Chapter 27 27. Booster Stone
Hearing the decree of the blind prince, A feeling of dread fell on the court members. At first, they wanted to resist but after hearing the last sentence, They accepted their fate.
After all, an act of treason is the biggest crime that can be committed by the kingdom law. Not only culprits are punished with death by crushing their heads under the elephant's feet but their bloodlines also can't be spared. They will be hunted down, males in the family will be killed while the women will be sold as a slave. What's more no kingdoms will help those culprits or their families as there is that unwritten rule kingdom follows, No traitors are allowed to live.
That is why the act of treason is feared by many. No one wanted to implicate their whole lineage for it.
So soldiers came and led court members to a room to give them their punishment as they can't tarnish the sacredness of the court by shedding blood there.
"As for the blessing for the son of Radha, I give a command to give him 1000 gold coins."
Dhritarashtra announced his blessings to Karna. As the servant handed 1000 gold coins filled the bag to Adiratha. This bag's weight might be more than Karna himself. If you look at the coins, each coin is made of pure gold with Hastinapur's royal sigil on each of them.
"No my lord, You have already given Karna enough blessings as a kingdom, We can't accept these gold coins now."
Adiratha quickly denied taking this gold. He is a simple honest man, He doesn't need anything more than what he deserves. He was content with what he had.
"Yes lord, You protected my son and forgave him for his crime. I, as his mother, can't thank you enough, So this gold is not needed by us."
Radha too denied accepting the gold, She at this moment wants nothing but to hold her son again, Only then she can feel safe but she still has to wait little more as Karna was still In Gandhari's arms.
"Adiratha, You misunderstood, I gave him that Kingdom as a punishment not as a blessing, These 1000 gold coins are my blessing for him."
Dhritarashtra was adamant to give them those coins, And followed with his reason.
"Even if it appears that a king's crown is made up of gold to others but that crown is not a crown made of gold but thorns. A sharp thorn that kings have to bear the pain of, That's why giving the kingdom to him is a punishment, not a reward, So don't deny my blessing to him."
Dhritarashtra explains how the given kingdom is a punishment and not a reward or blessing.
When Radha and Adiratha heard that, They had to accept the reward but their respect for the blind prince also increased.
They know the king has to bear too many responsibilities but he also can enjoy the benefits that responsibility brings. So it was definitely not a punishment as Dhritarashtra claimed to be, He was just saying it to justify his action in front of royal elders, He gave a reward disguised as a punishment.
"Hum, It's my turn to give Karna my blessing."
Gandhari too understands her husband's motive and the little part of her resentment in her too dismissed. She was right now beaming with joy, What's more can a wife ask other than get respect from her husband? How can she not be happy when her husband opposed and punished the whole court for her honor?
She never regretted blindfolding herself and now she felt it was all worth it, She didn't do all that for nothing . At this moment, Even if her husband now said to poke her own eyes, She will happily do it.
Gandhari tried to control her joy and looked at the little Karna in her arms for the first time but this sight stunned her.
She was a princess and has seen every beauty the world had to offer from exotic flowers to precious gems, From luxurious clothes to expensive gold jewelry but she never saw anything close to the beauty of a child in front of her. He has an even more exaggerated appearance than in her imagination.
She stopped in her tracks. For the first time, she was jealous of someone. She was jealous that Radha can have this beautiful son and she can't. She was longing for her sons too, Her hundred sons. She remembers that boon of a hundred sons she have though that boon was a cause of her kingdom's downfall but she never regretted asking for that boon. She knows and personally enjoys having a hundred brothers, So she also wanted her kids to have the same fortune as hers.
So Gandhari didn't think much and took out the precious gem necklace from her neck.
That necklace was shown in golden color as it was made of lots of expensive metals and stones, Which was giving it the unique luster but this chain was not the focus of this necklace but the gem it was holding in it. The gem was not that big, It was just a little bigger than 1 inch of ruby-like stone. It was a scarlet blood-colored circular gem, Emitting some unique aura.
This neckless was the only last remaining memory she has of her father. This necklace was given to her by her father on her 18th birthday, The last birthday she celebrated, As for the gem. She found it near the river when she was little and since then its has been with her.
At this moment, She only has this thing to offer this beautiful beyond belief child. After all, even the riches of the world are pale in comparison to him.
So she decided that if she can't offer something tha precious to the world then she can only offer something precious to her.
"Radha, I have to admit, I am a little jealous of you for having this captivating son. So I can only offer him this necklace of mine. I bless him to have a happy life."
Gandhari expressed her genuine feeling to Radha as she put that necklace on Karna.
When Radha heard Gandhari praising her child, She was happy and proud. After all, which mother will feel proud hearing her son praised? So she also thanked Gandhari heartfeltly. Though Adiratha didn't show it he too was very happy. Karna was really a blessing to them, They just got him yesterday and today they have their kingdom. A kingdom of Suta.
Dhritarashtra is the most shocked of all of the people. He knows how much his wife loves that necklace, Even he is not allowed to touch it, and now she has given that necklace, Which was more important to her than her life to the kid. But he didn't say anything as he planned to ask her later about it.
While Karna on other hand was stunned because just as that necklace landed on him, It triggered the system.
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for getting the red cultivation stone and gold necklace, Your practice speed is slightly increased...
Congratulations to the Host for triggering the 10,000 times critical strike.....
Congratulations to the Host for getting the Booster stone...
Booster Stone : The source of this stone was held by Gandhari for most of her life and because of that this stone also gained some benefits of her penance.
Now, this turns into a Booster stone, Because of that as long as the Host uses this stone, Your cultivation speed will increase 10 times in all four types of Physical, Mental, Spiritual & Yogic cultivation.
(Note : For to active the effect, the Host has to swallow the stone as it has to merge with the body to work.)]
'Is getting rewards that easy? It's not even a day and I have received these supreme rewards. I will be going to exhaust my luck, If this goes on.'
Karna was stunned again. He didn't even come out of the shock of Body of Faceslap and now here is this. He felt that he was using all his luck to get this rewards.
Then he looked at the reward and became ecstatic, He was worried about his cultivation speed before as though the Sovereign Constitution is strong and will make him 10,000 times stronger in the same realm but it also has a requirement that he has to cultivate 10,000 times more. "Star-Child" Bloodline did give 10,000-time cultivation speed but it was still not enough but now with this Booster Stone, His problem is solved.
He saw the requirement for active booster stones requirement, So without further ado, He quickly pulled out the Booster stone from that neckless and put it in his mount directly swallowing it.
As that stone entered his mouth it was turned into a stream of light and spread throughout his body.
"....."
Karna in excitement forgot that he was still in the court lying in Gandhari's arms. So all his actions fell into the eyes of the present people.
"Hey, Hey, Spit that out, Karna, Spite that out."
Radha and Gandhari were the first to react. Gandhari held Karna and started hitting on his back, While Radha without caring about status ran up Gandhari.
(A/N: I know, I know. It's slow-paced but doesn't worry there will be a time skip in a few chapters & Story will pick up its pace.
Also, we reached the 200 power stone mark, So you guys will receive 2 extra chapters.
The same rule, Each hundred power stones will be one extra chapter added in the week. So don't forget to leave a power stone and comments.
Like always thanks for reading and have a good day😁.)