Anime Crossover: Master is Not Here Today

Seeing this, Asuna, who was standing beside her, immediately asked:

"You're not still thinking about the [Legendary Hero] thing, are you?"

"Um, okay. Yes."

Seeing that Asuna had accurately expressed her thoughts, she could only nod in agreement.

Although she was certain that the player with the title "Legendary Hero" was not a Chaldea Servant, the strange situation surrounding them, coupled with the fact that they bore the names of so many people she knew, made it impossible for her not to be concerned.

"[Legendary Heroes]? What happened to them?"

Upon hearing the name, Argo raised an eyebrow slightly, and Kirito, seeing this, asked:

Do you know them too?

He had just asked the question when he suddenly realized that he seemed to have asked a really stupid question.

Sure enough, Argo rolled his eyes at him, clearly annoyed, and said:

Are you questioning my expertise as an intelligence dealer, or the professionalism of [Argo the Rat]?

"Of course not, it was just a slip of the tongue."

Kirito scratched his head awkwardly and laughed.

"【Legendary Heroes】, a player team named after a legendary hero, is a rising star team that only began to emerge on the second floor and become active on the front lines."

Seemingly to prove his abilities, Argo gave a general account of the "Legendary Hero," which was largely consistent with what they knew.

After she finished speaking, she asked Fujimaru Ritsuka:

"So, what's wrong with them? Or did you have a conflict with them, Ritsuka?"

"Do you need help?"

"No, there was no conflict, it was another issue."

Fujimaru Ritsuka shook his head.

Then, she suddenly remembered something and decided to relay what Agil had told them that day and their speculations to Argo.

That's the situation.

After she finished speaking, she asked Argo for a favor:

"Argo, I'd like to ask you to do some research on them, is that alright?"

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 178. Investigation, Progress, Blacksmith

178.

2023-12-16

"Technology below the frontline average. A large amount of resources of unknown origin."

Argo's eyes gleamed with interest, like a mouse smelling the aroma of oil, and he slightly curled the corners of his mouth as he said:

"Interesting. It sounds like there's some valuable information hidden here that could sell very well."

Therefore, she readily agreed to the request made by Fujimaru Ritsuka, and said with a grin:

"give it to me."

"However, let's make it clear beforehand that I can't guarantee how much I'll be able to investigate for this kind of commission. So, how about we do the investigation fee as an advance payment plus a final payment based on the value of the investigation?"

"No problem, then I'll leave it to you."

Fujimaru Ritsuka agreed without hesitation and transferred the advance payment to Argo.

Therefore, the investigation into the "Legendary Hero" was handed over to the professional Argo, and Fujimaru Ritsuka temporarily put the matter aside and continued to focus on conquering the second floor.

After resting for a night in Taran Village, the three of them plunged into the maze area early the next morning to begin their ascent.

The first level of the maze features kobold-themed monsters, while the second level features bull-themed monsters.

"Ugh! Don't come any closer! Don't come near me!"

Asuna stared wide-eyed in fear, her voice trembling, but she couldn't stop the massive black figure in front of her from getting closer.

However, the tone suddenly changed the next moment.

"Didn't I tell you not to come any closer?!"

Accompanied by an angry rebuke, the girl's figure did not retreat but charged forward, unleashing the dash technique [Meteor] with the gleaming rapier in her hand, the attack instantly striking and exploding in the opponent's chest.

A pure white special effect light spread out, and the opponent was briefly stunned due to the powerful attack.

Seizing this fleeting opportunity, Asuna relentlessly continued her pursuit. The special effects of her skill once again focused on her rapier, and a rapid double strike slammed into the upper and lower sides of the attacker's chest, causing the attacker's half-naked body to sway.

"Pfft! Aaaaaaah!"

A dying scream came from the creature's mouth. Its head, with short horns and a metal nose ring, tilted upwards, and its body slowly tilted backwards. But before it could completely hit the ground, it shattered into pieces in mid-air and disappeared without a trace.

After defeating the dungeon monster [Lower-level Bull Attacker] with a dash attack [Meteor] followed by a double attack [Parallel Strike], Asuna slumped over, panting for a while, looking like she had just escaped death.

After finally relaxing, she stood up and shouted angrily:

"This isn't just being awesome, it's downright sexual harassment and perverting!"

"I really want to issue a sexual harassment prevention order and send it to the Black Iron Palace!"

"If you're asking whether it's a cow or a person, it's definitely about 80% human."

In order not to upset Asuna, Kirito carefully scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly.

