Anime Crossover: Master is Not Here Today

But just as he was still wondering, two joyful calls came from beside him—

"Argo!" ×2

"Ritsuka, Asuna!"

Looking at the three girls happily huddled together in front of him, he asked in surprise:

"Do you know each other?!"

"Yes, we met Argo by chance while leveling up, and she helped us a lot."

She smiled and answered Kirito's question.

Upon hearing Fujimaru Ritsuka's reply, Argo sighed helplessly, as if telling her this information had cost her a lot of money.

Seeing Argo's appearance, Kirito felt a sense of relief, but also some doubt about Fujimaru Ritsuka's words.

Did you receive a lot of help from Argo? I'm afraid it was all for a fee.

Wouldn't it be more accurate to call it a transaction?

On the other side, Argo's expression quickly returned to normal, and he looked at Kirito with a sly smile:

"But I never expected that someone as insignificant as you, Kiri, would know Ritsuka and Asuna, and that they would even wait for you."

"This is indeed a very valuable piece of information. In that case, the losses we suffered earlier are nothing."

Upon hearing what the other person said, Kirito immediately sensed something was wrong.

On the other hand, Fujimaru Ritsuka felt something was off about Argo's statement, while Asuna, oblivious to the situation, smiled and said:

"We're no different from Kirito in terms of being nobodys, we're just ordinary players, right?"

"Oh?"

Argo raised an eyebrow in surprise, then chuckled:

"It seems you two haven't quite grasped the situation yet. Since we're good friends, I'll tell you the current situation for just 500 Coles."

What is the current situation?

Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna exchanged a glance, somewhat puzzled.

However, at that moment, Kirito interrupted Argo's deal, speaking up:

"What Argo is referring to is probably that Ritsuka and Asuna are quite popular among the current frontline players."

"Huh?" ×2

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 148. A huge hit, the wielder of the gleaming rapier and the unparalleled spearman!

148.

2023-11-30

The popularity of Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna among players is so great that even he, a solo player who has hardly ever interacted with other players, has heard of it.

"The Twin Stars of Aincrad, the Radiant Rapier Wielder and the Unrivaled Lance Wielder, the Miraculous Sisters, and so on."

Kirito scratched his head and laughed:

"Since there are no large gatherings of players yet, there are still many miscellaneous titles, but the first two are the ones I hear most often, and it seems that they are gradually becoming the standard among players."

"Huh?!" ×2

Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna couldn't help but exclaim in surprise and uncertainty again, completely unaware of what was going on.

Kirito then explained to the two of them in detail.

Although he had mentioned it before, he wanted to emphasize it again:

In most games, the number of female players is far less than that of male players, and SAO is no exception.

Especially among the current frontline players, the only female players he has seen seem to be Fujimaru Ritsuka, Asuna, and Argo.

Thinking about it this way, it seems quite normal that the three female players on the front lines would know each other.

Back to topic.

Three female players were already quite rare, and after excluding Argo, who was rarely seen, only Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna remained as the frontline female players.

The fact that there are only two female players, and that they are a super cute girl duo that is quite rare in real life, makes them incredibly attractive to other otaku who spend all their time at home playing games.

In fact, the signs were already evident when they first met and he led them into the village of Holenka.

However, if the topic was merely about the gender and appearance of the two people, it wouldn't have been enough to generate enough buzz for a reclusive solo gamer like him to become aware of it.

A cute appearance is certainly a major factor in attracting attention, but there are other reasons more important—

For example, exceptional skills, a willingness to help others, or the status of a novice player.

Their exceptional skills go without saying. From being complete newbies to becoming the top players who reached [Torbana] the fastest, their inhuman leveling efficiency is simply astonishing.

In particular, Fujimaru Ritsuka, who is the spear wielder among the two, is considered by many to be the undisputed strongest spear wielder in the game after seeing her leveling up, and has been dubbed "Peerless".

