Infinite Realm

The party of 4 began to follow in the [Assassin\'s] footsteps as they began tracking down Sato. Even though there was no obvious footprint on the road, the [Hunter] subclass had a few select skills that enabled a player to spot even the tiniest of marks one\'s boots could make the floor. If enough reference material was available, they could even track a person based on their aura alone.

"The marks stop here. He\'s definitely around here somewhere." The [Assassin] said.

"Guard." The [Cleric] immediately gave out a command and the whole team assembled in a formation. 

The team usually took bounties related to tracking down someone and this would normally lead them to some unknown and dangerous spot. To reduce the risk involved, they began utilizing battle formations when they encounter such locations or situations.

The [Cleric] was in the middle with the [Guardian] in front, the [Swordsman] behind and the [Assassin] by the side.

\'A basic 4-man advancing formation.\' Sato glanced at the 4 players as they stood at their positions.

VR gaming had been popular for decades already and with its ever-growing popularity, more and more \'How tos\', \'Dos and Don\'ts\' and other guides in gaming were released. Amongst them was the various formations players could take in certain scenarios depending on their numbers. Battle formations eventually became so widespread that about 90% of gamers world-wide were familiar with at least one of them. The 4-man advancing formation was a formation based on the fact that the team consisted of 4 players; an MT, a healer and 2 DPS[1] players, and were exploring an unknown map or location filled with risks. 

According the formation manual, the MT would stay in front while one of the damage dealers -who should be at least capable of taking a hit- would stay behind. The healer would be in between the two while the last damage dealer player would be by the side. 

By putting the MT in front, they were meant to serve as the team\'s protector, intercepting any assault that would arrive from the front which was usually the riskiest direction in unknown grounds. The player who stays behind was tasked with protecting the team from the back, which was why they were required to be able to take a hit. A class like [Assassin] or [Ranger wasn\'t suited for this position and it was normally handed over to the [Berserker], [Swordsman] or a similar class. The healer staying in between the above two players was because that was the safest position in the formation. The healer class, which was well known for its terrible defensive abilities, was required to be protected at all times as their existence was crucial to a team\'s survival in a battle. 

The last role, which was handed over to the second DPS player, was a flexible one. The player taking up that role was to provide assistance to either the MT in front of the other DPS player behind. One could say that they functioned as a support role in the formation, working alongside either of the above players till assistance comes from the other. For example, if the MT were to suffer an assault and tried to hold back the enemy, the support role would assist him/her till the other DPS player arrived, and the same could be said if the positions were switched. 

According to the original definition of the 4-man advancing formation, the support role would suit either a mage, a [Ranger] or an [Assassin] as these classes have high attacking power and speed but poor defensive abilities when compared to the others. However, theirs was still better than a healer\'s.

"We know you\'re here so come out!" The [Cleric] shouted. 

From the [Assassin\'s] conjectures, the [Cleric] guessed that Sato was hiding somewhere close. He wouldn\'t believe that Sato was able to throw them off as even an Expert rank dark player had once been tracked down by the party. 

His reply was however, was met with silence.

"Playing hard to get huh?" The [Cleric] replied with a strange smile.

"Emperor\'s Might is already on their way here and unless you can lose us, they will catch up to you. You\'ve a;ready witnessed the prowess of a super guild\'s team and may have survived but this time, you will be facing a team dedicated to hunting you down. Unless you an throw us off your tail, your only option would be to finish us here. So come out now while we are still playing along." 

\'So quick?\' Sato frowned. He had already guessed that the party before him would report his location but he didn\'t think that Emperor;s Might would be so quick in responding.

"Boss, why did you tell him that?" The [Guardian] asked with a confused expression.

"This player is definitely a smart guy based on the fact he had managed to survive an assault from 2 top guilds and remain hidden this long. He\'s probably guessed that we have reported his location already so he most likely hid now to finish us off. He might not have wanted to do so before but seeing as he can\'t throw us off, he most likely will now." The [Cleric] narrowed his eyes as he muttered.

"I doubt we\'re a match for him so the only thing we can do is hold out till reinforcements arrive. My statement before was just to put a sense of haste into him. It would make his movements more rushed and might expose flaws for us to use against him."

The others widened their eyes in shock as they didn\'t realise that their leader had thought that far but they soon calmed ahead as this wasn\'t the first time such had happened.

"Just don\'t move for the attack. Stick together and fight defensively. Reinforcements aren\'t that far." The [Cleric] said as he stared at his system interface. It was set to private display so only he could see what was displayed on it.

\'Just a few minutes more and we will get our reward.\'