Ruinous King (RSSG x Male Reader)

Chapter 7: Hollow Crown

System: You've discovered the Hallow Caverns Secret Land. All contact with the outside world is restricted. If you die, you will respawn within the Hallow Caverns. Defeat the Guardian Boss of the Hallow Caverns to escape. Strange energies permeate the Caverns. If you cannot escape within 48 hours, your soul shall crystallize for eternity.

The system notification resounded in his ears, creating a deafening reality in the crystallized silence.

A grim look instantly overtook (Y/N)'s face.

"A Secret Land..." (Y/N) repeated the words bitterly, glancing over the massive caverns around him. Tricolored crystals emerged to all sides, and furthermore, he could spot several dozen types of monsters roaming around the massive caverns.

Danger and destiny do indeed go hand in hand, (Y/N) couldn't help the bitter smile that rose to his face.

"It's surprising, but I guess anything can happen. Although, I didn't expect to encounter a Secret Land just hours after God's Domain's launch." (Y/N) furrowed his brow in thought, confusion clearly shown in his golden orbs.

Secret Lands were just as the name implied. Lands of old forgotten by the current era, ruins of an old age that were forgotten by the new age. However, just because they were forgotten doesn't mean they ceased to exist - rather, they simply require certain conditions to be met before they could be found. However, what were the conditions for the Hallow Caverns?

Even (Y/N) didn't know.

After all, even in the past, he'd never heard of a Hallow Caverns Secret Land.

Secret Lands were both a great opportunity and a great calamity. Although Secret Lands had a high chance of bearing extraordinary treasures, they had just as high a chance to bring a person to ruin.

"Putting that aside, this Secret Land sure is ruthless. It doesn't even allow Players the option to give up once they've entered." (Y/N) swiftly scanned the area for a similar vortex as the one he'd entered, but found nothing. It seemed the Hallow Caverns was isolated.

"Now that I think about it...is this an Otherworld?"  After a moment of thought, the possibility popped up into his mind. Otherworlds were just as their names dictated - worlds separate from the main continent that existed within the game.

Otherworlds could be entire civilized worlds, or they could be mere instances used in a certain scenario. Regardless, Otherworlds had one defining feature - opportunity!

An Otherworld was something that all Players pined to explore, moreso to pioneer! The chance to encounter treasures unheard of in the main continent in an Otherworld were high regardless of the Otherworld's rank, hence Players had often sought them out in hopes of becoming rich overnight.

However, how rare were Otherworlds?

Even in the past, Otherworlds had been heavily contested by the major powers whenever one had been found, and moreover, rarely anyone would leak the appearance of the Otherworld to unaffiliated powers, if anything, Guilds treated Otherworlds like a lifeline - they would never allow others to find out about them if possible.

"Hah. I wonder if this is what it feels like to be one of the Main God System's favorite children?" (Y/N) couldn't help the cocky smirk that crawled to his lips, a challenging glint rising to his eyes. Not only had he already reached Level 9, but furthermore, he'd founded an Otherworld so soon! Other Players simply couldn't compare to his luck.

"Actually, are Otherworlds even supposed to exist this early into the game?" The question suddenly popped up into his mind. Otherworlds were usually major events regardless of their rank, hence one appearing so early certainly set off a few alarms...