CHAPTER 383: CHAPTER383-DANIEL’S STRATEGIC LAYOUT

No matter how one looked at it, without Odin’s support in earlier days, Daniel could hardly have reached his current achievements in such a short span of time.

Back then, even the journey from Castle Mington all the way to Winterhold Castle at the northern frontier of humankind would have cost him untold amounts of effort and time. Without Odin’s shelter, the obstacles on the road would have been insurmountable.

What was more, before Daniel had even truly grown strong, Odin had also provided him with a great many precious resources and materials.

To Daniel, therefore, the Odin standing before him could almost be considered half a teacher. Perhaps Odin had never instructed him directly in skills or doctrines, but the elder had undeniably paved the way for his growth and removed countless burdens from his path.

On the other side, Odin himself, upon stepping into the inheritance site, no longer carried the solemn restraint he usually displayed.

His weathered face now brimmed with anticipation and elation, utterly unlike the calm and austere manner he once showed to the world.

"Good, wonderful! This is simply too good!"

"Back in the past, all those Human Emperors before me saw me as a greenhorn. They mocked me, sneered at me. But now, once I step into the rank of demigod, let’s see who still dares laugh at me!"

"The Domain of Balance—this is one of the most powerful domains of all!"

Having passed on the heavy burden of the Human Emperor’s mantle, Odin’s entire bearing was visibly more relaxed and unshackled.

He turned his gaze toward Daniel, his eyes glimmering with approval.

"Now that our race has three layers of divine protection, for me to pass the divine inheritance trial will pose no difficulty at all."

Daniel nodded, acknowledging Odin’s assessment.

Indeed, with three layers of divine guardianship strengthening the human race, their power had already risen to staggering heights.

Though the trials of godhood were never trivial, with such strength bolstering them, attaining the demigod level posed little challenge.

Of course, the later stages of the trials would only grow more arduous.

For regardless of who one was, to ascend to true godhood was never an easy road. Across tens of thousands of years, only a handful—barely ten in number—had ever reached the rank of god.

In truth, Odin was not the only one for whom Daniel had made special preparations. He had laid plans for several of humanity’s most exceptional elites, for they were to become the backbone of his banner in the future.

Daniel’s focus had always been primarily on himself, but that did not mean he ignored opportunities to guide the current. At the very least, he cared deeply about elevating the strength of the human race as a whole, even willing to expend some of his own energy and thought to further their progress.

Yet, in the end, how far each individual would go depended on their own efforts and potential.

For those of lesser talent, Daniel could only leave them to the Tower of the Void God.

After all, the number of divine thrones in the world was limited. The strong naturally claimed more resources; this was not only the law of nature but also the harsh reality of survival.

At that very moment, inside the Tower of the Void God—

Mejir stood upon a raised platform, his expression complicated as he gazed upon the divine power of inheritance before him.

His heart churned with emotion, indescribably conflicted.

In truth, Mejir’s potential was already among the finest of the younger generation. Yet compared to Daniel, the difference felt like an insurmountable chasm.

Only two days ago, they had still been students of the same academy.

But who could have imagined that in just two days, the gulf between them would become so vast?

Now, with the blessings of the past Human Emperors layered upon them, humanity’s strength had already soared to unbelievable levels.

The underground labyrinths that once posed insurmountable trials now seemed laughably simple.

Where once every step had meant deadly peril, now they entered those mazes, tossed out a single skill, and received the notice of having cleared the challenge.

So this was what instant victory felt like.

And it felt exhilarating.

Now, every human awakener possessed an SSS-level talent by default, and all bore the accumulated attributes of past Human Emperors.

When coupled with the blessings and amplifications of the Infinite Divine Temple, the strength of the human race had multiplied—tens of thousands of times over, without exaggeration.

Many awakeners were no longer content to hunt monsters only within the Primordial Land. Since the discovery of the Storm Sea, they had realized it hid an abundance of monsters and resources.

Even more crucially, awakeners now lived with no fear of death.

Even if they perished recklessly, Daniel himself could employ Mass Resurrection to bring them back at revival points within the Origin Land.

Thus, a new group had emerged among the awakeners—extreme death-seekers, thrill-seekers who devoted themselves to exploring the world at the risk of their very lives.

The results were clear: both humanity and the other races were accelerating their pace of exploration into this world.

Daniel, ever sharp in perception, quickly noticed this trend.

In response, he opened applications for Anygates.

Any community that believed a location required the establishment of an Anygate merely needed to gather one hundred thousand approvals. Then, under the direction of the Human Emperor’s officials, construction of an Anygate would begin.

Meanwhile, in the depths of the abyss—

Daniel continued conversing with Mist.

Yet he could clearly sense that her state was unstable, her aura flickering with chaotic distortions.

Even if she bore no malice toward him, he knew he could not remain in contact for too long.

At times, Daniel even found himself unable to recall what her name was.

The blurred figure spoke again:

"Back then, the reason I created the abyss was not by choice but necessity. Had I not done so, the myriad-race continent would have perished alongside the Flesh Continent."

Daniel gave a slow nod. He could no longer recall her name, but he understood that the abyss had indeed prevented the Fleshheart from encroaching upon the Myriad-Race Continent.

Without the abyss as a barrier, that land would surely have been consumed, just as the Flesh Continent had been.

Of course, that was only in theory.

Daniel strongly suspected that even if this being had not acted, others would have intervened.

With the Origin Land’s singular importance, no mighty entity would have sat idly by and allowed the Fleshheart to seize it uncontested.

The figure before him was now growing increasingly indistinct, her form shifting between real and illusory, her features impossible to discern.

As though sensing Daniel’s doubt, she spoke again:

"You may not know this, but after Aurelia and the Goddess of Luck ascended to godhood, every being above the demigod rank has been striving to distance themselves from the Origin Land.

But the Fleshheart... it is an anomaly. It discovered a loophole and managed to infiltrate the Origin Land.

What it does not realize is that its discovery of this loophole was no accident. It was, in fact, tacitly permitted by the gods.

After all...

In short, the gods allowed the Fleshheart to enter the Origin Land, but they will never allow it to claim this realm as its own. That is why the abyss’s existence was justified, even inevitable."