A journey to another world starting from a sword

Upon hearing Nochiras's words, Sansa observed him closely, "Now that you mention it..."

However, having never had the opportunity to participate in the strategy battles, and having rarely attended strategy meetings before, Sansa didn't pay much attention to Dante's face. Although he was handsome, it wasn't to the extent that it would make a man like him pay more attention to him, unlike Vice President Asuna who is bisexual.

"His eyes have turned gold." Nochiras had just drunk with the other person, and at that time, upon close observation, the other person's eyes should have been deep red, like dried blood, but now they had turned into a brilliant gold.

Now even other guild members realized it.

“…” Godfrey crossed his arms and looked toward Asuna, as if he wanted to find out what was going on.

He had witnessed it once before during a Boss battle, specifically the strategy for the 25th floor. He thought he had misread it, and just to be on the safe side, he even mentioned it to the almost omniscient guild leader afterward. However, the guild leader simply said, "It's quite interesting," and did not delve any further into it.

"What? Want to know?" Argo interjected with a grin, blocking Godefli's view.

"How many Cors?" Godefli didn't say much. He already knew "Rat's" character. As long as you could afford the price, the other party would even sell your intelligence.

“This is our guild leader’s biggest secret.” Silently swallowing the word “one of,” Argo cracked his knuckles. “One million Cor…”

“I will go back and consult with the chairman,” Godefli said without hesitation.

"Wow, that's really generous," Argo exclaimed. If the other party really wanted to buy it, she had no way to stop them.

After all, this information had long been disregarded within the guild. The "Meditation" mod skill "Awakening" could only be activated when one was highly focused. The eyes turning gold was merely a manifestation of the skill activation, but knowing this and actually doing it were two separate things.

No one in the guild has managed to do it so far, not even Asuna and Mito, both powerful players. It's estimated that only someone with exceptional talent in this area can concentrate their mind to such a high degree that their brain signals can be captured. The person who designed this skill probably just considered it an Easter egg.

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

who?

Dante glanced behind him and saw that another group of people had arrived, but considering that Asuna hadn't called out, it didn't seem like a problem.

He then focused his attention on Kraken again, feeling that he could still hold on.

The "Banner of Valor" erected by Jeliska behind him increased all attributes by 10%, and with the attribute boost from "Awakening," Dante's strength and agility attributes could not be simply calculated based on his current level of 41.

Keep in mind that SAO only grants three attribute points per level, so his current stats are at least 10 levels higher than his original level. For a top player like himself, a 10-level improvement is undoubtedly a huge boost.

In the original timeline, Kirito's confidence in soloing a half-health boss with dual swords came from the attribute bonuses provided by the demonic swords "Elucidator" and "Dark Chaser". "Elucidator" alone provides a bonus of +48 to Strength and +28 to Agility. Not to mention that dual swords can equip a second sword, so you also need to add the bonus of +52 to Strength and +12 to Agility from "Dark Chaser".

His 140 attribute points made him over 40 levels higher than a player with no experience, which translates to a difference of ten or twenty levels even compared to members of a strategy guide team. Add to that his already high level...

In this world where everything is parameterized, the importance of levels is self-evident.

In the late game, once everyone has reached the level cap of 100, you should increase your potential and minimum skill level by stacking equipment.

With each attack, Dante couldn't contain his excitement as he saw Kraken's HP decrease by a little.

The right hand slashes in from the middle with the sword, then immediately reverses and thrusts the sword in again, right, left, then left.

His brain remained clear even as it raced, though he knew this couldn't last. But his thought processes hadn't caught fire yet, and who knew when the overload would end—maybe a few minutes, maybe half an hour.

The reason Dante kept swinging his sword was the enjoyment he derived from the battle. He found pleasure in the fight, fully utilizing his strength, and the impending glory caused a change in his mood.

His original intention of merely testing the Boss and pushing his own limits had been completely forgotten. The sound effects of slashing attacks echoed in his ears, and his heart pounded like a war drum, continuously giving him strength.

When the boss had only one bar of health left, Kraken instantly retracted all its tentacles and roared to the sky.

At that moment, he stood still, quietly watching Kraken.

"Have they gone mad?" Godefli murmured from afar, astonished to glimpse a possibility, though he dared not believe it.

Everyone at this moment has glimpsed Dante's thoughts and will defeat the Boss here and now.

"Everyone, take cover! Don't come any closer!" A gust of wind suddenly blew up, and a figure rushed forward—it was Vice President Asuna.

Asuna wasn't the only one rushing forward; Mito did too.

"Oh dear." Argo clicked his tongue, too impulsive.

