Leon entered the building, and indeed, a panel appeared before him with instructions, guiding his path.

[To the right.]

There was a hall there, and he took it, following the directions without hesitation.

[Move forward.]

He followed the instructions again, walking through the winding corridors that seemed to twist and turn without reason.

On the way, Leon noticed that each time he was told something, there were always several other choices, branching paths that could lead anywhere or nowhere.

Simply put, the architecture of this building was nonsensical, it genuinely made no sense why it was designed this way, with its confusing layout and endless corridors.

Why put something so confusing in the middle of the stronghold, especially since this is supposed to be the central building where people should be able to find their way.

Either way, after several minutes of following the instructions and navigating the maze-like interior, he arrived at his destination.

Ding!

[Move forward, and meet with them.]

Leon took a few steps forward, passing through a heavy door, and indeed, he emerged into a massive chamber that took his breath away with its grandeur.

In there, sitting within a long table, stood exactly 25 other players, each of them looking at Leon directly, their eyes glowing with power that made the air feel heavy.

A chill went down Leon’s spine at that moment, and he immediately understood what Iris meant now about the stronghold being dangerous and its inhabitants terrifyingly strong.

Every single one of these players... were stronger than the Vessel of War that he had barely managed to defeat through sheer determination.

Leon couldn’t see their panels and didn’t even bother trying to use Appraisal, but he could feel it in his bones, a primal instinct screaming at him to be careful.

The sheer power they emanated was enough to tip him off, making him clench his fist around his sword and staff, ready for anything that might happen.

"Do not fret, Celestial," the man the furthest from him, sitting at the upper corner of the table, smiled, "We are not enemies, there’s no need for violence between us."

Behind him stood a giant glass wall, from which they could see the outside world, the city stretching out below like a living organism.

"Welcome to our stronghold, do not mind all the halls, they’re just to make sure no one can find this room without proper guidance."

"What happens if you take the wrong hall?" Leon asked, his voice steady despite the tension.

"...Something bad happened," the man smiled cryptically, "Fortunately, you put your trust in us, and we respect that."

None of the 24 other players said anything, all of them looking at Leon with intense gazes that seemed to pierce through him.

Their appearances were still darkened except for their auras, so Leon couldn’t see them clearly, their features hidden in shadow.

Fortunately, the leader of the requiem guild decided to lean forward, allowing Leon to see his appearance clearly for the first time.

He was fairly tall man, with messy white hair that his shoulder, but more interestingly, he had a set of two golden horns, crimson skin, long fangs and a demonic face that seemed both beautiful and terrifying.

"Oni?" Leon’s eyes widened, ’First time I see one of them in this life.’

The oni race were all from a single high-level world, extremely strong, but Leon didn’t meet a lot of them, even in his past life.

The only ones he had met... were those aligned to the gods, which put Leon on edge immediately, his suspicions rising.

"The name’s Cavin," the leader spoke calmly, "But you must already know that from the announcements."

"Sure..." Leon replied cautiously, keeping his guard up.

The atmosphere was still extremely tense even though Cavin spoke calmly and tried to appeal to Leon with a friendly demeanor.

"Well," Leon asked as he took a step forward, "What do you want—"

SLASH!

Before Leon could even anticipate it, Cavin swung his arm, and the [Strength Lion Mask] he was wearing was cut in half, the pieces falling to the ground with a soft clatter.

"My kind do not like masks," Cavin said with a faint smile, "I hope you do not take it badly..."

"Are you serious?" Leon looked at the two pieces of the mask, his eyes narrowing with frustration, "You could have just said that instead of destroying it..."

"It was also a display of our strength difference," Cavin continued, his voice cold and calculated, "If I wanted, I could have cut deeper than just the mask."

"...Whatever," Leon said as he looked forward, asking once more what they wanted.

"We have all heard about your achievements, and we knew for a fact that you’d eventually arrive here, so it is a pleasure that this day is today!"

"Yesterday."

"That this day was yesterday," Cavin corrected himself with a slight chuckle, "Either way, I was hoping for something from you..."

’Here we go,’ Leon thought, bracing himself for whatever demand was coming.

"Our stronghold prides itself in being the most secure place across all domains, and also holding some of the strongest individuals across all higher domains as well."

Leon understood that as well, Cavin by himself could pretty much defeat anybody Leon had met until now except the [Time Overseer] who existed outside normal rules.

The Vessel of War, Iris, The Awakener Lord, The Divine Academy, and many more, he could kill them all if he wanted to with little effort, a terrifying thought.

’Over 20 million combat power would be my guess.’

Before him, it would seem like Leon was only an ant in comparison to the power gathered in this room.

"But we need to level up at least one more time before moving forward," Cavin smiled, "We just need 7 Stronghold Crystals, and we’ll be able to achieve this ultimate goal."

"Why?" Leon asked, curious about their motivation.

Cavin gazed at Leon as if he just said the most offensive thing in the world, "Because that is our goal, we want to be the strongest, and we won’t let anything stop us."

"Huh... And why do you need me specifically?" Leon pressed.

"We just have a hunch that you may help us," Cavin grinned, "Can’t you?"

"I have no idea—"

"—Starting with the stronghold crystal you have in your inventory right now," Cavin cut him off, "We would love to have it."