Is this really a Game?!



The machine was oval in shape, with multiple compartments visible inside as the outside of the machine was made out of glass. To be more exact, there were 4 different compartments in the machine. 

One was where the tens of giant razor blades would cut the victims in pieces, the second was a giant press that would smash everything in fine paste, another one had many spears that would stab the victims and the last one had many fine strings that would wrap around the victims before pulling from all sides, cutting and shredding them to pieces slowly.

Elijah looked away as he started panting, his face grew pale from the sight and he could feel vomit coming up, but he held it in and composed himself. Even though he had seen many kinds of monstrous things being done to humans and monsters from other monsters, this was the first time he had seen anything like this.

"It's like an industrial machine that kills people and monsters, but why?" Wolf asked with a solemn face as they could see how some men wearing lab coats were instructing the leather-wearing maniacs to dump bodies from above.

The monsters, as well as the people, were alive. They would be thrown down and killed inside the machine, their screams and yells being muffled by the machine.

As they stared at the machine, they noticed something weird. All the blood, as well as the flesh and bones, were being sucked into the machine. The blood was collected in the containers before being sent to a smaller machine that was next to the main one. The two were connected, and all the blood, flesh, and bones were sent there.

Blood-red light could be seen coming out of the smaller machine that looked like a giant box, and in the very center of the machine, there was a small bottle placed while some black liquid was being stored inside of it.

A small hole could be seen above the bottle, and each time that the machine would get an influx of blood and flesh, a drop of the black liquid would appear before dropping down into the bottle.

About ten people were all sitting around the machine. They were holding rods that were connected to the machine and were supplying it with mana, but it seemed as if they were also doing something else.

"Nine of them are peak Tier III beings, while that one is a low-grade Tier IV." Reign said as he pointed at a man who was dressed in a red and black outfit.

"The boss of the base, I presume?" Wolf asked as Reign shrugged his shoulders.

"He is the boss." Aethion suddenly said as he grabbed the man that Reign and the others had killed in the tower and gained confirmation about the person.

"What the hell are they doing here, what is this black liquid and why are they killing so many people?!" Elijah asked with anger.

"It seems that they are using them as a resource, as fuel for that potion they're making, I presume that it is for improving one's stats and level." Aethion suddenly said with a heavy tone.

'Do you know something about this?' Reign asked Aethion who nodded.

"I never did anything of the like, but I have heard of beings that became incredibly powerful by sacrificing millions in order to grow their strength."

"As you already know, the exp you earn, which is more commonly called soul power in the universe, is a piece of soul, a piece of the power that the being you slayed had, which is why the exp you gain gets lower when you kill weaker enemies, the piece you earn is the same, but you are stronger, you can hold more of it, and the quality you need is also higher."

"Be careful, this 'Butcher' that leads this city seems to be one of those maniacs that use demonic tactics in order to grow stronger, it is something hated by most in the universe, and if caught doing this, many will chase the person to the ends of the universe in order to kill them."

"Is it really that bad?" Reign asked with a gulp as Aethion nodded.

"Imagine that instead of going out and killing monsters, or gathering mana to your body, you can  send out people to capture monsters and people before placing them in these 'machines' where they will be killed and everything they have will be collected into that black liquid."

"The worst thing is, well, just try sensing souls, but focus on the two machines, tell me what you can sense," Aethion told Reign who did as he was told, only to shake his head in confusion.

"I … I can sense so much, but … the souls are different, they're weaker, much weaker … not to mention not complete."

"Correct, once a being is killed in the machine, instead of only a part of their soul being sent to the killer, most of it gets trapped in the machine, and then together with the blood and flesh, the soul gets refined inside the other machine, creating that black liquid."

"That will allow the one that drinks the potion to get most of what the victims had, so even those in higher Tiers can get a lot of exp from slaughtering thousands of weaklings that would give them 0 exp usually."

Aethion's words made Reign sweat a bit. If his words were true, then after all of this was finished, doesn't that mean that the Butcher will end up drinking all the potions and getting a ton of exp?

"But wait, the men said that the Butcher wants the potions done immediately because he is going to evolve, but shouldn't that mean that he is already at the peak of Tier IV, why does he need more exp, it's not like it will increase the chances of successfully evolving?"

"That's because he won't just gain exp, didn't you listen to me, they will get everything from the victims, including their stats, so drinking this potion will not only give you a couple of levels, but some bonus stats, allowing you to be stronger than those of the same level as you." Aethion's words struck Reign like thunder as he clenched his hands into fists.

"Imagine how much he has killed till now."

"If this is what each gang is doing, then thousands are probably being slaughtered each minute right now, and more will continue to be killed."

"Isn't he afraid of getting found out, why is the system not doing anything, nor the Alliance, you just said they are hated by all!" Reign suddenly said as Aethion shook his head.

"The system is always neutral, it doesn't care, as for the Alliance, it's not like they can monitor every part of the planet, so they probably don't know either, not to mention that they're not allowed to interfere."

"This dome around the city makes it more difficult for one to look into the city, even the world will, otherwise things would be different."

"The world will, what does it have to do with this?"

"I told you before of how the will has a bias for people, it cut me off from any form of help when I was found out."

"The will is the planet manifested, so what do you think would happen if it found out that a native is killing other natives of the planet in droves just so that they would get stronger?!"

"Cyrus would probably not like it, he doesn't seem like the kind that would think kindly of the Butcher."

"He would do anything he can to kill him, unfortunately, thanks to the dome, he can't sense what is going on, which means that later, the Butcher could easily feign ignorance and act like he is a nice guy in order for Cyrus to support and help him with world energy and the ascension."

"So, we have to get rid of him now, or he will continue getting stronger and stronger?"

"Correct, this is probably why he is conquering every territory, he probably kidnapped all of the people from there, so that nobody would notice how people in the city were disappearing quickly."

Reign nodded his head and told Wolf and Elijah everything, which made both of them enraged. For a person to kill innocent people that were members of his own territory like this, it wasn't normal.

They quickly took action. Not only did Reign stop using his ability to shroud them, but they all went all out, killing tens of people in mere moments. The boss of the gang was alarmed as soon as Reign and the others moved, but with Reign's incredible speed and overwhelming power, he slaughtered the nine who were near the boss in an instant before attacking him.

Reign first grabbed the hand the boss extended. He grabbed his index finger with his right hand and the middle finger with his left hand, and then he pulled them to the side, tearing his hand in half and making the boss scream in pain.

Reign then channeled mana to his legs, causing lightning to flicker around them before kicking the man. Reign did a low kick, hitting the side of the boss's knee, and breaking his leg.

"It's not nice when somebody stronger plays with your life like this, huh?"