Daniel and Drael finally reached the cave after some struggle and effort. The sky was completely dark now, even the stars were no longer visible.

The air was so cold that every gust of wind made their bodies shiver.

After entering the cave, both of them first examined the inside to make sure no monsters or other creatures were living there.

Fortunately, there wasn't anything. The cave was completely empty.

More importantly, it was small enough that it didn't seem like even a single monster could live there.

Just to be safe, Daniel created several layers of security at the entrance using the Law of Death and mana.

Then they both sat down on the ground and leaned against the wall.

"It's a bit cold," Drael muttered. His body was much weaker than Daniel's, and this strange freezing air was even harder for him to bear.

Seeing that, Daniel raised his hand, and a small flame appeared in his palm. Using that, he created a proper fire.

The temperature inside the cave slowly began to rise.

Drael im

mediately moved closer and sat cross-legged beside the fire, holding his hands out toward it.

"Ahh, that's much better! Thanks a lot!" He smiled gratefully at the handsome young man sitting across from him.

"You're welcome. But if you don't mind, I want to ask you something."

"Of course! You saved my life twice today, ask whatever you want."

"Do you have any combat abilities?" Daniel asked calmly, though the curiosity in his tone was clearly noticeable.

The moment his words echoed through the cave, silence followed.

It seemed like Drael didn't know how to respond.

Daniel wasn't in a hurry. He just stared at him quietly, waiting for an answer.

After what happened in the mist and earlier, he had started to suspect that this man had no combat power at all.

Especially a little while ago, he kept avoiding direct fights, never engaging with the monsters.

Daniel had been the one killing all of them and receiving all the Exp.

That made him curious. Did this man really have no fighting skills?

If so, how did he manage to clear the first two floors?

"Well, it's not like I have no combat skills… I'm just really weak," Drael finally said after struggling with himself for a bit.

His tone carried clear embarrassment, as if he didn't want to talk about it, it was a shameful topic for him.

"So most of your skills are related to intelligence?"

"That's right. Most of my abilities are related to reasoning, processing, decision-making, forming strategies, or increasing analytical and cognitive speed."

"Then how did you survive this long? How did you clear the other two floors?" Daniel asked with even more curiosity.

He already had an idea.

Most likely, this man used his intellect to manipulate or control other Awakened, using them to conquer the first and second floors,

in other words, he used them as tools.

Wasn't that terrifying? Maybe. But it was also genius—a terrifying kind of genius.

Daniel wasn't scared. He was excited.

Even if this man had planned to use him as a tool as well, that didn't matter in the slightest.

Right now, all Daniel wanted was to recruit this man as one of his subordinates.

With his help, Daniel could definitely build the organization he had in mind.

"I used the other Awakened as tools. It wasn't hard.I just targeted their weaknesses, emotions, and found some evidence I could use against them, something that could destroy their lives. That way, they had no choice but to obey me. Sometimes I even manipulated their emotions or mentality without them realizing it," Drael said coldly, his eyes turning distant.

At this point, his real self was already revealed. Was there any reason to keep hiding?

He knew it would be discovered sooner or later anyway.

He wasn't stupid. On the contrary, he was extremely smart. It wasn't hard for him to see that Daniel wasn't someone he could deceive.

Even just talking to him felt difficult, let alone trying to manipulate him.

"Perfect. I didn't expect to meet a genius like you." A wide smile appeared on Daniel's face.

"You're… not angry?" Drael blinked, thinking he had misheard.

"Why would I be angry?"

"Because I used blackmail, emotional manipulation, and other stuff like that?"

"So what? Did you do that to me? Am I some kind of hero?"

"You're… seriously strange." Drael laughed out loud.

Every time he thought he was starting to understand Daniel, he'd realize a moment later that he actually knew nothing about him.

"Maybe. Anyway, like I said, I didn't expect to meet a genius like you."

"Either way, we've wasted enough time. Let's start meditating and recover our mana," Daniel said with a chuckle and closed his eyes.

Drael blinked in confusion, unsure how to react.

That was it? That was his response?

He thought their conversation had just begun, yet Daniel suddenly started meditating.

What kind of personality was this? He felt like he was dealing with someone even crazier than himself.

In truth, Daniel had wanted to continue the conversation, but he decided now wasn't the right time.

Right now, Drael was too guarded, too cautious.

It was best to end the discussion here and bring up his real offer after a few days, once they got more familiar with each other.

Drael also guessed the same thing. He figured Daniel had stopped because he noticed how defensive he'd become.

He just smirked and didn't care.

He, too, closed his eyes and entered meditation.

Unfortunately, his combat power was too low, there was nothing he could do against this man anyway.

So the only thing he could do now was wait.

If his guess was right, Daniel would eventually ask him for something.

As long as he could clear this floor and reach Rank A, he didn't mind helping this man for a while.

After all, once he became Rank A, he'd finally be able to take his revenge.

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