A journey to another world starting from a sword

“Okay.” Asuna nodded in agreement, oblivious to Dante’s inner turmoil.

It was indeed dinnertime, and she had originally planned to use the cream prop to make dinner herself.

But with Silica holding her hand, she couldn't bring herself to refuse.

The three then left the farmhouse. Asuna put her hood back on, and Silica followed suit, pulling her own hood up as well.

Indeed, given their appearances, hiding their faces could reduce unnecessary attention and trouble.

As for where to eat next, although we could go to the first floor of the farmhouse during mealtimes to ask the hostess for something to eat, the food is always the same – it's the landlord's family's dinner. So we decided to skip it this time.

We just randomly picked a restaurant to eat at. Tolbana isn't a big city like the starting town; you can walk from one end to the other in ten minutes, so there aren't many options. There are only a handful of restaurants in the area.

After ordering what they wanted to eat, they quickly finished their fairly substantial dinner. The three of them spent less than 100 kronor in total, and in the end, one of the men treated them.

Then we headed to the blacksmith shop, because it closes late at night... This detail is very realistic; even NPCs need to sleep.

When they arrived, the blacksmith shop was still open, but there weren't many customers.

Dante and Silica didn't sell some of the materials they didn't use; these materials enhanced Asuna's rapier, "Wind Flower Sword," to +4.

To be precise, it should be "3A1D", which means accuracy +3 and durability +1. This will increase the chance of critical hits and weak point attacks, which is a very orthodox enhancement for a rapier that mainly uses thrusting attacks.

不像但丁的双手剑“屠熊者＋6”的强化内容是“4S2D”，也就是锐利度＋4，耐久度＋2的分配。

After spending two days in the maze, the sword's durability had dropped by more than half, so he gave the sword to the blacksmith to polish it and restore it to its previous perfect condition.

By the time they got back to their lodgings, it was already past eight o'clock in the evening.

The rooms were assigned as follows: Dante had one room, while Asuna and Silica shared one. As for the certain Miss Mouse, Dante estimated that she wouldn't come, since there were definitely other rooms available in Torbana.

He chatted with Silica in bed for a while, but the little girl was exhausted after a day of fighting and soon fell asleep.

Asuna lay on the other side of the bed for a long time without falling asleep. The bed was large enough that she could stretch out her arms and legs, but she didn't know if she was uncomfortable with someone next to her.

After all, in reality, she has never slept in the same bed with anyone else since she can remember.

I glanced at Silica-chan; she was already breathing steadily.

"..."

Quietly getting out of bed, Asuna decided to go out for a while and come back when she felt sleepy.

So as not to toss and turn in bed and disturb the sleeping girl.

The living room was dimly lit, and without turning on the lights, she quietly walked to the window and looked outside through the lattice-like wooden frame.

I thought I could only see the dark forest in the distance, so dark it seemed to suck everything in the world in, but to my surprise, I saw someone in the courtyard of a farmhouse downstairs who was still awake, just like me.

"That is......"

Chapter 40: Sword Dance Under the Moon

This farmhouse is a two-story building; the first floor is where the NPC farmer and his family live.

As soon as Asuna stepped down the stairs, the seemingly cheerful hostess flashed her a broad smile.

The first floor was also dark, with only a fireplace burning, which looked very warm, its flames flickering.

On the rocking chair near the fireplace, an exclamation mark immediately appeared above the head of the old woman who was swaying like a rower.

Asuna, who knew a little about the game, knew this was a hint to start the quest.

Although it's a bit of a concern, let's put it aside for now.

She opened the door on the first floor, slipped out, and then gently closed the door.

As Asuna approached the farmhouse courtyard, the moonlight, like a ribbon, gently spilled onto the soft grass, allowing her to see the courtyard clearly.

She thought Dante had already gone to sleep, but he was actually practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard.

Her steps were as light and agile as a dance, and the sword in her hand rose and fell like the tide, full of power and beauty.

