Infinite Realm

*Boom*

*Skrrr!*

*Caw*

A loud explosion rocked the area as the loud cries of the birds in the sky rang out in a cacophony. A large flock of airborne monsters immediately rose into the air and scattered in multiple directions, clearing the area as if afraid of something. Even Sato in his hiding place was forced to move out due to the disruption brought about by the large explosion, as not only were the monsters of the air ruffled but even the ferocious beasts of the land were forced to react. This was only natural as they felt a great crisis looming with some wanting to have a look.

With the monsters running amok, the original safe spot Sato had found was at risk of getting discovered. 

'What's going on?' Sato couldn't help but wonder as he tried to find a safe place to hide from the monsters.

While he was tempted to head in the direction of the explosion, Sato didn't take the risk. A majority of the monsters had also made their way there so following them would be no different than walking into the tiger's den. Instead, this was the best opportunity to escape.

Once he thought of this, Sato didn't wait any longer. While there was still a risk in doing so now, it was the best opportunity. Luckily for him, the location of the explosion was in direct contrast to his escape route; on the opposite side of it.  The stampede of monsters would easily cover his tracks and at the same time lessen the concentration of monsters in the area. Hence, it would be easier for Sato to escape. But if he waited for the commotion to die down, the monsters might return to their previous locations and it would be tough for Sato to escape with ease as compared to now.

Move.

With one thought in his head, Sato began his elusive escape.

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He maneuvered through the area, making use of the boulders and craters along the way to hide. As he moved, Sato marked a few shadows and made use of them to either retreat or advance when he was in close proximity to a monster. 

While it was true that his senses weren't on par with Milo's, Sato's danger instincts were still well above that of an ordinary human. By relying on them, he was able to make heads or tails as he moved, while also avoiding most of the monsters. 

It was only after 2 hours of fleeing that Sato finally came to a stop and took a break. Of the 2 hours, most of it was spent circling around a few monsters or hiding from them, otherwise, Sato would have taken only an hour or so to make it this far.

Relying on his memory of the area, Sato realised that he was quite close to the lake that was his original destination. Being close by meant that the monsters nearby were around his level. In other words, Sato didn't need to be as cautious as before.

*Ding*

[[ System Notification :

World-wide Server Announcement :

Congratulations to the team, Mudane Elements, for completing the first achievement [First Completion], by completing the dungeon [Rocky Cavern].

Rewarding players...

1 World Renown Point

1 Gold coin to each player

Title [Adventurer]

+ **** Experience Points ]]

The notification sounded thrice before it cleared out. 

Sato was stunned at the details of the message for a while but eventually sighed.

'In the end, it was inevitable.'

Though Sato had hoped to take the [First Completion] achievement, he knew that it wouldn't be so easy. Not only was the dungeon the team took on harder than the rest but their overall strength was a bit lower than their counterparts.

True, Sato and Xue Yan were some of the strongest players(in terms of level), but the rest of the team were below those of the other guilds, specifically Katsuo and Yato. One should know that the top guilds had been making preparations all to take the [First Completion] achievement so the strength and structure of their raid teams was something that others couldn't easily compare with. When comparing Katsuo -whose role as an MT was extremely important- and Yato with them, the difference was obvious. Even if one were to add Fudo and Seiichi there wouldn't be much of a change.

The difference didn't just lay in strength alone but teamwork and equipment quality, all of which the raid teams of the top guilds surpassed them in.

As for the current holder of the achievement, Mudane Elements, they were a super guild that wasn't based in the ISJ; a foreign super guild. Unlike Emperor's Might, they didn't have a branch in the Fallen Heart Kingdom either but their strength wasn't to be underestimated; ranking in the Top 5 super guilds. Being the first to clear a dungeon in IR worldwide was more than a testament to that.

'We're still a long way from contending with the big guilds. I shouldn't think too much about it.'

Before he could even recover from that, a regional announcement broke out, stating that Emperor's Might had managed to achieve the first completion at a regional level. In other words, they were the first guild in the Fallen Heart Kingdom to have completed a dungeon.

This was another blow to Sato, but having been prepared for it, he didn't dwell on it too much.

Following that, Sato received a call from Fudo and the others with the team lamenting their loss. Nobody blamed Sato for not being present for the dungeon raid as they knew that the major reason they fell out of the contest was that they were going up against top guilds with more than 5 years of history. Without a good and solid foundation, defeat was only natural. 

Sato comforted them and told the team to focus on their current goal, which was strengthening themselves. In his own words, the competition has only begun so it doesn't matter if they're behind just this once. There would be more opportunities to make it up in the future.

With Sato's words of consolation as well as the obvious notifications that were making rounds on the forum, the team of 6 was further motivated to work harder and get stronger, faster. If they couldn't do such, then they would be destined to remain in the shadows of the top guilds just like all other average clubs and teams. Having tasted fame once, after beating the Kobold King, no one was willing to just let things go like that especially Fudo and Yato. The two became the most energetic in the team as they rampaged around in the dungeon, causing chaos and slaying monsters like it was nothing.

Despite knowing that an opportunity to make a name once again had slipped from their hands, Sato wasn't down but instead, still had his mind focused on the task ahead which was leaving here and conquering the [Temple Of Vasiliás] dungeon.

Eventually, Sato had passed the lake and even closed in on the spot he fought the [Lorlian Sea-Blue Crocodile]. Sato didn't go ahead to investigate as he felt it wasn't time yet. His experience in the depths of Maldora Canyon made him more cautious about his surroundings and even more so about mysterious places. Having crossed paths with dangerously strong monsters during his flee, Sato guessed that the monster in the lake was at least as strong as those monsters or even stronger. As for why such a terrifying creature was this far away from the depths of the canyon, where most strong monsters lived, Sato couldn't answer.

When Sato made it past the distributary and arrived at the Lorls river itself, he noticed a body sprawled across the floor without any obvious signs of life. A closer look at the 'corpse' revealed that it was actually a stunning young lady, not much older than him. 

'Another one? What's up with this place for heaven's sake?'