Is this really a Game?!

The corrupted jungle seemed to respond to their intrusion. The air became thicker, and the twisted vegetation closed in around them. The team navigated through the dense undergrowth, led by Greenie's intuitive sense of the corruption's presence. The rebellious gloves on his hands pulsed with a faint, ominous glow.

With Greenie there to lead them, finding the place where the origin of the corruption became much easier.

Compared to the corrupted areas they had come across previously, this one was different. For one, it was static, it didn't move at all, but it did slowly spread the corruption to the surroundings, making it an easier target because it didn't move, but also making it incredibly difficult to deal with as the corruption was centered in that area, making it easier for the corrupted life form below the ground to control the jungle and any monsters that came inside of it.

As they delved deeper, the corruption manifested in more sinister forms. Strange plants emitted toxic spores, and the very ground seemed to writhe with an unnatural energy. The Tier V combatants, their senses heightened, moved with a synchronized fluidity. Each step was calculated, and every gesture was intentional.

Reign, at the forefront, raised his hand, signaling the group to halt. His eyes narrowed as he surveyed the surroundings. The corrupted jungle was testing them, throwing increasingly formidable challenges their way. This time, it wasn't just about battling monsters; it was about surviving the malevolent essence that permeated the air.

Tord, adapting to his role, took a step forward. His experience with the corrupted areas on Earth provided a unique insight. "The corruption seems to be more concentrated here. It's not just about monsters; the very environment is hostile. We should be cautious of sudden changes in terrain and keep an eye out for anomalies, well, that's the same as what you guys told us, I don't really think there's anything else I can add."

As if in response to Tord's words, the ground beneath them shifted. Vines slithered and intertwined, creating a barrier, trapping the Tier V combatants in a makeshift cage. The jungle itself seemed to be alive, reacting to their presence with hostility.

Reign's eyes glowed with a determined intensity. "Stay close, and stay sharp. We need to cut through this and keep moving." The Tier V combatants, unfazed, readied their weapons. Wolf, with his greatsword, moved to the front alongside Reign.

The first strike against the living vines came from Wolf, his large sword slashing through the air with precision as flames rose from within it. The vines recoiled momentarily, but the corruption that infused them fought back, doing its best to smother the flames. It was a battle against an adversary that was both sentient and a part of the jungle itself.

Elijah, with his throwing spears, as well as the long spear in another hand, aimed for the vines that slithered from above. His spears, imbued with the poisons he had available, pierced through the corrupted vegetation. The group worked in harmony, attacking from different angles. Greenie's gloves crackled with rebellious energy as he did his best to use the corruption from within them to try and disrupt the corruption's influence.

Tord, with a focused gaze, observed the patterns of corruption. "It's like a network, a collective consciousness. We need to disrupt its cores to weaken the vines." He pointed to a couple of pulsating masses that could be seen around them.

The pulsating mass was about 20cm in diameter, making them not that easy to be noticed by normal people, but Reign and the other were Tier V beings, their stats were over a hundred times above a normal human, so noticing them was nothing that difficult.

Reign nodded, and the team shifted their focus. They fought not only against the physical manifestation of the corruption but also the ethereal force that animated it. The battle was a dance of blades, arrows, and elemental powers against an enemy that defied the conventional.

As they neared one of the masses, the corruption fought back with increased ferocity. Shadows coalesced into twisted specters that lashed out at the Tier V combatants. The air became charged with a dark energy that sapped their strength. Yet, the resolve of the team remained unbroken.

Reign, infused with lightning, delivered a powerful strike to one of the pulsating masses, destroying it. The vines recoiled, and the oppressive atmosphere began to dissipate. Tord, recognizing the opportunity, quickly glanced at another one before Beast used the opportunity to launch a couple of arrows while Elijah threw a spear.

Without the vines and corruption present, even if it was for only a moment, they were able to easily strike the masses, which were small cores that the origin of corruption, the main core that hid deep beneath the ground, would spread around to control the jungle more easily.

They didn't wait and continued locating the auxiliary cores that were spread around as small pulsating masses, aiming to destroy as many as they could before the corruption flared up and decided to go all out to destroy them.

There were 12 cores that Reign and the others were able to find inside the corrupted area, and after about 10 minutes of fighting, they were able to destroy them all, diminishing the control the main core had over the area and making it more difficult for it to utilize the corruption.

Of course, they didn't come out unscathed from that as the corruption, the vines, the poisonous gasses, and many more things the jungle threw at them all did their job in injuring them and making their battle more difficult.

The corrupted jungle, wounded but not defeated, responded with a final surge. The ground trembled as if angered, and a colossal figure emerged. A manifestation of the jungle's wrath, a corrupted behemoth, towered over the Tier V combatants.

This was no ordinary Tier V monster. Its eyes glowed with an unholy radiance, and the corruption seeped from every pore. It was a living embodiment of the jungle's malevolence.

Behind the monster, one could see the ground squirming as Reign and the others were able to sense a mana signature coming up. It was the main core, in order to better control this area, as well as to make sure the monster it had summoned was able to defeat the enemies, it had decided to show itself.

Even though it was much safer for it to continue hiding below the ground, this way, it could utilize its powers of corruption more easily and would be enough to help the monster kill Reign and the others.

Reign, undeterred, faced the colossal foe. "This is what we came for. Stand firm, and let's bring it down!" The Tier V combatants, though fatigued from the previous battles, rallied around their leader.

The monster was not a field boss, it was an Elite of sorts. Powered by the corruption, the monster was more powerful than normal elites, but it wasn't at the rank of a boss-grade monster, although it was considered to be a behemoth class, to which Reign and the others had a slight bonus when fighting.

Behemoth-class monsters had immense vitality and defense, they were very difficult to kill, but they had a weakness, and that was their slow speed of movement and attack, making them perfect for tanks, but not good for fighting against groups.

That was how they usually were, however, but this monster was aided by the very environment around them, making it many times more difficult to deal with.

Reign charged first, launching himself straight at the giant's head, aiming to strike with full force and decapitate the monster, only for the corruption to suddenly appear in front of the giant's face, making a ball of sorts before shooting a ray of corruption at Reign, forcing him to block with his swords and to be sent flying down at the ground.

He crashed, breaking two trees in the process before quickly standing up as the others initiated their attacks as well.

The jungle slowly started coming back to life again, the core's presence was growing and allowed it to control the jungle as it did before.

They were incredibly close to the core, which was why it was able to control the area around them just like it had been able to do with the 12 auxiliary cores before.

Beast's monsters appeared around him, Tank's four generals appeared next to him, and everybody else went all out, using their abilities and marks to battle against the giant and the jungle itself.

Trees were blasted away or uprooted, vines were burned or broken to pieces, the grass around them was destroyed, the ground itself was in shambles, and the battle shook the entire area, causing many monsters to actually keep away from it as the auras of over 20 Tier V combatants could be felt from the area, causing the monsters around great distress.

Reign and the others knew they had to quickly finish this and get away, however, there was no saying what kind of monster might come to this place later after sensing the battle. They had not come across any Tier VI monsters till now, but that didn't mean those monsters didn't exist in this part of the jungle.