A journey to another world starting from a sword

Diabel slammed his fist into his breastplate.

"My name is Diabel, and I consider myself a knight!"

knight......

Strangely, this statement elicited no response, and everyone's heads turned backward in unison.

The focus of everyone's attention is Dante.

because.

Dante stood out conspicuously at this moment, wearing medium-sized armor similar to knight's plate armor, with some chainmail components. In addition, he had full-metal shoulder armor, adorned with huge wolf heads, which was very intimidating.

Even though the white cloak covered some details of her armor, her casual sitting posture and broad shoulders meant that more of her body was exposed than Yasna's and the others.

Incidentally, the white cloak was Ashura's insistence; he actually wanted to wear a black one, but Ashura believed that the white cloak matched the equipment she had made better, and this opinion was supported by everyone except Dante after Dante tried it on.

This armor, named "Wilderness Silver Wolf," was made from rare materials obtained from the Wolf Boss. It is a type of leather armor, and because of the polished paint and the fur extending from the neck to the chest, it looks almost identical to knight's plate armor.

"Um..." Diabel smiled wryly, not expecting his words to be ignored.

There are no "jobs" in the SAO system, although some players may be called "blacksmith", "tailor", "cook" or something similar because they specialize in production or trading skills.

However, the title "knight" can only be used by oneself in Aincrad.

Diabel's chest, shoulders, arms, and ankles were all covered with bronze armor, and he also had a large straight sword hanging on his left waist and a kite-shaped shield on his back. This was indeed the so-called knight's equipment.

But who is more like a knight? Everyone present had their own opinion.

After all, anyone who sees this outfit will inevitably exclaim: "It's so cool!"

Chapter 43: A Discordant Interlude

"Everyone's watching you." Asuna, who hid her face under her hood, moved her lips slightly to avoid being noticed as she spoke.

"Well, who told you to wear this?" Mitt said without any fear, maintaining his chin-resting posture and waving his hand in a sarcastic remark.

"Are you trying to praise Miss Ashley's superb skills? I think she'd be very happy to know that," Dante said, turning his head and joking.

"Miss Ashura is truly amazing. If I were to obtain such rare materials, I hope she could design a suitable outfit for me," Asuna said softly with a smile.

"The clothes fit perfectly, and the person is just right"—that's how she would describe Miss Ashura's masterpiece.

Dante and Asuna chatted casually.

The players who had been looking at them all looked away, except for one person.

A small but muscular man with spiky brown hair resembling cacti was glaring at them menacingly.

“Um…” Young Silica felt a little uneasy under the fierce gaze of the adult man and quietly tugged at Dante’s hem.

"Who is that?" Even Asuna was puzzled, because they had never offended anyone.

“Never seen him before.” Mitt shook her head as well, mentally eliminating names from the list of players she had seen during the closed beta based on the other party’s weapons and equipment.

"I don't know." Dante decided to ignore it, even though he knew that the man was "Tooth King," a man who hated the closed beta testers and ended up becoming a dragon instead of a hero.

"Cough cough..." Diabel coughed loudly to ease the awkward atmosphere and refocus everyone's attention on himself.

"Diabelle, from now on you shouldn't call yourself a knight anymore, just call yourself a hero," his teammate teased from his seat, eliciting knowing smiles from those around him.

"I'll consider that. Alright! Let's get down to business. I'll keep it short and sweet. I think you all already know why I invited you top-tier players who are active on the front lines here."

Diabel began his speech again, the blue-haired knight quickly raising his right hand and pointing to the cylindrical tower standing in the distance of Torbana—the labyrinthine area of ​​the first level—as he continued his presentation.

"Our team has found the Boss's room on the top floor of that tower!"

"oh oh!"

This statement immediately caused a stir among the players present.

Of course, there were also some players who looked like they had "guessed it" because Argo had updated the strategy guide again. Just yesterday, this time it was a new version that revised and released all the information about the maze area.

If the boss can be successfully defeated, this version will be the final version.

Because no matter how the Boss's information changes, you only need to defeat him once, and the floor Boss will not revive after he dies.

“A month. It took us almost a month to get here. We’ve been stuck long enough. It’s time to move on.”

