MTLNOVEL Chapter 377: Founder Of The Lionheart Family
By accepting defeat, suddenly the entire surrounding space returned to its original state, as if no battle had ever taken place.
The Hero of Destruction stood completely unharmed in front of Daniel, staring at him with a smile.
"You really managed to exceed my expectations. You completely deserve to be the Heir of Death. I even feel a little jealous," Kron chuckled lightly.
Contrary to what Daniel had thought, this man's demeanor and words weren't actually cold or chaotic. In fact, he looked exactly like an ordinary person.
"Thank you," Daniel smiled and expressed his gratitude.
Kron didn't reply. Instead, he stretched out his hand, and suddenly a small orb-like object appeared in his palm, flying straight toward Daniel and entering his body.
"This is my reward for you. Once you reach the final step, you'll understand what it is and how to use it."
"Thank you again," Daniel said once more with gratitude. Soon after, his body slowly began to fade, and his consciousness returned to his real body.
After his departure, Kron sighed and looked up at the sky. His expression suddenly turned cold, as if all traces of humanity had disappeared from him.
"Was it really him?" he muttered to himself, as though unable to believe what he had just witnessed.
At the same time, Daniel once again found himself on the staircase. Selera and Tormyn were clearly still engaged in their battles.
But looking around, he realized that Andreas and several others had also managed to reach the twentieth step.
After a brief glance, he calmly took the next step and began ascending the staircase again. He still didn't feel any pressure.
It was as if he were simply walking up ordinary steps. It didn't take long before he reached the thirtieth step, but, just as he had expected, nothing happened.
"So it must be every twenty steps for me," he murmured to himself and continued upward.
At this moment, he didn't realize that countless eyes were locked on him, just as confused as he was as to why the mechanism of the staircase was different for him.
Meanwhile, Tormyn slowly opened his eyes, and upon seeing that Daniel wasn't anywhere nearby, he suddenly burst into laughter.
"Haha, that bastard must have lost! He thought he was better than me? What a delusion!" he laughed and stepped forward onto the next step.
But suddenly, an immense pressure struck him. Even so, he clenched his teeth and forced himself to keep climbing.
In the distance, he caught sight of a shadow.
"What? That bastard? Impossible!" He felt as though he was witnessing something utterly unthinkable.
That bastard hadn't lost at all! He had managed to win even earlier, and now he was only one step away from reaching the fortieth step.
For a moment, Tormyn felt as though his entire worldview might collapse. How could such a thing even be possible?
"He must be cheating," he reassured himself with that thought.
But Daniel had no idea what Tormyn was thinking. And even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared. He simply took the next step, finally arriving at the fortieth.
Just as he expected, the surroundings suddenly turned dark, and he found himself in a completely different place.
"Here?" he frowned. He recognized this place. It was the training ground of the Lionheart family—the exact spot where he had fought Olivia.
In front of him stood a man with neatly kept long-short hair, a handsome face that actually bore a slight resemblance to Andreas.
Surprisingly, the man wore ordinary clothes and looked no different from a normal human. There was nothing extraordinary about him aside from his face.
Even his height was rather average—actually, even shorter than Andreas.
"Hmm? You're not a Lionheart," the man frowned slightly upon seeing Daniel, as if the person who appeared before him wasn't who he had been expecting.
"It's an honor to meet the Elder. My name is Daniel. I'm a friend of one of your descendants," Daniel said respectfully. It wasn't hard to identify the man standing before him.
If he wasn't mistaken, this was the Founder of the Lionheart family—one of the Nine Heroes.
"I see," the Lionheart Founder gave him a sharper look, examining his body, soul, and even his very existence.
But what he saw left him utterly astonished—even shocked. His expression changed completely. The young man before him was a monster.
In fact, perhaps even the word "monster" wasn't enough to describe him. Everything about him was legendary—things all geniuses and prodigies sought after.
His spiritual and physical power were terrifying, to the point where it was clear he was virtually invincible below Rank S.
Even when the Founder tried to examine his bloodline, the only thing he felt was fear—absolute fear.
'It's been so long since I felt fear… How laughable,' he thought, not trying to probe any further.
"For someone with such talent not to be my descendant… what a shame," he sighed.
"So, how many opponents have you faced so far?"
"You're my second opponent," Daniel answered without hesitation. In fact, he understood that the man before him had already seen everything about him, yet there was nothing he could do about it.
"Second, huh? Makes sense, but I'm a little disappointed. Still, you're unlucky—who knows what kind of monsters you'll have to face."
"In any case, since my rank matches yours, I don't stand a chance of defeating you."
"Huh? Really?" Daniel was shocked. The Founder of the Lionheart family admitted this easily—that he couldn't be his match?
He had thought the man would be extremely arrogant, but instead, he seemed straightforward, not afraid of telling the truth.
"This isn't my real body—just a projection of my true self. If it were my real body, I could adjust my power to your level and perhaps be your match. But right now, you'll definitely win," Veyzer said indifferently.
"So what do we do now? Can I just move on?"
"Of course not. We still have to fight. Depending on how long it takes you to defeat me, you'll receive different rewards."
"I understand," Daniel nodded and summoned his sword once again.
Upon seeing it, Veyzer wasn't particularly surprised. He could feel the presence of the Death Tablet within this boy, so it wasn't hard to guess that he had inherited Death.
"If you manage to defeat me in under one second, I'll give you the leadership of the Lionheart family," he thought for a moment, then added:
"The longer it takes, the more worthless the rewards will become. If it takes you more than ten minutes, you'll receive nothing but the right to continue."
"...."