Infinite Realm

The  [Lorlian Sea-Blue Crocodile], which was the name of the monster, was a level 17 Common ranked monster, the highest levelled creature Sato had seen. Its hard scales served as a semi-impregnable defence that made most of his skills to be only able to deal a 'discounted' amount of damage compared to their real abilities. Even worse, was the fact that the monster's strength was something Sato couldn't contend with. Yet Sato still had to come out on top of this battle, otherwise, if he couldn't, he might as well quit playing Infinite Realm.

Luckily for him but unluckily for the blue-scaled croc, Sato was a pro-gamer as well as an experienced martial artist. Already equipped with the knowledge that Infinite Realm was a game that mimicked reality, Sato had reversed the knowledge of certain animals and mythical creatures as he felt that a few monsters would possibly be based on them. In fact, it wasn't only Sato who thought this way but the various experienced gamers as well. 

So long as it was a fantasy game, many believed that the elements would be the same or at least, have a few similarities. Dragons would exist and so would goblins. Certain elements were a constant while a few others were an adaptation or modification of a few existing creatures. Take for instance the [Lorlian Sea-Blue Crocodile]. In essence, it was still a crocodile even though it was bigger in size and had a few special abilities. By making comparisons of such monsters with their real-life equivalent, it was presumably easier to spot the weaknesses of the monsters.

Take the [Lorlian Sea-Blue Crocodile] for example. Despite seeming like a humongous beast of war that could rip its opponents to shreds, standing unequal under the heavens, the monster had a very simple and obvious weakness; its weight and size. It was common sense that the larger an object, the more energy/force required to set it to motion. For the [Lorlian Sea-Blue Crocodile], it required a lot of energy and effort to move, much less run. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the energy used in making it run a 20 metres distance was enough to make an average-sized human run a mile. 

For a level 16 and below player who was not of an Agility based class, the speed of the level 17 Common [Lorlian Sea-Blue Crocodile] was simply ludicrous for its size but when facing a level 17 player and above player with the right number of [Agility] and [Dexterity] points, it was just a bit fast but not impossible to react to. This was because the weight of the [Lorlian Sea-Blue Crocodile] was actually impeding its movement but it could still generate enough energy to move faster than most. But for those who were close to it in terms of [Agility], they would be able to notice this point. However, this weakness couldn't be so easily utilised. 

Firstly, one had to have at least 18 and above points in [Agility] in other to contend with the monster. The level 14 Lu Zhen and Seiichi had easily fulfilled this mark but that didn't mean that they were the [Lorlian Sea-Blue Crocodile]'s match.

Apart from matching the monster in terms of speed, one had to have the required degree of reaction speed or else, they could fall to an attack of the monster at close-range. 

In truth though, all these criteria only enabled one to be able to avoid the monster's blow and not defeat it. Being faster didn't necessarily mean being stronger. Take Seiichi and Lu Zhen for instance. While they were much faster than [Lorlian Sea-Blue Crocodile], they were not its match in a one-on-one battle. This was because none from the duo was capable of landing an attack that could pierce through the scales of the monster. Even if they were level 17, their attacks would only be able to curse light injuries, and unless they attack via an ambush, none of them would be capable of severely injuring the monster. 

As most players said, the system was fair. The [Lorlian Sea-Blue Crocodile] wasn't an average cannon-fodder but a balanced monster. Being faster than it didn't mean defeating it, and even being stronger but not faster, also entailed the same end. Hence, even if one were level 17, it was much safer to engage it as a team.

However, Sato was different. Not only did he have the basic required points in [Agility] but he also had a high level of strength that could serve as a threat to the monster. Apart from those, the cursed sword [Drakken] granted a 25% boost to the penetrative strength of all his attacks. Against a monster like the [Lorlian Sea-Blue Crocodile], such a bonus couldn't be underestimated. Thanks to it, Sato would be using half the effort to achieve a doubled effect.

(1349/4000 Lorlian Sea-Blue Crocodile's HP)

With his impressive skills as well as the advantage of his weapon, Sato was able to bring the monster's HP down without getting injured. It was only a matter of time before the blue-scaled beast would fall at his hands, and even the monster seemed to realise that.

Seeing as it wasn't able to get the upper hand in this fight, with its HP already far below the 50% mark, the [Lorlian Sea-Blue Crocodile] immediately decided on a retreat as it turned tail and dashed toward the river. If there existed a chance of turning the battle around, it would be underneath the water and not on land.

'The heck?' Sato was stunned.

