A journey to another world starting from a sword

"Don't worry, I'll only tell them what I know." Argo didn't mention the commission at all, but looked at Asuna and Mito behind Dante. "If they say things that are just wild guesses or haven't been verified, it will ruin my reputation as an information broker."

For example, she knew that when she and Dante first met in Horuka, she bought information about Horuka from her, and during the Horuka operation, she learned that there was a bear-type boss in the northern cave that was not present during the closed beta, and that a hunter in the village had a bear-killing agent that could counter the boss. In the end, it was Dante and his group who killed the boss.

As for the 5 Cor donation that players want confirmed, it is true. Since the matter of the Easter egg chest in the starting town is only a statement from the person involved and has not been confirmed by them, we will leave it aside for now.

The vicious attack by MPK, initiated by players, in the outlying village of Razel has been confirmed by two female players who wish to remain anonymous. Dante's companion escaped the predicament by jumping off the edge of Aincrad, causing a large number of monsters to fall into the void. He would have almost died if his weapon hadn't gotten stuck on a wooden beam.

Then they entered the labyrinth area and cleared it in just two days, reaching the boss room. Dante's team was the main contributor to the labyrinth map in the strategy guide.

Because it involves selling information about the players themselves, Argo charges a very high price—a full three thousand Cors—yet many players still readily accept it.

As a result, he made a huge profit of over 30,000 yuan from Ke'er.

The second thing was to find Kirito, as a famous player persistently hoped to buy his "Tough Sword" at a high price.

After refusing as usual, Kirito asked Argo for information about Dante.

"Three thousand Cors, thank you for your patronage." Argo extended his palm and chuckled, his heart overflowing with joy, deeply grateful to the person not far away.

Wow, this money is so easy to make!

Chapter 49: Pre-sleep Exercise to Help You Sleep

Once Argo had taken care of both matters, he mounted the donkey tied to the stable and prepared to leave.

Argo felt it was best to meet Dante in person about the matter, even though Dante probably didn't see it as a problem, and indeed he didn't. But Argo secretly felt he should bring it up in person, and maybe even tease him a little, haha...

In addition, it's not convenient to discuss the matter of commissioning the purchase of Kirito's sword in the news.

She chose to come directly over, and coincidentally, the two of them were together.

When she learned about this, she exclaimed how lucky she was.

Dante, looking at Argo riding his donkey, was somewhat speechless.

Although the various rideable animals in SAO are quite difficult to control, the donkey, which is neither fast nor expensive, is a good choice in the early stages of the game. However, when he saw Argo riding a donkey, he muttered to himself.

He's not handsome at all.

Animals will gradually obey commands through continuous practice of riding skills. Dante also thought about learning riding skills in the future, but he secretly resolved never to start practicing by riding a donkey.

He may not be able to learn it yet, simply because there are no extra skill slots available. His four skill slots are currently occupied by "Two-Handed Sword," "Target Acquisition," and "Weapon Defense."

He might learn skills like "sneak vision", "recovery during combat", "stealth", "flying sword", "sprint", and even "one-handed sword" later on.

His swordsmanship includes many one-handed moves. Although he prefers to wield a sword with both hands, having more styles gives him more options on the battlefield.

If someone learns magic in the future, it's not impossible for them to be casting spells with one hand and wielding a sword with the other.

In fact, if he were to obtain a powerful one-handed sword soon, he wouldn't mind using it. Moreover, both "Holy Sword" and "Dual Swords" are advanced skills derived from "One-Handed Sword". Learning "One-Handed Sword" is preparation for that time.

"I'm leaving." Argo then tossed his golden-brown curly hair, pulled up his hood, and hid his face again.

"Okay, see you on the second floor," Dante said, waving.

"See you on the second floor!" Argo raised her head, her small mouth appearing to be smiling, and then she flicked the reins.

The donkey began to accelerate, and at a not-so-slow speed, it galloped towards Tolbana.

"Then I'll take my leave now. See you tomorrow."

