Becoming an adventurer by copying monster abilities

Chapter 96 Secret Realm

This mysterious deity, lurking in the dark hall, seemed to pay special attention to Luke.

So far, he has not done anything that has truly endangered his life.

The last time the black mark on his wrist emitted such an intense burning sensation, it gave him the "Deadly Touch," which he can now use as a trump card.

Therefore, when the black mark once again emitted that familiar burning pain, it seemed to be urging Luke to hurry into the cave.

He had already made up his mind to leave, but his steps suddenly stopped.

Could there really be something good inside?

Reason told him that the Sunset Forest was eerie and he shouldn't linger there.

However, at this moment, his location was actually a safe buffer distance from the depths of the forest where the terrifying fluctuations had just erupted.

Moreover, after such a long time, there seems to be no further alarming repercussions from that side.

the most important is.

Since we're already here...

Luke hesitated for a moment, then decided to go in and find out.

He never considered himself a cautious person when faced with situations where the potential gains outweighed the risks.

He wouldn't mind giving it a try.

However, before taking action, he still needed to clean up the traces of the battlefield.

Luke walked to the owl bear's massive carcass and used his half-sword to cut off its huge forepaws.

With a slight thought, he stored it in the remaining space of the bronze ring.

Compared to the hind paws, the front paws look thicker and have stronger, sharper nails, which might be worth some money.

As for the remaining remains of the owl bear, Luca found a soft pit nearby and kicked it in.

Cover it slightly with soil and cover it with dead branches and decaying leaves.

To avoid the stench of the corpse attracting other monsters and surrounding you as you venture deeper into the cave.

After disposing of the body, Luke, carrying his half-sword, stepped into the cave.

To his surprise, the interior of the cave was much larger than he had imagined.

The passageway was long, and the slope became increasingly steep as one walked forward.

The surrounding space opened up, and the originally rough natural rock walls were gradually replaced by smooth cut surfaces.

Finally, at what seemed to be the end of the passageway, a very neat set of downward steps appeared.

The steps are entirely constructed from a special type of grayish-white stone.

It formed a strong contrast in color and texture with the brown and black dirt path we had walked through earlier.

The gray-white staircase winds its way down until it disappears completely into the darkness, with no end in sight.

It is obvious that these are traces of artificial excavation.

Luke stopped, took a torch from his storage space, and lit it with a flint and steel.

The torches weren't for lighting, since Luke possessed a special ability to see in the dark, making his vision virtually identical to that in daylight.

The main purpose of lighting torches is to test the oxygen concentration in the underground space.

After all, although his current strength far exceeds that of ordinary people, he has not escaped the scope of conventional carbon-based life forms.

If he were to step into a deadly place filled with poisonous gas or with thin oxygen, he would also suffer severe consequences.

Fortunately, the flame on the torch flickered very steadily and brightly.

The underground air circulation system appears to be extremely sophisticated, with ample oxygen.

Step by step, up and down the stairs, I don't know how long I walked before the scene before me changed.

After descending the last step, you can see that the ground is not solid soil, but a floor paved with gray-white stone slabs.

Judging from its appearance, this place has been transformed into a small square.

At the far end of the stone wall directly in front of the square, a magnificent and enormous stone gate stands prominently.

The heavy stone door panels are carved with intricate patterns that possess a wild beauty.

Among these patterns, some ancient common phrases, which are severely weathered, are faintly engraved.

I could barely recognize words like "arena," "trial by blood," and "glory."

Over countless years of erosion, the stone gate has become integrated with the surrounding hard earth and stone.

Luke tried to push it.

Even if he were alone, and even if he brought back the bear from before, the two of them working together probably wouldn't be able to move the stone gate an inch.

Did I make a wasted trip?

Just as Luke was at his wit's end, he heard a somewhat chaotic sound of footsteps.

I turned around and looked back.

Two flames, accompanied by three figures, were descending the steps toward the underground plaza.

