A secret realm was a hidden place unknown to the world.
It corresponded to a dungeon in a fantasy game.
In a Chinese xianxia game, only Qi Refining Realm cultivators could enter such a place.
According to the lore, an ancient immortal of the demon race had erected a barrier to protect members of the demon race hunted by the human race.
Once a year, sects sent Qi Refining Realm cultivators inside to search for herbs needed to make Foundation Establishment Pills.
'In other words, it's a luck-based shitshow of a beginner hunting ground.'
Only two parts of that lore were actually implemented in the game.
The secret realm opened at fixed intervals.
And only Qi Refining Realm cultivators from the human race could enter.
The demon race could raise their realms while cultivators from the human race were absent.
When the secret realm opened, however.......
It became a hunting ground where the human race and demon race killed one another.
Each side killed the other to obtain what it needed.
'Fortunately, high-level players don't come to the outskirts.'
Experience here was subject to level restrictions.
One had to kill something of a similar or higher level to raise one's realm.
Killing an opponent inappropriate for one's realm produced no benefit.
There was also a time limit on entry.
Players had to obtain what they wanted within the allotted period.
The concentration of spiritual energy rose toward the center of the secret realm.
The closer one drew to the center.......
Higher-grade spirit herbs, Demons, and Demon Beasts lived there.
Anyone beyond the beginning of the Qi Refining Realm had no reason to visit the outskirts.
Spending time there meant giving up opportunities to obtain better treasures.
As a result, everyone naturally sought opponents suited to their own level.
Some people, however, did pointless things purely for amusement.
Occasionally, a late Qi Refining Realm cultivator came to the outskirts to massacre beginners.
With bad luck, they ended up killed by those same beginners.
Unlike the human race, the demon race varied wildly in strength.
With a poor matchup, even low-level members of the demon race could kill them.
'Then it'd be a lucky break.'
A bundle of experience would die for him.
For the demon race, it was an opportunity to advance their realms.
Some players therefore raised a character from the human race first, then deliberately let it die in the secret realm.
They wanted to funnel its experience into a single character.
In this game, however, a character disappeared upon death.
Raising one to the late Qi Refining Realm only to die in a beginner hunting ground was inefficient.
'It's better to invest that time in the demon race.'
That much of their time and effort would be wasted.
Later, people began raising characters for money and deliberately letting them die.
That business did not last long either.
'This game lets you buy power. Why bother with that?'
The developers released a wide variety of cash-shop items.
They were telling players to spend their money on the game instead of on other users.
Simply paying the game was more convenient than trading with other users.
At the same time, the developers removed the names attached to secret realms.
Just as the phrase unknown secret realm implied.......
Players could not tell which secret realm they were in.
Nor could they know which secret realm they should visit.
It was entirely down to the luck of the draw.......
They could neither agree on a destination nor find one another.
The developers blocked transactions between users in many ways.
They wanted all the money spent on them.
'Sometimes a luck-based shitshow of a chink game has its advantages.'
In the end, only cultivators at the beginning of the Qi Refining Realm visited a secret realm's outskirts.
Once in a while, someone dissatisfied with reality slaughtered beginners.
Then they wound up donating their experience.
After suffering losses a few times.
The atmosphere shifted against massacring beginners.
The chance of a late Qi Refining Realm cultivator from the human race appearing in the outskirts became extremely low.
That made it a good place for the demon race to raise their realms steadily.
The slime decided to search for someone there first.
'Should I look for those creatures?'
They were the One-Horned Rabbits and One-Horned Rats that had provided experience since the tutorial.
***
'These things are surprisingly troublesome.'
THUMP—
TING—
WOBBLE—
At first, there was one.
THUMP—
TING—
WOBBLE—
Then there were two.
THUMP— THUMP— THUMP— THUMP— THUMP— THUMP—
WOBBLE— WOBBLE— WOBBLE— WOBBLE— WOBBLE— WOBBLE—
In an instant, five or six charged him at once.
'Agh! This isn't working. Run!'
