Is this really a Game?!

"The fox is definitely out of the question, it should be left for last amongst the four we are going to fight against before the demons," Wolf said as the others all nodded in agreement. They were certain that, even though the fights would be difficult, they could win against the other 3 Tier II monsters in the end.

But the fox was different, they wanted to first experience fighting other Tier II creatures before attacking it. The incredible speed it showed made it known to Reign and the others that fighting it would be very different compared to the other Tier II monsters.

A speed-type monster that was above them in power was definitely the worst kind of enemy they could come across. It was the worst one anyone could come across, to be honest.

One mistake and you are dead, that is what kind of a fight would take place against the fox.

Reign and the others had now eliminated 2 out of the 3 monsters they would attack. After deliberating a bit, they decided on which one to attack first.

It would be the giant lizard.

The reason for doing so was simple, it was alone.

They first wanted to gauge just how powerful the monsters were, and the best way to do that was to fight one that was all alone. The wolf had a bunch of other wolves with it, making it harder to fight it without taking care of them first.

Wolves were pack animals and were very proficient in fighting as a group, Reign and the others would first have to focus on killing them before focusing completely on the wolf. Doing so without understanding just how powerful a Tier II monster on this mountain was would be highly dangerous.

The tortoise was accompanied by only five others, but they knew that the biggest challenge with the tortoise was destroying its powerful armor. The speed of the tortoise and the destructive power it possessed should be below the other Tier II monsters, at least they hoped so.

Reign and the others nodded before looking at the sky. It was still daytime, but the sun would soon set down the horizon. They wondered whether they should wait for tomorrow or fight now,  but after deliberating a bit, they decided that there was no reason to wait.

They made their way back to where they had found the lizard. Contrary to before, the lizard was no longer sunbathing but was taking a stroll. Reign and the others stared at it before nodding at each other and scattering.

They would first surround the lizard before attacking it. The initial attack would be composed of long-range attacks which would also serve as a cover for them to close in and start a melee battle against the lizard.

The lizard was seemingly unaware of what was about to happen, which was a good thing. Its long and scaly body walked steadily as its tongue would flicker out from time to time.

Soon, the lizard felt 7 powerful auras around it. It assumed a fighting position as the auras were not weak at all, and it was even a bit threatening to the lizard.

The seven all suddenly fired their respective long-range attacks at the lizard, with Laura's and Beast's attacks being the most powerful as they were the only ones that focused on long-range attacks in the team.

The attacks landed and an earth-shattering explosion took place. Reign and the others quickly charged at the lizard while Laura and Beast stayed at their positions.

The dust hadn't even settled before the lizard emerged from it, charging straight at the nearest opponent, which was Tank.

The team had done so deliberately as they wanted to check just how powerful the lizard was and if Tank could defend against him proficiently. They didn't fear for Tank's safety as Shadow and Reign could get to Tank quickly in case of an emergency.

But they doubted that there would be a need to do so. The lizard was definitely powerful, but so were they. They had already managed to defeat a Tier II monster before, and their power had only grown since then, making them fairly confident at taking on all the Tier II monsters on the mountain, with the fox and ash demon being the two exceptions.

The lizard charged and slammed against Tank's shield head-on, forcing him to slide back about 1.5 meters ( 5 feet ). Tank, however, had successfully managed to block the attack and lashed out with his axe. The axe left a red trail through the air as Tank jumped at the lizard and slashed down. The lizard quickly spun around, evidently not planning on taking the axe head-on.

Its tail whipped at Tank, forcing him to discard any notion of continuing his attack and positioning his shield to his left side where the tail was coming from.

The tail slammed against the shield and Tank was sent flying to the side. He flew about 6 meters before landing on the ground. He didn't wait, right after landing, he quickly charged at the lizard once more while Reign and the others stopped in their tracks and focused on the battle.

They were about 13 meters away from the lizard and with their speed, they could join the battle at any moment. Even Laura and Beast were simply standing and watching the fight instead of helping Tank out.

This was because they were all interested in just how long Tank could fight against the monster like this. Knowing the limits of the monster's power, as well as their own would be beneficial to their coming battles.

Since they all knew each other so well, they could put themselves in Tank's shoes and simulate what they could do in different situations. Tank and the lizard fought, but neither one was using any skills at the moment.

They exchanged 5 blows before the lizard spun once again, but this time, it jumped before doing so. Its spinning body was coming down straight at Tank who put his shield up and used multiple defensive skills.

The tail of the lizard slammed against the first line of Tank's defense, which was the [ Abyss Shield ]. It only lasted for a couple of seconds before it was broken through, but Tank had 2 more that would need to be destroyed before the attack could reach him.

The tail of the lizard looked normal, there were no spikes or edges on it, and it was similar to a leaf. But as it hit the shield, Reign and the others could see an orange glow coming from the tail. The orange glow continued intensifying as the lizard's power continued growing.

Before long, Tank's second skill was broken, and the third one was barely holding on.

Suddenly a large arrow hit the side of the lizard before Reign and the others appeared beside it.

They had seen enough, since the lizard was finally becoming serious, they would no longer simply spectate the battle and put Tank in danger over nothing.

They all attacked the monster which was for some reason able to dodge or deflect most of their attacks. They attributed that to its scales that would suddenly tighten before an attack reached, after that the attack would seemingly get deflected up in the air.

It didn't happen all the time, however, as when there were 3 or more attacks landing on the monster at the same time, only 2 would get deflected. It seemed like this was another skill of the lizard, one that needed to be activated in time and at the right place in order to work.

Reign and Shadow were focusing on the legs, if they were able to take out the legs of the monster, then victory would be certain.

The legs were well-guarded, however, the scales there were thicker, as they were on the lizard's head. It was much harder to go through them compared to the other places on the lizard's body.

It was still doable, however, and they didn't stop trying to do it.

They knew that unless the lizard had more tricks up its sleeve, it would only be a matter of time before they would take out the legs and immobilize it.

Another trick it did have, however.

The temperature around the lizard suddenly rose, at first slowly before it rose faster and faster.

Merely touching the lizard was now difficult as Reign and the others would get burned, but standing near it was no better as the high heat would make it almost unbearable.
Wolf was the only one that wasn't much affected, but his attacks were now doing less damage compared to before. His powerful flames were not able to burn the giant monster and he had some difficulty damaging it more seriously.

They all backed away before using their long-range attacks on the lizard. Even those had been weakened as after getting close to the lizard, the high heat would somehow affect them and lessen their power.

Wolf was the one that was occupying the lizard and not letting it get close to the others. Even though he couldn't block the attacks as well as Tank, his high strength stat allowed him to contend with the monster and keep it in place most of the time.