It must be the swordsmanship she saw in the maze.

Although Asuna practices swordsmanship in private, it is fundamentally different from this.

The moonlight on the grass illuminated his sword, and the sword's edge danced gracefully in the moonlight. The beginning and end of each move always created a sword flower, which was very beautiful to watch. When he made a move, the blade would draw a series of gleaming semicircles in the air.

Both sharp and gorgeous.

Holding her breath, Asuna was afraid of disturbing the performance on stage, and didn't dare to move at all.

As if she had finished a phase of practice, she let out a small gasp of surprise when she saw Dante stop wielding his sword.

"Aren't you asleep yet?"

"!" Asuna, having been discovered, stepped out of the shadows, jumped over the fence, and walked to the center of the yard. "I'm not sleepy yet, and you're not asleep either, are you?"

"Me? It's too early to go to sleep now." Dante said, spinning the sword and sheathing the Bear Slayer.

That's the truth. His enhanced body only needs a little sleep to recover enough energy for a day's battle, let alone the fact that he doesn't need to sleep anymore.

“Silica-chan is already asleep,” Asuna joked.

“Silica is still a child,” Dante said, shrugging.

"What was that sword dance just now?" Asuna asked curiously.

“Ah, sword dance, that’s certainly an apt description.” Dante gestured to the railing to talk.

As the two walked to the fence and leaned against it, he suddenly asked, "Do you want to learn?"

"Huh? Can I learn it?" Asuna exclaimed in surprise. No, she really hadn't expected it.

"I can teach you swordsmanship that's more suitable for a rapier, but since I'm not very skilled myself, it might take a few more days." With his arms crossed and his weight on his left leg, Dante indicated that it was nothing.

Several thoughts flashed through her mind, and finally Asuna nodded slightly, "Then I'll leave it to you."

Because Dante had previously slain monsters using only his swordsmanship, she wondered if she could become even stronger if she learned the skill herself.

"it is good."

"that......"

"What's wrong?" Dante asked, glancing at Asuna's hesitant expression.

"Miss Argo is a closed beta tester, right?" Asuna heard Argo say that she knew information about the second floor, and such a player could only be a closed beta tester who had reached the second floor.

“Yes.” Dante did not deny Asuna’s guess. Players who knew Argo had all guessed this, but it had not been confirmed.

The only thing that has been confirmed so far is that much of the information comes from closed beta testers; otherwise, the strategy guide wouldn't have included the statement, "The content is information from the SAO closed beta test and may differ from the current version."

"Hey... what kind of people do you think the closed beta testers are?" Asuna murmured dejectedly, then looked up at the night sky.

Even though the top of the building should be the bottom of the second layer, Aincrad miraculously simulated the night sky and stars.

Even in the tranquil and peaceful night, she could not find peace.

"Recently, some players have started saying that they are selfish people who abandoned ordinary players, and that if they had chosen to stay in the starting town to help other players, so many people wouldn't have died. But there are also people like Argo who provide intelligence to all players, and there are also people who hide their identities, form their own teams in the starting town, and then adventure together."

Dante didn't state his own opinion, but instead used examples to help Asuna understand that the term "closed beta testers" was only a superficial one, encompassing all sorts of people.

"...Will the game completely change a person?"

"Perhaps." Dante could not give a precise answer to this question.

“Even if Silica-chan doesn’t say it, I know she cares about me and has been gently avoiding certain things.” Asuna had already noticed the girl’s cautiousness but pretended not to know it.

“…Hmm.” Dante indicated that he was aware of this as well.

After all, she and Mitt used to be together, but now she's all alone.

This is such a simple fact that all three of them knew and understood each other.

"They were always friends in real life, and they were still friends after they came here... At that time, she got a rare item dropped by a monster, and then she left the party."

It was at that moment that, if Dante hadn't arrived in time, she would have been killed by the ape-like monster.

