A journey to another world starting from a sword

Where is the deepest point?

It's the place furthest from the gate they came in through.

They had already spotted several potential targets while they were strolling around the village.

As a result... it was not found, or rather, it could not be triggered.

"Dante, is this the one?" Silica covered her mouth with her hand and asked Dante in a low voice, feeling embarrassed.

“That should be right.” Standing in front of Dante was an NPC who was a typical “village aunt” and she had a little girl in her family.

However, the little girl was healthy, and the woman was not cooking anything indescribable in the kitchen.

Dante was wondering if he had entered the wrong room and whether he should look for it again.

Holding onto Dante's sleeve, Silica took a step forward and asked somewhat hesitantly, "Um... what's troubling you?"

These are some common lines used to trigger quests. Dante had already tried them on other NPCs who looked troubled or sighed deeply, so Silica also tentatively said the same thing.

Just then, a muffled murmur came from behind.

"That won't do, little sister and little brother."

Chapter 15: Nicknames Represent Fame

"I didn't expect that besides me and..., there would be other players who arrived here so quickly."

Before Dante and Silica could react, the man continued.

The two looked at the uninvited guest, whose words ended with a high-pitched, nasal tone that could be uttered by anyone, whether female or young, player or NPC.

However, the opponent's appearance was quite obvious; he was a short man wearing a sand-colored hooded cloak over leather armor from the initial equipment set.

"It's so small," Dante couldn't help but remark.

"Hey! We're not small, what do you mean by questioning someone's height right off the bat?!" The other person stood with their hands on their hips, tapping their feet on the wooden floor, looking sullen.

Dante looked at the other person with amusement and said, "How did you know I was questioning your height?"

“If you don’t question my height, then we’re going to sue you for sexual harassment,” the man retorted shrewdly.

"Ha—" Dante sighed dramatically, "Even speaking in a masculine way... So, young lady, what is your name?"

“My name is Argo. And don’t call me ‘little miss,’ or I’ll beat you up.” Argo pouted, her tone shifting from its previous vulgarity. “What are your names?”

“I am Dante,” Dante said with a shrug.

“I am Silica.”

“Ah, little Silica is so cute,” Argo chuckled after hearing Silica say his name.

She thought to herself, "Dante... was there such a player during the closed beta?" She could clearly tell who was in control between the two people in front of her; it definitely wasn't the girl who was half-hidden behind the man.

"No, that's not true." Silica shook her head and hand modestly, but she couldn't help having a question in her mind: the other person seemed to be about the same height as her.

She had just carefully compared the height difference between Dante and the player who called himself Argo.

“Hey, hey, I’m definitely not as old as this young man, but I am the older sister,” Argo said, noticing Silica’s hesitation. “However…”

She realized that dwelling on this issue any longer would be detrimental to her, so she changed the subject, "You were trying to trigger the 'Secret Medicine of the Forest' quest, weren't you?"

"Hmm." Dante nodded, his expression grave. "Looks like there's a mission cooldown period."

“Ah…you guessed it right away, that’s quite perceptive.” Argo chuckled and put his hands behind his head. “I was actually thinking of selling this information to you.”

In SAO, quests have a cooldown period, which refers to the waiting time between when one player accepts a quest and when the next player can accept the same quest.

Especially repeatable rare quests, such as the "Secret Medicine of the Forest" quest that Dante and Silica are about to accept.

"Sell?" Silica blinked, somewhat puzzled.

“Because I’m an information broker,” Argo said, patting his flat chest.

“Argo, the intelligence broker,” Dante repeated.

"Yes, yes. Please patronize my business." Argo smiled as he beckoned to the two potential customers in front of him.

“No problem.” Dante nodded. “Then without further ado, could you tell me about Horuka?”

"?" Argo seemed taken aback, falling silent for a moment, but then burst into laughter. "Haha, although that's what I said, I didn't expect you to be so quick... But, no, it's nothing."

She wanted to say something, but didn't say it aloud. Instead, she asked, "What do you want to know?"

"First of all, when will the cooldown for this 'Secret Medicine of the Forest' quest end?" Dante pointed behind him, then turned to the NPC woman and called out, "Could you please let us use the table?"

After receiving a polite reply from the NPC lady, the three sat down around the dining table. Silica sat next to Dante, while Argo sat opposite the two of them.

