A journey to another world starting from a sword

"In Razer Village on the edge of the first level, a player maliciously lured a wild boss and dozens of monsters into the village, planning to murder two female players with MPK. They should have had time to escape, but they stayed to protect the villagers. My companions and I stood up and fought alongside them. One of us almost sacrificed himself to distract the monsters. This armor was made from the boss's loot, and it is my honor."

To explain the origin of this armor, Dante spoke clearly and deliberately, in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Where does your hostility come from? Why is it directed at me?"

“No, it’s referring to us.” Asuna had somehow walked up to Dante’s side, with Mito and Silica behind her.

Ding thought to himself helplessly, though he knew he wasn't supposed to let them get down, but he was also somewhat touched.

“My name is Asuna. Mr. Fang, have you ever received this strategy guide? It can be obtained for free at Horuka and Medei’s item shop.” Asuna maintained basic courtesy and then took a book out of her pocket, which was the strategy guide made by Argo.

"So what if we got it?"

Upon hearing Asuna's clear, young female voice, Ya-o withdrew his blatant hostility. Asuna then took the strategy guide in her hand, showed it to those around her, and said this.

"According to Mr. Ya Wang, many newbies died because they didn't have the help of the original closed beta testers. But looking at the words written on the book cover, we have reason to believe that the people who provided this information to Agor were those closed beta testers."

The players stirred up a commotion. Fang Wang kept his mouth shut, and the knight Diabel behind him nodded as if to agree that what he said made sense.

"It records all the types of monsters on the first floor, their attack methods, and precautions. In addition, it also includes information about each town, available quests, and how to complete them. Everything is written down in great detail."

Asuna turned her gaze back to the players and spoke loudly in a soft and beautiful voice.

"So, it's not that there was no intelligence or no help; everyone received it. But many players still died, and I think the reason is precisely because they considered themselves veteran gamers and lacked the necessary composure when dealing with monsters."

Mito was somewhat moved when he heard what Asuna said.

"Without someone to guide them, newcomers will only be more cautious, and that's exactly what's happening with everyone currently stuck in the starting town. If it weren't for my companions, I'd probably still be holed up in the starting town right now."

Asuna's voice was low at first, but then immediately rose again.

"I don't think now is the time to assign blame. This meeting is about deciding whether we ourselves will end up like those players who died. The most important thing to do now is for us to discuss how to get through this as teammates."

Asuna, showing no stage fright, was extremely upright in her attitude towards the players present, and her statements were also very reasonable, so Ya Wang could not find any flaws to refute her.

The applause rang out across the venue, going from sparse to enthusiastic.

Of course, this is also largely due to Asuna being a determined girl. If a seemingly timid male player had tried to make the same claim, then Ya-o would definitely have pressed him further. But now he could only turn his head away indignantly.

Diabel, who had been standing silently behind the group, shook his long hair, which was turning purple from the sunset, and nodded again before stepping forward and speaking.

“Mr. Ya Wang, I understand what you’re saying. I also reached this level after experiencing several near-death experiences in a completely unfamiliar training area.”

He looked at Asuna and then smiled.

"But as Miss Asuna said, shouldn't we be looking forward now? Even the closed beta testers... no, I should say the closed beta testers are even more valuable to us in defeating the boss. If we exclude them and fail because of this, wouldn't it be pointless?"

His frank and straightforward debating attitude makes one feel that he truly deserves to call himself a knight, no, he should be called a hero.

Compared to a knight who hates evil, he is indeed more like a hero.

Dante and his companions, who were the first to stand up and call on the frontline players to seek common ground while reserving differences, were also remembered by everyone present.

Argo, who observed the meeting from atop the high walls, later wrote about it in a newspaper essay.

The first appearance of the "Knight" and "Hero" at the first-floor strategy meeting was included in the major events of Aincrad.

Chapter 45: Regrouping

After Dante, Asuna, and Diabel spoke in turn, more than a dozen people in the audience expressed their strong agreement, and the atmosphere that had been stirred up by the King of Fang to punish the closed beta testers had changed.

Everyone listened intently to what the host, Diabel, would say next.

"I'm sure everyone has their own thoughts, but right now I hope we can all work together to break through the first level. It's a pity that some people don't want to fight alongside the closed beta players, but it's okay for them to leave now. Because, as this person said, we should be comrades-in-arms back to back."

