2026-03-25 03:50:42The 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 immediately.
“By luck.”
He pointed at Elena.
“That thing just happened to be useful for once.”
His voice turned harsh.
“Don’t act like he’s some kind of hero. He’s still dirt.”
Alaric didn’t respond.
Marcus stepped closer, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
“And what was that speech earlier?” he sneered. “Stay calm, survive four hours… you really think this is under control?”
His eyes narrowed.
“You’re just pretending to be confident because you don’t have anything to lose.”
Kira frowned slightly.
“That’s enough, Marcus.”
Marcus clenched his jaw.
“Why are you defending him?”
Kira didn’t answer.
But that silence only made Marcus more irritated.
Before he could continue—
A sudden hiss echoed through the trees.
The air shifted.
Dark fog began forming again.
“Not again!” one of the girls cried.
From all directions, multiple fog creatures surged toward them.
This time—
There were more.
Far more.
“Get ready!” Kira shouted.
Her Chimera roared, unleashing flames into the incoming fog.
But unlike normal beasts—
The fog didn’t react the same way.
Even when struck, it simply reformed.
Alaric’s eyes narrowed.
“These things…”
Elena stepped forward calmly.
“Master.”
“Destroy them.”
Elena swung her hammer.
BOOM!
One cluster of fog exploded.
But—
No system notification appeared.
No points.
Alaric immediately noticed.
“…They don’t give points.”
Marcus cursed loudly.
“What kind of garbage enemies are these?!”
The group fought desperately.
Fog creatures kept emerging, attacking endlessly.
Minutes felt like hours.
Eventually—
The fog retreated again.
Everyone stood there, exhausted.
Breathing heavily.
“What the hell is going on…” someone whispered.
Time passed slowly after that.
The forest only grew darker.
The air heavier.
Then—
Alaric looked up at the sky.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“…Four hours.”
Kira froze.
“What?”
Alaric spoke calmly.
“It’s been four hours.”
Silence fell.
Everyone instinctively looked toward the distant sky where the exit portal should have appeared.
Nothing.
No light.
No gate.
Just darkness.
The realization hit instantly.
“It didn’t open…” one girl whispered.
Panic spread like wildfire.
“No… no, that’s not possible…”
“The exam should be over!”
“Why are we still here?!”
Marcus’s face twisted.
“I knew it!” he shouted. “This is all messed up!”
He turned toward Alaric angrily.
“Where’s your ‘stay calm’ plan now, huh?!”
His voice grew louder.
“You said the portal would open!”
Alaric remained calm.
Before he could respond—
Elena suddenly spoke.
Her voice was quiet, but clear.
“I can feel it.”
Everyone turned toward her.
Marcus frowned.
“Feel what?”
Elena’s eyes looked into the distance.
“A source.”
She spoke slowly.
“Something behind these fog creatures.”
Alaric’s gaze sharpened.
“What kind of source?”
Elena shook her head slightly.
“I don’t know… but it’s controlling them.”
The group exchanged confused looks.
One of them scoffed.
“That’s ridiculous.”
Marcus laughed mockingly.
“Of course it is.”
He pointed at Elena.
“We’re really going to listen to a trash-tier pet now?”
Another teammate nodded.
“Yeah, this is getting stupid.”
Marcus crossed his arms.
“What’s next? The bug leads us to safety?”
His voice dripped with sarcasm.
“Why don’t we just follow it straight into a grave?”
Elena didn’t react.
Her expression remained cold and indifferent.
Alaric, however, spoke calmly.
“If there’s a source, then destroying it might end this.”
Marcus let out a harsh laugh.
“‘Might’?”
He shook his head.
“You’re insane.”
Alaric looked at the group.
“If anyone’s afraid,” he said simply, “I’ll go alone.”
Silence followed.
That calm certainty…
It struck something in Kira.
She stepped forward immediately.
“I’ll go with you.”
Marcus’s eyes widened.
“Kira, are you serious?!”
She didn’t even look at him.
“If there’s a chance to fix this,” she said firmly, “we can’t ignore it.”
Marcus clenched his fists.
“You’re trusting him over your own team?”
Another voice spoke up.
“…I’ll go too.”
It was Tristan.
The quietest member of the group.
He stepped forward nervously.
“If we don’t do something… we might all die anyway.”
Marcus stared at them like they were crazy.
Then he let out a cold laugh.
“Fine.”
He took a step back.
“Go ahead.”
His voice was filled with mockery.
“Walk straight into your deaths.”
The remaining girl hesitated, then quickly moved to Marcus’s side.
“I’m not going either.”
She looked at Alaric with disdain.
“I’m not following a loser and his freak pet.”
Marcus smirked.
“Smart choice.”
He glanced at Alaric one last time.
“Don’t bother coming back.”
Alaric didn’t respond.
Without another word, he turned and began walking deeper into the forest.
Elena followed silently.
Kira and Tristan quickly caught up.
The deeper they went—
The heavier the air became.
The trees grew twisted.
The ground darker.
After a while, Kira suddenly slowed down.
Her expression changed.
“…Wait.”
Alaric stopped.
“What is it?”
Kira looked around carefully.
Her voice lowered.
“This area…”
She swallowed slightly.
“…We’re near the Forbidden Zone.”
Tristan’s face turned pale.
“The place they warned us about?”
Kira nodded.
“Before the exam started…”
Her voice tightened.
“The examiners said this region contains much stronger beasts.”
She looked ahead into the darkness.
“Possibly even a Level 10 King-class monster.”
Silence fell.
The weight of her words pressed down on all of them.
Tristan hesitated.
“If we go further…”
“…we might not survive.”
Alaric looked forward calmly.
Then he spoke quietly.
“If we don’t stop the source…”
He didn’t finish the sentence.
He didn’t need to.
Kira understood.
If they failed—
They might never leave this realm.
She took a deep breath.
“…Then we keep going.”
Alaric nodded.
And the three of them stepped deeper into the darkness.
Outside the Secret Realm—
Chaos had completely erupted.
Examiners shouted over each other.
Communication arrays flickered uselessly.
The Imperial examiner slammed his fist against the table.
“This is a disaster!”
The Holy Mountain examiner’s face was grim.
“This is no longer an exam…”
The chief examiner stared at the sealed portal.
“…It’s a crisis.”
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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