Anime Crossover: Master is Not Here Today

Although he was surprised that a greedy fellow like Argo would do such an extraordinary act of charity, the more important question was—

He had bought each of the previous volumes from Argo for 500 couls each!

Although the price was definitely a bargain considering the information contained therein, the thought of the other party secretly laughing behind his back after he foolishly spent money to buy things made him grit his teeth in anger.

This time, the other party will absolutely not be able to take a single penny from him!

"Sigh, it's heartbreaking to lose another important source of income."

Argo sighed dramatically, looking genuinely disappointed with the 500 Cole deal, which successfully made Kirito's face darken again.

"Well then, Ritsuka, Asuna, goodbye!"

"goodbye!"

After a quick farewell, Argo disappeared in a flash, leaving Kirito standing there full of resentment, along with Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna who were secretly laughing to themselves.

"Alright, let's go."

Although they were still somewhat concerned about that matter, the three of them maintained their previous pace for the next two days, advancing while fighting monsters, and slowly arrived at the nineteenth level of the maze area.

On the third day, after finally completing the collection of +6 enhancement materials, the third person finally found the passage to the twentieth level.

"We've finally reached this point."

The ultimate goal seemed within reach, but Asuna swallowed nervously, knowing that the most crucial and difficult step was yet to come—

Conquer the first floor boss.

Fujimaru Ritsuka spoke up:

"Let's go."

"Ah."

Asuna and Kirito nodded, and the three continued on their way.

After reaching level 20, no new types of monsters will appear, because ordinary monsters are not the focus of this level. The focus is on the BOSS room located deep within the level and the BOSS that resides in it.

Previous tiers were filled with a complex network of paths, requiring players to explore repeatedly, sometimes even exploring the entire tier, before finding the path to the next tier.

The same situation applies to the twentieth level, except that the ascending passage is replaced by the door to the BOSS room.

Because they had spent some time on the nineteenth level, their first exploration of the twentieth level was only one-third complete.

Back in Bartona, the three upgraded their weapons again, successfully reaching a +6 upgrade level.

At this point, Kirito is 3S3D, Asuna is 3S3Q, and Fujimaru Ritsuka is 6S. Both their levels and equipment have reached the limit that can be improved in the first level.

Under these circumstances, the three of them successfully advanced to the deepest part of the twentieth level the next day, and the double doors belonging to the BOSS room finally appeared before them.

"This is the BOSS room."

Asuna took a deep breath and murmured:

"Next is the strategy guide."

At this moment, Kirito suggested:

"Want to take a look at the BOSS?"

"The BOSS won't leave the room. If you just open the door to take a look without triggering a battle, there shouldn't be any problems."

Fujimaru Ritsuka smiled and said:

"Of course, now that we're here, it would be a shame not to even take a look."

So the three of them pushed open the door to the BOSS's room with all their might. Their eyes traveled down the long corridor and they saw the sleeping BOSS standing quietly in the center of the hall with his head down.

"It is the [Kobold Lord], but..."

Looking at the boss in front of him, which was largely the same as during the closed beta, Kirito's brows furrowed involuntarily.

Like the [Ruins Kobold Assault Trooper], the opponent's appearance has also changed.

Most importantly, although it was still asleep, it was inexplicably emitting wisps of gray-black smoke, filled with an ominous and evil atmosphere, which was somewhat unsettling just by looking at it.

Originally, as the first-level boss, the Kobold Lord wasn't particularly difficult to defeat, but now he looks so ferocious that he seems like a boss that only appears in higher levels.

Although the name and appearance look similar to those during the closed beta, the core technology may be quite different.

He guessed that way.

"Is that the kobold lord? He gives me goosebumps for some reason."

Asuna crossed her arms and frowned slightly, looking somewhat uncomfortable.

Maybe BB did something to it?

Fujimaru Ritsuka thought to herself, looking at the monster in front of her that exuded a gray-black aura, she also had a bad feeling.

