Infinite Realm

"Roar!"

One of the level 7 Kobolds charged directly towards Xue Yan while the other attacked from the side.

\'I can\'t fall back.\'

Xue Yan knew that the very second she focused on retreating, she would lose the battle as her speed was slower than the Kobolds\'. Hence she decided to try and take one of them down. At the very least, the experience points she would gain from it would possibly offset the loss from her death.

"[Fireball]!"

Pointing her wooden staff at the monster that charged directly and happened to be the closest, Xue Yan cast the quickest spell in a Fire elementalist\'s arsenal. As the blazing fireball went forward to strike the Kobold, Xue Yan pointed her left hand to the other Kobold and used [Mana ball] against it.

The [Mana ball] spell had a lot in common with [Fireball] as both techniques had the same casting speed and also attack power. The only difference between them was that the [Fireball] spell was a skill known to Fire-type elementalists whereas the [Mana ball] spell could be used by all [Elementalists] regardless of elemental allegiance. Of course, the two spell weren\'t really the exact same thing. Apart from the exclusiveness of the [Fireball] spell, unlike the [Mana ball] spell, it had a chance to cause the [Burn] effect on it\'s target. However, this chance was drastically low. Even at that, most players still preferred to use the [Fireball] spell over the [Mana ball] spell as a chance, no matter how little, is still better than none. Plus the [Fireball] looked way more cooler than a [Mana ball].

The first Kobold welcomed the flaming ball with a slash of it\'s machete which led to a small explosion. The second Kobold had actually dodged the [Mana ball] and with it\'s superior speed, it closed up the gap between Xue Yan and itself, leaving only a space that could be covered in3 steps in between them.

Seeing that if she didn\'t do anything soon, she would die at the hands of the Kobold, Xue Yan leaped backwards in order to create space between her and the Kobolds. Of course, it wasn\'t like the Kobold would let her go so easily and Xue Knew this. That was why the very second her feet were about to leave the ground, she pointed her staff at the second Kobold, which happened to be within a meter distance away from.

"[Fire Ray]"

A flaming ray blasted off from the tip of the spear, darting towards the Kobold who was already within it\'s range. Because the ray had appeared suddenly, the Kobold, who was already quite close to it, couldn\'t dodge the attack and got blasted back by it while receiving damage.

-42 (658/700 Wild Kobold)

Though she had landed a successful attack, this was but a sting to the Kobold\'s HP. To make things worse, she had achieved this through the aid of her class\' most powerful attack available.

Before she could perform a follow up attack, the first Kobold had abruptly appeared beside her and swung it\'s machete at Xue Yan. She instinctively tried to block it with the aid of her staff but with her weak [Strength] and [Endurance], blocking it made no difference. The machete collided with the staff in front of it and the force behind the attack sent Xue Yan, alongside her staff, flying.

-51 (59/110 Xue Yan)

Though the damage dealt was quite similar to to the one Xue Yan deal, the end result was anything but the same. With HP far smaller than that of the Kobold, Xue Yan would surely die if she got hit once more. The re

\'Damn. At this rate, I doubt I can achieve anything. Do I really have to die just like this...?\'

The only thing Xue Yan could take note of was the approaching machete as it slowly grew larger the closer it got to her.

\'So this is it...?\'

Xue Yan knew that once the machete slashed her, the Kobold would follow up on its attack and not give her any opportunity to retreat. As a mage, she was only good at long range combat and not melee battles. Without space between them, it would be impossible for her to cast any spells as she could be easily interrupted.

\'Just a little more and i would have reached it. At least I know what to expect here...\'

Xue Yan had such thoughts as she let go of all resistance and decided to meet her end. However, Fate has a way of playing tricks on people.

"[Greater Fireball]!"

-154 (546/700 Level 7 Wild Kobold)

"Roar!" The Kobold roared out loud. This time however, it wasn\'t a roar of frustration nor anger but one of pain, pain that dealt heavy damage.

"[Backstab]"

A low voice sounded from behind the Kobold as it suddenly froze.

