Infinite Realm

In most VR games, most monster didn't have a name. Names were only given to certain special monsters that were ridiculously powerful or vital to the plot. The same however, couldn't be said about Infinite Realm.

In Infinite Realm, names were granted just like reality. In other words, a majority of all intelligent organisms had a name. However, not all names would be displayed on the System Interface. For example, the kobold guard that Katsuo had just slain was named Arle. However, when he had used [Inspect] on the creature, he only received the info [Kobold guard] in the designated name slot. This was because the target in mind, wasn't of any importance to the plot or the progress of the players. Usually, only bosses or ridiculously powerful monsters would get the honor of having their names displayed while the rest would only do so once they died.

"That's one." Katsuo sighed as he finally felt the pressure on his shoulders lighten up.

Having landed the last blow on the monster, Katsuo had gained a large amount of experience points but because of the [Anti-Cheat Protocols] embedded in the System's programming, it wasn't so absurd. However, due to the difference in levels and also the effort he had put into the battle, it was still more than enough for him to level up once, even going past the halfway mark of level 7.

"I'm heading over to where Sato is. You guys take a 30 seconds break and catch up as quickly as possible." Fudo suddenly said before turning around and speeding towards the direction Sato was.

'I hope he's still doing okay.'

Because Sato had engaged in a run-around tactic with the kobold chief, he had separated a bit far away from the rest. With the uneven terrain of the entire floor and the distance between the two, the team had eventually lost sight of him and didn't know how he was doing. The only hope they had was that Sato's name was still lit up in the team chat signifying that he was still alive. As for his current state, it was unknown.

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Some distance away from where Yato and the others stood, right beside a hill that blocked their view, Sato was constantly relying on his senses to barely dodge the attacks from the kobold chief. At one point in time, he was forced to block the attack and ended up getting injured. Luckily for him though, he had previously gotten a chance to down a bottle of health potions before the strike so his HP value was still stable.

*Bang* *Bang*

With the constant harassment from the kobold chief, Sato was forced to be dodging at all times, not having the guts to block unless when necessary. As a result of this most of the Kobold chief's attacks went off target, crashing at either the boulders or 'mountain' walls, or landing on the ground while forming a small crater and sending tiny rock pieces flying.

*Boom*

*Phew*

'Damn it.' Sato cursed. He had just narrowly dodged a spear by rolling on the floor and as he was about to stand up, he saw that the Kobold chief had quickly adjusted its strike and moved the spear towards him. This had never happened before and it only implied one thing; the Kobold was improving.

With his hands still on the floor, Sato propelled himself backwards with an awkward posture, barely avoiding the spear from the kobold chief.

'That was a close shave.' Sato thought as he quickly distanced himself from the monster.

Normally, he wouldn't have been forced into such a state before but because he never expected the kobold chief to improve on its tactics, Sato was surprised by that move and so, almost caught by it.

'It seems like Infinite Realm isn't really like other games. It's either the boss was holding back before or it is constantly improving.'

Sato doubted that it was the first point since there was no no reason for the Kobold chief to still be holding back at this point hence the second was the answer but this wasn't a good thing.

Despite having a much higher average attribute than all the players, the kobold chief's weakness was obviously to a top tier expert; its battle techniques were horrible. It was like watching an average adult swing a sword. Sure, they could do damage with it but compared to a master swordsman, it was just awful. Against normal players, the kobold chief was an unbeatable opponent but to a pure and true expert, the flaws in its attacks were clearly visible; the only problem being the large gap in attributes. It was because of this lack of battle techniques and skills that Sato could last this long against the monster. However, the kobold chief couldn't be blamed for this. It lived underground where its only opponents were either Rock Golems or Ground Rats. Against such a creature, purr strength was more than enough. The same went for all previous generations that may have existed. Without an intelligent creature with battle senses to face against, the kobolds fighting way was extremely lacking in sophistication and mastery.

However, now that it had found a 'worthy' opponent, who constantly dodged its attacks, the Kobold chief realised that the previous method of fighting it had utilized wouldn't do against this 'creature'. So, it began to improve. To start with, the Kobold chief was already a mosnter with a much higher level of intelligence than the rest of its kind. Supposing it had grown in a human environment, it would be on par with one of the top scholars in a town. This is just to describe the level of intelligence and potential it was innately born with. Though it didn't get the chance to grow in such an environment, it still had that large potential and space for development. That is why during this battle, it began to adjust its fighting pattern and movements, improving on its techniques for higher efficiency and accuracy. In summary, Sato had ended up as a sparring buddy for the creature.

With the kobold chief improving on itself, things would become a lot more difficult in time. This was because as the main battle was constantly being delayed, the kobold chief would get better at fighting, hence get stronger.

'They should be done soon.' Sato thought as he realized that his movements had gotten slower than before. He was already tired as compared to before. If to be placed in numbers then his stamina would be side of to be 50% of less. At this point, Sato was relying in both adrenaline -as copied by the game- and also his desire not to lose.

The kobold chief suddenly thrust its spear from behind in a straight line. As compared to the previous ones, this strike was much faster than the rest and with the streamlined spear tip, the air current easily split at the tip of the spear, reducing the air resistance and making the spear even more faster. By the time Sato had sensed this strike, it was but a few centimetres away from him.

'Shit.'

Sato didn't bother to know what or where the dangerous feeling was coming from. He simply moved to his left, trying to dodge the attack before it got to him.

*Clang* *Kluck* [1]

-17 (57/150 Sato's HP)

'Stthh.'

While he had managed to dodge the spear at the last moment, Sato didn't do a perfect job at that. It could be said that he had barely even made as if not for his Upper tier Mortal rank armour that he kept on, Sato believed he would have lost a piece of his flesh at that point. Even with the armour protecting him, the spear had still managed to pass through, injuring him a bit while dropping the durability of his equipment by 3.

Sato didn't even wonder what skill that was as he quickly dropped low and rolled on the ground, effectively dodging the spear that was slashed his way. If it were previously, the Kobold chief would have stopped or slowed down with the first move but having improved on its battle techniques, it had quickly followed up with another attack. Luckily, Sato had expected this and his action turned out to be the right move.

This time around, Sato didn't bother to run again because he realized it was pointless. Rather than running around and burning out his stamina much faster than the Kobold chief did, he decided to face it head on. He guessed that the others might be experiencing some troubles so it would take them a when to make it. The problem was that, in that 'a while' he would pretty much be dead. Rather than dying such a pointless death, Sato wanted to give it his all and eliminate a bit of the kobold chief's HP while hoping to cause sevre damages to it. At least, this would give the others a much more easier time and a chance of success.

"Come on now. Let's see what you're worth.." Sato taunted the monster.