Both families sent in a total of forty people!
How could it be that even the people from Crossbridge Academy are nearly out, while neither of the two families has a single person emerging?
This is simply impossible!
Even if there were something extremely important that prevented them from leaving early, right now…
The secret realm is about to close!
In this situation, how can not a single person have come out?
But the reality is just that.
When Reed, Green, and Nina appeared together, it already indicated one thing:
The secret realm had closed.
At this point, those still inside the secret realm would be expelled one by one, except for the one who ultimately received the reward—Rose.
As for Nora, she had left early, not planning to stay until the last moment.
Instead, Nina was the one who got caught up in the fun and was expelled from the secret realm at the last minute.
At this time, Daniel focused his attention on Rose.
He was curious about what kind of wish would be fulfilled for her.
Through his mind power, he observed that Rose was currently in a dark space.
It seemed that Rose herself didn't know what was going to happen, standing there waiting for the final special reward.
Just then, the surrounding darkness was swept away.
In the sunlight, Rose appeared in another place—Crossbridge Academy!
More precisely, it was the former Crossbridge Academy.
At that time, Daniel had not yet intervened.
Crossbridge Academy still looked like the old place it once was.
Rose's gaze locked onto a tree.
Under the tree was a familiar figure—previous Rose.
She even recalled what she was doing at that moment.
It was when the news of Daniel's father's death had just returned to the academy.
Rose could not accept her grandfather's death and sat alone under the tree, crying.
To the past Rose, her grandfather was a very good person—the best grandfather in the world.
But such a grandfather was about to leave her forever.
She didn't understand why; she only knew that she would never see her grandfather again.
Just thinking about it made her unable to hold back her tears.
Now, seeing this scene again, Rose felt extremely complex emotions.
Perhaps back then, she never thought that things would turn out like this now.
At this moment, a teacher passed by and saw Rose crying alone.
He approached her with concern and asked, "Isn't this Rose? Why are you crying here?"
Rose said through her tears, "I… I can never see Grandpa again; I don't know why he left me forever…"
At that instant, the scene abruptly halted.
It seemed to freeze in time, remaining here indefinitely.
Seeing this, Daniel understood that the special reward the secret realm gave Rose was this!
Rose's grandfather—the cause of Daniel's father's death.
This was also why, at the end of the scene, Rose spoke the words about not knowing why her grandfather left.
Thus, the secret realm would directly provide the reason.
Next, the scene shifted.
A familiar face appeared—Daniel's father.
Due to his injuries and the impending opening of the Mistriver Realm, he decided to go to Mistwood to search for magical items that could aid in his advancement.
The scene then shifted again to the old man discussing matters with several mercenaries.
And just like that, the scene abruptly stopped.
There were no images of him heading to Mistwood or how he was killed by a serpent spell beast.
In short, it felt as if something unexpected had happened here.
Immediately, Rose was transported out of the secret realm.
To be honest, she felt somewhat confused by what she had just witnessed.
Now, Rose actually knew the cause of her grandfather's death—he was killed by a water attribute giant snake while searching for magical items in Mistwood.
This was what those mercenaries who had barely escaped from Mistwood reported.
She heard that her father wanted to investigate the matter some time ago, but eventually set it aside due to the impending Mistriver Realm and other reasons.
Rose didn't expect that the special reward of this Mistriver Realm would be this.
However, when she actually saw those images, everything seemed normal at first.
But when the scene shifted to her grandfather discussing with the mercenaries, something felt off.
And the scene simply froze there without any follow-up.
This was different from before.
When the secret realm showed her the wish she made, after she expressed her ignorance about her grandfather's death, that was a clear ending.
But when showing the cause of her grandfather's death, the pause felt very unnatural!
It didn't feel like a natural conclusion, but more like an interruption!
Then Rose was transported out, leaving the secret realm.
Even now, she was left in a fog.
This reward was too inexplicable!
Daniel stood up from his seat.
His mind power was focused on Rose's situation, and he saw what she saw.
But when he witnessed the cause of his father's death, he discovered something—those images were disjointed!
It was as if they had been edited.
Some content was omitted.
And by the end, it was almost as if they couldn't even be bothered to delete anything; they simply didn't allow it to be viewed and sent Rose out of the secret realm.
Daniel realized that perhaps the death of his father wasn't as simple as it seemed!
Otherwise, the secret realm's reward shouldn't have been like this.
At the very least…
There should have been a complete death scene, right?
Yet now, such a suspicious situation arose.
Since the secret realm could display the scene of Rose crying, it shouldn't have been unable to show the death of Daniel's father.
This indirectly indicated one thing: his father's death indeed had some hidden truths.
At least, it wasn't simply being killed by some serpent spell beast.
Mistwood…
Daniel took note of this place.
When Rose finally emerged with her special reward, the heads of the two families completely fell into madness.
That was twenty people!
And they were the twenty most talented individuals in their families!
Until the end of the secret realm, none of them had appeared.
So there could only be one possibility!
That is, all of them died in the secret realm!
Only this could explain the current situation.
Crossbridge Academy had lost no one.
Twenty people went in, and twenty came out.
Moreover, they had all received special rewards from the secret realm.
Naturally, this meant that the resource distribution for Riverside City and Crossbridge Academy's voice in decisions would be clear.
Those who had arrived nearby early were now crowding around, gasping in shock!
No one expected that this time, the result would be like this!
Crossbridge Academy would be the biggest winner!
Moreover, not only that, but all twenty individuals from Crossbridge Academy who entered the secret realm had come out completely unscathed.
Compared to the other two families, this was a stark contrast.
When Rose finally appeared, it also meant that the secret realm had completely closed.
There was no longer any hope.
Everyone understood what this meant!
The fate of Riverside City was about to change!
No one had anticipated that this time, the ultimate victor—the biggest winner—would be Crossbridge Academy.
In everyone's mind, Crossbridge Academy had always been the underdog.
But this time, they weren't just first; they were first without a second.
Who could have imagined it?
The crowd's emotions were instantly ignited.
Some even began to chant Crossbridge Academy's name.
Or Rose's name.
In contrast to Crossbridge Academy's triumphant return, the other two families were left stunned.
The two families, who had previously competed for first and second place in the secret realm, now stood frozen in disbelief.
Not a single person had emerged alive from the secret realm!