A journey to another world starting from a sword

“Why not?” Dante said, his eyebrows twitching.

"But they left so early... Ah! Since you were already awake, Mr. Dante, why didn't you wake me up?"

At this moment, Asuna was not blaming, but apologizing, believing that she had hindered the plan.

"Since your biological clock hasn't woken you up, I think we should just let it go," Dante explained. "Speaking of which, where's your alarm clock?"

“…Because I usually wake up early, I don’t need to,” Asuna said, momentarily speechless.

As a result, she slept exceptionally soundly last night. Thinking this, Asuna pulled up the hood of her cloak, hiding her entire face in shadow.

"Let's go then," Dante said, adjusting his equipment and checking the potions in his pockets.

"Okay." After a moment's hesitation, Asuna nodded repeatedly.

The two then continued deeper into the maze.

When they encountered the first wave of monsters on the road, Asuna did not rush to attack as she had the day before. Instead, she coordinated with Dante from the right while he attacked from the left.

These kinds of monsters don't require a "switching" technique.

Asuna, having precisely struck the neck of the kobold in the ruins and killed the monster with a single blow, gripped her beloved sword, growing happier with each glance.

"It must feel wonderful," Dante said, accurately capturing her feelings as he approached.

"Ok!"

The first battle of the new day was far more acutely felt than when I was exhausted the day before.

Just as Mr. Dante said, it feels wonderful to kill the enemy so easily.

The two then proceeded along routes not yet taken on the map, exploring each unexplored area one by one.

Asuna then witnessed such beautiful swordsmanship for the first time in her life; she had never known that anyone could achieve this level of skill without relying on swordsmanship.

This is a sword technique that is entirely offensive, as if you don't need to defend once you strike first.

Before the kobold could even swing his weapon, he was jerked into a daze by the two-handed sword. As his body lost balance and tilted backward from the attack, he was immediately struck again.

The swirling sword light seemed to linger in the air; it was more like a sword dance than swordsmanship.

I had to swallow hard to calm my heart, which was pounding in my throat from the sheer amazement.

Since they weren't in a team, the distribution of loot and experience points depended on who killed the monster first. However, their goal wasn't those insignificant things, so they didn't redistribute the loot and instead continued deeper into the maze.

So far, they have encountered monsters seven times, but they have defeated the enemies with almost no damage.

"Why not use sword techniques?" Asuna suddenly asked from half a body length behind during the silent march.

"If you can kill monsters without using sword skills, then why use them?" Dante asked without turning around.

"..." That seems to make sense. Asuna, who was stumped by the question, paused for a moment.

"I just don't want to rely on sword skills."

As if to satisfy his own curiosity, he went on to explain, but this only confused Asuna even more.

Is there anything wrong with relying on sword skills?

Was this originally designed as a special move in the game?

At least that's how Asuna understands it, so she basically uses her most proficient "linear attack" in every attack.

"Sword techniques have fixed moves; every move has its weaknesses, and weaknesses can be exploited..."

"Moves and weaknesses..." Asuna murmured softly, repeating the two words over and over, still not understanding and completely confused.

Dante paused, then turned back with a wry smile. "Even so, I still can't handle Miss Asuna's linear attacks. They're too fast; my eyes can't even see them clearly."

"Is that right?"

However, the person involved doesn't seem to be aware of this.

Chapter 35: An Unexpected Reunion

"Ta-da..."

They walked cautiously among the remains of torches lined up side by side on the walls.

Although Dante's "Targeting" skill means he doesn't have to worry about enemy ambushes, the echoing footsteps on the hard stone floor always make people feel uneasy.

Just like listening to your own heartbeat, adrenaline is constantly being secreted in your body.

In addition, the environment is somewhat dark due to the lack of a clear light source, so simply being able to see things is not enough.

The exploration had begun in the morning, and it was now noon. Dante was considering whether to find a place to rest, as prolonged vigilance could be tiring.

The two discovered that the surroundings of the maze were different from before. The mottled bricks and stones had been replaced by huge stone slabs, and the walls were now covered with ornate but unsettling reliefs.

Overall, it gives people an increasingly "solemn" feeling.

According to Argo's intelligence, this labyrinth has a total of twenty levels.

After the two confirmed their memories, this was indeed the twentieth floor. In addition, there was only a small blank area left on the map. If there were no unexpected circumstances, this should be the Boss's room.

At 1 p.m., they reached the top of the stairs, just a little away from their final destination.

At the end of the corridor, a large wooden door awaited the two of them, and of course, there were other things as well.

Whether it was unexpected or inevitable, Dante and Asuna encountered the six-person player team led by the blue swordsman once again.

"You've arrived here too."

Standing in front of the door, the other person greeted me politely, with a hint of surprise in their tone.

"I am Diabel, and these are my companions. May I ask your names?"

Since the other party introduced themselves first, they couldn't ignore it, so...

"Dante."

"Asuna."

Asuna's voice surprised Diabel's companions, because it was a girl's voice.

It goes without saying how rare female players are, and those who can reach this level are even rarer.

"Dante and Asuna..." Diabel paused briefly, as if recalling whether he had heard these two names before, before looking up again.

He then turned his gaze to the hilt of the two-handed sword on Dante's back, and it was immediately clear that it was not a cheap item sold in a store, as was the rapier at Asuna's waist.

Even this subtle gaze alerted Asuna, who reached out and gently tugged at Dante's hem.