The slime fled after being beaten by the entire group of One-Horned Rabbits.
Now that the game had become reality.
Hunting One-Horned Rabbits was not easy.
Weak herbivores formed herds to survive.
Grouping together raised their odds of surviving a predator.
One-Horned Rabbits ranked among the weakest Demon Beasts.
Naturally, they formed herds.
In the game, players could hunt them one at a time, starting from the outskirts.
They never drew aggro from an entire group.
Here, however, the moment he approached.
They noticed him and rushed over in a swarm.
'No one can withstand a gang beating.'
He could fight while enduring one or two hits.
But he could not withstand five or six of them ramming him repeatedly.
'How do I deal with them?'
If he made a mistake, he could be eaten while trying to eat them.
For now, he had no way to deal with the One-Horned Rabbits.
'Well, killing One-Horned Rabbits doesn't offer much profit anyway.'
The One-Horned Rabbits became the fox's sour grapes.
They were difficult to catch and did not taste good anyway.
'A One-Horned Rat would be better, right?'
A chicken would do when there was no pheasant.
The easiest prey was always the best.
'Fucking sweet. Is that one over there?'
Just then, a One-Horned Rat emerged from its burrow to search for food.
It was catching and chewing on a nearby Centipede.
When he crept toward it, the creature darted back into its burrow.
'It'll come out if I block the entrance.'
1 hour, 2 hours... eventually, an entire day passed.
'Why isn't it coming out?'
Tired of waiting, he looked around.
The One-Horned Rat was poking its head out of another burrow.
It seemed to be looking at him and laughing.
'That—that thing!'
One-Horned Rats dug multiple tunnels through the earth.
The slime had been made a fool.
A rat burrow split into many branches underground.
It did not have only one entrance.
A cunning rabbit had three burrows.
A clever rabbit dug three hiding places.
This One-Horned Rat seemed to have dug at least ten.
'Why are these things so clever?'
They had not been this clever in the tutorial.
Something had changed now that he was in the main game.
The other Demon Beasts were much the same.
'Agh. That damned crow!'
A crow Demon Beast pecked the slime's head and swiftly flew upward.
Whenever he looked away, it descended to peck him again.
'I'll catch that thing if it's the last thing I do.'
Whenever he grew angry and tried to pounce, it dodged nimbly.
A slime could not catch something that flew through the sky.
When he gave up and turned away, it descended to peck him again.
The Demon Beasts were not as stupid as they had been in the game.
They behaved in ways befitting their natures.
'Right... the game is real life.'
Just as life was real.......
The game seemed to be mocking him by declaring that it was real too.
Once the tutorial ended and the main game began.
The genre changed.
Every trace of the game-like feeling vanished.
'Then I'll treat reality like a game.'
He found a place in the outskirts where spiritual energy was abundant.
He dug into the ground and concealed his body there.
The surrounding soil began to soften.
'I can still use the ability I gained in the tutorial.'
He decided to fight these creatures properly.
***
A small mudfield appeared in the unknown secret realm.
'Shall I use Reproduction now?'
The Horned Mud Slime gave birth to a Mud Slime.
'Can I only produce creatures at a lower realm than myself?'
He could not know yet.
Things might change after his realm rose further.
For now, he was satisfied with Mud Slimes.
The Mud Slimes absorbed spiritual energy from the mudfield.
Although this was the outskirts of the secret realm.
They gathered more spiritual energy than they had in the tutorial.
'Thank you for the meal!'
He stuck a straw into a Mud Slime's body.
Spiritual energy gathered inside the Horned Mud Slime.
'This still isn't enough.'
The tiny trickle of spiritual energy was insufficient to raise his realm.
An income of 500,000 won in monthly rent helped with living expenses, but no one could live on that alone.
'I need to make the room bigger.'
He tried expanding the mudfield.
'Hmm.......'
The Horned Slime could create a mudfield only within 20 meters in every direction.
'It's not bad... but it's awkward.'
It was about the size of a single-room studio apartment.
'Isn't there a way to make it wider? Ah! I know.'
