Is this really a Game?!

The aftermath of the battle left the party standing amidst the remnants of the defeated sand serpent. The air crackled with residual energy, and the party members took a moment to catch their breath and assess the rewards they had gained.

Thankfully, the aura of a boss monster had actually formed a safe zone of sorts around them as the monsters didn't dare approach it previously.

Even though all the monsters fought without a care about who was their opponent, it seemed that when sensing one that was much more powerful, like a boss, they would stay clear and fight against each other around it.

Reign, still in his Thunderstorm Embodiment, slowly descended from the sky. The lightning arcs around him gradually subsided as the embodiment dispersed. He looked at the fallen sand serpent, contemplating the power they had just faced.

"The boss dropped some good stuff. Its scale, its essence, and that core—these are valuable rewards. We should check them out and see what benefits we can gain," Reign suggested, gesturing towards the loot dropped by the defeated monster.

The party gathered around the loot, each member eyeing the rewards with curiosity. Mia, her sword still covered in frosty air, examined the Sand Serpent's Scale, her eyes lighting up with interest.

"This scale is incredibly resilient. With the right craftsmanship, it could be used to forge formidable armor," she remarked, running her fingers along the shimmering surface.

"The old man will definitely be able to make something good out of that." Reign nodded his head before glancing to the side.

Beast inspected the Essence of Sand, a mysterious substance that seemed to emanate elemental energy.

"I sense the power of the desert in this essence. The system says that it is able to enhance elemental abilities that are similar to it or be used to create potent potions," Beast suggested, his keen eyes assessing the potential of the newfound resource.

This was not the first time they got something that could be used to create a potion, but this was the first time that they actually gained an item that could enhance elemental abilities.

It was obvious that the essence was not helpful to any of them, after all, none had any ability that was similar to sand. This, however, was a priceless treasure to those who could manipulate soil and had similar abilities.

The best thing to do with it was to sell it in an auction or to sell it directly to one of the top teams in the territory.

Tank, his shield still in hand, hefted the Sandstorm Core, a gem pulsating with elemental energy.

"This core seems to be a condensed form of the sand serpent's power, it's similar to its core, but instead of a core that has all the mana and power of a monster, this is the power of its ability being compressed, and condensed in this little thing," Tank said, a grin forming on his face.

"So, it's like the Essence of Sand?" Shadow asked, to which Tank and the others shook their heads.

"Although the system description for both items is similar and they do in fact hold similar powers, one can be used to improve any similar ability, the more the ability is connected to sand, the better the result, it's something that is natural, it can suddenly be brought into existence by a lot of mana and bloodshed in a desert, and well, there's plenty of both here." Reign said as he looked around them.

"I think we're going to come across plenty of these things here, this actually might become one of the most important areas that we have, if the essences keep popping into existence often, then we can allow any earth, soil, rock, sand … type of manipulators to improve their abilities."

"As for the core, well, it's akin to the core of a monster, like Tank has said."

"It's not something that comes from nature, it's all the power and comprehension of the ability the snake had."

"You've seen how powerful it can be, those blades of sand almost cut Beast in half, and he was over 200 meters away from the snake at that point."

"In such an area, monsters that can control the sand are incredibly dangerous, if not for the snake being a bit overconfident and arrogant, it could have easily escaped by burrowing through the sand, which we know it can do as it had done it multiple times during the battle, not to mention those large spikes of sand it had sent our way, those were dangerous too."

"Anyway, we can't use this to improve an ability, nor to make a potion."

"This is for crafting a weapon, armor piece, or an accessory." Reign said with a smile before glancing at them.

"Perhaps the essence can also be used for that, but we will have to ask Adrian about it, still, the core itself will definitely help produce an item that can help us here in the desert, the skill such an item will have is definitely connected to sand manipulation."

"He's already busy with other orders and the carcasses we gave him after completing the dungeon, so I'm sure we're in for an earful when we get back and visit him again." Reign said as they all chuckled and nodded before looking around them.

"The aura of the snake is almost completely gone, the monsters are coming closer and closer now," Laura said as Reign and the others smiled.

They managed to level up already, but this was still far from enough.

How much time will it take them to level up to the peak of Tier V?

A couple of days, if they spend almost all their available time in the desert. They couldn't do that, of course.

There were always some things they had to deal with back in the territory, not to mention the fact that they weren't only going to fight the normal monsters of the desert. Killing normal monsters in large numbers was definitely the best way to level up, but they wouldn't get that many items if they simply did that.

Fighting elites and bosses was a must for them. They had always done so, fighting powerful enemies that were the same level as they were or higher in order to gain more benefits, to gain better items, and to push themselves to their limits in order to become more powerful.

Just as they finished speaking, monsters appeared around them, all of them fighting one another and moving closer and closer as Reign and the others smiled before charging forward to clash against them.

The battle continued as Reign and his party engaged the incoming monsters. The desert night echoed with the clash of weapons, the roars of monsters, and the crackling of elemental powers. The party, now battle-tested and attuned to their enhanced abilities, fought with a seamless synergy that seemed almost second nature.

Reign, his Thunderstorm Embodiment no longer active, moved like a storm across the battlefield. Lightning crackled around him as he directed bolts of energy at the monsters, leaving trails of scorched sand in his wake. Even without the skill, he could manipulate his lightning at will and have it course through his body, increasing his speed and reflexes immensely.

With his ability evolving and even reaching level 4, he had a deeper understanding of his lightning and could more easily control it. It was as if controlling a limb, and simply willing it to behave in a manner similar to how it had behaved back when he would use the [ Lesser Lightning Body ] was not too difficult for him.

Wolf's flames covered his entire body as the sand below him turned to glass after each attack he unleashed. The monsters roared in pain as the flames would not stop burning, they would stick to their bodies and continue burning as long as Wolf was able to supply mana to them, or until the monsters used their own mana to smother them.

As the night wore on, the party found a brief respite to regroup. They gathered around, catching their breath and assessing the loot they had acquired from the battles.

Reign sat down on a rock and surveyed the scene. "Great work, everyone, we've done quite a lot today."

"Yeah, we managed to kill about 32 elites, 4 mini-bosses, and one more boss after that snake," Beast said as he nodded his head before taking a deep breath.

"Unfortunately, I don't think we'll be able to fight against another boss if it appears, in our current state, unless we go all out and use our trump cards, it simply won't be enough, especially if it is the same as that last bastard." Reign said as he gritted his teeth.

The last boss they fought against was very different from the snake. The snake acted like the overlord of the small area they were in and fought them by itself, but the other boss, a giant beetle, fought with other monsters.

To be more exact, it fought together with hundreds of other beetles that would not stop appearing and attacking them.