Chapter 31: Carol’s Enhancement

Chapter 31: Chapter 31: Carol’s Enhancement

Daniel enjoyed an incredibly lavish lunch.

By the time he finished eating, he was feeling a little miserable.

Rich people really did live happily.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t one of them.

’I need to find a way to make some money,’ Daniel thought.

’I’m not aiming to become the richest man in the world, but at the very least, I want enough money to live however I want.’

In this life, he had come to enjoy himself, not spend every day worrying about paying bills and surviving.

After lunch, the king sent people to prepare the ceremony. While they waited, he continued chatting with Daniel for a while.

More than an hour passed before a royal guard entered and respectfully reported that everything was ready.

"The ceremony has been prepared. We can leave now," the king said.

"Good," Daniel replied with a nod.

Beside him, Carol had already become restless with anticipation.

Objectively, not much time had passed.

But to her, it felt as though an entire century had crawled by.

She simply couldn’t wait any longer.

Under the king’s guidance, everyone boarded a Wakandan aircraft and flew toward a mountain range.

Towering peaks stretched into the sky.

Clouds and mist wound through the mountains like rivers, creating a breathtaking scene.

The aircraft eventually stopped halfway up one of the mountains, hovering in front of a cave entrance carved into the rock face.

"This is the place," the king said.

As soon as he stepped inside, Daniel realized the cave was far larger than it appeared from the outside.

The interior was surprisingly spacious.

Quite a few people were already gathered within.

These were all members of the king’s most trusted inner circle... people whose loyalty was beyond question.

After all, Heart-Shaped Herbs were plants capable of enhancing the human body.

If someone unreliable were guarding them, the king probably wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.

This was the very foundation of royal authority in Wakanda.

Technically speaking, anyone in Wakanda could challenge the king.

If they won and gained the approval of the other tribes, they could become the next ruler.

But over the course of centuries...

Who had ever actually succeeded?

An ordinary person defeating the Black Panther?

It was impossible.

During the coronation ceremony, challengers were allowed to face a Black Panther whose powers had supposedly been removed.

But Daniel seriously doubted how genuine that was.

To him, it looked more like a carefully staged performance.

The witnesses were all tied to the royal family anyway.

If someone somehow won, they could try finding out what happened next.

Assuming they weren’t afraid of dying.

Daniel even suspected that the supposed removal of the Black Panther’s powers might be fake.

If things truly became dangerous and the king looked like he was about to lose, he’d probably pull off some miraculous last-second comeback.

The power of friendship.

The strength of destiny.

The awakening of hidden potential.

Whatever people wanted to call it.

In Daniel’s eyes, it was all part of the same routine.

Every single Heart-Shaped Herb could create a new Black Panther.

If outsiders obtained them, it would pose a deadly threat to the royal family’s rule.

The cave was hidden beneath layers of security.

Concealed cameras and alarm systems covered the surrounding area.

The interior was even more heavily protected.

Anyone daring to covet the Heart-Shaped Herbs would immediately become the target of the royal family.

The pursuit would continue until one side was dead.

The only reason Daniel was standing here was because he was Daniel.

If anyone else had walked up to the king and casually said, "Hey, can I try one of your Heart-Shaped Herbs?"

A laser beam would have hit them in the face before they finished the sentence.

Everyone understood something very clearly.

There was no way Daniel would allow Carol to undergo enhancement alone.

If anything went wrong...

Not even all of Wakanda would be able to bear the consequences.

And so, for the first time in thousands of years, new visitors had entered the sacred cave where the Heart-Shaped Herbs grew.

The priest overseeing the ritual was Badu.

He was the father of Zuri, the priest who would one day preside over T’Challa’s ceremony in the future.

At this point in time, however, Badu was still alive.

In fact, he had personally overseen the king’s own Black Panther ceremony years ago.

Still, judging by his appearance, he probably didn’t have much time left.

His face was covered in wrinkles.

His back was bent with age.

He looked like he might stop breathing at any moment.

"T’Chaka!"

The moment he saw the king, Badu called out his name sharply.

His voice echoed through the cave.

He didn’t care in the slightest that Daniel and Carol were standing nearby.

Nor did he bother hiding his displeasure.

"Why have you brought outsiders here?" he demanded. "You have violated the ancestral laws that have been upheld for thousands of years!"

The atmosphere instantly became awkward.

The king couldn’t simply lash out at him either.

Strictly speaking, the two were relatives.

The priestly line carried royal blood as well.

"These two are not outsiders," the king said with an embarrassed smile. "They are Wakanda’s closest friends."

