Infinite Realm

"Sadly, it failed to finish me off. And that would be the end of you." 

Sato told Chesces as he placed [Astral Blade] into his space ring and switched [Drakken] to his preferred hand. 

"Then you better hope that you're right. Otherwise, you would be the one dying." Chesces lightly smiled.

Even though he knew that Sato was much stronger than him, he only believed this was due to the difference in their levels. In a one-on-one combat with both sides being equal in terms of equipment and attributes, Chesces believed that he would come out on top so he wasn't bothered about this loss. Also, dying in the game wasn't the same as dying in reality as he would still come back to life so Chesces didn't feel much about it.

"Hmm?" As Sato was about to attack Chesces, he felt an intimidating aura lock on to him.

Moving his eyes towards the direction of the aura, Sato saw a middle-aged man with a slightly ferocious and arrogant expression looking down at him, both literally and figuratively as the spot the man stood on was a slightly elevated land.

'Who is he?' Sato couldn't help but wonder. The aura the man exuded made Sato realise that he wasn't an average joey and was much stronger than the average Expert. What was even more strange was the fact that his senses had alerted him of danger as soon as he glanced at the man. This was despite Sato being more than 5 levels ahead of other players.

"Kid, your opponent is me." Han said as he slowly walked towards Sato.

There was a distance of at least 100 metres between the duo but the speed at which Han walked was a bit tricky. It looked like he was walking but the distance he covered was similarly on par with someone running, or at least, hurriedly jogging. As a result, it only took him a few short seconds to enter the barrier and approach the duo. 

The pressure barrier prevented one from leaving but not from entering so Han didn't face a challenge there. But it wasn't like anyone would dare to stop him from doing so.

"You can leave now." Han said to Chesces.

"Why don't we team up and take him down?" Chesces asked. He could guess that Han walked wasn't an ordinary character however Sato overpowered everyone based on level difference. This was something that skill alone wasn't enough to use and close the gap.

Han ignored him and kept walking forward till he was just 2 metres away from Sato.

Sato narrowed his eyes as he prepared to clash with the new individual. He could tell that the middle-aged man wasn't an easy foe and even though he had confidence due to his level, Sato couldn't understand while he still felt a bit uncertain regarding his opponent.

"You're definitely level 13 or higher, and seeing as you blocked that attack, you're probably 14 or 15." Han spoke up as he gazed at Sato. While he did say this, Han was a bit skeptical. Even for him to reach his current level he had to go through a lot, so for one to reach level 14 or 15 so soon sounded ludicrous to him.

Sato didn't respond, neither did he display any suspicious expression at Han's guess. 

Being level 15 had quite a few advantages but there were also some disadvantages attached to it. If he grabbed too much attention, a lot of players would begin to complain to the developers that it was unfair for such an individual to exist. And while it is true that Sato reached this level by relying both on luck and his abilities, the other players wouldn't give a sh*t about that. If the developers were too pressured by the players, they would end up nerfing Sato or at least, reduce his levelling speed via elongated missions or "coincidental" penalties. Therefore, even if someone were to accurately guess his level, Sato wouldn't show any reaction so as to avoid suspicion.

"Whether you tell me or not doesn't matter. I'm not like those weaklings who report just because they're too weak. I myself, am also ahead of the others." Han said before activating his status display to public view. However, he only showed some unnecessary information alongside his level.

Sato glanced atop him and then saw the information.

[[ System interface :

Name : General Han

Race : Human

Bloodline : Chosen Ones

Title : Citizen of Fallen Heart Kingdom

Level : 11

Class (Job) : Berserker (Warrior) ]]

'Level 11?!' Sato was surprised.

It should be known that for he and Xue Yan to get ahead of the others, they had to encounter a very special mission which happened to be the Main Trials of the Caventry. For one to have such an experience, they didn't just require strength and skill but also luck. Sato and Xue Yan were simply lucky that the tunnel they used to escape from the Kobold King before had led them to the Caventry's site. 

Luck was a very special factor in life that couldn't be seen or calculated however, it could influence an individual's life to a very high degree. For Han to have gotten to level 11, he definitely had a lucky encounter that was just slightly beneath that of Sato and Xue Yan's.

'Level 11.' Azure Dragon grimaced.

With such a character in their ranks who not only had the skill but also the strength, Battle Wolves would have an advantage over Emperor's Might for the battle of Black Rock province.

'The only one with the ability to rival him is Yukino, but ignoring the level difference, she's still a bit inexperienced and would lose even on an equal playing field.'

While Azure Dragon was bothered by this reveal and had begun planning for the future, Chesces was regretting things a bit.

'If he has used [Centennial One Shot], this battle would have already been over.'

"Let's wrap this up quickly. According to the treaty, I'm not supposed to interfere, but as you have affected the interests of both guilds, I think this would be a special exception. Right, little dragon?" Han said without turning back.

"...yes, your majesty." Azure Dragon said with a sigh.

"I can ignore this and will vouch for you if anyone brings it up so long as you only handle this b*stard and not the Kobold King."

Since Han was level 11, he would have a much better chance against Sato as compared to the rest of them who were either level 8 or 9.

"Good." Han nodded with a light smile.

"Now," Han stared Sato in the eye. 

"How would you want to die?"