Anime Crossover: Master is Not Here Today

It's an abnormal status unique to humanoid monsters: [Flipped]!

Fujimaru Ritsuka drew her spear and jumped back to the ground, whereupon the other players finally appeared beside her.

Three tank squads, two main assault squads, one support squad, and Kirito and Asuna beside her.

Apart from the remaining main attack team and support team who are still dealing with the newly summoned support monsters, all the other players have arrived.

But there was no time for pleasantries in the current situation, so she immediately gave instructions:

"Everyone, attack with all your might—!"

"Oh oh oh oh—!" ×n

As if venting their pent-up frustration, all the players roared and quickly surrounded the fallen kobold lord, unleashing their sword skills without restraint.

Straight swords, rapiers, broadswords, two-handed axes, maces, hammers, spears—all sorts of weapons, each with its own unique skill effects, are unleashed with all one's might at the fallen monster, instantly engulfing its figure.

Unlike the steady and methodical approach of previous strategies, when all the top players in SAO unleash their full power, the resulting dazzling skill barrage causes the BOSS's health, which is fixed above the player's line of sight, to decrease rapidly!

"Guhooa ...

Kobold Lord Ilvan Valley struggled to get up. If he succeeded, he would be met with another round of wide-range sword attacks.

At this moment, all the players were almost insane. The burly men led by Agil even jumped on each other without regard for anything else and continued to attack, trying to slow down the opponent's speed of getting up!

Meanwhile, the remaining troops, having dealt with the minion monsters, also joined the siege.

"Guhooaaaaah!"

In the end, the goddess of victory was on the players' side. The kobold lord fell before he could get up, his health bar completely empty.

With a mournful cry that seemed to carry intense resentment, the monster instantly turned into colorful fragments.

"."

Did you win?

The players, breathing heavily, stared blankly at the scene before them. Although the facts were clearly laid out before them, it seemed they still needed a voice to fully awaken them—

"Everyone.!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka's cheerful voice called out, causing everyone to involuntarily turn to look at her.

Then, under the watchful eyes of all the players, she raised her spear with a smile and announced loudly:

"We successfully defeated the first level boss! We've won!"

Hearing her firm declaration, everyone seemed to slowly come to their senses. The players exchanged glances, and genuine smiles gradually spread across their faces. Then—

"Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh!!!" ×n

A deafening cheer instantly filled the entire BOSS room, seemingly clearing away all the pent-up frustration from the transformation of SAO into a death game. Many players even excitedly started dancing some inexplicable, comical dances.

"Ritsuka!!"

In the crowd, Asuna excitedly rushed into Fujimaru Ritsuka's arms.

The unusual situation recurred, which made her somewhat apprehensive, but the perfect victory over the BOSS also filled her with joy.

In such a state of mixed emotions, she didn't know what to say for a moment, and could only hold the other person tightly.

Fujimaru Ritsuka gently stroked the top of the other's head and smiled tenderly:

Okay, okay.

The beautiful sight of the two girls embracing caught the eye of Kirito, who was gradually calming down, causing him to unconsciously curl the corners of his mouth slightly.

Furthermore, looking at Fujimaru Ritsuka's figure, he couldn't help but recall the scene of Fujimaru Ritsuka fighting the kobold lord just now.

During their time as a trio, Fujimaru Ritsuka focused more on support and command, only occasionally displaying a remarkable level of skill that was hard to fully grasp.

Just now, he finally saw the whole picture clearly—

His astonishing choices when facing wide-range attacks, his keen insight into unknown situations, his superb skills in perfectly parrying the BOSS's combos, and his crucial counterattacks that determined victory or defeat.

The scenes from that brief but thrilling duel were deeply etched in his mind, prompting him to exclaim:

Finally, I've met the one who deserves the title of "Peerless," the strongest spearman in SAO.

Sure enough, that's impressive!

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 166. Kirito's identity revealed, first level cleared!

166.

2023-12-09

The joy of perfectly defeating the BOSS was certainly exciting, but after gradually recovering from the excitement, everyone realized that defeating the BOSS was not the end of the journey.

Next, they need to go to the main city area on the second level to open the portal between the first and second levels.

Even if they do nothing, the portal will automatically open after two hours.

However, considering that the system message that the BOSS has been defeated may have already been broadcast to the entire floor, countless players are gathering in front of the portals in various towns, eagerly waiting for their expectations to be fulfilled.

However, there was a little incident before that—

Kirito's identity as a closed beta tester has been exposed.

When he recognized the BOSS's sword skills, which no one had ever seen before, and loudly reminded Fujimaru Ritsuka, everyone was already convinced that he was a closed beta player.

