A journey to another world starting from a sword

He exhaled a breath of stale air, turned around and stared directly at the monster in front of him. The next second, the sword blade once again glowed with a blue light.

The two-handed sword "Bear Slayer" rotates around the body, using inertia to increase the power of the sword technique "Whirlwind," before being swung at the monster.

With a single strike, the two-handed greatsword, enhanced with three levels of "sharpness," severed the monster's body, splitting it in two.

Asuna was mesmerized by the figure of the man walking forward with his sword and his fluid attack movements. She saw beauty in the man's strikes, a harmonious beauty.

...The more I look at it, the more comfortable I feel.

"Miss Asuna, are you alright?"

Asuna was startled awake by Silica's panicked voice. She blinked and turned her gaze to the distraught girl beside her.

"......fine."

"That's great." Silica breathed a long sigh of relief. She had been wondering why Dante had suddenly sped up, but it turned out that Asuna was in danger.

"..." Dante twirled his sword, sheathed it, and stood there, looking at a figure in the shadows of the distant jungle.

Using the "Target Acquisition" skill, he quickly identified his opponent as a slender young player.

"..." The other person simply stood there, looking at him.

The two nodded to each other, and then the other sheathed his sword, as if relieved and feeling that he was no longer needed, and turned to leave.

To be honest, the two occasionally run into each other in Horuka Village, so they're fairly familiar players. Although they've never spoken a word to each other, the other person—Kirito—is still a socially awkward player.

In stealth games, many people become completely different from their real selves because they put on a virtual shell. Kayaba Akihiko made all the players return to their real selves, which is precisely by removing this disguise.

The other person must be a withdrawn and taciturn boy like that in real life.

"Dante?" Silica's voice made Dante stop thinking and turn to the two behind him, taking out a bottle of healing potion from his pouch.

"Here you go." He handed the medicine bottle to Asuna.

"Th-thank you." After staring at him blankly for a while, Asuna trembled as she reached out to take the healing potion, then tilted her fair neck back and drank it down.

This was the first time in the game that she found the healing potion tasted good; it had a strange sweetness.

Of course it tastes good, because it wasn't bought from an NPC shop at all. Asuna's HP bar slowly rose from the bottom and returned to the safe green range in one go.

“Silica, give half of the potion to Miss Asuna,” Dante said, looking at Silica.

"Okay." Upon hearing this, Silica began to operate, distributing the potions that were stuffed full of her backpack to the surrounding players as she had learned before, and selecting Asuna.

“Now let Silica escort you back, first to the town of beginnings,” Dante suggested in a soothing voice, looking at Asuna.

On the way to Horuka, there's no guarantee that we won't encounter any more unexpected events.

Given Asuna and Silica's current state of exhaustion and lack of fighting spirit, they would most likely die if they encountered a monster horde of this size, or even a smaller one.

It would be more prudent to go back, as this is a safer approach.

These past few days, just to be on the safe side, he has taken Silica to explore the entire western part of the first level, and all the maps have been explored.

Even on the way back, Silica alone won't get lost.

"And what about you?" Asuna asked instinctively after listening to him quietly, but when their eyes met, she quickly looked away, making it impossible to see the true meaning in her eyes.

"Hmm..." After thinking for a moment, Dante smiled gently at her, "I have something else to take care of."

There's still one person missing, isn't there?

Chapter 20: This Man, Mitt

That was the opportunity that led to him becoming friends with Asuna.

It was not long after she became an eighth-year student at the private Eternal Girls' Academy, which is equivalent to a second-year student in the junior high school section.

I participated in an in-store tournament for the fighting game "Tekken 7" at my usual game center.

Unlike typical knockout tournaments, this is a competition format where the winner is determined by the number of consecutive wins.

She was in excellent form that day, not only winning the competition but also coming within one win of breaking the tournament record.

However, in a fleeting glance outside the store to quell the excitement of his recent victory, he spotted a classmate from the same grade among the onlookers gathered on the sidewalk.

As for why I was able to recognize them, it's because the other person was honestly wearing a school uniform, so it was impossible for me to mistake them.

Although we knew beforehand that the tournament would be broadcast on the screens outside the store, until the last time, only the game footage was shown.

I was completely unaware that the store had recently installed cameras that could capture players' poses during tournaments.

So the female student looked up at the display screen with a shocked expression, then peered into the store through the automatic door.

At that moment, our eyes met.

She was fully aware that the other person had recognized her.

If it were a bookstore or clothing store, they would absolutely ignore the other party in this situation.

The problem is that the school rules of Eternal Girls' Academy strictly prohibit students from entering facilities such as game centers.

I am considered a celebrity at school, although it's because I'm always ranked first in my grade, which is a rather pointless thing.

So she immediately gave up on breaking the competition record, ran out of the store, and kicked the bus stop sign with her long leg, blocking the way of her classmates who were about to leave.

When she wanted to stare sharply at the startled man who had stopped in his tracks, and give him a little threat, she found herself speechless as she gazed into his wide, amber eyes.

Because that girl was none other than Asuna Yuuki, a famous girl at the school.

This was the opportunity that brought them together. Afterwards, they would play Tekken 7 together on the school rooftop, and they became friends because they kept it a secret.

Now, what appears before Mito's eyes is a window marked with the name Asuna (Asuna).

This is the window for sending messages to friends. There's nothing written on it yet, not because I don't want to, but because I'm afraid to.

