2026-03-25 03:48:42The four surviving students stood frozen, their eyes locked on Elena, who calmly rested the massive warhammer against the ground as if nothing unusual had happened.
Alaric’s gaze shifted toward them.
Up close, he recognized one of them immediately.
The girl standing at the front—long dark hair, sharp features, and a composed aura even under pressure—was someone well known throughout the city.
Kira White.
A prodigy.
And one of the most admired beauties among the younger generation.
Behind her, a massive beast stood protectively.
It had the head of a lion, the wings of a dragon, and the tail of a serpent.
A Chimera.
A Legendary Beast.
Kira took a slow breath, regaining her composure.
Then she stepped forward and looked at Alaric.
“Thank you,” she said sincerely. “You saved us.”
Alaric gave a small nod.
“You’re welcome.”
One of the boys behind her, still shaken, asked nervously, “Who… who are you?”
Alaric answered calmly.
“Alaric.”
The moment his name left his mouth—
The group froze.
“…Alaric?” one girl repeated.
Another boy’s eyes widened.
“Wait… that Alaric?”
Kira’s expression shifted slightly.
“You’re… Alaric Vincent?”
Silence fell again.
Then one of the boys frowned deeply.
“The one who got kicked out of the Vincent family?”
Another whispered harshly,
“The useless one with the trash-tier beast?”
Their gazes slowly shifted toward Elena.
Confusion and disbelief filled their faces.
“That… thing?” one of them muttered. “That’s his beast?”
Another scoffed under his breath.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
A girl crossed her arms.
“We almost died, and we got saved by… that?”
Her voice carried clear disdain.
“Is this some kind of joke?”
Alaric remained expressionless.
Kira, however, frowned slightly.
“Enough,” she said calmly.
Her sharp gaze silenced her teammates.
“Regardless of who he is,” she continued, “he just saved our lives.”
The others fell quiet, though their expressions still carried doubt.
One boy muttered quietly,
“…Still doesn’t make sense.”
Alaric ignored them.
Instead, his eyes shifted toward the body lying on the ground.
The dead teammate.
His expression darkened slightly.
“This shouldn’t have happened,” Alaric said.
Kira nodded.
“Agreed.”
She looked toward the area where the fog creature had been destroyed.
“That thing… wasn’t normal.”
Another teammate clenched his fists.
“It didn’t even have a body.”
“It just… swallowed him,” someone added shakily.
The group fell silent again.
After a moment, Kira took out a small glowing stone from her pocket.
“A communication stone,” she said. “We need to report this.”
She activated it.
The stone flickered briefly.
Then—
Nothing.
Kira frowned.
“…That’s strange.”
She tried again.
“Can anyone hear me? This is Kira White. We have a casualty inside the Secret Realm—”
Silence.
No response.
One of her teammates pulled out his own stone.
“Mine too,” he said.
He activated it.
Still nothing.
Another student tried.
“No signal…”
Panic began creeping into their voices.
“What’s going on?”
“Why isn’t it working?”
Kira’s expression grew serious.
“This shouldn’t happen.”
Meanwhile—
Outside the Secret Realm, chaos had already begun.
Inside the examiner hall, the massive screen flickered.
One of the observers suddenly stood up.
“Wait!”
All eyes turned toward him.
His voice trembled.
“A candidate… just lost all life signs.”
The room went silent.
“What?” someone whispered.
The Imperial examiner frowned sharply.
“That’s impossible. The realm is designed to prevent fatalities.”
The observer shook his head.
“But the signal is gone. Completely gone.”
The chief examiner stood up immediately.
“Establish communication with all participants,” he ordered.
Another examiner activated the communication array.
“Connecting now…”
The array glowed brightly.
Then—
Flickered.
And died.
The examiner’s face turned pale.
“…We can’t reach them.”
The room erupted into chaos.
“What do you mean you can’t reach them?!”
“That’s a controlled exam realm!”
The Imperial examiner slammed his hand on the table.
“This is unacceptable!”
The Holy Mountain examiner narrowed his eyes.
“The communication network is being blocked.”
The chief examiner’s expression darkened.
“Prepare a rescue team immediately.”