"Ah, this... The cooldown for this quest is 24 hours. I accepted this quest to check the cooldown time after the last one ended. Although I canceled it because I couldn't complete it, the cooldown time doesn't disappear." Argo said as he sat down, explaining that he was the culprit behind their troubles.

"Judging by the time, it should be about 15 minutes before we can accept the call again."

"That's good." Dante nodded. "How many players have arrived at Horuka Village yet?"

The purpose of asking this question is to eliminate potential competitors. After all, the players who are the first to arrive here are definitely closed beta testers, and one of their purposes in coming here is probably the "Secret Medicine of the Forest" quest.

"Ah, this information comes at a price." Argo raised a finger, and after receiving the message that it was alright, "As for the players, besides you and me, there are at least three of us now."

“Miss Argo is amazing!” Silica exclaimed in amazement at Argo’s ability to accurately count the number of players.

“Heh heh, this is my exclusive intelligence network,” Argo said proudly.

"Just checking the number of rooms available for booking at the hotel," Dante said, seeing through Argo's smug demeanor.

After all, if a room is occupied, the NPC owner won't let you check in.

"Hey!" Argo yelled, "How can you sabotage me like that?"

"And could you also tell me about the rare quests available in this village and the monsters in the surrounding area?" Dante ignored Argo's outburst and continued to ask calmly.

"..." His words caused Argo to fall silent, which was unusual for her. Even though she found it hard to believe, she still tentatively asked, "You really don't know anything? How did you get here?"

Although it only took her an hour to cross the Horuka Forest, it would have taken at least three hours to get there if she didn't know the way.

Not to mention that it takes even longer to find the way to Horuka from the "Town of Beginnings".

"This information is chargeable," Dante joked, having guessed why Argo had asked.

"That......"

“But I’ll tell you for free,” Dante interrupted Argo. “I asked a closed beta tester named Mitt. She told me how to get here.”

“Mite… Ah—” Argo recognized the name. She was one of the players who reached the top floor of the tenth-level maze area, “Thousand Serpent City,” during the closed beta. She remembered that he was a terrifying-looking male player. So he was actually a female player?

Unfortunately, the other person didn't seem to see the Boss in the end, as they were beaten to it by "another person" when they were still some distance from the Boss room.

She then confirmed, "So that means you're not closed beta testers."

"Yes."

"Ah—" With Dante's confirmation, Argo's mouth opened wide again and remained open for a long time. "You, you really are fearless young calves."

"So this idiom exists in Japan too?" Dante thought to himself, tilting his head, before nodding in agreement with Argo's words.

"Are you really, really not closed beta testers?" Argo asked again, just in case.

This fact was somewhat unbelievable to her: a man who wasn't a beta tester, along with a little girl who was probably not even in middle school yet, arrived unharmed in this village hidden in the forest on the third day of the game.

Argo's question also made Silica turn to look at Dante. She had also heard a little about the closed beta test. She had just been thinking that Dante was a closed beta tester, but it turned out he wasn't.

How did Dante know about the previous Easter egg treasure chests?

“No.” Dante shook his head. “I just happened to know about it.”

“What a coincidence…” Argo said thoughtfully, his arms crossed and his expression hidden under his hood.

Dante noticed Argo's face, which seemed to be constantly furrowing, while the girl who called herself an information broker nodded as if she understood something.

"I understand." After saying this, Argo pulled her hood back and gracefully crossed her legs on the small stool, assuming a posture that indicated she was about to have a long talk.

Her upper body was covered in early-stage equipment, but her lower body was covered in baggy capri pants that resembled lantern pants.

These pants can't be bought in the village, Dante and Silica just confirmed that, so they must have been bought together with the hooded cloak in the town of beginnings. The town of beginnings actually has a lot of hidden content, and if it weren't for the death game, it would be worth exploring slowly.

However, when Dante saw her face, Silica's mouth dropped open, while Dante remained calm.

Her naturally curly, golden-brown hair, flowing in all directions, is quite distinctive, and her face shape is also rather cute for a girl.

Of course, the most eye-catching feature is the three lines drawn on both cheeks, resembling a mustache.

In fact, that texture that perfectly matches the skin wasn't painted on with a brush or anything, but rather with expensive dyes specifically used for facial makeup.

"What's wrong?" Noticing Silica's gaze, Argo raised his right eyebrow and asked knowingly.

“Oh, I’m sorry. That, that beard…” Silica wasn’t sure if asking that question was impolite.

Argo didn't seem to care about Silica's hesitant question, saying, "It's nothing, this is a game."

"Then shouldn't you have added a 'meow' at the end of the sentence?" Dante rested his chin on his hand on the table, tilting his head and grinning mischievously.

"Huh!?" Argo pointed to his face with his left thumb. "That's not a cat's whiskers!"

“Eh, isn’t that right?” Silica exclaimed in surprise.

"No way! These are just rat whiskers, you can tell at a glance!"

No, I have absolutely no idea.

Dante thought to himself, "What normal girl would draw mouse whiskers on her face?"

Even Argo had rat whiskers drawn on it for a certain reason.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if you were to be called a rat in the future,” Dante said, lowering his hand and spreading it out.

"Hmph, having a nickname means I've made a name for myself as an intelligence broker! If you become famous someday, I'll give you a nicer nickname." Argo rested his right hand on his chest, indicating that he didn't care at all.

Indeed, in another week, almost every frontline player, even those who disliked him, would remember Argo's name, Dante thought.

Argo then gave a brief overview of Horuka and the surrounding area, including some important details and the "Lost Calf" quest available at the ranch outside the village, which added three "Swamp Kobolds" compared to the closed beta.

This is a type of demi-humanoid monster—a member of the kobold race—that inhabits the first level of Aincrad.

Compared to non-humanoid monsters, those with weapons are actually harder to deal with, especially since neither of them is carrying shields or similar equipment, Argo specifically reminded them.

However, this task can be won relatively easily if you make good use of the cow's sprint, and the task name will be changed to something like "The Cow's Counterattack".

"That's about it." Argo scratched his head, ending the thirty-minute conversation.

"I understand, thank you." Dante smiled. He was genuinely grateful to Argo, at least for most of the information she had just provided that he didn't know.

“Aren’t you going to write this down?” Argo gave him a suspicious look. “Don’t blame me if you forget any details.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve memorized it all.” Dante confidently replied to Argo, pointing to his head.

"Hmph~" Argo didn't quite believe it. "Fine. I'll just remind you one last time."

As she spoke, her expression turned unusually serious, no longer as relaxed as before. "Most of what I just said was information from the closed beta period. I don't know what the public beta will be like, so please be careful when you act, and don't... die."

"Okay, I understand." Dante nodded seriously in response. "How much was the fee for the information just now?"

"Three...no, two thousand Cors will do."

"So much?" Silica exclaimed in surprise, because these two thousand Cors meant that all the money they had earned from killing monsters that day had been handed over in this mere half-hour chat.

“Silica, little sister, intelligence is very expensive. I only gave you a discount because you weren't closed beta testers; otherwise, I would have charged even more,” Argo said, indicating that this was normal. “Besides, you're considered one of the stronger players, or rather, veteran players… hmm, it feels a bit strange. Anyway…”

With a mix of shyness and pride, she shared her thoughts with Dante and Silica.

"I want to gather the minimum amount of information and make something like a guide to distribute before the new players, whose numbers are nearly ten times that of the closed beta testers, start making their moves."

Dante knew this was the very same Argonautica that would later become famous.

In SAO, you can indeed give your original manuscript to an NPC scribe to copy it and make promotional materials such as flyers or brochures.

However, the copying fee was so high that almost no one would take advantage of it, but! But Argo actually did it!

In order to ensure that as many players as possible, including himself, survive, Argo plans to write down the knowledge of the original closed beta testers and then distribute it to all players.

"That must have cost a lot of money," Dante said, crossing his arms and looking at the other person.

Hearing this, Argo shrugged slightly. "So the first version will also be paid, and we'll make a free second version based on the sales revenue. Speaking of which... I don't even have the money to make the first version right now."

As Dante looked at the grinning face of the self-proclaimed intelligence broker, a sense of admiration for Argo rose in his heart. This girl...

"If you don't have any more questions, I'll be going now. I'm very busy, you know," Argo said, jumping off the stool with a "whoosh" and patting the hem of her clothes.

"Well... as a bonus, how about you provide another piece of information?" Dante suddenly said with a smile.