Is this really a Game?!

Days passed, each day grueling for the team, but manageable. They encountered wave after wave of insectoid monsters, including the centipede-like creatures with glaring weaknesses in their soft, fleshy armor. Each battle got easier and easier as they got used to their enemies, none of them posing too big of a threat to the team.

But everything that was going on was making the team feel weird, an ominous feeling spread through the air as they all knew that this would not continue for too long. The jungle was massive, too vast for them to see its end, Beast had actually summoned his wyvern once and flew as high as he could with it in order to see just how large the jungle was, and whether there were any dangers in the air.

The answer was yes, danger was present as there were plenty of flying monsters up, but most were not difficult to deal with, which allowed Beast to spend quite some time in the air, overlooking the entire jungle, seeing how it stretched seemingly endlessly. Soon though, he had to land as he felt the presence of more powerful monsters approaching him and the wyvern.

With how impossibly vast the jungle seemingly was, the challenges in it were too repetitive, they had faced swarms, ambushes, many kinds of monsters, many centipede-like creatures, some bigger and tougher than the previous ones, some smaller but faster than the others, but none had pushed them to their limits.

Then something changed.

Reign was the one who noticed it first.

As they moved through the jungle, having previously carved their way through a nest of insectoids, the air itself seemingly shifted as the heat of the jungle gave way to a chilling cold that bit their skin. The buzzing of insects, and the gentle swaying of the leaves, all disappeared as even the oppressive mist that had cloaked the jungle seemingly recoiled, leaving the air unnaturally still.

"Something is up." Reign said as the team halted, observing their surroundings.

"This drop in temperature is too abrupt to be natural," Mia said as the others continued observing the surrounding area, all of them were on high alert.

"Well, it was about time for something to happen, this has been getting too boring lately," Shadow said as he glanced at the others before they continued moving.

As they moved cautiously through the undergrowth, they emerged into a clearing, unlike anything they'd seen before. The ground was no longer muddy but instead cracked and dry, radiating a faint, bluish glow. Strange, crystalline growths jutted out of the earth, humming with an unnatural energy. The trees around the clearing were blackened, their twisted forms frozen mid-snap, as if caught in some violent explosion.

At the center of the clearing stood a massive, alien structure—a towering spire of what looked like bone and crystal fused together. The spire pulsed with light, casting eerie shadows across the clearing.

"That … wasn't there before, right?" Tank asked as the others all nodded in agreement.

"Definitely not."

"Nope, Beast would have seen it if it was."

"So, were we suddenly teleported to another place, or was this place suddenly teleported over here?" Beast asked as the others all sighed.

"With the system, anything could be possible, it better for us to not think too much about it."

"Yeah, plus, it's not like we're alone, take a look at those things." Reign said as he clenched his swords while they all stared at the spire.

Around its base, countless insectoid monsters were gathered, but these were different. They moved in perfect synchronization, their bodies larger, sleeker, and coated in a silvery chitin that gleamed even in the dim light.

Mia sucked in a sharp breath. "Those aren't like the others."

"No," Reign agreed, narrowing his eyes. "They're stronger, that much is certain, their auras are quite above the previous insects."

As if on cue, the monsters turned as one, their crimson eyes locking onto the team. Their movements were unnervingly deliberate, and they didn't charge immediately as the previous waves had. Instead, they spread out, encircling the clearing.

"Great," Shadow muttered, his voice laced with sarcasm. "They've figured out how to coordinate."

"It seems like they're not only stronger but smarter than the other ones too," Beast stated as he released an arrow, hitting one of the monsters right away, managing to break the chitin, but ultimately not managing to break through it clearly but bouncing off it.

Reign didn't move or speak. His focus was on the spire, which was beginning to vibrate, sending ripples of energy through the ground. He could feel it—a malevolent force gathering within.

"Whatever that thing is, it's the source," he said. "We need to destroy it."

Ding!