Even though she wanted to rush forward, reason kept Argo in place. After all, her combat strength was somewhat inferior to those two, and if something really happened, she would be her only backup plan.

The guild leader, vice-leader, and the guild's third-in-command all died at the same time. Noziras stared blankly at the scene, speechless, unable to utter a word. He still dared not contemplate a certain possibility.

After Kraken roared, its massive body finally moved, its compound eyes flashing a terrifying red light, and its meat grinder-like maw lunged forward.

Dante jumped back and continued to observe the Boss's movements, without rushing to attack.

Then came the sound of light, quick footsteps on the floor. Looking over, you could see a slender figure running towards you with a determined expression on her face.

"What brings you here?" Dante continued to stare at the Boss.

"What? Why are you here? You don't mean you want to challenge the Boss all by yourself, do you?" Asuna was furious.

“Our agility is much higher than yours, so we won’t hold you back.” Mitt spun his scythe, making sure the blade was facing down.

"Hmph." Dante remained silent. He couldn't be sure if their arrival was a good thing, but it was undeniable that in the past six months in SAO, even ordinary high school girls had been honed into qualified warriors, not to mention the two of them, who were at the pinnacle of all players.

He said through gritted teeth, "We have to win."

With the glory of victory right before his eyes, he felt only thirst in his throat.

"Of course!" Asuna took a deep breath and quickly got into the zone.

The radiance emanating from the swaying chestnut hair struck the chests of the onlookers with a powerful impact, and the moment of utter astonishment was interrupted by the Boss's renewed attack.

The final boss moves around and attacks with its hideous maw, while its tentacles attack relentlessly from almost every angle.

It's foreseeable that the main force would likely be thrown into disarray here, fighting independently.

However, there were only the three of them on the battlefield, giving them enough space to dodge.

Having become familiar with the Boss's attack patterns, Dante signaled to Asuna and then kicked the floor.

He started with the single-hit attack "Demon Sword Assault" with a one-handed sword. This skill can only be learned when the proficiency of one-handed sword reaches 950. However, in the months after obtaining "Melancholy Nocturne", he had already raised the proficiency to 970, almost to the point of fully learning it. Keep in mind that his proficiency in two-handed swords was only a little over 400.

The attack struck the brownish-green body, which resembled a giant tree in a swamp, and in the instant after the attack froze, Dante twisted his waist forcefully, already gathering power for the next strike.

Meanwhile, Asuna, who was charging from the side, unleashed a five-hit sword technique called "Neutron Impact" from a dance-like preparatory motion.

While dodging the Boss's direct attack on the mouth, Mitt also swung his kusarigama, accurately hitting Kraken in the eye.

The boss will also be briefly stunned when it pounces, which is an opportunity to seize, and obviously the three of them will not let it go.

Furthermore, Dante clearly sensed that with Asuna and Mito joining the fray, the Kraken tentacles' striking frequency decreased by half. Indeed, the Boss's behavior was different when facing one person versus three people from different directions.

If it were a swing, the damage wouldn't be fatal, but it would cause them to freeze, forcing Asuna and Mito to dodge. Their steps never stopped, like street dancers.

"Ugh, this is even more tiring than the dance machine in the arcade," Mitt thought to herself, this was her most direct feeling.

Even though she's not very good at physical exercise in real life, she can perform superhuman moves in SAO.

Fortunately, the current situation won't last forever, as the Boss's health is being steadily reduced, and hope is just around the corner.

And everyone present was about to witness a scene worthy of being recorded in the chronicles of Aincrad.

Chapter 194: This is a married woman's hairstyle

Just then, Kraken's tentacles suddenly moved away, which relieved Dante. The previous success had made people doubt the authenticity of the difficulty of multiples of ten floors.

It's not that I really want any unexpected complications, but the occurrence of something anticipated is certainly something to be happy about.

"Everyone, defensive stance!"

Dante shouted, and joined Asuna and Mito.

These words were not only spoken to Asuna and Mito, but also to the people on the outside. Argo immediately directed everyone to reopen the door that had just been closed.

Kraken pulled back, and at the same time, the air seemed to begin to flow deeper into the room. Dante caught this subtle airflow and instantly understood.

So he sped up and shouted to Mitt, "Get the chains wrapped around the pillar!"

Upon hearing Dante's voice, Mito, who had been crouching with his arms out in front of him, immediately reacted and swung the kusarigama in his right hand.

"Wait." Before Asuna could react, Dante pulled her into his arms, his well-defined arms tightly encircling her chest.

The moment Dante grabbed Mitt's hand, the Kraken began to suck in a large amount of air, its serrated mouth forming a swirling vortex like a fan, as if trying to suck in and crush everything in the front half of the room.