A slime could move around.
He could widen the mudfield by moving from place to place.
'This has limits too.'
Parts of the mudfield disappeared as quickly as he created it.
The soil was drying out.
'Still, I can manage about 50 meters.'
That was a reasonably useful size.
Releasing Mud Slimes into the area.
Made the effect even better.
They slowed the speed at which the mudfield turned back into dry ground.
When he released hundreds of them inside.
The entire mudfield began to resemble a living creature.
The supply of spiritual energy became even smoother.
'Shall we get moving?'
This was where the One-Horned Rats had previously dug their burrows.
***
The slime mudfield entered the One-Horned Rats' territory.
SQUEAK—
SQUEAK—?
SQUEAK—!
Mud poured into the One-Horned Rats' burrows.
The tunnels began to clog with mud and collapse.
The One-Horned Rats inside erupted into chaos.
Trying to avoid the mud.
They fled deeper into the tunnels or escaped outside.
One of them, however, failed to avoid the incoming mud in time.
The burrow collapsed with the mud and trapped it.
SQUEAK—!
SQUEAK—!
SQUEAK—!
'Thank you for the meal.'
He swallowed the One-Horned Rat floundering in the mudfield in one gulp.
The One-Horned Rat was digested inside the slime's stomach.
'It's somewhat disappointing, but.......'
Perhaps because they were at similar realms, he felt little effect.
His reserves of spiritual energy increased by only a tiny amount.
'There are still plenty left here, though.'
Not all the One-Horned Rats had escaped outside.
Those that fled deeper underground found themselves surrounded by the mudfield.
Mud continued pouring toward the place where the One-Horned Rats had gathered.
All the way into the deepest reaches of the tunnels... mud filled everything.
That place eventually became part of the mudfield too.
He began using Devouring on the floundering One-Horned Rats one at a time.
In this way, he ate five or six One-Horned Rats.
'It's only a tiny amount... but once it adds up, it isn't bad. Ha ha.'
It was nowhere near enough for Evolution—a level up—but.......
His spiritual energy had risen considerably.
'Huh? What are those things?'
Objects containing concentrated spiritual energy had gathered in the depths of the burrow.
'I'll know once I eat them.'
Their shapes were difficult to make out while buried in the mud, but.......
Anything containing concentrated spiritual energy was good.
A slime could digest mud and stone as well.
He swallowed one of them first.
[Lowest-grade spirit herb. A plant containing a minute amount of spiritual energy. Water attribute.]
It was a lowest-grade spirit herb.
Such things were occasionally found in the outskirts of a secret realm.
He swallowed another object.
[Lowest-grade spirit stone. A stone containing a minute amount of spiritual energy. Earth attribute.]
It was a lowest-grade spirit stone.
This, too, was occasionally found in the outskirts.
The One-Horned Rats had gathered them and piled them in their nest.
'Fucking sweet.'
This was unearned income.
'Games are best when you swipe what someone else has hoarded. Heh heh.'
He gobbled up the spirit herbs and spirit stones.
His spiritual energy increased rapidly.
His Water and Earth attributes also seemed to have grown slightly stronger.
'Wait, you idiot.'
Spirit herbs and spirit stones had many uses.
Converting them into experience like this was wasteful.
'Fortunately, a few are left.'
The slime placed the remaining spirit herbs and spirit stones in a storage compartment inside his body.
'A slime doesn't need a separate storage pouch. Nice.'
He could not store much, but.......
He could create a storage compartment—a storage sac—inside his body.
If his possessions increased.......
'Then I'll get a storage pouch from a cultivator of the human race somehow.'
The human race could use many kinds of talismans and magical artifacts.
The ability to use tools was humanity's advantage.
'Then shall I inspect my items?'
[Bloodsucking Mosquito Proboscis: 14. Lowest-grade spirit herbs: 5. Lowest-grade spirit stones: 3.]
For a Horned Slime equivalent to the beginning of the Qi Refining Realm, those were considerable resources.
The harvest had been surprisingly good.
'Shall I head there now?'