—
Even without the system notifying Kieran of the Secret Realm entrance, Kieran knew what stood before him. This torii gate's energy signature matched a Secret Realm's unique presence.
Though this wasn't Kieran's first run-in with a Secret Realm or Secret Trial, he was pretty shocked since he had many prepared for the future. Moreover, this was one of the first Secret Realm he came in contact with that didn't require a Realm Key to open.
Even the Arcane Dominion, which admittedly had to be a high-level Secret Realm given the Arcane One's status, required Kieran to collect the Realm Key Fragments.
But once Kieran considered the grading of this trial, he felt it was understandable. A 1.5-star Secret Trial wasn't the most difficult, but it was problematic for his current State of Being.