[ Hell Trial challenge 1 initiated. ]

[ Locate and destroy the spires of destruction scattered around the jungle. ]

"You couldn't give us the challenge before?!" Reign shouted in anger as he grabbed his swords and got ready to fight.

The insectoids struck first. Their coordinated attack was a flurry of razor-sharp limbs and blinding speed. Tank and Beast moved to intercept, forming a defensive line as the others began their counterattack.

Mia launched a storm of icy spikes, freezing several of the creatures in mid-charge, but the rest adapted quickly, dodging or breaking through her constructs with ease. Shadow's dark tendrils lashed out, grabbing and tearing apart the closest enemies, yet he struggled to keep up with their numbers and speed.

"Laura, focus on healing and supporting us, don't use your energy for attacks, not yet!" Reign called out as he leaped into the fray, his swords a blur of light and darkness. Each swing cleaved through the insectoids' silvery armor, but it took more effort than before. Their chitin was far tougher, and their reflexes unnervingly sharp.
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Wolf joined him, flames erupting from his blade as he carved a fiery path through the swarm.

"Should we try to kill them all, or get to the spire as quickly as we can?"

"Let's go there, I have a feeling that waiting won't prove to be a good choice for us!" Reign shouted as Wolf and the others nodded in agreement.

Reign's decision was swift and absolute. The spire was clearly the epicenter of whatever was happening and could be what was also controlling the insectoids, delaying any longer would only lead to them being overwhelmed.

"Push through!" Reign bellowed, his voice cutting through the din of the battle. "Tank, Greenie, keep the front line tight! Shadow, Mia, suppress their movement! Beast, aim for weak spots to open paths for us!"

The team sprang into action, their coordinated movements honed through endless training. Tank and Greenie slammed their weapons into the ground, creating shockwaves that staggered the advancing insectoids. Mia's ice constructs flared to life, forming walls and barriers to funnel the creatures into narrower pathways. Meanwhile, Beast fired precise arrows, killing the monsters that had already been wounded by Reign and the others, and using more powerful arrows to kill the ones that were not wounded.

As the team pushed forward, the spire's vibrations intensified. The crystalline structure pulsed with a strange energy that radiated outward, strengthening the insectoids' movements.

"They're getting faster!" Laura shouted, her demonic energy flickering around the edges of the group as she poured energy into maintaining a protective barrier.

Reign's blades sang as they clashed with the insectoids' limbs. "It's the spire—it's empowering them! We need to destroy it now!"

The clearing was chaotic, the hum of the spire blending with the hissing cries of the insectoids. The creatures moved with terrifying precision, exploiting every opening in the team's formation.

Reign sidestepped a lunging attack from an insectoid and brought his twin swords down in a cross-slash. The light and darkness energy exploded on impact, bisecting the creature. "We're close! Just a bit more!"

Shadow's voice came from the rear. "Yeah, but they're closing in fast behind us! We'll get pinned if we don't hurry!"

As they approached the spire, the ground beneath them began to crack and shift. Black crystalline tendrils erupted from the earth, lashing out like living whips. One tendril narrowly missed Reign as he darted to the side, his blades slicing through another that came too close.

"It's defending itself!" Wolf shouted, his flaming sword cleaving through a tendril that tried to ensnare him.

Tank swung his axe in wide arcs, smashing the tendrils back. "These things are just as tough as the bugs! What the hell is this thing made of?"

The closer they got, the more the spire seemed to fight back. The tendrils grew thicker, more numerous, and faster, each strike forcing the trio to move with precision and speed.

"Reign, ideas?" Wolf asked, barely dodging another strike.

"Well, there's a gate, so we enter it!" Reign said as the others glanced at him.

"Just like that, we just go in, what about a plan?!"

"No time for a plan, more of these things keep coming out, and we can't be certain that there won't be even more of them soon!" Reign shouted as the others clicked their tongues in frustration, but ultimately nodded and agreed with him as they knew that he was right.