When the mist before Byron and his two companions cleared and their vision returned, they found themselves on an island that seed imnsely vast.
All the other people who had entered with them had vanished without a trace, evidently dispersed to other parts of the island, with each group separated by at least several kiloters.
Surrounding them was a typical tropical rainforest. However, like the other areas in the Hundred Beasts Paradise, all vegetation and animals were exceptionally large.
Lofty trees reached into the clouds, and shrubs obscured the sky; even the smallest weed was taller than an adult.
Byron's two companion ravens, Hugin and Munin, took to the air at the first opportunity.
Atahualpa drew his cal-head gold saber, and one of Violet's hands transford into a glittering silver revolving Axe Gun.
They had no sooner taken their battle formation than they saw sothing in the tall grass ahead pushing the leaves upward in succession, followed by the sound of rushing wind.
WHOOSH!
A golden shadow suddenly sprang from the front, its power and speed comparable to that of an ordinary Third Order Transcendent.
It was unaware that Byron's Divine Sight had already enveloped a radius of several kiloters, capturing every flicker of movent within its range.
Byron pulled the inexperienced Fourth Prince, whose reactions clearly hadn't been tempered by rigorous battles, to one side. With a flash of blood-red light from his hand, a slender, paper-thin rapier materialized.
Like the crimson tongue of a serpent, it flickered with a bone-chilling light as he casually raised his arm to strike.
The massive creature that had charged them was imdiately decapitated. Its body continued forward due to montum, finally collapsing beside them and causing the ground to tremble.
Violet and Atahualpa, who had initially assud it to be so fierce beast like a wild boar, gasped when they looked closer. It was actually an enormous... Golden Fur River Beaver Mouse.
What should have been a small, cute river beaver was instead the size of a small hillock.
If Byron's sword hadn't been able to slice through steel with ease, taking down such a tough-hided creature would have required considerably more effort.
If the beavers of the Southern Continent were all this size, dealing in fur with the natives would certainly make us a fortune, was the first thought that occurred to Byron and Violet. A single pelt could provide enough fur for a noblewoman's entire wardrobe of coats. Indeed, this is a land of treasures.
Moreover, this Golden Fur River Beaver Mouse, much like a person, was adorned with many gold and silver jewels.
It wore a small, golden Treasure Crown atop its head, its sharp claws were laden with Gem Rings, and a large string of white Pearls was wrapped around its body.
Though a beaver, it was one exuding opulence, wealthier than many old sea dogs from the Old Continent who had toiled their entire lives.
Atahualpa was about to step forward to collect the spoils, but Byron stopped him. "Wait, don't touch it yet."
Though confused, Atahualpa imdiately halted.
In the Sun Empire, gold was deeply intertwined with the Sun God. In Mysticism, it was considered the sweat of the Sun God, and all Divine Descendants possessed an innate love for golden artifacts.
For Molten Giants and Children of the Sun, gold was an extension of their power, allowing them to grow closer to the Sun God, Inti.
But for Fourth Prince Atahualpa, who owned many gold mines, spending ti bending down to pick up coins was less lucrative than using that sa ti to earn more gold; it was a veritable loss-making endeavor.
His desire to collect the spoils stemd purely from a habit of thriftiness.
Upon Byron's warning, Atahualpa didn't hesitate and imdiately retreated to the side.
Sinciroka had lost the previous duel to Byron, so leadership of this expedition had fallen to the latter.
Aware of his own lack of adventuring experience, Atahualpa certainly wouldn't question a professional.
At that mont, images from other parts of the island were reflected in Byron's pupils.
A trio of Molten Giants had also just killed a large, richly adorned frog, also wearing a golden crown. They imdiately began collecting the spoils.
One of the Molten Giant princes exclaid, "These gold and silver treasures are real, not an illusion! I didn't expect that by attending the coronation ceremony, we'd also strike it rich. Compared to my kinsn who are Governors, I had no hope from the start. If it weren't for the Empire's decree that I participate in the ceremony, essentially as a stepping stone for others, I would never have co here to take such risks. Why don't we just stay at this stage and collect more gold and treasures? Not only can it increase our power, but once we get out, we'll have no worries for the rest of our lives!"
"Your Highness is right," one of his retainers agreed.
"Exactly!" added the other. "Since we're already here, let those who want to take risks, take them. If we can't seize the throne, surely we can at least earn a fortune?"
This Prince, who possessed an ordinary identity, common bloodline, and no great personal power, was clearly not wealthy. Even his two Third Order escorts had been hired with painstakingly saved money.
Upon discovering that monsters here dropped Gold Coins when defeated, how could he resist? He imdiately took action.
The Third Order Prince transford into a blazing Molten Giant and absorbed that golden crown into his body, making it a part of himself.
tallic substances constituted about 20% of the magma in a Molten Giant, and the proportion was similar within their bodies. In humans, this was equivalent to bones comprising 20% of their body mass.
