Is this really a Game?!

[Battle has been concluded, distributing experience...]

-  Tier I, lvl 70 Giant Steelplated Centipede, 150 000 exp gained

…

-  Rank S Gauntlets of Ebon acquired

-  Rank S Steel Cloak acquired

-  Rank A Skeletal Prick acquired – halberd

…

[The players have earner 150 000 exp and  8 000 S coins, distributing …]

[The player has earned 25 000 exp and 1 333 S coins ]

[Battle has been concluded, distributing subordinate's experience ]

-  Tier I, lvl 70 Giant Steelplated Centipede, 40 000 exp gained

[ Subordinate has killed 1 monster, 40 000 exp earned ]

The party all gathered around the body of the giant centipede which lay dead on the cold ground of the cave. With the help of the system, they take all the parts of the centipede which were worth anything, to their surprise that turned out to be almost the whole body.

The steel plates of the centipede could be used to forge some armor and even shields while its mandibles, which were unfortunately destroyed, would have been good material for a weapon, just like its legs are. A puddle of blood and brain matter was left on the ground before Beast used his wind ability to blast it outside.

"So, what do you guys think of this place?" Reign asks the other as they all look around the cave. There was no other crevice or path that led to the cave other than the one they came in from. The cave itself was large and could fit a lot of people, they could even build some structures inside or, if they so wished, even expand it later on.

"Even with no safe zone being here, this place is one of the best we can hope to find when it comes to making a base." Wolf nodded as he examined the cave.

"Alright, let's rest up, check the loot, and then we're off to the other two locations." Said Reign as he sat down on the ground, the others did the same and quickly started meditating in order to replenish their mana.

Even though the battle against the centipede wasn't a dangerous one, that was only because all of them went all out when it came to skills, the incredible damage they were able to do even without using any skills that would boost them was thanks to them using up a large portion of their mana.

Even though they had potions that could replenish mana right away, none of them were in a hurry so they didn't use any of them right now.

[ Rank S Gauntlets of Ebon ]

Def: 80

Vitality + 20%

Endurance + 20%

Strength + 10%

Description: A pair of gauntlets that were forged by a master smith. The gloves were forged with precious materials in which a multitude of rare metals and bones of powerful monsters were included in. The user of the gloves will have incredible defense while his body will be strengthened by the gloves and make it more durable. By channeling mana the user can further reinforce the gauntlets and allow them to absorb the shock from collisions and impacts, making it much easier to clash against powerful enemies or to withstand strong attacks.

[ Rank S Steel Cloak ]

Def: 40

Strength + 20%

Endurance + 20%

Vitality + 10%

Description: A cloak made of incredibly light metal that acts like cloth. The cape is incredibly sturdy and will provide good defense for the user while simultaneously making the user stronger and his body more durable. By channeling mana the user can make the cape become more sturdy and control it, manipulating its length and design with ease, making it viable as a weapon or as a means to move around.

"Gauntlets are yours, Tank." Said Reign as he threw the gauntlets at Tank who put them on right away.

"I already have a rank S item, Greenie should get this one." Said Wolf as the others looked at him while Reign held the cape. Since the cape increased strength the most, Wolf and Greenie were the best candidates for it.

"As you wish." Said Reign as he gave the cape to Greenie who put it on.

"Well, shall we?" Shadow said as he got up from the ground and stretched his arms while the others nodded in agreement.

The other two locations they were going to visit were a bit further away, the nearest was about 2.5km ( 1.55 miles ) from their location while the other one was about 3km ( 1.86 miles ) away.

There were no dangerous areas they needed to pass in order to get to the two locations, but they all still made sure to be on alert as danger could come at any moment on the mountain. The closer they got to the location, the more powerful the monsters became, making it clear that perhaps this wouldn't be a good place to make a base as the nearby monsters would be too hard for most players to go against.

Still, compared to the inner parts of the mountain range where Tier I monsters could be seen in abundance and the truly powerful ones were peak Tier II monsters and demons, this was nothing.

Reign and the others knew that the monster range would become the main area where they would fight for quite some time, to find an area that was so large and had so many powerful monsters weren't easy and there was definitely going to be a lot of places for them to explore.

Perhaps they would be able to find some treasures in some of them, while other places might be the lairs of powerful monsters, just like the cave was to the centipede.

On their way to the location, they came across some more Tier I monsters, but similarly to the demons and the mountain pursuers, they were amongst the weakest of Tier I monsters and were no threat to Reign and the others.

Upon finally reaching the location after more than 1 hour of traveling, the party was all confused as there was nothing there. A small field where some goats could be seen munching on the grass while butterflies flew around and stopped on flowers was all that they could see.

"Wolf?"

"I don't know, the demon only said this was another area nobody explored, but he had no idea what it looked like."

"Something is weird here though." Suddenly said Reign as everybody looked at him.

"I mean, goats, really?" Upon hearing Reign's words everybody suddenly came to a realization. It should be impossible for goats, just normal goats to live here, the monsters nearby would have ripped them apart right away.

"Either these goats are really damn strong, which I can sense they aren't, or something weird is going on." Said Reign before suddenly calling for Aethion.

'The demon said anything about this place?'

"No, I managed to pretty much take over his soul, but he knows nothing.' Said Aethion as he looked at the absent-minded demon that was sitting in a cage in front of him.

"What kind of place is it anyway, let me see," Aethion said before using looking out from Reign, upon seeing the field he mused a little to himself before sighing.

"Do I really have to teach you guys everything?" Aethion's voice was suddenly heard in the heads of all of them.

"What, how can you talk with us as well?"

"You guys got through the first evolution, my soul was strengthened as well, which let me do more things compared to before." Aethion quickly explained before continuing.

"Anyway, just channel mana to your eyes and focus on the field, I don't know if all of you will be able to see it, but at least Reign and Shadow should, thanks to their abilities."

The party members all did as Aethion said, and all of them were immediately able to see a difference. Of course for most, what they were now able to see was that the goats, flowers, and butterflies were weird, their bodies flickering a bit as they were actually a sort of illusion, but they weren't able to see anything else.

Reign, Shadow, and Laura on the other hand could.

A 9-meter-tall blob of flesh was situated in the middle of the field, the field itself being a part of its body as the ground was made out of flesh and pulsated a bit.

The horrible view made them all grimace in disgust before they stopped channeling their mana to their eyes in order to stop seeing the monster.

"That monster, it's definitely Tier II right?" Reign asked as he felt cold sweat drenching his back.

"Yeah, it seems like it can create an illusion around its body so that nobody can notice it, from all the flesh in the field, I guess it has already killed hundreds of monsters," Laura said with a dark expression as she stared at the field.

"Alright, we're out." Shadow immediately said as they all quickly moved to the other location. The monster seemed to be stationary and wouldn't attack them or anything else unless they entered the field.

"We dodged a bullet with this one." Said Reign as he took a last glance at the field before leaving with the others.