Is this really a Game?!



The group finally reached the deepest part of the dungeon, an absurdly gigantic cave that was miles long and wide. It was shrouded in complete darkness, except for one place, the very center of the cave where the artifact was. After so long, the entire group finally managed to arrive, and for the first time, they were able to see the main objective of this mission, the artifact.

Ding!

[ The player has found the artifact and reached the final part of the challenge! ]

[ The player has entered the cave of the Soulweaver's Monolith, please proceed with caution, extra rewards will be given if the player is the one to take control of the artifact. ]

"Soulweaver's Monolith." 

Both Laura and Reign exclaimed at once, making the others glance at them.

They both told them that the system had given them the name of the artifact and that this was the final stretch for their challenge, to take the artifact away from here.

'Soulweaver, is that the title of the Saint the souls worshipped, or something else entirely?' Reign thought for a moment before he stared at the artifact which was giving off a bright light.

The "Soulweaver's Monolith" was an immense and ominous artifact, standing at a staggering height of 5 meters. Its presence was both awe-inspiring and deeply unsettling, radiating an aura of ancient power and unfathomable darkness that comes from within, curiously, it was shining a bright light, which shouldn't be possible. This enigmatic monolith was what created the entire dungeon, gave birth to a spirit that divided itself, and the thing that had created the monsters they had come across.

Carved from an otherworldly obsidian-like material, the monolith's surface is adorned with intricate, ever-shifting runes that seem to pulse with an eerie, blood-red light. These runes were unknown to any of the people present, but Reign had a weird feeling that when deciphered, the runes would allow a person to control the artifact more easily, as well as gain something.

Suddenly, as they all walked toward the artifact, a person appeared, stepping from behind the artifact.

His old-fashioned suit that was a bit reminiscence of the Victorian era was still present, as was the hat. His face was still pure white with his lips red, and he was standing and smiling at them.

"Incredible, to think you all managed to survive and come here, it seems the power left behind in the dungeon has withered, I should thank you for allowing me to know that, I shall send some of the guardians there to deal with whatever is left and fully regain control of the dungeon later, after all, it can still be used in the future, so even if I'm not here, it can serve me well."

The spirit said as he looked at them all, completely oblivious to the fact that Reign and Liara had used their soul fragments to pass the dungeon safely as there was even a Tier VIII monster in it.

"Of course, that will have to wait as I need to deal with you pitiful lot first."

"I did promise you something, and I do plan on fulfilling my promise." The spirit told Reign as he stared at him with bloodthirst.

Suddenly, multiple auras appeared in the cave as 10 beings appeared.

Out of the ten, only 3 were Tier IV, the rest were all Tier V beings that stood around the artifact and stared at them. They were the guardians of the dungeon that the spirit had created, the ones that Reign and the others would have faced if not for their choosing to go through the other dungeon.

Reign's heart raced as he and his companions found themselves face to face with the formidable guardians of the dungeon. The spirit's sinister grin and the presence of these powerful beings made it clear that the final challenge had just begun.

The guardians, shrouded in an eerie, otherworldly aura, emanated an intimidating air of authority. Their eyes glowed with malevolence, and their forms were distorted as if they were beings forged from nightmares. Each of them bore unique features, reflecting the twisted amalgamations of souls that had been subjected to the will of the Soulweaver's Monolith.

Reign clenched his fists, realizing that their journey to obtain the artifact had brought them to a perilous showdown. He exchanged a quick glance with Laura, who simply glanced at him before smiling.

He smiled back.

'Right, this won't be the first time we have been in a dangerous situation.' Reign thought before looking forward, 'Even though 7 Tier Vs is a bit of a stretch, we have a lot more people with us, so winning is definitely possible.'

With a sudden, explosive burst of power, the guardians sprang into action, their movements fluid and unnatural. The battle that ensued was a symphony of chaos and magic as spells, and attacks filled the cavernous space.

Reign and the rest charged forward, Reign going straight at the spirit in order to fight against it. Suddenly, both he and Liara sensed something.

The artifact was pulsing, as if trying to tell them something. The spirit glanced back with obvious anger as Reign suddenly smirked at him before laughing.

"So that's what happened, you didn't manage to win the battle against the other half of the spirit, you were the one that was forced to run away, the spirit is in the artifact, and you are simply doing your best to stop of from forming a connection with it!"

Reign suddenly laughed even more as Liara stared at the artifact.

"I see now, it seems the true spirit has to stay inside in order to make sure you can't take advantage of the artifact, but you took that opportunity to make the other dungeon, the reason you wish to take over the other one is because you want to further weaken the spirit before attempting to gain control of the artifact fully!"

"How much power can you use now, what fraction of the artifact's power do you even have under control you fake bastard?!" Reign's tone which was filled with mockery reached the spirit whose face warped in anger.

"He is not the true spirit, I am!" The spirit suddenly charged at Reign, dark crimson energy gathering on the palm of his hand.

'Reach me.'

'Come to me.'

'Touch the runes.'

'Establish … connection.'

'Establish … connection.'

Both Reign and Liara were able to hear the same words echoing in their heads. They didn't need anyone telling them who the voice belonged to. It was the spirit, the one residing in the artifact.

"Laura, now!" Reign suddenly shouted, to which everybody responded with shock as Laura suddenly jumped forward and attacked the spirit from afar, sending a powerful spear at the spirit whose eyes constricted.

A while ago, inside the dungeon.

Reign and the others were walking through the layers when one question suddenly came up in Reign.

'Why did I and Laura have the same challenge, and her personal mission, it was not to gain control of the artifact, but to find out the demonic influence, which was what split the spirit in two.'

'She only got the challenge after we stepped through the portal, so something is definitely not as I and the others believed it to be.'

'The system wouldn't do something like that for no reason, if this challenge is possible and both I and Laura have it, that means that both of us need to work together in order to pass the challenge.'

'Just like how her power increases when fighting demons, it might also be the case with the spirit and the guardians, Laura might be a lot more important to the challenge than I previously thought.'

Reign had spoken with Laura and the two had come up with a plan, which was to attack the spirit together and see how it reacted.

Present time, in the deepest part of the dungeon.

The spirit had quickly jumped back to dodge the attack that Laura had launched at him, and he was obviously not looking well.

"I see, it seems that the power of a demon hunter works very well on you and the guardians, which is to be expected as you are tainted by demonic energy, you're almost demons at this point." Reign said as light and darkness covered his swords while lightning flickered around him.

'I just need to occupy his attention and get Liara to touch the artifact, our mission will be finished at that point, I do want the bonus rewards, but the spirit will definitely do whatever it takes to stop me, as will the guardians.'

'For some reason, they don't seem to be on guard against Liara that much, which is to be expected as my fighting prowess is much higher than hers, I can get to the artifact faster and I am more of a danger to them.'

'We need to use that against them and get her to the artifact, that's all that matters.'