Anime Crossover: Master is Not Here Today

They didn't linger in the village for long. After taking on some valuable tasks and repairing their equipment and replenishing their supplies, the three of them continued their journey at a rapid pace.

After leveling up to 13 and upgrading their weapons to +7 yesterday, their equipment level has almost reached the limit of the second tier.

Although it's not impossible to continue pushing the weapon to its +8 limit if one is willing.

To be honest, even if their current weapons are upgraded to +8, they can only barely be used up to the third level of the weapon's range, or at most the fourth level of the weapon's range.

However, once you reach the third level, whether it's monster drops or blacksmith forging, the weapons will be a level higher than your current ones, so spending too much effort to pursue +8 is not worth it.

Another important point is that the situation is different now than it was on the first level.

In the first level, none of the players knew if they could actually conquer the game. Fearing failure and death, they could only do their best to maximize their strength before even considering how to conquer it.

Now that they have successfully defeated the first-floor boss, the players' mindset has changed. At least they are no longer as timid as they were in the first floor, and they have begun to consider future plans and are taking more proactive actions.

This can be seen from the fact that players are progressing at a faster overall speed than they did in the first level.

However, no matter how fast they advance, they can't keep up with the advance of Fujimaru Ritsuka's squad.

With no immediate need for upgrades or enhancements, the three focused on progressing relentlessly, quickly surpassing the progress of all other player teams and successfully reaching the final checkpoint before the maze area two days later.

Leveling area BOSS.

Although the entire Aincrad appears to be a cylindrical tower, with each floor giving the impression of a disc-shaped area, it is not actually like that.

For example, the second level they are currently on is divided into a wide northern area and a narrow southern area.

【Mamero Village】is located in the upper-middle part of the second level, and they are currently at the entrance of the narrow southern area. They must defeat the leveling area BOSS in front of them to enter the maze area.

At that moment, Kirito remembered something and curiously asked Fujimaru Ritsuka:

"Speaking of which, you and Asuna were the first to enter [Torbana] on the first floor. How did you deal with the leveling area boss blocking your way?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka scratched his head and laughed upon hearing this:

"At the time, we didn't know it was a leveling area boss. We thought it was just a troublesome elite monster, so we just killed it."

Speaking of this, Asuna crossed her arms and gave her a disgruntled look, saying:

"I didn't think anything of it at the time, but it wasn't until later that I realized something was wrong. That monster was probably even stronger than the boss's follower on the first floor."

They had moved too fast and hadn't had time to buy relevant information from Argo. Later, they learned that the other party was actually the leveling area BOSS, which made her feel a little scared.

"This……"

After hearing the other person's story, Kirito was surprised but also felt that there was nothing wrong with it.

Generally speaking, the bosses in the leveling area are not particularly strong, and only a full team of six players is needed to defeat them.

Considering the strength of Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna, it's not surprising that the two of them defeated the leveling area boss.

Back to the point.

The boss in the second leveling area is a monster called [Ball-Headed Bull Bau]. Just like its name suggests, it is a giant bull with a round, protruding lower jaw. During the battle, it will use its lower jaw to launch a series of oppressive charging attacks.

Given their current strength, even with just the three of them, they should be able to successfully complete the mission.

However, seeing the opponent's imposingly large body, which appeared to be about four meters tall, Fujimaru Ritsuka opted for a safer strategy and decisively called for reinforcements.

"Sorry we're late."

After they rested for a while, the backup they had called for finally arrived.

The support players summoned by Fujimaru Ritsuka are the muscular giant Agil, who served as the leader of the second squad when they were fighting the first floor boss, and his muscular teammates.

This team is not only full of muscular men, but also uniformly equipped with heavy weapons and heavily armored tanks, exuding a tough-guy aura from the inside out, which is very distinctive and impressive.

When Kirito revealed his identity as a closed beta tester and was condemned, the other party also stood up for Kirito and spoke up for him, so all three of them had a good impression of him.

“Miss Ritsuka, Miss Asuna, Kirito is here too.”

Agil was somewhat surprised to see Kirito in the group, but he didn't suspect anything, assuming that he was also a player who had been invited to participate in the strategy.

After all, as a closed beta tester, the other party should have information about the monsters, and their performance in the first floor's BOSS battle was also outstanding, so it's normal for them to be invited.

"I'll have to rely on you all this time, Mr. Agil and everyone."

Fujimaru Ritsuka smiled.

"We are the ones who should participate in this strategy; it is our honor."

Akiel responded with a smile, and his teammates behind him also responded enthusiastically, looking very motivated.