The distinctive monster in the second layer of the maze is the Minotaur, which means "face-up." Apart from having a bull's head, its entire body is that of a muscular, strong human male.

That would have been bad enough, but the fact that the monster was almost completely naked except for a piece of cloth wrapped around its waist was what Asuna found most unbearable.

For Asuna, who attends an all-girls school, seeing the male and female leads kissing in TV dramas is embarrassing enough, but if she saw someone dressed like a minotaur in real life, they should be arrested!

"Ritsuka, you think so too, right?"

After indignantly criticizing the minotaur's indecent attire, Asuna subconsciously turned to Fujimaru Ritsuka for a question, seeking her approval.

"Sexual harassment is indeed a bit bothersome, but as long as it's not completely naked, I think it's okay."

Fujimaru Ritsuka said rather optimistically:

"Just like in a swimming pool, guys usually only wear swimming trunks, right?"

No, I think there's a big difference between swim trunks and a piece of cloth.

Kirito silently complained to himself.

At this moment, Kirito and Asuna both recalled Fujimaru Ritsuka's previous remarks about the perverted naked man, and coupled with her current statement, they felt uneasy.

Then Fujimaru Ritsuka suddenly noticed that Kirito and Asuna were looking at her with a worried expression.

She asked with some confusion:

"What's wrong? Is there any problem?"

".nothing."

Asuna shook her head, choosing to gently move on from the topic and continue moving forward after resting.

The minotaur monsters are characterized by high attack power but relatively clumsy movements, making them seem easier for the three of them to deal with than the kobolds on the first floor.

Furthermore, due to Asuna's strong aversion to minotaurs, she wanted to clear this floor as quickly as possible and get as far away from these guys as possible, so she put in extra effort during the battle.

In one day, the three of them successfully advanced to the fourteenth level area.

Based on this progress, we might be able to reach the BOSS's room tomorrow, and start the floor BOSS challenge on the third day.

As dusk fell, the three left the maze area and returned to [Taran Village].

By this time, many players had arrived, and the village, which was empty yesterday, suddenly became lively.

Moreover, not only the players who are at the forefront of strategy, but also many production-oriented players have moved here to do business.

"Hey, isn't that the blacksmith from that day?"

Just then, Asuna suddenly saw a familiar figure and exclaimed in surprise.

Fujimaru Ritsuka and Kirito looked in the direction Asuna pointed, and the blacksmith Asuna mentioned was the same blacksmith player they had encountered in the main city of [Urubas] who had been verbally abused by other players.

Because the player's weapon dropped directly from +4 to +0, which was a pitiful experience, they also remembered the blacksmith player who, when faced with the other party's insults, simply showed a troubled expression.

"I remember he was quite skilled at blacksmithing, right? Why don't we ask him to maintain our weapons?"

Asuna's proposal was agreed upon by Fujimaru Ritsuka and Kirito.

With a high level of blacksmithing skill, the cost of maintaining weapons will be lower than that of maintaining them at an NPC's place. Moreover, if it's just maintenance, there won't be any tragic consequences like a decrease in enhancement level.

At that moment, another player was upgrading a weapon, so the three of them stood aside to wait and watch.

In most online games, upgrading weapons is simply a matter of submitting materials and money, then clicking the upgrade button and it's done in a flash. However, in SAO, the upgrade process is quite ceremonial.

The blacksmith player's right hand was constantly busy, throwing the enhancement materials around him into the furnace next to the anvil. After all the dozen or so enhancement materials were melted, the furnace instantly lit up with a deep red light.

Next, he placed the weapon, which was waiting to be strengthened, into the furnace. Once the deep red light transferred to the blade, he took the sword out, placed it on the anvil, and began to hammer it repeatedly, producing a crisp sound—once, twice, three times.

Although the success of the reinforcement is entirely a matter of probability and has nothing to do with the number of times the blacksmith hammers, the other party hammers very seriously, and each hammer blow is placed with great care, giving people a sense of professionalism and reassurance.

After the tenth strike, the strengthening process was complete. As the number of strikes approached, the three of them held their breath and began to count in their minds.

Seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth!

"Qiang!"

As the final hammer fell, the enhanced special effects light instantly shone even brighter.

Then, to their disbelief, the longsword that the blacksmith player was reinforcing shattered with a final blow, turning into fragments that vanished into thin air.

"."

The scene fell silent instantly.

The weapon's owner stood there dumbfounded, seemingly unable to believe what had just happened.

At this moment, the blacksmith player slowly raised his head, his face full of remorse, breaking the silence of the scene—

"Sorry, the enhancement failed."