A journey to another world starting from a sword

Upon spotting the intruder, it rose from its seat, maneuvered its massive body to leap to the center of the room, puffed out its chest, and let out a piercing and ferocious roar.

"Roar!!!"

At the same time, three blue orbs suddenly appeared from the sky and fell down, transforming into kobold guards clad in steel armor in the next second.

"Looks just like the intelligence." Without time to think about what happened before, Diabel quickly confirmed it.

"There's a curved sword on the Boss's back, right?"

"Hmm." Diabel nodded imperceptibly, staring at the weapon on the Boss's back, but a heavy gloom hung between his brows.

"I heard from Mitt that when the closed beta ended, she teamed up with a blue-haired player and reached the top of the tenth floor of Thousand Serpent City. They were almost able to see the Boss. That blue-haired player must be you."

Previously, Dante did ask Mitt if he remembered the blue-haired player, and Mitt did say that there was such a person in his team during the closed beta, so he was not lying; these are just reasonable guesses.

“So you really are…” Diabel said, his gaze sharp as he looked at Dante.

“No, I’m not.” Dante remained unmoved and denied the other’s guess.

"You two, come here right now."

"Diabelle! Stop looking, the Boss is coming."

Turning around, the door opened again, and Asuna and Diabel's companions were anxiously calling out to them from the doorway. In fact, the next second, the Boss, the kobold lord, also began to stride towards the two of them.

The conversation abruptly ended, as neither Dante nor Diabel intended to test the Boss's abilities, as their combined strength was insufficient.

So after exchanging a glance, they turned and retreated toward the gate.

Because they were so close, the two ran out of the room before the Boss could catch up, and the door began to slowly close, blocking the kobold lord's hideous face behind it.

"Are you alright?" Asuna quietly approached Dante and asked with concern.

"Hmm." Dante slowly exhaled the air from his lungs, gave her a "don't worry" look, and then walked towards Diabel.

Meanwhile, Diabel was also having conversations like, "You scared me to death!" and "Why did you suddenly space out?"

"No, I just want to see it more closely." Diabel chuckled to reassure his companion, then turned to look at Dante as he approached.

"Dante, let's add each other as friends."

Dante had no objection to Diabel's suggestion, as the previous conversation had already unilaterally revealed that Diabel was a closed beta player.

What exactly is the other person's intention in wanting to add you as a friend? That remains unknown.

"Once we get back to Torbana, I'll call the players on the front lines for our first Boss strategy meeting. Someone has to take the first step, right? I hope to see you all there."

Without any hesitation, Diabel revealed his plans for the future.

His suggestion may not have been shared with his companions, or perhaps it was shared but not truly understood. At this moment, Diabel's companions all showed expressions of surprise.

Even Asuna was thinking to herself, "So it's not just Mr. Dante who thinks this way."

After Diabel and Dante became friends, they looked at Asuna behind them, but Asuna didn't seem to care and turned to the side instead. Diabel didn't seem to mind and continued talking.

"You can go first; it will take us much longer to get back."

Indeed, at Dante and Asuna's speed, they could return to Torbana before dark at the earliest.

Diabel's team, to be on the safe side, couldn't just charge forward recklessly.

"Okay, see you at the strategy meeting."

As Dante and Diabel said their goodbyes, Asuna, who hadn't spoken until now, politely nodded slightly to Diabel.

See you at the strategy meeting!

Diabel watched the two leave with the same cheerful smile he had shown from the beginning.

After he could no longer hear Diabel and his companions, Dante began to ask the girl standing beside him.

“Go back to Torbana.”

"it is good."

Having achieved his initial goal, Dante smiled with relief.

"What's wrong?" Asuna asked, puzzled.

"It's nothing." Dante stretched and yawned, loosening his stiff back. "You'll need to get some rest when you get back to Torbana."

"Rest...Speaking of which, the rooms in the hotels of this world are really not up to par."

In response to Dante's suggestion that he take a good rest, Asuna expressed her opinion with a sigh.

It's just a space with less than six tatami mats, where a bed and a table are placed, yet it costs 15 kor a night!

Food aside, in this world where only sleep is real, shouldn't we at least be provided with decent rooms to rest?

"Actually, Aincrad has more than just hotels to stay in."

"Really?"

Dante and Asuna chatted casually to pass the time on their journey.

In SAO, players can not only adventure in a vast area, but also "live" in it, just as the official promotional materials stated at the time of release.

According to one's own wishes and efforts, one can buy their own house there and live a life of farming and herding sheep.

With a soft exclamation of surprise, Asuna then asked the crucial and fatal question.

"Houses...aren't they very expensive?"

"Not necessarily. If you want a simple place to live, it's very cheap; you might be able to buy one for a few hundred thousand kronor. But if you want a more comfortable place to live, it might cost several million."

"Several million..."

Faced with Dante's nonchalant attitude, Asuna gave him a look of utter speechlessness.

"Although it sounds like a lot, I already have nearly 100,000 Cors now, and there are many more ways to earn more later."

"Eh—" Asuna exclaimed in disbelief upon learning that the other party's wealth was probably more than three times her own.

"Besides, buying a house is something we would only consider after climbing dozens of floors. Finding a floor with a beautiful environment and a wide variety of shops is not an easy task, and we also need to consider many other factors before making a decision."

As Dante spoke of the future, Asuna listened quietly, miraculously without a hint of doubt.

If we can successfully defeat the boss on the first floor, then what Mr. Dante said may very well become a reality.