Luke was also holding a burning torch, so the other party obviously noticed his presence immediately.

The three men, who were already armed, instantly assumed their fighting stances and slowly approached Luca.

Soon, the three of them stopped not far from Luke.

Luke, however, had long ago used his dark vision to observe the visitors clearly.

The warrior at the head, clad in ring armor and wielding a single-handed sword, was likely the strongest member of the squad, judging from his sword-wielding posture and the murderous aura emanating from him.

He is undoubtedly a professional, and certainly more than one level.

Secondly, there was the ranger standing at the left rear of the group, holding a longbow, who kept his arrows nocked in the darkness.

His eyes were sharp, his breathing was steady, and he also possessed a certain level of skill.

As for that guy with the dagger and unsteady steps, he looked only slightly stronger than an ordinary person.

The opponent had already entered his attack range, and Luca had already considered several attack routes in his mind.

Should we prioritize dealing with the ranger, or kill the guy with the dagger first and use him as a springboard for "Bloodstained Rampage"?

However, if that man didn't have any special abilities, he shouldn't have formed a team with other professionals.

Therefore, Luke was still considering the possibility that the other side was feigning weakness and pretending to be weak in order to take advantage of the situation.

After all, I quite like using this trick myself...

"Don't be nervous, friend."

The leading male soldier on the opposite side spoke first, breaking the heavy atmosphere.

"To be honest, our team has been investigating this place for a long time. Everything has its order, so if you just wandered in here out of curiosity, you'd better leave now before we change our minds."

What men say is pure nonsense.

In fact, if Luke hadn't happened to break through the rock wall, revealing the entrance to the cave...

Given the meager special abilities of the "treasure-hunting thief" in their team, even if they could find this place, it would probably take them several days.

As the captain spoke, he also carefully examined Luca.

He observed that Luke still had a lot of dark red bloodstains on his body.

However, his complexion was rosy, his breathing was steady, and he clearly did not suffer any fatal injuries that would affect his combat effectiveness.

To escape from the pursuit of an owl bear, and even emerge unscathed, the opponent must be quite powerful.

Therefore, he said these words, which were half persuasion and half threat, in order to test the other party's attitude.

Of course, the man assumed that Luke had shaken off the pursuit of the Owl Bear and then rushed into this place in a panic.

If he were to see the wretched corpse of the owl bear, his tone would likely become more respectful and humble.

"Do you know how to open this door?"

Luke became interested upon hearing this, seemingly ignoring the man's warning, and said, "This door is sealed off, and there doesn't seem to be any mechanism or anything like that nearby."

After saying this, Luke took a few steps to the side, stepping aside from the stone gate, gesturing for the other person to come and take a look.

Seeing Luke's innocent and curious expression, the three of them were speechless for a moment.

They didn't know if the other person was genuinely naive or deliberately playing a trick on them.

The squad leader held his longsword horizontally across his chest, his face darkening. He scoffed, "Are you kidding us?"

Luke gave a half-smile: "You guys were the ones who started this joke with me."

Although he hasn't been an adventurer for very long, Luca has already adapted very well to the various jungle laws of the adventurer world.

If you don't act assertively when the other party is clearly trying to seize resources.

Then they will only be taken advantage of by these greedy and insatiable people.

Even if Luke obediently leaves, there's no guarantee that the other party won't suddenly launch an attack.

Moreover, he didn't believe the other party had found this place first and had no intention of giving in.

For a time, tensions rose between the two sides.

At that moment, the patterns carved on the surface of the long-silent stone gate began to flow spontaneously without being triggered by any external force, emitting faint light.

As the light within the patterns converged and moved, the two enormous words carved from the universal language became exceptionally clear.

"duel".

"glory".

"Boom!"

Immediately afterwards, the stone gate began to tremble and rumble.

The gaps that had blended seamlessly with the stone wall began to loosen, followed by the sound of dust and stones falling.

The sudden strange phenomenon left the three people standing opposite Luke momentarily stunned.

