As the massive Ancient Bronze Gate rose from the earth, the tremors finally died down.
Only then—under the faint, dim glow—did everyone start studying it through the livestream.
The lighting was poor. Details were hard to make out.
Most of its colossal body was swallowed by shadow.
But even at a glance—
the exquisitely carved patterns…
the heavy, time-worn texture…
the ancient, weathered aura—
made one thing obvious:
this was not normal.
The livestream immediately erupted into wild guesses.
"What is this—hidden dungeon stage?!"
"Secret reward room?!"
"Bro, the best reward already got eaten… what else is even left?"
"Maybe Adrian got extra benefits after swallowing that hatchling."
"So what is this bronze gate? Don't tell me it's a secret instance…"
"WAIT—could this be the treasure the A-rank Thousand-Handed Centipede said its clan guarded for generations?!"
"Holy—when you put it like that, it makes sense!! Stop talking and open it already!"
And it wasn't just the chat.
After the bronze gate appeared, viewers flooded into Dragonia's stream from all over the world—eyes wide, nerves tight.
Because this wasn't just a random door.
This was something the Thousand-Handed Centipede clan had allegedly guarded for a thousand years.
So what was behind it?
A more terrifying beast?
A vault of endless treasure?
Or—
no one knew.
But everyone wanted the answer.
Back in the Divine Domain
Adrian Vale and Raven Shaw stared at the suddenly appearing bronze gate with clear interest.
"Guarded for a thousand years…?"
Adrian recalled what the centipede had screamed before it died.
And considering where they were—
he could basically confirm it.
This bronze gate… was almost certainly what the centipede clan had protected generation after generation.
If it hadn't appeared, fine.
But since it had practically delivered itself right in front of him—
Adrian had no reason not to check what was inside.
Raven, however, moved first.
She walked up and lightly tapped the gate.
Thunk…
A long, deep, muffled echo rolled out.
"Mm. That sound… it really is ancient."
Then she tried to push.
The bronze gate didn't move an inch.
Raven's eyes narrowed slightly.
So it wasn't something you could open with brute force—at least, not normal brute force.
In the studio, the guests began analyzing too.
Captain Ryan Cole frowned. "Just from the sheer size… there's no way this gate can be opened by human strength."
Dr. Elias Hart nodded. "Agreed. If it opens at all, it likely requires a mechanism—some trigger—or a key-like item."
Sienna Blake hesitated. "But… mechanism, key… do Adrian and Raven even have anything like that?"
That question made the whole stream fall into a brief, awkward silence.
No mechanism in sight.
No obvious key.
So what now?
Just stare at it forever?
The chat started "brainstorming."
"Professor's right—this kind of gate HAS to have a mechanism."
"But where? I don't see anything!"
"Maybe search the centipede nest—look for a key?"
"Yeah right… you think a key would just be lying around in that mess?"
"So what, we just stand here like idiots?"
Adrian's answer: no key, no mechanism
Adrian already understood something simple:
this gate wouldn't open easily.
But "mechanism" and "key"…
those were rules for ordinary people.
Not for him.
He'd just gotten stronger.
So—
why not test it?
While Raven was still examining the carvings, a cold voice sounded behind her.
"Move."
Before she could even react—
Adrian turned into a streak of black lightning and shot forward.
Whoosh—!!
His fist drove toward the bronze gate.
And just before impact—
something grotesque crawled out of his arm.
A crimson, writhing Kagune surged, wrapping his forearm—
then hardening into the shape of a vicious dragon claw.
A claw that didn't belong to a human.
It belonged to something that hunted.
Something that tore.
This was the new change Adrian had gained after swallowing the hatchling.
A dragon's claw.
BOOM—!!!
The clawed punch slammed into the bronze gate like a falling meteor.
A deafening impact shook the entire chamber—
and an invisible shockwave exploded outward.
Raven had already stepped back, but even so, the blast whipped her hair and cloak violently.
She clicked her tongue.
"This little guy… he's even more absurd than before."
