Is this really a Game?!

As the group continued deeper into the forest, they encountered a variety of creatures, almost all of them hostile, but some were surprisingly docile, showing surprise and even some interest when seeing them. They came across towering trees with trunks wider than houses, their branches reaching high into the canopy, and vibrant flowers that seemed to glow with an inner light.

Along the way, they discovered a hidden waterfall cascading down from a cliff, its waters crystal clear and refreshing. They took a moment to rest and replenish their water supplies, enjoying the tranquility of the forest around them.

Of course, they didn't lower their guard as Reign and the others had sensed the powerful monster that resided deep inside the waters below the waterfall.

The monster didn't show any hostility towards them, even after it had noticed them, so they did nothing to it, merely staying alert and ready to fight if the monster decided to attack them.

As they continued their journey, the group stumbled upon a series of ancient ruins hidden deep within the forest. The ruins were overgrown with vines and moss, their once grand structures now crumbling with age. Despite the decay, there was a mysterious allure to the place, a sense of history and magic that seemed to linger in the air.

Curiosity piqued, the group decided to explore the ruins, careful to watch for any traps or dangers that may be lurking within. As they ventured deeper into the ruins, they discovered intricate carvings on the walls, depicting scenes of battles, rituals, and ancient ceremonies. The carvings seemed to tell a story, though the meaning behind them was lost to time.

This wasn't the first time they had come across ruins, so they weren't all that surprised about the entire thing. Still, even though chances were quite low, they decided to explore them in case they came across something valuable inside.

Reign had something else on his mind, however, as he remembered what happened the last time they came across similar ruins.

Perhaps he could find out more about what happened in the past, back when Raziel was still on Earth, alas, none of the carvings and murals showed anything of the sort.

The ruins seemed to come from some lost civilization that had been lost in time, and the murals and carvings were telling a story about them, about their culture and history.

Reign and the others were interested in finding out more, but unfortunately, about 80% of them were lacking pieces, or they had been erased by the passage of time.

As they explored further, they came across a chamber that seemed to be the central hub of the ruins. In the center of the chamber stood a pedestal, upon which rested a glowing crystal orb. The orb radiated a powerful energy, and they could sense that it was of great significance.

They didn't fully understand what the orb was, but there was a good chance that it was something very valuable, perhaps something that could give them a boost in stats or some other powers.

Reign approached the orb cautiously, his hand reaching out to touch it. He went forward as he had sensed something weird about the orb, not to mention the fact that if there was any sort of hidden attack from the orb, perhaps a soul attack or the like, he was the one best equipped to deal with it.

Just as his hand was about to touch the orb, his eyes widened as his instincts flared up. His entire being screamed that there was danger, and without even thinking, Reign jumped back with all of his might, cracking the floor in front of the orb as a shadow suddenly appeared around it.

Suddenly, the orb started floating, not because it truly was floating, but because it was connected to something.

The shadow showed its appearance, letting them know that it was a monster, a weird one.

The orb was not something that was left on the pedestal, but a part of the monster's body. It was similar to the anglerfish that resided in the depths of the sea.

The orb was merely there to attract other living beings, and to make them lower their guard so that the monster could attack them.

The pedestal was fine, but the place where Reign had previously stood was destroyed, a thick, bladed leg piercing through the floor.

The group quickly sprang into action, recognizing the danger they were in. The monster, a grotesque creature with multiple bladed legs and a long body with the orb dangling in front of its face, which had a large mouth with many razor-sharp teeth, was unlike anything they had encountered before. It moved with surprising speed, its bladed legs slicing through the air with deadly precision.

Reign, having narrowly avoided being impaled, landed on his feet and immediately prepared to face the monster. The others spread out, immediately surrounding the monster that was charging at them.

The monster lunged forward, its bladed legs slashing at them with ferocity. Tanks and Greenie took the brunt of the attack, their sturdy defenses holding against the onslaught. Laura unleashed blasts of demonic energy, aiming for the monster's body, while Mia and Aelrinder provided support with ranged attacks, both using their abilities to strike the monster from afar while the others battled it.

Beast used his agility to dodge the monster's attacks, striking back with his bow and arrows. Wolf unleashed torrents of fire, trying to engulf the monster in flames while swinging his huge sword, clashing against one of its bladed legs. Shadow moved with stealth and precision, aiming for the monster's weak spots with his daggers.

The monster's body seemed to be relatively soft at first glance, but it was nothing of the sort. The 10 bladed legs of the monster were covered in carapace while the rest of the body was covered in thick hairs.

The hair that covered the body of the monster was surprisingly sturdy and tough, allowing it to stay relatively unharmed against their attacks, only receiving some light wounds.

The legs were each massive, being about 2.5 meters long, and quite heavy.

Wolf, who had immense strength, was actually struggling a bit to push back a leg after clashing with it, and his fire, which was usually highly effective against monsters that had a body like this one, was not working as he thought it would.

The flames would try to burn the hairs of the monster, but they were surprisingly resistant to it, with only a few hairs being burned and some being blackened by the fire.

Reign immediately joined the battle, charging forward with his two swords, evading two bladed legs that swung at him before slashing at the orb that dangled in front of the monster's face, only for his eyes to widen as he sensed danger once again.

He quickly crossed his swords and positioned them in front of his chest as the monster opened its mouth, and two teeth that were at the front seemingly detached themselves and attacked Reign.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that the teeth were not teeth at all, but mandibles. The monster was able to put them inside its mouth and make them look like teeth, which it used to trick unsuspecting opponents into getting close to it so that it could attack them with the mandibles, just like it had done to Reign right now.

Thankfully, Reign was able to sense danger ahead of time, thus managing to position his swords to the front and block the mandibles that came from the left and right.

Right now, his swords were pushing against the mandibles while his arms shook as he was using his full strength to push back.

It was a familiar sight to many of his teammates as a similar thing had happened in the first challenge, back when they went to the mountain and entered a cave that went further below.

They had fought against the giant queen spider who had done the same thing to Reign, holding him up in front of her face with her mandibles in an attempt to cut him in half and eat him.

Unfortunately for this monster, however, the Reign in front of it was not the Reign that fought the queen spider, after all, he was much more powerful now.

Reign stared at the monster's face with a dangerous smile before lightning erupted from his hands, soon followed by light that turned the lightning milky white.

The lighting clashed against the mandibles, slowly making them change in color, turning from white to orange as the lightning was incredibly hot.

The monster could feel the heat, and the pain that came with it, and tried to push against Reign further, but he continued holding the mandibles back.

The others didn't stay idle either, however, and a couple of attacks were already launched at the monster's face, as well as its mandibles.

"Let's see how can last longer, huh?" Reign asked with a smile on his face as the attacks arrived.

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