A journey to another world starting from a sword

"Yuki..." Asuna hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping herself.

"You can try using your left hand," Lingyin whispered, offering a suggestion.

“…Ah.” Yuki paused for a moment, then followed Lingyin’s advice and used her left hand to swipe downwards.

With a crisp "ding-a-ling" sound, a window popped up in front of her.

"Ah! Really?!"

“Hahahaha…” Lisbeth laughed first, “You’re so funny.”

"Don't laugh yet, Yuuki! See if you can press the 'Logout' button," Asuna reminded her. Watching Yuuki's clumsy movements, she felt a strange, indescribable feeling—an unknown sense of melancholy.

You long for a miracle to happen, but when it does, you realize it's not what you wanted.

But if we can actually establish contact with the outside world, it would undoubtedly be a good thing.

"Let me look." Yuki kept swiping the window because she didn't know how to bring up the window visualization, so only she could see the menu.

Lisbeth swallowed nervously, her eyes practically watering with anticipation.

"Hmm, um..." Yuki tilted her head slightly, her fingers having stopped moving.

"W-How is it? Can I log out? The 'Logout' button should be lit up." Lisbeth asked Yuki anxiously.

The next second, Ji Chao poked at the window.

"Huh?" "Wait..." "Don't press it!!!"

"Hmm, as expected, there's no response." Yuki shrank her neck after pressing the button and laughed awkwardly.

"Oh my god, that startled me," Lisbeth said, rubbing her pink hair.

"So, even you, Yuuki, can't log out?" Asuna wanted to confirm another fact.

"It looks like it." As she spoke, Yuki tapped the button that looked like a "logout" button a few more times, starting to panic. "What should we do?"

Suddenly, she wondered if she, too, would be trapped in this world like the 1 SAO players reported on the TV news.

"Don't worry, since you didn't log in using NERvGear, you shouldn't be in any danger." Asuna gently took Yuki's hand as she looked at her helpless eyes.

“Yes, yes, our brains will get fried if we die,” Lisbeth added from the side, calling it a hellish joke.

"Anyway, let's go back to town first," Asuna suggested. She had just glanced at the quest description and it had changed. Investigating the cause of the ghost had become dealing with the trouble left behind by the goblins, and the quest was now marked as completed.

They then set off on their way back to the main street. On the way, Lisbeth suddenly thought of something. "Hey, if you think it was just a coincidence that Yuuki entered SAO, what if the outside world could force her to log out? Would she not be able to come in next time?"

Because no matter how you look at it, it's impossible to accidentally enter SAO while playing ALO.

"Now that you mention it..." Asuna wasn't sure either.

“In that case, wouldn’t it be better if we left some information for the outside world?” Lisbeth analyzed, as if she had transformed into a famous detective.

"Asuna, is there anything you want to convey? If I can get out, I'll definitely pass on the message to the people you know in the real world." Yuki patted her chest reliably.

"Hmm..." Asuna hesitated.

“I’ll go first! My name is Rika Shinozaki, I’m 15 years old. Please tell my parents that I’m safe and have a group of trustworthy companions. We will definitely return to reality. Two years, no! Three years! In three years we can beat this damn game.” Lisbeth said with a smile.

"Rika Shinozaki, I've got it." Yuki nodded solemnly, then she asked Asuna and Rei, "Asuna, Rei, do you have anything to say?"

"Lingyin, you go first," Asuna said with a smile, shaking her head.

"Um... my real name is Zhi Ke Hong Jia. Tell my mom not to worry. I also have a younger sister named Sai Wen. She's a genius. My dad took her to America to join a scientific research team. We were separated when we were little, and now I can only see her in the news. I really miss her. I've always... always wanted to see her. So please tell her that I... miss you so much." Ling Yin said with a reminiscing expression, trying her best to speak in a light tone as she asked You Ji to convey her message.

“Rainbow Frame, what a beautiful name,” Lisbeth remarked softly.

"No way," Lingyin smiled shyly.

“That child named Saiwen must be very cute too,” Asuna said with a smile.

“That child Saiwen is indeed very cute.” Lingyin said confidently. Her long gray hair was like a squirrel’s tail, and her petite body was about the same size as Miss Nirunier on the seventh floor. They were just as cute.

