Infinite Realm

"Roar!"

"Split!" Sato yelled as he noticed the monster's actions.

*Bam*

Despite having a body packed with muscles, the cyclops was able to reach the team in one jump without a hitch, launching a palm attack right as it did so. Luckily though, Sato's alertness was in battle so he was able to react more faster than the others.

"Don't spread too far as he might try to pick us up one by one. Katsuo, you work with me and let's try to keep this BOSS pinned down and busy with us. As for the rest of you, hit it with all you've got. Let's take this monster down as soon as possible." Sato gave out his commands.

Everyone in the team silently acquiesced and decided to follow the plans. It was as of none of them could recall that they weren't so far from the door which could be an exit, but in truth, they were all aware; they simply just dey their focus elsewhere and there was meaning to that. 

After the experience in Black Grill's Cave with the Guardian Golems on the 9th floor of the Middle region, everyone apart from Sato and Seiichi, had come to the conclusion that some gates or doors could only be open when the guardian was beaten. As to how one could recognise such places, they usually had a guardian watching over them that would attack anyone who gets close.

While it was true that the thought of just running past the monster and heading to the gate was in their head at some point, it was scratched out after they recalled that such wasn't possible with the teleportation portal in Black Grill's Cave. So rather than to spend their time and prioritise running past the monster, they had all tacitly agreed that it was smarter to defeat it before aiming for the door. This was because a high chance existed where the door was inaccessible to them and could only be unlocked after beating this guardian monster. While they could test out this theory, it was much better to face the monster than spend their time and energy on something like that.

"Wuuoooooo!"

As the creature had missed the group, landing its huge palm on the floor and making a depression, it roared and immediately targeted Sato as it felt that he was the most threat to it amongst the seven.

"Sato!" Xue Yan couldn't help but yell.

"Maintain formation." Sato calmly said.

"I'll start off by holding its aggro. Katsuo, you switch later with me."

Sato could handle the monster all by himself but he didn't want to take that route. If he did so, the team would be over-reliant on his strength and they wouldn't improve anymore. Hence, even though Katsuo was way weaker than the monster, Sato still wanted him to tank it so as to feel the difference in strength and to develop his skills. This sounded wrong but there was actually some logic to it.

When a fighter goes up against an opponent that surpasses him in all areas of physique, including speed and strength, the fighter would have to rely on his brain in order to obtain victory. This was the development of a fighter's battle awareness and sense, and this was what Sato hoped for Katsuo. He wanted him to be able to think like a tank and fight like one, even if his opponent was stronger than him.

"It's me and you for now." Sato stood still as he faced the dashing cyclops.

"Roar!"

Seemingly infuriated that its target dared to show a hint of animosity and defiance to it, the cyclops lifted its right arm up and brought it crashing down on Sato. As it did so, a weird brown glow deemed to cover the palm, acting as a shield that protected it from harm.

"Ha!"

Sato pulled out [Drakken] and slashed it out in one move.

*Clang*

The sword collided with the brown forcefield first, creating fissures all over it. Nonetheless, the shield managed to hold its ground but only for a minute before the sword went through it and hacked at the palm of the cyclops. 

A splash of dark green blood sprayed from above as the black cursed sword had managed to make a cut on the monster with its remnant force while also shoving the arm to the side.

Even though monsters typically had more attribute points than players, a level 15 Special Elite would at most compare to a level 16 player, much less a level 17 player. When the bonuses from weapons and equipment are added up, the monster would find it difficult to hold its ground against such a player. 

In summary, as long as Sato wished to, with the current strength it was displaying, he could solo the monster all on his own. This was a monster that would give a headache to mots of the guilds in IR but thanks to his level advantage, it would just be a difficult for him but not impossible.

'I'm truly a living cheat code.' Sato wrly smiled.

While he could contend with the monster on his own, Sato didn't want to do so. Killing it wouldn't gain him much, but if his teammates were to do so, the profit would be worthwhile. This was another reason Sato intended for them to take on this dungeon. 

Sato needed to constantly improve alongside his team but raiding a normal dungeon wouldn't help him achieve that so the only option was the [Temple of Vasiliás], which the system acclaimed to be much tougher than the others.

"Wuoo! All trespassers must die!" The cyclops suddenly spoke up.

"You can talk?" Sato stared at it with a bit of shock.

His surprise at the monster's ability to communicate was simply because it lacked an aperture for that.

The monster didn't reply him but swiped its left hand at Sato instead.

*Phew*

An arrow pierced through the air and immediately headed for the cyclop's eyes but it turned out that the monster's reactions weren't as slow as one would expect as it immediately shut the lone eye with its eye lids.

*Tink*

The arrow struck the closed eye lid but was like a toothpick going against a metal wall as it slid down without causing any damage to the creature.

"Explode!"

Fudo immediately triggered one of the spells on his equipment, setting the left arm of the cyclops on fire, but the monster didn't react in a hurry, seeming as if it felt nothing. Even the battle log that were always active didn't show any sign of the creature receiving damage.

In response, the cyclops opened its eye and glanced at Fudo, seemingly mocking him for his futile effort.

"What a tough guy." Lu Zhen frowned.

"The heck? Not even a 0?" Fudo twitched his lips as he stunned at the result of his attack.

"Focus." Yato said as he ran past Fudo and dashed towards the monster.

"Katsuo!"

"On it." Katsuo replied as he dashed straight up with his shield in front of him.

"Face me, you one-eyed freak!" 

[Taunt]

The cyclops, who was focused on Sato at the time, was suddenly drawn towards Katsuo by his roar. Despite not paying attention to the others, it had still managed to hear what Katsuo had said, and added with the effects of the skill [Taunt], the monster felt as if it had been pricked on its 'reverse scale'.

"Roar!"

Like a man that was interrupted in the middle of his mating session, the cyclops roared at Katsuo with an infuriated gaze, sending a punch straight towards him.

'I think I overdid it.' Katsuo thought as he immediately hung his sword behind him and wielded the shield with both hands.

[Protection]

[Buffer]

A green glow shone all over Katsuo for a second, before a yellow glow took over.

*Bang*

The cyclop's fist collided with Katsuo's shield after which he was sent flying back like a torn kite.

*Boom*

-78 (???/??? Katsuo's HP)

After flying for over 5 metres, Katsuo landed heavily on the scribbled floor as his hands collapsed freely with the shield falling to the ground.

"Katsuo!" Fudo and Yato yelled at the same time.

"Ugh. That was some hit." Katsuo slowly moved his left hand towards the right side of his chest.

The only reason he was still able to breath was because of the two skills he had activated at the last moment. 

[Protection] summoned a light shield to receive attacks on his behalf. The total damage the shield could tank was equivalent to 2 times his [Endurance]. As for the other skill, [Buffer], it boosted his defensive abilities by 10%, increasing his damage enduring capacity.

If not for these two skills, Katsuo would have been dead after that hit.

'A level 15 BOSS monster is definitely not something I can handle on my own anytime soon.' Katsuo thought.

"Sato, what now?" Yato paused his advance as he realised that the monster in front of him was no small fry.

"We still have this in the bag so don't worry too much. I'll officially take tanking duties while you guys deal damage. If you can't confidently face this monster even with me by your side, then you shouldn't be here." Sato narrowed his eyes as he spoke.

"Haha. Well said." Fudo laughed.

"In that case, Seven Star Glory shall officially commence this raid.." Seiichi nudged his glasses.