Is this really a Game?!

Ding!

[ The player has successfully passed the second step, initiating the third and final step of the challenge. ]

Ding!

[ Warning, the player's awakening has changed the challenge. ]

Ding!

[ The third step has been deemed as not needed. ]

Ding!

[ Congratulations player, you have successfully finished the challenge, the evolution to Tier IV can begin whenever you wish it. ]

Reign smiled at the notification in front of him before clenching his fists.

He only needed a bit more than a week in order to successfully finish the challenge and begin his evolution, which was incredibly fast and not at all what he thought would happen.

The first time he was in Riplas, he needed a lot more time before being able to successfully finish the challenge. Perhaps he would have needed even more time to pass this one, but luckily he was able to evolve which made the system nullify the need for the third step and allowed him to pass with ease.

The challenge was in no way a simple and easy one as Reign had almost died during the first step. The power of the demon was something else and he was forced to go all out and fight with everything he had in order to win the battle.

The second step was even more dangerous as without his awakening, he would have without a doubt been defeated by the queen whose power was far above his back then.

Reign thought for a brief moment before telling Raigon and Eisenhorn that he will need to leave the capital for a short period of time in order to undergo the evolution.

He was going to travel to where the army of Riplas had faced the demonic creatures as there was no life for miles around the area, and his evolution could cause as much damage as possible without doing anything to anyone.

'Aethion, is it alright for me to undergo the evolution there, I do remember that there is still demonic energy present in the area, will it do anything to me during the evolution.'

"You can rest easy lad, if it was anyone else, then I would strongly recommend that they evolve somewhere else as it is as you thought, the demonic energy truly can interfere with the evolution," Aethion spoke calmly as he looked at the souls of the demons that were still held captive by him.

"But you are different, not only do you have the protection of a god, something that would not allow demonic energy to easily interfere with your evolution, but you are also a Nephilim, and the power over light, darkness, and the soul would show itself during the evolution, which would make it impossible for the demonic energy to come close to you."

"You might be unaware of this, but for people to have more than one innate ability is rare, not to mention to have four that were so powerful."

"Your own powers are enough to keep you safe, so you can go to the battlefield and undergo the evolution without thinking too much."

'Good, that's really good to know.' Reign said with a sigh as he sped toward the battlefield.

He still didn't forget his main goal, which was to go through the evolution as quickly as possible before going back home.

He didn't know when the enemy would strike, and even if the vision he saw would come true, but he didn't want to risk anything. He would immediately go through the evolution and go back home.

As for Raigon and the others?

With the whole area pretty much destroyed from the war, there were no forces that could come close to the level of power Riplas now has.

Even the kingdoms around the area were not much of a threat thanks to Eisenhorn and Raigon's existence. As Tier III combatants, they were more than enough to make the other kingdoms think twice before offending Riplas.

Licht and the others were also full of potential.

Lisea was another candidate that could be once again set free in the future. She was after all just a loyal soldier and had followed the orders of the king and the royal family, not once actually being part of the inner circle and knowing what was truly happening behind the scenes.

If she was compliant and if they could trust her, then Reign saw no reason to keep her locked in the dungeon for a long period of time.

With her great talent, it was only a matter of time before she would join the ranks of Tier III combatants together with Licht.

The young king had proven himself and nobody amongst them thought badly of him. He had proven that he was loyal to the kingdom and that he wouldn't simply follow those above him without thinking for himself.

He had seen through the façade the king and the others had and decided to join Raigon and the others, knowing full well that he and his kingdom would be in grave danger because of it. Because of that, Raigon and the others truly thought of Licht as one of them and as a good friend that had braved a difficult time with them.

The biggest shock, however, actually came from one of the generals that had died when the queen left.

That was proof that the queen had actually known what they were doing at all times.

She had placed the prince and the puppets in the layer not to stop Reign, but merely to test him and his powers. She had knowingly sacrificed her own son just to get more information on Reign and was never really planning on killing him or destroying his soul back at the camp.

Her actions left everyone confused as it should have been easier for her to deal with Reign back then and not wait for him to attack her in the capital.

But after thinking for a bit, it was actually perfect.

She would not only get Reign's body, but she would have been able to deal with the traitors and any of her own people she didn't like in the capital and blame it all on Reign and the others.

She could have easily gotten rid of the king and the others and ruled by herself if she so wished, but Reign thought differently.

Eliminating him back in the camp was the safe, but boring option.

After talking to the queen and finding out more about her, he was confident that a big part of his not being attacked by her in the camp was simply because she found it too easy and wanted him and the others to struggle more in order to bring her more enjoyment and pleasure from taking them down.

Their faces when one of their own betrayed them, in the end, would have been a pleasure for her to see. To know that everything they had done was monitored and allowed by her simply because she wanted them to struggle more and bring her more fun would have broken most of them mentally.

She could have even placed them in the dungeon after that and tortured them for god knows how long before finally killing them.

Everything that they had done ever since finishing the battle against the demons was all under her supervision, which only showed just how deep her roots in the kingdom were and just how troublesome of an opponent she was.

Had Reign not evolved, then they would have been defeated for sure and nobody would have been able to go against the queen. With her possessing Reign's body, there was no saying what she would have done on the planet and further beyond it.

Finally, after traveling for a couple of hours, Reign passed the army camp that he had woken up in and reached the battlefield.

The soil where the army had battled was still red from all the blood that was spilled there, even a week was not enough to change that.

The whole area was decimated and craters could be seen littering the battlefield as some corpses were still present there.

The army had set the whole area on fire after the battle and had burned the corpses of the demonic creatures, which made the ground charred and pitch black. It was unknown for how long it would be like that and how long it would take for plants to start growing again.

Dense demonic energy was still present in the air as the death of millions of demonic creatures had brought it out. Even after taking and using their souls, it was not enough to dispel the dense power they possessed.

The two kingdoms where the demon had used the array fared better as the demonic energy had been focused on towns and cities before it was gone after turning the people into demonic creatures. The demon had used the array to boost himself and had used up most of the demonic energy that was left for that purpose.

The little that remained could be found in and around the two capitals which were also devoid of any life. It would probably take years for those two places to return to how they were in the past and were currently considered to be forbidden zones where nobody was allowed to go to.

Reign made his way to the center of the battlefield before sitting down and starting his evolution.