After killing the Venom Blade Mantis, Ren did not rush to leave immediately.
Instead, he used his Light Brain and opened the material guide manual given by the Explorer Guild for buy and sell values.
Since this was his first real kill inside a Secret Realm, he wanted to make sure he did not waste anything valuable by harvesting blindly.
He quickly searched for Venom Blade Mantis.
A detailed entry appeared in front of him.
The manual listed three main valuable materials from the creature:
Corrosive Venom
Blade Limbs
Outer Carapace
Out of the three, the venom was the most valuable.
That made sense.
Its blades were sharp and useful, and the outer shell could be used in crafting, but the venom itself had more direct uses in poison crafting, corrosive compounds, traps, and even some low-grade medicinal or resistance experiments. Naturally, that made it the highest-priced part.
Ren looked at the mantis corpse again and nodded to himself.
"Good thing I checked first."
He carefully took out the tools he needed and began harvesting.
The process was slower than he expected, but he moved carefully.
The last thing he wanted was to accidentally spill the venom on himself or damage one of the useful parts while trying to hurry.
First, he collected the venom sacs and sealed them properly in special containers.
Then he detached the blade limbs, trying not to ruin their edges.
After that, he harvested several usable pieces of the outer carapace.
By the time he was done, the corpse had already lost most of its useful value.
Ren put everything away, cleaned his gloves as best he could, and stood back up.
Then he looked around the forest once more.
The fight had been short, but it had reminded him of something very important.
This place was dangerous.
Really dangerous.
The kind of dangerous where a single mistake could mean losing a limb, getting poisoned, or just dying alone in a forest before anyone even knew where you were.
And yet—
His heart was still beating a little faster.
Not just from tension.
From excitement too.
That was the part that surprised him more.
Instead of shrinking back after the fight, some part of him wanted more.
Not because he had gone crazy.
Not because he had lost his fear of death.
But because the fight had felt real in a way nothing else had since he came to this world.
Ren exhaled once, and started moving again.
This time, he was even more careful than before.
As he continued through the forest, Ren went back to collecting genetic materials from plants and animals along the way.
Unlike most explorers, who often ignored low-value materials unless they had a specific reason, Ren treated almost everything as worthwhile.
Anyway, he had plenty of space in the space ring and more than enough preservation containers for basic samples.
Time passed before he even realized it.
One encounter became two.
One day became two.
And then before he knew it—
14 Bloom, 7701
It was already Ren's fourth morning inside the Secret Realm.
These past few days had been incredibly eventful.
Plentiful.
Dangerous.
And honestly… kind of insane.
Not only had he collected a large amount of genetic material, but he had also come face-to-face with the absurd variety of life that existed inside the realm.
Some creatures were beautiful.
Some were strange.
Some were dangerous.
And some were so ridiculous that Ren seriously wondered whether the universe had a sense of humor.
During the past four days, Ren had seen and scanned far more species than he could count casually, but a few of them had stood out so much that he could still remember them clearly.
The first one was something he found near a patch of scorched stone and half-melted roots.
At first, Ren thought it was just a strange puddle of glowing liquid resting between black rocks.
Then it moved.
He immediately used SCAN.
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NAME: Molten Metal Slime
DESCRIPTION: A low-level slime-type lifeform composed of semi-liquid metallic matter mixed with heat-attributed energy. It slowly absorbs metal fragments and mineral-rich soil to strengthen its outer body.
DANGER LEVEL: Low (Changes with Ren's Pathway Stage)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ren had stared at it for a moment.
The thing looked like someone had melted metal, added lava, and then somehow convinced it to become alive.
It moved with a wet dragging sound, but every time it passed over a little stone or rusted metal fragment, that piece would get pulled into its body and slowly disappear.
"…That's disgusting," Ren had muttered at the time.
Still, he had collected a small hardened fragment left behind near where it had passed.
The second strange species was something he found much later in a relatively bright clearing.
At first glance, it just looked like a wide patch of tall grass.
Then part of that "grass" suddenly leaped nearly six feet into the air and landed somewhere else.
Ren had stood there silently for two seconds before using SCAN.
