Is this really a Game?!

Shadow's race narrowed as he took off the mask, revealing the face of a woman, a very young woman. Her features were sharp, framed by dark hair, and her eyes, which were filled with anger, as well as some desperation, glared at him. She gritted her teeth, but made no sound, even as blood flowed from her injured leg and hand.

"I thought your hands were a bit too soft, now I know exactly why." Shadow muttered as he stared at the girl. Even though the girl in front of him was quite young, and seemed frail and weak, he wasn't naïve, he knew that she was a true warrior and that she was dangerous, capable of injuring him.

And yet, he did falter with a moment upon taking down the mask as he was surprised to see just how young she was, which allowed her to make a move. The girl sneered at him as her eyes burned with defiance.

Before Shadow could react, she opened her mouth slightly and whispered slightly, and mana immediately fluctuated before a sudden pulse of mana exploded outward from her body, forcing Shadow to leap back and narrowly dodge the blast of mana that came from the girl.

"Dammit!" Shadow cursed as he felt the ground shake thanks to the pulse of mana that exploded from the girl. The residual energy of the blast passed through the forest as Shadow tightened the grip on his daggers and watched the girl whose body was slightly glowing from the previous blast of mana she had released.

Before he could move forward in order to attack the girl, multiple arrows fell down on his position, forcing him to dodge before stepping into the shadows. He tried to teleport over to the girl but found it impossible as some sort of barrier made of shadows stopped him from doing so.

The enemy was also able to utilize the same powers he could, thus, they were able to stop his teleportation, forcing him to teleport away from the girl, allowing two if them to get to her and take her away.

Shadow clicked his tongue in frustration and stared at the figures before he heard a shout.

"Everybody group together, something is coming our way!"

It was Reign who shouted. The enemy combatants had actually fallen back a bit and were no longer attacking, giving Reign and the others breathing room, allowing them to quickly run to one another and group up, staring at the depths of the forest where the enemy combatants were located at.

"What are they planning?"

"They're waiting for something, I can sense it, a powerful presence coming closer and closer to us."

"It's stronger than the Alpha we have fought before."

"The one leading them all?" Mia asked Reign who shook his head.

"I can't be certain, the presence … wait, it's not one, but two." Reign stated as his eyes slightly widened and he looked ahead.

Whatever it was, it had gotten closer, and it was only now that Reign was able to distinguish the two separate auras that were incredibly close to one another. With that knowledge now in his head, Reign was even more concerned about what they were about to face as both auras were more powerful than the Alpha they faced.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

As the seconds passed, Reign got more and more on the edge as the two auras were not trying to hide themselves. The others became aware of the presence and could sense the mana fluctuations that were being released.

Why were they not hiding their presence and mana signatures?

It was simply too weird. Ever since they entered the forest, the enemies they faced did their best to hide themselves and attack them before they were noticed. These two, however, seemed to be quite confident of their strength to not bother hiding themselves at all.

And after a couple of seconds, they were able to see just who it was that was so confident, perhaps arrogant of their own strength.

Two figures appeared from the depths of the forest, staring at Reign and the others with arrogant eyes.

A huge wolf, the alpha of the shadow wolves, and what looked to be the leader of the human who had attacked them, who was currently riding the wolf, and was slightly stronger than it.

. The oppressive darkness of the forest seemed to part for them, and as they came into view, the tension in the air grew even thicker. The massive wolf—far larger than any Reign had seen before—stalked forward with deliberate steps. Its fur was pitch black, blending almost seamlessly with the shadows around it, and its crimson eyes glowed with an unnatural intensity.

But what caught Reign's attention even more was the rider atop the wolf. A man, cloaked in dark robes similar to those of the earlier attackers, sat confidently on the wolf's back. His face was obscured by a mask, but his posture exuded authority. Unlike the others they had fought, this figure didn't seem to be hiding his strength or his intent.

"That's the Alpha for sure, it's a bit stronger than the previous one, but not by a huge margin," Wolf muttered, his chaos flames flickering in response to the immense power radiating from the wolf. "And the one riding it… he's stronger than the beast."

Reign nodded, his grip tightening around his swords. The rider's mana was swirling, barely restrained, and it felt far more dangerous than anything they had faced so far in this trial. Even the danger they felt when the wolves ambushed them earlier paled in comparison to the sheer danger and the presence of these two.

"They weren't just watching us," Reign said, his voice steady despite the rising tension. "They were testing us. Now, they're here to finish the job."

The wolf and its rider stopped a short distance from Reign's group, the wolf's breath visible in the cold air as it growled lowly. The rider, still silent, dismounted with a smooth motion, landing on the forest floor without making a sound. He stood tall, and though his face was hidden, Reign could feel the weight of his gaze on them

The man raised a hand, and with a simple gesture, the attackers who had previously engaged Reign's group stepped out from the shadows, surrounding them once more. They didn't attack this time, instead forming a loose perimeter around the clearing, as if waiting for the command to strike.

"They're cornering us," Shadow said, his voice low and dangerous. "They want to finish this in one clean sweep."

Reign's mind raced as he analyzed the situation. They were surrounded, outnumbered, and now faced two powerful enemies that seemed far beyond the usual challenges they had encountered so far. The wolves lurked in the background, ready to pounce at any moment, and the human attackers were waiting for the right opportunity to strike.

"Everyone, stay close," Reign ordered through the telepathic link. "This won't be easy."

The rider finally spoke, his voice cold and calm, carrying an air of superiority.

Unfortunately, Reign and the other could not understand a single word that the rider was speaking, and after speaking for a couple of seconds, the rider seemed to have noticed that, thus he hung his head low and sighed before staring at them again.

Reign stared back, and the two said nothing, and yet they understood everything. The man wanted them to surrender, Reign was sure of it, and the rider could understand that Reign and the others would not surrender.

'Powerful, dangerous, we might have to use our marks to get out of this mess, and yet, why do I feel as if this is still not it, the danger we are faced with now, it's not enough, our marks are enough to get us out of this mess, the trial wouldn't be this easy.'

"Guys, try to fight without marks, if it really comes down to it, 1 or 2 should use their marks, the others shouldn't, I have a feeling this is not the end of the trial."

"I agree, the level of danger we are faced with here, it's not enough, we can definitely win with our marks, and the trial will not allow something as easy as this to be it."

"I can use my mark, after all, my transformation will still be available to me after I do that, so if push comes to shove, I'll do my best to take on both the wolf and the rider while you guys take down the wolves and hunters." Reign stated as he stared into the eyes of the rider and then smirked, which caused the rider to clench his weapon and suddenly shout.

With the shout came silence, and then mayhem.

Tens of arrows fell down on Reign and the others who quickly scattered and charged at the enemy.

Reign went together with Wolf and Tank, aiming at the rider and the Alpha, while the rest attacked the wolves, some of which had just appeared after the rider shouted, and the hunters who were all proficient with bow and arrow, as well as using a sword, spear, or a dagger when fighting up close.