Is this really a Game?!

Wolf's flaming sword came down with devastating force, cleaving through the air as he slashed down on the Alpha, the chaos flames causing the surrounding temperature to increase tremendously.

For a brief moment, an explosion of flames and dark energy took place, the two powers clashing against one another as the ground beneath the alpha cracked from the immense power. The body of the Alpha jerked violently, the Alpha howled in pain from the impact, and then, the shadowy shield around its body cracked and broke, finally gone thanks to the combined might of Shadow, Reign, and Wolf.

With the shield gone, Wolf's sword was able to cut through the body of the Alpha, cutting deep and burning the inside and outside of the large wolf's body, searing its muscles and skin with the relentless heat they possessed.

The Alpha thrashed wildly in order to shake off the assault, but it was too late. The black hole was nearing its end, but it still managed to pull away the skin and flesh from below, causing the innards of the Alpha to spill out while Reign's lance stabbed deep in the body, with Reign being careful not to go too deep and dirty himself.

He then decided to let go of the lance, pulling his arm and sword back before hitting the end of the lance, which had started dissipating, with his left palm, pushing it deeper inside the body, frying the Alpha from the inside.

With a final cry of pain and hatred, the Alpha froze, and then collapsed on the ground, its body still twitching thanks to the lightning and the flames still burning its body.

"That wasn't easy, I believe this is the first time we have come across a wolf that has such an ability." Shadow said as Reign nodded before glancing to the side, looking at Greenie and Aelrinder.

Their battle had ended as well. Upon noticing that Reign, Shadow, and Wolf had no problem finishing off the Alpha, the others had attacked the wolves as well, ending their lives with ease as they didn't pull back any punches.

"Now, would you kindly explain what the hell that was?" Mia asked Reign and the others who stared at her with confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"You and wolves, what the hell was that reaction?"

Reign chuckled softly at Mia's question, shaking his head as if she had asked something incredibly simple yet difficult to explain. He wiped the sweat and blood from his brow, sheathing his swords as the battlefield around them settled into a tense silence.

The Alpha was dead, its body still twitching slightly as the last remnants of life left it, and the remaining wolves had either fled or been dispatched.

"You want to know why we reacted like that?" Reign asked, still catching his breath from the battle. He glanced at Wolf and Shadow, both of whom were sharing tired but knowing looks. "It's… complicated."

"Complicated?" Jin chimed in, standing beside Mia and looking equally baffled. "You all looked like you were on autopilot back there. And I get it, we've fought wolves before, but what was that? It was like you guys had faced a thousand of them before."

Reign sighed deeply, nodding. "That's pretty much it. We've fought so many wolves—more than I care to count. It's almost like the system has this obsession with throwing wolf-type creatures at us. Every time we're in a new area or trial, there they are—wolves. It's become so routine that we've practically developed a sixth sense for them."

"Exactly," Shadow added, sheathing his daggers and giving a tired smirk. "At first, it was annoying, but after a while, we just… adapted. Every time we face wolves now, it's like muscle memory kicks in. We don't even have to think about it."

Mia crossed her arms, a skeptical look on her face. "So, you're telling me that you've fought wolves so many times that you just automatically go into 'wolf-killing mode'?"

"Pretty much," Wolf said, cracking his knuckles. "It's like clockwork. We know how they move, how they attack, and even their pack dynamics. It's all ingrained in us now."

Beast, who had been silently retrieving his arrows from the battlefield, chimed in. "It's true. We've fought wolves in so many forms: regular wolves, dire wolves, shadow wolves, fire wolves, you name it. They come at us in every imaginable form. It's almost as if the system thinks it's funny to keep sending them our way."

Mia let out a disbelieving laugh, shaking her head. "That's... absurd. But now that you mention it, I guess I have seen a lot of wolf-type monsters ever since I joined you guys."

"See? It's not just a coincidence," Reign said with a smirk. "It's like we're cursed. A never-ending loop of fighting wolves. That's why when we heard the howling, we all just… switched into that mode."

"It's always wolves," Shadow muttered, shaking his head as he scanned the treeline, as if expecting more to appear any second.

"Ummmm … do you guys sense that?" Shadow suddenly asked as he pointed at the forest while glancing back at Reign and the others, who all sighed.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Wolves."

"Yes, wolves, of course."

"I knew it wouldn't end with the Alpha."

"Yeah, too easy, not strong enough to be called a challenge in a Hell Trial."

The group started talking, once again going into the same 'wolf-killing mode' as they were in previously, except for Mia and Jin, of course.

Even Aelrinder had gotten used to fighting wolves and was acting in a similar manner to Reign and the others.

"They're not coming out." Beast said as they all observed the forest.

"They're wolves, they're smart, they saw us slaughter this entire pack and their Alpha, so they know that facing us won't be easy, that death is all that awaits them." Reign said with a serious expression on his face before sighing.

"That means we'll have to go in if we wish to face them now, it will definitely be harder to fight them on their home turf, but if we don't do that, we'll definitely be facing guerilla tactics from them, and I bet there's multiple packs in the forest, led by god knows what manner of creature."

"You think there's something other than the Alpha leading them?" Beast asked Reign who nodded his head.

"This was one pack, led by an Alpha, and we managed to take it down without having to use our marks."

"Now, if we were to fight multiple packs at once, we would definitely need to go all out, use our marks and all of that, but the danger still wouldn't be at the same level as it was in the previous trials, and I refuse to believe that the system would give us anything easier."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Wolf said with a nod of his head.

"So, that means we have two options, go to the forest and take all the monsters down, effectively ending the trial ahead of time and getting some rewards from the system for doing so, or wait here, defend against the wolves who will attack us using guerilla tactics, which will ultimately culminate into all of them coming out of the forest and attacking the ranch with whatever is leading all the packs and Alphas." Jin stated before sighing.

"Neither choice is easy, if we go in the forest, we will have to face a powerful enemy in an hostile environment that we know nothing about, but if we stay here, we will spend the entire day defending, on edge at when the next attack might arrive, and how powerful the final clash will be, not to mention that we need to make sure the wolves don't get close to the ranch, if they do, the animals will definitely panic and start wrecking the place."

"None of us are used to being on the defensive, I think the reason why the system has given us these choices is because of how we usually tackle the challenges we face." Reign stated as he stretched his arms and exhaled deeply.

"Yeah, it's not our style, to patiently wait to be attacked."

"Definitely not."

"Hostile territory huh, well, it's not like we haven't gone to such places before." Tank said with a grin as he grabbed his shield and stared at the forest with an expression of conviction.

"Right, we just go in, make sure we don't relax, and take out the wolves, no matter how many there are." Shadow said with a yawn as he stretched his body and stared ahead, a wide smile on his face.

"Alright, shall we?" Reign asked as the others all moved forward, calmly walking to the forest. They felt several auras from inside the forest, as well as the gazes of multiple monsters, which all receded and then disappeared as they got closer to the forest before ultimately entering it.

"Let's see just how dangerous this place will be."