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NAME: Jumping Grass
DESCRIPTION: A strange grass-type plant that uproots itself briefly to leap between patches of soil rich in energy. Often moves in groups, giving the impression of a migrating field.
DANGER LEVEL: None (Changes with Ren's Pathway Stage)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ren had watched the patch for a long time after that.
It was exactly what the name suggested.
Grass.
That jumped.
Not attacked.
Not rolled.
Not flew.
Jumped.
A whole patch of grass shifting positions every now and then like it had somewhere important to be.
He still didn't know whether to call it funny or creepy.
The third creature had been found near a deep pool in an area where the air felt unusually damp and cold.
At first, Ren thought it was just a weird fish near the surface.
Then it turned its head slightly and he saw its mouth.
Instead of normal jaws, the entire mouth was ringed with twitching short tentacles, all of them moving independently as if tasting the air and water.
Ren had immediately felt disturbed and used SCAN.
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NAME: Tentacle-Mouth Mire Fish
DESCRIPTION: A low-level aquatic predator that uses the sensory tentacles around its mouth to detect movement, blood, and energy fluctuations in shallow and muddy waters.
DANGER LEVEL: Low (Changes with Ren's Pathway Stage)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ren had taken a long step back after reading that.
"Nope."
Just nope.
The fourth one, however, had completely broken whatever image of a "normal Secret Realm" he still had left.
It happened on the afternoon of the third day.
Ren had been moving through a slightly more open section of the forest when he heard a sound.
Not footsteps.
Not beast movement.
A voice.
Or at least… something close to a voice.
That alone had been enough to make him stop.
Then he moved quietly toward the source.
And what he saw there almost made him question his own eyes.
It was a tree.
A huge one.
Its trunk was thick, its bark rough and dark, and its branches spread wide like a proper old tree.
Except—
It also had two enormous human-like arms growing from its upper sides and two thick, root-like legs planted into the soil below.
And at that exact moment, the thing was doing what Ren could only describe as push-ups.
A giant, walking, muttering tree.
Doing push-ups.
He stared at it for several seconds in complete silence before slowly raising his hand and using SCAN.
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NAME: Ironwood Humanoid Tree (Mutated)
DESCRIPTION: A rare plant-type lifeform that has developed humanoid limb structures through long-term evolution. Possesses high physical strength, unusual self-awareness, and territorial behavior.
DANGER LEVEL: Medium (Changes with Ren's Pathway Stage)KNOWN TRAITS:
Extremely tough bark and wood density
High physical force in close combat
Slow turning speed despite strong limb movement
Mild self-awareness and simple vocalization ability
Easily provoked if mocked, interrupted, or challenged inside its territory
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Before Ren could even fully process the scan, the tree said, in a deep strained voice while continuing its push-ups,
"Lily… will see… I am… the treeiest of trees"
It paused, trembling slightly as it lowered itself again.
Then with visible effort it muttered,
"No… more lazy branch accusations"
Ren had stood there completely expressionless.
Then after three more seconds, he had quietly backed away.
Because whatever else happened in this realm, he had no intention of picking a fight with a self-improvement tree going through emotional character development.
Even now, four days later, just remembering it made the corner of his mouth twitch.
"This world is ridiculous," Ren muttered while moving through the forest on the fourth day.
Still, ridiculous or not, these past few days had been extremely valuable.
He had not only gathered a lot of useful material, but his actual combat sense had also improved.
And that improvement had not come from the Venom Blade Mantis alone.
During these four days, he had fought several more real battles.
Each one had taught him something different.
The first one after the mantis had been a beast that looked like a wolf wearing natural armor.
He had found it near a broken ridge where the trees grew thinner and the soil became rockier.
The creature had emerged from behind a tilted boulder, its body low and silent, grey-black fur barely visible beneath layered plates that looked like stone and bone fused together.
Ren had used SCAN immediately.
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NAME: Armor Ridge Wolf
DESCRIPTION: A low-level pack-type beast with naturally armored shoulders, spine, and head. Hunts through short burst attacks and crushing body collisions.
DANGER LEVEL: Medium (Changes with Ren's Pathway Stage)
KNOWN TRAITS:
Thick armor plating along upper body
Fast forward burst over short distances
High bite force and body impact strength
Weakly protected lower belly and rear joints
Aggression rises sharply once wounded
-------------------------------------------------------------------
That fight had been rough.