Luke, however, quietly took a step forward.

Now that the other party has shown hostility, this is the best time for him to make his move.

Just as Luca's muscles tensed instantly, preparing to activate [Stealth Evasion] to take down the ranged professional,

A dazzling light suddenly burst forth from the crack in the already violently loosened stone gate.

This beam of light carried an irresistible force of law, and in an instant, it completely engulfed the entire underground plaza.

Everyone, including Luke, felt a sudden flash of light before their eyes, followed by a wave of intense dizziness.

He then completely lost consciousness.

When Luke opened his eyes again, he found himself in a room made of stone bricks.

The room was simply furnished, with only a wooden bed.

There was no door; instead, there was a fence made of some unknown black metal.

Through the gaps in the fence, one can see the view outside.

Outside the fence was a very large, oval-shaped area.

The ground of the venue was paved with rough, dark red stone slabs that had been stained with blood for countless centuries.

It was surrounded by high walls.

Above the high wall are rows of circular grandstand seats that extend upwards like steps.

Combining this with the inscription on the stone gate he had seen earlier, Luke understood what this place was.

This is an arena.

But why is he here?

Before I could think for long, a deafening sound came from outside.

The sound was eerie, a mixture of countless frenzied shouts and cheers, and the heavy rumble of massive machinery at work.

It was as if the high-walled stands were now filled with bloodthirsty spectators eager to watch the gladiatorial combat.

As a bell rang, the specially made metal fence in front of him began to slowly rise.

It seemed to be announcing that the gladiatorial combat had officially begun.

Luke came out of the room carrying his longsword.

On the edge of the field directly opposite him, a metal gate slowly rose.

The three-man squad that had confronted Luke earlier emerged from inside.

The three emerged from the darkness, their faces showing no fear, but rather excitement and exhilaration.

The distance wasn't too far; Luca could barely hear their conversation: "A secret realm! Boss, this is definitely a secret realm!"

The "treasure thief's" eyes gleamed as he tapped and banged on the gray-white floor tiles from time to time.

Even the usually silent wanderer was now extremely excited.

Clearly, they have some understanding of this special place.

At this moment, the circular tiered stands were completely empty, with nothing at all.

But the deafening, almost tangible cheers still echoed in the air above the arena.

It constantly ignites the most primal killing desires within everyone.

They also noticed Luke walking out from the opposite side.

The burly warrior captain drew his broadsword from his waist.

His eyes no longer held any awe for the unknown, only an extreme fervor for the secret treasure.

"It seems this secret realm wants us to have a duel, which suits my purposes perfectly."

No one present felt that it was unfair to have three against one.

Luke didn't think so either.

At the same time, he felt that there was nothing unfair about the sneak attack.

After getting a little closer to a certain range, I confirmed that my [Stealth Dodge] skill could instantly appear behind the opponent.

He had already taken action.

Immediately, a look of surprise appeared on Luke's face.

The [Stealth and Evasion] ability is no longer working!

Not only [Fleeting Evasion], he also tried to activate [Imagination Manifestation] or other combat techniques.

That feeling of being able to freely mobilize power has quietly vanished without a trace!

On the other side of Luke, the three men who were preparing to make their move also noticed something amiss.

After a brief moment of surprise, the ranger with the longbow, under the captain's command, launched the first attack!

Even in this secret realm, everyone has lost the ability to use extraordinary combat skills and spells.

But he can still use his archery skills honed over many years to launch long-range attacks!

"Whoosh!"

Without the slightest hesitation, the bowstring emitted a cracking, resonant sound.

In an instant, Luke was put on the defensive!

However, Luca's physical abilities, which far surpass those of other professionals of the same level, and the experience he gained in battle still remain.

He decisively slid to the side, letting the arrow whistle past the edge of his steel armor.

There were no shelters in this vast arena.

Therefore, Luke, having lost the initiative, decided to charge straight ahead as fast as possible!