BB, she probably won't go too far, right?

But no matter what, defeating the BOSS is definitely not something that can be done by the three of them alone. Even if she uses all her strength to deal with it, the risk is too great.

So the three of them carefully retreated again, and then she spoke:

"Let's go back to Torbana first and prepare to notify the other players to hold a strategy meeting."

Kirito and Asuna nodded, suppressing their complicated emotions for the moment, and prepared to return.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 157 Strategy Meeting: Is BB a good guy?

157.

2023-12-05

"You guys are really amazing!"

Argo, who rushed to meet them after receiving the news, couldn't help but exclaim in amazement:

"The majority of the team is still hovering around level 18. I didn't expect you guys to have already found the BOSS room. That's terrifying efficiency."

"As expected of Ritsuka and Asuna, they are the pride of female gamers!"

Kirito said speechlessly:

"Hey, are you planning to completely ignore me?"

"Oh dear, if Kirito wants to become a shining example for female gamers, he'll have to go from Kirito to Kiri-ko first, okay?"

"It's not that kind of problem, is it?!"

"OK OK."

Fujimaru Ritsuka stopped the two from bickering and smiled at Argo:

"In short, we would like to ask you to notify the other players to hold a BOSS strategy meeting."

"As for the time and place of the meeting, is it alright to choose 10 a.m. tomorrow at the town's central square?"

"No problem, I'll let you know as soon as possible!"

Argo gave an "OK" sign, readily agreeing, and then couldn't help but exclaim:

"A BOSS strategy meeting? I never thought this day would actually come. Successfully conquering the first floor will surely be a great encouragement to the vast majority of ordinary players."

"This can be considered a crucial first step."

Not only Argo, but everyone present was well aware of the importance of this campaign, which is why they had to gather all the players on the front lines and strive to complete the campaign with everyone alive.

At that moment, Asuna suddenly thought of something and asked curiously:

"Speaking of which, I wonder how those players who initially chose to stay in the Town of Beginnings are doing now."

"Oh, Asuna is interested in this information?"

Argo's eyes narrowed, and he smiled knowingly, as if he'd gotten a customer.

"I can give you a friendly price, only 500 Cole, it's a great deal!"

"all right."

“Thank you for your patronage!”

After Asuna readily paid the intelligence fee, Argo laughed:

"Actually, the situation is not bad."

"Didn't that guy named BB stipulate that 'if you don't play the game for a week, you'll keep losing health until you die'?"

"So on the sixth day after the game started, many of the guys who stayed in the city finally couldn't sit still anymore and started to think of ways to avoid death."

"Then they discovered that the definition of 'game behavior' is not strict at all. Even fighting the initial wild boars outside the city counts as 'game behavior'."

"Even if you really don't want to fight, choosing to play the game using life skills such as forging and alchemy seems to be fine."

"Overall, the number of players who actually died because of this rule seems to be zero."

Argo paused slightly at this point, then said with a smile:

"Not only did no one die because of this rule, but on the contrary, a considerable number of players were willing to start trying the game and left the starting town afterward."

"Those of you on the front lines might not feel it, but the first half of the first floor is quite lively right now!"

"Although most of these players are not keeping up with the pace of the front line at present, so they have not yet caused any waves, as time goes by, there should be many more people joining the front line of SAO."

"."

Argo's description was quite surprising. The three of them exchanged glances, truly not expecting things to develop in this direction.

Moreover, based on Argo's description, BB seems more like...

"Just from that perspective, it sounds like that guy named BB is actively helping players advance the game's strategy. It's hard not to think that way, isn't it?"

Argo smiled and pointed out what the three were thinking, then continued:

"However, I have another set of data here for your reference. This one is free."

"So far, the number of dead players recorded on the Monument of Life in the Black Iron Palace has exceeded two thousand."

"What.?!"

Upon hearing this astonishing number, Kirito's pupils constricted in shock, somewhat incredulous.