Not because the wolf was faster than the mantis—
It wasn't.
But because it was heavier, more direct, and far better at taking hits.
His punches that worked well against lighter targets felt much less effective on the armored parts of its body.
Ren had needed to rely on movement and timing, drawing it into overcommitting with its burst charges before striking at less protected areas.
When he finally brought it down, he had been breathing so hard he needed nearly ten minutes before moving again.
At the time, he had thought:
So this is about equal to the mantis. Different type of danger, same amount of trouble.
The second memorable fight had been against something much stranger.
It looked like a giant monkey at first, but its arms were too long, its fingers ended in hooked bone claws, and its back was lined with jagged rocky growths.
It had dropped from a tree with almost no warning.
Ren's scan flashed immediately.
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NAME: Cliffback Hook Ape
DESCRIPTION: A low-level climbing beast with powerful forelimbs, hooked claws, and stone-like growth along its spine. Excels at vertical movement and ambush attacks from above.
DANGER LEVEL: Medium (Changes with Ren's Pathway Stage)
KNOWN TRAITS:
Excellent climbing speed
Strong grappling and tearing force
Bone claws can puncture light armor
Poor stability after missing a full-body lunge
Easily enraged when prey escapes initial contact
-------------------------------------------------------------------
That one had nearly pinned him.
If not for the footwork he had drilled again and again in the training room, he might have ended up underneath it on the first exchange.
Ren had barely escaped the initial drop and only won because the beast grew more reckless as the fight went on.
After killing it, he had sat against a tree for a while and muttered,
"Equal to the mantis too. Maybe worse. Way too handsy."
The third battle had been against a creature he underestimated at first.
A boar-like beast covered in short black fur with long thorn-like growths jutting from its shoulders and neck.
It looked ugly but straightforward.
Ren scanned it anyway.
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NAME: Thornhide Boar
DESCRIPTION: A low-level charging beast with reinforced hide and defensive thorn growths. Uses relentless momentum to break through enemies and obstacles.
DANGER LEVEL: Medium (Changes with Ren's Pathway Stage)
KNOWN TRAITS:
Extremely high charge momentum
Tough front-facing defense
Shoulder thorns can tear flesh on contact
Weak side recovery after full-speed charge
Poor turning speed once committed
-------------------------------------------------------------------
That fight had taught him not to get cocky.
He had looked at it and thought just a boar.
Then it charged and nearly tore through him.
The ground itself shook from the force of it.
Ren only survived because he threw himself sideways in time and let the beast smash into a tree instead of into his torso.
After killing it, he had laughed once, but there had been no humor in it.
"That one was my fault."
The fourth fight had been the worst.
By far.
It happened late on the third day, when he was already somewhat tired and had just finished collecting samples near a rocky stream.
He almost didn't notice the creature at first because it blended too well with the dark water and stones.
Then it moved.
Not fast.
Not explosive.
Just with a heavy, deliberate calm that immediately made Ren's instincts go tight.
He scanned it.
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NAME: Black Marsh Fang Crocodile
DESCRIPTION: A low-level aquatic ambush predator with extreme bite force, dense hide, and powerful tail-driven bursts in wet terrain. Particularly lethal near shallow streams, mud, and broken riverbanks.
DANGER LEVEL: High (Changes with Ren's Pathway Stage)
KNOWN TRAITS:
Exceptional camouflage in dark water and mud
Terrifying bite force capable of crushing bone
Heavy hide resists ordinary strikes
Violent tail bursts in short-range attacks
Slower sustained pursuit on dry ground
Vulnerable eye and lower jaw areas, but difficult to target safely
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The moment Ren saw High, his expression changed.
That was the first time he had scanned something above Medium that was actively in front of him and already aware of him.
He should have left immediately.
And he tried to.
But the crocodile attacked first.
That fight had nearly killed him.
More than once.
His fists barely mattered against its hide.
Its head was like a moving rock with teeth.
Its tail nearly broke his ribs on one sweep.
And when it lunged, the force behind that mouth made every previous fight feel smaller.