"Waaaaaah————" At this moment, Argo had already led everyone to retreat outside the door, and Jeliska had also put away the "Banner of Valor" that had been standing there.

"Is everything alright?" Godfrey asked, feigning concern, his emotions somewhat unstable.

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Argo sat down against the wall and gently peeked out. He saw that of the six HP bars in the corner of his vision, the top five were already at the bottom, and the remaining bar was only half full.

“I never expected it to give us a surprise at the end,” Lisbeth exclaimed. “What was the developer thinking when they designed this boss?”

Without proper preparation, it's easy to be wiped out completely.

"They probably didn't expect Kayaba Akihiko to do something so crazy," Godfrey shrugged.

“Yes…yes,” Argo sighed to himself.

Swaying in the howling wind, Dante wasn't too worried. Mitt wrapped both ends—the pillar and himself—around him several times. Unless the pillar broke, he would be fine.

“It feels like I’m paragliding in the Alps,” Asuna said, nestled against his chest.

"To be honest, this situation is probably even more terrifying than bungee jumping," Mitt muttered speechlessly, after all, there was a jagged abyss below.

"..." Dante felt quite helpless about the two girls chatting casually in his arms, and raised his head slightly.

After a dozen seconds, the wind speed gradually decreased, and he immediately reminded, "Attack with all your might in the final moments, don't hold back, use all your sword skills."

"Okay!" "Mm!"

When the wind finally stopped, Mito immediately untied the chains binding him and Asuna. After landing, Dante took the lead and charged towards the Boss.

Asuna followed closely beside him, even a little faster.

After dodging several tentacles that tried to stop them, Dante launched the first attack, using the highest-level sword technique for one-handed swords, "Ascension of the Stars," a high-level sword technique with a full ten-hit combo.

After slicing away the obstructing tentacles one by one, the final path became clear.

"Now!"

"Aaaaaah!" Asuna unleashed her strongest continuous attack, "Stardust Splash," in sync with his voice. Eight dazzling beams of light instantly enveloped Kraken's main body from all sides.

Finally, as if to deliver the final blow to the Kraken, Dante leaped onto its head, stepping on its tentacles. The dense compound eyes, which were normally difficult to hit, were met with a powerful blow from his crimson blade. As the blade flew out, his experience points decreased by one.

But that didn't matter. The tentacles shattered one by one, and the boss-level monster, with only its torso remaining, lay on its back on the ground with a loud thud.

Its HP bar was completely depleted, and cracks began to appear on its massive body. With a "bang," it turned into "snowflakes" that drifted throughout the space.

The sight of "Congratulations" in English overhead evokes a special feeling in me no matter how many times I see it.

Thinking back to how I used to spend day and night exploring the maze area, resting by meditating when I was tired, and sometimes not returning to the guild for several days in a row when I encountered monsters that were good for grinding experience.

Now that the time had finally come for the flowers to bloom, Dante's face regained its expression.

"Oh! I did it!" Lisbeth clenched her fist and ran over.

Everyone immediately erupted in cheers of "Wow!" and gathered around.

"I thought it was impossible on the way here."

"We're definitely the strongest guild now."

“Argo should write this in his chronicles.”

"Celebrate! Celebrate! We're going to have a big meal tonight, and I'll be drinking Rivia wine."

"Should we go buy some more S-grade ingredients for Asuna to cook?"

"good idea!!!"

Surrounded by the girls, Dante almost blurted out "Don't pull my clothes," but seeing their sparkling eyes, he couldn't bring himself to say anything that would spoil the mood.

Suddenly Argo smiled mischievously, "How about tossing Dante into the air?"

"That's a great idea." "Great!" "As expected of Argo!"

"Wait a moment!"

He's being tossed up by a group of delicate girls, doesn't he have any pride left?

So Dante rebelled, and during the rebellion, he felt as if two hands were taking advantage of him. He grabbed one and pulled it, only to find it was Silica's hand.

"Stop insisting, give up!" Lisbeth shouted enthusiastically, forcefully choking Dante's neck. His head was pressed against an unsafe spot. Just as Dante was wondering how Lisbeth could be so bold, another hand wrapped around his inner thigh.

"Aren't you going to stop her?" Mito stood next to Asuna, trying to catch her breath.

"Well, everyone's pretty happy," Asuna said cheerfully, glancing at Godfrey who was leading the group over.

"Congratulations." Godefli said with mixed feelings. He was happy, after all, another floor had been conquered, but his guild had been watching the whole thing from the sidelines.

"Hmm." A very rare, clear smile appeared on Asuna's beautiful face.

"I didn't expect you guys to already have the ability to take down a boss on your own," Godfrey sighed.