"Okay! I understand." Yuki nodded to indicate that she had remembered, and finally looked at Asuna, her meaning quite clear.

"Hmm... I don't have anything in particular to say." Asuna pondered for a moment, looking troubled.

“There’s always something,” Lisbeth said, spreading her hands. “Like what to say to my parents and friends…”

"Parents?" Asuna lowered her head slightly, as if she had thought of something to say. "My real name is Yuuki Asuna."

"Asuna?" Yuki repeated the name, somewhat surprised.

"Asuna, you logged in using your real name." Lisbeth was equally dumbfounded.

Upon seeing Lingyin's wide orange eyes, Asuna chuckled. "Haha, you guys have the same reaction as Mito. Ah, Mito and I actually go to the same school; we're both students at 'Eternal Girls' Academy' in the port area."

“Eternity… Ah, that’s the name of our guild!” Lisbeth suddenly realized.

"Yes, I was a little surprised at the time." Asuna walked casually with a slight smile on her lips, but her hand remained on the hilt of her sword.

"First, let me tell my parents I'm safe, and to my brother, I apologize for accidentally playing your NERvGear. Then, I've made some really good friends here, and we're all working together to beat this game."

"Oh, and by the way, Asuna is also the vice-chairman of the strongest guild in SAO," Lisbeth said with a mischievous grin.

“That’s right, and Asuna is one of the top players who led all the players to defeat numerous floor bosses in succession,” Lingyin said truthfully.

"No—these aren't things that are particularly worth mentioning." Asuna looked speechlessly at the two people behind her.

“How could it not be worth it?” Lisbeth’s eyes widened. “Asuna, do you know how amazing what you did was? Commanding the strongest group of 10,000 people to defeat a monster several stories tall in reality. In the outside world, you would be a savior, a Super Hero.”

"It wasn't all my doing, and I only commanded occasionally. Heathcliff, the Grand Master of the Knights of the Blood Oath, also commanded the boss battles on the 23rd and 24th floors, didn't he?" Asuna said modestly.

“Heathcliff, that guy just took advantage of a loophole. We were just on vacation on the 22nd floor at the time,” Lisbeth retorted.

"And didn't Dante lead us to immediately regain command of the 25th floor?" Lingyin agreed with Lisbeth's opinion. To put it bluntly, not a single player on the 25th floor was killed, all thanks to their "Eternal Garden" guild. They organized three reconnaissance battles in a row, the first two of which were conducted by their guild alone, and each one was extremely dangerous.

"Eh—Asuna, your guild leader's name is Dante, right?" Yuki then caught the key point, "Is he a man?"

“Yes.” Lisbeth grinned mischievously again. “And he’s the only male player in our guild. Please make sure to tell Asuna’s parents this as well.”

"Liz!"

“What? Isn’t this the truth?” Lisbeth said, peeking out from Lingyin’s shoulder.

"Well..." Lingyin glanced helplessly at Liz, who had just "whooshed" behind her, afraid of getting beaten up.

"Asuna, are you two lovers?" Yuki exclaimed in surprise.

To her surprise, her words caused all three of them to stop in their tracks.

"Ah—sorry." Yuki's head bumped into Asuna's back, the impact causing her to instinctively cover her head.

"No, no, that's not it," Asuna denied in a flustered tone.

“Yes, they aren’t,” Lisbeth explained succinctly.

"Our president hasn't confessed to any girl yet," Ling Yin added.

"What does this mean?" Yuki was a little confused. "So, what kind of person is he?"

"Hmm... you'll know when you actually meet me." Asuna smiled. "We need to send a message to Yuuki about meeting you after we get out of this labyrinth."

“Oh, maybe he’s still sleeping right now,” Lisbeth joked.

"Sleep, sleep?" Yuki stood there dumbfounded.

Asuna pointed directly upwards, indicating the sky outside, "That's right, after all, it's daytime now."

-----------------

"Ugh!" As if experiencing a long fall in his sleep, he sat up and opened his eyes while letting out an embarrassing cry.

Perhaps it was the release from the freefall state in the dream that brought a sense of peace rising from the depths of my heart.

