orb did not appear special in the least. Its opaque grey color gave it a dull and unpleasant appearance, and yet, not one among the many cultivators present could stop himself from turning their head towards it with a snappy motion.
Commonly known as an essence orb, this object existed to showcase the concept of a certain type of essence to those who wished to comprehend it. An object that Daniel had encountered for the first time in the black castle, and from which he had comprehended several forms of mana. What was contained within the orb that was floating in Daniel's hand, however, was not the simple elemental essences left by the owner of the black castle, but his own comprehension of the essence of spacetime. Within the orb time was not a constant, but moved backwards, bringing back the surrounding space along with it-A concept that Daniel had learned while witnessing his system rewind time to a point before his death many times in the past.
The appearance of this orb was clearly something that the old cultivator was desperate to avoid. By being one of the few people aware of Daniel's comprehension, he had hoped to exchange his knowledge privately, as that would have saved him a lot of trouble, and yet, Daniel had chosen the more dangerous and inconvenient path.
With something worth more than a simple universe, and the assurance that Daniel was not the one to fight, hundreds of cultivators gave up on the conversations they were having, and marched in his direction.
"I am willing to bet twenty universes on your companion not lasting three blows from my disciple."
"Fifteen universes in a battle of comprehension."
"A game of real life chess, mate in 8 moves, fifty universes."
The many proposals arrived one after the other, each offering an astounding gain regardless of the type of competition, and yet, none of them seemed to pique Daniel's interest. It was only after several minutes that Daniel put the orb back into his pocket, and said, "A one-on-one fight. The duel will end the moment one of the two fighters will be unable to continue.. I am betting with the first one who can offer an untouched universe."