Chapter 566 Last Resort

"Crash!"

Sharp earthen-yellow crystals shimmering with magic erupted from the soil, piercing the shapeless liquid body of condensed water above.

It was immune to physical attacks, but the magical glow coating the crystals clearly inflicted some specialized damage. Skewered by the spikes, the bizarre monster—composed entirely of pure water—suffered substantial harm.

It couldn't even break free from the jagged crystals. It merely flailed its two formless arms—limbs that constantly shrank and stretched as if bound by an invisible restraint—struggling amid the roaring crash of water.

Finally, two more crystal spikes thrust up from the ground, crisscrossing as they impaled it. The creature lost all signs of life, dissolving into a glowing blue orb of life energy that hovered in midair.

Its death revealed the figure standing behind it: a translucent earthen-yellow lizard. Covered in wounds and looking as if it had been dunked in the ocean, it cut a wretched figure as a mixture of blood and clear water dripped endlessly from its skin.

The intense pain radiating across his body made Dodd bare his teeth.

The lizard's slitted pupils locked onto the floating life energy. Stepping forward with a flicker of anticipation, he touched it without hesitation, absorbing it.

The glowing blue light melted into his body.

Yet the evolution he expected never came.

"Damn it, just a little more!"

Clearly, the lizard monster he possessed was capable of speech. Dodd's voice carried a heavy note of complaint.

As his evolution advanced, the amount of life energy required to achieve a biological species leap grew exponentially with every tier.

Even with his unique ability to track the exact locations of other adventurers within the secret realm, it had taken him days since waking just to scrape together enough life energy to reach the cusp of the Fourth Evolution.

Deep down, he was actually quite dissatisfied with his leveling speed.

But knowing that every adventurer in the secret realm faced the exact same hurdle made him feel a little better.

They lacked his ability to sense others' positions. Even if a tiny minority of them had managed to absorb the airdropped life energy, their evolution count would only tie his at best. He had wasted some time slumbering, true, but he was undoubtedly still at the very forefront of the secret realm's top-tier adventurers.

Airdrops—

At that thought, a flash of remorse and bitterness—expressions entirely unique to intelligent life—crossed the lizard face of "Algae Scale" Dodd.

He never expected that a simple healing slumber would drag on for days, causing him to completely miss such a precious opportunity to harvest a massive haul of life energy.

As the architect behind the ritual, Dodd knew the secret realm's mechanics and flow inside out. He knew that after an initial adjustment period, caches of life energy and elite monsters would drop from the sky—both mechanisms fundamentally designed to accelerate the ritual's progress.

He had prepared for this, hoping to use his inside knowledge of these mechanics to widen the gap between himself and the other adventurers. But the ritual could only be performed once. There were no rehearsals, and since both the life energy caches and the elite monsters fell from the sky, distinguishing between them was nearly impossible.

Having just woken up and still disoriented about the exact time, Dodd had mistaken an elite monster for a free, high-yield energy cache.

As a result, when a water elemental with a Challenge Rating of Level 5 appeared right in front of him, he hadn't even prepared for battle, leaving him scrambling and thoroughly battered.

Fortunately, the monster was a creature of pure liquid energy. On land—and especially in the scorching, arid desert Dodd currently occupied—its combat strength was severely crippled. After a grueling battle, Dodd finally put it down.

It was just a shame. Perhaps it was because the secret realm's boundaries were shrinking inward, or perhaps he had simply slaughtered everyone in his vicinity over the past few days.

Whatever the reason, the glowing blue orb falling from the sky hadn't attracted any adventurers from the surrounding area. Otherwise, he could have harvested their life energy and easily completed his Fourth Evolution by now.

All things considered, Dodd's feelings on the matter were incredibly mixed.

On one hand, he had missed the supply caches that should have given him a massive boost. On the other hand, he had managed to absorb the elite monster's life energy relatively smoothly, so he still walked away with a decent haul.

Still—given the average evolution pace of the adventurers in the secret realm, those capable of defeating an elite monster head-on to claim its power were undoubtedly in the minority.

With that in mind, Dodd focused his will, reaching out to sense the other adventurers on his mental map.

