Is this really a Game?!

Reign entered and set up the portal, placing it near the end of the room while the others made sure to disguise the entrance, making sure that nobody would notice anything out of place. Once the portal was in place, they activated it and confirmed that it was working properly.

With their hidden base ready, and the portal working, they could now explore the desert much more easily.

They went out again, searching for the base, searching for any irregularities that might be present in the desert. The irregularities they were looking were could be a place where the sand might seem just a bit darker, perhaps one area where there was no heat haze.

The absence of monsters in an area in the desert was another irregularity that might point to the presence of the base.

After several hours of searching, Reign and the others regrouped at the portal site, exhausted but determined. They had covered a large area of the desert but had found no trace of the enemy base. Reign, Shadow, and Mia were exhausted the most.

Mia was less exhausted as the only thing she did was channel her mana and allow the frost to exit her body bit by bit, cooling their surroundings and allowing them to move more comfortably.

Reign and Shadow, however, had to make sure the barrier around them was stable and in perfect condition so that they wouldn\'t be noticed by anybody. It was a difficult task that took a lot of focus and mana control, thus they were getting tired much faster than usual.

"We need to think outside the box," Reign said, looking at the others. "We\'ve been searching the desert for hours with no luck, and even though there is still plenty of land to cover, we need to also consider other possibilities."

"Perhaps the base is underground, we should start looking for any signs of underground structures or caves during our exploration."

"We\'ll just mark those places on the map, make sure that we can check them out later on."

Shadow and the others nodded at Reign\'s words inside their building.

They weren\'t resting near the portal, instead, they had gone through it and were now resting in the basement of their building as that was where they had placed the portal.

Since they would need to go to and fro the desert a bit more often, they felt the need to place the portal somewhere where it was more private, as well as easier for them to access at all times, and the large basement of their building was perfect for it.

The group spent the next two days exploring the desert, marking potential locations of interest on their map. They searched for any signs of underground structures or caves that might indicate the presence of the enemy base. Despite their efforts, they found no conclusive evidence.

As they continued their search, tensions began to rise among the group. The relentless heat, constant vigilance, and lack of progress were taking their toll. Shadow, in particular, grew increasingly frustrated, his impatience getting the best of him.

"We\'ve been out here for days, and we still haven\'t found anything!" Shadow exclaimed, kicking a small rock in frustration. "Are we just going to wander aimlessly in this desert forever?"

Reign placed a hand on Shadow\'s shoulder, trying to calm him. "Patience, Shadow."

"We knew this would be a difficult task, we just need to stay focused and keep searching."

"I know, but … but what if we are wrong, if this place is not where their base is if the only thing we might find here is the corruption, and even then, god knows where the source of corruption might be."

"Then we go back to the original plan, we attack them head-on after nearly taking over the core of a side base, don\'t forget that we still have that option available for us."

Shadow sighed and nodded as the other glanced at him and nodded back.

Despite the difficulties, the group pressed on, determined to find the enemy base. They explored deeper into the desert, venturing into areas that seemed more desolate and isolated. It was during one of these expeditions that they stumbled upon a peculiar sight.

"Look over there," Laura said, pointing to a distant dune. "Do you see that? It looks like... structures."

Reign squinted, trying to make out the shapes in the distance. Sure enough, there were faint outlines of structures peeking out from behind the dune.

"We should check it out," Reign said decisively. "It could be something that might lead to the enemy, or perhaps something else entirely."

The group approached cautiously, keeping their senses sharp for any signs of danger. As they drew closer, the outlines became clearer, revealing the presence of several large tents and makeshift buildings.

"It\'s a camp," Mia observed, noting the presence of people moving about the camp. "But are they friend or foe?"

"We\'ll find out soon enough," Reign said as they approached the outskirts of the camp. They hid their presence using their barrier and moved closer, trying to gather more information without being detected.

As they observed, they noticed something unsettling. The people in the camp were not just any group of travelers or adventurers. They were armed, organized, and seemed to be preparing for something big.

"This doesn\'t look good," Beast whispered, his eyes scanning the camp. "They\'re gearing up for something, and it doesn\'t look like they\'re here for a vacation."

Reign nodded grimly. "We need to find out more about their intentions and if they are indeed the enemy faction, even though I doubt it after looking at their gear and how they are camping in the middle of this desert."

"You guys should stay here and make sure that you are concealed, me and Shadow will go and try to find out more."

The others nodded their heads as Shadow and Reign moved toward the makeshift camp, each tasked with gathering information from different parts of the camp. They moved swiftly and silently, blending into the background and avoiding detection.

As Reign and Shadow moved through the camp, they noticed that the people there were not from the enemy faction. Instead, they appeared to be a group of mercenaries, judging by their rugged appearance and from the topics they were discussing.

Reign and Shadow listened in on conversations and observed their activities, trying to piece together what their intentions might be. It became clear that the mercenaries were hired by someone to search for something in the desert, but the details were vague.

After gathering as much information as they could, Reign and Shadow regrouped with the others to discuss their findings.

"They\'re mercenaries, all of them," Shadow said, prompting the others to raise their eyebrows in surprise.

It wasn\'t that weird for larger groups to form and work as mercenaries instead of creating their own faction. Mercenaries have always existed on Earth, as well as in the universe, but the surprise was the fact they were here in the desert.

"It seems these mercenaries are searching for something, but they don\'t seem to know exactly what or where it is," Reign explained. "They mentioned that their employer believes it\'s in this area, but they\'re having trouble pinpointing its location."

"Do you think it could be related to the enemy base, could their employer be an enemy of the faction?" Laura asked, her brow furrowed in concern.

"It\'s possible," Reign replied. "But without more information, it\'s hard to say for sure. We need to keep an eye on them and see if we can work together with them or not."

"They seem to know a lot more than us, and the information we gained was all from what the regular members were talking about, most of them are Tier V, only a few are peak Tier IV combatants, and I was able to sense the presence of several Tier VI combatants, about 3 of them, near the center of the camp."

"Three Tier VI combatants is not a low number at all, but against the enemy faction, that\'s not enough, they\'ll just get themselves slaughtered," Beast said from the side as Reign nodded his head.

"Which is why we should continue observing them for a bit, learn more about them and why they are here, and then go to them and introduce ourselves."

"What if they attack us on sight?" Tank asked as Reign chuckled.

"That wouldn\'t be very good for them, after all, they have 3 Tier VI combatants while we got 9, I think they will immediately understand that a fight won\'t be good for them."