Infinite Realm

*Bang*

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

"Damn it. You have such a thick shell." Sato complained as he felt a numbing pain in his palm.

Glancing at his left hand, Sato saw that the gauntlet he had used to block the puppet's previous attack was already filled with cracks and would break apart with another random attack. But he had already expected that. 

The gauntlet was a level 10 Mid-tier Mortal rank gauntlet he had found in one of the rooms. The puppet's claws were able to compare with his level 15 Low-tier Rare-Steel rank weapon. If it couldn't ruin a level 10 Mid-tier Mortal rank equipment then it would be a shame.

"Still not enough?" 

The puppet stood up with a bit of difficulty but apart from that, there was no expression or emotion in its eyes. Apart from the cracks decorating its body, there was no sign that Sato had done much damage to the puppet. Unlike a monster or a player who would be bleeding or in pain, the puppet was simply lifeless and bloodless.

"*Sighs* If level 15 creatures are this strong then it means that this game would be a lot more difficult as we go on." Sato sighed for the future of most players.

"Alright. Time to end this." 

Flexing his muscles a bit, Sato then narrowed his eyes as he decided to end this. He had previously been battling the puppet with a cautious attitude to study its fighting pattern and for fear of being surprised by a skill. 

Just like how the [Appraise] skill didn't reveal everything related to a piece of equipment or a weapon, the [Inspect] skill similarly stopped revealing all the skills possessed by a monster past level 10. Therefore, even though Sato had already scanned the puppet for its attributes and skills, he still had to be cautious for the ones that weren't revealed by the result.

*Bang*

The puppet suddenly sped towards Sato as if it were still full of energy.

Not wanting to be outdone, Sato charged right towards it with his right hand tightly gripping his sword.

*Clang*

The two clashed once again as they similarly did in the beginning, but this time around Sato intended to wrap the battle up quickly.

'Lotus Slash.'

*Crack*

-112

Once he drew his sword back, Sato immediately slashed out in almost an instant, making a clean-cut mark on the body of the puppet.

'The damage is piling up.' Sato noticed the value of his attack being roughly on par with a skill.

The puppet didn't bother about the injury as it brandished both claws at Sato.

[Sprint]

Sato boosted his movement speed with the basic general skill as he hurriedly dodged the two attacks.

At the same time he did so, Sato thrust his sword at a point on the puppet's body. The point was a junction where 3 cracks had met and it was located just close to the shoulder.

*Crack*

[Critical Hit]

-178

The junction widened as the sword went through it, almost severing the arm from the main body.

The left arm of the puppet had turned useless as it swiped its right claw at Sato without remorse.

Realising that he was in trouble, Sato hurriedly pulled out his sword as he tried to retreat, but he still got caught by the attack.

*Bang*

The gauntlet Sato wore in his left hand shattered to pieces as he used it to tank the blow. However, the remnant force from the claw had tossed him to the side like an abandoned rag.

Relying on his reflexes, Sato was able to bring himself back to his feet almost immediately. He then clashed with the puppet that had already charged right at him.

*Clang*

Once he blocked the hit, Sato immediately forced the claw to the side as he delivered a punch right at the feeble left shoulder.

*Bam*

[Critical Hit]

-139 (1044/6000 Temple Guardian Puppet's HP)

The hanging left claw was immediately detached from the body of the creature without much resistance. An unexpectedly, the puppet suddenly froze at that moment.

While he was confused, Sato had no intention of letting go of a free meal. He immediately brandished his sword at two other points on the puppet that had cracks all over, dealing critical upon critical hit on it.

[Critical Hit]

-167

[Critical Hit]

-183

[Critical Hit]

-192

[Critical Hit]

-199 (303/6000 Temple Guardian Puppet's HP)

It was with the fourth attack that the puppet managed to recover but by then, it was too late to change the results.

"[Linear Strike]"

[Black Flame Slash]

A flaming [Drakken] went through the puppet's forehead and came out cleanly from the other side and to top it all off, Sato sent a punch right at its chest, where a human's heart would be located, without any hesitation. 

[CRITICAL HIT]

-279

-32

The flaming sword thrust had caused a highly rated critical hit that was even recognised by the system while the punch aimed at a weak point had hammered the nail on the puppet, sending it to eternal rest.

[[ System notification :

Congratulations, you have slayed the Temple Guardian Puppet and unlocked a new location.]]

"Unlocked a new location? What's that all about?" 

Confused, Sato halted looting the creature and tried to find more information on his system interface. Sadly though, there was no other notice from the system.

'What's going on?'

Just as Sato was pondering on what the notification referred to, the remains of the puppet suddenly crumbled to rubble and were swept off by an invisible wind. 

*Boom*

As if a small explosion had just rocked the place, the remains crashed into the black 'plate' that was floating in mid-air, creating new silver cracks in it before forcing its way in.

As Sato was about to curse at the system for stealing his loot, the cracks on the plate began to multiply and widen as more and more silver light leaked out from it.

Run.

For some reason, Sato's instincts warned him and without hesitation, he ran as far as possible away from the black plate.

*Boom*

An explosion louder than the previous one rocked the entire place as Sato abruptly took cover on the floor.

Following the sound of the explosion were two system notifications; one, a worldwide system notification and the other a regional notification that covered only Black Rock province. The contents of both notifications were pretty much similar but they managed to arouse the interest and vigir of the entire playerbase in the game. Their contents...

[[ System notification :

Wide-Scale Announcement 

Region level: Worldwide server

The first-ever dungeon has officially been unlocked.

Dungeon privileges and new entries have been activated.

]]