Inside a moderately sized room without any luxury or decoration, several figures stood around a wounded young man lying on the bed.

"His condition is stable, there's no problem. He should be able to wake up soon," an elderly woman dressed in priest robes with a brown sacred hat on her head said calmly while looking at Drael.

"Thank you very much, High Priestess," Daniel said with a grateful tone.

"It's no problem. It is our duty to help others," the old woman replied with a gentle smile, then turned her attention to Merina.

"Come with me. The Grand Priest wants to speak with you," she said, nodded slightly, and left the room along with a few middle-aged followers who had been standing behind her.

"You two stay here. I'll be back soon," Merina said, clearly expecting that kind of request. She glanced at Daniel with a soft smile before leaving the room.

Once everyone was gone, Daniel created a layer of mana around the room to prevent eavesdropping or any sound from leaking out.

"You can get up now," he said calmly, his eyes shifting to Drael.

"Ah, huff... huff..." Drael's eyes suddenly opened and began to glow. The faint life energy that had weakened in his body rapidly surged back, returning him to normal.

"Did we make it in?" he asked while looking around. Seeing the plain room, he couldn't help but ask.

"Fortunately, we did. They didn't notice anything, and for now, our situation seems stable," Daniel replied quietly while glancing at him.

"Good. How's the city? Did you notice anything strange?"

"Something strange? No... The city and its people looked completely normal. I only took a short look, but at least at first glance, nothing seemed wrong," he explained.

"Still, there's a faint kind of power flowing through the city, so subtle that even I almost missed it. A power I've never seen before," Drael added as he recalled the feeling.

"A strange power? Well, if even you don't know what it is, then it's impossible for me to know," Daniel said as Drael sighed, moving his body slightly before sitting up on the bed.

"Now that we're inside, what should we do? The second phase hasn't been revealed yet?"

"Unfortunately, no. There hasn't been any announcement, which is odd," Daniel frowned slightly and checked the notifications from the Mother System again.

However, there was still no new message about the second phase, which made him feel something was off. According to the description, they needed to locate the Crimson Temple to complete the first phase.

They had already found the Crimson Temple, yet there was still no sign of the second phase beginning.

"Maybe this isn't the real Crimson Temple?" Drael suggested after thinking for a moment.

"I'm not sure. It's possible, but if this isn't it, then where is the real one? Technically, where we are now is outside the temple itself. We're in a building within the temple's outer grounds," Daniel explained.

"Maybe we need to enter the actual temple?"

"Probably. But if that's the case, things might get a little difficult," Daniel said with a frown. If completing the first phase required entering the Crimson Temple, it would be troublesome.

He didn't know why, but this city clearly didn't welcome outsiders. The guards hadn't wanted to let them in at all, and it was only thanks to Merina's request that they were allowed entry.

He could still recall the faint look of disgust and disdain in the old woman's eyes—and in the eyes of her followers.

Although the priestess had tried to hide it, how could she possibly conceal such a thing from Daniel? It was practically impossible.

From that alone, he could deduce that the people of this city disliked outsiders, perhaps even hated them, and likely viewed them with contempt. If that was the case, they would probably refuse to allow foreigners into their sacred place.

"Can't we ask that girl for help?" Drael suggested.

"I don't think so. It was clear that the old woman took her away to scold or punish her. It's possible they'll throw us out soon too," Daniel rejected the idea without hesitation.

"Why don't we just use force then?"

"That old woman we saw earlier was at the peak of Rank A. She wouldn't be able to defeat me, but their High Priest could be even stronger. Besides, I have a bad feeling about this place. That strange power I sensed, it's flowing toward the temple. I don't want to resort to force unless we have no other choice," Daniel said firmly.

Of course, he had already considered using force before, but due to that ominous feeling, he decided to hold off for now.

He was still worried about what the mural had shown, the thing buried deep within the Crimson Temple.

He suspected that it might be the buried god. And if that was true, using force could awaken it and provoke its wrath.

He didn't know how powerful that god currently was, but he doubted that even his current self could compare to it.

Of course, all of this was just speculation for now. There was no solid proof that the thing was actually a god, it could be something else entirely, perhaps another type of monster.

Regardless, he decided to wait until tonight or tomorrow night and gather some information about the Crimson Temple before making any move.

Neither he nor Drael knew anything about this temple, and attacking a place you know nothing about was nothing short of foolish.

They talked a bit more about their situation and made several plans to prepare for different possibilities.

But then, suddenly, the sound of knocking drew both of their attention.

"Mr. Daniel, it's me, Merina," a beautiful feminine voice echoed.

"Please, come in, young lady," Daniel said calmly.

A moment later, the door opened, and the beautiful girl stepped inside. Her face appeared calm, but upon closer look, traces of fear and guilt could be seen in her eyes.

"If it's not a problem, the Grand Priest would like to see you."

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