It had become painfully obvious by now—the human race was thoroughly accustomed to Daniel’s constant domination of the leaderboards.
Ever since awakening his talent, he had been flooding the network with one groundbreaking achievement after another. News, system notifications, battle records—he was everywhere.
"You know, I actually kind of miss His Highness Daniel now that things have gone quiet."
"Same here. Yesterday’s drama was so satisfying to watch. Now the network is dead silent, and it feels... unnatural."
"The Northern Frontier is pretty close to the Abyss, isn’t it? What if Daniel’s off stirring trouble in there?"
"Come on now, your imagination’s running wild. Do you even understand what the Abyss is? Even someone like me, a level 150 powerhouse, wouldn’t dare venture in there!"
"Actually, knowing Daniel’s personality, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did go exploring the Abyss. He might even end up killing one of their bosses!"
"Clearly, you people have no idea what the Abyss truly is. The monsters in there are on a whole different level. Even if Daniel’s already level 60, he still wouldn’t stand a chance."
"Let’s not forget—before Daniel came along, had anyone ever soloed a World Rank boss?"
"..."
Even though Daniel had disappeared without a trace, discussions about him showed no signs of slowing down.
After all, Daniel was a living legend, a one-man miracle factory. The less people saw of him, the more they imagined what impossible feat he might be attempting next.
At that moment, a detailed breakdown of the Abyss was suddenly published across the communication network.
For many who knew little about the region, it was their first true understanding of how terrifying the Abyss actually was.
"I had no idea! I always thought the monsters were the worst part. Turns out, the real nightmare is the corruption."
"A friend of mine once reached level 160. But he racked up massive debts. To repay them, he dove into the Abyss. He never came back—corrupted and dead."
"I swear on my life, no matter how powerful His Highness Daniel is, it’ll be nearly impossible for him to resist Abyssal corruption. No one in the entire human race has ever found a way to fully purge it."
"You can believe whatever you want. I still believe Daniel can work miracles."
"Come on, get real! You think Daniel can fight the entire world? Use your head!"
The debates continued, intense and divided, until—
Suddenly, a notification popped up on every communicator across the entire human domain.
[Global Human Announcement]
[King of the Abyss: Karsas (Tier-25) has been slain.]
[Killer: Daniel, Human Race.]
...What?
...WHAT!?
For several long seconds, the entire communication network fell into stunned silence.
What... just happened?
Was that announcement fake?
Impossible. A notification of that scale could only be issued by two sources: an imperial command from the Human Emperor, or an entity of supreme cosmic authority.
And didn’t someone just say earlier that the Human Emperor was still traveling?
So what was this?
A King of the Abyss... had been killed?
Even if most ordinary humans didn’t fully understand what a "King of the Abyss" entailed, the name alone was enough to signal its significance.
And if the title wasn’t enough, look at the tier level—Tier-25. That was far beyond the known human limit.
Even the Human Emperor, the strongest living human, was only Tier-20.
Sure, Tier-20 wasn’t necessarily weaker than Tier-25 depending on build and equipment—but still, Daniel had done it?
Was he Tier-20 now?
No—that was impossible!
Even if Daniel had chugged every forbidden elixir under the sun, there was no way he could level up that fast!
"As expected of His Highness Daniel. We underestimated him again."
"Honestly, I thought even if he could slay an Abyss Boss, that’d already be his limit. But this..."
"Wait, aren’t Kings of the Abyss supposed to reside deep within the Abyss? How did he even get there, let alone resist the corruption?"
"How strong is Daniel now, really? Could he have surpassed the Human Emperor already?"
"Doubtful. But even if he hasn’t, he’s probably among the strongest humans alive now."
"You’re kidding, right? Yesterday was literally his Awakening Ceremony. How can he be this strong in just one day?"
"Oh? Then why don’t you go kill a Tier-25 King of the Abyss?"
Meanwhile, the Human Emperor was still en route.
He hadn’t heard from Daniel at all. In fact, he found himself unable to establish contact.
Knowing Daniel’s temperament, the Human Emperor was almost certain the kid had gone into the Abyss.
If Daniel were merely in the Underground Labyrinth, he’d still be within comm range. But here? Nothing.
Was he worried Daniel had died?
Not really. His name hadn’t turned grey on the contact list, which meant he was still alive.
"Did that brat really manage to gather 100,000 Abyssal Cores already?"
The Human Emperor frowned slightly.
"I wonder which god that kid’s aligned with, to let him survive so long in the Abyss."
"How powerful has he become, I wonder? Could he be nearing my level?"
He paused.
Then shook his head.
Ridiculous.
The thought itself was absurd.
Daniel had only awakened less than a day ago.
If he’d already caught up to someone who’d lived for over a thousand years, then what had the Human Emperor been doing with his life?
"If that kid surpasses me in a day, then my entire millennium of cultivation was a joke."
He chuckled to himself, shaking his head.
Still, despite the humor, he felt a twinge of concern.
Could Daniel shoulder the burden of guarding the Northern Frontier?
The human domain’s northern border faced the Abyss directly. It was always at risk of invasion.
Could Daniel really stand against that kind of pressure?
Truth be told, the Human Emperor had high hopes for Daniel.
He had every intention of grooming the young man to become his successor.
Even though Daniel was only Tier-6, and hadn’t even completed his Second Star Upgrade Quest, the Emperor was willing to gamble.
Giving him the reins of the North was a huge risk.
But a necessary one.
As he pondered these thoughts, his communicator suddenly lit up with a new notification—