The stream completely lost it.
"WHAT?! You can do that?!"
"Bro said 'key' and 'mechanism'—Adrian said 'fist'!"
"Calm down. Foodie Adrian is always like this!"
"If you can punch it open, why talk?"
"That punch felt scarier than his fight with the A-rank centipede!"
"So it's really because he ate the dragon??"
Then—
crack… crack… crack…
A sharp sound snapped through the air.
Everyone froze.
Because the impossible was happening.
The bronze gate…
was cracking.
Thin fractures spread from the impact point like veins across stone.
Crack—crack—crack—!!
The cracks multiplied.
They crawled.
They widened.
Adrian slowly pulled his fist back.
The dragon-claw Kagune retreated into his arm, vanishing like it had never existed.
And as it vanished—
his suit, strained by the impact…
repaired itself instantly.
Elegant Reaper returned to pristine perfection in a blink.
Not a speck of dust.
Not a wrinkle.
Just clean, cold elegance.
Meanwhile, the bronze gate reached its breaking point.
"RUMBLE—!!!"
With a thunderous roar, the entire gate collapsed.
Massive chunks crashed down, kicking up a storm of dust that swallowed Adrian and Raven completely.
The chat screamed.
"Bro… if that punch hit me, I'd die."
"No, you'd evaporate."
"I'm strong, you might have to endure it (lol)."
Beyond the gate
The dust slowly settled.
Adrian and Raven reappeared, calmly brushing their sleeves like nothing had happened.
Adrian stepped forward first—
past the ruins and into the darkness beyond.
Raven followed.
On-screen, the space looked pitch-black.
No one could tell what was inside.
But as they walked in, a faint, warm glow began to appear—like the inside belonged to a different world.
And in truth… it did.
This gate hadn't been attached to any tunnel.
It stood alone.
Like a door without a wall.
Like someone had placed a portal here on purpose.
Once they crossed the threshold, the warm yellow light brightened enough for the stream to see.
The space inside wasn't large.
Maybe fifty square meters at most.
The walls were made of the same strange stone as the centipede cave, glowing faintly with an amber hue.
Ancient.
Dusty.
Quiet.
And in the center—
stood a single stone pillar.
Nothing else.
No treasure piles.
No golden mountains.
Just one lonely pillar in an empty chamber.
The chat instantly started roasting.
"That's it?? This is the thousand-year treasure room??"
"BRO… the centipede clan guarded THIS?"
"I was expecting gold! At least give me two martial arts manuals!"
"Wait… there's something on the pillar!"
"Yeah, yeah—amazing—so the treasure is a 'pillar.'"
"NO—LOOK! There's an ITEM on top!!"
Adrian had already seen it.
He walked straight toward the pillar.
Raven came beside him, studying the object with a scholar's focus.
It was a scroll.
Old.
So old it felt like time itself had soaked into it.
It looked like it was made from some kind of hide—aged, preserved, protected for who knew how long.
A scroll like this…
guarded for a thousand years…
sealed behind a bronze gate…
in a separate pocket space…
What kind of secret could it hold?
The chat joked nervously.
"I'm genuinely scared Adrian will pick it up and just EAT it."
"LMAO I can picture it—"
"Relax, no way he eats a scroll!"
"Are you sure…?"
Adrian wasn't that far gone.
But he understood the same thing Raven did:
anything protected this heavily was never simple.
He reached out and picked it up.
The moment his fingers touched it—
Will of Blue Star spoke.
[Congratulations! Dragonia contestant Adrian Vale has obtained a legendary item! Analyzing… Analysis complete!]
[Name: Rustic Peerless Treasure Map]
[Rank: SSS+]
[Description: A scroll guarded by the Thousand-Handed Centipede clan for generations. The scroll appears to mark only a single location. If it is merely a map, why guard it for a thousand years? The answer may lie at the destination it points to.]
The livestream went berserk.
"WHAT?! A TREASURE MAP?!"
"SSS+?! A MAP is SSS+?? What's at the marked location then?!"