Sitting in the lush grass, the girl observed her surroundings and murmured, "Where am I?"

Chapter 168: The Girl Lost in the Forest

She appeared in an unknown place, so it's no wonder she remained still for a few seconds before making any move, slowly standing up.

Looking up, the giant tree, perhaps several hundred years old and covered with many knots, was spreading its branches and leaves above the girl's head.

Reach your hand out to the moonlight, and through the treetops you can see a starry night sky, with a huge full moon emitting golden light at the very top.

The girl was acutely aware that she was currently in a forest at night.

In addition to the chirping of insects, there were also the low calls of nocturnal birds.

Animal roars could be heard from afar, and the smell of plants made my nose itch.

A gentle breeze caressed her skin, and everything in the environment so vividly touched her five senses.

The feeling of a virtual world being even more real than the real world is indeed a powerful one.

Then she forcefully drew her right index and middle fingers through the air, "Huh?"

Unconvinced, she drew her finger again, a third and a fourth time, but still there was no reaction.

"...Isn't this a game world?!" The girl panicked for a moment.

"Is this right here?"

Suddenly a male voice came from behind her, and she immediately turned around.

"Forest spirit?"

A matte cloak with subtle gold patterns draped down to the edge of the knight's boots, its metal buckles set in a clean V-shape below the collarbone.

In stark contrast to the deep black wool was the silver handguard he was using to grip the tree trunk, the arched knuckles supporting the finely crafted soft armor.

Meanwhile, the belt cinched her waist, creating an inverted triangle shape, and the movement of her shoulder blades with her breath stirred the raven-feather-like decorations of the cloak surrounding her neck.

Although the person was completely shrouded in a cloak, one could still sense the other's tall stature and powerful physique.

"It seems not," the other person immediately denied, their tone tinged with a hint of regret.

"Um... what's a forest spirit? I'm a wind spirit. By the way, who are you?" The girl immediately bombarded the other with questions. "And where is this place?"

"..." The other party remained silent for a moment.

"Hey, don't just stay silent." The girl, who was already flustered, was a little scared, so she mustered up her courage and took a step forward.

"There are too many problems."

"Huh?" The girl was stunned.

"There are too many problems." The man repeated himself, as if afraid she hadn't heard him clearly.

"Too many questions..." The girl pondered her words, realizing there were indeed many questions, before cautiously asking, "Who are you?"

"Dante."

"Dante?" the girl repeated, then realized that was the other person's name.

"Elf, your name."

“Straight... Leafa, my name is Leafa.” Leafa instinctively wanted to say her real name, but immediately realized that this was not the real world, although it didn’t seem to be the game world either.

"Where is this? Isn't this 'Alpheim'?"

"This is the southern part of the town 'Golaar'. Congratulations, young lady, you have been transported to another world."

"Huh? No, what are you talking about?" Leafa asked, bewildered, as the man named Dante smiled knowingly. "This isn't...this is...another world?"

"Yes, do you remember when you were hit by something? Do you have any memories of what happened before you came here?"

"..." Leafa held her breath, and after thinking about it carefully, she still didn't know why she had come here.

To experience what it's like for her brother to play games, she used an unused NERvGear to play the recently released game ALO.

In the end, she must have decided on her appearance, because appearance is random to some extent based on real-life appearance. Although she hoped to have an appearance that met the expectation of "beauty and elegance", she ended up with a face that was objectively cute, but it was somewhat similar to her real self.

Meanwhile, as for the wind sprite girl, she is actually quite robust and has rather serious eyebrows and eyes.

As a result, when I entered the game, everything went black and I lost consciousness.

Thinking of this, she raised her arm to look at her clothes, then touched her ears. If she had a mirror, she could be even more certain that she did indeed have the appearance of an elf.

"Were you just teasing me?" Leafa suddenly looked up, her delicate eyebrows raised angrily. "I wasn't hit, and I have all the memories of before I came here. And this other world... don't you really know where the wind spirits' territory is?"

"There really aren't any wind spirits here." Dante tugged at his hat with his left hand. If the girl in front of him kept her head still and looked slightly to the upper left, she could see a long, green bar that looked like an HP bar. Unfortunately, she was acting like a complete novice at the game.