Is this really a Game?!

"Hey, you think we'll face any wolves in that forest?" Shadow asked, prompting the others to have solemn looks on their faces.

"Wolves."

"Of course we will."

"It's always wolves."

Jin and Mia glanced at one another, a bit confused at their reaction. The two had after all joined them later, and even though Mia had been with Reign and the others a bit longer than Jin, she was still a bit confused at the reaction they showed.

"The system will probably throw a couple of wolves at us right away."

"Alright, I'll set some traps."

"I'll just change my shield real quick, I'm more comfortable facing them with the other one."

Everybody suddenly started acting like zombies, doing things that seemed as if they were programmed into their brains.

"Why are you guys acting … strange?" Mia asked with confusion as Reign glanced at her and sighed.

"Wolves, we're going to face wolves, Mia."

"Yes, get a grip, we're going up against wolves," Shadow added, showing the same blank expression as Reign.

"I … don't understand."

"Have they been attacked by some sort of mental attack, is the system doing that to make this day harder?" Jin asked out loud as he stared at the group.

"A mental attack, maybe, after all, wolves," Wolf added, making the situation a bit comical thanks to his name.

"I used to have wolves, a couple of them."

"Yes, I quite liked those wolves," Wolf told Beast who nodded his head at him.

"Yes, having wolves on our side is good, I should try to tame one or two more in the future." Beast said with a bleak face as he poured out some things out of the inventory and started making the makeshift traps that he said he was going to make.

And then, there was howling.

"No time for traps, they're coming." Reign said, his expression growing a bit somber.

"About 9 of them huh?" Shadow asked as more howling was heard.

"Hmmm … these howls were a bit different, that's 4 more on the original 9." Greenie said as he stared at the forest.

"You can differentiate howling, how do you guys know so much about wolves?!" Mia asked, growing a bit concerned at this point.

"Because it's wolves, Mia, wolves, we know wolves, alright?" Reign said, glancing at her before shaking his head.

"You just wouldn't understand it, neither would you Uncle."

"Yes, they wouldn't," Wolf said as Shadow nodded his head.

"After all, it's wolves."

"Have they gone mad?" Jin asked Mia who shrugged her shoulders and exhaled deeply.

"I don't think so, but … they seem ready to fight, I don't know," Mia said, shaking her head as she didn't know what to think.

After all, how would she or Jin know?

Reign and the others, by some play of fate, had faced wolves so many times ever since the system arrived on Earth that it was basically engraved in their minds. They knew how to face them, they knew what worked best against wolves, how to kill them in the most efficient manner, how to recognize their traces, the different howls, everything.

When it came to wolves, they were experts in facing them. In fact, they fought them so many times that when it was time to fight wolves, they went on autopilot, which was what happened now.

The howls grew louder, reverberating through the dense forest as the pack of wolves made their approach. The tension in the air was thick, but Reign and the others, despite their bizarre state, were calm, almost too calm. It was as if their bodies knew what was coming and had instinctively prepared for battle.

Jin and Mia exchanged confused glances again, but they understood one thing clearly: something was coming, and it wasn't just a regular pack of wolves. Whatever the system had thrown at them was bound to be stronger, faster, and more dangerous than any wolves they had encountered before.

"Here they come," Reign said quietly, his hands gripping his swords as he stood at the front of the group. The others formed a loose semicircle, each of them readying their weapons.

The first shadow darted out of the trees, a massive, dark-furred wolf that looked like it had been twisted by some unnatural force. Its eyes glowed with an eerie crimson light, and its body was bulkier, more muscular than any wolf Reign had seen before. The wolf's fangs gleamed as it let out a snarl, charging toward them with terrifying speed.

But Reign, Shadow, and Wolf moved with mechanical precision.

Reign stepped forward, his sword flashing as he sliced cleanly through the wolf's neck in one swift motion. Shadow darted in next, his twin daggers moving so fast they were almost invisible as he attacked another wolf, striking at its vulnerable spots.