Diabel clenched his fist in anguish and waved it toward the sky.

"Defeat the Demon King and advance to the second level. We must tell the other players waiting in the starting town that this death game will one day be completely solved!"

"This is also the obligation that the top players here should fulfill! Don't you all agree?"

Cheers erupted again, followed by applause, this time with others besides Diabel's companions joining in.

Because what he said was truly beyond reproach.

Players who have reached this point are more or less arrogant, and Diabel is cleverly guiding their hidden arrogance.

Dante, Asuna, Mito, and Silica all clapped in agreement. It's unclear what Asuna was thinking, but Dante certainly appreciated Diabel's words.

But then a discordant voice suddenly rang out.

"Just wait a minute!!!"

Chapter 44: The First Major Event

The cheers suddenly stopped, and the players looked in surprise toward the source of the sound, at a player sitting in the front row.

"What's wrong?" Silica asked hurriedly, her body trembling, and she shifted her buttocks slightly towards Dante.

Because the player who made the discordant sound was the same person who had been glaring at them for some reason just now.

That spiky-haired uncle.

"It's alright." Dante became wary, though he had no ill intentions, he still patted Silica's hand gently to comfort her.

Then the spiky-haired player who jumped out said in a hoarse voice that was completely opposite to Diabel's beautiful voice, "Before that, I can't play the friendship game with you guys until we make this clear."

Despite the sudden interruption, Diabel's expression remained almost unchanged.

Dante was unsure whether Diabel had already contacted the Fang King at this time; if not, Diabel should have been surprised by the Fang King's statement.

Thinking about this, he felt a little ashamed of sitting at the back and hiding behind the scenes, but he immediately threw this thought into the trash can, because according to Diabel's performance in the original work, he actually dealt with the matter of the Ya King and his gang targeting the closed beta players in a cold manner, and focused his target on a certain person.

Even Dante himself had to admit that shifting the focus was a good way to deal with the pressure from public opinion.

However, among the closed beta testers, excluding those who have already died, there are probably no more than a hundred truly selfish closed beta testers. Other closed beta testers like Ashurai can at most protect themselves; not everyone is a skilled player who can become a reliable fighting force.

Led by Ya Wang, some players who also had grievances spread the negative public opinion formed by the player group, and the resentment that should have been directed at certain closed beta testers, to all closed beta testers.

Can this kind of venting, this kind of unity forged by raising a common "enemy," really last? Dante had his doubts.

Diabel, facing the outburst of the Tooth King, waved and said with a smile.

"What are you talking about? Hmm... whatever it is, everyone is welcome to share their opinions. But if you're going to speak, you should at least state your name, right?"

It's as if she's subtly refuting your rudeness, but it could also just be acting, if the two already know each other.

"Hmph! My name is 'Tooth King'."

After snorting loudly through his nose, Ya Wang took a few steps forward and turned around when he reached the center of the venue.

He immediately surveyed all the players in the square with his small but sharp eyes, and then quickly shifted his gaze to the back row. To be precise, his sweeping gaze lingered on Dante and his group for an exceptionally long time.

It took Ya Wang a while to look at everyone before he said in a low, hoarse voice, "There should be five to ten guys here who need to apologize first."

“…” Mitt’s heart skipped a beat. She had a pretty good idea of ​​what the King of Fang wanted to say, and a sense of unease began to rise in her heart.

"Apologize? Apologize to whom?" Diabel, standing side by side with Ya Wang in the center of the venue, raised his hands with a cool gesture, as if trying to take control of the situation.

"Ha, is that even a question? Of course, it's about the two thousand players who have already died. Because those guys monopolized all the resources, that's why two thousand people died in just one month! Isn't that right!"

One-sided and extreme.

In his heart, Dante scoffed at the short-sighted remarks of the King of the Fangs. Now was the time to seek common ground while reserving differences. Compared to some closed beta players who stood by and did nothing, these people present were future comrades-in-arms who would soon participate in the Boss raid.

To stir up trouble at this time is truly...

"madness!"

"Ah..." Mite glanced sideways, and the forty-odd listeners who had been speaking in hushed tones instantly fell silent and looked back.