Diabel glanced at everyone present, then stared at the King of Fangs with a serious expression.

After enduring Diabel's gaze for a while, the King of Fangs finally let out a cold snort and said in a low voice:

"Okay... I'll listen to you for now. But I don't agree with your point of view."

“Mr. Fang Wang.” Asuna approached at that moment.

"What?" Ya Wang asked, his face tense, indicating that something else was wrong. "What if it's still..."

I was about to say that if I tried to defend the closed beta testers, he wouldn't listen.

But Asuna was talking about something else entirely. "Did you know that to publish this Argonauts strategy guide on a large scale, we need to pay a hefty fee to the NPCs responsible for copying it?"

"Really? So what?" Ya Wang didn't understand and thought Asuna was speaking up for Argo, the information broker.

"When the information broker Argo wanted to publish a strategy guide to help all players, but he didn't have enough Cor, my companion Dante gave him 50,000 Cor."

She reached out her hand to Dante and addressed the King of the Devil.

There's a certain embellishment to this. For example, even without Dante, Argo could have saved enough money to publish a strategy guide, and that money came from other frontline players. However, if you asked Argo herself, she would agree with Asuna, because the money was indeed given very promptly back then.

This would facilitate her subsequent actions, such as printing out the initial version of the strategy guide and selling it to frontline players first, thereby making a quick profit.

"fifty thousand?!"

The enormous number prompted one of the players present to exclaim in surprise.

"real or fake?"

"There is still such a thing."

"I really didn't expect that."

In fact, almost all the attendees were whispering to each other, making the entire venue buzz.

Although they all had around 20,000 to 30,000 Cor, and some even had 40,000 to 50,000, it's important to know that the Argonauts' Guide was published a long time ago.

Fifty thousand Cors means that in the early stages of the game, they generously donated all their savings to "Rat" Argo.

Yes, they.

The players didn't believe that this money could be easily taken out by one person; it must have been all the funds that their team had accumulated at that time.

What a noble act!

In Aincrad, Cor is equivalent to a portion of power; by purchasing equipment and materials to enhance it, players can become stronger.

Donating all the money he had meant risking his own life to help Argo publish a strategy guide and help all the players of Aincrad.

Thinking about it this way, many things can be explained. If the knight and his followers were able to establish contact with the "rat" before the strategy guide was even published, then it's not without reason that they were able to get ahead of other players.

"What did you say?" Ya Wang's mouth fell open; he had never expected Asuna to bring this up.

"Hmm." Diabel smiled and nodded, then introduced to everyone, "This is Dante. My team and his team discovered the Boss's room together. He and his companions are very strong and are players whose strength can be trusted."

Then he walked over to Ya Wang and said earnestly, "Mr. Ya Wang, Dante is not the kind of selfish player. He and I both share the desire to liberate everyone in Aincrad. I can feel your concern for new players, so you shouldn't be so hostile towards him. On the contrary, you should become close comrades-in-arms."

Stepping between the two, Diabel said, "I don't want you two powerful players who both care about everyone to harbor resentment towards each other. That would be detrimental to our upcoming strategy battle. Come on, as proof of reconciliation, let's shake hands."

"..." Ya Wang stood silently in place, awkwardly turning his face to the side. He had obviously heard what Ya Wang said, but he couldn't let go of his pride.

"Be more understanding." In this stalemate, Asuna quietly patted Dante on the back, encouraging him.

Are you Mom?

The overly maternal advice made Dante hesitate, but he still stepped forward and extended his hand first.

Seeing this, Ya Wang could no longer pretend to be blind and deaf. He grasped Dante's hand and scoffed, "Although I don't like you, you're a decent fellow."

"..." Dante pretended not to hear, and then smiled very politely.

After speaking, Ya Wang turned around, his scales swaying as he returned to his original seat.

Dante extended his palm as if to indicate that he had said no more, and led Asuna and the others back to their original positions.

"I'm really immature," Dante muttered to himself as he looked up at the azure sky after returning to his seat.

"What are you talking about?" Asuna, who was sitting next to him, asked in a light tone.

"Asuna, thank you so much." Dante thanked her sincerely, but this was the only thing he wanted to say. "Otherwise, I would have been locked in a standoff with the King of Fang forever."

