Infinite Realm

In a particular spot in the level 0 map, Stone Creek Forest, there was a battle going on here. 8, or rather, 6 players were attacking 2 players. Logically speaking, the 2 players forming a party should have be taken care of long ago but surprisingly, they stood firm against the onslaught.This wasn't because their opponents were weak but rather the two were strong. But even so, the numbers advantage wasn't to their side. As a result, it was only a matter of time before the two fell to their opponents' attacks. Even now, their bodies weren't devoid of any injuries as the only melee player between the two, was covered in cuts and scars, though they were light injuries and didn't impede his movements. 

Indeed, the two were Lu Zhen and Xue Yan who were facing Rolo and Reeves' team of 8. Despite having been surrounded by Rolo and Reeves' teams, Lu Zhen and Xue Yan were able to hold on though the both of them knew that they wouldn't last much longer. The reason was simple. Since Rolo an Reeves had planned to kill them, they most likely prepared a few items that would help them achieve that and even till now, they haven't revealed even a tip of their cards. It might also be possible that they were over-thinking things but the fact still stood; Lu Zhen and Xue Yan were outnumbered and unless anything special happened, they were destined to lose.

It would be absurd to call their battle 'heaven-defying' but it was in no way a simple fight. Lu Zhen alone, took on the 6 vanguard players while Xue Yan supported him from the back. The continuous clanging of metal swords was the anthem of the day. Sparks flew with each contact Lu Zhen made with any of the opposing teams weapons. Even though he was surrounded and injured, Lu Zhen in no way looked any bit weak. He held his ground and steadily advanced and retreated when appropriate. If anyone else was in his position, they might not be able to stand their ground, being forced to the defensive while continuously retreating. In such a case, surviving would be an issue much less attacking. But Lu Zhen was different. 

With Xue Yan's aid, he didn't find it so difficult to hold on. He brandished his dagger, blocking the attacks coming his way and at times even injuring his opponents.

Debris flew around the place as explosions lighted up the entire place with flames spreading wide. This was an after effect of a special consumable explosive Xue Yan had used. It didn't have a high attack power but was very good for covering one's tracks and preventing them from being spotted by their enemies. The reason why she used such was very simple. Even though it seemed like Lu Zhen was holding off the attackers, Xue Yan knew that he did this at the great cost of his stamina depleting much faster. In other words, before 2 minutes was up, Lu Zhen would most likely end up as a lamb for slaughter.

There was no reinforcements and the opponents outnumbered them by far. So much so that there were still 2 more players on standby. Unless a miracle happened, Lu Zhen and Xue Yan would perish here. Of course it might not be eternal death but to a pro player, dying once would harm their progress. So Xue Yan was trying to create an opportunity for them to escape. Her [Agility] was far below Lu Zhen's but she didn't care about it. As long as one of them could escape, their loses could be reduced.

"Run." Xue Yan yelled at Lu Zhen as she escaped from the encirclement. Lu Zhen also managed to shake off his attackers as he followed right behind her.

Using the smokescreen formed from the explosion as their shield, the two ran to another corner of the forest. This place happened to be the only loophole in the formation set up by their opponents and it wasn't marked by the 2 substitute players.

"You think you can escape? Haha. This place will be your burial ground, bastard." Reeves guffawed as he watched Lu Zhen being pursued from multiple sides by the other 5. of course, he too also pursued after the two. Even though it seemed like Lu Zhen and Xue Yan's deaths were almost confirmed, Reeves had a slight uneasy feeling and so didn't want to take any risks. 

'After I'm done with these two, it will be these bastards turn.' Reeves thought as he glanced at Rolo with killing intent in his eyes. Surprisingly, Reeves didn't just want to team up with Rolo's squad and finish off Lu Zhen and Xue Yan. He also wanted to kill Rolo and his teammates! 

Reeves wasn't an idiot so why would he suddenly risk teaming up with a bunch of dark players to finish off two unimportant players? His target this time around was actually Rolo. Back after he had left Xue Yan in Black Grill's Cave, Reeves had suddenly had this thought of taking revenge but he knew that his strength was limited. But he didn't want to give up. When a human encounters series of blows and falls, he would end up taking devastating measures to regain his dignity. In this case, Reeves suddenly had a thought; to make his two enemies battle each other and reap the benefits. He knew that it was very difficult to achieve this as it was most likely possible as Rolo's team and Sato's team might never encounter each other again, and even if they did so, he might not be present to reap the ultimate benefits. So Reeves decided to scheme against the two. He managed to luckily spot Rolo's team in Black Grill's Cave once more and he made a deal with him. To ambush Sato's team. 

