Is this really a Game?!



Upon arriving near the wall, Laura and Reign immediately stopped as giant ballistae were quickly aimed at them. Even though they could see the people that were right behind the two, some of them being familiar to the guards on top of the wall, they still had to be on guard.

They had all heard about the failure of the scouting party and how almost all of them were wiped out, so for so many of them to appear was too suspicious.

Reign and Laura waited a couple of minutes as soldiers scrambled to move around the walls and report back to those in charge, and about 5 minutes later, a person suddenly jumped down from the top of the wall.

The person suddenly placed his hand on the wall and started sliding down before stopping half a meter from the ground and landing.

The aura coming from the man made Reign and Laura both understand that he was a Tier V being, the person that was responsible for this region, Basred.

Laura had already taken out the badge and poured mana into it when Basred arrived in order to prove that she wasn't a demon, and Reign did the same. 

"I have to thank you, strangers, you have done us a big favor by saving them," Basred said as he came near Laura and Reign. He smiled at them before lifting his hand and throwing something high in the air. Suddenly, the ground started shaking as the wall started moving.

The gigantic wall actually parted, leaving a small gap that was about 5 meters high. Basred nodded at Laura and Reign, and they made their way inside the region.

As they walked through the gap, Reign was astonished to see just how large the region was. He couldn't see the end of it, nor could he see the entirety of the giant wall that went around the region.

Houses, hills, rivers, small mountains, all of that was encompassed inside the region.

The incredible size made him speechless for a moment, even though Laura had already told him what to expect. Even Laura was looking in awe as such a magnificent sigh truly was something that could rarely be seen anywhere else.

As Laura and Reign entered the region, they were met with large cheers as people flocked to see those that had returned. Some lunged and hugged their loved ones they believed to be dead upon hearing the loss of the scouting party, while others wept as they were unable to find their relatives or friends in the group.

As they walked behind Basred, one man suddenly looked at them from the side before coming closer.

"Laura?"

"Ah, Jacob." Laura smiled as she hugged the man and looked at him from top to bottom.

"I see you've been promoted."

"Yeah, I became a Tier III recently," Jacob said with a nervous laugh while scratching the back of his head.

"You know her?" Basred suddenly asked Jacob as the man flinched.

"Oh, sir, yes, this is-"

"A demon hunter that has helped out the region of Timen multiple times, a good friend of ours." A voice suddenly said as Laura looked to the side before widening her eyes.

"It is good to see you again, young one." A man in his fifties appeared beside Basred and smiled at Laura.

"Sir, what are you doing here?" Laura asked as the man chuckled.

"The demons have stopped attacking Timen for quite some time, and upon learning of the weird things that have started happening here, I decided to come over and see if this guy needs some help."

"I also didn't come alone." The man said as he glanced back as a group of 15 appeared behind him, all of them Tier IV combatants.

"It has been a while sis." One of the party members said as she hugged Laura.

"You've reached Tier IV, congratulations, Riela," Laura said with a smile as she greeted the others that she was familiar with. They all spoke for a bit before one of them glanced behind Laura.

"Who's this, Laura?"

"Ah … this is-" Laura's eyes widened in nervousness as Reign already opened his mouth.

"I'm Reign, I'm Laura's teammate."

"Reign, wait, that Reign?!" One of them suddenly said loudly as the others stared at Reign.

"I expected him to look a bit different, a bit scarier to be honest."

"Ah, we've heard so much about you," Riela said as she shook Reign's hand with a wide smile on her face.

"Yeah, Laura would never stop talking about her teammates back home, and she always said how Reign would be able to do quick work of any enemy we faced."

"Seriously, she spoke so much about you that you've become a small celebrity in Timen." Another guy said as he shook Reign's hand.

"Is that so?" Reign smiled widely as he looked at the group of people, then at Laura whose face was completely red.

"She never told me that, but it's nice to know that my teammate thinks so highly of me and the others."

"Are the others here too?!"

"No, only me and Laura were sent here, even that is weird, we've always been sent somewhere by ourselves, this is the first time any of us have been sent to another planet together."

"Wait, you're here for your challenge, right?"

"Yeah." Reign nodded at one of them as they all widened their eyes.

"Last time, Laura was here for her Tier IV challenge, so that means, you guys are already doing the Tier V challenge, how is that possible, how are you that fast?!" Another person said with shock as Laura smiled nervously.

"Yeah, we're always fighting against demons, so it should be natural that we evolve faster than those that live on other planets, but you guys are already above us, that's crazy," Riela said as she shook her head.

"Well, that should prove that Laura wasn't boasting for nothing, her teammates are all monsters in terms of strength." A guy from the group said as he shook his head.

"Come on, let's go back to the command center, you two arrived just in time." The older man, who was the one that commanded those in Timen said as everybody nodded.

"Yes, sir Siggurd." 

Reign followed Laura and the others with a smile as Laura avoided eye contact with him.

'Why did they have to be here, I was hoping to avoid this, dammit!' Laura lamented in her heart.

'I was a bit too zealous when I first met them and constantly praised Reign and the others, hell, even the last time I was here, I was still praising them, especially Reign, but I mean, come on, he really is stronger than any person I have met at the same realm.'

'This is so embarrassing.'

'He's definitely telling this to everybody when we get back, I have to tell the others to be quiet and not tell him everything I told them.' As Laura was about to speak to those she knew, she realized they were no longer next to her. 

Voices were heard behind her, and as she turned her head around, she saw Reign talking with the others, asking them about Timen, the time Laura had been there, and what she had told him about himself and the others.

Laura realized it was already too late. Reign had already grabbed them and they were more than happy to talk to him about what Laura had told them.

They gossiped a bit as well as Reign told them more about Shadow and the others while also getting some gossip about Laura and any embarrassing things she did while she had been in Timen.

"Oh, the most embarrassing thing was definitely when she went out of the house with-" Before Riela could finish, Laura had jumped on her back and covered her mouth with her hand.

"Anyone that tells that story will not be receiving any healing, and I'll make sure to pay you back as well." Laura's cold voice and dangerous expression made them all gulp as they knew how dangerous and crazy Laura could get.

"Ohh come on, that's not fair, speak, speak." Reign said as he suddenly used his light manipulation.

"I'll heal you guys, so don't worry about a thing."

"You can heal?!" The group all collectively said as he nodded his head.

"I managed to get this recently, so don't worry about her, I'll heal you and protect you guys, no worries." Reign said as he smiled widely at Laura who felt goosebumps.

'He really wants to get as much gossip as he can.'

The entire trip to the command center was spent like that. Laura was constantly trying to keep the group from talking, and Reign was constantly trying to get them to talk, coercing them in many different ways.

Finally, they arrived at the command center, and Laura felt relief as everybody turned serious upon entering it.

"I'll find out everything, don't worry." Reign suddenly told Laura from the side as he smiled at her before moving closer to the center of the large hall they were all in.