Is this really a Game?!

"It\'s been a while since we were all gathered like this though."

"First time for me."

The underground area of the building that Reign and the others owned was packed with people, all of them talking to each other or talking to Reign and the others who were standing in front of the entire crowd.

"Boss, just tell us what\'s going on, we\'ll do our best to help you out!" A young and charismatic voice said from the middle of the crowd as some of the older residents of Doncaster, players who had been with Reign and the others nearly since the inception of the territory, chuckled.

"The kid has a point, no matter what it is, we\'re ready to help," Neil said as he stared at Reign and the others, the boyish demeanor he had a long time ago when the territory had just been made almost entirely gone.

He and his team had gone through a lot, they had seen people die out of the territory, they had suffered at the hands of powerful monsters that had nearly killed them numerous times, and had managed to rise so high and become Tier V combatants who were near the peak of the realm after many tribulations.

"We are all listening," Cameron said as Lea and Ronny nodded their heads.

They were once leaders of their own factions and knew how difficult and stressful it was to lead and bear the weight of so many lives, to have so many responsibilities, and were ready to help out any time Reign and the others needed them to help.

"Alright, alright, calm down first of all," Tank said calmly as he used mana to amplify his voice, allowing everyone to hear him.

"It might be nothing, but it might be trouble, we\'re still not sure." Reign said calmly as he stared at the tens of people present, all of them formidable fighters in their own right and the cream of the crop of both Doncaster and Wilkashere.

In fact, there were even some from the underground city as more and more people had left the city and came to the surface as more monsters started appearing below, many of them dangerous to the military, even to their top players.

"We\'re currently allied with the spirit of the Verdant Jungle, which is where the base of the Enclave, which we have been friendly with and have been trading for a while with, is located."

"The spirit has asked us to help with the corruption that is appearing and trying to spread in the jungle, and since many of you have been to the jungle, you know exactly what I am talking about." Reign said as everyone from the crowd nodded, even those that had not directly fought, but had come across a corrupted area.

"The corruption is being spread by someone, and from what we have managed to find out, it is being spread by humans, which means that the chances of other players being the ones behind it is quite high, and thanks to what happened today, we have almost confirmed that."

Reign then pointed at a cage and a man that was standing inside of it, his eyes unfocused and his mouth slightly open as he was drooling.

"We captured this guy today after a battle, he was spying on us, and there was something off about him, he was being shielded by a power, probably an ability or skill that another player has, and after being captured, the said power did this to him, shattering his mind and turning him into a husk that barely has a soul."

"There is a small chance that whoever is behind the corruption will, or has already found out about us and where we are, which means there is a chance that they will attack us, which is the reason you have all been called here."

"I want you all to be alert, notify us if you notice anything weird and if you do come across a corrupted area like the ones in the jungle, you are to notify us immediately."

Everybody in the crowd stood silent.

The news that Reign had just given them was… well, they could be a big deal, quite a big one.

"Ummm … sir, how big of a problem are those corrupted areas then, I mean, if you are the ones that are actually working to solve them, should we stop going into the forest then?" One person asked as Reign shook his head.

"No need, the corrupted areas need to be removed before growing stronger and stronger, those in the outer parts of the jungle are fine for Tier V combatants to deal with, but if you do come across one that seems to be dangerous, more dangerous than any other, then you should retreat, the spirit of the jungle will notice it and tell us."

Everybody nodded before Reign sighed.

"That would be all, let us all hope that these precautions we are taking are just that, precautions that will not be necessary in the end."

"You can tell others of this, but please try not to spread too much panic around, just tell them that there might be trouble brewing and that they should be careful, we will give a faction-wide notice in a couple of minutes about corrupted areas and that the players of the faction should be wary of them."

"We will also inform our allies about the areas."

"Now, off you go, go hunt, go relax, go be with your family members and friends, do what you usually do, just keep an eye out for anything suspicious in the territory."

"Yes sir!" The underground area trembled as the entire crowd shouted in unison, making Reign smirk for a bit before chuckling, the others did the same as well.

Who would have thought that in a couple of months, the mission that they took from Eldar that had taken them to Doncaster would be the turning point for so many people?

Compared to the past, the entire town was different, and the ones that used to have trouble going up against monsters far below Tier I were now powerful individuals who could crush the same monsters with their auras alone.

It was kind of funny how fate works, how people were capable of changing so much in a short period of time.

But Reign and the others weren\'t that surprised, after all, they had changed as well.

"Now, what was it that you managed to discover?" Reign suddenly asked as he brought the communication crystal out.

"The phantom you spoke of, it is a bit familiar to me, I sensed it when you were chasing after it, but I have sensed it before, I am certain of it, I … I just can\'t remember exactly where and when," Gabriel spoke, his voice low and solemn as Reign and the others got serious as well.

"Can you at least remember something, like, was it a long time ago or more recent, was it when you were looking at a human or not, was it when you sensed some corrupted area spreading?"

"I\'m afraid I cannot remember the exact details, it was a while ago, but I think I sensed something on a human, I just cannot remember who."

"A member of the Enclave?" Reign asked as Gabriel sighed.

"I cannot be certain of that either, I have sensed other humans before, but they were weak, not powerful enough to fight the monsters of the jungle, some of them died, turning into food for the monsters, others escaped as quickly as they arrived."

"So it could be someone that arrived and then escaped, that could\'ve been the time the enemy decided to spread corruption in the jungle, or perhaps a reason for it," Beast said as Gabriel sighed and nodded his head.

"It could have been, I\'m sorry I can\'t be of any more help, I truly do not know why I cannot remember such an important detail."

"It could be the work of the phantom." Aethion\'s voice suddenly echoed as Gabriel furrowed his brows.

"That is an unfamiliar voice."

"It\'s a friend, one that has been present since the very start, you just never met him … it\'s complicated, I\'ll explain later." Reign said as a small holographic figure of Aethion appeared in his hand, one similar to the figure of Gabriel that would appear atop the communication crystal each time they used it.

"The phantom has many strange abilities, that is true for every single one, but the thing is … not all phantoms have the same powers."

"The one you came across before, the aura it had, the presence you felt, it would be familiar to you as phantoms made by the same person do have the same aura and presence, but one of its powers, or functions, might have been to make it difficult for one to remember ever seeing that person, which could explain why you have trouble remembering."

"Had the person and phantom been stronger, you might have never even remembered sensing the phantom at all, or ever seeing the person."