Alaric held his breath under the surface of the water as the creature yanked him down into the depths of the water. His vision blurred under the low light conditions and his lungs burned due to a lack of oxygen.

The tendrils constricted tight around his legs and neck and it nearly strangled him. Alaric summoned a drop of his root chakra energy, seized the tendril coiled around his neck, and tore it apart.

The creature emitted a guttural moan from somewhere below the depth. It slackened the grip on his legs and withdrew somewhere far below.

So, it wasn’t a snake. More like a giant squid or octopus! With renewed physical energy he rapidly swam to the surface of the lake and exhausted a drop of heart chakra energy to accelerate his healing process. The wounds on his legs began healing much faster.

For some reason, Alaric felt this challenge was much more dangerous compared to the previous challenges.

He recalled George informing him that sometimes, it was possible to discover cultivation resources and other valuable materials inside the Tutorial Rift if one was fortunate. However, such challenges were much more difficult.

The system didn’t offer anything for free. If a cultivator sought some valuable resource, they would have to strive for it.

Hmm…could this Azure Pearl be a valuable resource? He already understood that the challenges inside the Tutorial Rift were custom-tailored by the system.

Alaric grinned. However, it only signified that the system believed Alaric could conquer this challenge, if he exerted himself hard enough. And, he didn’t want to disappoint the system.

Alaric bristled with the energy of the root chakra and heart chakra fortifying his body.

He reformed his spiked mana gauntlet on both of his arms and expanded his senses to the maximum. His danger sense was not a match for [True Vision] ability but it informed him that danger lurked everywhere hidden beneath the lake's surface.

He identified numerous bloodsucking leeches due to their mana signature and a few other creatures that glided deeper.

It seemed that no other creature was eager to confront Alaric after he managed to evade the clutches of whatever dragged him beneath the lake. That creature was probably the alpha of the lake.

I need to acquire a long-range offensive skill. Although Alaric was comfortable with close-range combat, he preferred to wield long-range offensive skills when it was necessary to fight with multiple creatures.

His [Mana Solidification] skill served as a decent close-range offensive skill but that wouldn’t be enough. In fact, it would be difficult to overcome this challenge with the current set of skills and abilities, especially if he had to confront the numerous creatures swimming beneath.

However, Alaric was not disheartened. I don’t need to fight every creature that crosses my path; simply avoid them and locate the Azure Pearl.

He wasn’t going to retreat from this challenge without giving it his all.

When the creature hauled him down, he had observed an area below that gleamed brighter than the rest. He deduced that it was being illuminated by some type of light source. And, that meant there might be another exit somewhere down below.

It was much closer to the exit on the other side of the lake. Thus, Alaric resolved to reach the possible exit down below first.

He expended another precious drop of root chakra and heart chakra to brace for what was to come. Then, he plunged into the lake, propelling himself with tremendous speed to reach the illuminated section deep below.

Alaric detected numerous leeches advancing toward him. However, they were too slow. He was able to evade them easily.

As he descended deeper into the illuminated area, he discerned a few other types of creatures that dwelled below for the first time. Indeed, there were some small snakes and a collection of colorful fishes that steered clear of him.

However, far ahead in the distance, he spotted a massive crocodile-like creature charging at him, eager to make him its snack. This crocodile was covered in a collection of azure crystals that adorned its back.

It swam much faster and closed in on him at a staggering rate. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe that is the true alpha of the lake. Or at least, a close second.

Alaric grinned. Well, come at me if you dare. He extended the spikes of his mana gauntlet a few more inches and reinforced them with more mana. Just as he was about to reach the exit, the crocodile lunged at him with its jaw wide open, ready to swallow him whole.

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Alaric struck it in the side of the jaw, deflecting its face and embedding the spikes of his mana gauntlet into it.

The crocodile bellowed in pain. Alaric swiftly adjusted his trajectory and reshaped the mana gauntlet spikes. Although he had managed to injure it, he concluded that battling it in the water would not be wise.

Besides, he was nearly out of breath underwater and needed to locate the exit soon. The lake grew brighter as he neared the exit, and he noticed the thick tendrils of the squid-like creature drifting toward him.

However, instead of attacking him, the tendrils coiled around the crocodile that charged at Alaric once again.

That was a nice coincidence, or was it? It seemed like the lake had two alphas and they couldn’t tolerate each other. No, scratch that. He detected the presence of many more crocodiles approaching from nearby.

I really need to escape this lake now. Alaric identified an underwater tunnel that was the source of the illumination and darted into it.

He disregarded the sounds of the battle erupting behind him and focused on keeping his body steady against the fluctuating water pressure caused by the conflict.