"Hmph!"

Badu snorted.

"I don’t care whether they’re friends or not. I only know this."

"For thousands of years, not even ordinary Wakandans have been allowed to consume the Heart-Shaped Herb. Yet today, you intend to give it to foreigners."

"When you die, will you really have the strength to meet the kings who came before you?"

His words were completely merciless.

The king’s expression darkened slightly.

The people around them lowered their heads.

No one dared speak.

The cave became deathly silent.

"I have my reasons for this decision," the king said calmly. "Go prepare for the ceremony."

"I will not conduct a Heart-Shaped Herb ceremony for outsiders."

Badu’s stubbornness was legendary.

If he said he wouldn’t do it, then he wouldn’t.

The king sighed.

"Very well."

"I will conduct the ceremony myself."

Then he turned toward the guards.

"Take Priest Badu back to rest. He’s old now. He shouldn’t overexert himself."

It was obvious what the king intended.

If Badu remained here, the ceremony would never proceed peacefully.

Two guards immediately stepped forward.

Badu slapped away the hands reaching for him.

"Take your hands off me!"

His voice was still surprisingly strong.

"I’m not dead yet!"

Then he turned back toward T’Chaka.

"T’Chaka, I want to see how you’re going to explain this to our ancestors!"

"That won’t be your concern," the king replied evenly.

"They will understand my decision."

"Hmph!"

Badu snorted once more before turning and walking away.

Daniel stood off to the side, feeling more than a little awkward.

The king glanced at him apologetically.

"My apologies. You’ve witnessed something embarrassing."

"Badu is old. His mind isn’t as clear as it once was."

Daniel smiled awkwardly.

There really wasn’t much he could say.

Soon afterward, under the guidance of several young attendants, Carol and T’Challa lay down inside two prepared sand pits.

The sand was a vivid red.

Its color was almost unnaturally bright.

Once both of them were settled, the king personally walked over and harvested two Heart-Shaped Herbs.

Daniel took the opportunity to examine them more closely.

The plants looked somewhat like funnels.

Their outer petals were a deep purple color.

They were quite beautiful.

Honestly...

They looked far more like flowers than herbs.

’Why is it called a Heart-Shaped Herb instead of a Heart-Shaped Flower?’

Daniel wondered.

The naming made no sense to him.

...

The king carefully extracted a purple crystal from inside one of the Heart-Shaped Herbs.

He placed it into a stone container and crushed it.

The crystal immediately dissolved into a thick purple liquid.

Turning around, he looked at Daniel.

"Would you like to feed it to Carol yourself?"

"I can do that?" Daniel asked.

"Of course."

The king smiled.

"Then I’ll do it."

Daniel accepted the container and knelt beside Carol.

Holding the bowl near her lips, he glanced back.

"Just pour it in?"

"That’s right."

Getting confirmation, Daniel didn’t hesitate.

He immediately pried Carol’s mouth open and poured the purple liquid straight down her throat.

Carol frowned instantly, her eyes snapped toward him.

The look she gave him clearly said.

’Just wait until I get out of here. You’re dead.’

Daniel blinked innocently.

Then he deliberately winked at her.

Carol’s expression became even darker.

Looking thoroughly satisfied with himself, Daniel stood back up.

On the other side, the king had already finished feeding T’Challa as well.

The two men stepped aside.

The young attendants picked up their shovels and began filling the pits.

Soon, Carol and T’Challa were completely buried beneath the red sand.

"Why are they being buried?" Daniel asked curiously.

The king explained patiently.

"It helps them communicate more effectively with Bast, the Panther Goddess."

"The power of the Black Panther comes from her blessing."

Daniel frowned slightly after hearing that.

He had never been particularly fond of gods, divine beings, fate, or anything similar.

More importantly...

He suddenly realized something he hadn’t considered before.

What if Bast left some kind of mark, influence, or hidden safeguard inside Carol during the enhancement process?

Wouldn’t that create a whole new set of problems?

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became.

For the first time, Daniel regretted allowing Carol to consume the Heart-Shaped Herb.

He had only known that the Black Panther gained enhanced abilities through the herb.

And from what he remembered, Wakanda had plenty of them.

What he hadn’t expected was that the enhancement process would actually involve a deity.

A cold feeling crept into his chest.

Daniel suddenly had the uncomfortable suspicion that he might have accidentally dragged Carol into something much bigger than either of them had anticipated.

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[A.N: Don’t worry Carol will get her original powers too, she will be Captain Marvel.]