Is this really a Game?!

During the trading, Reign and Ishmail continued their discussion, sharing insights about their respective territories and the challenges they faced. The conversation deepened, touching upon the intricacies of magical research, the nature of the game world, and the mysterious entities that seemed to influence their reality.

"I've noticed anomalies in the jungle," Ishmail said, his expression serious. "Strange occurrences and magical fluctuations that defy explanation. It's as if the jungle itself is alive and reacting to our presence."

Reign nodded in agreement. "We've encountered similar phenomena. There's something about that jungle, it gave birth to many corrupted entities that are deep underground, they're dangerous."

"Yes, we have already made some efforts into devising strategies and items to counter them, so they are not as dangerous as before, if you wish, I can share them with you." Ishamil said as Reign smiled at him.

"What a coincidence, we have done the same, sharing our methods will definitely allow us to defeat them more easily in the future."

As they conversed, a sense of mutual understanding developed between Reign and Ishmail. Despite the initial distrust, both leaders recognized the potential benefits of collaboration. The alliance could unlock new possibilities, allowing them to not only be stronger together, but to do some things that they couldn't do before as well.

The walk around the mountain range base went well, Reign showed his guests around the place and a bit of the mountain range.

The sheer size of the mountain range left the people stunned for an instant, and upon hearing how Reign and his faction had taken down the powerful demons that once ruled it, they were further shocked as well.

It wasn't because of strength, after all, with their strength, Ishamil and the other three were more than powerful enough to single-handedly defeat any enemy that they came across in the mountain range.

It was because they knew that they had done this in the past when they were still not Tier V.

Suddenly, all four stopped and stared at one place as the figure of a giant appeared around a mountain.

The sheer presence of the giant, coupled with its imposing size and power left them awestruck for a moment.

"A Raid Boss, we still haven't tried fighting against it, as you might know, such enemies are quite powerful and difficult to deal with," Reign commented from the side, causing Ishmail and the rest to nod in agreement.

They knew what Raid Bosses were and what they were capable of.

The Raid Bosses were some of the most powerful beings that one could come across in the world. They were monsters that were many times more powerful than others of the same tier thanks to the inherent abilities and many skills they possessed. Usually, if one went against a peak Tier V Raid Boss, they would need a group of over 10 peak Tier V combatants to stand a chance against a Raid Boss, and even that was considered the least one had to have.

Raid bosses were specially made by the system. The system existed for everybody, even for monsters. If a monster was deemed talented and powerful enough, the system would offer it a chance to become even more powerful and more talented, and that was to become a Raid Boss in a world.

This did not come without any danger as Raid Bosses were rare and killing them gave incredible rewards, so much that sometimes a group of less powerful people would try to kill them, amassing hundreds if not thousands of people to go with them and kill the raid boss, only for all to be decimated.

The Giant that was present in the mountain range had seemingly not changed much since Reign and the others had first arrived. The only difference they were able to see was that it seemingly had some weird patterns on its skin that it didn't have before.

Its skin had also changed, from the previous rocky skin color, it became a bit darker and seemed to be a bit rougher than before as well.

How much the giant's strength had changed, how much more powerful he was now compared to before, none of them knew as they had not seen the Giant fight seriously even once. If a monster or demon annoyed him, he would simply stomp them to death and continue walking.

His presence in the mountain range was also a bit reassuring as the monsters of the desert would definitely not wish to fight against him. When compared to the giant, even the Tier V monsters there was nothing special.

Reign led Ishmail and his companions to a safe vantage point where they could observe the Giant without being in immediate danger. As they watched, Reign explained more about the peculiar creatures in the mountain range, their behaviors, and the dynamics between various powerful entities.

"The Giant has been a sort of guardian of the mountain range," Reign explained. "It doesn't interfere with us as long as we don't pose a threat, as long as you don't try to antagonize it, it won't harm you, there were even cases of some of our players coming incredibly close to it while it was sleeping, mostly on accident as they thought he was a hill as times."

"Even then, upon waking up, the giant would do nothing but glance at them with curiosity."

Ishmail observed the Giant with a mix of awe and curiosity. "A guardian of sorts, that's remarkable. We've encountered a raid boss as well, but nothing quite like this."

"The one we encountered was extremely hostile, any living being that dared step on its territory was marked as an enemy by it, and none would be allowed to stay there."

The discussion turned to the potential benefits of collaborating against such formidable adversaries. Ishmail proposed joint efforts to face powerful monsters like the raid bosses, sharing strategies and tactics that could be employed to handle these unique challenges.

Reign nodded in agreement. "It makes sense. If we can pool our knowledge and resources, we might be able to take down even more formidable foes. Our combined strength could definitely be enough to go against Raid bosses in the future."

The conversation shifted to a more formal alliance, one that extended beyond trading and exploration. Both leaders recognized that the world they inhabited was evolving, and their collaboration could influence not just their territories but the entire game world.

Back at the trading area within the mountain range base, discussions continued. Laura, Wolf, Shadow, and Beast engaged with members of Ishmail's enclave, sharing combat techniques, magical insights, and experiences in dealing with the unique challenges of their respective territories.

The craftsmen from both factions formed bonds, exchanging ideas and methods of crafting. The alliance wasn't just strengthening strategically but also culturally. The diverse expertise of each faction contributed to a melting pot of knowledge and skills.

As the day ended and evening arrived, Ishmail and his men returned from the wall in front of the depths of the mountain range.

Reign had taken them over there via a portal. The depths had started producing Tier IV monsters again, and the giant wall that was present acted as a sort of barrier even now. Of course, it was no longer as effective as before because the monsters from the depths didn't need to stay in the fog like before.

Still, the wall provided some comfort to people, not to mention that the demons had made it even before Reign and the others were there, it would be a shame to simply destroy it.

Perhaps in the future, it will become a historical site or something.

"We will leave now, I will await our next meeting, my friend," Ishmail said with a smile as he shook Reign's hand before turning around and leaving. His three comrades had done the same and nodded at Reign and the others before making their way to the portal that was connected to one of their territories as well before stepping through it and leaving.

"I now get what you meant, there is something going on with that guy, but I can't really place what exactly is up with him either, it doesn't necessarily mean that he's bad or an enemy, just that something is a bit weird about him, he's a bit different," Wolf said as he arrived next to Reign who nodded at his words.

"We'll see, perhaps in the future, we will understand more about him, for now, however, we can be considered as two friendly factions who are working together and might become allies in the future as well."

"Yeah, for now, all we can do is just observe and make sure that we have things placed in case anything bad happens," Wolf said before sighing and sitting down.

"So, are we going to explore the jungle together with them in the future?"

"Definitely not, it would be too much, too many people that are present, too little exp that is being given to each person."

"Even now, with how big our group is, the exp we get isn't very high, adding more people will just make leveling up go slower."