Anime Crossover: Master is Not Here Today

Let him see for himself what kind of technology matches his confidence.

After exchanging information, he officially joined Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna's team as a new member, and also confirmed that Fujimaru Ritsuka would be the team leader.

After finishing his meal, he checked the time: 6:40 PM.

He usually grinds monsters until 1 or 2 a.m. before resting. It only takes half an hour to walk from here to the maze area, and an hour to go back and forth, so he has at least six hours of exploration time.

Of course, this is the situation when he is alone.

Now that he has joined the team, he naturally needs to discuss his next move with Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others.

So he asked the two of them:

"What's next? When do you plan to start exploring the maze area?"

"Ah."

Fujimaru Ritsuka didn't think much of the question and answered with a smile, as if it were perfectly natural:

"Since we've already had dinner, let's rest for the day."

"Okay, then?"

Kirito nodded subconsciously, then suddenly froze, wondering if there was something wrong with his hearing.

Should we rest today?

He looked at the two girls in front of him with some confusion, but they both looked normal and didn't seem to find anything strange.

He had no choice but to cautiously confirm again:

"Um, I don't think I heard you quite right. How long is the break? Half an hour?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka replied with a smile:

"Rest until tomorrow morning."

"Eh?"

He subconsciously uttered another questioning interjection, his expression somewhat helpless.

real or fake?

He checked Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna's expressions several times, and after realizing that they really didn't seem to be joking with him, he cautiously asked again:

"If I may ask, is this how you usually are? Or is it because you have other things to do later?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka replied with a smile:

"Nothing else. That's how we usually are, leveling up during the day and resting at night."

"."

real or fake? ?

He fell silent, his mind in turmoil, finding it hard to believe.

Although the rule is to level up during the day and rest at night, the sun hasn't even completely set yet, so it's hardly nighttime!

Seemingly sensing his doubts, Asuna comforted him:

"Don't worry, although I rest early every day, I'll be more efficient at killing monsters after I'm well-rested, and I won't fall too far behind other players."

"Forehead,"

Asuna's words startled him for a moment, then he suddenly remembered that the two people in front of him were not casual players, but rather novice players who had risen to the top and become the most outstanding players.

So, this is how they surpassed them?

Their work pattern of starting to grind monsters in the morning and finishing by dinner time easily surpassed those who leveled up day and night.

Are we really playing the same game?

The sudden, explosive intelligence made him feel like his worldview was collapsing, but the levels and equipment of the two people in front of him couldn't lie, and he could only accept this cruel fact in the end.

"Ok."

He took a deep breath, which then turned into a long sigh.

He then looked out at the town outside the restaurant. He remembered that there were a few worthwhile quests in Torbana. Since he was off today, he could go and do those quests first.

Thinking of this, he asked the two of them with some curiosity:

"But if you're resting so early, what do you usually do next? You're not going to go back to your rooms to sleep right now, are you?"

"of course not."

Asuna laughed:

"We usually spend the rest of our time exploring the town and seeing if there are any quests worth taking on."

"For example, you can get a quest called 'The Cow's Counterattack' from the farmer in the village to the west."

"The mission reward is an item called [Yogurt Cream], which can turn the cheapest black bread in the item shop into cream bread, and it's quite delicious."

“Last night, Ritsuka and I completed that mission together.”

Kirito smiled and agreed.

"Oh, that mission? I know. I was just about to take it on, since the portable black bread tastes really bad."

During the conversation, he couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

It's surprising that even now, with SAO reduced to a death game, there are still players like Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna who are willing to continue enjoying the game.

On the other side, Asuna glanced at Fujimaru Ritsuka beside her and smiled slightly.

If it weren't for her, I would never have become like this.

Coming!

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 151. The Maze Area, Advance!

151.

2023-12-01

Kirito was initially worried that forcibly changing his sleep schedule might cause him to suffer from insomnia, which would affect his combat performance the next day.

However, in reality, despite going to bed four or five hours earlier than usual, he fell asleep almost instantly the moment his head hit the pillow, and almost overslept the next day.

Overall, it was a very comfortable sleep. He got up, stretched, and felt refreshed.

Yes, my stats are back to full!

It seems that although it doesn't show on the surface, a considerable amount of fatigue has actually accumulated.

While reflecting on the situation, he texted Fujimaru Ritsuka. After confirming the situation, he left the room and met her in the open space outside.

"Good morning!"

After greeting the two men, he did not receive the response he expected. The two men looked at him with strange expressions.

Finally, Asuna couldn't help but ask:

Why are you dressed like this?

Kirito appeared before them wearing a gray cloak that completely concealed his face; had it not been for that greeting, they would not have recognized him.

Upon hearing this, Kirito, his youthful face hidden beneath his cloak, replied with a profound expression:

"It's just to survive."

Starting last night, other players have been arriving in Torbana one after another and have begun to challenge the maze area. Among them, there may be the followers of the two girls.

To prevent his fans from burning him to ashes out of jealousy, he had prepared a cloak to conceal his appearance well in advance.

"Is it so exaggerated?"

After hearing Kirito's reasoning, both of them were somewhat amused and exasperated. However, seeing Kirito's serious expression, Fujimaru Ritsuka chuckled:

"In that case, let's put on our cloaks too."

Wouldn't it look even stranger if Kirito was the only one standing next to them wearing a hood?

"It helped a lot!"

While expressing his gratitude, Kirito quickly took out two identical gray cloaks from his backpack and handed them to them, causing the two women to pause in surprise.

"please!"

It seems that the other party had planned this all along, and even bought their portions.

That's indeed the case; Kirito did have this intention from the beginning. Because compared to concealing his appearance, wouldn't it be better to address the root of the problem directly?

However, since this was entirely his personal request, he felt embarrassed to bother the two of them.

Soon after, a small team of three, completely cloaked and appearing somewhat suspicious to onlookers, emerged from Torbana and headed towards the maze area.

Unlike the non-humanoid monsters in the wild that only use monotonous attacks, once you enter the maze area, you'll start to encounter humanoid monsters that wield weapons and wear equipment just like the player.

For example, the first floor should be filled with all sorts of kobold monsters, and the floor boss is also a giant kobold called the "Kobold Lord".

While theoretically the monsters on the first floor shouldn't be capable of using sword skills, the specifics are hard to say.

Moreover, even if one doesn't know how to use swordsmanship, just being able to use weapons to attack and wear armor is already very troublesome.

Kirito recalled the information from the closed beta test while keeping himself on high alert.

Soon, they encountered the first monster in the maze area: a level 5, unarmored kobold sentinel wielding a scimitar.

“!@#￥%…”

The moment they saw them, the other person's eyes glowed red, and they charged towards them with a strange cry.

Given their current level and equipment, dealing with the kobold sentinels in front of them should be easy; they only need one [Sword Skill].

With that thought in mind, Kirito reached out and gripped the [Tough Sword] on his back, preparing to launch an attack.

However, the figure beside him acted even faster.

It's Asuna.

The opponent had already drawn their weapon sometime earlier, and the pale blue special effects of their skill had already enveloped the rapier.