The object floating before Lucas looked like a perfectly round amber sphere—crystal-clear, glowing faintly like a jewel under sunlight. Inside it rested something resembling a tiny seed, unbloomed but alive, radiating a vibrant green light that pulsed like a heartbeat. It shimmered softly, illuminating the surrounding area with a mysterious and soothing glow.
The moment Lucas picked it up, he felt a strange energy coursing through his fingertips, spreading into his body like warm electricity. Instinctively, he opened the system panel to check its description—and his eyes instantly widened.
Item Name: Secret Realm Core — Cursed Forest
Category: Special Item
Description:Formed from the seeds of the Tree of Life, this core holy stone governs the entire Secret Realm of the Cursed Forest. Whoever possesses it gains full dominion over the realm's terrain, monsters, and resources. Extremely rare and priceless.
Lucas froze.
"Damn… Did I actually get this?!"
His hands trembled violently. His heart hammered against his ribs as he held the glowing sphere closer. "No way… No freaking way!" he muttered. The thrill that rushed through him was beyond words—pure disbelief and excitement intertwined into chaos.
For a moment, his mind went blank, and all he could do was repeat one word over and over again:
"Fk… Fk… F**k!"
He had only joked earlier about finding the core sacred stone of a Secret Realm, never once believing it could really happen. The chances were impossibly low—most players would grind their entire careers and never even see one. It was something that belonged in rumors, not reality.
Yet here it was—real, tangible, glowing in his hands.
"I really… got the core holy stone of the Secret Realm?" Lucas whispered, stunned.
He pinched his thigh hard. Pain flared up instantly. "Ow—yeah, that's real! It's not a dream!"
And then it hit him all at once.
He wasn't just lucky. He was blessed.
He had just become the sole owner of a Secret Realm!
"Oh my God… I actually did it!" he shouted, jumping to his feet. "I'm rich! I'm so damn rich!"
The value of a Level 40–60 Mid-Tier Secret Realm was astronomical, easily worth dozens of small fortunes. To put it bluntly, this was like winning the cosmic lottery. Ordinary players couldn't even imagine such luck.
Lucas threw his head back and burst into laughter, raising the glowing orb high above his head. "Hahaha! I'm the chosen one! The European Emperor of luck! Hahaha!"
He came from a normal background—someone who'd never owned anything truly valuable. But now? Now he held a fortune that could rival guild masters and world bosses. He couldn't stop himself; joy overflowed uncontrollably.
"From today onward," he declared proudly, "I'm officially a man worth over a hundred million credits!"
He leapt into the air like a madman, pumping his fists, laughing so loudly it echoed across the forest. The decaying body of the giant meatball-like boss nearby was still dissolving into black mist. For a brief, crazy moment, Lucas even wanted to resurrect it just to beat it up again in celebration!
"Yeah! Yeah! Who's luckier than me? Nobody!" he shouted.
After several long minutes of unrestrained excitement, Lucas finally forced himself to calm down. His heart was still racing as he carefully collected all the loot scattered across the battlefield, storing each item in his space backpack. Once satisfied that nothing had been left behind, his attention returned to the glowing orb—the Secret Realm Core—nestled in his palm.
He studied it intently.
After experimenting for a few minutes, he discovered how to use it. By tapping its name in the system window and confirming, he felt a sudden shift in perception. His consciousness was drawn into a miniaturized projection of the entire Secret Realm—a glowing, holographic landscape suspended in his mind.
It was breathtaking.
He could see everything—every tree, every monster, every player—as if he had become the realm's very soul. The Cursed Forest unfolded beneath him like a living diorama. He could zoom in or out, view every inch, and even teleport instantly to any location he wished.
For the first time, Lucas truly understood what it meant to be a Realm Master.
However, he didn't teleport immediately. Instead, he took a moment to examine the entire region carefully. With a few gestures, he shrank the projection to rest upon his open palm, observing the glowing red dots representing intruders moving within the forest.
"There are… thirty? No, closer to forty people here," he murmured. "So many already?"
He was surprised. He thought only his own team had found the teleportation entrance, but it seemed many other adventurers had stumbled upon it as well. The red dots blinked all across the map, most of them scattered near the forest's edges.
Zooming closer, Lucas noticed that most of the players were struggling badly.
Many were only around Level 40 or slightly above, their attacks barely scratching the cursed monsters. Some were fleeing desperately from swarms of enchanted beasts, their life bars hanging by a thread.
"It's too dangerous for them," he thought. "This place isn't meant for low-level players."
He smirked then, a mischievous spark lighting his eyes.
"Well, too bad for them. From now on, this realm belongs to me."
He snapped his fingers. Instantly, the red dots vanished from the projection one by one. Using the highest authority granted by the Core, Lucas expelled every other player from the Secret Realm, forcefully teleporting them back to the outside world.
And just like that—he became the sole master of the Cursed Forest.
"Perfect," he said with satisfaction. "Now the entire realm is mine alone!"
He checked the system details again. "Reset cooldown: fifteen days… Not bad. That means every two weeks, the monsters and resources will refresh completely. Which means infinite loot."
A grin stretched across his face. "All these monsters are now my personal experience packs! Heh, Oudi time!"
Excited beyond belief, Lucas teleported straight to a dense area crawling with monsters.
Without hesitation, he activated a rare buff—five times experience gain for the next two hours.
In this Secret Realm, monsters gave two to three times more experience than their wild-area counterparts. Combined with his buff, it meant he could level up at lightning speed.
"Alright then," he said, cracking his knuckles. "Let's get to work!"
With that, Lucas charged forward, blades flashing, unleashing his abilities with precision and fury. The monsters roared, curses echoing through the forest, but none could stop him. Every fallen beast exploded into shimmering light and coins, flooding his HUD with experience notifications.
He had officially entered his own personal grind paradise.
Meanwhile, outside the Secret Realm, chaos erupted.
At the entrance portal, dozens of players suddenly materialized out of thin air, landing roughly on the ground.
"What the hell just happened?!" one shouted.
"Why did I get kicked out?!" another yelled, staring at the now-empty clearing. The entrance had completely vanished—no portal, no shimmer, nothing.
"Was the countdown over? Did someone clear the dungeon already?"
"Impossible! I was still fighting that last monster!"
They looked at one another, confused and frustrated. Nobody could explain it.
Some guessed that someone must have defeated the final boss and completed the realm, triggering an automatic closure. Others thought the portal's stability had expired, causing everyone to be ejected. Whatever the case, it felt unfair.
"Finally found a random Secret Realm," one cursed, kicking the dirt. "And now it's gone!"
Yet not everyone was angry. A few players sat on the grass, panting with relief.
"Man… I thought I was dead in there," a young archer groaned. "Those cursed monsters were insane! Even the weakest one had health like a dungeon boss!"
"Yeah," another added, wiping sweat from his brow. "This random realm was way too hard. I almost lost my resurrection badge!"
They laughed weakly, grateful to be alive.
Unknowingly, Lucas had saved their lives by expelling them. Many of them had been seconds away from being ripped apart by the monsters they couldn't handle.
Still, some of the stronger players remained stubborn. They scoured the valley, searching for the entrance again, unwilling to accept defeat.
"There must be another portal somewhere!" one insisted. "Random realms always have multiple gates!"
But their efforts were futile. The portal was gone for good. The Secret Realm now had an owner, and unless that owner chose to reopen it, no one else could ever enter again.
Inside, Lucas stood triumphantly atop a cliff, surveying his new dominion.
The cursed trees swayed in the dark wind, the mist glowing faintly with green light. In his hand, the orb pulsed softly—the beating heart of his private world.
He smiled to himself, whispering,
"This realm… is mine."
And as another horde of cursed monsters emerged from the shadows, he leapt down with a battle cry—
"Time to grind!"
The forest trembled as his laughter echoed through the darkness.
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