So, after the joyful atmosphere dissipated, a player suddenly jumped out and criticized him:

"Since you already knew about the BOSS's sword skills, why didn't you provide them beforehand? You almost caused Captain Ritsuka's death!"

Fortunately, since it was ultimately a close call and a complete victory, most players did not let their impulsive emotions override their reason.

Therefore, this seemingly reasonable but ultimately flawed argument did not gain the support of the majority of players.

Second squad leader Agil calmly began to speak:

"The information about the bosses recorded in the strategy guide is probably from the closed beta period, right? In other words, the weapon changes are probably changes made after the open beta."

"Even if he knew the information about the nodachi's exclusive sword techniques, how could he know that the BOSS's weapon had been changed to a nodachi?"

"Therefore, the claim that intelligence was provided in advance is completely unfounded."

"This, this."

The player who made the accusation was speechless for a moment, while the other players nodded in agreement, agreeing that Agil's words made more sense.

Immediately afterwards, Fujimaru Ritsuka, one of the parties involved, spoke up with a smile:

"In fact, it's thanks to Kirito's urgent warning that he disregarded the risk of revealing his identity that I was able to successfully block the attack. Otherwise, I might have been in real danger."

"As I said before, the fact that we were able to defeat the BOSS with everyone surviving is undoubtedly the result of the concerted efforts of the closed beta players and regular players."

After the boss battle, Fujimaru Ritsuka's reputation among the players has reached its peak. Her command ability and superb skills have won everyone's respect.

What's more, the other party is an extremely rare and super beautiful female player.

Moreover, as the only player who has directly confronted the second-phase kobold lord, her statement essentially confirms the opinions of Kirito and the closed beta testers.

Somewhat surprisingly, Ya Wang, who had clearly expressed hostility towards closed beta testers during the meeting, remained silent throughout this debate.

He glanced at Kirito with a complicated expression, then turned away the instant their eyes met, leaving no one to know what he was thinking.

Sensing the change in atmosphere, Kirito breathed a sigh of relief and was grateful to Fujimaru Ritsuka for defending him.

At that moment, Diabel, who was standing not far away diagonally opposite him, gave him a subtle thumbs-up.

Although he didn't know exactly what the other person meant, it was probably a compliment to his contributions to the closed beta tester community.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but let out a bitter smile.

Indeed, after today, closed beta testers will probably have an easier time than before, no longer needing to try so hard to hide their identities.

However, as the one who sticks out, he will probably have to endure a considerable amount of controversy before the game's current progress completely surpasses that of the closed beta.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh.

Ugh.

After this brief interlude, the group, led by Fujimaru Ritsuka, strode forward, pushed open the door located behind the Lord's Throne, and after climbing a long, narrow spiral staircase, another door appeared.

The crowd easily pushed it away, and in that instant, an unbelievable and breathtaking sight immediately came into view.

The exit of the door is located in a steep cliff, and what appears before everyone is a panoramic view of the entire second floor.

Unlike the first layer, which is rich in diverse terrain and resembles a catalog, the second layer features mountain-themed terrain, with interconnected, table-shaped rocky mountains as far as the eye can see.

The upper part of the mountain was covered with soft, light grass, where many large bison-type monsters strolled slowly.

Closest to them below is the main city area of ​​the second level, [Urubas], a city formed by hollowing out the central part of a round, table-shaped mountain with a diameter of 300 meters.

In the distance, amidst the towering rocky mountains, glimpses of blue sky can be seen from the outer opening of Aincrad.

"."

Standing on the platform extending from the rocks, everyone quieted down and silently appreciated the beautiful scenery that temporarily belonged only to the forty-eight players before them.

After resting for a while, Fujimaru Ritsuka took a deep breath and smiled at everyone:

"Let's go on."

Next came the narrow steps leading down the cliff. The group moved forward in a single file, and suddenly they discovered that the winding steps would turn every forty-eight steps, which happened to be the maximum number of players in the combined forces.

After turning countless corners, the group finally arrived at the gate of the second main city area, [Urubas].

As soon as I stepped through the gate, a notification appeared in my field of vision indicating a "safe zone," and a slow-paced background music played in my ears.

The music in the towns on the first level is mainly played by string instruments, while the main melody in the towns on the second level is played by the oboe with a touch of melancholy.

The clothing of the NPCs walking around the streets has also undergone subtle changes, making it immediately clear that they have reached the second level.

The group continued forward and arrived at the central plaza. In the very center of the plaza was an archway made of piled stones, just like the one in the central plaza of [Bartona].

Upon closer inspection, one will find that the space in the center of the archway is swaying slightly, as if it is covered by a thin film of water.

At this moment, Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at the group of players behind her, and Diabel, seeing this, laughed:

"As our Captain-Commander, it's only right that you, Ritsuka, take the final step."

"alright, I got it."