Is this really a Game?!

"This ... was not was I expected out of the third trial," Beast said as he and the others all stood straight, staring at the scene in front of them.

They were at a ranch.

A normal ranch, but no farmer in sight, and plenty of animals were present, needing to be taken care of.

"System, are you serious with this?" Reign asked, his face devoid of any emotion.

The serene setting of the ranch felt like a cruel joke in contrast to the deadly battles they had fought. Reign, along with the rest of the group, stared in disbelief at the landscape. Rolling green fields, wooden fences, and a few grazing animals surrounded them. The peaceful atmosphere, however, only served to heighten their confusion and unease.

Ding!

[ Third Hell Trial: The Trial of Patience. ]

[ Task: Tend to the ranch for the next 72 hours. Maintain the well-being of the animals and the property. Failure to do so will result in penalties. ]

[ Good luck, players. ]

For a moment, no one spoke, letting the absurdity of the situation sink in.

Wolf, usually quick to jump into action or offer a sarcastic comment, was the first to break the silence. "You've got to be kidding me. After all that talk about soul power, we get... this?" He gestured around at the placid farm animals grazing lazily in the field.

Mia, who had been mentally preparing for another brutal battle, couldn't suppress a laugh. "Is this some kind of joke? Are we supposed to... milk cows or something?"

Reign sighed, rubbing the back of his neck in frustration. "I have no idea what's going on. The system's called this a trial, and we can't afford to underestimate it. There's probably more to it than what it looks like."

"If it feels too easy and simple, then we can be certain that there is something at play there, that we will definitely find it difficult to pass this trial without being alert and giving it our all," Jin stated as he looked around them.

"The number of farm animals here is quite high, but with our strength and speed, we should be able to deal with all of them without even breaking a sweat, so I will presume that the system will throw difficulties our way, perhaps limit our strength, or send waves of monsters from time to time that will try to slaughter the animals and destroy the farm."

"With that, the difficulty of this trial will rise by multiple levels and we will find it incredibly difficult to maintain the well-beings of the animals and the property, which is our task," Jin said, glancing at the others with a solemn expression.

"Alright then, so the system will probably throw a wrench into whatever we plan sooner or later, if that's so, let's just start, let's … tend to the animals."

"Let's start with the basics," Mia suggested, trying to keep the team focused. "We can split into groups. Some of us can check the barn, and others can work with the animals. We'll keep an eye on each other in case anything strange happens."

They quickly divided the tasks, still half-expecting an ambush from somewhere. Reign, Shadow, and Mia took the barn, while Wolf, Beast, and Jin began tending to the animals outside.

Laura, Greenie, Aelrinder, and Tank went around the ranch, observing it and making sure nothing was out of place around it.

Inside the barn, Reign and his team found rows of neatly stacked hay bales, old farming tools, and even a few stables with horses that whinnied as they approached. Everything seemed completely normal. The barn was well-maintained, and the air was filled with the smell of hay and wood. It was hard to believe they were still in the middle of the Hell Trials.

"Maybe this really is what it looks like," Mia said softly, petting one of the horses. "I don't sense any traps or hidden threats."

Shadow, leaning against one of the wooden beams, remained skeptical. "Even if there's no immediate danger, the trial's objective is clear. We have to manage the ranch. That means if anything goes wrong—like the animals getting hurt or the property getting damaged—we fail."

Reign silently agreed, still keeping his guard up. "We can't let our focus slip. Let's make sure we're prepared for anything."

Outside, Wolf was having less success containing his irritation as he dealt with a particularly stubborn goat. "This thing is worse than the monsters we fight. Come on, move!" he growled, trying to guide the goat toward its pen.

Beast chuckled, watching Wolf struggle. "You've fought giants, demons, and abominations, but a goat is your downfall?"

"Shut up," Wolf snapped, his patience already wearing thin.

"Dammit, since you won't play nice, I'll just have to get you in there myself!" Wolf said as he moved, suddenly grabbing the goat from the side and attempting to lift it, only for the animal to quickly escape his grasp before kicking him in the chest.

Shadow was about to laugh, only for his eyes to widen as Wolf was sent flying a couple of meters from the force of the blow. When he finally landed, he got up with some difficulty, a trickle of blood escaping his lips.

"Alright, I guess we now know what's wrong with the trial," Wolf said as he spat out some blood, his chest still hurting from the seemingly weak kick.

"These animals, they're not normal at all."

"How the hell did a goat do that?" Shadow asked with shock as Wolf suddenly took out his sword and stabbed it into the ground in front of him before leaning on it, blocking the charge of the goat, which seemed to be quite angry at Wolf for trying to lift it previously.

The horns of the goat struck the sword, producing a sound of metal clashing against metal as the sword moved by a bit, and the goat jumped back, staring at the sword and then looking away and walking normally as if nothing had happened.

"They have the strength of Tier VI beings," Wolf said as he shook his arms, which actually got numb from the impact.

The immense strength present in the seemingly small and weak goat was immense, and he was certain that the same was true for all the animals present on the ranch.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"So the animals have been enhanced," Laura said as a purple glow enveloped Wolf's chest, healing his injury.

"Yes, and thanks," Wolf said as Mia and the others all quickly gathered, the previous sound making them all alert.

"Which means they might be harder to control too," Jin added, his sharp eyes scanning the surrounding animals. "If that goat has this much power, who knows what the rest are capable of ... we need to adjust our approach."

Beast, still eyeing the herd, couldn't help but smirk. "So we're dealing with super-powered farm animals now? Great."

Reign rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "This means that if any of the animals decide to cause trouble, like damaging the property or hurting each other, it'll be much more difficult to manage. We can't afford to let them go wild."

"Let's not forget, the trial requires us to keep everything intact for 72 hours," Shadow said, folding his arms. "That means no destruction and no harm to the animals. And now we know why—because these things are like living battering rams."

"We should split up, like Mia suggested earlier," Reign decided. "We'll need to be quick to respond if anything goes wrong. Some of us will monitor the animals, while others check the property and reinforce it, just in case."

They divided into two groups again. Reign, Greenie, Tank, Wolf, and Beast remained outside to watch over the animals, while Jin, Mia, Aelrinder, Laura, and Shadow headed back to the barn and the surrounding structures to reinforce the property and ensure nothing could be easily damaged.

Reign was now staring at the animals, using his senses to their fullest in order to learn just how powerful the animals were, and he was surprised to sense just how much energy was coursing through the animals.

The smaller ones, such as the chicken, the ducks, rabbits, and so on were now incredibly fast, most walked regularly, not showing it, but from time to time, one animal would gain a burst of speed so immense that even Reign had some difficulty following them.

The larger animals, on the other hand, had gotten incredibly powerful. As Reign observed one bull, he was certain that the latter could easily charge through an entire building with ease, not slowing down at all.

It was surreal, being in what looked like a regular farm, only to find out that all the animals were many times more powerful than they should be, that they were all actually dangerous to even Reign and the others.

Wolf had merely got kicked at a weird angle, which had made it so the power behind the goat's kick was actually not that high, and yet, he was sent flying and was actually wounded. Had the goat charged at him from the start and managed to hit him with its head, he would have definitely suffered a much heavier injury.