This was consistent with his initial guess—that Fujimaru Ritsuka was a hardcore single-player gamer with exceptional skills. He was also very curious about what kind of skills could be considered the strongest by so many people.

While Asuna's skills are not as good as Fujimaru Ritsuka's, she is also considered to have a dazzling meteor-like figure when using her skills, earning her the nickname "Flash".

As for being helpful, it's simple, just like when the two people lent him a helping hand.

During this period of leveling up, the two seemed to have saved many players who, like him before, had almost died for various reasons, making a significant contribution to the game's progress.

It's worth noting that the fact that you were able to encounter Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna means that the rescued players are also frontline players, and they will likely be important forces in the upcoming boss battles.

And these players who were helped by the two women almost all became their most loyal followers, that is, die-hard fans.

The popularity of these two players is also inseparable from the promotional efforts of this type of player community.

Finally, there's their status as new players.

During this period, he occasionally heard arguments like this—

They complained that closed beta testers completely disregarded the lives of new players, selfishly seizing resources based on the information they gained during the closed beta, thus putting themselves ahead of other players.

For him personally, this was an undeniable fact, so there was nothing more to say. He could only go further and hide himself to avoid becoming the target of public criticism once his identity as a closed beta player was exposed.

As for whether there will be closed beta testers who are willing to help ordinary players, he cannot guarantee that.

Perhaps for this reason, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna, who are also new players, have been able to achieve such remarkable success, which is undoubtedly a great encouragement to other ordinary players.

As for how to prove that the two are really new players, and not fake beta testers?

There's absolutely no doubt about it.

Despite their high level of skill and talent, their lack of knowledge about MMO games cannot be quickly compensated for.

Because of this lack of knowledge, some unconscious words and actions can be quickly identified by experienced players.

Not to mention that among the two, there was also a true newcomer who had never played games before, Asuna.

In short, she has a small number of female players, an incredibly cute appearance, a helpful nature, and is a new player.

It is the combination of these conditions that has created the two players' huge popularity among frontline players today.

However, because the two leveled up so quickly, they soon reached the forefront that no other player could reach, so they were unaware of the wave that had just begun to rise among the frontline players.

"That's all."

"This"

After listening to Kirito's story, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

Although they were somewhat surprised, since it was just a verbal description from the other party, they didn't really feel it at the moment, and it was hard to say that they had any particular thoughts.

Just then, Argo suddenly spoke up, teasing Kirito in a mocking tone:

"You actually said you'd only heard a little bit about it, but Tongzi, you know it very well, it's almost the same as the information I specifically gathered."

"Ah, well."

Kirito scratched the back of his head, feeling a little embarrassed, wondering how he could possibly get away with this.

In fact, although he did not make a public statement like other fans of Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna, he secretly considered himself to be a member of their fan base.

And without a doubt, he was the luckiest one among them.

Because not only were his lives saved by the two of them, but he also became friends with them and is now able to stay with them like this.

Thinking about this, even he himself felt that he might really be guilty of some heinous crime.

"Alright, it seems I've obtained some valuable information, so I won't make things difficult for you for now."

Argo chuckled and let him go, then smiled at the three of them:

"I still have a lot of things to take care of, so Ritsuka, Asuna, and Kirito, I'll have to say goodbye for now!"

"bye--!"

Before he could finish speaking and before they could say goodbye, Argo, who had invested all his points in agility, vanished from their sight in the blink of an eye.

Seeing Argo disappear, Kirito breathed a sigh of relief, but then, remembering something, his expression instantly froze—

Could the big piece of information that guy was talking about be referring to the fact that he knows Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna?

If there really are fans of Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna who bought this information from Argo...

Thinking of this, his face gradually turned pale, as if he could see the word "death" faintly appearing above his head.

I doubt anyone would buy this kind of information.

perhaps.

He could only console himself with this thought.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 149. Kirito Joins the Party, and Their Individual Information

149.

2023-11-30