Starting as the Baron of the Lonely Island

From the day he transmigrated, Duane had been very familiar with the term "Secret Realm."

After all, Carter’s death, his predecessor’s fate, and the fact that he’d been forced to come to Black Forest Island were all connected to the Secret Realm Space within Lakefront Manor.

Before coming to Black Forest Island, he had heard rumors of a "harmful" Secret Realm on the island. However, in the several months since he’d arrived, no locals had ever confirmed this news.

So, Duane had dismissed the rumor as nothing more than a groundless tale.

He just never expected to suddenly hear this news from Gaius himself today.

Now, it wasn’t just him; everyone, including Kaelon and Simone, was extremely interested.

"Really?"

Simone was a bit skeptical. "Even Daniels doesn’t know about this?"

Logically, the Broken Wave Gang and the Holy Hand Association were partners when it came to major threats, just like with this iron mine. Regardless of whether this Secret Realm was developable or harmful, there was room for cooperation.

But Gaius was saying that on the island, only he and the late Bard knew about it.

"It’s true!"

Gaius explained, "That harmful Secret Realm is deep within Thorn Valley, near the foot of Heavenly Mountain. To avoid causing a panic, and also because he didn’t want any more trouble, Bard decided not to speak of it."

"Are you sure it’s a harmful Secret Realm?" Duane asked.

After all, some Secret Realms contain Demon Beasts, but as long as they are controlled or eradicated, humans can still develop and use them.

Those types aren’t considered harmful.

"We’re positive!"

Gaius’s tone was resolute. A look of recollection and lingering fear appeared on his face as he began to recount his experience.

This was before the Holy Hand Association existed. Bard had led Gaius and seven or eight other members on an expedition into Thorn Valley to see if they could find anything valuable to sell.

When they reached the foot of Heavenly Mountain, they unexpectedly noticed a shimmering Energy Circle in the woods.

Bard had once been a member of a Mercenary Corps and was well-traveled and experienced. He immediately determined that it was a Space Gate leading to a Secret Realm.

Filled with excitement, he led his men through the Space Gate and entered.

Just as Bard had expected, it was indeed a Secret Realm.

Treasure, riches, rare resources...

Countless wonderful words flooded their minds. Believing they had struck it rich, they pushed deeper, throwing all caution to the wind.

After slaying some Demon Beasts and other unknown creatures, they harvested quite a few Demon Cores and materials. They felt there wasn’t much risk and that it should be a developable realm.

It was just that time was limited, so they hadn’t yet found an Elemental Ore Vein or any other exploitable resources.

The change began on the fourth day after entering the Secret Realm.

In the morning, three physically strong, ordinary warriors were discovered to have gone mad.

At first, they thought the excitement had gone to their heads, causing them to lose their minds.

But when the three erupted with the Strength of Basic-level Warriors and tried to kill everyone with reckless abandon, they realized something was wrong.

Bard hardened his heart and put down the three madmen.

Though he was reluctant to give up, his intuition told him he couldn’t go any deeper, so he began to retreat.

From that day on, Bard and Gaius took turns keeping watch at night.

Then, on the morning of the fifth day, another incident occurred: two Basic-level Warriors went mad, and they behaved exactly like the first three.

But Bard and Gaius were certain that these two Basic-level Warriors had slept soundly the previous night, and no creature had approached their temporary camp.

’Why was this happening?’

Panic began to spread.

Bard no longer hesitated and began to withdraw from the Secret Realm as quickly as possible.

They sobered up from their initial excitement. For the first time, they felt that this might not be a developable Secret Realm, but a harmful one.

Then, on the evening of the fifth day, a Basic Peak Warrior went mad. On the morning of the sixth day, their only Middle Level Warrior followed suit...

"On the afternoon of the sixth day, we finally left the Secret Realm, but only Bard and I were left from the entire team!"

As he said this, Gaius’s face still showed a trace of panic.

That experience had become a persistent nightmare, one that was difficult to erase.

Duane’s heart grew heavy as he listened.

He had also hoped it was a developable Secret Realm, but it clearly wasn’t.

These men went mad one after another. Even when Bard, Gaius, and the others basically gave up sleeping, they couldn’t prevent it, and they didn’t even know what was causing it.

Under these circumstances, development was completely impossible.

"There are many kinds of harmful Secret Realms. Some are because of inexhaustible, regenerating Extraordinary Creatures; others are due to harsh climates, like sandstorms, extreme cold, or lava fields. The one you entered might be one that affects people’s minds."

Simone, who seemed to be more knowledgeable in this area, offered his analysis.

Upon hearing this, Duane felt it made sense.

’For these people to go mad one by one, something must be wrong with their Spirit.’

’Judging by the order they went mad—first the ordinary people, then the Basic-level Warriors, the Basic Peak Warrior, and the Middle Level Warrior—it suggests that the higher one’s Spirit, the longer it takes to go mad.’

Kaelon asked, puzzled, "Couldn’t you also say that the higher the Warrior Level, the later the effect takes hold?"

Duane nodded. "But I think the key factor is still Spirit. It’s just that there were no Mages in their team, so it’s impossible to be sure."

"I remember the Fidun Kingdom seems to have a Secret Realm like this, and its effect on Warriors and Mages is about the same. For example, a Basic-level Warrior and a Level 1 Mage would lose their sanity at around the same time."

Duane was surprised.

He had just been wondering if he should give it a try in the future, once he had the means. But if it was as Simone said, there was no point.

"Simone, you know a lot about this. Do you know of any way to solve the problem with this kind of Secret Realm?"

’If there was a solution, they could go inside and see if there was anything of high value.’

"The reason I know about these things is mainly because my... uh... my wife is more learned. She has told me a lot about this subject."

’Simone’s wife seems to have quite a background too.’

But since the man had never mentioned what had happened to his family, Duane didn’t feel it was his place to ask, and he had no idea what they had gone through.

Simone shook his head. "I asked the same question you did back then, but according to my wife, there doesn’t seem to be any solution for this type of Secret Realm at present."

"Fortunately, the Secret Realm’s location is very far from us. If it were any closer, those maddened creatures would be constantly invading your Territory!"

Kaelon was startled. "Animals? Demon Beasts go mad too?"

"Just like people, they’re definitely affected as well."

Hearing Simone’s explanation, Gaius looked as if he had just remembered something.

"No wonder! I was wondering why the ordinary wild animals we saw in the Secret Realm were so frantic, and even stronger than normal animals!"

Duane suddenly had a bad feeling.

’Over the years, just how many beasts has this Secret Realm driven mad?’

’If ordinary beasts grow stronger after going mad, wouldn’t a Demon Beast become even harder to deal with?’

In the future, as his Territory expanded, he would sooner or later have to deal with this Secret Realm.

At that time, to avoid being threatened by it, he would not only have to control and prevent beasts, Demon Beasts, and humans from entering, but also stop the things inside from getting out.

For a moment, Duane’s heart couldn’t help but feel heavy. This was a difficult problem to solve.