"Sorry, sorry, I don't think I've seen you before, so I just took a second look out of curiosity."

Diabel realized he had almost revealed his intentions, so he quickly apologized to the two of them with a hearty smile on his face.

“It’s alright, we’re operating in the village of Horuka in the west, so it’s normal that we haven’t seen it before,” Dante said, indicating that he didn’t mind.

What else can we do but go back and look?

"It seems you two are quite capable. The six of us have only just arrived, and we didn't expect Mr. Dante and Miss Asuna to catch up so quickly." Diabel praised the two with a sincere expression.

“No, if we’re being honest, it’s Mr. Diabel who’s really impressive to have brought a six-person team here safely,” Dante replied cryptically, though it was unclear whether the other man understood.

“Just call me Diabel,” Diabel said casually, patting his silver half-breastplate.

“Yes, you too.” Dante nodded.

"So, Dante and Asuna, this is also your goal, right?" Diabel pointed to the door behind him.

“This… should be…” Asuna, standing behind Dante, asked.

“I think this is the Boss’s room,” Diabel confirmed.

Dante, meanwhile, pulled out the Argonaut Strategy Guide from his pocket and pretended to flip through it, saying, "I remember the boss in it was called the Kobold Lord, I think."

“Hmm! I remember his name was Kobold Lord Ilfangu.” Diabel said, pretending to recall something.

Seeing this, Asuna quickly took out the strategy guide and started looking through it.

The boss is a giant dog-headed man who is two meters tall. His name has already been revealed by Diabel. He is called "Kobold Lord Ilvangu". Since he is a demi-humanoid monster, he will naturally use a weapon, and the type of weapon is a curved sword.

And three “ruin kobold guards” wearing metal armor and carrying axe spears will appear beside him.

The boss has a total of four HP bars. Each time one bar is reduced, three more "Kobold Guards" will emerge. Therefore, a total of twelve guards must be defeated in the boss battle.

Surprisingly, besides the boss's name and appearance, this strategy guide also includes detailed information such as the predicted HP, the length and speed of the main weapon, the Crescent Moon Blade, its damage value, and the sword techniques to be used.

As expected of Argo!

Even Dante felt a renewed sense of admiration for this little information provider; her guides were truly a great help to all players.

Looking at the booklet that Asuna had closed, he could still see a line of text in bright red on the back cover that had not been printed in his first edition of the Argonauts Guide.

Dante knew that was—

"The content is information from the SAO closed beta test, and there may be differences from the current version."

It's a sentence that's easily overlooked, yet extremely important.

"How about it? Want to see what it looks like inside?"

Dante's words immediately drew the attention of everyone present, but he remained unmoved and shrugged.

"You mean to scout out the Boss?" Diabel asked to confirm.

"Well, after all, no one can guarantee that this information is accurate, right?" Dante shook the first edition strategy guide he had obtained for free from Argo.

“That’s true…” Diabel nodded in agreement.

"Is it really okay?"

Feeling his clothes being pulled tightly, Dante turned around. Asuna's words seemed calm at first glance, but there was a deep sense of unease in her voice.

“According to the intelligence, the Boss would never leave the room he’s guarding. Just opening the door shouldn’t be a problem,” Diabel offered his opinion.

“Then let’s do it this way. We’ve spent enough time on the first floor.” Dante and Diabel looked at each other.

“You’re absolutely right.” Diabel nodded solemnly, strongly agreeing with his statement.

The two sides then agreed that Dante and Diabel would enter the Boss's room, while the others would stand guard at the door to provide backup.

Although there are few people, this is still a safe option.

After all, the two sides had not established any trust relationship. It would be too rash to risk one's life based on the trust gained from the first meeting.

Standing at the doorway, Dante placed his left hand on the door.

Fortunately, he wasn't the type to have sweaty hands; although he was a little nervous, his palms remained dry.

He thought to himself, "If the door suddenly closes, all will be lost." But logically, he had always followed the rules and shouldn't have aroused the world's suspicion.

Diabel, standing beside him, nodded, and Dante pushed the door with all his might. Surprisingly, the enormous door, which was almost twice his height, began to move smoothly.

As soon as the main gate started moving, both the left and right doors opened simultaneously at a considerable speed.

As everyone held their breath, the fully open door and the powerful impact stopped simultaneously.

Then the scene hidden inside the door was fully revealed.

Although the door was open, the inside remained completely dark.

There were no lights, and the torches outside the door did not illuminate the interior of the room, only casting light at their feet.

No matter how wide they stared, they couldn't see through the dense darkness that held a chilling aura.

Dante and Diabel gazed at each other, then stepped forward together into the dark room.

Chapter 36: Are you also a closed beta player?

After walking a dozen or so steps, and making sure the person behind him couldn't hear him, Dante casually asked in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Hey, Diabel, do you know Mitt?"

"!" Diabel turned his head sharply to look at Dante, but his face showed no flaw. "...I don't know him. Where did you get this name from?"

"The information I initially received about Horuka Village was purchased from a player named Mit, and now we... are friends."

Just as Diabel was about to speak, the huge shadow at the end of the road ahead swayed, and a loud "boom" rang out as a giant axe smashed into the ground.

The door at the entrance was suddenly closed, and colorful light began to extend from the door to the floor on both sides, immediately filling the entire room with dazzling light.

At the far end, on a massive throne with a background resembling crystal, stands a gigantic, crimson-red orc.

It sat proudly in its seat, leaning on a single-handed axe.