Am I the only one streaming Sword Art Online on the entire internet?

"I was thinking that if you're feeling sad, crying for a while might help. I'll keep it a secret." Kirito said this while keeping an eye on Sorin's expression. "It's really not good to bottle it up like this."

"Fuck you... whatever, you win."

Kirito watched as Sorin suddenly relaxed after saying those words, slumping onto the bed. He instinctively reached into his pocket with his right hand but found nothing, so he clenched his fist and slammed it onto the bed.

"Go to sleep. Get up early the next day to grind monsters. Stop talking about all that nonsense."

------

"That's why I think this game is very unscientific. The monsters on the first floor were all weak creatures like kobolds and ghosts, but on this floor, suddenly there are minotaurs everywhere. It seems like their combat power has increased by more than one level."

Sorin has been using the scythe these past few days, as it's a new weapon and he needs to familiarize himself with it. As for the one-handed sword and the long sword, it's because many of their combat techniques are very similar to those of their namesakes in Monster Hunter, and the fighting styles are also similar, so he doesn't need to practice them much.

His current appearance is quite bizarre, with only a belt around his waist, his upper body bare, and his lower body still wearing normal long trousers with a one-handed sword and a rapier hanging from them.

This is an extra effect of the rare equipment [Power Belt] that dropped from the second floor. This equipment has a very high strength bonus and excellent defense attributes. In Solin's words, it's like a mini Dragon Heart. Of course, the side effect is that no matter what kind of top is equipped, it will cancel the appearance. In other words, although Solin is still wearing the top he's currently wearing, it's just an emperor's new clothes, with only the attributes but no appearance.

Of course, Solin himself was actually enjoying it, because this look gave him the illusion that he was a "macho man". However, in the eyes of those viewers who turned on the third-person perspective, the combination of his very young face and this look was extremely incongruous.

Another cost is that Asuna, who was originally grinding monsters with him, was scared away by him, and Kirito, who was unaware of the situation, was also taken away. So, Sorin is now training alone. Of course, there is another advantage to this solo training: Sorin can now tell jokes and make suggestive remarks during his live streams without having to worry about the two minors in his team.

Why does the streamer's style change after just two days of not watching?

Don't ask, just answer Patchouli♂GO

"Let me tell you, don't underestimate minotaurs. A father and son minotaurs can at least kill a tiger or eat two fireballs."

Sorin charged at one minotaur, then swung his scythe in a sweeping attack. He then began skillfully maneuvering to outmaneuver the three minotaurs he had drawn aggro on. Unlike the clearly defined and varied kobolds and goblins of the first level, the minotaurs on this level were all massive, muscular warriors, their muscles practically bulging out, each resembling a bodybuilder or a gay porn actor. At least now, with Sorin dressed similarly to the minotaurs standing before them, the scene was hard not to conjure up rather unpleasant images like "Stand still" and "fa♂ck U."

However, it turns out that not only the audience, but also Sorin himself had thought of these things. However, under the illusion that he was a "macho man," this was the scenario in his mind...

"Let me see if your development is normal!"

He shouted that, then switched to his katana and used a low slash to knock down the minotaur he had selected. Next, he used the katana's unique iaido slash, "Crimson Flower," and instantly teleported behind the minotaur, then switched his weapon back to a one-handed sword.

"Listen to me! Let me see!"

Although he didn't take off his glasses, the shield bash he delivered with his left arm shield looked quite similar to Jack's Kung Fu. It instantly stunned Ah Wei... I mean, the minotaur. Then he charged forward and unleashed a six-hit combo of basic attacks, taking away the minotaur's remaining HP.

"Come on, stand still!"

He dealt with the other two minotaurs in almost the same way, and at this point, Thorin, who was a little tired from grinding for too long, decided to sit down and rest for a while, and also checked his attribute menu.

He's now level 15, which is quite high for someone in the top tier. As for equipment, the [Senate Standard Top] he'd been wearing as a cloak is actually an cosmetic item, not taking up a normal equipment slot, and it provides excellent stats. The [Power Belt] is also a cosmetic belt, but it simply cancels out all other cosmetic items.

A normal equipment slot has six slots: helmet, shoulder pads, upper body armor, gauntlets, lower body armor, and boots. Sorin is currently equipped with the only set that can drop from the second floor—Wild Rhythm. This set is level 10, but its stats surpass many level 20 or higher equipment Kirito encountered during the closed beta. Of course, Sorin spent a considerable amount of time working towards this Wild Rhythm set, sometimes even grinding monsters late at night.

As for weapons, the katana is still the [Enlightened Katana] dropped by Squirrel on the previous floor. Sorin conservatively estimates that with this weapon's attributes, it can be used at least until the sixth or seventh floor. The one-handed sword [Sharp Storm] was acquired from a player on the previous floor, and its original owner was a support player who became a full-time tailor after his teammate's death. The rapier is the [Swift Wind Fencing Sword] that he managed to get on the previous floor, just like Asuna's, and it has been forged to +6, with three points of sharpness and three points of speed. Of course, the only drawback is that the scythe is still a shop item on this floor; he didn't get any better weapons when killing monsters.

"Now I just need to use up all the forging attempts for the one-handed sword and katana. With these stats, I should be fine against the boss on this floor." Sorin thought to himself, then decided to go back to town and find a player blacksmith to forge them for him. So he quickly ran a few steps, pulled away from the aggro of the three minotaurs that spawned behind him, and replaced his embarrassing belt with his original, cool [Senate Standard Top], before hurrying back to the main city.

24. This blacksmith is mysterious, has a story, and is no ordinary person.

Meanwhile, Kirito and Asuna were on the main road of Urbas, at the player blacksmith shop that was still open, where Kirito was having a weapon forged. Asuna's [Swift Fencing] was now forged to +4. Although she had seen Sorin's scythe broken during forging by the blacksmith, she still dragged Kirito to the player blacksmith's stall, thinking "better safe than sorry."

"Aren't you afraid he'll take your...?" Kirito was clearly still a little worried about this situation. "You're not like Sorin who has a bunch of weapons on him. If your only main weapon gets damaged during enhancement, it'll be a problem."

"But if it can improve combat power, then taking a little risk is acceptable. Besides, his forging skills are already better than the NPCs on this floor. Wouldn't the success rate be even lower if he went to find an NPC?"

"Uh...that's true." Kirito scratched his head. The line in front of them was already quite short; they would only have to wait for two or three more people before it was their turn. After hearing Asuna's explanation, Kirito also wanted to try and improve his [Forging Blade]'s forging level, so he planned to wait until Asuna finished forging before giving it a try himself.

"Buying...buying something? Or repairing equipment?" The blacksmith stood up and asked Kirito and Asuna, then suddenly recognized them and became nervous. "You...you're companions of Lord Thousand Swordsman?"

"I'd like to ask you to help me upgrade my [Swift Fencing] from +4 to +5. The upgrade item is Precision, and I brought the upgrade materials myself." Asuna looked at the blacksmith's nervous expression and couldn't help but offer a few words of comfort, "That exhibitionist's weapon breaking was his own bad luck, I didn't mean to blame you."

"Okay, okay, so how much material is needed?" Even after hearing Asuna's question, the blacksmith still looked troubled, which made Kirito, who was observing from the side, feel a little strange.

"Four steel plates and twenty stings from Gale Wasps should be enough, right?"

The sting of the Gale Wasp is naturally the material used to enhance the Precision stat in [Gale Fencing]. Incidentally, Sorin only later learned that the Precision enhancement affects the weapon's critical hit chance, and in most games, critical hit rate and critical damage are more important than attack speed.

The blacksmith nodded silently, his face grim, lost in thought. Kirito watched Asuna hand the [Swift Wind Sword] to the blacksmith, watching him place the sword on the anvil and tap it repeatedly. A sense of foreboding suddenly gripped him, just like the feeling he had when Sorin had strengthened his scythe a while ago.

He silently checked the number of times the hammer had struck the target. Normally, once ten strikes were completed, there would be a clear visual effect indicating whether the enhancement had succeeded or failed.

"...Eight times, nine times, ten times!"

After checking ten times, he saw the sword on the anvil suddenly emit a dazzling light, indicating that the enhancement was complete.

"It's impossible to fail!" he thought.

However, things didn't go as planned. Just like what happened to Sorin that day, the +4 [Swift Wind Fencing Sword] shattered into pieces from the tip to the hilt after a faint yet clear sound of metal breaking.

They were all completely bewildered. Asuna, the owner of the equipment, was obviously confused, but even Kirito and the person who performed the forging were in a state of confusion and helplessness.

"I'm so sorry... I'll pay you back the processing fee. I'm really so sorry!"

"Wait a minute, blacksmith. Before you apologize, I'd like you to explain something." Kirito raised his hand, interrupting the blacksmith's incessant apologies. "In SAO, a failed weapon enhancement shouldn't cause the equipment to break, right?"

"I participated in the closed beta of SAO. The official website of the closed beta stated that the only penalties for failed enhancement were the loss of materials, changes in attributes, and reduction in attributes."

"But...maybe a fourth penalty was added in the final version...This has happened before, but the probability is very low..."

The blacksmith tried to explain in a panic. His face was full of anxiety and self-reproach, and he could barely speak.

Just then, another voice rang out behind Kirito and Asuna.

"You two are here too. I was just here to upgrade some things... What's going on?"

The person who arrived was none other than Sorin. He had just entered the city and found the player's blacksmith shop when he saw Kirito, Asuna, and the blacksmith seemingly arguing about something... although it appeared that only Kirito was "criticizing" the blacksmith.

"Um... I'm so sorry, I really don't know how to make it up to you..." The blacksmith became even more nervous when he saw Solin arrive. "Well... um... I'm out of Windblade fencing swords in stock right now, how about you use this... iron fencing sword... for now?"

“No need, that thing is no different from scrap metal to us.” After saying that, Sorin walked over, patted Asuna’s shoulder, and whispered in her ear, “You can use mine first, I’ll get you a better one later.”

"And please return the forging fee that Asuna just paid you. Also, give me your highest-grade scythe and forge it to +6, three times for sharpness and three times for weight, try to ensure the success rate. I have plenty of money."

His tone was nonchalant, as if he didn't care at all about Asuna's beloved sword being broken. Asuna was furious at Sorin's indifferent attitude.

"Don't you even realize that sword... that sword is..."

Her voice was trembling slightly, choked with sobs, and anyone could tell she was deeply saddened. However, although Solin realized this, his next words were quite different.

"It's just a sword that you could get with a little effort on the first floor. There's no need to be so upset. Let it go. Out with the old, in with the new."

However, when Asuna heard him say that, she cried even louder, then pushed Sorin, who was blocking her way, and rushed out the door.

Solin's expression on the spot was even more bewildered than the three people when the sword shattered. He stared blankly at the barrage of comments on the screen saying "Drink more hot water," and didn't know what to say.

[The streamer is a total straight man, I've followed him.]

[Case solved! No wonder Grandpa Suolin is so cute, it turns out he still hasn't found a girlfriend.]

[Don't talk nonsense. Teacher Mo is single by choice, don't you understand?]

"...Kirito, go and call Asuna back to me." After pondering for a while, Sorin said to Kirito, who was still by his side, "...Never mind, you go and make sure she's calmed down, then come back to me as soon as you see my private message. Go now."

25. Information Dealers and Spy

The enhancement went smoothly this time, and Sorin's human weapon rack has now become a [shining human weapon rack]. All the weapons he currently carries are at least +4 high-rarity or even unique equipment, making his entire setup incredibly luxurious. After leaving the blacksmith's makeshift blacksmith shop, he didn't go to find Asuna and Kirito, but instead contacted someone else.

He opened his contacts, found the ID 【Argo】, and then made a voice call.

"Hello? Isn't this the God of Wealth? What do you want? Let me make it clear first, I still won't sell any information about my beard~ No matter how much money it costs~" This was the energetic voice of a young girl on the other end of the communication.

“Argo, I need you to help me investigate that blacksmith who often sets up a stall on the main street.” Sorin said, then, afraid that his conditions were not clear enough, he added, “It’s that guy who smashed my weapon the other day. I need all the information I can get, as detailed as possible. Money is no object.”

"Roger that! I'll get it sorted out as soon as possible, bye~" The information broker known as Argo immediately perked up upon hearing "money is no object." After conveying a "mission accomplished" signal to Sorin, she immediately hung up. After all, she knew that Sorin might be live-streaming on the other side, and revealing too much information during a live stream would be unwise—not something a wise information broker should do.

In fact, Suolin hadn't closed the live stream. Consequently, since few people in the live stream chose to leave, even though it was so late, seeing that he hadn't ended the broadcast.

"My intuition tells me something's fishy, ​​especially when Kirito just mentioned that there were three penalties for failed weapon enhancement during the closed beta, but the one that wasn't broken was." Sorin said this in a deliberately mysterious tone, like something out of a suspense drama. "So, behind all this, is it the distortion of humanity or the decline of morality? Is it the blacksmith's workmanship that's messed up, or is Asuna and I just having bad luck? Everything awaits our discovery. Please watch the special episode of 'Approaching Science'—'Broken Gale Fencing'."

Believe it or not, this is actually a line from a suspense drama. If this can be considered a suspense drama... well, I guess so.

[Wow! The anchor has even watched such an old program!]

[This is revealing my age, streamer!]

[Approaching Science is too mysterious, isn't it?]

However, in reality, Sorin was just making a joke. Asuna's sudden escape had put him in a bad mood, so he planned to resolve the weapon breakage issue as soon as possible. In other online games, Sorin would probably have already led his team to ambush, kill, camp, and taunt the corpse in one smooth motion. However, in this death game, such a crude approach was not feasible. The whole situation had to be logically sound and well-founded.

That's right, Sorin is now almost certain that the strange blacksmith was behind it all; all he needs now is evidence. So now, he needs to arrange for a spy to help him carry out this operation.

So he opened his contacts again, and this time the person he found was Kirito, the guy he had just sent out to... I mean, to comfort Asuna.

"Kirito, how is Asuna doing now?"

"It's stable now, but the situation is a bit delicate... I can't move," Kirito said somewhat awkwardly. In fact, he was sitting on a recliner, while Asuna was leaning against him, her slender hand being held tightly by Kirito.

Even he himself didn't know how this development was going on, but for some reason, he just didn't want to let go of that slender, cold hand, or the lovely girl in his arms. However, the next moment, Asuna broke free from his embrace. Although she didn't do anything drastic and simply sat on the edge of the bench, her pretty face flushed red. It seemed that she didn't want things to progress so quickly, or perhaps she had something else to say.

"The first time I held the Gale Sword, its exquisite feel completely captivated me. That light yet precise sensation felt like the sword's very soul was helping me." Asuna's voice was still choked with tears; she was still grieving over this. "I want to cherish it forever and fight with it forever... But if, as you said, I have to discard the sword I used before every time I advance to a higher floor, wouldn't that be like abandoning my comrades?"

“I know a way to keep the sword’s soul with me even after saying goodbye… Wait, Sorin, I don’t have one here yet…”

“I’ll give you three seconds. Now, find a way to track down that blacksmith. I need more information… no, more evidence.” Sorin’s voice was icy cold. “That blacksmith orchestrated everything. This actor… now, track him down, immediately!”

"Yes!" Kirito instinctively obeyed Sorin's command upon hearing his intimidating voice, then turned to Asuna and said, "Sorin just said he found the reason your sword broke. If we act quickly, your sword might still be able to be found... I'm leaving now!"

After uttering those words, Kirito used his superior agility to quickly disappear into the complex alleyways. Asuna hadn't even had time to react before she watched helplessly as Kirito, who had been beside her just a moment ago, vanished without a trace.

"We're going to do some hard work now, Asuna. Go back to our quarters and wait for us to return." This was Sorin's instruction, but Asuna, who was currently sulking, clearly didn't want to listen to him. She sighed and decided to find somewhere to eat first.

Having covered that, let's turn our attention to Sorin and Kirito. Of course, they're not together right now, but Sorin is still keeping in touch with Kirito.

"Wait, if this is so urgent, why don't you go and track down that blacksmith?" Kirito was not only quite puzzled but also quite annoyed. After all, anyone would be angry if their time alone with a girl was interrupted. "With your strength, wouldn't it be much easier to track him down?"

"...Do you think I can learn the [Stealth] skill?" Sorin was silent for a moment, then asked in return, "What about [Target Acquisition] and [Stealth], which are needed for tracking, and other similar skills? Which one do you think I can do?"

"Your [Weapon Master] side effects include these non-combat skills? Even [Target Acquisition] is considered a non-combat skill?" Kirito asked in surprise.

"Of course, I was really annoyed that my target acquisition skill disappeared inexplicably after only a few uses due to increased proficiency," Solin said through gritted teeth. "Did you track it down?"

"We've tracked his route. He just packed up his stall and we don't know where he's going," Kirito reported, then belatedly added, "Why does this always feel so unprofessional?"

"Cave Demon, Cave Demon, continue tracking the target, maintain radio silence, over."

"..." Sorin's lines were so professional that Kirito didn't understand a single word, or rather, he only understood the last "over". Fortunately, although he didn't understand, he still understood what Sorin meant, and then replied with "Roger." and then fell silent.