Several high-ranking Beast Tamers stood up at once.
“Yes, sir!”
But just as they moved—
Another examiner shouted,
“Wait!”
Everyone turned.
His voice was filled with disbelief.
“The realm…”
He swallowed hard.
“…won’t open.”
Silence fell like a hammer.
“What did you say?” the chief examiner asked.
“The exit portal…” the examiner stammered. “It’s locked. It won’t reopen until the full 24-hour trial ends.”
A wave of cold dread swept through the room.
“That’s… impossible,” someone whispered.
The Holy Mountain examiner spoke quietly,
“Unless something is interfering with the realm’s core.”
The Imperial examiner’s face turned grim.
“You’re saying…”
The chief examiner finished the sentence.
“An unknown force.”
The room fell into heavy silence.
Back inside the Secret Realm—
Fear had begun spreading among the candidates.
Kira’s group stood in tense silence.
“No communication…”
“And someone already died…”
One of the girls started shaking.
“We’re trapped in here, aren’t we?”
Another student clenched his teeth.
“This isn’t an exam anymore. It’s a nightmare.”
Kira remained calm, but even she couldn’t hide the tension in her eyes.
Alaric stepped forward.
“Listen.”
All eyes turned toward him.
One boy scoffed immediately.
“Oh great. The loser wants to talk.”
Another sneered.
“What are you going to do? Save us with your trash pet again?”
Alaric ignored them.
His voice remained steady.
“The exam lasts 24 hours.”
The group fell quiet.
Alaric continued calmly,
“We’ve already been inside for about 20 hours.”
Kira’s eyes flickered slightly.
“…Four hours left.”
Alaric nodded.
“Yes.”
He looked around at the group.
“The portal will reopen when the time is up.”
One of the boys frowned.
“And if it doesn’t?”
Alaric met his gaze.
“It will.”
His tone carried quiet certainty.
“Whatever is happening,” he continued, “it hasn’t changed the rules of the realm yet.”
The group exchanged uneasy glances.
A girl whispered,
“So… we just survive?”
Alaric nodded.
“That’s all we need to do.”
Another boy scoffed.
“Easy for you to say.”
He pointed at Elena.
“You’ve got that freak of a beast carrying you.”
His voice turned mocking.
“Some of us aren’t hiding behind… whatever that thing is.”
Elena’s expression didn’t change.
Her eyes remained cold and indifferent.
Alaric glanced at him.
“If you’d rather face that fog alone, go ahead.”
The boy immediately fell silent.
Kira stepped forward.
“He’s right,” she said firmly.
Her voice carried authority.
“Panicking won’t help.”
She looked at her team.
“We stay together. We survive.”
Her gaze shifted briefly toward Alaric.
“…And for now, we cooperate.”
The others hesitated.
But no one objected.
Because deep down—
They all knew the truth.
Without Alaric…
They might already be dead.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 9: The Shattered Core
Deep within the Forbidden Zone, the forest had long since lost its original form.The ground was cracked and blackened.The trees were twisted into grotesque shapes.And the fog—It was everywhere.Thick. Endless. Suffocating.By now, the concept of points had become meaningless.Alaric glanced briefly at the system panel.The number continued rising at an absurd rate.But he closed it immediately.It didn’t matter anymore.If they couldn’t leave this place alive…Even first place meant nothing.“The scoring system might already be corrupted,” Tristan muttered, breathing heavily. “What’s the point anymore…?”Kira didn’t respond.Her focus remained ahead.“Elena,” Alaric said quietly.She stood at the front, her warhammer dragging slightly against the ground.“I can feel it clearly now,” she said.Her cold eyes fixed on the distance.“The source is just ahead.”The air suddenly grew heavier.Then—The fog surged.From all directions, countless fog creatures emerged.Dozens.Hundreds.T
Chapter 8: The Outer Demon
Outside the Secret Realm, the situation had spiraled completely out of control.The once-orderly examination grounds were now filled with shouting, panic, and despair. Families of the candidates crowded the area, their faces pale as they stared at the sealed portal.“Why isn’t it opening?!”“My son is still inside!”“Do something!”Examiners rushed back and forth, attempting to stabilize the situation, but the tension only grew heavier with each passing minute.Then—A powerful aura descended.The air itself seemed to tremble.Everyone instinctively turned toward the sky.A man stepped forward from the crowd of arriving officials.He wore a long black coat, his presence calm yet overwhelming.The moment he appeared, even the arguing examiners fell silent.“The Grand Beast Master…”Someone whispered the title with reverence.He was the nation’s strongest Beast Master.The final authority in matters like this.The chief examiner stepped forward immediately.“Sir, the Secret Realm—”The
