As soon as Danielâs awareness returned to his body, he immediately looked around. There was no one else left on the stairway except him.
Even Andreas had already left, and now he stood alone on the 100th step of the stairway. His gaze fell on the massive crowd staring at him.
In their eyes, he could see awe, fear, curiosity, shock, and even envy.
"The stairway didnât throw him out... he actually succeeded!"
"Damn it! An outsider really managed to reach the 100th step and even win the final battle!"
"Does that mean weâre witnessing a historic event right now?!"
Whispers spread among the crowd. The Elders were speechless, unsure how they should react.
Perhaps the best reaction came from Andreas and Ilaris. Both had smiles on their faces, joy shining in their eyes.
"He really made it to the 100th step! Haha, all of you, look! Heâs my ally!" Andreas looked around with pride and arrogance as he spoke.
He even felt that back then, in the mountains, he had been truly lucky to become friends with Daniel. Now, he had befriended a monster like this!
Without a doubt, Daniel would one day stand at the peak of the world. He even had the potential to become a Demi-God. At that time, as his friend, wouldnât Andreas also rise to the heavens?
On top of that, just the fact that Daniel had reached the 100th step greatly boosted Andreasâs reputation within the Lionheart family.
Now, everyone knew his ally was a monster, and perhaps even the Elders would view him more favorably, making his chances of being chosen as heir higher.
But not everyone was happy. Tormyn stood in a corner, his face completely dark, a cold light flashing in his eyes.
He had wanted to use the stairway to rebuild his reputation, yet not only did he fail, but his greatest rival became even more famous.
âDamn it! How did he even manage to befriend such a monster?!â he cursed in his mind, but it was useless.
He knew that at this point, he couldnât do anything... unless he asked for their help. Maybe that was his only option.
âDo I really have to ask for their help? But that would be counted as betraying the entire world...â he thought. Still, did he really have another choice?
âDamn it! Itâs not my fault! Itâs all that bastard Andreasâs fault!â he finally made up his mind.
"Now, young lady, what do you think? Do you want to recruit him?" On the other side, Olivia asked Selera, who was still stunned.
She herself was extremely surprised. She had never expected Daniel to actually reach the 100th step and even win. But in the end, who cares?
What mattered was that the two of them werenât enemies. In fact, they could even be considered somewhat like friends. From now on, no matter what happened, she had no interest in becoming that boyâs enemy.
Besides, she also received a great reward from the stairway. With its help, she could advance significantly. Maybe she couldnât catch up to him, but at least the gap would shrink.
"Recruit him? I donât think thatâs possible." Selera came back to her senses at Oliviaâs words and replied with a bitter smile.
"Then what should we do? Iâll say this nowâI wonât become his enemy."
"Donât worry. Maybe we canât recruit him, but there are other ways to make him an ally." A glint of greed and temptation flashed in Seleraâs eyes.
At that moment, Daniel slowly descended and landed at the bottom of the stairway. The instant he touched down, a crowd surrounded him, bombarding him with questions.
There was nothing to be done. To them, this boy was now a genius. Nobody wanted to miss the chance to befriend someone who might one day stand at the top of the world.
Daniel gave a bitter smile and glanced at Andreas. The latter also smiled bitterly and signaled that he couldnât help him.
He wanted to escape, but right then, several Elders appeared.
"Scatter," one of them said coldly, releasing his aura.
The moment the crowd felt the Eldersâ auras, they panicked and quickly backed away.
"My friend, may I ask your name?" One Elder smiled and asked.
"My name is Daniel."
"Nice to meet you. Iâm one of the Elders of the Lionheart family. Honestly, I didnât expect such a talented guest within our family. If itâs not too much trouble, would you come with us for a while?"
"May I ask why? Because I donât remember doing anything wrong." Daniel frowned as he replied.
"Donât worry. We just want to ask you a few questions."
"You can ask your questions right here." Daniel said suspiciously. He didnât trust the Lionheart family enough to go anywhere with them.
What if they knew about the Everlasting Physique? Or if they just wanted to take his rewardsâor something like that?
The Elder frowned slightly. He hadnât expected this kid to be so stubborn. He was about to say something, but at that moment, another voice suddenly rang out.
"Forgive me, Elder, but heâs my friend and guest. If you have questions or issues, you can tell me." Andreas stepped up beside Daniel and spoke.
"Young Lord, thereâs no need to worry. Weâre not planning to eat your friend or anything like thatâitâs just a simple conversation." The Elder sighed.
"If itâs a simple conversation, then I can come too, right?" Andreas said.
"Well... this..." the Elder hesitated. It wasnât him or the other Elders who wanted to speak with the boy.
It was that womanâthe wild one. And the terrifying one had also insisted that only this boy be brought to her. He didnât dare disobey her command.
He wanted to say something, but another voice rang out again. This time, it was a beautiful female voice, yet it carried nothing but coldness.
"I want to talk to you. Donât worry, I only want to discuss the ones you fought against."
The moment everyone heard that voice, their bones trembled, and cold sweat dripped down their faces. Everyone knew who the woman speaking was.
"Who is she?" Daniel frowned. From everyoneâs reactionsâeven Andreasâsâit was obvious they were terrified.
"Sheâs... my aunt. The White Whale. Sorry, but I canât help you anymore." Andreas patted Danielâs shoulder before running away to join Ilaris.
Daniel sighed at the foolâs behavior. Unlike the others, when he heard that voice, he felt a sense of calm. He could sense the truth within it.
"Itâs fine. We can talk."