Normally, only monsters that posesse Intellect would be aware of the concept of retreat. Most monsters in VR games were just dumb creatures that only knew how to attack an opponent within their range. Even when they were close to death's door, they wouldn't retreat; only monsters with Intellect would do so since their intelligence wasn't something a regular monster could compare to. But Sato was sure that the [Lorlian Sea-Blue Crocodile] before him wasn't one such monster.

What mostly differentiated monsters with intellect and regular monsters was the level of intelligence both creatures possessed. This in turn affected their fighting style greatly. Hence the reason why monsters with intellect were stronger than their dumber counterpart.

Sato had already exchanged multiple blows with the monster and he realised that the fighting style of the monster was bland and straight. There were no complexities whatsoever and as long as one paid proper attention to it, they would spot a rhythm in its attacks. Hence, it was not a monster with intellect. However, the fact that it could conceive the idea of retreating meant that it probably wasn't an average monster.

'Or is this one of the reality 'perks' of Infinite Realm?' Sato thought as he chased after the croc.

No matter the reason, he couldn't let it get into the river, or else all his efforts would be for naught.

Sato's speed wasn't less than the [Lorlian Sea-Blue Crocodile]'s to start with, and he had already dealt tons of injuries to it, including the still bleeding right arm of the monster. So, it was a given that he would catch up to it before it could get to the river.

"Grawl!"

Seemingly realising that its actions were pointless as its assaulter kept chasing after it, the croc released a threatening roar but in reality, this was just a mere performance as it was already scared sh*t by Sato.

"Haha. You can't get away." Sato laughed as he slashed out with his sword.

*Whoosh*

The ever-familiar flames appeared behind the crocodile once again but this time, the monster seemed to be a bit prepared as it dodged to the side.

"Heh."

Unknown to it, its actions were all previously anticipated by Sato. Truthfully, he had hoped for the croc to dodge the attack as doing so would force it to slow down; just enough for him to get close.

'[Shadow Movement]'

It had been over 2 minutes since Sato had used the skill and its cool-down was but a mere 20 seconds. Add that to the fact that Sato had only used it once, the monster had already forgotten that he possessed such skill and wasn't prepared for it.

*Splurge*

Sato appeared from the shadow created by the [Lorlian Sea-Blue Crocodile]'s tail, hacking at the body part with his sword.

[Linear Thrust]

A black thin line passed from one side to the other as Sato's sudden attack sliced off the tail of the monster with green blood gushing out from the injury like a small fountain.

[Critical Hit]

-511 (838/4000 Lorlian Sea-Blue Crocodile's HP)

*Bang*

In most tailed creatures, the purpose of the elongated body part was to help the creatures maintain their balance as well as to function as an extra limb. The same held true for the [Lorlian Sea-Blue Crocodile], who upon losing its tail, immediately crashed down on its heavy weight due to the surprise attack as well as the pain from losing such a large body part.

Even though Sato had heavily injured the monster once again, he didn't plan to retreat as before but instead wanted to end it. Sadly, Sato had to halt his follow-up move. It wasn't that he didn't have the heart to finish off the monster but his senses had immediately alerted him as Sato hurriedly retreated from the spot.

Ahead of the duo, was the river which was the goal of the [Lorlian Sea-Blue Crocodile]. However, unlike the empty surroundings that had greeted Sato before, what he saw were two other [Lorlian Sea-Blue Crocodiles] that had just left the water.

One of the [Lorlian Sea-Blue Crocodiles] was just like the one without a tail. As for the second one, it was quite different. Not only was it noticeably larger, but it also had a bloodthirsty aura around it. Unlike the green eyes that were synonymous with [Lorlian Sea-Blue Crocodiles], it had a blue eye with a hint of red in it.

There was no doubt that while this was the same monster, it was definitely of a higher rank.

'The heck?'

Sato cursed at his luck as he tightened his sword.

Taking down a [Lorlian Sea-Blue Crocodile] wasn't difficult; only time-consuming. However, taking on 3 of them, with one of them being an Elite at least, was a different story. Without a doubt, Sato wouldn't come out unscathed if he continued the battle.

"Roar!"

A more tyrannical roar sounded from the mouth of the bigger croc as it glanced at its injured brethren before gazing at Sato.

"Think I will be scared off by a simple roar? Bring it on." Sato smirked.

Since he left the team to improve on himself, he had to do battle. Running from a dangerous situation wouldn't help him improve. Unless the scenario looked like one where his death was close to being written on stone, Sato wouldn't conceive the idea of a retreat.. That was his martial law, especially in VR games; to never retreat in the face of adversity.