Chapter 139 - An Absolute Punishment
"You've lied to me.." Said the Judge with a serious and cold tone. He then took out his small parchment and pen once again, and while turning to look at the Spiritual Emissary, he said "What was the promised reward?"
The Spiritual Emissary was terrified. He couldn't help but stutter while responding "Nothing i-i-important j-judge.."
The judge turned to look at Daniel, and said "What did he promise?"
The worry on the face of the Spiritual Emissary couldn't be any more evident. But Daniel couldn't care less. He looked back at the Judge, and said "He promised a way to travel through worlds, and a direction towards my planet of origin."
"Ohh.. did he?" Said the Judge with surprise. He then added "It's surprising, because he doesn't have the rights to grant something like that.."
"Judge, p-p-please let m-m-me explain.." Said the Spiritual Emissary in a pitiful tone.
The old man ignored him completely, and instead, he started writing something with his pen.
Once he finished, he read out loud "The Sovereign of Corruption is required to surrender three galaxies to the government's treasury. That is the fine for lying to a Judge."
"Yes Judge." Responded the Herald of Corruption without the slightest bit of hesitation.
"The Spiritual Emperor owes three galaxies as well, and to his faction.. Territorial claims over the unexplored space are denied for three hundred years. These are the fine, and the punishment for lying and making a mockery of ethics."
Just as the Judge finished talking, a second pearly white portal opened right above the third Spiritual Emissary.
From it, a tall and beautiful woman appeared, and fell from a height of ten meters.
As she was about to touch the ground, she grabbed the head of the third Spiritual Emissary, and crashed it so hard against the ground, that his head went straight through the rocky surface.
This woman was dressed in the same way as the third Spiritual emissary was dressed, and like him, her eyes emanated white smoke. The difference, was that the thickness and amount of the smoke was much bigger. So much so, that her eyes seemed to have two white flames that burned relentlessly within them.
After burying the emissary's head into the ground, the woman kneeled in front of the Judge, and said with a polite tone "I am the second Spiritual Emissary, my greetings Judge."
"What is it?" Asked the old man with an unimpressed tone.
"I've been sent here to apologize for the dishonest behaviour displayed by my colleague, and ask that the judge reconsiders our punishment." Said the woman without moving her eyes from the rocky ground.
"A judge's decision is absolute. Be thankful that I haven't increased it after you came to ask me to remove it in the first place.." Responded the old man with a crude tone. He then added "I'll wait here while the two of you finish your matters."
"Yes Judge." Said the Herald of Corruption before getting up on his feet, walking towards Daniel, and saying, "Please, take them out."
Daniel could see the urgency in the herald's face. He clearly held no hidden intentions in his mind. So, Daniel waved his hand, and let the millions of corrupted civilians out of his pocket dimension.
The moment they appeared, the herald waved his hand, and caused the corruption within them to come out from the pores of their bodies, and disappear, almost as if the contact with the air was deadly for it.
He then turned to look at the Judge, and after a polite bow, he entered the dark purple portal which disappeared behind his back.
Once the herald was gone, the judge turned to look at the third Spiritual Emissary, who quickly stood up, and walked towards Daniel.
With an apologetic tone, he said "I apologize for lying to you. Please, pick another reward.."
Daniel couldn't help but smile after noticing the sorry state of the Spiritual Emissary. He didn't feel the slightest bit of compassion for him, as the fresh memories of his indifferent eyes were indelibly printed in his mind.
He was extremely tempted to make an exaggerated request, but he didn't want to leave a bad impression on the Judge, which seemed to have the power to revoke a punishment whenever he felt like.
After a minute spent thinking, Daniel looked at the emissary right in his eyes, and said "I was promised a method that could grant me independence and freedom of mobility.. I think that it is only fair that I ask for a token that will allow me to call you, so that you can teleport me wherever I want to go for.. a hundred times."
The eyes of the Spiritual Emissary opened wide in shock. Deep rage quickly built inside him, and just as he was about to turn Daniel into dust, he suddenly heard the voice of the Judge say..
"That's more than fair!.. How commendable of you, of all the things you could have demanded.. No wonder Iewah picked you!"
The moment the last sentence entered the ears of the second and third spiritual emissaries, the blood drained from the faces of the two emissaries.
"Hahahaha!" The Judge laughed loudly before saying "Can you imagine what would have happened if you had killed one of Iewah's sons? Haaa.. it's been already fifty thousand years since the King of Dragons pissed off the Tamer.. they still haven't finished paying for that.. Haaa.. Good times."
Before the Spiritual Emissary could say anything, the second emissary approached Daniel, and said "I accept your request." Then, she handed over a white bracelet, which she put around Daniel's wrist. "Inject your essence into the bracelet, and I'll arrive to teleport you. Don't call for any other reason that isn't part of the deal."
"Fair enough." Responded Daniel politely.
"Very well, I think my job is done here." Said the Judge while putting the small parchment and the pen back into his robes. He then added "Kid, stay away from spatial parasites, and you two, remember to tell your employer about the punishment."
"Yes Judge." Responded the two Spiritual Emissaries in unison.
