He appeared in his room again, releasing a sigh as he stood up.
"Cultivation training should start soon," he muttered, walking out of his room.
Amelia came out at the same time, looking at him with a smile.
"Look who decided to come out today," she said, waiting for him to reach her.
"What are you saying? I come for training every day," Silas shrugged.
He reached her in a few steps, and they began descending the steps together.
"You always come late, especially after you broke through to the Master rank."
Silas smiled at her accusation. She was not wrong.
"You have also broken through to the Expert rank," Silas praised.
Amelia rolled her eyes at his words.
They reached the training room soon. As usual, Sebastian was already there, face looking upwards, eyes closed.
"You are here," he said, not opening his eyes.
Silas and Amelia bowed to greet him.
"Today's training will be quite special," Sebastian said, opening his eyes as he stood up from the chair.
"You will be going to the secret realm on this planet, just you two. Your goal is to survive for two weeks."
At his words, the smile on their faces disappeared.
A secret realm, at their current stages, that was nothing but suicide.
"What? Are you scared?" he asked with a grin. "It is just a first-grade secret realm, and the strongest void beast there is at the Marshal rank."
Amelia wanted to talk, but Sebastian did not give her the chance to speak.
"Go and get whatever you need. You will leave in an hour."
When both of them had left, Max came out from the shadow, bowing to Sebastian. "Master Sebastian, isn't this too dangerous?" he asked.
"They can only grow in danger. Moreover, isn't that boy going with them?" he asked, pointing at Alfred, who stood leaning against the wall with his spear in hand.
Max looked at Alfred for a while before nodding.
Silas and Amelia returned quickly, carrying their bags filled with food and basic amenities.
Silas's load was relatively light. Since advancing his AI to tier 3, the space had gotten wider, enough to hold even an entire airplane.
But to avoid suspicion, he brought a bag along.
Max and Alfred had hidden themselves at this point, only looking at Sebastian as he walked towards the duo.
"If you survive in the secret realm, I can tell you my realm," Sebastian said, handing them a badge. "Use this at the entrance."
Before they could speak, space twisted.
Silas and Amelia vanished in the blink of an eye. Not just them, even Alfred, who was hidden, disappeared alongside them.
When they opened their eyes, they were in front of the only secret realm on their planet.
A grade 1 secret realm.
The place was empty, with only guards stationed at the entrance, a swirling, dark portal.
Seeing the children approach, one of the guards walked towards them.
"This place is off-limits…" Before he could continue, Silas showed him the badge Sebastian had given him.
The guard stepped aside without any words, letting them pass.
He said nothing, but his expression was more than enough to tell the rest that the kids were not meant to be trifled with.
Meanwhile, as Silas and Amelia walked into the secret realm, the wind suddenly grew stronger, but still subtle enough not to draw attention.
It was Alfred, using a wind technique.
He entered the realm together with them.
The sky was ashen, with the thick smell of smoke wafting through the air.
Nothing was in sight, just the ruins of a forest whose trees had withered completely.
Silas looked at Amelia for a moment. As if they were in tacit agreement, they brought out their weapons.
Amelia had a sleek black katana with a sharp curve at the end.
It was an Epic-grade weapon Sebastian had given to her a week after she broke through to the Expert rank.
Silas did the same, drawing his daggers out of their sheath behind him.
Amelia face-palmed upon seeing his weapon. "Really? You still choose to play in this place?" she asked, her tone laced with bewilderment.
"Huh? This is my weapon, why can't I use it?"
"Because you are more proficient with a katana, and Master Sebastian also gave you an Epic-grade one."
"Do you hear that?" Silas asked.
"No. What is it?"
"A beast growl is coming from the front," Silas replied, walking forward slowly.
"I can't hear it. Hope you are not trying to fool me."
"I am a Master rank cultivator. My senses are sharper than yours; that's why I can hear it."
Amelia thought for a moment before nodding.
She followed him slowly.
Perched atop a tree was Alfred, who had watched the exchange with wide eyes.
He could not help but laugh at what had happened.
"To think that he will lie about a beast to stop the discussion," he muttered.
He jumped to the next tree, landing atop its branch like a feather.
"It seems to have run away," Silas said after they had walked for about five minutes.
Amelia stared at him, then at the front.
"Should we go further in?"
"We should find shelter before anything else. We can't stay outside for the next two weeks," Silas said, scanning the place.
They walked slowly along the path.
Silas was the first to see it, a hole carved at the bottom of a mountain.
The hole was large enough to contain both of them easily.
"That should work," he said, running toward it.
Silas entered, setting his bag down, while Amelia checked the area, noting anything strange before entering.
"I saw three claw marks," she said.
"Yeah, I also saw them. But two of them are quite old, only one looks fresh," Silas replied nonchalantly.
Amelia was not surprised that he had seen them even when he was running.
It was Silas, after all.
"Should we split into two to clear all the beasts, or should we go together?"
Silas raised a question.