Infinite Realm

"Baku- Explosion!!!"

A fiery wave washed over the area as the monsters ahead got drowned in it, with only their screams of pain being heard.

The torrential fire lasted for only 2 seconds but once the flames went off, the ground was covered in black scorched spots.

"Haha. That's what you get for challenging Daddy and his friends." An irritating guffaw rang out like the bellows of a vicious and greedy psychopath.

"Focus, you fat pig." Yato yelled right after he took down an Earth snake with his sword.

"What did you say?!" Fudo fumed from the backline.

"Wait till we're done with these guys then I will settle this with you."

"Haha. No problem. I've never feared a challenge much less one from you, pig." Yato chuckled, though there was a clearly detectable tinge of disdain in his voice.

"Concentrate." Sato frowned.

The team was currently facing off against a small horde of monsters, and though they had the upper hand -an overwhelming one at that- Sato didn't want any mistakes to happen.

However, his worry was for naught as the team easily squashed the monsters within 5 minutes.

"Hai~ It took longer than I thought without Lady Snow." Fudo put on a tearful expression as if he had just lost a close family member.

After Xue Yan had completed her Trials and met with the rest together with Sato, Sato then gave everyone a 1-hour break to rest and be at their peaks. In reality though, the break was meant for Xue Yan who had just finished her Trials. When the break was over, the team was prepared to join the 'race' but Sato decided against Xue Yan coming with them. As it stood, she had just gone through a 24-hour(IGT) long confrontation so it was inevitable that she would feel weary. Hence, Sato decided against her following them with Lu Zhen seconding the decision. As a result, there were only 6 of the original 7 present here; Sato, Fudo, Lu Zhen, Yato, Seiichi, and Katsuo.

"You talk as if you had a shot with her." Yato grinned at Fudo with disdain.

"Why wouldn't I? My handsomeness is exquisite and unique, such that I'm a one-in-a-million figure. See!" Fudo shamelessly praised himself.

Everyone's faces twitched as they heard Fudo's narcissistic yet enthusiastic comment on himself. While Fudo couldn't be described as fat, his weight was still above the average number. Also, even though he did look good, he wasn't so good-looking as he had made himself sound.

"You're the only one who could be extremely shameless and do so without any hesitation." Katsuo couldn't resist commenting.

"So what's the next move?" Seiichi ignored the others and asked Sato.

They were currently on the Outer region's 7th floor, which was 13 floors away from their target. However, they weren't in rush, or rather, Sato said they shouldn't be.

When Fudo had begun relaying the development of the teams of Black Rock region back when they were still at the Hall, Sato and the others got pressured and felt the need to eliminate the world-class boss before the others did.

It should be noted that while the world-class boss was suspected to be a level 10 Elite or Special Elite by a majority of players, Sato and his teammates, alongside Soran's team and Azure Dragon's team had all encountered it. They knew that the Kobold king was definitely not a level 10 monster, even if it was a King class. Sato even knew better than the rest as he suspected that the monster was a level 15 BOSS especially after his experience in the Main Trials.

While the strength of the monster made it seem unbeatable to the current players, one shouldn't underestimate these players. Alone, they were surely not the kobold's match, but in waves and mobs, no one could say who would stand on top. When this was added with the fact that Emperor's Might had a vague yet better grasp on the Kobold king's strength than the others, Sato couldn't say for sure that the monster wouldn't fall in this raid. Hence, he decided that they would return to Black Grill's Cave and defeat the Kobold king.

Luckily for them, with Sato being the current inheritor of the Caventry's legacy as well as everyone else having official access to most of the basic facilities of the Hall, they were able to use the teleportation array in the Hall.

Previously, they could only use it to exit and enter the Hall rather than having to get to the 10th floor in the Middle region and find the right tunnel, which was obviously too much of a stress. With Sato having passed the Main Trials and becoming the 'young master', he was now able to use the teleportation array better. He could easily teleport to any point in Black Grill's Cave, including the Inner region.

However, as the Hall hadn't been in full operation for so long, since it was mostly in a dormant state, the teleportation array's function was only limited to the Middle region's 9th floor.

Coincidentally, this was the last floor before the Kobold king's lair. In other words, so long as they wanted and Sato gave the command, the team could have teleported to the Exit gate of the 9th floor and be within reach of the 10th floor effortlessly. But Sato did the opposite and made the 5th floor of the Outer region their starting point. In Sato's words, while the team was individually strong, their synergy and unity needed to be worked on.

The opponent was most likely a level 13 or above Special Elite rank monster, or maybe even a King rank monster, that commanded a horde of level 7-9 monsters. If they faced off against it as they were now, their death was assured without fail especially since they lacked a Healer. So, the team had to adapt to their current situation and improve their coordination with one another. If they did so, not only would their defence be strong but their attack would be powerful as well. The team would then create a balance between attack, defence, and support, and may even be capable of taking on some of the big teams out there.

For this to happen though, they needed a lot of training as well as team-fighting experience. They obviously couldn't start with the tough monsters yet neither could they train with weaklings, so Sato decided to start from the 5th floor of the Outer region; at least they would still be capable of finding a few worthy opponents here.

Sato's plan turned out to be for the better as the team had made it from the 5th floor to the 7th floor while improving on their coordination and synergy. During this period, Sato barely made any input in the battle as he was a level 15 player; killing these mobs would gain him nothing, not even a shred of Experience points or loot. So the opponents were left to the other 5.

"The next move?" Sato began pondering.

Katsuo's tanking abilities had seen a massive improvement in this training session since not only did he have to face off against multiple monsters at once, increasing the pressure in him and forcing out his potential, but he also had Sato's guidance.

Yato was next in profiting the most as his swordplay became more refined thanks to Sato's inputs and comments to it. Compared to all other weapons, Sato was well versed in the art of the sword so he was more than capable of being Yato's temporary teacher.

Fudo, Seiichi, and Lu Zhen didn't gain as much as the other two but their abilities did improve a bit, especially their teamwork skills. Currently, everyone could read the others' move and react in accordance to it, creating such an amazing strategy that they could take down an Expert with ease.

"We proceed as usual. This region is of no use to us anymore so we rush our way to the Middle region. We don't have any information on the top guilds so we don't know how far they've gone. While I doubt that any of them have reached the Middle region yet, we need to hurry a bit, just in case." Sato said.

"Alright. To the Middle region." Fudo pointed his staff forward like a pirate pointing their saber out towards the sea.

. . .

. . .

. . .

Elsewhere on the Outer region's 7th floor...

"Captain." A player saluted the middle-aged man before him.

"How far are we from the closest Exit gate?" A deep voice questioned.

"If the previous maps are still accurate, then without any interruptions, we're just 15 minutes away." The player replied. He had a long how strapped behind him signifying that he was a [Ranger].

"Okay. Let's move then. We are the vanguard for the main team so we have to secure the path and make it to the Middle region as soon as possible. Every second counts so I want you all ready to move in 5." The voice repeated.

"Yes, captain." The player nodded before exiting the tent.

'Azure Dragon and Chesces are on their way. Considering that they have a majority of the guild's forces with them, their progress would be quick. I have to be even faster otherwise those preeks would make trouble for me.'

This middle-aged man who was called 'Captain' by the other player and was currently engaged in a soliloquy was actually Black Tempest, the player sent to lead Emperor's Might's vanguard squad.