Is this really a Game?!

The figure, clad in a dark cloak that concealed most of his features, leaped from the tree and vanished into the shadows. Unbeknownst to the Tier V combatants, their victory over the Tier VI monster had not gone unnoticed. The mysterious figure moved swiftly through the jungle, navigating the terrain with practiced ease.

As for Reign and the rest, they were on their way back to the base.

They didn't speak much during their way back to the base. They were all tired, exhausted from the battle which had taken their very all to be finished. They were low on mana, their stamina was also low, and they still had to be alert, if any monster attacked them during their way back, they would have no choice but to take a mana potion, health potion if needed, as well as a recovery potion that would help their stamina recover quickly.

Because of the side effects that could accumulate from using potions often, they rarely used them at all, after all, their strength allowed for such luxury.

As they got out of the jungle, they finally allowed themselves to relax and check the notification from the system.

[ The party has successfully defeated the Pseudo Tier VI Field Boss, Malevolent Mass of Gluttony ]

[ The rewards will be distributed based on the contribution during the fight ]

[ Team 'Heaven's Hooligans' has contributed 70% to the battle, team 'New Blood' has contributed 30% ]

Everybody had gained a different reward, which was quite different from how things usually went when fighting against monsters and even bosses.

Upon talking to the system, they learned why.

This was the first time they were fighting such a high-level boss, and thanks to that, they were able to learn that the rewards were given differently now.

The one that Reign had defeated with Ishmail and his team proved to be a normal boss monster, just one that was corrupted and thus had its stats increased.

Tier V Field Bosses and higher would give people rewards based on how much they had contributed during the battle, that included exp, items, S Coins…

[ The two parties are the first to successfully defeat a Pseudo Tier VI Field Boss, the system will announce the incredible achievement around the world. ]

[ Does the party consent to their achievement being spread around the world? ]

Reign and the others pressed yes, not because they wanted fame or anything, but because being well-known would make it easier for them to get allies, as well as to take in smaller territories easier in the future.

[ Does the party wish for the party name to stay Anonymous? ]

Reign and the rest decided not to stay anonymous as that wouldn't really help them gain the recognition of others.

They had actually wondered why there were so little notifications that went world wide before, after all, they had only heard a couple of team, including some that were limited to a couple of regions.

[ The system has spread word of great achievements without consulting the players early on, the system has now decided to allow the players to choose as thanks to the higher average level, it would be easier for people to meet other people, and those that do not wish to draw attention to themselves should be allowed to stay anonymous. ]

[ The system has also scanned everybody from the start and knew which people wouldn't really care if their names were spread throughout the world or not, thus the system had automatically hidden the news of great achievements of those that it knew wouldn't like to be known by others. ]

The news left a bad taste in the mouths of Reign and the rest. The realization that the world announcements had actually been hidden for some people, while theirs were so freely distributed, was not something they really liked.

Although Reign wasn't certain what they would have done had they been given the choice, since the first world announcement had happened many months ago, being asked would have still been preferred than the system doing a scan and simply deciding for them.

Back at Mia's base, the Tier V team arrived, dismounting from Beast's tamed monsters. Exhaustion weighed heavily on them, but a sense of accomplishment fueled their determination. Mia, Aelrinder, and the other members of the team were visibly excited. 

"We did it! We really defeated a Tier VI!" Mia exclaimed, her eyes akin to two crescent moons as she smiled widely.

Reign, patting the beast that had been carrying him, nodded. "Yeah, but it still wasn't a true Tier VI, and even then, we used everything we had to defeat it, a true Tier VI would have definitely been powerful enough to defeat us."

Despite the lingering discontent about the system's handling of announcements, the team couldn't deny the significance of their victory. The news would spread, and their names would become known to everyone across the Earth.

As they entered Mia's base, they immediately walked through the portal and arrived in Doncaster. The adrenaline from the battle gradually gave way to the weariness that had been suppressed.

As soon as they arrived in Doncaster, all the players around started gathering around them and talking. The world announcement had already been heard by all, and the news that their city lord and his team had defeated a pseudo Tier VI Field Boss made them all incredibly excited.

Reign talked to them and thanked them before they all excused themselves and went to their building to get some rest. 

Back inside the jungle, inside the Enclave.

"It seems your little spying was unnecessary in the end, the news were broadcasted all over the world." Ishmail said as he sat on a sofa and glanced at the person in front of him, the same person that had been staring at the battle between the powerful Field Boss and Reign's party.

"But still, knowing more about their powers and what they are truly capable of is important, you did well."

"Thank you, sir." The man said as he bowed. If Reign or the others were present, they would have immediately identified the man as one of the two that had been spying on Wolf and the others outside of the jungle.

"Light and Darkness, a powerful transformation that gives him wings, and the others also have their own special powers that they didn't show during the battle against that boss monster, it seems like they had hidden their powers even more than we have, which isn't good." Ishmail said as the man looked in slight confusion.

Ishmail noticed and sighed before speaking again, "It's simple, they have the luxury to hide a big part of their powers against a peak Tier V boss, while we don't, we were only hiding some of our trump cards, while they hid multiple, which means that they are stronger than us."

"Lord Ishmail, are you planning on attacking them in the future?" The man asked, to which Ishmail smiled before shaking his head.

"I would much rather we cooperate than fight, even with a perfect plan, our casualties would be immense, it's simply not worth it."

"What I am apprehensive about, however, is that our new friends might decide to attack us in the future, and with their strength, we might not be able to fight them back."

"Which means we have to take action, even with us being here longer and having a base inside this jungle, our main issue is still the lack of highly talented personnel."

"Their numbers are probably higher than ours, we only have three other territories other than this one, and none are that large."

"You have seen that base on the mountain range, it is obvious that it's just a base they established for hunting, just as we have done in the past, and yet it is quite large and well-equipped."

"That means that they not only have a large number of territories, but also a lot of people under them, and even though numbers are not as important as they had been in the past, with more people present, there is a much higher chance of talented players appearing."

"So, we should increase the territories under our control?"

"Yes, the two town we have been negotiating with, it's time to take them, we shall try one more time to do it diplomatically, but if they say no, we shall take them by force, notify the others, they should be ready for a battle soon."

"Yes, sir!" The man said before leaving the large room, upon which Ishmail leaned his head against his open hand and smiled.

A few chuckles escaped his mouth before he suddenly started laughing.

"Incredible, to think I would find such interesting people so soon, such talented people, I wonder, I truly wonder how it would feel like, how their mana would taste, how nutritious their flesh, and how sweet their blood might be."

"I truly didn't make a mistake by listening and taking this base." Ishmail said as a couple of more chuckles escaped his mouth while his eyes started shinning an ominous red color.