Is this really a Game?!

The team stared at the spire as they surged with renewed energy. If they continued like this, they would be overwhelmed and would lose their lives. The spire was making it more and more difficult with each passing second, making the insectoids that were attacking them faster, stronger, and more durable.

And if that wasn't enough, there were still the crystalline tendrils lashed out violently as their speed and ferocity increased together with the power of the bugs. It was as if the spire itself had sensed their intent and was hellbent on stopping them. For every tendril they severed or destroyed, another would emerge, and the worst part was that most of the time, the new ones were thicker and harder to deal with.

"Laura, keep us covered. You guys, get to the gate as fast as possible, full speed ahead, full power!" Reign shouted before slashing forward, severing a tendril that was aimed at his head.

"I'm on it, don't worry!" Laura replied as she used her demonic energy to reinforce the barrier around them, making it harder for the tendrils to get to them. Laura's barrier was actually of great help to them, without it, they would have a more difficult time fighting off the tendrils as the tendrils wouldn't have to break through the barrier before getting to them.

Beast and Mia quickly moved, taking up the rear with Greenie, whose job was to make sure the insectoids that were coming close would not have a chance to threaten them. Greenie was doing it with Shadow, who was using his darkness to create tendrils of darkness that were lashing out, hitting the insectoids and pushing them back.

Mia used her frost to freeze tendrils and insectoids while Beast launched arrow after arrow, killing and destroying as much as he could around them.

"Gate ahead, we're nearly there!" Tank shouted as he raised his shield high and continued charging at the very front with Reign, facing the brunt of the tendril attacks. After they finally reached the base of the spire, where an ominous, jagged archway carved from bone and crystal loomed before them. The gate pulsated with a sickly, bluish light, emitting a low, droning hum that seemed to resonate deep within their chests.

Reign didn't hesitate. "Through the gate—go!" he ordered, his voice cutting through the cacophony of battle. The others didn't hesitate for even a moment, charging straight into the gate with fierce expressions.

They all stopped attacking the tendrils and insectoids for a moment and focused their attacks at the gate, launching them with full force at the closed gate that suddenly opened as they got close. The attacks all went in the spire, and did absolutely nothing to it.

It was as if their attacks were devoured, they simply dissipated inside. In fact, even that was not quite true, the attacks didn't dissipate, the moment they went through the gate, they seemingly disappeared, and not even a sliver of them was left.

Reign and the others glanced at one another, disturbed by what happened, but they still moved, getting in as staying out was definitely out of the question.

As the group arrived inside the spire, it was as if they had gone through a portal of sorts as they all felt a tingling sensation pass through their bodies upon going through the open gate. What they saw upon entering the spire, however, was quite different from what they expected.

They emerged in a vast, dimly lit chamber. Outside, the spire seemed to have a diameter of about 6 meters, and even though one could not truly say the spire was small, it was not too wide, but inside, however, the chamber they were currently looking at was much larger than what was possible.

"Spatial magic, huh?" Reign asked as the others stared around as well, all of them having the same thing in their mind. This was not the first time they had experienced such a thing, entering a place that was much larger inside than the outside. The castle back where the university was had it, the large tree that the Elven Queen used for their main building, and the pyramid where they had fought against enemies during one of Drayce's challenges, all of them were imbued with the spatial element.

In fact, even some of the buildings in Doncaster and Wilkashere had the spatial element imbued, but only a few, and the level of spatial power was not too powerful or obvious.

The walls of the chamber were composed of the same dark crystalline substance as the spire's exterior, but they were seemingly pulsing with different kinds of power.

The floor and walls were quite smooth, reflecting everything in front of them. As for the ceiling, they could not see it as it seemingly disappeared into an infinite void above them.

"What even is this, how is it so tall, I'm sure that this is over 400 meters tall, even with spatial magic used, how is it this much bigger compared to the outside?" Beast asked, greatly shocked and disturbed by what was going on.

"Doesn't matter, whatever this thing is, however, it was created, none of that is important, we're going to destroy it no matter what." Reign said, gripping his swords tightly as his eyes scanned the chamber.

There was a crystal in the center of the room, suspended by tendrils that stretched up into the void. The crystal was large, about 4 meters in height and 2 meters wide. The crystal was seemingly beating, pulsing with a deliberate rhythm. Each pulse sent a wave of energy through the chamber, causing the crystal walls to pulse each time.

"That would be the core, let's destroy it and finish this up." Reign said as he suddenly stabbed forward, his light and darkness coiling around the sword before surging forward, the two energies being forced to stick together by Reign's control over them.
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Just as the ray of light and darkness was about to reach the crystal and hit it, a large silvery object suddenly appeared in front of the crystal, taking on the attack and keeping the crystal safe.

The silvery thing crashed down on the floor upon being struck by Reign's attack, smoke was coming from it as it suddenly moved. As it moved, however, several more such silvery large objects fell down from the void above them.

It was when they fell and got up that Reign and the others were able to see what they were. They were large silvery insectoids similar to the ones outside, only larger and definitely stronger than them.

Multiple such insectoids fell down, forming a cluster around a crystal, guarding it as their silvery bodies gleamed in the light of the crystal and moving.

"They're quite a bit stronger than the other ones," Laura said as her demonic energy became present around her, slowly coiling around her body.

The insectoids turned to the group as one, their crimson eyes locking onto Reign and the others, who were intruders. Compared to their counterparts in the jungle, when these things moved, they moved with great precision, each step quick and deliberate as their oppressive auras radiated malice.

"I guess they're not going to let us walk in and destroy the core," Wolf said with a grin as flames roared to life around his sword.

"Well, not like we thought it would be any different than this." Reign replied, his voice steady as he smirked at the insectoids who charged at them, their movements perfectly synchronized. Tank and Greenie stepped forward, quickly acting to stop the insectoids. Tank quickly put up his shield, absorbing the brunt of the first impact from the insectoids, his eyes slightly widening in surprise at the strength of the creatures.

"Much more powerful than the other ones!" He quickly shouted in order to let the others know while Greenie whirled his warhammer, hitting multiple insectoids and sending them flying away, but to his dismay, he had sensed upon impact that he didn't do that much damage.

The silvery chitin the insectoids had was akin to wearing a suit of strong armor, he barely managed to dent them with his blows.

Shadow's, as well as Laura's tendrils then came out from the ground, enveloping most of the insectoids, coiling around them in order to stop them in their tracks as Mia used her frost, doing her best to freeze them in place and stop them from doing anything.

Reign moved, lightning surging around him while Wolf and Aelrinder did the same, quickly getting to the insectoids, arriving right after a rain of arrows from Beast had fallen down and a powerful explosion took place from behind the ground of powerful creatures, pushing them forward.

"Let's see just how much you'll be able to withstand, bugs!" Reign shouted as he struck with his swords, lightning exploding around him as the swords collided with the silvery chitin, leaving gashes from which no blood came out as they were too shallow.

Against enemies like this, using a sharp weapon was not the best option.