"Well, besides buying a house to live in, there are actually some NPC houses that you can rent," Dante casually mentioned.

"?"

Watching Asuna tilt her head cutely, Dante pointed his finger and said boastfully, "For example, the place I'm renting in Torbana now, although it's on the second floor of a farmhouse and costs eighty cors a night, you can drink all the milk you want. Not only is the bed quite spacious, but the view from the window is also very nice, and there's even a bathroom."

Asuna's right hand swiftly grabbed Dante's coat from behind, and then her deep, hoarse voice rang out with overwhelming force.

"What did you say?!"

Chapter 37: It's not what you think.

Unconsciously tugging at the other person's clothes, Asuna questioned them, her tone a mixture of disbelief and surprise.

If it wasn't an illusion created by the auditory cortex of the brain, then the man in front of me definitely said it.

"And there's a bathroom." Without keeping anyone in suspense, Dante generously spread his hands and said, "There are two rooms on the second floor, and I've rented them both. I can give you one of them."

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Asuna grabbed Dante's arm and took his place at the front, walking much faster than before.

Because of all the actions in this world, the only one that can be called a physical thing is "sleep".

Everything else is a fabricated illusion—running, walking, talking, eating, and fighting are all the same.

However, many nights she had nightmares in the hotel's narrow and dark room, on a bed made of some unknown material that felt unusually hard.

In her dream, she could see her classmates laughing at her for tripping and falling because of a game during this important time in her third year of junior high school.

There are also relatives who seem to gloat over their own defeat in the race called life, which will continue for many years to come.

And his parents and brother, who were staring down at him as he lay unconscious on a hospital bed, but whose expressions he could not see.

At this point, she would usually be so startled that she would suddenly sit up in bed.

When I looked at the time displayed on the system, I realized that I had only slept for three hours.

Even after closing my eyes and lying in bed again, the sleepiness had completely vanished.

She hadn't told Mitt about these things.

Sometimes she would fantasize about the mattress on her bed being made of Italian-made high-rebound high-tech foam, though of course, even a lower-grade material wouldn't matter.

If it were even softer than it is now, I wonder if I could sleep longer.

Also, if possible, I would like the room to have a bathroom.

Although taking a bath was just an imaginary feeling, even if it was just an imaginary feeling, she sincerely hoped that before facing death, which could come at any time, she could lie in hot water again and relax her body.

So she completely ignored the other person—Dante was someone she had only met a few times, not a complete stranger, but not exactly a close friend from the game either.

The two of them had shared a meal at the same table, saved each other in the most dangerous moment, ate cream bread together, and even camped in the safe zone of a maze...

Thinking about it carefully, it seems they have actually done quite a lot together, so they can be considered friends. I've heard of girls in my class staying overnight at other friends' houses before, although she has never had such an experience.

Throughout the journey, Asuna kept finding various reasons to justify her actions, and she successfully convinced herself.

"By the way, Miss Asuna, you may have to sleep with Silica."

Oh right! And Silica-chan too!

The rented farmhouse was located on the edge of a small pasture in the east of Tolbana, and it was much larger than Biasna had imagined.

If you combine the stables and the main house, the area would probably be about the same size as your real-world home.

The waterwheel on the side was turning with a gurgling sound, and if you listened carefully, you could hear the sound of water flowing.

After leaving the labyrinth, Mr. Dante was texting someone, and Asuna guessed that he was contacting Silica.

But what appeared before them was—

"Honestly, I won't take this kind of job again next time," Argo complained as he opened the heavy oak door on the second floor of the farmhouse.

"I'll add more money," Dante said casually.

"You bastard!" Argo yelled, turning around with a look of helplessness in his eyes, and finally decided to take back what he had just said.

Even for simple errand-running jobs, she would happily accept them.

"Don't be so reluctant. You've enjoyed this rental for quite a while while I was away, haven't you?" Dante said maliciously, tilting his head.

“What?!” Argo pouted and retorted righteously, “I’m an intelligence dealer, it’s normal for me to be homeless.”

Seeing Dante's disbelieving expression, she continued, "I don't like taking baths either."

"And the milk?" Dante asked with a squinting smile.

"Hmm... to be honest, from a free perspective, the taste is quite well-designed. However, if you take it outside, its durability will drop completely in five minutes, turning it into a super awful liquid. This design is really not something to be proud of."

Even in reality, Argo's height is below average for girls. Japanese high school girls generally think that being too tall is not cute at all, but they don't want to be too short either; it's best to be of average height.

So Argo probably drinks milk a lot in real life, which is why Dante used this to tease him.

Asuna stood silently at the back, watching the two engage in a casual conversation. Argo must be the player who wrote the strategy guide.

She wasn't particularly surprised that Mr. Dante knew Argo, since her initial impression of them was that they were both virtuous people who cared about other players.

But their childlike frolicking, including Argo's hurried and jumping manner, shattered his impression of them, as if a filter had been broken.

"what."

After a silent sigh, both of their gazes turned to him simultaneously.

Seeing this, Asuna quickly turned her head to the side, pretending to be looking at the room's layout.

"Hmph~" Argo nudged Dante's waist and made a meaningful sound.

"It's not what you think," Dante said.

If we add the omitted parts of the first sentences from both sides, it would look like this.

Hmph, you actually brought a girl to your room, you're something else.

It's not what you think, especially since Silica is there too.

Ignoring the unspoken implications of their conversation, Asuna glanced around the room and let out a sigh.

This...this is way too spacious!