If you press the "send" button to send a message, even if you don't get a reply, it will serve as proof that Asuna is still alive.

But, but!

If the player receiving the message does not have this prompt...

At that point, we had to accept the reality that Asuna had left Aincrad.

Then, if Kayaba Akihiko's declaration is true, then Yuuki Asuna in the real world will also...

My fingertips, hovering over the "send" button, were trembling. It was just a matter of moving my finger a centimeter, but I couldn't do it no matter what.

"sorry......"

After squeezing out a weak sound, Mitt pressed the cancel button in the upper right corner of the window.

Looking up, above the monotonous and dull wilderness, a layer of dark gray clouds had somehow appeared and hung low in the sky.

Although the skies above each floor of Aincrad are covered by the lower levels above, sudden changes in weather can still occur from time to time.

Perhaps this floating city has entered a cumulonimbus cloud.

Judging from the thickness and color of the clouds, it can be predicted that heavy rain will fall within ten minutes.

Unlike the real world, in SAO, you won't catch a cold even if you get wet, but you will feel cold all over. This drop in temperature is like feeling stomach discomfort when you are very hungry. Some people can tolerate it, while others cannot.

From the perspective of combat players, the risk of falling or dropping weapons increases when fighting in the rain.

Although Mitt clearly understood that he shouldn't stay outside this "circle" and should hurry to a safe place where no monsters would spawn, his legs just wouldn't move forward.

Mitsu discovered that Usagizawa Fukasumi was many times weaker, more foolish, and more cowardly than she had imagined.

If we immediately return to Horuka Forest, plunge into the horde of small man-eating plants that should still be plentiful, and choose to die the same way as Asuna, to atone for the sin of abandoning our sworn-to-protect best friend and running away, then that would be alright.

But her feet seemed rooted to the ground, and she couldn't take another step.

The icy water droplets falling continuously from the sky lashed against my entire body as I hung my head.

In just half a minute, the rain began to intensify, gradually soaking her hair and cloak.

She can neither return to the forest to die nor move forward to survive.

Why not just turn it into a stone statue or something?

At this moment, she wanted to become an object devoid of perception and thought, gradually covered by moss, and decay away.

Mitt prayed this sincerely.

Of course, this wish could not be heard by the gods of the virtual world, because there are no gods in this world.

Just then, a warm hand pulled up the hood of her cloak from behind, stopping the continuous raindrops hitting her face.

Normally, she would have spotted the approaching player immediately, but the rain affected her senses.

Mitt shifted his body warily, looked to the side, and then saw a player he had seen not long ago... no, a long time ago.

"It's you." She relaxed. Although she had told Asuna that she hated this person, she actually felt... admiration for Asuna, who was also leading a new player on the road.

"Yes, it's me." Dante took a half step forward and stood beside her in the open space, his clothes now soaked with rain.

"What about that little girl? Is she... dead too?"

Mitt's "yes" was pronounced very softly; it was almost inaudible unless you listened carefully.

"Her name is Silica, you should at least remember her name," Dante said briefly, his head still looking forward.

"How is Silica?" For some reason, she felt a surge of malice. Even Mitt herself hadn't expected that she would be hoping for a different answer from the other party.

"They've probably returned to town by now."

This answer was both expected and reasonable. As a guardian, the other party was far more qualified than himself. A bitter feeling welled up in Mitt's heart, and his entire mouth felt as if he had bitten a gall bladder.

"Is that so..." she said, then fell silent.

Looking at the strong male player in front of her, she suddenly felt so small in comparison.

Turning to look at Mito, Dante opened his lips, wanting to tell him that Asuna was still alive.

But her pale face and pained expression made him hesitate.

His mouth was open for a long time, but he couldn't say a word.

Because what would happen if I said it?

Will Mito go back to find Asuna right away?

how is this possible.

She will probably feel even more pain from betraying her friend and choose to escape.

There is a certain truth in this world: betrayal comes at a cruel price.

The perpetrator may be oneself or someone else.

At this moment, the purple-haired girl's heart was being tormented by the guilt of betrayal.

In the future that Dante knew, the other party even attempted to atone for his sins in a suicidal manner and nearly died.

Just as he was hesitating about how to start the conversation, the other party had already made a move.

"Hey, where are you going?"

As Mitte strode forward, Dante chose to ask loudly to avoid his voice being drowned out by the rain.

"None of your business." Mitt's voice came faintly through the gaps in the rain.

"Ha..." Dante sighed and quickly chased after them.

This person is still useful; as a closed beta tester, her knowledge and experience are what I lack.

The progress bar for becoming a god has just increased a little bit; perhaps the gears of fate have shifted off course.

He wanted to see if the deviation would continue.

Chapter 21: The Poet of Today, the Diva of Tomorrow

In the first layer of Aincrad, there are four towns or villages protected by a "prohibition of crime order".

At the southernmost point lies the main street on the first floor, the vast metropolis of "The Beginning Town," whose name has been forgotten.

Exiting the east gate and crossing the mountainous area leads to "Medayi Village," while exiting the west gate and crossing the forest leads to "Holenka Village."

And beyond the vast Lata Plain in front of the North Gate, and the Dalhali Fortress that blocks the central part of the building in a straight line, lies "Torbana".

Located in the last village of the multi-level maze, it is also the place that players aiming to conquer the game will visit on the first level.

However, in reality, besides these places, there are also small villages that are not protected by the "prohibition of crime order," also known as "outside-the-circle villages."