"..."

"Uh..." Asuna let out a heart-wrenching sigh, as if blaming Dante for his silence.

“I told you I have nearly 100,000 Cors now,” Dante said, bringing up another matter.

"Ah."

"It's an Easter egg chest in the starting town, and only children can crawl through the entrance."

Asuna guessed something and exclaimed in realization, "This is your first meeting with Silica-chan."

Dante continued nodding, "Yes, there were clearly two hundred thousand Cors inside, but the child didn't choose to keep it all for herself. We split this huge sum of money equally. Silica must be a good child in real life too."

“I also heard from Silica that you gave Argo a sum of money to help her print the current strategy guide. Dante, you are a good person just like Miss Argo.”

With a wry smile, Dante nodded and said, "If I were truly a good person, I wouldn't have only taken Silica with me on the journey."

“No, there are very few things a person can do,” Asuna said, shaking her head.

“Yes, protecting those around us is already doing our best; one person's strength is ultimately limited,” Dante remarked. “So…”

So is it possible that...?

He stated the facts softly: "Perhaps Mitt is simply incompetent."

That's not enough to protect you.

Hearing Mito's name from someone else again caused Asuna's heart to ache sharply.

"She may not be as strong as you think. If she backs down when faced with difficulties, or runs away when faced with danger... she didn't abandon you, she just didn't protect you well."

"But items dropped..."

"If the dropped items are usable, that's fine, but what if they're unusable, like a specific weapon... I'm sorry."

After a few seconds, Asuna realized why he had said such a thing.

"!" Standing up straight, her mind suddenly became much clearer, as if a line had been drawn together. It was as if she had thought of something and immediately remembered it. Asuna's fingers unconsciously stroked the hilt of the Wind Flower Sword.

"You mean..."

"Well, sorry."

Dante confirmed Asuna's guess, then operated the game window in front of her, sent a message to someone, and received a reply within seconds.

After a brief two or three minutes of quiet waiting, what appeared before Dante and Asuna was a purple-haired girl whose face was now pale from running at full speed.

Her withered lips exhaled for a long time, as if trying to cleanse her lungs, and then she took a deep breath of cold air until there was no more room in her lungs.

“Mite…” Asuna murmured in disbelief, looking at the figure that appeared before her.

"Asuna!" Mito stared at the person he had been longing to see, his nose suddenly stung, and tears streamed down his face.

Since arriving in SAO, she hadn't had many happy moments. But when she heard from Dante that Asuna was still alive, she felt an unparalleled joy that she hadn't experienced in a long time.

But nothing compares to seeing you in person. At this moment, Mitsu felt incredibly fortunate.

She staggered forward a few steps until she could see Asuna's face clearly. Her legs could no longer support the overflowing guilt, and she knelt down, then tightly wrapped her arms around Asuna's legs.

"sorry."

Mitt then burst into tears.

Chapter 41: Asuna's Curiosity

Generally speaking, all the doors in Aincrad have soundproofing features, so no matter how loud the conversations inside are, they won't leak out.

But it's different outside.

Turning his head, Dante looked at Silica, who had opened the window, then waved to her, indicating that she shouldn't mind and should continue sleeping.

Sleepy-eyed Silica nodded to indicate that she understood, and then carefully closed the window. She already knew that Miss Asuna and Miss Mito would probably make up after tonight.

Sure enough, Brother Dante is always so reliable.

Meanwhile, Mito was constantly confessing to Asuna, his tears soaking through Asuna's dress.

Seeing Mito crying, Asuna had a better understanding of what had happened before. It was probably true, just as Dante had said. So she reached out and stroked Mito's head, silently comforting him.

Seeing the girl crying, Dante felt embarrassed to stay any longer and had originally planned to leave quietly.

But as soon as he turned around, Asuna grabbed him.

Because they were standing side by side, within arm's reach, she easily grabbed her sleeve.