Ren had only survived because he abandoned the idea of beating it cleanly and focused entirely on terrain, timing, and survival.
He lured it farther from the wettest ground.
Forced it to waste energy turning.
Struck at its eye once.
Hit the lower jaw hinge once.
And then ran when he finally got the chance.
He didn't kill that one.
He escaped it.
Barely.
And afterward, while crouched behind a cluster of roots with blood in his mouth and his whole body shaking, Ren had understood something very clearly.
The optimization, the system, the quick skill growth—
None of that made him untouchable.
He was still weak.
Still killable.
Still very far from being someone who could walk through a realm like this with confidence.
That fight had crushed the little bit of arrogance that had been quietly building in him.
Which, honestly, was probably a good thing.
Still, not every dangerous creature had been something he could fight.
Some were things he saw and immediately decided to avoid.
The first one was exactly that kind of creature.
He had only seen it from a distance, but that had been enough.
It looked like an ordinary mosquito at first—
Until he realized it was the size of his hand, had a long needle-like mouthpart dark red in color, and its abdomen was faintly glowing as if full of thick blood.
He scanned it from far away.
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NAME: Dragon Blood Mosquito
DESCRIPTION: A dangerous blood-feeding insect with trace draconic blood. Capable of piercing reinforced flesh and rapidly draining blood and energy from targets much larger than itself. Usually found in groups.
DANGER LEVEL: High (Changes with Ren's Pathway Stage)
KNOWN TRAITS:
Extremely fast aerial movement
Needle-mouth can pierce ordinary defensive gear
Feeds on blood, vitality, and weak energy layers
Usually encountered in swarms or near nesting grounds
Difficult to kill cleanly in open air
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ren had taken one look at the scan result and immediately backed away.
"No."
Absolutely not.
The second dangerous creature he had wisely avoided was a serpent-like thing coiled in the branches of a dark tree, its scales patterned like bark and shadow.
Only its eyes had given it away.
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NAME: Shadow Bark Coil Serpent
DESCRIPTION: A stealth-oriented snake-type predator capable of blending with trees and striking with neurotoxic venom. Prefers silent ambush from elevated positions.
DANGER LEVEL: High (Changes with Ren's Pathway Stage)
KNOWN TRAITS:
Nearly invisible in bark-heavy surroundings
Fast downward strike
Neurotoxic venom affects movement and reaction speed
Excellent patience and ambush instinct
Difficult to detect without direct observation or scan
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ren had changed direction immediately after spotting that one.
The third was even worse in a different way.
He never got close enough to fully see its body.
What he saw first was the web.
Huge.
Too huge.
Spread between several trees with strands so thick they almost looked like silver cords in the sunlight.
Then he scanned the one shape in the center.
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NAME: Grave Silk Widow
DESCRIPTION: A large spider-type predator that weaves extremely durable silk traps and injects paralytic venom into restrained prey. Known to remain motionless for long periods.
DANGER LEVEL: High (Changes with Ren's Pathway Stage)
KNOWN TRAITS:
Silk stronger than low-grade rope and difficult to cut
Paralytic venom
Exceptional patience and trap placement
Strong vibration detection across web structures
More dangerous in enclosed forest paths and between clustered trees
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ren had stared at the web for three full seconds.
Then turned around and left without a word.
Some things weren't worth proving.
So yes, the past four days had been valuable.
But they had also made one thing painfully clear.
This realm was old.
Old enough that most of the obvious Rare Substances had long since been discovered by previous explorers.
Everywhere Ren went, he found low-level useful things, strange things, dangerous things—
But not the one thing he had actually been hoping for most.
A true Rare Substance.
Either the obvious ones had already been taken long ago…
Or the ones that still remained were hidden well enough that someone like him couldn't casually find them by wandering.
Ren clicked his tongue lightly as he moved through the forest.
"Figures."
Still, he wasn't discouraged.
Annoyed, maybe.
But not discouraged.
He had gained too much already to call this trip a failure.
Combat experience.
Materials.
A better understanding of realm and its danger.
And he still have today
(Author Note: If you enjoyed the chapter, please vote, rate, and leave a comment if you can. Your support really helps the novel grow and motivates me to keep writing. Thank you for reading!)