Thousands of people were gathered in the large open ground in front of the big gates leading to the entrance of the Foundation-rank Secret Realm, Wilmore of Shattered Sword.

A large leaderboard was projected in the sky, displaying the names of each team and its members on the left and points on the right, which were all zero for now.

Each participating student was given a special spatial ring to store resources and cores of each monster they killed. The ring had features to scan things inside, and based on its results, it would reflect the points on the leaderboard.

The ring also had one more function. It provided a unique Magic Suit to the students, protecting them from harm, but if their Magic Suit broke, they would be forcefully teleported out of the Secret Realm, ending further opportunities to explore.

As the time to enter arrived, teams began moving under the instructions of the faculty and passed through the dimensional gate.

This Foundation-rank Secret Realm was of Mega-category.

All teams passing through its gate would appear randomly on the periphery of the Secret Realm.

The goal was to move toward the center, which was a distance of 2000 kilometers from the periphery.

So far, no Foundation-stage expert had managed to reach the center.

Previously collected treasures and resources, as well as killed monsters, would not reappear.

But the highest record was around 1300 kilometers toward the center by a team six months ago. As such, there was still a lot of area filled with resources and treasure to explore, including the final boss and reward at the center.

...

Rudrean, Aelira, Lyra, Rivera, and Ryzen appeared near a waterfall and beautiful greenery in their surroundings, somewhere at high altitude on the periphery.

"Wow, so beautiful." Aelira’s eyes sparkled as she looked around.

To one side, they saw an endlessly stretching blue expanse of magic, the border of this Secret Realm.

And opposite it was an endlessly stretching land with much exotic scenery to explore.

"We should fly," Lyra announced and waved her hand, taking out a giant mechanical dragonfly with four wings.

"Woah, is that also something you made?" Ryzen asked.

"Yes." Lyra nodded. "This aircraft is designed based on dragonflies. They are the best at flying. Unlike birds, dragonflies have four wings, and each wing acts independently. They have a 360-degree view of their surroundings, and their flight path is the most precise in nature. They can fly forward, backward, and sideways instantly because of how their wings work. They are basically the most superior acrobats with extreme agility."

"That’s pretty amazing." Rudrean nodded with a smile. "I’ve seen dragonflies many times. They really fly very fast and unpredictably."

"Mhmm." Lyra nodded. "Let’s get in."

All five of them entered the dragonfly aircraft.

Lyra sat in the control seat as ten screens lit up in the front, showing a 360-degree view of their surroundings.

As it began flying, Lyra said, "I will lead us to the treasure and resources."

She took out five orbs from her storage ring as they floated around her, and in the next second, they flew out and vanished toward the horizon.

"Those orbs are scanners that can capture magic readings of their surroundings. If there’s a concentrated magic reading somewhere, it will notify me and move there." Lyra turned around to look at the group. "Concentrated magic readings mean there are resources or treasure."

"That’s pretty awesome." Rivera blinked, amazed.

"Nice. We won’t have to search for stuff ourselves." Aelira grinned.

"Mhmm." Lyra nodded. "But I suppose we won’t find anything in the next 1300 kilometers. It’s been searched extensively for the past four years according to Elder Tyoga."

She increased the aircraft’s speed to Mach 2.

They passed over mountains, volcanoes, snowy biomes, giant canopies, and finally arrived at a blanket of small water bodies spreading over a hundred kilometers, with exotic plants and trees all over the thousands of small ponds connected to each other.

From the sky, it looked like a network of nature.

Lyra slowed down as she got a signal there.

"So many monsters..." Ryzen muttered.

"Those black seals with shining horns and blue patterns are moving so fast in packs." Aelira blinked. "Wait, are they racing?"

"Seems like it." Rivera chuckled.

"This looks like a place that’s hiding a treasure underneath." Rudrean smiled.

"Yes." Lyra nodded. "There is a treasure here."

"Wait, really?" Ryzen was surprised. "Underwater?"

"Yes. One orb is near the treasure, but there are also a lot of monsters in the surroundings." Lyra blinked. "But the treasure is very good. From its magic readings, it’s an essence-type elemental magic resource. Very rare."

"And what kind of resource is that?" Aelira curiously asked.

"It might awaken an elemental talent in someone if taken," Lyra answered. "As for what element, we’d have to take a look at the treasure for that, but this one seems like a hybrid based on its magic readings."

"T-That’s pretty awesome." Ryzen wasn’t expecting that type of treasure, and his reaction appeared a bit strange.

Rivera looked at him briefly and grabbed his hand. ’Don’t ask for it.’

’I won’t.’

Ryzen’s awakened talent wasn’t that good. In fact, it was a D-rank talent called Iron Breath, which boosted his physical parameters by up to 50% by holding his breath.

Rivera had an A-rank talent called Starlight Stream, an elemental talent of the Light attribute.

"We have to make a plan. The number of monsters below is too much," Lyra said as the dragonfly aircraft hovered above a pond. "It’s over a hundred meters deep."

"Fighting underwater is going to be troublesome." Ryzen frowned.

"I will be fine. I’ll go ahead and explore." Rudrean smiled. "With Heavenfall Wind, it would be easy to move underwater."

Rudrean jumped off and dived into the pond. Wind whirled around him as he used Heavenfall Wind to swim with ease.

