Is this really a Game?!

Chapter 998: Entering the Desert: The Search for the Enemy Base Begins

"Damn, how much longer do we have to walk?!" Shadow complained as he and the others made their way through the swamp that marked the start of their intrusion into the other region.

This wasn't the first time they were entering a new region, New York was also in another region, and contrary to what they had expected, the system didn't notify them with large letters that appeared on top of their vision to tell them they were leaving their region and entering a new one.

That would be a bit too much like a game though.

"Will you shut up, you've done nothing but complain ever since we were traveling through the desert!" Wolf snapped at Shadow and stared at him with an annoyed expression as the latter puffed his cheeks up and stared to the side.

"I just wanted to know how much longer we had before entering the desert…"

"Well, we still got plenty of lands to cover, so less talking and more walking, the monsters here are not a threat to us at all, just like the ones in the desert weren't a threat, we should be thankful about that, it made it much easier to travel."

"Yeah, the heat wasn't nice, but we're lucky that Mia is with us, with her present, it's much easier to handle it," Laura said with a smile before looking to her left and sighing before suddenly punching out, striking a monster that had just lunged at her from below the murky swamp water.

One punch was enough to obliterate the monster and kill it since it was just a Tier III creature. Reign and the others were not releasing their auras right now even though that would make all the monsters run away from them, making it easier to walk through the swamp.

They didn't want their enemy to sense their auras, and since they couldn't be certain whether or not they would come across any member of the enemy faction, they decided to not risk it.

Even though the risk was small, somebody might sense them and then go back to their base to report it. The enemy would definitely not take it lightly and there was a chance that it might make looking for the base much more difficult than it already was.

"We knew that the trip wouldn't be a short one, so come on, enough chatter, and let's continue, we're halfway through the swamp, at least that's what the map is telling us," Beast said as he opened a small map that they bought.

It turned out that there were a couple of explorers from Doncaster who had passed through these areas before, and they had mapped it out, allowing others to buy those same maps so that they could earn some money and help them out.

"The swamp is quite big, bigger than either of the two deserts, but it's not like that's that big of a problem for us, 2 more hours and we should be out," Beast added as he put the map down, to which Shadow sighed.

"Two more hours, and only after that is when the real pain will start."

"Stop being so dramatic already." Reign said as he glanced at Shadow before shaking his head.

The swamp was definitely annoying, after all, in order to pass as quickly as possible, they were walking in a straight line, many times having to go through the water, which was much deeper than expected at some places.

The attacks of the monsters present in the swamp didn't slow the group down in the slightest as one attack was enough to kill them, not to mention that Reign and the others could sense all the monsters that were near them without even having to focus on it.

Their mana sensitivity was much higher than Tier III's, and the monsters, even the ones that were good at hiding their presence and mana signatures, could simply not escape their senses.

Many times the monsters would die before being able to get close to them, with an attack so fast and powerful that they wouldn't even notice it before it was too late.

As they trudged through the swamp, the group remained vigilant, their senses alert for any monsters or players that might be present. Despite the challenging terrain and the constant attacks from the creatures lurking beneath the murky waters, they had a relatively easy time as their powerful bodies and stamina made the walk through the swamp relatively quick compared to how large it was.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity to Shadow who was dying of boredom, they emerged from the swamp, drenched in the murky water and covered in mud, but relieved to be out of the treacherous terrain. Ahead of them stretched the vast expanse of the desert, the scorching sun beating down mercilessly upon the sandy landscape.

"We made it," Laura exclaimed, wiping the sweat from her brow. "Now the real challenge begins."

"Yeah." Reign said as he took a deep breath before using his light and darkness manipulation.

He created a barrier around them that made them invisible from the outside, with the darkness helping with hiding their presence and mana signature.

Shadow did the same with his darkness, helping Reign out and making the cost of mana to keep the barrier up lower thanks to Shadow controlling the darkness.

The group started their trek across the desert, the scorching heat bearing down on them. Despite the harsh conditions, they pushed forward, their determination unwavering. The barrier of darkness and light that Reign and Shadow had created hid them from any monsters or players that might be close.

Mia was using her frost to keep the temperature around them down, giving them a lot of relief and making the entire walk through the desert many times easier.

As they journeyed deeper into the desert, they kept a sharp lookout for any signs of the enemy base. They knew that finding it would be crucial to their plans. They traveled for hours, the endless expanse of sand stretching out before them.

There was nothing present in the desert except for a few monsters they had come across.

That didn't mean that there were few monsters present in the entire desert, however, as they had sensed the presence and mana signature of plenty of monsters that were hiding below the sand. Thanks to the barrier, those monsters didn't sense them walking near them at all.

The monsters present in the desert were all Tier IV, much weaker than Reign and the others.

Still, after walking for a couple of hours, slowly moving through the desert and keeping an eye out for anything out of place, doing their best to try and sense everything around them, Reign and the others still hadn't come across anything that might help them locate the enemy base.

The best course of action would be to soon find a secluded area where they could build a portal and easily move to and fro the desert and Doncaster. They would make it so that only they could use the portal, nobody else.

They had to do that, even though the search for the enemy base would be much faster if the Tier V combatants of the faction helped, there was a high chance that they would be noticed by the enemy.

They couldn't take that risk, not to mention that they had a couple of days to search for the base, which meant that for now, they still had plenty of time to walk across the desert and explore it.

Who knew, perhaps the desert had an underground area like the one next to the mountain range, and if that was true, perhaps the base was there, below the ground, and safe from being noticed by anyone.

After several hours of trekking through the desert, they finally came across a rocky outcrop that seemed promising. The rocks provided some relief from the sun, casting long shadows across the sand. Reign decided that this would be a good place to rest and perhaps see if they could somehow place a portal there.

"We'll take a short break here," Reign announced, signaling for the group to gather around. "We need to find a place for the portal, if we can cut inside this rock, perhaps carve out a small room, we could easily place a portal there and hide it."

Wolf nodded his head and walked to the rock before looking all around it.

He looked all over the rock, trying to find a crevice or crack that could help with what they were about to do. Only on m v|le|mp|yr

"You guys should just rest a bit, I'll start melting this thing and create a room inside, no other way to do it quickly," Wolf said before placing his hands on the rock and using his ability, heating it up and causing it to turn orange.

As they rested, Reign and the others discussed their options. They knew that time was of the essence, but they also needed to be cautious. The enemy base could be anywhere in the vast desert, and they couldn't afford to make any mistakes.

The first step was to build the portal and make sure it was hidden well, then they would continue exploring.