Is this really a Game?!

The six had all taken the evolution challenge, which was surprisingly easy this time around as it only needed them to take down a Tier III being this time, only one.

It was only when they found a weak Tier III monster to fight that they realized that the challenge was not easy at all. The more powerful one became, the bigger the difference between Tiers, except for the first two where the second actually gave a bit less of a bonus compared to the first.

The third, fourth, and following evolutions didn't exactly double the stats, but at that point, the stats that they had would be so high that even an increase of 10% would be a noticeable boost, not to mention more.

It was their base stats that would improve, which meant that the bonuses they would get from the items would be higher as well, making the total increase in power even more than double.

A Tier III monster was incredibly powerful and Reign and the others not only had to go all out but also had to put their very lives on the line in order to win.

In the end, Reign had a broken arm, multiple broken ribs, and a large gash on his stomach, while his left leg was shattered and barely there. It took Laura a lot of effort to heal him enough so that he wouldn't die.

It wasn't only Reign that was seriously injured as the others actually didn't fare much better.

Tank had his ribs all broken and a hole in his chest from which one could see the heart. His left shoulder was half-gone as the monster had penetrated it with its claws.

Shadow couldn't walk at all as both of his legs were broken, while his right arm was only hanging next to him as it was attached to his body by a little bit of skin as the monster had almost completely cut it off.

Wolf's arms were broken, his left leg was broken, his stomach was cut open and one could see his intestines.

Greenie was also in a bad state, his left arm and right leg were broken while his right leg had a hole in it. There was a big gash on his face and he was bleeding profusely.

Only Laura and Beast were somewhat fine, but they still had injuries that were not light at all.

Upon realizing that going back to the territory would be difficult and life-threatening, the party all decided to start the evolution process here.

The aura of the monster, plus the battle that had just taken place meant that no monster should be coming here for some time.

It was dangerous to evolve in such a state, but Reign and the others were fully confident of making it through it.

Evolving didn't only mean becoming stronger but changing their entire bodies from the inside out.

Old injuries would get healed as the evolution process would make the body of the evolver in perfect shape.

That was their only chance at this moment as they doubted that they would survive the trip back to the territory.

Fighting against the Tier III monster that they believed was a weak one turned out to be a mistake.

The monster was without a shred of doubt a weak Tier III monster and that had cost them dearly.

Laura had seen battles between Tier III beings, and she would classify the monster they had gone up against as lower-end Tier III, but one that was higher up compared to other lower-end Tier III monsters.

That meant that the monster's level was probably around 220 - 230, much higher than what they presumed it would be. In the end, however, they managed to defeat it.

It was only thanks to them saving everything they had for this battle that they managed to win. All their skill boosts and even some life-saving potions and concoctions were used in order to win the battle and survive.

Evolution was the next step and it took them 10 hours to go through it. Tank and Reign had the most difficulty with the evolution.

Wolf and Shadow, although they were not as bad, they still had trouble.

Laura, however, was the last to attempt to evolve as she first focused on healing Greenie.

He was in a bad state, but he would survive, that much was certain.

The blood of Vajra flowed through his veins and the healing ability that his body had was above them all. That, coupled with Laura using up almost everything she had left in order to heal him, made the situation much easier for him.

Greenie was now free, he was no longer Reign's subordinate, but a teammate.

Of course, that would only happen after the evolution as Greenie had told them that only after they all evolved to Tier III would he accept Reign's offer of not being his subordinate anymore.

Greenie would also then finally tell them his true name, but all of them doubted that they would truly call him as such as they had gotten used to simply calling him Greenie, plus he also preferred it.

The evolution was done, and Reign and the others appeared.

Just like in all the previous evolutions, they were all naked after going through them.

Their items would disappear each time during the evolution and they quickly equipped them before meeting up.

Just like they had thought, their wounds were gone and they were all back in their peak condition.

Their wounds had made the evolution more difficult to be done, but it was worth it since death was the other option for them.

The six all stared at each other as smiles appeared on each of their faces. They cheered before quickly going to Greenie. Laura was now back in top shape, and with her becoming a Tier III being, her powers were stronger, which meant that she could heal them much more efficiently.

With her increased powers, Laura quickly started healing Greenie, and the difference was visible at first glance. Greenie's wounds started being repaired quickly and the sounds of his bones moving and setting could be heard as he woke up from the pain.

Reign and the others had to hold him down in order for Laura's healing to continue, and it did for some time before he was fully healed.

Even so, Laura was still a bit tired from the healing. She had managed to reach Tier III, but the mental exhaustion from the previous fight was still there.

She and the others slowly started making their way toward the base, trying their best to avoid unnecessary conflict. They were Tier III, but they only just evolved and didn't wish to fight any Tier III monsters at this point.

They had found out some time ago that the mountain range had Tier IV beings as well, which came as a surprise as one region would rarely have such a huge number of monsters and disparity between their strength.

The mountain range proved to be even larger than what they initially thought it would be.

Tens of mountains made up the giant mountain range that covered an area much larger than any other place they had been to.

The demons had come here since the very beginning of the game and set up their bases here before starting to fight against each other.

They had been in a deadlock for quite sometime before Reign and the others arrived.

Even though the demons constantly fought against each other, it was rare for the truly powerful demons to fight.

Tier IV beings could cause great damage to the area and they usually stayed in the main bases, only leaving when there was a dire situation that needed to be resolved.

They had learned all of that from the documents that they found in Arash's basement.

After Reign and the others had become a bit more powerful, they had gone back to the demon base and visited Arash's building in order to retrieve the crystals.

The crystals were no longer there, however, as the five Tier II demons that had come the day after Arash's death had taken them.

None of the demons knew what the crystals were used for, none of them even knew about them as they never went down in the basement back when Arash was alive.

The five that arrived simply went to the building for a couple of minutes before leaving and walking toward the new safe zone that had been created back then.

Reign and the others were a bit annoyed that they weren't able to get the crystals. Since the five demons had taken them, that meant that the crystals were definitely valuable.

Reign and the others arrived on the first mountain after walking for about 30 minutes.

They needed to cross multiple mountains and pass next to a couple of Tier III monsters in order to arrive.

The trip had taken them a bit longer than they initially thought it would, but everything was fine in the end.