Goblin Dependency

When the lizard possessed by "Algae Scale" Dodd arrived on the scene, Xia Nan was lurking aside, observing as per the plan briefly laid out with his teammates.

Because of this, when he witnessed the way the other looked at his teammates, Xia Nan was sure—the newcomer could not be Alton.

From the perspective of the coastal reality world, he could see Xia Nan, enveloped in blue light, floating in the air above the sea, knowing he was still in the Secret Realm.

With Alton and Dodd’s spots overlapping for an extended period, they have likely met each other. The little guy could not possibly mistake himself as the last remaining force within the Secret Realm according to perception.

Also, he would never show such a bloodthirsty and excited expression to them, which was not Alton’s character.

But to be honest, if the lizard before him wasn’t Alton, and Xia Nan had to consider it as "Algae Scale" Dodd, he would be skeptical.

After all, from Xia Nan’s perspective, as the host of this grand ritual, regardless of any interruptions along the way, "Algae Scale" Dodd should have completed at least five evolutions by now.

Yet the panting, dirt-covered, disheveled six-legged lizard ahead didn’t seem like it had reached the final evolution stage.

Keeping cautious, Xia Nan guessed that this earth-colored lizard might be a decoy planted by Dodd using his special abilities to attract their attention.

Considering the positions of light spots in his perception and the encounter in the clearing, Xia Nan suspected Dodd’s true form might be hiding beneath the earth under the lizard.

Initially thinking to observe and inspect further, but upon noticing the lizard’s strong desire to attack his teammates for safety’s sake, he decided to act first.

And given his nature, once deciding to attack the enemy, he certainly wouldn’t hold back.

He combined [Vortex Slash], [Teeth Hunting], [Heavy Tide], and [Gravity Etching] into one strike, instantly unleashing all his power.

Meanwhile, he remained attentive to his surroundings, including underneath him and in the air, always alert for "Algae Scale" Dodd’s direct attack.

He had even prepared to activate the Second Stage with [Embers Resonance] after sustaining serious injury.

But...

Things developed beyond Xia Nan’s expectations.

"Bang."

The lizard’s head spun and fell, rolling on the meadow with a "gurgle" sound.

A richly luminescent blue light cluster began to coalesce above the headless corpse of the six-legged lizard.

In his perception, the light spot signifying Dodd’s presence vanished quietly.

"Huh?"

The Wolf Eyes reflected the luminous blue light of life energy, surprising Xia Nan.

Yet he remained vigilant, with the Wolf Mouth gripping the longsword, wary of the surroundings.

Perhaps this was some deliberate trick to numb him and his teammates?

No doubt in Dodd’s capability to implement such tactics, given his status as the host of the ritual.

But after one second, two seconds, three seconds...

As time silently passed and nothing happened around him, Xia Nan grew a bit skeptical.

"Could it be that the filthy earth-colored lizard was truly ’Algae Scale’ Dodd?"

Confirming again through the real-world view, seeing Half-Elf Alton still suspended in mid-air, he muttered in his heart.

Rumble——

While Xia Nan was speculating internally.

Suddenly, a thunderous roar came from above.

With his attention already keenly focused, he quickly looked up towards the sound source.

The once faint crimson light now intensely bright, slowly retracting inward like a protective shield, hanging over the Semi-Transparent boundary of the Secret Realm.

With the death of the earth lizard, it began to vibrate violently.

"This is..."

It’s not hard to understand.

This large ritual encompassing the entire Stodd Island and surrounding maritime area, involving over a hundred adventurers, was arranged by "Algae Scale" Dodd, who had thereby gained numerous advantages within the ritual.

Dodd himself is the core of the Secret Realm.

And honestly, under normal circumstances, with his strength not even touching "Transcendent", even if he exhausted his wealth, he couldn’t possibly have the ability to host such a specific ritual that allowed Xia Nan to gain Battle Skill proficiency.

To some extent, he was taking shortcuts.

Massive quantities of Deep Sea Resonating Stones, complex and changing Magic Array Runes... these conditions solvable through money and connections were merely the foundation of the ritual.

The critical core that allowed the whole Secret Realm to open and persist was a mysterious metallic ring—[Dream Weaving Corridor] key—acquired many years ago by "Algae Scale" from Lailo moerton.

Through the convenience of the tool, Dodd forcibly hosted a promotion ritual on wildness and survival, leveraging his accumulated wealth and experience.

The ritual was not complete, its purpose arising from "Algae Scale’s" selfish desires.

Now, when "Algae Scale" Dodd dies within the Secret Realm, consciousness returning to reality.

Sensing the change, the ritual originally centered around the [Dream Weaving Corridor] key naturally loses its continuation purpose.

Without the need for the remaining adventurers within the Secret Realm to fight to the death, it starts to collapse on its own.

Amidst intense vibration, fine cracks appeared on the crimson light shield surface enveloping the Secret Realm in the air.

The ground under the few present on the field also shook with the oscillation.

Xia Nan felt his previously razor-sharp focus now blurring, like when drowsiness arises while lying in bed, slowly becoming indistinct, only recognizing vague outlines of the scenery before him.

Suddenly enlightened within his heart.

This filthy lizard that he neatly beheaded, was indeed "Algae Scale" Dodd whom he was extremely guarded against.

He even found it somewhat absurd.

But the very next second, he set aside all irrelevant thoughts tangled in his mind.

No longer wondering why the ritual host ended up like this, nor what the opponent encountered in the Secret Realm these days.

But exploiting the moment while consciousness hasn’t completely drifted away from this temporary wolf body, retaining partial movement capability.

In the critical moment of nearing return from the Secret Realm to the real world, he manipulated his limbs, fiercely leaping towards the luminous blue cluster above "Algae Scale" Dodd’s corpse.

"Bang!"

Buzz——

Strong limb force created a remarkable depression crater on the ground, the Black Wolf Beast with its mane swaying maintained the leaping pose, its massive swift body tracing a semi-curved arc in the air.

Wolf Mouth lightly touched the cluster of life energy about to vanish with the Secret Realm.

The luminescent blue light mist floating in the air appeared forcefully guided, swirling to seep into the Black Wolf’s body.

Already evolved to the final stage, rapidly strengthened as life energy poured into its body, while the battle experience of integrating combat skills and beast form accumulated during this period was deeply engraved in Xia Nan’s mind. However, evidently this body couldn’t be carried out to the real world, which wasn’t significant.

Additionally, what Xia Nan truly pursued, the gain from [Dream Weaving Corridor], uniquely his, was thoroughly absorbed without any waste before the Secret Realm collapsed.

In front of him, in the void, was like a blinking screen of semi-transparent characters.

...

"Skill Level +9"

"[Gravity Control]lv1 (90/100) → [Gravity Control]lv1 (99/100)"

...

"Skill Level +16"

"[Embers Resonance]lv2 (97/100) → [Embers Resonance]lv3 (13/100)"

"Constitution +1"

...

"Skill Level +42"

"[Heavy Tide]lv4 (99/100) → [Heavy Tide]lv5 (Max)"

"Perception +1, Strength +1, Charm +1"

"[Fallen Blade Hunting]lv3 → [Fallen Blade Hunting]lv4"

"..."

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