"No way… an SSS+ item is literally just 'directions'??"
"What if it's not treasure—what if it's a beast beyond SSS+?"
"Either way—if you got it, you HAVE to go check it out."
This time, it wasn't only Dragonia's chat.
People worldwide were losing their minds.
A-rank resources.
A dragon egg.
Now an SSS+ treasure map.
Meanwhile other contestants were still dying for D-rank scraps.
How was this even the same game?
In distant corners of the world—
hidden experts, old monsters, and strange figures in the shadows reacted.
Some stood up in shock.
Some whispered names long buried in history.
Some felt their memories tremble, as if the scroll had tugged a thread in their souls.
But none of that mattered to Adrian and Raven right now.
Because the Divine Domain didn't care about envy.
It only cared about what came next.
Dawn… and the final warning
After leaving the centipede nest, Adrian and Raven returned to the surface.
The Divine Domain had shifted into early morning.
Mist drifted through the forest.
The horizon lightened.
Sunrise spilled across the trees, filtering through leaves like shimmering scales.
Birdsong echoed in the distance.
A breeze passed, and the leaves rustled in soft waves.
Raven inhaled deeply, her mood lifting almost against her will.
Then—
Will of Blue Star rang out again.
[Detected: less than 30 minutes until points settlement. Reminder issued!]
[After settlement, the Divine Domain will open the — Doomsday Nation Gate.]
[Below are the rules and notes for the Nation Gate:]
[1. After settlement, each contestant will receive a Nation Gate bound to their country. The gate connects to the real world for 4 days.]
[2. Contestants have 1 day to prepare. Over the next 3 days, the gate will be attacked by Divine Domain creatures at irregular intervals.]
[3. If Divine Domain creatures break through the gate defense and enter, then in the corresponding real-world country, the same creature will manifest at 100× quantity.]
[4. After the Nation Gate event ends, performance will be evaluated. Based on evaluation, contestants will receive corresponding chest rewards.]
[5. Fight for your nation's survival.]
For a second, the entire livestream went blank.
Then the chat exploded into panic.
"DOOMSDAY Nation Gate??"
"So this is literally 'one person guards the gate'—no, TWO people!"
"Creatures can manifest in the real world?! And 100×??"
"I've heard of 100× resources… not 100× MONSTERS!"
"If 100 A-rank centipedes appear on Earth… bro I can't even imagine it."
"You're eating hotpot with your wife, then a fifty-meter centipede rips your roof off—what do you do?"
"I'm done. Destroy the world already. I'm tired."
"We have nukes!"
"Great—so we won't die to monsters, we'll die to ourselves."
While the world spiraled into emergency meetings and full mobilization—
The settlement countdown in the Divine Domain finally hit zero.
[00:03]
[00:02]
[00:01]
[00:00]
[Notice: Points settlement has ended. Final chests will now be issued based on total points!]
A burst of golden light erupted in front of Adrian and Raven.
Everyone knew—
the moment they'd been waiting for had arrived.
Will of Blue Star spoke.
[Detected: Dragonia contestants' final points — 361,400! Final settlement reward: SS-rank chest!!]
The livestream detonated.
"SS-RANK CHEST?! WHAT?!"
"No way—SS?!"
"I thought max would be S+!!"
"This is illegal… this is SO satisfying!"
"Does an SS chest finally drop attribute points?"
"If Adrian pulls SS attribute points he becomes a god!"
"If he actually pulls attribute points, I'll do a livestream and eat—"
"Screenshot his ID—he can't run!!"
Other countries' streams?
Dead silent.
Most contestants got C-rank chests and thought they'd won the lottery.
Then Dragonia pulled SS—
and everyone else's "victory" became a punchline.
But Adrian and Raven didn't care.
Adrian cared about one thing:
What could an SS-rank chest give him?
More Acting Sync?
A jump to 60%?
A direct push into the next sublimation?
He didn't hesitate.
Under countless eyes—
Adrian and Raven placed their hands on their chests.
To be continued…
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