However, he also felt a wave of threatening aura reaching him.

Turning his head toward it, he saw a group of ten sharks with icy-blue spiraling patterns and sparkling mist around them rushing at him.

Rudrean’s eyes narrowed slightly as he focused on them, his Expert Eyes accurately scanning their movement and speed.

An exotic hybrid weapon appeared in his hand, the one that took its shape from Lyra’s cube gift.

What he shaped and manifested was a Glaivebow named Cerulean Inferno. It could switch between a bow and a bladed glaive.

Underwater, fire was inefficient.

So he didn’t use it.

Instead, Heavenfall Wind surged.

Not wildly. Not explosively, but controlled and dense.

The water around him compressed and parted as if something far heavier than water itself had claimed authority over the space. The usual resistance vanished. Every movement of his body became sharp, immediate, and exact.

The first shark lunged.

A burst-type acceleration. Fast. Direct.

Rudrean shifted half a step to the side. Not a full dodge. Just enough.

The shark’s jaws snapped past his shoulder.

At the same moment, Rudrean’s right hand drew the string.

But there was no physical arrow.

Heavenfall Wind condensed into one.

A tight, spiraling shaft of compressed air, layered with rotational force that stabilized it even within water.

He released.

The projectile didn’t slow.

It tore forward.

The shark’s head collapsed inward the moment it was struck, the internal pressure of the wind construct detonating within its skull before dispersing.

One down.

The rest adjusted immediately.

They spread out.

Three descended from below, their movements coordinated, while the others flanked from both sides, forming a layered attack pattern meant to restrict his escape routes.

Rudrean didn’t retreat.

Instead, he stepped forward.

Heavenfall Wind surged beneath his feet, not as propulsion but as displacement. The water parted in a thin, controlled line, allowing his body to slip through the space as if he were moving through air.

A second draw.

Two wind arrows formed simultaneously, thinner this time, faster.

He released both.

They curved mid-flight, guided by subtle shifts in pressure that Rudrean controlled instinctively.

Two sharks attempting to flank him from the left were struck through their eyes before they could even adjust.

Their bodies convulsed once and went still.

Seven remained.

One came in too fast.

A burst-type strike from directly ahead.

Rudrean did not draw the bow.

Instead, the weapon shifted.

The Glaivebow folded, its structure elongating into a curved blade along his forearm.

Heavenfall Wind condensed along its edge.

Not visible.

But present.

Dense enough to cut.

He stepped into the attack.

At the exact moment the shark opened its jaws, Rudrean moved past its centerline and swung once.

The blade didn’t resist.

The water didn’t resist.

The shark’s body separated cleanly along the line of motion, the compressed wind edge slicing through its structure without dispersion.

Six.

Another came from behind.

Rudrean didn’t turn fully.

His body shifted just enough for his arm to move.

A reverse slash.

The blade extended slightly as the wind pressure increased at the moment of impact.

The shark was bisected before its momentum could carry it forward.

Five.

The remaining sharks hesitated for the briefest moment.

That hesitation cost them.

Rudrean moved first.

Heavenfall Wind compressed beneath him and released in a short burst, sending him forward in a straight line through the water.

He passed between two sharks.

As he did, the glaive form rotated in his grip.

A short, precise sweep.

Both were cut along the same motion.

Three remained.

They changed strategy.

Instead of direct assault, they circled, attempting to synchronize another multi-angle burst.

Rudrean exhaled slowly.

Then raised the bow again.

This time, three arrows formed.

Each one denser than before.

Layered compression.

He held them for a fraction longer, increasing their internal pressure.

Then released.

Three straight lines.

No curve.

No adjustment needed.

The arrows reached their targets almost instantly.

Each shark was struck through the center of mass.

For a brief moment, nothing happened.

Then their bodies collapsed inward as the compressed wind detonated from within, destroying their internal structure completely.

Silence returned to the water.

Ten sharks.

Eliminated.

Clean.

Efficient.

Rudrean remained still for a moment, his senses extending outward through the surrounding currents, confirming that no immediate threats remained.

[Isalyn: Oh honey, your combat sense is improving way faster than average people.]

’It’s because it’s so fun.’ Rudrean grinned.

[You have acquired 1 Blank Rune (C-rank)]

[Path EXP +10]

’Oh? So this is how it works.’

[Isalyn: Yep. Secret realms are the only place to level up and improve your Arcane Path.]

Above, inside the dragonfly aircraft, silence had fallen.

"I knew you two would be strong, but this is crazy!" Ryzen stared down through the viewing screen, shocked and amazed.

"Too powerful," Rivera muttered. "The sharks even had such tough hides and exoskeletons, but he cut through them like nothing. And Rudrean adapted to underwater combat so fast."

"Hehe, that’s my darling. Also, we just have higher overall power than regular Foundation-stage people." Aelira giggled. "Not bragging, but our Arcane Paths are kind of insane."

"We failed to get our own Arcane Paths, so we are using the ones available in the academy." Ryzen wryly smiled, his fist clenching. "But we will definitely get our own Arcane Paths."

"Anyway, I’ll join Rudy. We’ll deal with the monsters below easily and get the treasure." Aelira walked toward the door and cracked her arms before diving down.