Chapter 358: Secret Realm Equals Instance
After years of exploration, the Secret Realms have been thoroughly investigated, at least on the surface.
It is currently known that each Secret Realm is unique, possessing a distinct origin and law imprint. Although they may appear similar, they are not identical, and the factor responsible for these variations is the Secret Realm Core.
Theoretically, as long as the core remains intact, the Secret Realm will exist indefinitely. Even if destroyed, it will reconstruct itself, although some origin loss is inevitable. During the reconstruction process, a portion of the origin will be absorbed by the world. Therefore, while Secret Realms can be reborn, they are not infinite.
Interestingly, Secret Realm Cores often give birth to treasures. What kind is uncertain, but their value is undeniable.
But knowing this much is enough. Most people don’t care how the treasures come to be; they only care about where they are.
Ever since, those seeking treasures within Secret Realms have been endless, leading to the destruction of countless Secret Realms and the deaths of countless individuals.
“What’s in this Secret Realm?” Owen naturally didn’t lack these things, but he was very interested in Secret Realms, so he asked.
“It’s said to be a rare weapon, but it’s guarded by a pack of Dark Night She-Wolves. It’s impossible to obtain.” The warlock spread his hands and said helplessly. If they could get their hands on it, they might have already left.
After hearing this, Owen was puzzled. If it weren’t for saving face, he really wanted to ask again. The name didn’t sound quite right, much like those special professionals who danced around poles in certain bars.
It wasn’t until the two led the way that Owen understood they weren’t lying.
The further they walked, the darker it became. Within a few hundred meters, it turned from day to night, which was very strange. But for the two treasure hunters, it was commonplace, as anything could happen in a Secret Realm.
“Ahead is the wolfmen’s stronghold. The treasure is inside, but we don’t know the exact location. Those Dark Night She-Wolves have an incredibly keen sense of smell; their five senses and intuition are frighteningly high, and they’re masters of stealth. It’s impossible to get in and search.” The thief said helplessly. He couldn’t compete with them in terms of professional skills, so he could only accept defeat.
Wolfmen who were masters of stealth and had a natural night effect – this was the image Owen had constructed in his mind. But as they got closer, he saw wild, long-haired, long-legged wolf-eared older sisters with black hair and straight hair. Was this a joke?
Actually, Owen was just being naive. Secret Realms existed between reality and illusion, their foundation being the core. Theoretically, everything here was constructed by the core. However, because the core was incomplete, Secret Realms were easily influenced by the outside world, especially those that had never been opened before. Their form was easily influenced by the first person to enter. Therefore, it was understandable that the things constructed were strange. After all, who didn’t have their own unique XP.
However, Owen wanted to know who had influenced this Secret Realm to be able to construct such unique wolfmen. What had they experienced?
Owen also learned from the two that, apart from treasures and a few special existences, anything taken out of the Secret Realm would disappear. Similarly, as long as the core remained, even if it was destroyed countless times, it would reconstruct itself.
Another characteristic was that killing monsters here would slightly strengthen oneself. According to some mages, this was the effect of passively absorbing the existence force that constituted the monsters. Therefore, although the mortality rate in exploring Secret Realms remained high, it couldn’t stop countless ambitious individuals.
“Isn’t this just an instance?” Owen suddenly felt that reality was more magical than he imagined, and the world was becoming increasingly incomprehensible to him.
The seemingly invincible empire had collapsed so suddenly, and the unexplored world had become larger and more complex. All of this made Owen feel uncomfortable, like a fresh college graduate entering society for the first time, experiencing the feeling of being beaten up by reality in various ways.
However, Secret Realms had indeed sparked Owen’s immense interest because he had thought of something and needed to verify it personally.
Feeling eager to try, Owen had Mogg watch the two men, then cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and walked alone towards the stronghold.
The Dark Night She-Wolves indeed had amazing perception. Even without seeing him, they still sensed Owen’s presence. Obviously, a simple color change couldn’t fool them.
Growling threateningly, the Dark Night She-Wolves’ eyes became sharp, their mouths pulled back to reveal sharp teeth, and their fingernails extended three inches long. If they were to scratch a vital point, they could probably take out both the bird and the eggs in one go.
Owen didn’t dare to be careless, fearing they might have magic-breaking attributes. He released the Moon Spirit Essence to protect his body and then suddenly shot out over a dozen silver-white tentacles.
Facing the tentacles, the Dark Night She-Wolves reacted like startled cats. Their fur bristled, and they nimbly dodged all attacks, then coordinated a joint attack from all directions. The flashing, cold light of their claws made Owen’s heart race, and he became flustered. After all, he had too little combat experience. It was either overwhelming force or piloting giant robots; he rarely had any personal combat experience.
Fortunately, the fused Lu Bu template came into play. It was indeed worthy of being a template he had specifically exchanged to compensate for some of his shortcomings. Reaching out and grabbing a limp tentacle that had failed to attack, it instantly became as hard as steel, transforming into a thick Sky Piercer halberd. In Owen’s hands, it whirled with power, sending the Dark Night She-Wolves scurrying for cover. As expected, as long as it was big and hard enough, there was no she-wolf that couldn’t be subdued.
The Dark Night She-Wolves’ attributes were definitely higher than Owen’s strength, physique, and agility, but as a reality warper, he was cheating. Theoretically, before reaching the critical point, he could infinitely increase any of his attributes, provided he had the determination and willpower.
Obviously, Owen didn’t have these, so after repelling the Dark Night She-Wolves, he hurriedly cast spells. This was what he was best at.
Levicorpus, Leg-Locker Curse, and Teeth-Growing Curse ━ not very damaging, but extremely humiliating. One by one, the fierce Dark Night She-Wolves were hung upside down in mid-air with their legs together. Because of their body curves, their two long teeth were pushed up, and they could only open their mouths slightly, tilting their heads back and drooling.
Fortunately, these Dark Night She-Wolves weren’t considered proper living beings. If it were anyone else, after such a socially awkward scene, they would probably fight Owen to the death.
Using Hogwarts’ non-lethal spells to capture all the Dark Night She-Wolves alive wasn’t because Owen wanted to do anything to these unintelligent creatures who were more like flesh puppets. He was purely curious about their existence.
“Unshadowed Blade!” Owen raised his hand and mercilessly killed a Dark Night She-Wolf. It first screamed in pain, blood spraying, then turned into nothingness with vacant eyes.
If you changed the color of the blood, this would be a green game, the kind that even those under eighteen could play.
As the Dark Night She-Wolf turned into nothingness, Owen immediately sensed a faint power wrapping around him, but before it could approach his body, it was converted into experience points.
However, from this, Owen could confirm that killing monsters in the Secret Realm did strengthen oneself, but there was definitely a limit. It was impossible for a Ten Mile Slope Sword God to appear.
According to Owen’s guess, the stronger the monster, the stronger and purer its existence force. Ordinary monsters might only have a noticeable effect on ordinary people, while for professionals, it was negligible.
Although it was just a guess, Owen believed it was eight or nine out of ten accurate.
After some research, Owen discovered that the Dark Night She-Wolves weren’t much different from the soldiers he constructed in his Domain. The only difference was that the core was filled with existence force, and they had more complete settings, making them more realistic. The kind that would cry when punched and bleed profusely when stabbed gave Owen a lot of inspiration.
