Is this really a Game?!

"It's... monstrous," Mia said, her voice barely above a whisper as she stared at the abomination before them. Its very presence seemed to warp the air around it, casting a dark shadow over the jungle.

The creature was made out of what seemed to be … slime.

Its body was covered in it, and it was constantly moving around the creature, which was walking on two legs, but had no arms, just tentacles that were moving around. Its head was barely visible and there were two small lights that they presumed to be its eyes.

The creature was dark black and currently, it was just standing and sometimes moving, taking a step or two to the side.

Reign clenched his fists, his jaw set in determination. "We can't let that thing roam free," he said, his voice firm. "We have to take it down, the corruption, it has gone inside of it, whatever that thing is can't be good."

The others nodded in agreement, their expressions grim but resolute.

"Gabriel, any additional information?" Reign asked as he and the others continued laying low and staring at the creature, as was the Behemoth, who was doing his best to crouch down and stay out of sight, as impossible as that might be.

"The corruption has indeed gone inside the creature, there's no trace of it left, at least not outside," Gabriel said with a heavy expression.

"The Behemoth, I'm afraid it won't be of much help here."

"The creature is weaker than it, but there is something about it, something that makes both the Behemoth and me feel grave danger from it, and I think it has to do with the corruption and what it had done to create it."

"So, this thing might be what the corruption made to deal with the two of you, like a counter to your powers?" Shadow suddenly asked as Gabriel nodded his head.

"Exactly, I can sense that it isn't that powerful, the Behemoth should be able to take on multiple such creatures and win without many difficulties, and yet, both of us can sense that such a thing wouldn't happen if it truly fought this … this abomination."

Reign and the others nodded with grave expressions as they continued staring at the creature. It was a couple of hundred meters away from them, and right now, it was doing little.

It was looking around, merely walking with slow steps, as if trying to figure out where it was and where to go.

Suddenly, something changed, something on its body seemingly moved.

The creature roared, the roar echoing through the jungle as a pulse of purple energy, which was the exact same as the corruption, spread out from it, and with it, multiple balls of corruption were launched from its body.

Some flew for tens of meters before hitting something or dropping down on the floor while others flew for hundreds of meters before doing so, and upon stopping, Reign and the others widened their eyes in shock and horror as they realized what the balls were.

They were all cores, the same cores that were responsible for corrupted areas, just smaller and weaker.

"It … it can create those things … and spread the corruption?" Tank asked with a gulp as Reign and the others narrowed their eyes at the creature.

"That seems to be the case," Wolf added from the side as he coldly stared at the creature while Reign sighed.

"Then we don't have a choice, huh?"

"Yeah, we have to take it down, we don't know just how many corrupted areas this thing can create, nor do we know how quickly it can grow in power and become a bigger threat, taking it down right now is the best course of action, there's no doubt about it," Beast said as he stood up and grabbed his bow, staring intensely at the creature.

Reign nodded in agreement with Beast's assessment. They couldn't afford to let such a dangerous creature roam free, especially if it had the ability to create and spread corruption. With a determined expression, he glanced at the others, silently communicating their next move.

"We need to take it down," he said, his voice resolute. "But we have to be careful, we have never fought such a monster before, we don't know what it is capable of."

"We have no idea what the creature's strengths and weaknesses are, nor can we be certain that this thing is not more powerful than what we can sense at first."

The others nodded in agreement, their expressions grim but determined. They knew that they were facing a formidable opponent, one unlike anything they had encountered before. But they were ready to face the challenge head-on, as they always have.

As they prepared to confront the creature, they quickly formulated a plan of attack. Reign would lead the charge, using his immense speed and swords to engage the creature up close, as he always did.

Tank and Greenie would follow, doing what they did best, using their strength and immense defense to keep the monster locked down and block attacks for the others. Tank would be the main defender, as always, using his shield to draw as many attacks as he could while dishing out damage with the axe while Greenie used his hammer to beat the monster.

Laura would stay back, attacking with her demonic energy and healing them when necessary, as would Beast, with his bow.

Wolf would go left first and flank the monster, using his greatsword and flames to damage it while Mia would go right before flanking the other side and using her ice and sword to attack it.

Aelrinder would be taking a support role, attacking with his spear from up close when he could, but also using his wind powers to attack from a distance when needed. His power of the stars would be kept hidden until there was a good opportunity to use it, and with it, he would unleash a devastating attack to seriously injure the monster.

As for Shadow, he would be responsible for attacking the monster from behind, with his darkness manipulation, he was the only one except for Reign who could sneak past it and attack it while it was unaware, using his daggers to slash it apart.

With their plan in place, the group braced themselves for the upcoming battle. Each member knew their role and was prepared to execute it with precision and skill. They moved into position, their hearts pounding with anticipation as they faced the monstrous abomination before them.

Reign took the lead, his swords gleaming in the dim light as he charged forward with incredible speed. The creature turned to face him, its eyes glowing with malice as it prepared to defend itself. Tank and Greenie followed closely behind, their massive forms creating a formidable barrier between the creature and the rest of the group.

The creature sensed their approach and turned to face them, its form shifting and twisting in a grotesque display of power. It roared a sound that shook the very ground beneath their feet.

The first attack came from behind as Beast's arrows flew true, striking the creature with deadly accuracy as he stared at the creature with a tense expression.

The arrows, however, did little to the creature.

Even though they were fully charged with mana and imbued with Beast's wind powers, they simply went inside the creature, and that was it, they disappeared.

There was no scream of pain, there was no stumbling that came from the creature, there was nothing as if the creature had simply devoured the arrows without caring for them.

The creature's grotesque body shifted, twisting and turning before the creature made a new form for itself, one that was quadrupedal compared to its previous bipedal form.

With its new form created, the creature roared before charging at Reign who was the closest to it, as well as the one that the creature deemed as the biggest threat thanks to his immense aura.

The abomination moved, and the ground beneath its body cracked and caved in as it launched itself at Reign whose body suddenly got covered by lightning before he disappeared from sight.

The creature crashed against Greenie and Tank who had already braced themselves and managed to stop the creature without being sent flying back.

The creature pushed itself against them before looking back and then suddenly roaring as it saw one of its legs on the ground while Reign was standing some 20 meters behind it.

"That was surprisingly … easy." Reign said as he glanced at the creature.

He barely felt his swords cut through anything, the leg he had severed was just that soft and easy to cut. There were no scales that defended the body, no fur, no tough bones, nothing.

Suddenly, the leg turned into goo and flew toward the monster with speed above even Reign's, quickly attaching itself to the body. The leg that Reign had severed appeared once again, and the creature looked as if it had never lost a leg to begin with.