Of course Reeves guessed that Rolo might not believe him. After all, why would one approach the wolf that injured them to death's door for aid, in order to counter the lion? So Reeves took on the disguise of a noob player that got frustrated to his limits, losing all strands of common sense. He forged tales saying that Sato had robbed him and even killed a few more of his players, making Sato and his teammates look far worse than Rolo's. Since Rolo and his men had died earlier, he couldn't ascertain the veracity of his statement. Reeves now went forward to even pay Rolo for his help, before signing a contract to prove that he didn't know who Sato was, nor was in coalition with Sato's team. These two actions managed to gain Rolo's trust but Reeves didn't trust him fully. In the eyes of a dark player, this was a very good opportunity to reap more than double the rewards by backstabbing his contractors but Reeves acted like he didn't know this and didn't even bother to sign a contract to prevent Rolo from attacking him. This went on to confirm his 'identity' as a reckless newbie to VR gaming, thereby reducing Rolo's guard against him even more. But Reeves still didn't relax nor let his guard down. 

To make sure that everything went well, he had even procured the help of a special character to achieve this. With the help of this special character, even if Rolo teamed up Lu Zhen and Xue Yan, he would still die. Of course to gain the help of such an individual, Reeves had to make concessions. But compared to his speculated gain, it was nothing. This was because Rolo and his teammates were dark players. They had already plundered from a few other players so their stash had to be huge. Also, as dark players, they tend to trust themselves better and were always on the run. Hence it was very possible that they always kept their treasure with them rather than hiding it somewhere else.

'Very soon. I will be the winner.' Reeves grinned.

If Rolo knew of Reeves' plan, he might even puke blood out of anger. Even after his caution and strategizing, he had still fallen into Reeves' plan. But then a gain, Rolo couldn't be blamed as Reeves was too careful with this plan of his. Rolo cold only blame his greed for getting in the way of his sights.

"If I recall correctly, this guy���s name should be Lu Zhen. It happens to be the same as the top ranker from that goblin was stuff." One of Reeves' teammates suddenly said.

"Huh? An Expert player?" Blue Banana was stunned[1]. The same was for Reeves as he began pondering on this strange coincidence. 

It was a well known fact that those who managed to get a ranking in the Top 10 spot for the Most Kills(Individual) category were Experts. From the entire table, only 4 players power rating were unknown. This included the number 1 and number 3 rankers who were unknown, Dream Tiger and Lu Zhen. Dream Tiger had undergone solitary training and so he wasn't so famous but after the rankings were revealed, his history was dug up, revealing his past achievements and rating as an Expert player. As for the number 1 and 3, since their names were censored, their power ratings were unknown, but based off the fact that they had surpassed a bunch of other Experts, it was believed that they were Expert class players. Some even presumed that the number 1 was a Pinnacle Expert or maybe a Monster rank Expert. As for the last on the list, Lu Zhen, no one knew who he was. It was like he had appeared out of thin air. But since he/she was capable of ranking on the list, even though it was the last position, it still proved that this player should be an Expert at least.

Originally, these men hadn't thought that it was the guy they were facing but after thinking a bit, they guessed it might be him. Unlike old games, current VR games didn't put much importance into the names of the players. Since the governing system or AI could simply differentiate players based off of their brainwaves pattern, DNA and more, it was common to see two or more different players bearing the exact same name. The problem of differentiating who is who was then left unto the players themselves. As such, even if these men guessed that this Lu Zhen was the same as the top ranker Lu Zhen, this was but just a guess and they didn't put much thought into it. It was the same with Sato and Fudo. When they heard his name, they guessed that he might have been the top ranker but they didn't put much thought into it. After all, the two of them ranked 1st and 3rd, what concerns them with the 10th? 

"Haha. Boss Blue, don't pay attention to what that moron said. This weakling can't be an Expert. Experts are said to be able to take on 7-10 players but this guy is having a hard time handling us 6." One of the players said right as he was closing in on Lu Zhen.

On a regular occasion, this player wouldn't be able to reach Lu Zhen so quickly after all, he was one level lower and that comprised of a difference in attributes. This time however, Lu Zhen was not only tired but he wanted to cover the rear, preventing them from closing in on Xue Yan.

'Damn it. If this were a one-on-one, I would have long finished these guys off. Even if it was a battle royale.' Lu Zhen cursed internally. He didn't have the luxury of speech since he was caught up fighting the others, so the only thing he could though was curse them internally.

'Do I really have use it here?' Right now, Lu Zhen was having an internal crisis. It was as the opponents had thought but not expected. He was indeed the Lu Zhen from the list! However, for some reasons, he didn't want to reveal his identity. As such, his entire attacks and clashes with these guys were all straight up and simple; it didn't consist of any fanciful moves as one would expect from an Expert player. 

"I guess I have no choice.." Lu Zhen silently muttered.