Is this really a Game?!

Chapter 1048: The Crystal Horde: A Dangerous Situation

The air in the chamber grew thick with tension as Reign and his team sensed the presence outside. The sand that had once been artifacts and scrolls now covered the floor, adding an eerie silence to the room. They knew they had to stay alert and be ready for whatever was approaching.

"Prepare yourselves," Reign said, his voice low but steady. "Something's out there, and it's close."

The team formed a defensive circle around the altar, their weapons drawn and their senses heightened. The faint glow from the amulet in Laura's hand provided a small source of light, casting long shadows on the walls.

Mia conjured frost magic, ready to unleash it at a moment's notice, while Wolf's greatsword glowed with a faint heat. Shadow blended into the darkness, his daggers at the ready. Jin and Greenie took their positions, their eyes scanning the room for any sign of movement.

The silence was broken by a low, rumbling growl that echoed through the chamber. The ground beneath them trembled slightly, and the sand on the floor began to shift. Reign tightened his grip on his sword, his heart pounding in his chest.

Suddenly, the chamber door burst open, and a massive creature charged in. It was unlike anything they had seen before—a hulking beast with a body covered in sharp, crystalline scales that reflected the faint light from the amulet. Its eyes glowed with an otherworldly blue light, and its claws scraped against the stone floor as it advanced.

"Here it comes!" Beast shouted, raising his shield to block the creature's initial attack.

The beast lunged at them, its powerful claws slashing through the air. Tank managed to deflect the blow with his shield, but the force of the impact forced him to take two steps back. The team responded immediately, launching a coordinated counterattack.

Reign and Wolf struck at the creature's sides, their blades clanging against its crystalline scales. Mia unleashed a barrage of frost magic, attempting to slow the beast down, while Laura hurled demonic fireballs that exploded on impact, creating bursts of flame and smoke.

Shadow darted around the creature, looking for any weak points in its armor. He stared at the entire body of the monster, trying to see where they could attack to dish out the most damage, and he managed to find 3 places.

"Right behind the neck, in the middle of its back, and on the right side, there are three spots the scales don't fully cover, try attacking those!"

Jin and Greenie moved in tandem, their combined strength allowing them to deliver powerful blows to the creature's legs. The beast roared in pain and fury, its movements becoming more erratic as it tried to fend off the relentless assault.

Tank stood in front of it, taunting it and blocking the powerful blows with his shield, each hit causing the ground to tremble, a loud echo to ring through the chamber, and for the ground beneath Tank to cave in by a bit.

"Focus on the weak points Shadow identified!" Reign shouted, redirecting their efforts to the vulnerable spots on the beast. He moved swiftly to the right side, where the scales didn't fully cover, and struck with precision. His blade penetrated the exposed flesh, eliciting a roar of pain from the creature.

Wolf, seizing the opportunity, leaped onto the creature's back and aimed for the middle spot, driving his greatsword deep into the gap between the scales. The beast thrashed violently, trying to dislodge him, but Wolf held on, using his fire manipulation to heat the blade and cause even more damage.

Mia and Laura focused their magical attacks on the creature's legs, trying to immobilize it. Mia's frost magic began to encase the beast's lower limbs in ice, while Laura's demonic fireballs targeted the joints, weakening them further.

Shadow, always the opportunist, darted in and out of the fray, striking at the neck's vulnerable spot with his daggers. His dark energy seeped into the wounds, causing the beast to roar even louder in agony.

Greenie and Jin, with their combined strength, delivered powerful blows to the creature's legs, further destabilizing it. Beast and Tank coordinated their defenses, keeping the creature's attention divided and ensuring it couldn't focus on any single target for too long.

The beast's movements became more erratic and sluggish as their attacks took their toll. It tried to retreat, but the relentless assault from Reign and his team prevented it from escaping. Blood began to seep from the numerous wounds, staining the sand beneath it.

"We're wearing it down!" Reign shouted, his voice filled with determination. "Keep pushing!"

The team redoubled their efforts, striking with even greater intensity. Wolf's blade, now glowing with heat, cut through the scales more easily. Shadow's daggers found their mark again and again, each strike weakening the creature further. Mia and Laura's combined magic continued to chip away at its defenses, while Jin and Greenie's powerful blows caused the beast to stagger.

With one final, coordinated strike, Reign, Wolf, and Shadow targeted the creature's weak points simultaneously. Reign's blade pierced the right side, Wolf's greatsword drove into the back, and Shadow's daggers struck the neck. The combined force of their attacks was too much for the beast to withstand.

It let out a final, pained roar before collapsing to the ground, its body twitching in its death throes.

The chamber fell silent, the echoes of the battle fading away. Reign and his team stood victorious, their breaths heavy but triumphant.

They all glanced at one another and smiled before Reign suddenly grew solemn.

"Dammit, get out of the chamber, quickly!" Reign shouted as he ran to the door that was partially destroyed thanks to the monster.

He exited the chamber, the others closely following behind him before exiting as well and staring at the sight outside.

The ruins were still there, as was the sand and the heat, but one thing had changed.

There were monsters present in the ruins now, all of them hulking monsters covered in crystal scales like the one they had just fought.

The main reason Reign had turned so serious and wanted them all to get out was so that they wouldn't get stuck inside the chamber with tens of monsters appearing outside and charging in.

The sight before them was daunting. Dozens of monsters, all with the same crystalline scales as the one they had just defeated, moved through the ruins. Their eyes glowed with a cold, blue light, and their movements were swift and deliberate. It was clear that these creatures were drawn by something.

"We're surrounded," Beast muttered, his eyes scanning the horde.

"We need to find a way out of here," Reign said, his mind racing. "We can't fight them all at once."

"Agreed," Wolf said, his grip tightening on his greatsword. "Let's move quickly and stay together, we'll have to fight our way through."

"What about the quest, we still haven't found the treasure."

"Right now, I care more for getting out of here alive than I do for the treasure, we can't defeat all of these bastards at once," Reign told Shadow who sighed and nodded his head as they started moving.

They didn't cover a lot of distance, however, as they were forced to stop soon.

Monsters appeared from the sand, the same ones that were all over the ruins.

More and more appeared, rising from below, completely surrounding them.

"This … is bad." Reign stated as he stared at the 30 monsters around them, more coming from around them as well.

"Tell me about it." Shadow responded as he clenched his daggers and stared at the monsters.

"I don't think they have the same weakness as the one before, look, the places their scales don't cover are different on every single one of them." He commented as he stared at the monsters while Reign and the others nodded.

The monsters were not charging at them yet, they were slowly moving closer and staring at them, their sight never leaving them.

"Get ready to go all out, we'll use the marks and fight these things, our only goal being to break through their encirclement and get out of this place." Reign said as they all nodded and waited, ready to explode with their full power once the monsters got a bit closer.

"Wait a second." Beast suddenly widened his eyes as he stared at the monsters in front of him before staring at those around them.

"What is it?"

"These things, they're all staring at the same place, or to be more exact, the same thing," Beast told Reign and the others as he glanced at the amulet that Laura was still holding in her hands as the system informed them it was an item that could not be stored in the inventory.

"So they're after the amulet, maybe if we are in a desperate situation, we can throw it and have them go at it, leaving us alone," Tank said with a nod of his head before Beast shook his head.

"It's an amulet, a necklace, what if we wear it, I think something might change if one of us does so."