Is this really a Game?!

The battlefield suddenly grew quiet, with all the combatants freezing in shock at what just transpired. The hunters stopped launching their arrows and charged forward with the wolves.

The wolves stopped howling, they stopped using the shadows to cover the surroundings and hide there, making it more difficult for Beast and the rest to locate them and attack precisely, they actually stopped moving altogether and simply stood there in shock, staring at the Alpha with shock.

The spear of the rider easily stabbed through the head, penetrating the skull with ease and ending the life of the Alpha who calmly looked at the rider, seemingly content with its fate.

And then something changed.

The moment the Alpha died, its body started dissipating, turning into particles of mana that were absorbed by the rider. The particles of mana were quickly absorbed by the rider who did nothing but stand straight and take the power in him, his body slowly changing from the mana he absorbed.

As the mana was absorbed by his body, the rider suddenly grew slightly taller, he became a bit more muscular, his face elongated and his facial features changed a bit while fur grew over his body as well.

He looked similar to how Beast looked when he fused with Blackie, which was exactly what the rider had done just now. By claiming the life of the Alpha, who was about to die anyway, the rider managed to absorb a good portion of its powers, not letting it go to waste.

Compared to Beast and his fusion, the rider was unable to get all the power from the Alpha, but compared to Beast, his fusion was not a temporary one. He would be in his current form forever, unable to form a connection with another animal.

That was a high price to pay for the fusion, it was something that would make the rider's future progress a limited one. No longer would he be able to try and form a connection with another, more talented and powerful animal in order to make his tribe form a bond with the pack of the animal he had formed a connection with, making them all stronger.

Today, however, he had no choice but to claim the life of the Alpha and absorb its powers, transforming and becoming more powerful than he ever was. Even though this would limit the rider's options in the future, it was necessary right now. He was fully aware that if the Alpha died, the two who had taken it down would join Reign to fight him, and he wasn't confident about being able to defeat them.

Even fighting against Reign proved to be highly difficult for the rider who was even injured multiple times during the battle with the fierce man. At first, he was the one holding the advantage in battle, but as the battle progressed, that changed.

The biggest change occurred when Tank managed to hold the Alpha down, allowing Wolf to attack it without fearing any consequences. The rider was taken aback by the powerful aura coming from Wolf, and he could sense the desperation and anxiety that the Alpha had at that moment.

Because of that, the rider was distracted for an instant, and Reign quickly took advantage of that and stabbed him in the stomach before using his darkness-infused lightning to deal even more damage to him.

That was the turning point of the entire battle and the reason why the rider was then placed in a precarious situation, almost losing his head thanks to Reign's sneak attack while they were pushing against one another.

Now, the rider was more powerful than he was before, and he quickly went on the offensive.

The rider lunged at Reign, who had just arrived. With his newfound speed and strength, he was able to move with the same grace and ferocity the Alpha he had just absorbed could. His spear, which previously moved with great precision and great, now struck with immense force, each blow heavier than the last.

Reign barely had time to adjust before the rider arrived in front of him, the spear slashing down at him, forcing him to go on the defensive right away, his arms getting numb from blocking the sudden attack.

Each time he parried or blocked, his bones would get rattled from the impact as it was clear that the rider's new form improved his stats considerably, not to mention the fact that during the transformation, the wounds the rider had suffered from Reign had also healed.

They were not fully healed and the rider was not back to his peak state, but it was enough, more than enough for him to deal with Reign. Reign quickly adapted his strategy, moving out of the way, weaving between the rider's attacks, no longer daring to take them head-on as he was well aware that it would only serve to make the rider's advantage larger.

He wouldn't back down, of course, but he had to fight smart now, with his black and white lightning flickering around him, he was constantly on the move, waiting for the moment to strike back, fully aware that his current strategy was quite risky as one wrong move could mean the end.

Meanwhile, Tank and Wolf didn't stand idle either. The moment they saw the rider's transformation, they prepared to fight him, only to be surprised when the rider attacked Reign so suddenly.

The two quickly moved, doing their best to get to the left and right of the rider respectively, and flank him. Reign noticed their movement and continued fighting like he had, dodging and slashing at the rider when he had the chance to do so, but unfortunately, his slashes did little damage to the rider's powerful new body.

Finally, Reign did make a mistake, one that the rider had been waiting for. He noticed an opening between the rider's attacks, a pattern that would leave him open for a moment, which would allow Reign enough time to actually pour enough mana into his sword and deal some good damage.

It was during a stab the rider liked to perform, one he had been using from the start of the battle. It was a powerful thrust, one that was incredibly difficult for Reign to dodge, and if he tried to block it, he would be sent flying back.

He had already seen through the thrust, he knew exactly when the rider would perform it, and thus he was able to move to dodge before the attack even came. During the thrust, the rider would push one leg forward, lean a bit to the side, and overextend his right arm, leaving his side exposed for a short period of time.

The moment Reign noticed the shift in the rider's foot, the tell of the attack, he moved.

He moved to the right immediately and coated his sword with his lightning, discarding the boost it provided for his body and the second sword, only pouring it into the sword he held with his right, and was about to slash, when he noticed something was off.

He glanced up, and his eyes constricted in horror as he realized the rider was smiling widely while his leg was still in the same position as before. Instead of thrusting forward, the rider spun his spear and did a sweep, knocking Reign down to the ground before the spin of the spear continued, and the tip was pointed at Reign.

That was when Tank arrived, charging forward, the phantom of a bull appearing around him as he slammed at the rider's side, well, he was about to, but the rider noticed him and quickly spun, striking with his spear and blocking his charge.

The rider was pushed back by about ten inches, and then the charge was stopped, which caused Tank to stare in shock as such a thing had rarely ever happened in the past. Even Mini-Bosses would be knocked back by his charge, and yet, this guy managed to stop it, which meant he was probably at the same level as a regular Boss-ranked monster right now.

Still, Tank didn't panic as he was not alone.

From the back rose flames, and from the center of those flames a figure that looked like a demon that was cloaked in them.

Wolf charged forward, his sword slashing from the left to the right, aiming to cut the rider in half, only for the man to quickly jump up and dodge the attack before suddenly throwing his spear down at Wolf who was forced to place his large sword in front of him, holding it with both hands in order to block the spear that made his body shake from impact.

The spear struck the sword, pushing him slightly down, before bouncing off and once again finding its way to the rider's hands.

"This guy … he has gained a lot more than just a boost in stats it seems," Wolf said as Reign nodded while staring at the rider who was smiling at them, feeling at ease at the battle he was a part of.