In the southern part of the Foggy Pine Forest, near the direction of Pine Lake.
Andrew stood panting in front of a hidden cave entrance.
Behind him followed three cronies, all thugs from town who ran with him.
"This is it!"
Andrew's eyes lit up, his voice trembling with excitement.
"This is what Joel was talking about! The gold, it's all ours!"
He took a deep breath, bent down, and crawled into the cave.
The three cronies exchanged glances and followed him in.
The cave was deep, and it grew darker the further they went inside.
Andrew took out the flashlight he had prepared in advance, its faint light illuminating the cave walls.
After walking for about five minutes, the space ahead suddenly opened up.
Andrew's eyes widened.
Studded on the cave walls were specks of gold.
Those were gold grains, real gold!
"We're rich!"
He laughed wildly.
"We're actually rich!"
But what caught his attention even more was the light gate deep within the cave.
A gate emitting a pale blue light was suspended in mid-air.
The scene behind the gate was flickering in and out of view—it was a forest, a dense, never-before-seen forest.
"The gold is inside..."
Andrew muttered to himself, the greed in his eyes almost overflowing.
"It's all mine!"
He took a deep breath and stepped into the light gate.
His figure vanished instantly.
The three cronies stood before the light gate, looking at each other, all somewhat hesitant.
But thinking of that gold, and thinking of the way Andrew usually bullied them...
"Damn it, I'm going for it!"
The first person gritted his teeth and stepped in as well.
The second person followed him in.
The third person hesitated the longest, but finally closed his eyes and rushed in.
The light gate rippled slightly, then returned to calm.
A few minutes later.
Cluttered footsteps were heard again from outside the cave.
Another group of people rushed in—it was the residents from the tavern, over a dozen of them in total.
Seeing the gold grains on the cave walls, they let out wild cheers, frantically dug them out, and then scrambled to rush into the light gate.
One, two, three... When the last person disappeared behind the light gate, the cave fell silent once again.
Only that light gate remained, quietly suspended there, emitting an eerie glow.
On a distant mountain peak.
Three figures stood there, overlooking the cave below.
Ian Holrit's bare upper body gleamed with a bronze luster in the sunlight, his body covered in scars like twisted, gaping mouths.
He crossed his arms over his chest, a satisfied smile hanging on the corners of his mouth.
"Hmm, they've taken the bait."
Kilian pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, a gentle smile appearing on his face.
"These ignorant fools."
His voice was soft, yet full of mockery.
"With just a little temptation, they lose their reason, like moths to a flame."
He paused, a cold glint flashing in his eyes behind the lenses.
"If they just analyzed it a little, they would notice the loopholes—how could a woodcutter suddenly discover gold? If he found gold, why wouldn't he dig it up quietly for himself instead of telling everyone?"
He shook his head.
"It's too pathetic."
The third figure stood behind them, remaining silent the whole time.
Zachary—a man wearing a gray cloak, his face hidden in the shadows of his hood, revealing only a pale chin.
He spoke slowly, his voice hoarse and low.
"Do you need me to control a few more and spread the news in town?"
Ian nodded.
"Go ahead. These people aren't enough for Number Two to snack on."
Zachary nodded slightly and turned to leave.
His footsteps were light, making almost no sound on the rocks, and he quickly vanished into the woods.
Ian and Kilian remained where they were, overlooking the cave below.
Not long after, another figure appeared on the mountain peak.
Layard.
He was still wearing that black leather jacket, an impatient expression on his face.
He walked up to Ian and spoke lazily.
"The entrance is stable now, it can last for at least three days. If there's nothing else, I'm leaving."
He turned to leave.
"No."
Ian's voice came from behind, very calm, yet carrying an unquestionable authority.
Layard stopped and looked back at him, his face full of annoyance.
"Hey, I'm not your subordinate! My job is done!"
Ian turned around slowly.
Those sinister eyes stared fixedly at Layard like a viper.
"Don't make me say it a second time."
His voice remained calm.
But at the same time, a cold killing intent surged from him like a physical force, instantly pressing down on Layard!
Kilian also turned his head at the same time, pushed up his glasses, and the eyes behind those lenses also locked onto Layard.
Two people, two gazes, two waves of killing intent.
The impatience on Layard's face froze.
He was silent for a few seconds, then shrugged, and that devil-may-care smile reappeared on his face.
"Fine, fine."
He spread his hands.
"Then I'll play along with you."
He walked to the side, sat down against a tree, and said nothing more.
Ian withdrew his gaze and continued to look down at the cave below.
Kilian also turned around, the gentle smile still hanging on the corners of his mouth.
On the mountain peak, silence returned.
Only the wind blew through the treetops, making a rustling sound.
Inside the Secret Realm.
Andrew and the other three walked cautiously through the unfamiliar forest.
The trees here were unusually tall, blocking out the sky, and the light was dim.
The air was filled with a damp scent, along with an indescribable, unsettling odor.
But they couldn't afford to be afraid.
Each person had several heavy pieces of Ore tucked into their arms—those pieces of Ore were embedded with golden particles; they were real gold Ore.
"We're rich... we're really rich..."
Andrew muttered to himself, the greed on his face almost overflowing.
What he didn't know was that in the dense forest behind them, over a dozen figures were spreading out, also greedily searching for gold.
They also didn't know that deep within this forest, an ancient ruin stood quietly.
In the center of the ruins, a massive metal cage was constantly trembling.
That cage was a full ten meters high, cast entirely from an unknown metal, and covered in complex runes.
At this moment, those runes were flickering with a faint red light, as if warning of something.
"Click."
A slight, crisp sound.
On the side of the cage, a tiny crack appeared.
Immediately after, another one followed.
And another. The cracks grew more numerous and denser.
Finally—"Snap!" A small piece of metal fell off, revealing a gap the size of a fingernail.
A small red insect crawled slowly out of the gap.
It was only the size of a little finger, blood-red all over, with transparent wings on its back.
On its head were a pair of tiny antennae, gently trembling as if sensing something.
It paused on the outer wall of the cage for a few seconds.
Then, its wings vibrated gently.
It flew up, flying toward those greedy, unsuspecting prey.