"Judge, sir.. I want-" Tried to say Daniel.
Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the old man, which said "No, it's not the time for you to ask questions, kid. Given your gifts, we'll probably see each other in the future. Keep them for then."
He then disappeared the very moment Daniel blinked.
After him, the two spiritual emissaries disappeared as well.
-----
Silence reigned supreme for a few minutes in the area.. The various warriors, and monsters which now looked more like evolved beasts, were looking around, uncertain of what to do..
Until..
"YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAHH!!" The Strongest of Warriors burst out to the top of his lungs, letting go a life worth of desires, dreams and frustration.
This sudden and powerful shout, created a ripple effect that lit a fire in the hearts of every warrior present.
Which shouted in response.
*YEEEEEEEAAH!!*
Daniel could help but look around, while smiling brightly. This was the first time he had done something good with his system. Not only as collateral, but as a main objective. He couldn't help but feel a little proud.
-----
Two months passed since the end of the war, and the warriors had started to get used to their new, and clean world.
Since the moment the world had gone back to how it was before, the scholars of the various tribes had changed their objective of study from the essence of corruption, to experimenting with their unique aura and spiritual essence.
The monsters that had survived the war had made a deal, and along with the warriors which had fought alongside them, they occupied a portion of the territory which once belonged to the king of monsters.
The various tribe leaders split the rest of the land, and created large communities based on fair and just systems. They also promised to welcome the innocent members of the tribes that had sided with the king, starting with the next generation of children.
Finally, the triumvirate, considered the leader of that generation of warriors, had been asked to occupy the castle of the King of the Monsters, and guide the various leaders into an era of peace..
Daniel was currently sitting in a bench placed outside the castle's throne room, and next to him, were Roley, Jerigh, Alesia, and finally Gai'ha.
"So, you'll leave soon." Asked Gai'ha with slightly melancholic tone.
"I will. I have a family to go back to." Responded Daniel while nodding lightly.
Gai'ha became pensive for a few minutes.. Then, she said while visibly embarrassed "My people are safe now.. They will live without hardships.. I have no family members to take care of.. I was thinking that I could come with you guys.. I've always dreamed of traveling.. And be free."
Daniel looked at her as if he had heard something silly. "Of course you are coming.. Do you think you're done learning martial arts or swordsmanship from me?"
"Just because you have a power the same level as mine, it doesn't mean that I can't kick your ass anymore.." Said Gai'ha in an irritated manner.
"Have you already talked about this with the triumvirate?" Asked Daniel, trying to change the topic.
"Yes, they said that if you agreed, they would have no problems with that.. They have also asked me to pitch for.. Another person.." Responded Gai'ha with a sheepish smile.
After Daniel's expression turned into one of curiosity, he asked "Who is that?"
"You've spoiled me with the fruits of your world, kid.. So I'm coming.." Said a familiar voice from behind him.
The owner of this voice was, of course, Lucious. The first person to which Daniel had formed a good relationship with after coming to this world, and which had teached him the language of his people.
"You really want to come with us? What about your daughter?" Asked Daniel in surprise.
"Our aura is pure now.. I have gained a fair amount of additional years to live.. And I have faith in the fact that you'll want to come and this world way before the time of my death." Responded the old man with a Matter-of-fact tone.
"I most definitely will."
"Very well, what are we waiting for then? Let's go explore.. And find something strange to eat." Responded the old man in high spirits.
Daniel didn't refuse either of the two. Not only because they were powerful additions to Daniel's group, as Gai'ha was at the early chief level, while Lucious was at the mid chief level, but also because of all the people in this world, these two were the ones he liked the most.
After Daniel agreed for the two to join his group, he sat right outside the throne in which the triumvirate conducted their business, and waited for them to be free enough to see him.
Meanwhile, he decided to open his profile, and take a look.
____________________________
Dan Hiel - Karmic system's wielder.
Age - 21
Power level
-Mid chief level
Battle Prowess
-Late chief level
Karma - 260,492,534
____________________________
Weapons Masteries (Details)
Martial Arts (Details)
Skills (Details)
Spells (Details)
____________________________
Reap What You've Sown
Time Is Precious Lv.20
Reduced Cost Lv.20
Bonus Points Lv.20
Second Chance (Upgrades 2/2) Lv.20
Karma X Luck
Karma Debt
Karmic Retribution (Upgrades 1/1)
System Upgrades (Details)
____________________________
Daniel had gained, thanks to the war, more than two hundred millions of karma points. The majority of which had come from the moment he had exterminated the monster's army, which oddly enough, didn't gave a very high amount of bad karma for each individual kill.
The monster's behaviour wasn't different from that of animals. They would kill to feed, and increase their power. And that, didn't make their karma worsen.
The rest of the karma had arrived by the killing of the king of monsters, and by freeing the world from the corruption.
The requirement amount of karma points to unlock the fourth level of system upgrades, was a hundred millions, which meant that he would be able to upgrade his system's skills. But before he could, he heard footsteps coming from the side.
After hearing the sound of steps that came towards his direction, Daniel closed his profile window, and turned towards the person who was approaching him and his group.
He saw the Strongest of Warriors.