After a while of gliding through the tunnel, he finally located the exit and hoisted himself up from the water's surface. He emerged inside a medium-sized cave that extended into a tunnel with torches adorning the side walls.

The torches were fueled by some type of magic because they radiated a bright orange hue without any apparent need for oxygen or oil.

So, these were the source of the illumination. Alaric gulped down mouthfuls of stale air to soothe his burning lungs. He figured it would take a while to conquer Lake Gloom.

First, he would have to level up his [Mana Solidification] and [Vital Mana Flow] skills. On that note, he checked the notifications he had ignored earlier.

Ding! Your skill [Mana Solidification] has leveled up. [Mana Solidification lvl 3 -> Mana Solidification lvl 4]

Ding! Your skill [Vital Mana Flow] has leveled up. [Vital Mana Flow lvl 1 -> Vital Mana Flow lvl 2]

Ding! Your skill [Vital Mana Flow] has leveled up. [Vital Mana Flow lvl 2 -> Vital Mana Flow lvl 3]

It was decent progress. After catching his breath, he proceeded towards the tunnels.

His danger sense remained steady, but Alaric continued to scrutinize the area for any creatures. He was a little surprised when he couldn’t detect a single creature. That was very peculiar since for some reason, he couldn’t shake off the feeling that wherever the tunnel led wasn’t any safer.

Nonetheless, he proceeded with caution. After a few minutes of walking, he arrived at the end of the tunnel. A massive metallic door, embedded with runic etchings, was set into the back wall, currently sealed.

Now, what is this? Alaric had anticipated finding a treasure chest with the Azure Pearl. Not an ominous-looking door that led somewhere else. Still, he couldn’t suppress his curiosity and approached the door.

A familiar ding rang in his mind and he immediately checked the system notification that popped up.

Congratulations! You have uncovered a hidden zone - Azure Ruin Arch - within ‘Lake Gloom’.

Warning - Proceed with caution. The ‘Azure Ruin Arch’ is a hidden zone kept concealed from the masses due to its heightened difficulty. Only those favored by the system can uncover such zones if luck favors them. Any mention of hidden zones to unauthorized users is forbidden and could revoke access to it.

Congratulations! You have been granted - Three Tutorial Rift Invite Tokens (Limited Access).

Alaric was completely taken aback. He had never heard of any mention of hidden zones within the Tutorial Rift. Not from his friends, master Vellan, or from any books.

Hmm…I wonder if it is because the system prohibits the sharing of such information. But why would it do so? All of this felt highly suspicious to Alaric.

On one hand, the system helped cultivators to grow stronger. However, it also offered exclusive opportunities to talented cultivators. And, apparently, Alaric wasn’t the only one who was favored by the system. Perhaps, there were numerous ways to earn the favor of the system.

However, he firmly believed that his relationship with the system was far deeper than those who were merely favored by the system. He possessed a signature title that identified him as an ally, after all.

Now, what was stranger was these invite tokens. Alaric summoned the description of the invite tokens into his view.

Tutorial Rift Invite Token (Limited Access) - Grants the owner the ability to send an invitation to other cultivators for delving into the Tutorial Rift together. This invite token has limited access - You and your party can only explore the zone - The Azure Caverns and its associated hidden regions - when delving together.

Note - This information is restricted. Disclosing this information to anyone outside selected party members could revoke access to current and future invites.

Alaric let out a whistle. He knew that adventurers could assemble a party with others when delving into dungeons and rifts. Usually, it was done to tackle more challenging stages and distribute rewards and experience points collectively.

However, everything he had learned about the Tutorial Rift made it seem like cultivators were expected to explore it solo.

There was no mention of Tutorial Rift Invites anywhere. Again, he guessed it was because the system restricted the spread of such knowledge to a select few individuals.

Perhaps, many people are privy to such information. They simply cannot disclose it openly to the masses. Alaric shrugged. Whatever the situation might be, now that he could invite his friends, Alaric was eager to venture into and conquer The Azure Cavern together.

His intuition was telling him that accessing the ‘Azure Ruin Arch’ without a team at his current stage would doom him. On the other hand, he wasn’t entirely sure how to inform his friends about these gifts without raising eyebrows.

Hah…I will blame everything on the system or attribute it to my luck. Alaric chuckled.

Suddenly, he heard another beep in his mind. Now what? He reviewed the notification.

Alert! Your father - Count Eustace de Vermond - has requested your presence. Exit the zone in 5 minutes or you’ll be expelled.

Alaric scratched his cheek. Did I linger too long here today?

He crossed his arms over his chest and racked his mind for some sort of explanation. If his father had summoned him, it must be something serious. Perhaps Alaric was in trouble or had done something to displease his father.

Either way, there wasn’t much time to deliberate, and Alaric exited the Tutorial Rift.