SOLAK Chapter 18

[Obtained Fine Meat ×5]

[Obtained Hard Carapace ×6]

[Obtained Hardwood ×5]

[Obtained Sweet Spring Water ×1]

[Obtained Observation Glasses (Fake)]

As expected of a four-star monster—especially one guarding the boss’s nest. The loot alone was already enough to make anyone’s heart stir.

He Huan grabbed the sweet spring water and drank it down. At once, a cool clarity swept through her body.

Sweet Spring Water was a special consumable produced only inside the secret realm. It didn’t just quench thirst, but also restored stamina and energy.

A useful support item, though not commonly dropped. Since entering the realm, she had only picked up about ten bottles.

After packing away the rest of the loot, He Huan lifted the so-called Observation Glasses to examine its stats.

[Observation Glasses (Fake): Excellent item (Blue). A shoddy counterfeit of the Troll Archmage Rajixi’s spectacles. Said to reveal the truth of the world. Allows the wearer to see the attributes of all creatures within the secret realm, including but not limited to health, defense, attack pattern, and weak points. Occupies one equipment slot. Usable only inside secret realms. Will be destroyed upon leaving.]

A fine thing indeed.

Basically a cheat tool. With it on, she could read any monster’s stats like a book.

The only drawback—it was single-use.

Which, thinking about it, made sense. If such a broken item worked outside, it would be no different than strapping on a permanent hack.

So of course it was rated blue, despite the one-time limit.

He Huan put on the glasses. Immediately, the world changed.

The oasis that had moments ago been idyllic and refreshing was now transformed.

The water was still water, but it no longer sparkled clear. Instead, it boiled with a sickly green hue, like poison churning in a cauldron. The trees around it were nothing but dead husks, the grass dry and cracked, smoke curling from the soil.

Beyond that, countless monsters littered the area, grouped in threes and fives near the pool—some standing motionless, others wandering aimlessly. None looked like anything she wanted to tangle with.

When she removed the glasses, everything was serene again. Blue skies, sunshine, gentle breezes.

With them back on, the nightmare returned.

Tsk.

A tiny secret realm, yet it wore two faces.

She couldn’t help but feel a flicker of curiosity about this “Troll Archmage Rajixi” mentioned in the item description. Was that really a race and a person in this world, or just a bit of worldbuilding flair?

Twirling her dagger in her hand, He Huan flipped it twice in the air and then set about cleaning up the monsters according to the distribution map.

Though the monsters here were high-level, with the map and the glasses, she was like a student playing with the answer key—cutting through them swiftly and methodically.

In just over an hour, she had slaughtered one hundred and fifty-nine of the one hundred ninety-nine monsters. Only forty or so remained.

Those were clustered tightly around the pool, rarely moving. All of them four-star or five-star, elite-level threats.

And in the very heart of the pool, things grew stranger. Every so often, greasy tentacles would writhe up from the tainted water.

At first glance they looked like one creature. But careful observation revealed three separate beasts, nearly identical in appearance and even in name.

These were the realm’s rare elites—the bosses.

He Huan perched on a boulder near the water’s edge, chewing roast meat and washing it down with spring water to restore her stamina.

As she debated how to open the fight, the system feed suddenly scrolled again:

[Warning! An intruder has entered the secret realm!]

[Warning! Intruder count: 7. Average level: 5.]

[Warning! Intruders approaching at high speed. Prepare for combat!]

So, others had entered the realm already.

She did the math. The Taishan Mutual Aid Society had announced to all residents that the secret realms only opened during the day.

Yet she herself had entered at dawn, long before sunrise. Proof enough that their so-called “information” was full of lies.

Still, if others believed it, then entering now—broad daylight outside—was natural.

He Huan turned her gaze toward the gate.

From her position at the lowest point of the oasis, the horizon revealed nothing but barren wilderness.

But with the glasses on, she saw them immediately: seven orange dots moving in from the entrance.

They didn’t rush in recklessly. First they huddled at the gate, conferring for several minutes, then began cautiously searching the nearby plains.

Futile work.

A secret realm’s monsters did not respawn until the next reset. Everything here had already been cleared by her.

After several minutes of empty wandering, the group turned toward the oasis.

He Huan popped the last bite of roasted meat into her mouth, rose unhurriedly, and slipped into the gap of a rock formation near their path—a spot she had used earlier for ambushes.

She had just settled into hiding when the fastest of the seven crested a sand dune and froze at the sight of the oasis.

Clearly stunned, he shouted back to his companions. She couldn’t make out the words, but the urgency in his tone was obvious.

Caution hung thick in the group as they descended. They threw stones ahead as they moved, testing for traps or monsters.

Useless, of course. All had already been slain.

As they drew closer, He Huan studied them more clearly.

Four men, three women. None wore the clothes of the old world anymore. Each was clad in gear styled for this new dark realm, and each carried a weapon. A well-equipped team, and strong.

Average level: five. He Huan herself was only midway through level four, despite grinding nonstop.

A direct confrontation was out of the question.

Yet surrendering the boss she had nearly cleared? Also impossible.

Still, she wasn’t in a rush.

The oasis monsters remained, nasty enough that without cheats like hers, this squad would find themselves in hell. One wrong move, and the whole nest would swarm. Worse, without the glasses, they couldn’t even see the creatures.

She chuckled. Imagining them blundering into an invisible four-star horror made her teeth ache with amusement.

Kindness had never been part of her inventory. For this little squad marching to their doom, the most she could offer was not pushing them in herself. Maybe she’d even do them the favor of collecting their loot so it wouldn’t go to waste.

As the seven approached, she noticed something curious: every one of their chests bore the same emblem—three small mountain peaks.

That looked familiar.

Rubbing her chin, she recalled exactly where she’d seen it.

Yesterday, on the shoulder of that ambusher, He Liang.

Back then, the color had blended with his armor, and she hadn’t thought much of it.

But now it was plain.

Her eyes narrowed.

She had killed He Liang, looted the realm compass, and by nightfall had been marked by the Taishan Mutual Aid Society.

Which meant He Liang had been one of them.

And now these seven, wearing the same crest, had entered this realm with uncanny precision.

They were Taishan as well.

What a coincidence.

Old acquaintances.

So much for her earlier decision not to “add insult to injury.” With these particular people, she would be only too happy to do exactly that.

The squad, still oblivious to her presence, muttered as they advanced.

“Strange. We’ve been walking forever and haven’t seen a single monster.”

“Maybe this isn’t even a secret realm?”

“Don’t be stupid. The coordinates came straight from He Liang before he died. And the gate was clearly a realm gate.”

“I’m just saying—what if he was wrong?”

“Impossible. This pocket space is clearly different from the outside world. That’s proof enough.”

“Then where are the monsters?”

“Maybe that red-named player got here first and cleared them all.”

“No way. I’ve had Search active this whole time. No signs of anyone else.”

“One person couldn’t clear a realm’s worth of monsters anyway.”

“More likely we just haven’t triggered them yet. Keep looking. Record everything and send it up to HQ.”

As they argued, a soft rumble interrupted them.

All heads turned to see a round stone rolling down the slope—plop, plop—toward the pool.

A harmless quirk of the terrain.

They all exhaled.

“Scared me half to death…” a female resident muttered, patting her chest.

Before she could finish, a sudden, eerie wind swept violently across the oasis.