Although there was no reason, Kirito guessed that they probably wanted to make a good impression on the two beautiful girls.

"Hello everyone, I will now explain the information about this BOSS."

He forced himself to remain calm and began explaining the attack patterns of the [Ball First Bull] during the closed beta test to everyone.

The opponent was just a leveling area BOSS. Although its mountain-like body looked very intimidating, it basically only had a charge-turn-charge attack pattern.

If it were just Fujimaru Ritsuka and her two companions, it would be a bit troublesome. However, with the addition of the Agil Squad, all that's needed is for the Agil Squad, acting as the tank, to continuously draw the monster's attention, while the three of them attack from the flanks to successfully defeat it.

This time, the dropped items were distributed through a combination of equal distribution and auction. In other words, players who needed the items bid for them, and the proceeds from the auction were then split equally among all players.

After finalizing all the details, the strategy officially began.

"Ohhhhhh-!"

Agil and his squad members stood in front of the monster, raised their weapons, and roared fiercely.

This is not just a simple roar, but a derivative skill called "Intimidation," which increases the monster's hatred level, causing the monster to target you.

As expected, affected by the [Intimidate], the Bull charged towards the opponent, and the two collided with a loud "clang!"

Agil and the others were propelled several meters by the immense force, but they ultimately managed to block the monster's attack and forcefully push it back.

"Drink!"

At the same time, Fujimaru Ritsuka and the other two rushed out and attacked the monster's exposed side abdomen from the side.

Fortunately, this time the strategy went smoothly without any unexpected events. By maintaining the defensive-offensive rhythm, ten minutes later, Asuna's final attack landed, and the opponent let out a final wail as it instantly turned into shimmering fragments.

"Happy cooperation!"

"Pleasant to work with."

The two sides smiled at each other and congratulated each other. After dividing Cole and the items equally according to the agreed distribution rules, Agil and the others prepared to return to Mamero Village to rest, while Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others decided to continue on their way.

Before parting, Agil suddenly remembered something and said to the three of them:

"Speaking of which, do you know the recently rising star, the [Legendary Hero]?"

"Huh?"×3

A friend's book, I'm recommending it.

This is the story of a cat that went viral online and helped its owners take off.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 176 The Legendary Hero Guild

176.

2023-12-14

【Legendary Warriors】 is the name of a five-player player team, and also the name of their guild.

"The reason they're called 'Legendary Heroes' is because these players' names are all the names of legendary heroes, and their leader is a one-handed swordsman named 'Orlando'."

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Upon hearing Orlando's name, Fujimaru Ritsuka suddenly choked on her saliva, interrupting Agil's speech.

Asuna asked with concern:

"Ritsuka, what's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing."

Seeing the concerned looks from everyone, she gave a slightly embarrassed dry laugh:

"Just hearing the name Orlando always conjures up an image of a perverted naked man who sexually harasses others."

"Hey, what's that?!"

Asuna couldn't help but make the connection, and immediately shivered, hugging her arms and rubbing them together, showing a look of disgust.

Upon hearing this, the others looked at Fujimaru Ritsuka with some strange expressions, wondering why she would make such a connection.

Ah this

Seeing everyone's gaze, she realized that what she had said did seem a bit strange, and felt deeply wronged.

Although it sounds strange, everything she said was the truth!

Damn it, Roland ruined me!

On the other side, Kirito pondered after hearing the name Orlando:

"The legendary hero Orlando should refer to Roland, one of the twelve paladins under Charlemagne, the chief paladin, right?"

"That invincible hero who wields the holy sword Durandal."

Durindana, also known as the Holy Sword, means "the sword that never dies." It is one of the three great holy swords of Europe, alongside King Arthur's Excalibur and Charlemagne's Joyeuse.

"I know about the Holy Sword Durandal. It appears frequently in games, fantasy comics, and light novels. So he's such an amazing hero."

Upon hearing this, Agil suddenly agreed.

Yes, it would be even better if they could get rid of the bad habit of taking off their clothes indiscriminately.

Fujimaru Ritsuka silently added in her mind.

The Legendary Heroes team consists of five members: the two-handed swordsman Beowulf, the spearman Cú Chulainn, the shield-wielding warhammer wielder Gilgamesh, and the short dagger wielder Enkidu.

"Well"

These strangely familiar names appeared one by one in front of Fujimaru Ritsuka, causing her expression to gradually contort and making her feel constipated.

"Ritsuka, what's wrong with you? You've been acting strange since just now."

Asuna, who had been silently watching her, couldn't help but ask again.

Fujimaru Ritsuka forced a very strained smile and said: