Anime Crossover: Master is Not Here Today

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 179. The Shattered Punishment Mechanism: The Clues Connecting Everything

179.

2023-12-16

"What happened? How did it break?"

The weapon's owner mumbled in a daze, then suddenly grabbed the other person by the collar and lifted them up, shouting with a contorted face:

"It's just a weapon upgrade, how could my sword break?! I've never heard of such a thing!!"

"You must have tampered with it! You thief, you bastard, give me back my sword—!!"

Despite being treated so roughly, the blacksmith player did not resist at all. His eyebrows were drooping to the extreme, his face showed a completely guilty expression, and he kept apologizing:

"Yes, I'm sorry! I will refund the handling fee in full. I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry."

Although the other party's honest yet guilty expression made it difficult to be overly critical, everyone could understand the weapon owner's excitement.

The punishment of failing to enhance the weapon and causing it to shatter is far too cruel.

As the commotion grew louder, not only Fujimaru Ritsuka and her two companions, but also more and more players came to watch out of curiosity.

After gradually understanding the current situation, some players looked frightened, some felt regretful, and some started discussing it quietly.

"Simply destroying the weapon upon failure to enhance it? Isn't that a bit too harsh a punishment mechanism?"

"Who can argue with that? This mechanism is just too unreasonable."

"However, it's not just this player in front of me. I've heard that others in the main city have encountered the same situation."

"real or fake?"

"Hiss—! I was originally planning to enhance it, but now I'm suddenly a little scared."

"Forget it, let's talk about it tomorrow. It would be terrible if we caught some bad luck."

More and more players gathered here. Fujimaru Ritsuka and the other two exchanged a glance and then quietly withdrew from the crowd.

They originally planned to have the blacksmith player maintain their weapons, but given the current situation, they'll probably have to find someone else.

After maintaining their weapons and equipment, replenishing supplies, and selling off any other useless dropped materials from their backpacks, the three arrived at the restaurant Argo had shared the day before, ready to have dinner.

At this moment, they couldn't help but discuss what had just happened, and Asuna couldn't help but ask:

"Does failing to enhance a weapon cause it to shatter? I've never heard of this mechanic in SAO before."

"I've never heard of it either, at least not during the closed beta testing period."

Kirito nodded in affirmation, then frowned slightly and said:

"I remember very clearly that the game's official website guide at the time only recorded three failure penalty mechanisms: [material loss], [attribute conversion], and [reduction in enhancement level]."

"A player just mentioned that other players in [Urubas] have also encountered this situation, which means that this may be a punishment mechanism added after the public beta."

"but"

"But if that's the case, then players on the first floor should also encounter this situation."

Fujimaru Ritsuka picked up the conversation and continued:

"But the reality is that no such news came from the first floor. The situation those players just mentioned happened in the main urban area of ​​the second floor."

Asuna guessed:

"Such a severe punishment mechanism should have a very low probability of occurring. Is it possible that in the first level, none of the players around us happened to have triggered this effect, which is why we were unaware of it?"

"That's also possible."

Kirito rested his chin on his right hand and pondered:

"Even so, there should be some ordinary players on the first floor who have triggered this mechanism."

"Of course, we didn't really know much about the situation of ordinary players at the time."

However, at this point, the three of them unanimously thought of one person.

If it were her, she should know something about things happening even within the ordinary player circle at the first level.

The three exchanged a glance and said in unison:

"Argo!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka opened the system window, intending to message Argo to inquire about the penalty mechanism for weapon breakage, but just then—

"You guys are really punctual, taking a break at this time every day, playing a game is like going to and from get off work."

A mocking voice rang out, and a petite figure walked up to them, lifting the cloak that covered her to reveal short, golden-brown hair and a beard-like painted face—it was Argo, the very person they were looking for.

Upon seeing Argo, Fujimaru Ritsuka exclaimed with delight:

"We were just about to look for you!"

"Oh?"

Argo raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this, then plopped down without any hesitation, ordering while chuckling:

"What a coincidence, I came here specifically to find you, but you two go first."

"Like this"

Fujimaru Ritsuka gave a brief account of what had just happened, and then asked Argo the question they had intended to ask.

After listening to her story, Argo immediately smiled with interest and said:

"Oh, so you already knew about this. Coincidentally, I've actually been investigating this matter recently and have reached a clear conclusion—"

"In the current SAO, there is no failure penalty mechanism where the weapon will break after a failed enhancement."

"what?!"

Kirito and Asuna's eyes widened instantly, shocked by this astonishing information.

If that's really the case, then it means that the blacksmith player was definitely suspicious in what just happened!

Seeing their surprised expressions, Argo shook his index finger and smiled mysteriously:

"Don't look so surprised so early, the following information is even more exciting."

"But speaking of which, I really have to thank Ritsuka for asking me to do this. Otherwise, if I had investigated on my own, I don't know when I would have found the connection."

"I?"

Upon hearing Argo's words, Fujimaru Ritsuka was initially puzzled.

But the next moment, she seemed to suddenly think of something, and a thoughtful expression appeared on her face.

Argo asked them:

"The blacksmith player you just saw who had the accident, his name should be Nezha, right?"

"Nezha?"

Kirito and Asuna were stunned for a moment, then quickly realized what was happening.

"So that person was called Nezha?"

In SAO, players do not see each other's game names directly, but when setting up a stall, the player's shop name will be displayed in their field of vision.

The blacksmith player's shop had a very simple name: "Nezha's Blacksmith Shop." Nezha was probably the player's in-game name, but they only realized now that it was pronounced "Nezha."

Because many players have unusual names, it can be difficult to determine how to pronounce them.

For example, in the first layer of the attack force, there was a trident user named [Hokkaiikura]. They thought for a long time that the name should be pronounced [Hokkaiikura], but when he introduced himself, they found out that it was actually [Hokkaiikura].

"But does the name Nezha have any special meaning?"

Asuna asked instinctively.

"Who knows."

Argo shrugged and said:

"I only overheard his companion calling him that; as for whether it makes any sense, that probably requires further investigation."

"However, that's not the point I wanted to make."

At this point, she propped herself up and leaned against the table, looking quite serious, and announced with a smile:

"Based on my current investigation, that blacksmith named Nezha—"

"Also a member of the [Legendary Heroes]."

".Eh?"

"Eh--?!"

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 180. The Enhanced Fraud Incident: Nezha Isn't Called Nezha

180.

2023-12-17

According to Argo, after receiving the request from Fujimaru Ritsuka to investigate the "Legendary Hero" team, she immediately began to keep track of their whereabouts after leaving the restaurant.

Late at night, they arrived at a tavern in a remote suburb. Soon after, the blacksmith player named Nezha also arrived at the tavern and joined them.

It was at this moment that she overheard their conversation and learned the correct pronunciation of Nezha's name, as well as that Nezha was also a member of the [Legendary Heroes].

This news was like a bomb dropped into a calm lake, instantly creating a huge splash and plunging everyone into shock.

At the same time, all the information that was previously known in my mind suddenly connected together.

The Legendary Hero possesses an unreasonable amount of resources; failed upgrades will not destroy the weapon. The blacksmith Nezuha is a member of the Legendary Hero team.

That is

"The blacksmith Nezha created the illusion that weapons would be destroyed after a failed enhancement. In reality, he embezzled and sold the enhanced players' weapons through some means, exchanging them for a large amount of resources, which were then provided to other members of the [Legendary Heroes] for purchasing and enhancing equipment."

"Given the current situation, this is probably the only conclusion we can draw, right?"