When someone has to play the bad cop, someone else has to play the good cop, and Asuna's actions truly softened the tense situation.

"Hmm, you're welcome." Asuna chuckled softly, casually crossing her legs. "Besides, I think Dante did the right thing. If Mr. Fang had continued talking, this strategy meeting would probably have become very strange."

If the first strategy meeting ends in a hasty conclusion, it would undoubtedly be a loss of hope.

The fact that things are proceeding smoothly now is thanks to everyone working towards a common goal; these achievements are the result of those who bravely stepped forward.

Just as the organizer Diabel was trying to maintain the situation, Dante came in to interrupt the King of Fangs's divisive remarks, and Asuna was guiding the topic of conversation.

“I also think Dante is very handsome,” Silica, sitting on the other side, poked her head out and said enthusiastically.

"Yes, yes, I understand," Dante said, spreading his hands, then gestured to listen to what Diabel had to say next.

"Although I'd like to start the actual strategy meeting right away, we still need to form teams first. Please team up with your teammates or people nearby."

Less than a minute after Diabel gave the order, the others quickly formed seven squads.

Diabel originally had a six-person team, but unexpectedly, after what just happened, the King of Fang was able to find five companions in an instant. It seems that there are all kinds of people in the world.

Among the King of Teeth's team, Dante remembers one person: Johnny Black, a member of the future crime guild, Laughing Coffin.

Keep an eye on it from now on.

Dante made a decision in his heart, and then he noticed that the three people next to him were staring at him, as if they were interrogating him.

"Hmm... how about we team up?" he asked tentatively.

"Otherwise what?" Asuna asked, her eyes narrowing, as if to say something.

Who else would you like to team up with?

Chapter 46: The Kind-Hearted Knight

“I think it would be best if you initiated the team invitation,” Mitt suggested.

“Mmm.” Silica wholeheartedly agreed with Mitt’s statement, and more importantly, she was now in Dante’s team.

In her field of vision, Dante's HP was right below her own HP bar, and the order of the names would be scrambled if she regrouped, which was something she was slightly bothered by.

“Okay.” Dante ran his finger through the air, found the option to invite nearby players to team up in the game menu, and then casually sent invitations to the two closest to him.

"..." Asuna saw the window that had appeared once before, and countless thoughts surged through her mind in an instant, but she immediately put them all aside and pressed the accept button.

At that moment, in the upper left corner of her vision, the HP bars of two other players immediately appeared, and then a third person appeared. She knew that the third person was Mitt.

“Dante…” If you look closely, you can see the player’s name in the upper left corner of the HP bar. Asuna read out the name next to her own HP bar.

The second person is Dante.

The third one in the list is Silica, and the one at the very bottom is Mit.

Ok.

When I teamed up with Mitt, I was filled with anxiety, but now it's completely different; I feel at ease.

This change caused her beautiful lips to curve slightly upward beneath the hood.

Dante also heard Asuna's faint "hehe" sound. Was she so happy to regroup?

"Has everyone formed teams yet?" Diabel shouted in the center of the square to confirm.

This made a player sitting alone in the back corner shudder. He looked around and saw that everyone else had quickly formed a team, and then he realized that he was the lone one!

It's like in PE class, the teacher lets you form teams freely, and some people end up being completely unwanted.

But it's precisely because it's all alone in the corner that it stands out so much.

The next second, the boy saw the "knight" from before waving at him.

The lone, black-haired boy pointed to himself, indicating whether they were calling him.

Even the "Knight's" companions looked at him curiously. The boy gave a troubled wry smile, but still... ran over quickly.

"Besides you, who else is there? You're the only one who hasn't formed a team yet, right?" Dante said with a smile as he approached.

A SAO squad consists of six people. There are forty-six players present, so forming seven squads would leave four people unused.

To make the numbers more balanced, it would be better to form six six-person teams plus two five-person teams, like we are now.

"Sorry to bother you. My name is Kirito." Kirito lowered his head and scratched the back of his head.

“…” Mito’s ears, which were hidden under her hood, suddenly perked up. Kirito… she remembered that name.

After Dante invited the other person to join his party, she checked the name again on the fifth HP bar.

Kirito! He's... a closed beta tester!