Whistling winds howled through the Dark Realm, seeping through the cracks in the door, bringing with them an icy chill. Both trialists shivered, feeling the cold rise from the soles of their feet.

The male trialist peered outside to check the situation, but what he saw made him gasp in shock and fear. His eyes widened in disbelief and terror as he stared outside.

"What did you see?" the female trialist asked, her voice tinged with panic, guessing at the possibility.

She too peered outside, and instantly, her beautiful, fair face turned pale with fear. Before them, in the darkness, stood three towering figures less than a hundred meters from their safe house. The figures, with their bare, bronzed upper bodies, even emitted a faint green glow in the dark, their faces wearing a hunter’s smile upon spotting their prey.

"We’ve been discovered!" the realization hit them hard. "But we have the safe house! Can they break in?"

"Let’s hope the safe house can protect us fully!" Both trialists retreated from the window, trying not to make a sound, afraid of being noticed by the three-eyed natives outside.

These natives were notoriously ruthless; even the second-level trialist Tate had been killed instantly. They stood no chance against them. Their only hope was the safe house.

Inside, an oppressive silence reigned. The howling wind brought with it an even colder draft. As the three large three-eyed natives approached, a tremendous pressure weighed down on them.

"This is the safe house? It’s said that these trialists have survived till now because of these houses. Otherwise, they would have perished long ago, unable to even handle the initial wave of creatures."

"Should we try to break in? The safe house is primarily designed to defend against creatures. It might repel us too, but breaking its defense shouldn’t be too hard for us."

"We can try together!"

The faint sound of conversation from outside sent waves of panic through the two trialists within.

The two trialists exchanged glances, each seeing the fear reflected in the other’s eyes. Suddenly, a thunderous boom shook the entire safe house as if a giant hammer had struck it. The structure seemed on the verge of collapse, especially the doors and windows which were almost torn off by the overwhelming force outside.

Another powerful blow caused the runes on the safe house to flicker uncertainly, and it seemed like the structure would not hold much longer. Fine dust and pebbles fell from above, a clear sign of the building’s imminent failure.

"Come out, ants!" shouted the three-eyed natives outside, mocking their prey. "Hiding in there won’t save you! Roll out, or you’ll all die!"

The third eye of the three-eyed natives shone brightly, their intangible power forming a massive hammer cloud, striking the safe house repeatedly.

With each hit, the safe house, like a tiny boat in a tempestuous sea, seemed about to capsize. Finally, unable to bear the immense pressure and consumed by fear, one of the trialists inside yelled, "Stop! We’ll come out! Will you really spare our lives?"

A smile crept onto the faces of the three-eyed natives as the light in their third eye flickered. "Of course," they responded.

An hour later, a scream pierced the air as a head, spurting blood, was flung out. The male trialist’s body slowly collapsed, his face still showing a look of defiance. Inside the safe house, on a makeshift bed, the scene was chaotic. The woman’s clothes were torn, and her lifeless body lay cold, having suffered unspeakable horrors before death.

"These trialists are so foolish to believe our words," the three-eyed natives commented. "It’s good they opened the door themselves; otherwise, it would have been troublesome."

"They were just trying to survive," another added. "Hiding inside was a death sentence anyway. They gambled and lost. We were never going to spare them."

"Ha! This super Source stone and the woman turned out to be an unexpected bonus!" they laughed.

"You’ve got to admit, that woman was quite attractive and tender. Too bad she struggled and didn’t comply, otherwise, it would have been nice to keep her around."

"Next time, you should be gentler, they can’t withstand too much rough handling."

The three natives laughed contentedly as they walked away. Their next target was clear: to find a trialist named Waldo. They had learned that among all the trialists, Waldo was very famous and incredibly strong, possibly even the most powerful of them all. This piqued their interest greatly, as they relished the challenge and thrill of hunting down strong trialists.

Meanwhile, news of the three ruthless three-eyed natives’ atrocities spread like wildfire. Trialists warned each other not to open their safe houses to the natives or trust their words, as they would spare no one.

Amidst the turmoil, Waldo continued to absorb the energy from the super Source stones. This energy surged through him like a great serpent, purifying and elevating his soul. His remaining two abilities were steadily approaching full-level status. His surroundings were enveloped in a purplish haze.

Initially, everything went smoothly for Waldo. However, as he attempted to upgrade his last ability [Invisibility] to full level, he encountered significant resistance and difficulties. His soul underwent rigorous refinement, each time bringing agonizing pain. Like Waldo had anticipated, maxing out all abilities proved to be a great challenge, as if something was suppressing him.

Yet, Waldo endured the onslaught of violent energy and persevered. Eventually, he opened his eyes, having finally achieved full-level status for all his abilities. His form suddenly became ethereal, a sign of his new, heightened powers.

With a single step, he left the cave and arrived in the outside world. His figure flickered continuously in the darkness. Each step he took covered nearly a hundred meters in distance. This was quite remarkable.

The Dark Realm differs from the Trial Realm, as it greatly suppresses abilities and strength. Where one could instantaneously move five hundred meters in the Trial Realm, in the Dark Realm, the distance was limited to only fifty meters.

Now that Waldo had upgraded all his abilities to their full levels, his instantaneous movement capabilities had also been enhanced significantly.