Just as he suspected, the number of surviving adventurers had plummeted since yesterday. The elite monsters dropping from the sky were clearly doing their work.

The only mild disappointment was the small group on the far side of the map—a cluster he had been keeping a close eye on. Not only had they suffered no casualties, but the cluster of lights representing adventurers had actually grown by one.

'So they found another ally?'

Dodd sneered inwardly.

In almost any other situation, gathering allies and building a faction would be the smartest move.

But they were currently trapped inside a Ritual Secret Realm governed by a mechanism of slaughter and evolution.

No matter how tightly the weak huddled together, all their pathetic efforts would merely serve as stepping stones for his ascension once he descended upon them after his Third or even Fourth Evolution.

Dodd silently mocked the sheer stupidity of the group's leader. If he were in their shoes, he would have slaughtered those weak allies long ago and harvested them for life energy. That was the only way they could even hope to catch up to his progress.

In his mind, "Algae Scale" Dodd had already condemned that distant little group to death.

"Rumble—"

Not far behind him, the invisible barrier that marked the edge of the map flushed a dangerous scarlet.

Dodd blinked, a sudden wave of urgency welling up inside him.

Knowing the ritual's mechanics as intimately as he did, he knew exactly what that meant.

The rapid contraction of the secret realm's boundaries signaled that the ritual had entered its final stage.

And according to his original plan, it was time for him to accelerate his harvest.

Looking back on his days within the secret realm, Dodd had enjoyed numerous advantages. He could even use his own bloodline to authenticate his identity within the ritual, granting him the ability to pinpoint the other adventurers.

There had been a few hiccups along the way, of course. His evolutionary path was drifting further and further from the mighty dragon he had envisioned, and he had slept straight through the supply airdrops. But overall, things were still proceeding according to plan.

He was only one step away from completing the ritual and advancing to the "Transcendent Tier".

To an extent, this was exactly why "Algae Scale" Dodd had been bold enough to exploit the Lunar Tide Banquet, dragging a hundred elite adventurers into the secret realm to serve as his stepping stones.

He knew full well that dying in the secret realm only plunged the victim's real-world body into a weakened state.

But right now, Stodd Island was under siege by the Sahuagin.

Those aquatic rats had broken their promise, launching their assault on the island's adventurers ahead of schedule. As a result, the island's vanguard forces had suffered heavy casualties.

But knowing the Sahuagin, Dodd was certain a massive horde of battle-ready fishmen was still lurking in the waters around Stodd Island.

When they launched their second wave of attacks, they wouldn't be facing powerful, well-rested veterans anymore. Instead, they would be fighting adventurers freshly ejected from the ritual—frail, exhausted, and severely drained of their combat strength.

The slaughter would be absolute. The fishmen would essentially be doing his dirty work, wiping out the throngs of enemies he had just made.

Dodd didn't expect the fishmen to wipe out every last adventurer on the island, of course, but it was guaranteed that the bloody battle would drastically thin their numbers.

By then, the few survivors wouldn't pose a threat. Once he ascended to the "Transcendent Tier", they wouldn't even have the strength to dream of revenge.

Their lives and deaths would rest entirely in his hands.

The preparation for the ritual, the disposal of the adventurers, the deal with the Sahuagin—Dodd had masterfully orchestrated every major aspect of the plan.

Even with the minor setbacks he was facing now, he still had a sizable margin for error.

To host this grand ritual and establish himself as a true powerhouse in the Southern Archipelagos Waters, Dodd had risked absolutely everything.

With his current resources, this ascension ritual was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He wouldn't get another shot in the foreseeable future.

Every gamble carried its risks and rewards. If he succeeded, he would completely transcend his former station and rise as a maritime powerhouse in the "Transcendent Tier".

But if he failed—he hated to even consider the possibility, but if the absolute worst came to pass—

Dying inside the Ritual Secret Realm would weaken his real body, but that was only half the problem.

He would also suffer the brutal backlash of a failed ascension. He would be bedridden for a long time, and he would lose the option to fall back on an inferior class to force his way into the "Transcendent Tier".

