After Raven Shaw killed the Greenback Croc, the biggest headline—aside from the rewards she and Adrian Vale received—was the 100× manifestation back in Dragon Nation.
That's right.
Once the two of them became the lords of that oasis, the next thing to follow was the resource's 100× manifestation.
Just like what happened to Miracle Nation before—
the moment the Will of Blue Star announced it, Dragon Nation trembled faintly.
But this time, Dragon Nation's citizens already knew what it meant.
No one panicked.
And sure enough—
not long after the tremors faded, a brand-new green land appeared out of thin air somewhere within Dragon Nation's territory.
Fresh grassland. Shrubs. Trees. A stable freshwater source.
A massive oasis—expanded to a hundred times its size—had manifested into reality.
In an instant, the whole country exploded with emotion.
"It's real! It really manifested!"
"Ha! Weren't Miracle Nation's people acting smug earlier? Now we've got it too!"
"With resources like this, Dragon Nation finally isn't hanging by a thread!"
"I told you! Our competitors wouldn't let us down!"
"And look at the Points Leaderboard—we're still way ahead! At this rate, surpassing Miracle Nation and becoming the world's number one is only a matter of time!"
It wasn't just ordinary citizens celebrating.
At the highest level, Dragon Nation's leadership was just as fired up.
In the top conference room—
the nation's leader took the report from Victor Hale and couldn't hide his joy.
"I didn't think it would really manifest… a hundredfold, just like that!"
Even with Miracle Nation as proof, seeing it happen inside Dragon Nation still felt unreal.
Victor Hale—rarely someone who smiled—let one show anyway.
"Sir, the resources have indeed manifested within our territory. It's a major win."
"…Yes. A major win."
The leader nodded—then his expression tightened slightly.
Because there was still a problem.
Right now, Dragon Nation had thrown nearly everything it had into this.
The brightest minds. The sharpest analysts. Field experts. Survival specialists.
They'd formed an expert team that worked day and night, pumping out strategy after strategy—doing everything possible to help Adrian Vale and Raven Shaw survive, and dominate.
But those two…
still weren't reading the live chat.
And that made things difficult, even for a nation-state machine.
Of course, Dragon Nation wasn't the only country doing this.
After what everyone had seen, practically every nation on Blue Star scrambled to form professional expert teams of their own.
And with Miracle Nation and Dragon Nation taking the lead, the rest of the world began to feel the pressure.
Because inside the Divine Domain: Forbidden Zone, one step ahead became ten steps ahead.
When you were still struggling for an F-rank resource, someone else might already be preparing to hunt D-rank territory.
Not to mention the weekly settlement of the Points Leaderboard—
that alone was enough to drive countries into a frenzy.
Not only were national leaders feeling it…
even the competitors inside the Divine Domain: Forbidden Zone could sense the urgency.
So in a surprisingly short time, things inside the Divine Domain: Forbidden Zone began to shift.
With expert guidance and constant trial-and-error, more and more teams started making progress.
Competitors across the map began finding resources one after another—
mostly F-, some F, and only a tiny handful reached F+.
At the same time, a pattern became obvious:
Almost every resource point was guarded.
If you wanted to claim it, you first had to kill the guardian creature stationed there.
Sometimes the guardian matched the resource's rank.
Sometimes it didn't—like an F-rank resource guarded by a swarm of F- creatures.
But the rule stayed the same:
Clear the guardians, and the resource became yours.
And the more competitors discovered, the clearer something else became—
most low-rank Divine Domain creatures didn't possess much intelligence.
That one fact made a world of difference.
Because human beings didn't have claws or armor… but they had strategy.
Even if there was a gap in raw power, traps, ambushes, terrain manipulation, and coordinated tactics could still turn the tables.
It was an overwhelming advantage.
In short—
with national expert teams running at full speed, the Divine Domain: Forbidden Zone stopped being pure chaos.
The competitors slowly found a rhythm.
Even teams that never received attribute boosts still managed to grow stronger through gear, supplies, knowledge, and experience.
And if that continued…
eventually, they'd be able to challenge higher-ranked creatures too.
It was almost—
almost—
like the Divine Domain: Forbidden Zone was blooming into a new order.
But even with expert teams and growing experience…
deaths never stopped happening.
That brutal truth kept reminding everyone what this place really was.
A single mistake here didn't just cost a life.
It could cost an entire nation.
And in the midst of that relentless danger—
Dragon Nation remained firmly at the top of the Points Leaderboard.
Still in first place.
Still far ahead of Miracle Nation.
While the outside world erupted and competitors surged forward…
Adrian Vale had also taken a massive step.
Just as the Portrayal System announced—
his Portrayal Sync had reached 30%.
And as he quietly assessed the changes inside his body…
he confirmed what he'd already sensed earlier.
His kagune had evolved again.
Before this, even at full release, Adrian could only control three kagune tendrils.
But after the 30% breakthrough—
he could now manifest four.
One extra tendril didn't sound like much.
But Adrian knew better.
This wasn't a simple "three plus one equals four."
It was a qualitative leap—an expansion of his control, coverage, and killing power.
And beyond the kagune—
his physique had strengthened again as well.
Every part of him had become sharper, denser, more dangerous.
Yet none of that showed on his face.
He still wore that withdrawn, unreadable expression—
as if no one in the world could ever guess what he was thinking.
While Adrian was still feeling out his newly evolved power…
Raven Shaw returned with water.
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