"…But what I'm curious about right now is—are you one of those outsiders? What they call 'Otherworldly'?"

"Oh? You know about us?" Daniel asked in shock.

The hero in front of him came from an era where the Mother System, the Tower, and the Corrupted Beasts all existed. Naturally, this was surprising to Daniel.

"I actually know a bit about the current state of the world. I got this knowledge from the memories of someone who challenged the Pagoda—after they died."

"I see… Well, yes. I am Otherworldly," Daniel answered calmly.

"I see. Though, you don't seem like a Hero," the man said indifferently. In fact, he seemed a little pleased that Daniel wasn't a Hero.

Unlike what most people believed, being a Hero was nothing more than a limitation—a cage that heavily restricted you.

Sure, it had its own advantages. But if he had the chance, he would never choose to become a Hero again.

"A Hero? Am I supposed to be one?"

"Heroes are born in response to threats that could destroy the world. Based on the talent I saw in you, I thought maybe you were this era's Hero. But it seems you're not."

"So there is a chance there's a Hero in this era, huh?"

"Actually, they should've already been born. With the birth of a Hero, the world's luck and fate increase. Countless prodigies appear. A Hero can only reach their peak by facing strong rivals."

Daniel nodded. He didn't expect there to be a Hero in his era—but it didn't really matter to him either way.

Not long after, a clay house appeared before them. The Hero stepped inside, and Daniel followed.

Inside the house, there was a sword—plain and simple in appearance, but the aura it gave off shook Daniel to his core.

He tried to see if he could identify its rank—but he couldn't. Not even close.

The pressure it gave off was terrifying—so much so that Daniel could barely breathe in its presence.

"You've earned my approval. But if you want to use my sword, you'll have to earn its approval too." The Hero stepped aside and motioned to the sword.

Daniel swallowed and slowly approached the weapon, hesitant to touch it.

But in the end, he grabbed it.

"That's it?" He had expected something to happen—but nothing did.

Or so he thought. Suddenly, the sword began to glow. Daniel tried to let go—but he couldn't.

It felt like the sword was holding him.

Then, markings appeared on his hands. Most of them were ancient symbols—ones Daniel couldn't read or understand.

"Oh? Looks like it likes him," the Hero said, a rare smile forming on his face.

The markings flashed one last time and then vanished—only to be replaced by system notifications in front of Daniel's eyes:

[ You have successfully obtained the Sword : the Heavens Honor ]

[ Rank: ????? ]

[ Creator: ????? ]

[ Description: Grows stronger by absorbing souls and unlocking new abilities ]

[ Currently, all abilities are locked ]

Daniel's eyebrows raised as he read the sword's description. He glanced down at the weapon—it felt like the sword was staring right back at him.

It had a golden hilt and a black blade, with intricate carvings on the grip unlike anything Daniel had ever seen.

"Congratulations," the Hero approached and said.

"Thank you," Daniel gave a small bow in gratitude.

"I didn't do anything. It was your talent and qualifications that let you earn that sword."

Daniel nodded. He had gone through a lot to get this sword.

"My advice is to feed it enough souls. Otherwise, it'll get weaker and weaker. In fact, it's currently at its weakest state."

"I understand." Daniel then stored the sword in his inventory.

"It was a pleasure meeting you. I know you have a lot of questions, but time's up. The spirit of the Pagoda wants to give you your reward for clearing it."

"Oh? There's another reward?" Daniel asked in surprise.

He had assumed that the Inheritance of Death was just the sword—but now it seemed he was wrong.

"Yes. Even though the Pagoda was once under my control, like I said, it also has its own spirit. The true reward for clearing this Pagoda is the Inheritance of Death—the thing that helped me become the strongest Hero in the world."

Daniel's eyes lit up. If that was true, then this would be a massive gain.

Even just the sword alone was already more valuable than anything he'd ever obtained.

"Before you go, one more piece of advice. The Pagoda of Death isn't the only one. There are six other Pagodas, each built upon one of the Six Supreme Laws."

"There are more?" Daniel had actually guessed this before, but wasn't too sure.

"There are. Even I don't know where they are. But if you can find them, with your talent, I've no doubt you can earn their inheritances too."

The Hero wasn't saying these things for no reason.

All this time, he had believed that only a Hero would have the qualifications to conquer this Pagoda—but to his surprise, that wasn't the case.

An ordinary Otherworldly had cleared it. And now, that person could be considered his successor in some ways.

And he couldn't allow his successor to be weaker than a Hero, right? That's why he decided to give Daniel a few hints on how to get stronger.

"Thank you. If I do find them, I'll definitely conquer them," Daniel said with a smirk.

"Good. I suggest you visit the Divine Religions if you want to find them. Back in my time, four of the Pagodas were under their control."

"Divine Religions? If that's the case, getting into them won't be easy." Daniel sighed. Besides, he had just run into trouble with one of the Divine Religions.

"It was never supposed to be easy. As for the other two—Pagoda of Eternity and Pagoda of Nothingness—no one knows where they are. Even during my time, they were considered legends. Many believed they were just rumors… but I'm certain they exist."

Daniel nodded and was about to ask another question when—

"It's time to say goodbye. Maybe we'll meet again someday," the Hero said, and then a light surrounded Daniel.