Outside the portal, both Arnold and Cole immediately noticed the color change.

The expressions on their faces cracked almost instantly.

The blue portal they had personally verified earlier was now radiating dense golden light instead, and the pressure leaking from it had risen several levels within seconds. Even the ground around it started vibrating faintly while thin cracks spread outward nearly three meters across the stone path.

"Gold rank...?" Cole gasped, eyes wide.

Arnold’s usually stoic face turned grim. Gold grade secret realms were not supposed to appear around Layer One or even Two because the danger level was far too high. Most gold realms contained monsters powerful enough to wipe out entire settlements if left unattended, and even experienced exploration groups usually entered them only after months of preparation.

The biggest problem, however, was not the monsters alone.

Gold realms locked themselves completely after activation. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

No reinforcements could enter afterward unless the core boss inside died first or they retrieved the realm key safely, which was near impossible because the seal was usually protected by the boss. There had only been a handful of times where experienced players were able to retrieve the key successfully without killing the boss and use it to farm monsters afterward.

In essence, without killing the ruler monster controlling the realm, every participant trapped inside would remain completely isolated from the outside world.

Cole clenched his jaw tightly, realizing the severity of the situation.

Meanwhile, Arnold was still trying to wrap his head around everything.

The sudden rank increase made no sense.

Realms occasionally evolved under specific conditions, but for a blue realm to jump directly into gold grade usually meant the core boss had undergone a sudden evolution after consuming a massive amount of mana cores or another energy source. Whenever that happened, the realm itself would scale upward alongside the ruler monster’s new level.

Arnold slowly stared at the now golden portal surface while several unpleasant possibilities crossed his mind.

"What do we do, Shelter Lord?" Cole asked with a worried look in his eyes. "The Association president’s daughter is inside there. If something happens..."

Cole did not complete his sentence. He did not need to. Arnold already knew what would happen.

After several minutes of tense silence, Arnold spoke in a low tone.

"We just hope they survive."

Inside the realm itself, Zich and the others had not noticed the outside reaction yet.

The moment everyone crossed through the portal, the scenery changed completely.

A massive open courtyard stretched around them beneath a dark red sky. Crumbling stone pillars formed a circular layout around the area while broken statues and scattered debris covered sections of the cracked ground.

Cold wind moved quietly through the ruined structures.

Several old weapons and shattered shields rested near the edges of the courtyard as though a battle had happened there long ago, though none of the marks looked recent. The entire place carried a strange oppressive atmosphere that immediately made everyone more alert.

Helen slowly looked upward and could not help but frown, feeling pressure far heavier than what she had felt on the outside.

Jayden, standing beside her, remained silent while his hand already rested near his weapon.

Varok narrowed his golden eyes while scanning the area carefully. Even the giant Velhari had stopped looking arrogant now, and the shorter blade user quietly shifted closer toward the others without saying anything.

Right at that moment, the translucent blue system panel above them flickered violently.

The blue text distorted and a second later, the entire interface changed into gold.

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

[Kill the boss or retrieve the realm key to leave the realm]

[Note: Killing the boss permanently closes the secret realm]

The moment the golden words appeared fully, both the human side and the Velhari side froze.

Even Zich’s calm expression shifted. He could have sworn that the portal was blue!

"What?!" Helen gasped.

Jayden’s face darkened immediately afterward.

The giant Velhari took one heavy step backward while staring at the system panel above them. Even Varok’s composed expression finally cracked after seeing the golden letters floating overhead.

"How did this happen?" Helen blurted out. "I thought it was blue..."

"It appears that the realm upgraded," Varok said quietly. His golden eyes narrowed further while he slowly looked across the ruined courtyard again.

"The core ruler likely evolved recently after consuming a large number of mana cores," he added. "When that happens, the realm itself rises together with the boss."

The shorter Velhari spoke shortly afterward.

"If the boss evolved before the realm fully stabilized, then the monsters here may have already adapted alongside it."

Several expressions turned heavier immediately after hearing that.

Zich frowned. Even he understood this situation had become far more dangerous now.

Gold grade realms were completely different from blue according to the mission briefing.

The monsters inside would not simply be stronger. Their intelligence, numbers, and territory control usually increased as well. And fighting an intelligent monster was far more troublesome.

Zich quietly lowered his gaze afterward.

His eyes stopped briefly on the Lucky Handband resting around his wrist.

The treasure had supposedly improved luck.

What part of this is lucky?

Before anyone could continue speaking, the giant Velhari suddenly stiffened.

His eyes shifted toward the far side of the courtyard.

"Movement."

The atmosphere tightened immediately.

Across the ruined circular courtyard, faint metallic sounds slowly echoed through the red-lit ruins.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

Several armored figures gradually emerged between the broken pillars.

At first only silhouettes appeared through the distance, but as they moved closer, everyone finally saw them properly. Tall knights wearing dark rusted armor approached in complete silence while faint red light glowed behind their helmets where eyes should have been.

Each carried different weapons ranging from long swords, spears, heavy shields, and bows.

The old armor covering their bodies looked damaged from countless battles, yet none of them moved like weakened undead. Their steps remained synchronized almost perfectly while more figures slowly appeared behind the first row.

’Too many.’ Zich’s eyes narrowed.

Even from this distance, he could already count over thirty approaching knights, and more armored figures continued emerging from the ruined paths surrounding the circular courtyard itself.