Chapter 375: Hero of Destruction
"I’m sure most of you are familiar with the rules of the Ancient Stairway. For those who aren’t, there really isn’t much to explain," the elder of the Lionheart family said while standing in the sky, looking down at the crowd.
"In short, there are no rules. Even attacking each other is allowed. However, killing is forbidden and will be punished. Don’t try to show off, climb as far as your limit allows, and if you can’t continue, retreat."
"Also, if you manage to climb a good number of steps, you might even be chosen as a disciple by one of the elders of the Lionheart family." After speaking, the elder waved his hand, and the stairway became accessible to everyone.
Many of them exchanged glances and immediately started climbing without hesitation. The stairway was wide and large enough to hold a huge number of people.
"I know I don’t need to tell you this, but be careful on the stairway," Andreas said, glancing at Daniel.
"Don’t worry. If they try anything stupid, I’ll gladly entertain them," Daniel replied with a smirk.
For a moment, Andreas felt a pang of grief for his brother and his subordinates. Then his eyes turned to Ilaris.
"You heard what the elder said, right? Only go as far as you can. Don’t try to push past your limit, or you might lose the rewards."
Ilaris nodded.
As things calmed down a little, the more famous geniuses such as Selera, Olivia, and even Tormyn entered the stairway as well.
However, Daniel and the others waited until it became even less crowded. They weren’t in a hurry. Success on the stairway had nothing to do with speed, and they were confident enough in themselves to reach the top ranks.
After a few minutes, Andreas and Ilaris finally headed to the stairway and slowly started walking up.
Daniel glanced at Fino, who was sitting on his shoulder. He picked him up, petted him for a moment, then handed him over to Rynor, who also headed toward the stairway.
"This... there’s no difference from normal stairs," he frowned slightly after stepping on the first step. Shouldn’t there be pressure? He didn’t feel any at all.
Still, he didn’t think much of it and calmly continued walking. Within just a few seconds, he reached the tenth step. He was expecting his consciousness to be dragged into another dimension to start his first battle... but nothing happened.
With slight confusion, he looked around. There were many others standing on the tenth step. Even Andreas and Ilaris were beside him, and it was obvious that their consciousnesses had been pulled into another dimension.
But him? Nothing. For a moment, he felt like there was some kind of mistake. Tormyn and Selera had already managed to move to the higher steps.
"Maybe the mechanism is different for each person." He decided not to think too much about it. It wasn’t like he could do anything about it anyway, right?
He took the next step and headed toward the twentieth step.
What he didn’t know was that above the clouds, the elders of the Lionheart family were observing the situation.
"As expected from Tormyn and Selera. They’ve already pulled ahead," one of the elders said while stroking his beard.
"It’s a shame their reputation was ruined. Maybe they can use this opportunity to rebuild it."
"Andreas also, even though he started a bit late, has already reached the tenth step."
"Huh? Who’s that boy?" One of the elders noticed something and fixed his gaze on a handsome white-haired youth.
The attention of all the elders fell on him, and they were shocked at the speed with which he was climbing.
"How did he not even pause on the tenth step for a few minutes?"
"Could it be that he’s cheating?" many elders frowned.
"Cheating? On the Ancient Stairway? Impossible!"
"If I’m not mistaken, he’s Andreas’s friend."
The elders weren’t sure whether what they were seeing was real. The speed of this boy was insane! He had already reached the eighteenth step, and with just one more step, he would be on the same level as Selera and Tormyn. What exactly was happening here?
Many of them even concluded that Daniel was cheating. However, they had no idea how or in what way. They wanted to intervene and investigate, but someone stopped them.
"I want to watch. Don’t interfere." A cold feminine voice echoed in their ears.
Upon hearing this woman’s voice, all of them froze in place. They didn’t even dare to breathe anymore.
Meanwhile, the woman standing before them fixed her gaze on the white-haired youth. A trace of amusement flickered in her eyes of pale white, but it quickly disappeared.
At that moment, Daniel casually stepped forward and reached the nineteenth step.
"Hello," he said with a smile as he looked at Selera and Tormyn.
"You! How did you catch up to us so fast?" Tormyn looked at Daniel in disbelief, as if he had seen a ghost.
"Oh, hello, handsome," Selera also seemed surprised, though she controlled herself.
"Well, it’s too easy. Anyway, enjoy yourselves," Daniel chuckled, stepping onto the twentieth step.
Tormyn growled, feeling like his pride had been wounded. How could this bastard reach the twentieth step before him?
He didn’t care that his plan was ruined. Ignoring the overwhelming pressure crushing him, he forced himself to step forward and finally reached the twentieth step.
Sweat dripped down his face, and he struggled to catch his breath. Yet before he could even rest, his consciousness was pulled into another dimension.
Seeing the two of them reach the twentieth step, Selera sneered and also stepped forward. She too endured the same pain and exhaustion as Tormyn.
But just like them, her consciousness was also pulled into another dimension.
This time, the same happened to Daniel as well. Finally, his consciousness was dragged into another dimension. For a moment, his vision went dark, and when he regained it, he found himself in a completely different place.
It looked like a battlefield, but far beyond the word "ordinary."
The sky was blood-red, the surroundings drenched in blood, and everything seemed desolate. The air reeked of destruction, as if everything had already been annihilated.
In the middle of this ruined sky and earth, a figure was sitting cross-legged. He wore a grand gray robe, and his long black hair flowed with the wind.
Though he was just sitting there, he looked like the embodiment of destruction itself—as if destruction originated from him, as if it began and ended with him.
It felt like looking at destruction itself, beyond what words could ever describe.
Seeing him, Daniel felt a faint sense of danger. It wasn’t much, but it was there. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he realized that whoever this person was, he must have been a monster in his time.
The man, seemingly aware of an outsider’s presence, stood up and turned around, revealing a middle-aged yet handsome face.
However, Daniel froze when he saw his face—because the man had no eyes. The sockets where his eyes should have been were completely empty.
"It’s been a long time since someone has managed to awaken a trace of me... What is your name?" the man suddenly spoke.
Even his voice alone felt like it could bring about the destruction of everything.
"Daniel."
"Daniel? That’s an interesting name. I’ve never heard it before. Nice to meet you, Daniel. I am the Hero of Destruction, Kron Garaldin."