Infinite Realm

[[ Temple Guardian Puppet (Special Elite)

Race : ???

Bloodline : ???

Level : 15

HP : 2,372/6,000 (x30)

. . .

]]

After discerning the creature's identity through the [Inspect] skill, Sato finally understood why it didn't have any facial features. It was simply because it didn't need them. 

A puppet was an inanimate creation made with a goal in mind, similar to AIs and robots. Some puppets could be made to serve as servants, guards, or even chefs and so on, while others were designed specifically for battle. There was no need to think twice to know that the one before Sato was a battle puppet.

Even though the two had managed to deal damage to each other, Sato's skill with the sword was more advanced than the puppet's so he was able to mitigate a lot of the damage and dodge most of the attacks. Hence, the puppet's HP was already below 50% whereas Sato's was still above 50%.

Suddenly, a red hue appeared on the claws of the puppet as its attacks suddenly sped up. The force behind each strike and the speed supporting it were all increased. The intensity of the battle was boosted to another level that made Sato take it more seriously, lest he actually lose his life. And if that were to happen, he would respawn back in the city and that would mean that the over 3 hours of time he spent coming here as well as the more than 45 minutes spent here would turn to waste.

*Clang*

The puppet made use of a small window to land a heavy strike right at Sato, however, the blow was thwarted by a timely silver dagger that Sato had summoned at the very last second. 

Nonetheless, because it was a rushed block, the silver blade got flung away and Sato was still struck by the attack, moving back 3 metres.

As he lifted his head to glance at the puppet, Sato saw the creature dashing towards him with a black orb in hand. It tossed the black orb at Sato with its right claw. As the orb left the claw, it broke up into 4 thin lines that attacked from 4 different angles.

Sato hurriedly dodged to the side as the 4 attacks landed at his original spot, leaving behind slash marks on the floor.

At the exact moment Sato had moved, the puppet had also moved with him and appeared just a few metres, almost giving Sato the shock of his life.

"Waaaaaa!"

A high-pitched scream resonated from the body of the puppet and affected Sato in a peculiar fashion.

Usually, sound affects the ear or rather, the sound organs of the listener. A high-pitched sound would be piercing and harmful to the organs, while low-frequency sounds would also have negative effects on the human body. The noise released by the puppet couldn't exactly be described as such.

While it was sound that could be heard, the vibrations caused by it in the air were visible to the naked eyes. These vibrations surrounded Sato and slowed down his reaction speed and movement, having similar effects to a quagmire. The duration of the skill was very short but that was more than enough to affect Sato's momentum.

At the same time that the vibrations took effect, the puppet was already in front of Sato and had attacked with both claws, aiming one at his head and the other at his right arm. Even if Sato would somehow be able to react to this, it would be quite difficult for him to block the attack and impossible for him to dodge it.

'Out.'

*Clang*

At the last moment, Sato had used [Drakken] to block the claw going for his head. As for the other claw, he had summoned a gauntlet on his left arm and used it as a shield against the other claw.

Once he had blocked the two attacks, Sato didn't hesitate to retreat from the spot as he made some space between himself and the puppet.

Unrelenting like a starved pervert who had spotted a beautiful virgin, the puppet chased after Sato and launched attack after attack, intent on not giving him any breathing space.

Sparks flew off each time the two clashed and Sato was constantly being forced back. From a third-person view, it would look as if he would soon lose the fight but Sato knew better. The fight was had just begun.

*Bam*

Sato sent a kick right at the puppet's chest, spacing it away from himself. Before the target could recover, he jumped right at it and swung his sword towards its head.

The puppet caught the sword with one claw and proceeded to attack with the other, but Sato sent another kick straight at it.

*Bam*

Irked, the puppet glared at Sato with its glistening red eyes and abruptly swiped both claws towards him with a strange black glint in both claws.

"Hmph."

[Dark Veil]

With a snort, Sato used the second active skill in his sword.

Unlike [Black Flame Slash], [Dark Veil] was a domain-type silencing skill that prevented any opponent within its range from using any active skill so long as the domain was activated before the skill was. 

Because of [Dark Veil], the skill the puppet had just prepared was cancelled and Sato only had to face a regular attack. That little action of his had led to the puppet's momentum being ruined and it became easier for Sato to turn the tables on it.

Without wasting any time, Sato easily parried the attack and went on the assault. 

While the 3 seconds duration of the skill sounded short, it was very useful to Sato especially since he had saved most of his skills for this.

"[Chain Hit]"

-132

-124

-118 (1998/6000 Temple Guardian Puppet's HP)

Immediately the skill concluded, Sato struck once again with his sword, but this time with the basic skill [Hack], before concluding up with two regular attacks just as the 3 seconds countdown went off.

- 107

-88

-92 (1711/6000 Temple Guardian Puppet's HP)

Even though the domain went off and the puppet had regained all of its skills, Sato wasn't inclined to end things just like that. 

*Bang*

-112 

As the puppet was just about to recover from the harsh combo from Sato, the swordsman delivered a brutal [Chop] to it, sending it back 3 metres in a flustered manner.

Intending on paying it back for the unrelenting pursuit and not willing to let it have some breathing space, Sato immediately teleported beside the puppet using [Shadow Movement], before topping it off with a horizontal slash performed with the skill of the same name.

"[Horizontal slash]!"

-126 (1473/6000 Temple Guardian Puppet's HP)

*Bang*

Like a broken kite, the puppet was sent flying 6 metres till it crashed on the floor just close to the black 'plate'.