As Lucas continued deeper into the Secret Realm, his eyes narrowed.
A five-man team emerged ahead of him.
He immediately activated stealth, blending into the gray mist.
He wasn't looking for conflict—not now. So he slipped around the team quietly and disappeared from their field of view.
The team froze. They had caught a glimpse of movement, and when they realized who it was, they went tense instantly.
"Was that... Lucas?" one of them whispered.
The others nodded grimly, adjusting their formations.
They had recognized him instantly. The national champion. The infamous Shadow Assassin.
For a long, tense moment, they expected an ambush—but the attack never came.
One of them exhaled deeply. "He's gone..."
Relief washed over them.
They were strong in their own right—A-Rank Talents, each with pride in their abilities. But they knew better than to provoke a solo assassin with that kind of explosive power.
After all, even if they could kill him, at least one or two of them would be sacrificed in the process.
And if their team took casualties, their efficiency at farming monsters and gaining points would plummet. No one wanted that kind of setback.
This early in the Secret Realm competition, everyone was still calculating risks.
No one wanted to start fights without reason.
Only someone like Leon Graves, driven by personal grudge, would risk attacking Lucas head-on—and they all saw how that ended.
---
As Lucas moved forward, a strange movement caught his eye.
"Whoa, that's not your average beast..."
Lumbering through the trees was a massive creature—easily twice the size of any wild monster he had encountered so far.
He immediately used a Detection Scroll.
> Level 28 – Elite Ironhide Boar
"Nice," Lucas grinned. "That's worth something."
He struck from behind—one clean blow straight to the weak point.
The monster collapsed instantly.
> +280 Points
His name leaped up the leaderboard, jumping more than 30 spots.
Lucas now ranked 86th.
Freshmen in the Secret Realm could see the real-time leaderboard hovering in their HUDs. Everyone was paying close attention—not just to their own ranking, but to those climbing rapidly.
Lucas's sudden ascent didn't go unnoticed.
Especially now, with more players converging toward the center of the map, encounters were becoming inevitable.
Sometimes it was accidental. Sometimes it was planned.
And sometimes, fights broke out over nothing more than monster claim rights.
Even small skirmishes could spiral into all-out battles—and every loss, every injury, had a long-lasting impact. With no way to replace teammates, any attrition was permanent.
The most hot-blooded contestants, those with S-Rank pride, often refused to back down.
And often, they paid the price for that arrogance.
---
Lucas kept moving forward, bypassing several small skirmishes between groups.
Let them waste energy, he thought. I've got better things to do.
But then—
"How dare you sneak attack me, you worthless bug!"
A loud, familiar voice echoed through the trees.
Lucas blinked in recognition.
That voice could only belong to one person—Noah Chen.
He turned toward the sound and dashed forward.
It didn't take long to spot him.
Sure enough, Noah was in a mess of a fight, hurling fireballs and curses while a team of five ganged up on him.
An archer had locked him down, and if not for a last-minute Mana Shield, he would've been riddled with arrows.
Even so, his shield was cracked, and he was clearly on the ropes.
"Eat my Big Fireball, coward!" Noah screamed, launching an explosive spell.
But the archer rolled aside effortlessly and fired again—finally breaking Noah's shield.
Noah staggered. He was in danger.
Across the battlefield, Zach Darnell was also in trouble. His spinning Whirlwind Slash carved through the air as he tried to push back a sword fighter, but the enemy stubbornly held his ground—trading blows and relying on his healer.
Zach's health bar dropped fast.
Their cleric was too busy running for her life to heal him, while both their damage dealers were tangled up, barely able to cover each other.
The two tank fighters were stuck in a slow-motion stalemate, taunting and counter-taunting. Their weapons clanged off shields without real effect.
It was chaos.
When Lucas arrived, he took one look—and his blood boiled.
"You dare touch my brothers?"
He didn't even bother with stealth.
He charged straight in.
"Lucas! Thank the gods!" Noah shouted. "They're stealing our kills—and now they're trying to kill us!"
Lucas didn't answer.
His eyes locked on the archer—the clear shot-caller of the enemy team.
The man glared. "This doesn't concern you!"
"Walk away if you know what's good for you."
But he was already too late.
Lucas disappeared in a flash— and reappeared behind him.
> Level 15 General Skill: Rend and Sever
> Shhhk!
The dagger carved clean through the archer's back.
> Damage: 42,000+
Instant kill.
The archer gasped—but no sound came. His body disintegrated into white light.
He was out.
---
The battlefield froze for a moment.
Four remaining enemies stood paralyzed with shock.
They had assumed Lucas would hesitate. That he would posture.
They never expected him to strike instantly.
"Boss Lucas is a monster!!" Noah yelled, absolutely thrilled. "That's what you get, you cheap-shotting creeps!"
Zach Darnell laughed with renewed energy, swinging his axe like a maniac.
"NOW I'm hyped! Let's go!"
He landed a brutal triple combo on his stunned opponent, sending him reeling backward.
Their team, moments ago on the brink of collapse, rallied with sudden ferocity.
---
Across the field, the enemy shield warrior snarled. He brought down his weapon and stunned Noah's tank briefly—buying time to regroup.
"Retreat! Fall back now!"
He tried to take control of the situation.
But Noah wasn't having it.
"You think I'm letting you go?!"
He hurled a massive fireball, straight at the fleeing knight.
---
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