The tall Velhari finally stopped several meters away from the human side before planting the butt of his bone spear lightly against the ground.

Clink.

His narrow golden eyes slowly moved across Arnold, Cole, Helen, Jayden, and finally Zich before a faint smile appeared on his face.

"I am Varok," he said calmly. "Commander of the eastern Velhari patrol division and representative for this operation."

His voice carried confidence without needing to rise loudly.

Varok’s gaze shifted toward Arnold afterward. "I must admit, I expected something different. When our side heard the human settlement agreed to a joint mission, I assumed experienced adults would be sent."

His eyes moved briefly toward Helen and Zich.

"Not children."

Several nearby guards stiffened immediately after hearing that.

Cole’s expression darkened almost instantly. His jaw tightened hard enough for veins to appear near his neck while one hand moved toward the weapon at his waist.

"You red skinned..."

Arnold looked at him once.

Cole stopped speaking immediately.

The silence afterward felt heavy. Even the surrounding players watching from farther back noticed the tension rising between both groups.

Helen exhaled softly before stepping forward slightly with a polite smile that did not fully reach her eyes.

"The mission has not started yet. It would be better if both sides focused on results instead of appearances."

Varok looked at her for a second before nodding faintly.

"A reasonable answer. Though reasonable answers and survival are not always connected inside the mountain."

Jayden finally spoke from the side, his tone cold.

"You seem very confident for someone standing outside the realm same as everyone else."

The giant Velhari behind Varok snorted quietly while folding both massive arms across his chest. The movement alone caused several sections of his armor to creak loudly.

Varok’s expression barely changed as he shifted his gaze to Jayden. "Confidence usually comes from experience. You may learn that eventually."

Jayden’s eyes narrowed further after hearing that. Although his face remained calm, the hostility around him became obvious enough that even Helen glanced toward him briefly.

Zich remained silent through all of it.

His eyes calmly studied each Velhari one by one while mentally noting details. The giant clearly relied on physical strength, while the shorter blade user moved too quietly despite standing openly beside the others.

Varok was the most troublesome.

Not because of his words, but because he kept observing everyone while pretending to relax.

A careful person.

Varok suddenly shifted his attention toward Zich fully.

Unlike the others nearby, the white haired human had shown almost no reaction since the Velhari group arrived. No tension. No intimidation. No attempt to prove himself either.

The most intriguing part was that Zich was also the youngest here. That alone made him interesting.

Following Varok’s gaze, several eyes immediately shifted toward Zich.

Cole looked mildly interested now while Helen quietly waited for his response. Even Jayden glanced over briefly despite clearly not wanting to involve himself.

Sensing all the gazes on him, Zich could not help but frown. He tried to keep quiet, but eventually he could not hold back anymore.

"Is there something on my face?"

"A summoner... they invited a weak summoner."

The giant Velhari let out a low laugh from behind Varok, finally breaking the heavy awkward silence.

The shorter Velhari wanted to ask how the other had known Zich’s class, but soon their eyes shifted downward.

A small blue slime had quietly peeked out near Zich’s shoulder without anyone noticing earlier. Slimy’s round eyes stared directly at the Velhari group while faint poison bubbles slowly formed along parts of its body.

The blade user blinked once in surprise.

"A slime?"

The giant Velhari immediately laughed louder, appearing even more amused.

"That tiny thing is his summon? Humans truly lower standards every year."

Slimy’s body trembled slightly at the clearly infuriating words.

Small droplets of poison slid onto the ground beneath Zich’s boots, and faint sizzling sounds immediately followed afterward.

SSSSSS...

The stone floor blackened within seconds.

Several nearby humans stiffened after seeing it.

The giant Velhari’s laughter weakened slightly too.

Zich calmly raised one hand and placed it against Slimy’s soft body before the little creature could react further.

"Relax."

Slimy bounced once before the poison slowly settled again.

Varok noticed the exchange immediately.

Most summoners controlled beasts through force, fear, or commands shouted constantly during battle. Zich, however, only needed a single touch before the slime calmed completely.

Interesting.

"You have good control," Varok said. "Reminds me of Master Shroud. His summon is very peculiar as well."

’He knows Master Shroud?’

Zich could barely keep his face straight when he heard this. But little did he know that Master Shroud’s personality was becoming popular throughout the mountains, and even those in Layer Three had begun to hear about him.

"Whoever this Master Shroud is, I’m curious to meet him one day. Maybe I could learn one or two things from him," Zich replied humbly.

Helen looked toward the blackened floor afterward and quietly took half a step away from Slimy.

"I suddenly understand why your old room was always damaged."

"It was not always damaged," Zich retorted.

Cole snorted softly. "That means it was damaged often enough for you to argue about wording."

Before Zich could answer, Arnold finally stepped forward, his gaze sweeping between both sides.

"We wasted enough time already. The secret realm will not wait for anyone."

The atmosphere became more serious afterward.

Even Varok stopped provoking the human side once Arnold spoke again. Without another word, both groups finally began moving toward the eastern mountain path together.

The journey remained quiet for most of the way. Several guards escorted them partway before stopping near the restricted border zone. Beyond that point, only the representatives continued forward.

The terrain gradually became rougher. Broken stone paths stretched between cliffs while cold wind occasionally swept through the narrow mountain roads. Blue mist slowly appeared farther ahead, and after another several minutes of walking, the secret realm portal finally became visible.

The portal stood between two enormous cracked stone pillars covered in glowing blue runes. Energy swirled endlessly at the center while faint pulses spread outward every few seconds across the surrounding ground.

Varok stopped walking first while Arnold quietly observed the realm entrance beside him.

He gave a simple nod to Varok, and the latter stepped forward, entering through the portal.

One by one, they all entered. When everyone stepped forward, a massive translucent panel expanded before them.

[Gold Grade Secret Realm Entry Rules Loading...]

...

Right at that moment outside, a strange scene happened. The blue shimmering portal surface suddenly turned gold.

Arnold’s expression darkened almost immediately.