-82 (464/700)

-50

-49

-50 (315/700 Wild Kobold)

The attacker didn\'t stop at one strike as he went on to deliver 4 more before retreating.

He then stared at Xue Yan and yelled "Don\'t just stand there! Work with me."

Lu Zhen was feeling a bit grumpy about having to handle one Kobold on his own. Even though they were both level 7, monsters such as Kobolds, were innately stronger than players. High Defense and Good Attacking Power, they were a force to be reckoned with if one decided to go easy on them and not take them serious. To prove this, the first strike Lu Zhen had made, which was a combination of both [Shadow Strike] and [Backstab], wasn\'t enough to finish it. Even the following attacks which were performed solely with the aid [Shadow Strike] didn\'t harm it that badly. All it did was take out a chunk of the Kobold\'s HP, but compared to Fudo\'s attack, it was almost cute. It was at times like this that Lu Zhen truly rejoiced at his decision of joining them.

\'With her help, I should be able to defeat this Kobold.\'

On the other side, after Fudo had attacked the Kobold once with his [Greater Fireball] spell, he turned his attention towards the other one since it charged over to him after noticing his interference.

"Hehe. Challenging me is your worst mistake. [Fire Ray]! "

A bright orange ray with a hint of red in it, darted over to the approaching Kobold. Compared to Xue Yan\'s version, this one was a lot faster and stronger. This was the effect of the increased affinity towards Fire element. With that said, how can a level 7 monsters dodge such a powerful attack from a level 8 player? The answer is, it can\'t.

"Roar!"

-154 ( 545/700 )

As the Kobold was drowned in it\'s agony, Sato appeared beside it and brandished his sword at th Kobold, dealing multiple strikes and damages to it.

[Horizontal Slash]

-85 ( 461/700 )

-57

[Chop] -70

-58 ( 276/700 ) Wild Kobold)

Before the Kobold could retaliate, Sato had already retreated. Having brought down it\'s HP to below 50%, Sato realised that it was obviously doable to fight the Kobold by himself but he still worked together with Fudo because they were in a hurry.

Looking at the Kobold that stared at him with red eyes, Sato smirked.

"Hehe. Don\'t look at me like that. I\'m not the one you should be focusing on."

"[Fireball], [Mana ball] "

Fudo cast the [Mana ball] spell right after the fireball had formed, sending two attacks at the Kobold.

-129

-128 ( 19/700 Wild Kobold)

The two attacks had obviously struck their target, since it was distracted, and as usual the attacks were followed by one noticeable factor. The Kobold\'s cry.

"Roar."

"Sthhh. It doesn\'t matter how many times I see it but your damage is really OP." Sato stated as he appeared beside the Kobold  and landed the last blow, finishing it off.

-61 ( 0/700 Wild Kobold)

"I really envy that necklace of yours." Sato sighed.

"Haha. When you get as lucky and awesome as I am, you wouldn\'t need to worry about it." Fudo said with a wide smug.

On the other side,  Lu Zhen and Xue Yan were almost done with the last Kobold. After being rescued, Xue Yan was able to get back on her feet and battle the Kobold as Lu Zhen easily attracted it\'s aggro and kept it\'s attention focused on him.

"[Greater Fireball]"

After having charged up her spell, Xue Yan unleased a [Greater Fireball] on the Kobold, eliminating that last bit of HP. Truth be told, Lu Zhen could have easily done so but he let Xue Yan get the last hit so as to receive more experience points than he would. That was the least he felt he could do for his cousin.

"Hah." After having a chance to finally relax, Xue Yan exhaled as she let go of her stress and felt exhaustion with a mix of relief kicking in. She however, held it all in and still went forward to thank her helpers.

"Thank you." Xue Yan bowed once at Lu Zhen and Fudo before facing Sato. She still kept a cold face while facing them and though it seemed like she was being insincere with her thanks, Sato didn\'t haggle with her as he felt that was probably how she behaved; quite similar to his behaviour around others.

Fudo picked up the [Teleportation Rune] that dropped from the Kobold he and Sato beat, while Lu Zhen obviously did the same thing.

Once he was done, he came close to Sato and then whispered to him.

"So....what do we do now?"