And on the treacherous seas—especially after kicking up such a massive storm—his enemies lurking in the depths wouldn't exactly leave a failed "Transcendent" to recover in peace.

Therefore, he had to ensure the ritual succeeded.

Aside from his ability to track the other adventurers, his insider knowledge of the secret realm's mechanics, and his superior starting race, Dodd had one final trump card.

Now that the secret realm's boundaries had shrunk this far, his role as the ritual's architect granted him a unique privilege—an override that only he could activate.

He could choose to grant every surviving adventurer in the secret realm the exact same tracking ability he possessed, revealing the exact coordinates of every participant.

In a way, this meant freely surrendering his biggest advantage.

But as a trade-off, activating this override would double the life energy dropped by every adventurer upon their death.

It was his ultimate insurance policy—a fail-safe woven directly into the ritual's rules to guarantee his absolute victory.

On paper, doubling everyone's energy drops and giving everyone a map hack didn't seem to benefit Dodd at all.

But the reality hinged entirely on the current circumstances.

Now that the secret realm's borders were collapsing into a tiny arena, the rate of encounters would skyrocket regardless. His tracking advantage was no longer as crucial as it had been, meaning he could afford to give it up.

Had everything gone perfectly, Dodd would have already snowballed his early advantages into a crushing, insurmountable lead over the others by now.

At that point, he could have just steamrolled the rest of them. There would have been no need to activate the override.

Conversely, if he had somehow fallen far behind into the second or third tier—an unlikely scenario, but still possible—he wouldn't activate it either, since it would only widen the gap between him and the leaders.

Frankly, if he had somehow managed to fall behind despite hoarding so many advantages, he would have just accepted his own incompetence.

This trump card was meant precisely for a situation like his current one: where unexpected setbacks had slowed his progress, but he still maintained a solid—albeit narrow—lead over the rest of the pack.

In this scenario, doubling the life energy dropped by each adventurer changed everything.

It would exponentially accelerate the growth of whoever was already winning.

Without it, the current pacing meant that while Dodd was confident in his lead, he would still struggle if he got swarmed by a mob of participants who had reached their Second Evolution.

But by activating the override, he could use this final window to widen his lead at an unprecedented rate.

Once he achieved his Fourth Evolution—or even his Fifth Evolution—he would crush any mob that dared to challenge him and seize the ultimate victory.

His mind made up, the battered earthen-yellow lizard lay flat against the sand and took a deep breath.

He closed his eyes.

"Hum—"

The scarlet-tinted borders of the ritual vibrated slightly. In an instant, an invisible wave of energy swept across the entire secret realm.

Deep underground, a gopher adventurer huddled in its burrow violently shuddered as realization flashed in its eyes. High in the sky, a massive falcon adventurer—clearly one that had already evolved—abruptly banked, diving toward a specific set of coordinates on the ground below.

The Ritual Secret Realm had already entered its final stage. Now, it was accelerating once again.

Out on a sweeping plain.

A Spined Devil, a sparrow, and a black bear stood a short distance away.

The phantom image of a longsword slowly faded from between the Wolf's Maw. An abyssal black wolf, shrouded in an ink-dark aura, stood motionless on the plain. At his feet lay the bisected corpse of a giant striped tiger, a glowing blue orb hovering above its remains.

Before the wolf could absorb the energy, the invisible pulse washed over them. The expressions of the four adventurers collectively froze, and they exchanged bizarre, knowing looks—

Deep underground, in a massive cavern overflowing with gold coins.

A red dragon whelp—now noticeably bulkier and sturdier—scrambled to the top of a glittering mountain of coins. Giggling in high spirits, it rode a small golden boat it had dug out of the hoard, sledding down the slope of gold.

It lost its balance at the bottom and tumbled head over heels across the floor.

As the invisible pulse washed through the cavern, the whelp froze in place. It poked at the sensation with curious interest for a few moments, but once it realized what the sudden array of glowing dots in its perception meant, it quickly lost interest.

It went back to examining its two pairs of underdeveloped wings, practicing its takeoffs and glides inside the cavern.