Meanwhile, Wolf, true to his name, faced down a particularly large wolf, his chaos flames roaring to life as he launched a devastating punch that sent the beast flying back into the forest.

The rest of the pack followed, howling in unison as they rushed the group.

Mia and Jin, still confused, were quick to react. Mia summoned a wall of ice, blocking several wolves that attempted to flank them. Jin charged forward, his fists crackling with energy as he smashed into the oncoming wolves, sending shockwaves through the ground.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The battle was fierce, but there was a strange rhythm to it. Reign and the others moved with the precision of people who had fought this fight many times before. Each wolf that lunged at them was quickly met with a perfectly timed strike, every attack calculated to take down the creatures as efficiently as possible.

"They're not even thinking," Mia muttered to herself, watching as Reign effortlessly dodged a wolf's bite before slicing it down with a single blow. It wasn't the power or speed of their attacks that was unsettling—it was the way they fought, as if they were going through the motions of a fight they had mastered long ago.

"Is this normal for them?" Jin asked, slamming his fist into the ground and sending a shockwave that knocked back several wolves.

"I have no idea," Mia said with confusion as she attacked another wolf with her sword.

As the last of the wolves fell, Reign and the others paused, their bodies still tense as if expecting more. The forest had grown eerily silent again, but it was clear the fight wasn't over.

"There's more," Reign said, his voice low and calm. "They're coming."

"Yes, that was just the vanguard, it seems a large pack has noticed us, more are coming, with one quite powerful amongst them." Beast stated as he stared at the forest.

Sure enough, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble slightly as a much larger presence made itself known. From the depths of the forest, the pack leader emerged—a wolf much larger than the rest, with black fur that seemed to absorb the light around it.

Its eyes glowed with the same crimson hue as its underlings, but there was an intelligence in its gaze that made it different from the others. It was stronger, smarter, and far more dangerous.

"The Alpha "Wolf muttered under his breath, his chaos flames flickering around him. "Here we go."

With the Alpha, more wolves arrived, about 20 of them, which caused Mia to be slightly nervous, only to glance and see Beast and Laura preparing to attack, one holding his bow and arrow, pouring a ton of mana into it, the other close to finishing a spell she was casting.

The Alpha wolf let out a deafening roar, its massive body moving with terrifying speed as it charged toward them. Reign barely had time to react as the creature leaped into the air, its fangs bared, aiming for his throat.

But instead of fear, Reign moved with practiced ease. He dodged the Alpha's bite at the last second, using the momentum of its attack to slide underneath it. His swords flashed, cutting across its underbelly as he rolled out of the way. The wolf snarled in pain but quickly turned, its glowing eyes locking onto Reign with renewed fury.

Then suddenly, Laura finished casting, launching a powerful spell at the group of wolves that were charging at them. A huge sword made out of dark energy and demonic energy appeared, stabbing right in the middle of the group, and then creating a powerful gravitational force from the sheer power it had, until it exploded, causing the ground to shake and tens of wolves to die.

"Tank, now!" Reign shouted.

Tank, who had been watching from the rear, slammed his shield into the ground, creating a shockwave that destabilized the Alpha's footing. The beast stumbled slightly, giving Shadow the opening he needed. Moving like a shadow himself, he appeared behind the Alpha, his daggers plunging deep into the creature's hind legs.

The Alpha roared in pain, thrashing wildly as it tried to throw Shadow off. But before it could retaliate, Wolf charged forward, his chaos flames blazing as he slammed his fist into the side of the wolf's head. The impact sent the beast crashing into the ground with a thunderous boom.

"Keep it down!" Reign ordered, rushing in with his swords ready to finish the job.

But the Alpha wasn't done yet. With a burst of strength, it pushed itself up, its body glowing with a dark, sinister energy. The wounds it had sustained began to heal, the shadowy mist that surrounded it acting like a shield as it regenerated.

"Damn it, it's healing!" Jin shouted, his fists crackling with energy. "We need to stop it before it gets back up!"

Beast, who had been watching from a distance, finally released his arrow, aiming straight at the Alpha's heart.