Kill one monster, stack one poison, and I alone will poison my way across the world!

The morning mist had not yet dissipated in the ruins outside Broken Wind Valley.

Several scattered squads were gathered around the broken stone pillars, eating dry rations to replenish their strength while staring at the huge teleportation portal that emitted a ghostly blue light.

That is the entrance to the [Silent Stone Sea].

"Buzz—"

A violent spatial ripple suddenly appeared on the surface of the portal.

Immediately afterwards, a tall, slender young figure stepped out from the light screen.

It was Su Chen.

He dusted off his clothes, stretched, and was in a pretty good mood.

"See? See? I told you this kid would come out alive!"

Not far away.

A warrior wearing chainmail immediately shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice filled with undisguised mockery.

"They've been inside for over an hour, and probably didn't even dare touch the first wave of ordinary stone golems, just hiding at the entrance the whole time, right?" A tall, thin guy with a bow and arrow next to him laughed, his tone laced with sarcasm. "They're really lucky to have survived being slapped to death by those stone golems with 60% damage reduction. It's only because this secret realm doesn't have many restrictions that any Tom, Dick, or Harry dares to go in."

"A newbie with no guild background soloing a level 15 hard difficulty dungeon? That's just plain stupid."

"I guess he went in and checked out the monster's stats, got scared out of his wits, and hid inside for an hour to save face. How embarrassing."

The people around him laughed loudly and unrestrainedly.

In their view, the only way a solo player without any decent equipment could survive an hour in the [Silent Stone Sea] is to hide at the entrance and not even dare to draw the monsters' aggro.

Su Chen glanced at them.

He didn't even bother to stop, merely adjusting the [Resilient Gargoyle Necklace] he had just put on at the collar.

Amidst the mocking gazes of the others, Su Chen's figure gradually disappeared into the distance.

However, the very next second after Su Chen disappeared.

"Holy crap! Look!"

A sharp scream suddenly rang out from the ruins.

The tall, thin archer looked like he'd seen a ghost, pointing ahead with his fingers trembling.

Everyone looked in the direction he pointed.

Instantly, everyone froze in place as if they had been frozen in place.

The secret portal, originally standing in the center of the ruins and emitting a ghostly blue light, was over ten meters tall...

gone!

Where the portal once stood, only a pile of broken stones remained, along with lingering magical energy fluctuations in the air.

"This...how is this possible?!"

"The secret realm has disappeared? The portal has closed?"

"That's impossible! The secret realm will only be permanently closed when its core is completely destroyed, that is, when the final boss is killed!" The warrior's eyes widened like copper bells, and his voice changed.

"Could it be... that someone has cleared the [Silent Stone Sea]?!"

"..."

The moment this thought crossed their minds, the entire ruins erupted in chaos.

"It must have been done by those big guilds! I remember just over an hour ago, didn't the Berserker Guild's elite second team go in?"

"Right, right, right! Their leader is a level 15 hidden class shield warrior, they must have gotten the first clear!"

"Damn it, big guilds really have the resources; they can even get through such disgusting mechanics. They'll get all the first-clear rewards this time!"

"..."

The crowd buzzed with discussion, their voices filled with jealousy and envy.

Just then.

"Buzz—Buzz—Buzz—"

The air suddenly began to distort violently where the portal had disappeared.

Immediately afterwards, a dozen figures were thrown out of mid-air like dumplings being dropped into a pot, violently ejected by a tremendous repulsive force and crashed onto the ground covered with rubble.

"Hey, what are you doing?!"

"Holy crap, what's going on?!"

"..."

The group of people were covered in dust and dirt, their equipment was scratched, and some of it was even bleeding.

The burly man leading the group suddenly got up from the ground. He was wearing a set of heavy armor that gleamed with bronze and carrying a huge tower shield. He was now roaring angrily at the sky.

"Damn it! Which bastard stole our secret realm?!"

This group of people is the elite squad of the [Berserker] guild.

The leader of the shield warriors had bloodshot eyes, staring intently at the onlookers as if he wanted to devour them.

"I led my men and we finally managed to whittle down the elite monsters on the outer perimeter. We were almost at the point of reaching the [Soul-Suppressing Pillar of Annihilation], but we didn't even see the boss! We were so close! So close!"

"Suddenly, a message popped up saying the core of the secret realm had been destroyed, forcibly shutting us down and kicking us out!"

"Who did this?! Who on earth did this?!"

"..."

The Shield Captain's roar echoed across the ruins.

The entire ruins were deathly silent.

Those passersby who were just mocking Su Chen and praising the guild's foundation were now all gaping, staring blankly at the enraged guild elite team.

A cold wind blew by.

The soldier who had been shouting the loudest suddenly shivered.

He stiffly turned his head to look at the tall, thin archer beside him.

The archer's face was now paler than a dead man's.

The two looked at each other and saw extreme fear and disbelief in each other's eyes.

The elite team of [Berserker]...did not clear the game.

They didn't even get to see the final boss.

Then... who destroyed the core of the secret realm?

Just minutes ago, on these ruins, the only person to emerge from the portal...

"Gulp."

The soldier swallowed hard.

"Could it be..." His voice trembled like a tattered rag fluttering in the wind.

"Is it...is it that solo-playing...kid?"

The men's expressions hardened.

What kind of monster is this kid?!