"Father... do you think he can do it?" Lana asked anxiously as she stared at the dungeon portal. A whole day had passed, and there was still no sign of Daniel.
Worse than that, they had lost communication again. This time, to be safe, they had given him a stronger communication talisman, but the result was the same.
At this point, they had already realized that this dungeon probably restricted or completely blocked any kind of communication with the outside world. They had no choice but to wait patiently.
"I hope so. Just have faith in him. Thatâs all we can do for now," Varnos said with a faint, bitter smile as he looked at his daughter.
Even he didnât know how things were going to turn out, so how could he give a confident answer? Still, seeing the worry in his daughterâs eyes, he had no choice but to try and comfort her.
Besides, he could tell that her concern wasnât only about the Awakened trapped insideâit was also about the future of their guild.
They had sent in a large number of Rank A Awakened. Those people were the guildâs future, especially someone like Danielâa prodigy that might appear only once in a billion.
If they all died, the guild would be crippled. They might even go bankrupt and be forced to dissolve everything.
"Hey, Varnos. Do you really think that kid we sent in will make it? If not, we should start thinking of other options."
A voice came from behind them. Both of them turned to see the speakerâa middle-aged man with blond hair and a somewhat handsome face, the current leader of one of the top guilds in the country and one of their biggest rivals.
Hearing his words drew the attention of the other guild leaders nearby. Now that they thought about it, they were starting to feel uneasy as well.
That masked man they sent in was clearly just a young Rank A Awakened. At best, his combat ability could reach that of a False S Rank.
But this was a Purple-ranked Dungeonâsomething dangerous even for S Ranks! And now a whole day had passed without any news.
They had even warned that man to only locate the others and exit quickly, not to do anything unnecessary.
But now, after a full day with no updates, maybe sending that masked man in had been a mistake after all.
Before any of them could say more, the dungeon portal suddenly began to glow and tremble.
"Huh? Look over there!"
"The portalâitâs opening!?"
"People are coming out!"
The reporters shouted as everyone rushed toward the dungeonâs entrance, pulling out cameras and getting ready to record.
"Looks like thereâs still hope," Varnos said with a mocking tone before he and Lana also approached the portal.
The face of the man who had spoken earlierâthe leader of the Goblin Guildâtwisted slightly, but when he noticed no one was paying attention to him, he sighed in relief.
Soon, figures began emerging from the portal one by oneâRank A members from all the guilds and even the S Rank Awakened sent by the Federation.
"Thank goodness youâre all safe." Lana quickly checked the Rank A members of her guild. Seeing that everyone was fine, she let out a relieved sigh.
But the moment she thought of something, her expression tensed again.
Where was Daniel? Why wasnât he here yet?
Fortunately, before her worry could grow, the last two figures stepped out of the portalâWilliam and Daniel, who was carrying the unconscious Diana in his arms.
"Are you alright?" Lana quickly ran up to the masked man and asked.
"Iâm fine, Lady Lana. Thank you for your concern," Daniel replied with a calm smile. Though his tone was polite, there was a certain seriousness in it that made Lana realize this wasnât the time to talk.
After all, they were still keeping the connection between The Fallen and their guild hidden for now.
Only William seemed to notice something, a faint light flashing in his eyes, though he said nothing and quietly walked away after saying his farewells.
"Wait, isnât this girl Diana?" Lana said as she looked at the unconscious woman in his arms.
"Yeah... her condition isnât good," Daniel replied. He had tried using his [Mana Healing] to treat her internal injuries and had succeeded partially, but once the lingering aura of that Peak S Rank faded, his healing became completely ineffective.
Because of that, the girl remained unconscious.
"Mr. Fallen, if you donât mind, weâll take care of her from here." The Federation staff members quickly approached.
"Of course." Daniel gently placed the girl on the stretcher, and they carried her away.
"We spoke briefly with the survivors, and it seems that thanks to you, the dungeon was successfully cleared. We still donât know all the details, but please know that the Federation sincerely thanks you."
The representative spoke politely and with a grateful tone.
Everyone froze upon hearing that. Then, all eyes turned toward the masked man.
Did they just hear that right?
A Purple-ranked Dungeon... cleared thanks to a Rank A Awakened? How was that even possible?
From what they knew, no Awakened below S Rank should even survive in the core layer, let alone help clear it.
Could the old man just be saying that out of formality? But noâthe Federation wasnât known to thank people without reason.
If it was true... flames of greed lit up in the eyes of every guild leader present.
If this young man was really that kind of monster, they had to recruit himâno matter the cost.
"Please, itâs nothing. I didnât do much. Without the help of the others, we wouldnât have succeeded," Daniel replied humbly and nodded.
"Haha, Iâll know once I hear the full report. You look tired, so I wonât take up your time."
After exchanging farewells, the Federation representative returned to his people. His face was calm, but Daniel could sense the suppressed anger and frustration behind it.
"Unfortunately, some unexpected events occurred, and we lost two of our members. We donât have the full details yet, but a report will be released soon," another Federation staff member said to the reporters.
While everyone was busy checking on their own people, Daniel used telepathic communication to say goodbye to Varnos and Lanaâthen vanished from where he stood.