Rean looked at Roan with a weird face, his message obvious.
'You just had to do that...'
Roan felt helpless. It's not like he could predict that killing the man would initiate this thing. Still, they didn't have time to complain as the Soul Gem System's voice echoed in their minds.
[The Empire's situation is becoming more and more complicated by the day. At the moment, the waves that it causes are not perceptible for the majority, but it will not last for many years. The Old Emperor can't decide who will inherit the throne, making the Empire's destiny more unpredictable than it should be. The Empire needs someone genuinely willing to protect it and keep the peace for the sake of its people.]
[Objective: Help Princess Calina Sasamil take the throne.]
[Time for completion: Unlimited.]
[Rewards: 20000 Destiny Points.]
[Authority Reward: Five Levels.]
[Title Reward: Empire's Destiny Saviors.]
[Failure Conditions 1: Another Emperor or Empress takes the throne.]
[Failure Conditions 2: Calina Sasamil Dies.]
[Punishment for Failure: Hosts' Eradication.]
Rean and Roan were taken aback.
'This shit really came out of nowhere!'
They already expected that it would be something complicated. After all, the quest name 'Empire's Succession' definitely sounded grand. However, they never thought that it would be something as ridiculous as this.
'Sister Orb, this doesn't make any sense at all! Roan and I are only Foundation Establishment cultivators. What the hell does the system expect us to do? It doesn't matter how I see it. This sudden jump in difficulty shouldn't happen to us!'
Roan couldn't agree more.
'He's right! We barely know this Calina girl! Why the hell would the Soul Gem System entangle us with her like that? First of all, does she even want to be the Empress? I doubt so! Sister Orb, you must do something! It is obvious that the system is trying to kill us!'
[Shut up! I have nothing to do with it! Didn't you see what the system said? It was a Hidden Quest! It meant that even I was completely unaware of its existence. I told you before, I'm more like a helper. I have little effect on the system's decisions. If you don't wanna die, you better think about something.]
[However...]
Rean and Roan's attention was immediately piqued.
'However? However what? Don't hold back, just tell us.'
[Well, I also think that this sudden spike in difficulty compared to what you did before is too unreasonable. Yet, there is one thing that I know for sure. The Soul Gem System will never release a quest or a mission that is impossible to complete. For it to have unlocked this quest, it means that there must be a way of finishing it.]
[Besides, you saw that, didn't you? There's no time limit. That means even the system doesn't know how long it will take for the Emperor to decide on the next successor.]
'Ahh... fuck it! Let me think.'
Roan calmed himself down and began to ponder about the contents of the quest. As unwilling as he might be, he knew that continuing to complain would lead nowhere.
'There are a few points hidden in the Soul Gem System's message. First, it's the waves caused by the Emperor's indecision. It said that those waves are not perceptible by those outside the Imperial Family's circle. That means the situation still hasn't reached a critical point where the Emperor will be forced to make a decision.'
'The second point is the 'will not last for many years.' That means we still have a lot of time before the real struggle for the throne starts. From what the system said and the pieces of information we got from Valeu, all the princes and princesses are still gathering allies. From the nine subordinate clans, only two have chosen a faction up to this point.'
During the interrogation, Roan asked Valeu about all of the subordinate clans around the Imperial Family. The Nine Clans were the Samikil, Lavil, Taran, Fole, Susume, Dekaslo, Mantil, Porem, and Wavile clans. Valeu told them that their Samikil clan had allied with the first prince, Lamares. As for the second, the Wavile clan joined the fifth prince's side, Salael.
All the other seven clans were still indecisive about what they should do. After all, allying with the wrong side would result in centuries of suppression by the clans and the Emperor they were against at first. The only reason they wouldn't be destroyed is that they were still part of the Empire's forces. Yet, none of them wanted to draw the short stick. After all, the outcome would be directly related to their own share of resources of the Empire.
'The third point is that the system said that the Empire needs someone genuinely willing to protect it and keep the peace. For me, this is the most critical point. The hidden meaning behind it is what bothers me the most.'
Rean and Sister Orb became confused.
[Why? It seems pretty clear to me.]
Rean nodded.
'Same. The objective is to help Calina take the throne. In other words, Calina is willing to protect the Empire and keep it peaceful. Well, peaceful to the point as to what a cultivation world could reach. Compared to Earth, this world had never been peaceful at all.'
[Right? I also think the same.]
Roan snorted after hearing those two.
'Idiots. It has nothing to do with Calina. Although I'm not 100% sure, I'm at least 90% confident of what I'm thinking. The problem here is that the system could have picked any of the more developed princes or princesses. With Rean's Communication System and our talent, although difficult, we would eventually be able to join one of their sides. That means this quest would be a lot easier to complete. Don't you agree?'
Sister Orb and Rean nodded. Well, only Rean since Sister Orb had no head, but she agreed with Roan nonetheless.
Roan then continued.
'Since the system selected Calina, that can possibly mean just one thing. All the other influential princes and princesses also think that the Chrole Empire is a threat! It's just that they are not as loud about it as the First Prince, Lamares!'
'Ah!'
[Ah!]
Indeed. The Soul Gem System wanted someone to keep the Empire peaceful. If any of the other influential inheritors had this wish, it would have been much better to ask Rean and Roan to help them instead of Calina. However, it did not do so. It's not guaranteed, but that possibly meant that they all agreed with the idea of dealing with the Chrole Empire.
Roan added another point.
'This also means that we now know why the Emperor is indecisive. He most likely knows that all his best inheritors all shared a similar view regarding the Chrole Empire.'
It was then that Roan noticed something.
'Oh, I see... Seems like Sister Orb wasn't wrong after all.'
[Of course! I'm never wrong... By the way, what is it that I wasn't wrong about?]
Rean and Roan's mouths twitched.