Everyone finally understood the meaning behind what the King of Fangs had said, but they were also surprised by the words of the "knight" behind him.

In the somber atmosphere, only the evening background music played by the NPC band could be heard quietly flowing through the venue.

No one intended to speak.

Or perhaps no one wants to get involved in the trouble.

"What did you say?!" Ya Wang's eyes immediately locked onto his target.

"If you envy my outfit, I know one of the best tailors in Aincrad. If you have any rare materials, I can talk to him and have one made for you too." Dante shrugged without a hint of fear.

Under the watchful eye of the King of Fangs, Silica, who was trembling with fear, mustered her courage, took a deep breath, and sat up straight. She couldn't let Dante down.

"What do I have to envy?!" King Fang spat, glaring fiercely at Dante. "You jumped out so eagerly, could it be...?"

"Mr. Ya Wang! Are the 'those guys' you're talking about... the closed beta testers?"

Interrupting the King of Fangs's next accusation, Diabel, with his arms crossed over his chest, confirmed this with the most serious expression he had ever seen.

"Is there even a question?!"

Ya Wangqiang shook the scales of his leather armor, which were sewn with thick metal plates, glanced at the knights behind him, and then looked back at the back row.

"Those beta testers rushed out of the starting town the very first day this damn game started. They just abandoned over nine thousand new players who were still clueless. Those guys monopolized the best training areas and the most profitable quests, only caring about getting stronger, and then pretending to be completely oblivious. There are probably some... cunning guys among them who are hiding their beta tester status and trying to join the boss raid. I simply can't be in the same squad as them and entrust my life to them unless I make these guys kneel down and give up all their money and items for this operation!"

Throughout his speech, his eyes never left Dante, as if he were accusing some outstanding individual.

"Heh, just say what you want to say." Dante responded with a series of cold laughs, then stood up and walked towards the hall below.

Asuna immediately stood up from her seat.

Mito glanced at Asuna, who was trying to keep up with someone, gritted his teeth, and regretted his cowardice. So he stood up and followed her.

Seeing this, Silica also wanted to follow in her older brothers and sisters' footsteps.

"No need." Dante gestured for them not to follow, intending to enter the center of the hall alone.

I walked down the steps one by one.

He stood silently in front of Ya Wang, looking down at him due to the height difference.

"You know what I'm trying to say!" Ya Wang put one hand on his hip, pointed his index finger at Dante with the other, and angrily accused him, "You're the closed beta player, aren't you?"

“No, I am not.” Dante denied, proudly raising his head.

"Are you still going to deny it now?!" Taking a step forward, Ya Wang poked Dante hard in the chest. "If it wasn't you, why did you step forward?"

Completely ignoring the King of Teeth's actions, Dante turned around and faced everyone in the hall.

"It is precisely because I am not that I must stand up."

He opened his palm, then clenched it tightly.

"Listen to me! Everyone here! Whether you are a former closed beta tester or a new player, whether you are alone or traveling with companions."

Dante surveyed the silent majority present.

"Now! At this moment! We are sitting together in this hall, all for a common goal, a great yet thorny goal. Aren't we all afraid of death?"

He asked everyone the same question, and everyone had the same answer in their hearts.

"Fear is a biological instinct, but we mustered the courage to stand up, which puts us ahead of most players in Aincrad. Perhaps there are comrades anxiously trying to catch up in the rear, but we don't have time to wait for them now, just as Diabel said."

He paused here, then looked at Diabel, and the two nodded to each other.

"We've stagnated long enough; it's time to take the first step and move forward!"

The clear voice made everyone nod in agreement.

"When we stepped onto the battlefield, everyone here had only one identity: comrades-in-arms, back to back. Compared to those who hide in the shadows and watch coldly, right now! At this moment! We who are bathed in the sunlight are the ones who should trust each other, aren't we?"

Dante's words resonated strongly with everyone.

Yes, compared to those who have the ability to participate but choose not to, they are the ones who can truly rely on each other.

As for Ya Wang's attempt to sow discord among them, it seemed rather obstructive.

Then Dante turned around and looked directly at the King of Fangs. Just now, the King of Fangs had been holding his head high like a fighting rooster, but now he lowered it slightly.