Is this really a Game?!

As Beast and the others prepared to set out on their mission to tame the flood dragon, the atmosphere in Doncaster was tense with anticipation. The weather outside mirrored the mood inside, with the biting cold serving as a stark reminder of the dangers that awaited them.

The snow had intensified and many believed there would be a snowstorm coming soon, but that didn't matter to Reign and the others. They were now Tier VI beings, and if they wished so, with their immense powers, they could even work together to change the weather in an area.

A snowstorm could be blasted away if they willed it, and such a thing would not present a challenge for them.

Reign, Mia, Wolf, Laura, and Shadow gathered in the living room, armed and ready for the journey ahead. They knew the risks involved in facing a Tier V raid boss, but they were determined to support Beast in his quest.

"Are you sure about this, Beast?" Reign asked, his voice tinged with concern. "We'll be there to back you up, but this won't be an easy fight."

Beast nodded, his expression resolute. "I'm aware of the risks, but I have to try, this is my chance to tame the flood dragon, and I won't let it slip away."

Laura stepped forward, her eyes filled with determination. "We're with you every step of the way, Beast."

She placed a hand on his shoulder and nodded at him. "Just say the word, and we'll have your back."

With their resolve hardened, the group made their way to the outside of Doncaster, walking toward the lake in the middle of the Ironbark Woods. The journey was treacherous, with the snow-covered terrain making each step a struggle, well, that would be the case for those below Tier II, but for Reign and the others, their auras alone made it impossible for the snow to come near them.

The snow that had piled up on the ground was being pushed away by an invisible force as soon as Reign and the others came some 5 meters away from it, and for them, this was akin to a walk in the park.

They were covering a distance of over ten meters in a second just by walking normally, without any care in the world.

Still, as they ventured deeper into the wilderness, the air grew thick with tension. Every sound seemed magnified and they were getting on the edge as they knew that the enemy Beast would be facing soon was one that could threaten them with its immense power.

But Beast pressed on, his senses keen and his determination unwavering. He was ready to face the dragon, to tame it, and finally, in his own head, become worthy of being a member of this party of overpowered people.

He had gotten a lot more powerful in the forest during his challenge, even before evolving. He had hunted down and captured many monsters, taming some, while killing others and taking their blood to infuse it into himself and gain bonus stats.

He had also changed his ability a bit.

When he evolved, his ability had gone through a breakthrough and it reached rank S.

His ability was no longer [ Beast Master ] as it was before, now, it was [ Beast Lord ]. It allowed him to more easily tame monsters that were above him, it allowed him to fuse longer, with fewer chances of losing control and the beast's own characteristics changing him, and he could take more blood to get more stats from monsters.

But what really surprised him, however, were the beasts he had tamed before the challenge.

Three stayed with him, inside the pocket dimension, even after he released them.

They were no longer tamed beasts of his, but they still wished to be with him.

He had released them in Doncaster, and now, they were guardians of the town, friendly with all the people there, and if there was a player that any of them liked, that player could tame them and gain their loyalty.

Beast was now able to have more tamed beasts at the same time, but, there was a catch.

When evolving his ability, he was given a choice.

He had to choose between three different choices, three different ways his ability would now work:

1. He could contain a total of 70 beasts and summon a total of 20 beasts at once and have them fight alongside him, but they wouldn't possess the same stats, the more monsters he summoned, the weaker they were.

2. His beasts were now pretty much immortal and he could revive them after a short period of time. He could have a total of 40 beasts, and he could summon 10 of them with a small penalty in stats after the second beast he summoned.

3. He could have a total of 15 tamed beasts, and he could summon 2 in total, if paying the price of using a lot of mana, he could summon a third.]

Each choice had its own advantages and disadvantages. If he used the first one, the bonus stats from taking the blood of beasts would be low, and the chances of his tamed beasts evolving further and becoming more powerful would be very low, lower than it had been before.

The second one gave him a bit more stats when taking blood and the evolution chance was a bit higher, but it was still low.

As for the third one, it was for those who would use quality over quantity, one would not be able to utilize an army of beasts, but each beast he had would be strengthened, getting a portion of his stats.

The stats he would get from taking blood were higher than before, his beasts would have a higher chance of evolving and becoming more powerful, with a slight chance of their intelligence increasing and them being capable of human speech.

The third one was what Beast chose.

He alone was able to kill tens of monsters of his own level if he went all out, so having an army of monsters was not really tempting of an offer to him, but having a small group of incredibly powerful monsters was.

The increase in power after fusing with such monsters was immense as well, and he was certain he wanted it. It was because of all of that that he was certain he could defeat the dragon and tame it.

After what felt like hours of trudging through the snow, they finally arrived at the location where the flood dragon was. The lake was not frozen, in fact, it looked the same as ever, and the area some 15 meters around the lake was devoid of any snow as well.

One could see plenty of monsters around the lake, drinking some water and resting.

It was as if the snow was not allowed near the lake, and even the temperature seemed to be much nicer.

'Is this the power of that dragon, or is it something in the lake that did this?'

"Well, both, but also the system," Aethion said with a calm expression.

"You see, raid monsters were monsters that the system determined were worthy enough of having such a title, as well as the immense boost in stats it provided."

"It would also give them some other benefits, like this one, allowing the flood dragon to choose what kind of temperature it wanted to have at its dwelling and similar things."

'The system gave them a stat boost?' Reign asked as Aethion chuckled.

"You didn't really think raid monsters were naturally that powerful, right?"

'I kinda did.'

Aethion sighed and shook his head before looking forward.

"Well, they're not, it's because of the system, when it chooses 'bosses' it gives them a bonus to their stats, making them more powerful."

"After all, they would be hunted by players, which meant that the bosses were in fact in more danger than normal monsters, they were a target that would drop good equipment, gave more exp, and their bodies could be used to make powerful weapons and suits of armor."

"That was the disadvantage a boss monster had, so the system would of course give them benefits, make them more powerful, and increase their chances of survival."

"The higher the rank of a boss, the bigger the stat bonus, and raid bosses are second in the ranking, only below world bosses."

'So world bosses do exist.'

"Yes, but don't have any funny thoughts about them, a Tier V world boss is equal to a Tier VII in power, it would destroy you and your team without breaking a sweat, even your transformation would make no difference, it would only buy you a couple of seconds more before your death."

'So, what is going to happen to the dragon if Beast tames it?'

"It will no longer be a raid boss and it will lose the stat bonus, but it will still be more powerful than most monsters of the same realm, after all, for a monster to become a raid boss means it was incredibly powerful before that and had immense potential."

"Hmmm, it seems like it has sensed you."