"W-What the hell?"

"No way, right?"

"Hahaha, this was unexpected."

It was a big shock when the two strongest teams were suddenly out of the competition.

The shock was massive. Not just to the general students and faculty, but to the parties that those two teams represented!

Romen Velkar, from the giant Velkar Clan. In terms of influence and power in the whole Riglight Galactic Alliance, it ranked 14th.

Romen Velkar wasn’t as famous as his older siblings, as he had just started to enter the limelight since he was just a Foundation-stage expert, but his launch pad was already broken.

He was supposed to conquer this secret realm with his team and Reina’s team, with the credit going to him as per the deal. There were plenty of tools and stuff they had prepared for the final boss.

But one guy came... and ruined everything single-handedly.

To lose this miserably was heavy.

On the other hand, there was Reina Melaki of the Melaki family.

The Melaki family ranked 27th out of the top 100 clans and families, and they were planning to enter into an alliance with the Velkar Clan.

This team-up of their teams in this secret realm was pre-planned, so that both would work together, but credits would go to Romen.

Alas, all of that was ruined now.

The moment both teams appeared outside, they didn’t linger and left.

...

"Damn it! Damn it!" Romen cursed as he vented by breaking stuff in his luxurious private house in the city.

"What’s with his combat power?! How can he be so strong?!"

He angrily sat down on the couch, frustrated and feeling utter humiliation that made him unable to calm down.

Reina was sitting nearby, talking with someone from the Melaki family within a barrier to block out Romen’s noise.

She finished talking a bit later and said, "Calm down, Romen. He had a visor and a weapon, maybe more things we couldn’t see."

"If I’m not wrong, the main reason he got such a boost was because of Lyra." Reina’s eyes glinted. "Of course, we can’t deny Rudrean’s combat power itself. His Arcane Path must be very powerful. It could be Epic or... Legendary."

"Legendary? Him?! Bullshit." Romen snorted, not wanting to believe that.

"What do you mean, him? His looks are ten out of ten." Reina rolled her eyes.

Romen coldly glanced at her. "Bitch, then go to him or go to hell, but don’t go fucking praising him in front of me."

Reina reined herself in, reminding herself that her family was in trouble, and that they needed this alliance with the Velkar family.

’Tsk, if only I could convince Elder Tyoga to get Lyra into my family, we could raise ourselves with her talent.’ 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

’But he can easily see through our schemes. He’ll never agree, and we can’t force him.’

"What’s done is done. We can’t enter again, and we can’t do anything about it," Reina said. "It’s time to break through and enter the Core Genesis stage. There’s no reason to hold back anymore."

Romen’s jaw clenched. "If they stay in this institute, we’ll never get the opportunities and limelight we need. Something must be done."

"Something?" Reina frowned. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is... I am going to start tracking their movements." Romen’s eyes coldly glinted. "That bastard and his bitch will surely have to take missions after this secret realm event. Wherever they go on their first mission, I’ll make sure they never return. If they’re with those beastfolk, they’ll be gone too."

Reina’s heart turned cold. ’With the Velkar Clan’s power... they might be able to do that without leaving a trace.’

"Do whatever you want, but don’t hurt Lyra," Reina said.

Romen frowned. "What’s so special about that bitch? She can just craft magic items, but so what? There are a million others who can do that."

"What we know about her is the Melaki family’s secure information, and we can’t share it." Reina shook her head. "Just know that she is a great asset. A powerful enough asset that can... never mind."

She wanted to say that Lyra was a powerful enough asset to shake the whole Riglight Galactic Alliance once she grew and developed, but the less people knew about Lyra’s true potential, the better.

The Melaki clan’s focus was on two things. The alliance, and Lyra.

The only other person who knew Lyra’s true potential was Elder Tyoga, and he was keeping it an absolute secret.

"I am going to break through now." Reina stood up and left.

Romen stayed and contacted some people in the clan to ready his plan.

"Nozark, get your team ready to respond, and also send a tracker specialist to me here."

"What’s the matter, young master?"

"You haven’t heard the news, but I lost in the Secret Realm event. As in, someone made an absolute fool out of me."

Romen’s voice was filled with rage. "And someone like that should get erased. The faster, the better."

"Understood. But since my team and I are on a mission currently, we’ll have to consult with your father."

Romen snorted. "I’m calling my father next. He’ll get back to you."

"Understood."

...

It was the fifth and last day of the secret realm event.

[Leaderboard]

Rank 1—Team RuRaRyRiRa: 113,769 points.

Rank 2—Team Golden Rain: 16,304 points.

Rank 3...

The difference between first rank and the rest was massive.

Rudrean, Aelira, Lyra, Rivera, and Ryzen had killed all ten Elite Bosses and acquired ten Super A-rank runes.

Naturally, Rudrean and Aelira took four Super A-rank runes each to entirely upgrade their Arcane Paths.

The other two were given to Rivera and Ryzen.

Lyra wasn’t interested, as she was fine having B-rank runes in her Arcane Path, which wasn’t something she had acquired herself through the Exceed Shrine, but rather one she was practicing from the Academy, like Ryzen and Rivera.

She had not much use for her Arcane Path, as she mainly relied on her talent and the abundance of magic items she crafted.

Now, at noon on the fifth day, twelve hours before the event officially ended, the group was heading toward the center, the final area where the big boss was situated.

But before clashing with the boss, they were met with multiple big hordes of monsters, one by one.