Chapter 7: Into the Forbidden Zone
The forest grew darker as time passed.The faint light filtering through the trees had turned dim and gray, as if the entire Secret Realm itself was slowly suffocating under an unseen force.Kira’s group moved cautiously through the undergrowth.Every sound made them tense.Every shadow looked like an enemy.Behind them, the memory of the fog creature still lingered like a nightmare.One of the boys in Kira’s team—tall, sharp-faced, with a constant scowl—glanced at Alaric with obvious dissatisfaction.His name was Marcus.And his eyes were filled with something more than fear.Jealousy.He watched the way Kira occasionally looked toward Alaric.That small shift in her attitude…It irritated him.Finally, Marcus scoffed.“So let me get this straight,” he said mockingly. “We’re supposed to trust this guy now?”His gaze swept over Alaric with open disdain.“The same loser who got kicked out of his own family?”One of the girls hesitated.“Well… he did save us…”Marcus snapped back immedi
Chapter 6: The Sealed Realm
The four surviving students stood frozen, their eyes locked on Elena, who calmly rested the massive warhammer against the ground as if nothing unusual had happened.Alaric’s gaze shifted toward them.Up close, he recognized one of them immediately.The girl standing at the front—long dark hair, sharp features, and a composed aura even under pressure—was someone well known throughout the city.Kira White.A prodigy.And one of the most admired beauties among the younger generation.Behind her, a massive beast stood protectively.It had the head of a lion, the wings of a dragon, and the tail of a serpent.A Chimera.A Legendary Beast.Kira took a slow breath, regaining her composure.Then she stepped forward and looked at Alaric.“Thank you,” she said sincerely. “You saved us.”Alaric gave a small nod.“You’re welcome.”One of the boys behind her, still shaken, asked nervously, “Who… who are you?”Alaric answered calmly.“Alaric.”The moment his name left his mouth—The group froze.“…A
Chapter 5: The Rising Score
Deep inside the Secret Realm, the forest echoed with the sounds of battle.Explosions, roars, and the crashing of trees filled the air.At the center of one clearing, a massive magical beast collapsed with a heavy thud.Elena stood calmly in front of its body, the enormous Upper Realm Warhammer resting on her shoulder.The creature had been a Level 5 Stone Boar, a monster that normally required an entire team to defeat.But now it lay motionless, its skull crushed into the ground.Alaric glanced at the system panel floating before his eyes.Target Defeated. Points Earned: 500Another line followed.Elena – Level Up. Current Level: 6Alaric exhaled slowly.“Level six already.”Elena looked down at the monster without emotion.“Do you want me to destroy the body, Master?”Alaric shook his head.“No need. Let’s move.”They had been inside the Secret Realm for less than an hour, yet their progress was already unbelievable.Every monster they encountered was eliminated within seconds.Mo
Chapter 4: The First Hunt
The streets of the small city gradually quieted as night settled in.After leaving the beast shop, Alaric walked through several dim alleys before finally stopping in front of a rundown inn. The wooden sign above the door creaked in the wind, and the building itself looked like it might collapse at any moment.Alaric glanced at the few coins left in his palm.Not much.But it would have to do.He pushed open the door and approached the counter.The tired innkeeper looked up lazily. His eyes moved between Alaric and the small girl beside him.“You renting a room?” the man asked.Alaric nodded. “One night.”The innkeeper looked at the coins Alaric placed on the counter and snorted.“For that price, you get the smallest room.”“That’s fine.”A rusty key slid across the counter.Alaric picked it up without complaint and led Iris upstairs.The room was small and poorly lit. A single bed stood against the wall, and the wooden floor creaked under every step.Iris looked around quietly.“…Mas
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