Once a Molten Giant could extract a sufficient amount of a trace Spiritual Material called "Holy Gold" from gold, they could completely replace the 20% of tallic material within their own body. This would allow them to achieve a key prerequisite for advancing to Fourth Order Child of the Sun.
Conducting rituals and offering sacrifices to the Sun God also required a large amount of gold, which was an absolute hard currency in the Sun Empire.
But blinded by greed, they clearly forgot that this place was a trial Secret Realm, not so natural treasure vault free for the taking.
The mont they touched those treasures, a golden mist surged into their eyes, slowly taking the shape of gold coins.
From deep within their bones, waves of chilling air began to emanate.
It seed as if sothing had entered their bodies along with the gold and jewels.
The more precious beasts they hunted on the island and the more treasures they collected, the stronger the chilly aura on their bodies beca. Their pursuit of treasures also grew even more greedy.
Gradually, a dark mist materialized around them, forming into faces with eyes replaced by gold coins. Their mouths scread:
"My treasures!"
"My treasures!"
Before they could even fully digest the last batch of gold, they were already chasing after the next precious beast.
The dark aura around them grew denser and their bodies larger; even their humanoid shapes began to distort.
Soon, the undigested precious tals within them solidified into heavy masses. They beca so heavy that even their roiling magma began to show signs of extinguishing.
Suddenly, as the Molten Giants strained mightily, they expelled all the precious tals they had swallowed, leaving them behind.
Only their now bestial flesh and blood remained. In an instant, it transford into another group of creatures—river beavers, frogs, and water snakes—which in turn beca prey for others.
Each prince now wore a Golden Crown on his head, a testant to their forr noble status.
This ti, the island was not inhabited by ordinary Bizarre creatures, but by true Frog Princes and Beaver Princes.
Byron's Sailing Logbook also provided information about these Bizarre creatures:
Secondary Bizarres of the Siren Gibbaro.
During every Holy Lake coronation ceremony, the new King would coat his entire body with gold dust. He would then sail towards the center of the lake on a ship laden with golden ornants.
Upon reaching the center, all the gold on the ship would be dumped into the lake.
The major and minor rituals held annually according to the sun's movent involved much the sa process. They differed only in the amount of gold offered.
The winter solstice in June (the seasons are opposite in the Southern Hemisphere) featured the grandest ritual, hardly less magnificent than the coronation ceremony.
The Sun Empire was founded roughly 1,400 years ago. It had seen fourteen generations of kings and countless rituals. Over this vast period, the bottom of Kaka Lake had beco filled to the brim with imasurable gold and jewelry.
These treasures, acting as anchors, would automatically attract greedy souls from across the World Rift to inhabit them. Eventually, this ford the Siren Gibbaro, a collective embodint of countless individuals' greed.
Every piece of treasure on this island might be an incarnation or the true body of the Siren.
And every Descendant of the Sun God containing a large amount of precious tal within them would beco her prey.
The higher their Class, and the greater their Wealth, the more likely she was to strike personally.
Rules: In the Secret Realm, anyone who takes possession of a treasure that doesn't belong to them (property with an owner) will be plagued by a spirit of greed. The tals and inorganic matter within their bodies will grow heavier and heavier. This continues until they are crushed to death and their bodies collapse.
Every Secret Realm had its own rules for killing.
The coronation of a new King happened roughly once every hundred years. The Secret Realm for the trial was chosen randomly from 52 islands. After fourteen such coronations, not even one full cycle through all the islands had been completed, let alone accounting for islands that were selected multiple tis.
Therefore, many Secret Realms had never been entered before, nor were there any records of them—such as this place: the Trial of the Siren Gibbaro.
Without prior knowledge, the rules of this place ant certain death for Molten Giants and Children of the Sun.
Outsiders, with bodies of flesh and blood containing fewer heavy tals, might fare slightly better.
But only slightly.
After all, the main component of bones is calcium, which is also a tallic elent.
The Sun Empire lacked the strict social division of labor found on the Silver Continent, where specialized Adventurers, Prophets, Historians, and Naturalists could interpret such rules.
Anyone whose divination skills were subpar, or who hadn't prepared the necessary tools, was rcilessly eliminated by the Secret Realm within the first hour.
In Byron's view, these pampered princes were far too inexperienced in adventuring. In the fiercely competitive Old Continent, even a Third Order Transcendent, if properly prepared, could hold their own and would not have t such a frustrating end.
The other rules are nothing much, as long as we don't touch those sinister offerings, Byron thought. The only tricky part is that the greedy siren actively pursues and entices wealthy individuals, making her difficult to evade.
Byron had just shared the rules he'd perceived with his two teammates and casually glanced at Atahualpa, the wealthiest individual on the island by far.
But, just as he was thinking this, his fears materialized.
Light footsteps accompanied by the clinking of tal grew louder and closer. Just monts ago, the source was still several kiloters away, but in the blink of an eye, it arrived... behind them!
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