Infinite Realm

"Now," Han stared Sato in the eye. 

"How would you want to die?"

*Whistle*

A gentle breeze blew across the space in between the duo as the both stared at the other with emotionless eyes. Both eyes crossed in this confrontation as the space between them slowly got heated.

*Clang*

Suddenly, Sato placed his sword in front of himself and this was followed by a metallic reverberation as Han appeared right in front of him wit his broadsword hindered by [Drakken].

"Good reflexes." Han commented before he kicked at Sato with his right leg.

Sato blocked with his left arm but he still felt a slight sting from taking the attack head-on and was even forced back by one step. Han then used that chance to lunge at him while brandishing his double-handed weapon once more.

"Hmph."

Sato hacked out with his full strength, intending to use his attributes advantage to mess up Han's movements and disarm him. However, being a former general, Han had already taken note of all of his opponent's moves and advantages. When he saw Sato swing his sword, Han felt a bit odd and managed to realise that the target was finally getting serious. Despite that, he didn't draw back his sword.

*Clang*

Once more, the two similar yet different weapons collided to produce a metallic ring that was a bit piercing to the ears. However, unlike what Sato had expected, Han was still standing firm right in front of him.

"[Barrage]."

Han immediately lifted and attacked again in a hurry. Sato was only barely to react after the sword was right before him.

*Clang*

Like with the previous attacks, this one was a failed attempt once more as Sato had blocked the attack before it could cause any harm. However, Han had already drawn back his sword and prepared for another attack.

*Bang*

This time, the sound from the clash was a bit more explosive and Sato had felt his sword almost slip out from his grip right after clashing with Han's.

'It got heavier.' Sato thought. 

He however, didn't have much time to explore this idea of his as Han made his third consecutive attack.

*Bang*

Even though he was better prepared, Sato was still forced back 3 steps by the slash, almost to the point of losing his balance and falling to the ground. Han had also moved in during this period and attacked once more, as if he was waiting for this.

'Not so fast.'

Sato's eyes narrowed as he hurriedly regained his calm and attacked his adversary. Like before, Han didn't retreat but slashed out with both sides, aiming his attack for the side of Sato's blade.

*Clang*

'Hmm?' 

Sato noticed that his attack seemed to be less effective than usual against Han. An attack that would send the opponent flying back even when blocked, would only force Han back by 2-3 step. Even if Han was level 11, there was still a 4 levels gap between them.

[Linear Strike]

Sato thrust his sword forward, seizing the opportunity where Han was forced back to make a decisive move.

'[Seven Wind Illusory Slash].'

Han slashed out with his broadsword in a peculiar fashion seeming as if he was randomly swatting invisible mosquitoes in the air. But as Sato got closer, his senses alerted him as he suddenly cancelled his attack and also began hacking at the air.

*Clang*

*Clang*

*Clang*

Despite the fact that he seemed to have attached thin air, Sato's sword had made collisions with something in mid-air. That 'something' was what his senses had alertred him off.

'Air blades?' Sato was a bit stunned.

To be able to brandish his sword in a fashion that it would compress the air to form air blades, one's control and strength would have to be top-notch. When a player crosses the level 10 threshold, their abilities improve; both attribute-wise and class-wise. The innate advantages of a class would see better improvements and would be made much stronger while their attributes would become more powerful. For a class like the [Berserker], their strength advantage would be made more clear and they would be able to easily overpower an opponent of althe opposite class even if both parties have the same number of allocated attribute points.

However, the control required to form air blades wasn't something anyone could just have. Hence, there was one conclusion which was the attack was a skill.

'Upper-tier Mortal rank and not an ordinary one.' Sato evaluated the broadsword in Han's hands.

Discerning the quality of the weapon might seem like a pointless act but it wasn't so. Though there was already a pretty detailed classification of weapons, a few differences still existed between them.

For example, among the Upper-tier Mortal rank weapons, [Astral Blade] was at the top. Even though it was a level 9 weapon, it could even compare with a slightly above-average Upper-tier Mortal rank level 10 weapon. Also, [Drakken] was at the peak of level 10 Low-tier Rare-Steel rank weapons with [Aoefir] standing alongside it. A piece of equipment like [Rackow's Guard], which was the shield Emperor's Might took after defeating Sygrart, was weaker than the above duo in quality despite still being a Low-tier Rare-Steel rank equipment just like them.

This slight difference in quality would give quite a few details and information about the weapon or equipment in hand. Something at the quality of [Drakken] would have at least 2 active skills with one passive skill, and it would also boost at least 3 main attribute skills. As for an equipment on par with [Astral Blade], it would have at least 1 active skill and another passive skill while still enhancing 1 main attribute and 2 secondary attributes. As for an equipment on par with a level 10 Upper-tier Mortal rank -one of the higher quality- Sato guessed that it would be similar to that of [Astral Blade] but with 1 extra skill; most likely a passive one.

Sato presumed that Han's sword was something similar, therefore, the skill he has used now was one of the active skills, and there was still a possibility of the existence of another active skill. Knowing this would help him be on alert for a surprise attack.

While it seems like so much time has passed, Sato actually processed all of this information within a second. He has already blocked Han's attack but he was still moving towards him.

"[Cleave]."

The momentary respite that came about from Sato having to block the air blades as enough for Han to regain his balance and make a proper attack.

As if he was pulling a heavy load, Han hauled his sword with both hands and hacked out in a horizontal fashion at Sato. A slight gale had formed from that move of his as Sato was forced to face both the breeze and the sword.

[Passive skill : Gale-maker]