Is this really a Game?!

As they approached the Dawnbreakers base, a sense of relief washed over the prisoners. They knew they were safe now, under the protection of Reign and his allies. The gates of the base opened, and they were welcomed inside by the residents of Doncaster who had come to assist with their arrival.

Reign watched as the prisoners were escorted inside, a feeling of satisfaction washing over him. He knew that their journey to recovery was far from over, but at least now they were safe and had a chance at a better life.

In Doncaster, they would be safe from harm, safe from those who wished to do the same things that the Wardens had done, and safe from the monsters.

Once the prisoners settled in, the process of integrating them into the community would start as some of the residents would be put in charge of helping them out. They would be given jobs, housing, and access to resources to help them rebuild their lives. The people of Doncaster, as they always have, welcomed them with open arms.

Those who wished to do so would be able to start hunting as well as newbies could just go to the main office in Doncaster to register as a hunter, after which they would be given some basic equipment.

A weapon of their own choice and a set of low-rank armor would be given to them free of charge.

That was something that Reign and the others had made. They used their own funds to make sure there were always some basic weapons and armor available to the newbies who wished to become stronger.

Compared to how the vast majority of humanity was forced to fight against monsters without any such equipment in the past, the newbies of course had an advantage and it would be that much easier for them to level up early on.

They would gain experience in real combat, and get used to fighting against monsters and getting hit, which wouldn’t even cause any serious injuries thanks to the armor sets they wore.

Most of the weapons and suits of armor were actually made by the craftsman in Doncaster.

Reign and the others thought that it was best to get it from them as that way, they would not only be making it easier for new hunters, but also for new blacksmiths and armorsmiths.

By buying the weapons and suits of armor the newbies made, they were actually giving them more incentive to continue crafting, to hone their skills, and to become better, not to mention that the money they gained from selling those items was also quite a nice addition.

As the prisoners settled into their new lives in Doncaster, Reign and Jin turned their attention to the next steps in their quest. They knew that the Wardens were not the only threat out there and that there were still many challenges to face.

Reign spent hours in deep contemplation, reflecting on the events that had transpired. He couldn’t shake the feeling of guilt that was on him. He knew that what he had done was necessary, but that didn’t make it any easier to bear.

The problem wasn’t the bastards that had tortured the prisoners, but the poor sobs that had joined the Wardens only because they had no other choice. The ones that did not participate in such things, and those who had been prisoners in the past and had finally become more powerful and were even trying to secretly help the prisoners.

Some had been taken by the spies that Jin had planted. They knew some of the guys who were not truly bad and had pretty much kidnapped them before the battle started, but many of such people still died during the battle.

In fact, Reign knew the exact number of them as Aethion had finished his inspection of the souls and had given him a report over it all.

Knowing that he and the others had killed people that were not, in fact, bastards like most of the Wardens was not an easy thing for Reign, but he would not tell the others, after all, he didn’t wish to burden them as well.

He released the souls of those that had done nothing wrong, he didn’t wish to use them in battle.

He also tried not to think too much of it.

They had joined the Wardens knowing what they were like, and even though Reign did indeed feel bad about their deaths, there was nothing he could have done about it.

That was just how things were, in a war, many innocent people would lose their lives, and for Reign, his duty was to prevent his own people from dying, as for those that were in an enemy faction, they were just unfortunate.

Jin watched over him, his concern evident in his eyes. He knew that Reign was struggling with what happened, probably because he knew that there were people amongst the Wardens who had only joined because they had no other choice.

In fact, everybody knew that as the spies did save some of the poor bastards that joined the Wardens in such a way. In Jin’s eyes, it seemed that Reign was just struggling with the fact they had definitely killed some people that were not bad.

He didn’t know that the true reason Reign was struggling was because he knew exactly how many of them they killed. The others did know, after all, Reign had never hidden his abilities from them, and they knew that he would have definitely collected all the souls from the dead Wardens, thus being able to know how many innocent people had died.

And yet, when asked about it, and when asked about how many they had killed, Reign refused to tell them.

He didn’t want them to feel the same burden as he did.

That evening, as the sun set over Doncaster, Reign stood alone on the outskirts of the base, staring out into the horizon. The events of what they had done weighed on his mind, and he knew that he needed to find a way to move forward.

It was quite weird to Reign.

These weren’t the first people he had killed, in fact, he had killed many till now. Most were those who deserved to be killed without a shred of doubt, but there were also those he had killed during the war back in Riplas.

He had killed enemy soldiers and mercenaries, people who had honestly done nothing wrong, they were only part of a different kingdom and were fighting against the kingdom of Riplas back then.

Of course, back then, Reign didn’t have his soul manipulation ability, so he couldn’t do the same that he could do now, thus making it much easier.

During his last challenge, however, he had killed enemy soldiers, but he didn’t take their souls, in fact, he had only taken some souls that Aethion had judged to be rotten, but that was all.

That was why this particular event had such an impact on him. This was indeed the first time he and the others had killed so many people that didn’t really deserve it, and the first time he had taken all of their souls.

Suddenly, a voice broke through his thoughts. It was Mia. She had climbed up the building he was on, her face showing that she was a bit worried.

“Reign, are you alright?” Mia asked, her voice calm as she stared at Reign while walking over to him.

“Yeah.” Reign said as he continued looking forward, not even turning to face Mia. He had sensed her come before she climbed all the way to the top, but he did nothing.

“We both know that isn’t true,” Mia said as he sat down on the edge of the building, about half a meter away from Reign.

“It’s a nice view though.”

“Yeah, it is.” Reign answered as he continued looking straight forward, watching as the sun slowly set.

“I think they won’t take too long to get used to living here, after all, the people of Doncaster are remarkable in how quickly they can make one feel welcomed, just like how they did for the people of my base when we finally joined you.”

“Mhm.” Reign nodded his head while Mia continued talking.

“I noticed that some of them are different from others, their eyes were different, sharp, full of ambition, I don’t think they will just settle for living and being protected by others, they will probably become hunters, which will increase the number of combatants in the territory once more.”

“I agree, there’s quite a ‘generous’ number of them amongst the prisoners.”

“Right?” Mia asked as she smiled a bit before looking straight as well.

“There’s quite a lot of areas open for us to explore now, huh?”

“There’s New York, which is quite fraught with danger, the depths of the forest where the Enclave is, and the underground area of the desert, which one do you think we should go to first?”

“Mia.” Reign suddenly sighed before looking straight into her eyes.

“Why did you come here?”