Is this really a Game?!

As Beast and Reign continued their mission of destroying the corrupted sources, Wolf, Shadow, and Laura delved deeper into the tunnel, following the tracks left by the two individuals. The tunnel stretched on for what seemed like miles, with no end in sight.

"This tunnel must have taken a lot of effort to make, even if it was made by someone with an ability," Shadow commented, his voice echoing in the narrow space.

"It's definitely well-constructed," Wolf agreed, examining the walls of the tunnel. "But why go to such lengths to hide their activities, after all, this can't be new, these guys have been using the tunnels for quite some time, I'm certain of that much."

Laura remained silent, her eyes darting around as if expecting danger at any moment. The darkness of the tunnel seemed to press in on them, making every sound and movement seem amplified.

After what felt like hours of walking, they finally came to a fork in the tunnel. The tracks split off in two directions, leading in opposite directions.

"One went left, the other one right, huh?" Wolf asked in a low voice as he stared at the tracks.

"Should we split up, follow both of them?"

"No, we'll go after one, we don't need to find them all, after all, we now know that there are tunnels beneath the portals, we can track them again if we need to, no need to take a risk and split up," Wolf said with a resolute tone as he stared at the tracks.

"Let's go right."

"Why right, is there something about those tracks, are they different?" Shadow asked as he followed behind Wolf while glancing at the barely noticeable tracks that were on the ground.

"No, I just like going right," Wolf said in a flat tone as Shadow blinked twice successfully and then sighed.

"Alright."

As they followed the tracks to the right, the tunnel began to slope downward, gradually descending into the depths below. The air grew colder, and dampness settled in, indicating they were heading deeper underground.

After walking for some time, the tunnel began to slope upward, and it was not as gradual as before. The three of them had to walk at a 40-degree upward slope, and it didn't take them that long before Wolf stopped them from walking any further.

"A fresh breeze, we're near the exit," Wolf said softly before glancing at them.

"Now, we need to be careful, Reign was unable to sense anything with his soul sensing, which can mean that the enemy has phantoms around them, just like that spy."

"If they do have one, then they will be notified of our presence, we need to stay at a distance and try our best not to be noticed."

"We won't be able to find out anything from them, we need to try and follow them, see where they gather, find out more info like that, and then go back and get Reign and the others before making our next move."

Shadow and Laura nodded at Wolf's words before he took a deep breath and walked forward.

They exited from below the ground soon after and found themselves in an unfamiliar place. There were some trees around, some bushes, but not as nearly as dense as how it was in the jungle.

Still, it was enough to provide cover when coupled with Shadow's darkness. Even if somebody was able to notice them while walking, they should be fine as long as they took cover behind a tree or bush.

As they made their way through the unfamiliar terrain, Wolf, Shadow, and Laura kept a close eye out for any signs of activity. The tracks they had been following led them deeper into the area, weaving through the sparse vegetation and rocky outcroppings.

Wolf was at the very front, his eyes scanning for any clues and tracks that would lead them forward while Shadow was placed in the middle, his darkness covering all three of them, but not blocking their sight.

After walking for about 15 minutes, Wolf signaled them to stop before moving to the side very cautiously.

He glanced to the side, only to see three figures who were sitting atop some large rocks. Neither of the three moved, they were barely even breathing from what Wolf was seeing, and it seemed like they were … hibernating.

"What's going on here?" Shadow asked as he gulped at the scene.

It was simply … eerie.

"I don't know, let's just wait, maybe something will happen," Wolf said as he stared with a calm expression on his face.

And so, just like Wolf had told them, they waited.

They waited for about 5 minutes before something happened.

A fourth person arrived.

The fourth person walked over to the three before finding a rock to sit on and then the same thing happened to it, it just stayed still, barely moving a single muscle.

After observing the strange behavior of the four individuals for a while longer, Wolf signaled for Shadow and Laura to follow him as he moved closer, staying low to the ground and using the cover of the sparse vegetation to remain hidden.

As they drew nearer, they could see that the four figures were dressed in dark, hooded robes, their faces obscured. They appeared to be in some sort of trance, completely motionless except for the gentle rise and fall of their chests as they breathed.

Careful not to make any noise, Wolf, Shadow, and Laura crept closer, trying to get a better look at the mysterious group. They noticed that each of the figures had a symbol embroidered on their robes, a symbol that was unfamiliar to them.

Still, it was at least something, a new clue that they found.

Wolf made sure to remember what the symbol looked like, as well as the people that were sitting there, and then started walking back, once again increasing the distance between himself and the four people.

He wasn't certain whether the phantom around them would activate if they stayed at the same place as before, but he didn't want to take any chances.

None of them could sense souls like Reign, which meant that they were much more likely to be spotted by those that, not to mention the fact that there was no saying whether there were phantoms that also attacked the souls of others as well.

"Alright, let's just wait it out now, remember, our goal is to find out as much as we can, and if possible, to find the base of the enemy."

Shadow and Laura nodded at Wolf who sighed as he glanced at the four people present.

'If only there was just one more of us that could sense souls, this would have been so much easier.'

The waiting game started after that.

Wolf was quite proficient at just waiting like this, he could stay in one place for a long period of time without moving a muscle without feeling any discomfort.

Shadow and Laura, however, were not the same.

Even though Shadow did pick assassin as his class and did have to assassinate others during the class trials they had gone through, as well as in some of the challenges he had done, he was still not as good at it as Wolf was.

The difference was experience of course as Wolf had years of experience while Shadow didn't even have 1 full year yet.

Because of that, while Wolf was able to simply sit down, stare at the four figures, and be aware of his surroundings while doing nothing, Shadow and Laura were having a more difficult time doing so.

They were luckily experienced and had gone through many battles before, so they were able to sit and do nothing like Wolf, but only for a bit of time before losing concentration and looking around, trying to see something interesting.

Wolf didn't mind, they didn't need to pay attention like he was, nor did they need to be as wary of their surroundings as he was, they just needed to not make any noise or sudden movement, that was all he needed of them.

The wait continued, with Wolf, Shadow, and Laura maintaining their vigilance. After what felt like an eternity, the four figures stirred. They rose from their seated positions and began to move, heading deeper into the rocky terrain.

"Let's follow them," Wolf whispered, gesturing for the others to stay close as they trailed the mysterious figures.

The figures moved swiftly and silently, their movements almost ghost-like. They seemed to know exactly where they were going, navigating the rocky terrain with ease. Wolf and the others had to move carefully to avoid being seen, staying a safe distance behind.

The only issue that Wolf had with this entire situation was the fact that he couldn't be certain whether or not they were already discovered. There was no way to confirm it, not when he was unable to sense souls, and the chance of them being led to a trap right now was not small at all.

And yet, he was ready for it, even if it turned out to be a trap, he would be ready for anything.

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