Daniel didn't answer right away and instead paused to think. Lana wasn't wrong. Even though he had other plans, challenging the third floor of the Tower seemed the most likely choice for now.

"My plan is to challenge the third and fourth floors back to back, but I have something to take care of in the Gulf of Sumer. I'm not sure which one I should go for first."

"The Gulf of Sumer? What business do you have there, kid?" Varnos suddenly asked in a serious tone.

"It's personal." Daniel was surprised by how serious the Guild Leader became. He'd heard the place was dangerous, but judging from Varnos's tone, it was probably even worse than the rumors said. Still, even if that were true, he had no choice but to go there.

"The Gulf of Sumer used to be a truly beautiful place. Great civilizations and powerful forces thrived there. But after certain unique mines were discovered, the major powers all attacked, each one trying to seize a piece for themselves."

"The demons also grew greedy after seeing that and invaded. Conflicts broke out between the two races, and the result was that the gulf and the surrounding lands turned into a wasteland."

"If you really want to go, I won't stop you, but that place is extremely dangerous—far more dangerous than you might imagine. Before heading there, you should at least reach Rank S," Varnos explained.

"I see. I'd heard it was a dangerous place, but I didn't expect it to have that kind of history." Daniel sighed and nodded, showing that he understood.

The real reason he wanted to go there, of course, was the Eternal Pagoda. After all, it was finally time to rebuild the Religion of Eternity. But before that, he needed to visit the Pagoda and ascend from the successor to the true leader of the Religion of Eternity. Only there could he obtain the complete legacy of Eternity.

Still, he wasn't stupid enough to rush into such a dangerous place. If the Guild Leader said one should at least be Rank S before going, there was clearly a reason behind it.

"Is there still war going on there?"

"It's somewhat calmer now, but every now and then major battles break out between human factions or even between the two races, especially since the area lies between two continents."

"What kind of mines caused such a disaster?"

"Chaos Crystal mines," Varnos replied.

Daniel fell silent. Naturally, he knew the importance of Chaos Crystals. He had seen their value with his own eyes.

He didn't know whether to call it luck or misfortune that such mines appeared in the Gulf of Sumer… though judging by the disaster that followed, it was probably the latter.

"I understand. I won't go there until I reach Rank S. But to challenge the Tower, I'll still need Keys."

"That's fine. The Guild can provide you with two more Keys, but for the fifth floor and beyond, you'll have to find them yourself. The Keys required for those levels are different from normal ones." Varnos gestured for Lana to go fetch them as he spoke.

"Different?" Daniel muttered curiously. He remembered that time in the dungeon when the Rank S Awakened preferred to die rather than use their Keys to leave.

Well, saying they'd rather die might be an exaggeration—more accurately, using a Key to exit the dungeon was their absolute last resort.

He hadn't paid much attention to it back then, but thinking about it now, it was strange. Even knowing they'd have to fight a Rank S opponent at full power, they still refused to use their Keys to escape. Two of the Rank S Awakened even ended up dying there.

"The Keys required for the fifth floor and above are rarer and harder to obtain. They're called Golden Keys, and getting one is extremely difficult. Even we don't have any," Varnos explained briefly.

"How hard are we talking? Hard enough that you'd rather die than use one to escape a dungeon?"

"Maybe. If you're unlucky, you might even die just trying to get one."

"I see." Daniel nodded. It seemed like challenging the fifth floor would take quite some time.

"By the way, when is the NAL taking place? If you want me to participate, I need to make sure I don't lose track of time," he asked suddenly, as if remembering something.

"No need to worry about that for now. The NAL won't be held for another three months," Lana replied as she returned, holding a box in her hands.

She handed the box to Daniel and sat down on the chair across from him.

"Thanks." Daniel opened the box and saw two Keys inside. As soon as he held them, notifications appeared in front of his eyes, and after a few moments, the Keys completely disappeared.

"Our plans have changed a bit," Varnos continued. "There's a chance the country might enter a state of military readiness. Because of that, this year's NAL might be delayed—or we might not participate at all."

At his words, both Lana and Daniel frowned and looked at him with confusion. It was clear even Lana hadn't known about this.

"Those terrorist groups that attacked us on the way back? It seems they're preparing to launch an assault on the entire country," Varnos said with a sigh after seeing their expressions.

"What? How's that possible? How could a bunch of terrorists even dare to attack our country?" Lana asked with a scowl.

"I don't know either, but it's obvious they're being supported by other nations—probably hostile ones. Nothing's confirmed yet. A meeting will be held soon to discuss it."

"Can a terrorist group really be strong enough to threaten our country?" Daniel asked, finding the whole idea absurd.

No matter how powerful they were, there was no way a terrorist organization would have National Rank Awakened or Heavenly Kings among them, right?

"Normally, no. But as I said, they have backers. Still, there's no need to worry. It's unlikely any actual conflict will happen. This is more like psychological warfare and empty threats. Even if fighting does break out, it'll happen beyond the borders, in neutral zones," Varnos replied, calming them both down.

Daniel wasn't scared—he was worried. Worried that something might happen to his mother, Tiana, or Alice while he was away. Because of that, he was now hesitant about challenging the Tower.

But hearing Varnos's explanation eased his mind a bit. Maybe it was better to just increase the number of Fallen surrounding his family. That way, he wouldn't have to worry about their safety.

"Just focus on conquering the third and fourth floors. Don't worry about the rest. The NAL is a small matter anyway—with your power, you won't have any real competition there."

"Got it."

"Anyway, how did things go with The Fallen? Were they as intrigued as we hoped?"

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