Is this really a Game?!

Chapter 940: The City's Heart: A Journey Through Ruins and Monsters

"Alright, I'd say we have passed the outskirts with this, right?" Shadow asked as he flung some blood off his daggers while throwing the corpse of a humanoid monster with gray, rocky skin to the side.

"Yeah, these guys were mostly peak Tier VI, with a Tier V leading them." Reign said as he stared at the group of 20 monsters they just slaughtered in order to not go around the area and lose time.

"But really, the city has changed, a lot," Shadow said with a sigh as he stared around them before they moved. Only a couple of minutes later, at the place where they had just slaughtered the monsters, tens of monsters arrived and started growling at each other.

They smelled the blood and came for a feast, and were now going to fight over it.

"If we plan on getting to Uncle before nightfall, we will need to go straight through the city, taking the long trip and going all the way around will just cost us too much time."

"Yeah, the only issue with that is that the center of the city has Tier VII monsters, and there are even some strongholds of other players that have been established near the center, with some relatively strong players present, some of them have probably reached Tier VI, and not all are friendly."

"So what, if they try anything, we'll just smash them apart." Tank said while Beast shook his head.

"We can't just do that, there's a good chance a battle will draw the attention of monsters, those players have their strongholds that are protected by a barrier, most of them being protected by special barriers that make it so the monsters won't notice them."

"If we get attacked, we won't be able to go to a base and hide like they can, we will need to fight, and that will just cause more of a ruckus, which will, in turn, draw more monsters to us."

"For incredibly powerful Tier VI combatants, that isn't a problem, in fact, they will probably like it as they will be able to fight and level up quickly, but we have all gone all out during the battle at the lake, not to mention the chances of a Tier VII appearing."

"I see, so what, if somebody attacks, we have to run?"

"Of course not, we will try not to attack others and be nice, but if anyone thinks they can just take advantage of us and mess with us, we'll take care of them, but we will need to do it as quickly and silently as we can."

As Reign and his companions ventured further into the city, they found themselves traversing through a landscape that was both familiar and alien. The streets were lined with buildings that had once been familiar landmarks but were now crumbling ruins, overtaken by nature and the passage of time.

It was weird, seeing how different it was compared to before. Months had passed since the game started, almost an entire year, and yet, the city looked like it had been in ruins for many years now.

The buildings served as nothing else but nests for monsters, the subway they didn't even attempt visiting as they knew that it hosted powerful monsters that had taken it over completely, and the sky was populated by flying monsters that would attack anything that flew up.

They moved cautiously, wary of the monsters that lurked around every corner. The creatures here were not like the ones they had encountered on the outskirts of the city. These were larger, more powerful, and more intelligent. They traveled in groups, patrolling the streets and guarding their territory.

Still, they were all Tier V monsters, and to Reign and the others, this was still nothing, they could slaughter them easily if they wanted to.

As they navigated through the city, they also encountered remnants of the old world – abandoned cars, crumbling skyscrapers, and faded billboards. It was a stark reminder of what had been lost, and what some people of the city were fighting to reclaim.

Reign actually got an idea as they came across a car.

He entered it, and of course, it didn't work.

But when he used his lightning manipulation, things changed.

The car actually started, but he quickly stopped using his lightning and turned it off as the sound would draw monsters to them.

"So, even though the system dislikes technology and has made it all obsolete, it seems like there are loopholes, huh?" Wolf asked out loud as Reign nodded.

"It does sure look like it."

"Master, if I may, could I have one of those vehicles in the base, I'd like to research it, it … is interesting." Jared suddenly said, to which Reign just shrugged his shoulders and nodded at him.

"I don't see why not."

Reign placed his hand on the car, and in an instant, it was gone, taken by Jared who placed it in the warehouse.

"Thank you, master."

'No problem.'

"You know, even though I have seen this through your eyes when going through illusions that showed your memories, seeing it like this is different."

"I have to admit, I didn't expect to see such a city, such large buildings in a world that didn't even know mana existed."

"All of this made by machines you created."

'Well, not quite all.'

'Plenty of this has been made by human hands, the machines we created didn't make them, some of these buildings are decades old, hell, there are even some that are over a hundred years old.'

'Even before our technology reached the point where it suddenly stopped, people were able to create huge buildings that were able to seemingly reach the sky itself.'

'Human ingenuity is something that can be quite scary when you think about it, even now, when I have reached this level of power and fought against so many powerful monsters, I doubt I would be able to survive a nuke.'

"Your people were definitely very talented in finding ways to kill yourselves, that much is certain."

'Thanks, I guess?'

The party continued forward.

With their caution, they managed to evade most monsters and make their way towards the center of the city. Along the way, they encountered other survivors – groups of humans who had managed to carve out a living for themselves amidst the chaos. Some were friendly and offered them assistance, while others were hostile, viewing them as a threat to their territory.

Those who were friendly talked to them, giving them more information about the city, talking to them about what had changed, marveling at how they were able to come here across the ocean, and more.

Some even offered them to come to their bases, but Reign and the others said no to that and thanked them. After all, inside the base of a stranger, they would be vulnerable, and those who seemed nice and polite could very well turn out to be wolves in sheep's clothing and attack them.

As for the aggressive ones, well, some of them were scared off quickly by Shadow who would appear in front of them in an instant, scaring them senseless, while others, who were even more aggressive and arrogant, would be eliminated before being able to realize what had happened.

The city was dangerous, with plenty of monsters, but that was also an opportunity for the people here.

Those who started hunting from the start of the game were able to level up and become powerful rather quickly here. Of course, many were unfortunate and found themselves in areas where the monsters were simply way too powerful for them, and ended up as the monster's meals.

Soon, Reign and the others reached the center of the city, which meant that they were now more than halfway to their objective – the faction of Shadow's father.

The center was … different.

The center of the city was a stark contrast to the outskirts. Here, the ruins of towering skyscrapers loomed overhead, casting long shadows over the streets below. The ground was littered with debris and rubble, making it difficult to navigate. The group moved cautiously, wary of any potential threats that might lurk in the shadows.

As they ventured deeper into the city, they began to encounter more powerful monsters. Tier VI creatures prowled the streets, their presence unmistakable. These monsters were larger, more aggressive, and more dangerous than anything they had encountered before. The group knew they had to tread carefully if they wanted to avoid attracting unwanted attention.

Despite their caution, they eventually ran into trouble. A group of Tier VI monsters, led by a massive beast with razor-sharp claws and glowing red eyes, blocked their path. The creatures snarled and growled, sensing intruders in their territory.

"We can take them," Tank said, cracking his knuckles in anticipation.

Reign shook his head. "No, we need to avoid a fight if possible. We don't want to draw more attention to ourselves."

Shadow nodded in agreement. "He's right. We should try to find a way around them."

Using their stealth and agility, the group managed to sneak past the monsters without alerting them. They continued on their journey, moving deeper into the heart of the city.