Soon, Kirito was also planning to leave; it was around nine o'clock and he was already getting ready to go to sleep.

Tomorrow their assembly time is 10 o'clock. They will first assemble at the Torbana fountain square before heading towards the maze area.

"Okay, see you tomorrow." In the end, only Dante responded.

Asuna and Mito both nodded politely, while Silica hid behind Asuna. During practice, she had been looking for Mito and only had the most basic conversations with Kirito.

This level of vigilance made Kirito, who has a younger sister in real life, a little sad, but he didn't care too much. After all, they had only met a few times before, just brushed past each other in Horuka, and had only known each other for a few hours.

The dark-haired boy then followed the path Argo had taken, his figure disappearing into the darkness of the night.

-----------------

"Tomorrow is the Boss battle, should we practice again tonight?"

After everyone had gone to sleep, Asuna quietly went downstairs alone and appeared in front of the farmhouse courtyard.

She would come down almost every night and quietly watch Dante's sword dance from a corner.

She needed to rest early today, but when she actually lay down, she still couldn't fall asleep, so she decided to go for a walk and get some fresh air.

"The boss battle isn't a big deal." Dante lowered his sword and turned to look in Asuna's direction.

"You're saying this as if the exam wasn't difficult at all." Asuna retorted, then couldn't help but laugh at herself. Using reality as a metaphor was indeed strange.

Before each exam, she would study very hard because she needed to be among the top students in her grade, and she was always worried about falling behind.

Feelings similar to those at that time left her somewhat wistful.

"I've already mastered the swordsmanship of the rapier. I'll teach you when we reach the second level." Dante stroked the hilt of the sword with his index finger, bringing up their previous agreement.

"Okay." Asuna tilted her head and smiled. "I'm really looking forward to seeing what kind of swordsmanship it is."

"..."

"..."

The two gazed at each other in silence. Dante took the first step and walked towards Asuna, just as Asuna thought that the day's training was over.

To everyone's surprise, he suddenly said, "Want to spar with me?"

"Do you mean we should duel with swords?" Asuna asked hesitantly and uncertainly.

"Are you still worried about tomorrow?" Dante asked.

"A little bit." Asuna admitted the fear deep in her heart.

After all, tomorrow is the Boss battle. What would happen if they failed? Although I know the chances are slim, there's still a lingering worry.

"Asuna, you are actually very strong, much stronger than you think. I'm here to prove it to you."

With a clear and deep voice, Dante's words were stating facts rather than offering comfort.

"But you can't fight within the circle, right?"

When I was practicing, my attacks were blocked by the purple floating frame.

There was no answer; Dante used his right hand to summon the window and manipulated it rapidly.

Then, a semi-transparent system message immediately appeared in Asuna's vision, the contents of which she could almost guess.

Dante challenges you to a 1-on-1 duel.

Are you willing to accept this?

Below the silently glowing text are Yes/No and several other options.

Although Dante couldn't see the message in front of Asuna, he figured she should understand what was going on.

"Is it enough to just click 'accept'?" Asuna asked, raising her finger.

"Yes, but you should select the first-strike victory mode. The rule of this mode is that the first to hit the opponent with a powerful attack, or the first to reduce the opponent's HP to less than half, wins."

Dante replied softly, and Asuna responded in a similarly subtle but firm tone, "I understand."

Immediately, a window popped up in front of Dante saying, "Asuna has accepted your challenge for a 1v1 duel," and a 60-second countdown began below.

The moment the number reaches zero, the HP protection for both him and Asuna within the circle will disappear.

The two then stood in the center of the courtyard, gazing into each other's eyes, which reflected each other's figures.

Asuna then gently drew her beloved sword, "Wind Flower Sword," from her waist with a simple movement, without making a sound, and then assumed a fighting stance.

Dante immediately recognized it as the starting stance of "Linear Attack," the simplest yet deadliest attack move the girl had demonstrated countless times before his eyes.

If Asuna were to hit his weak point with a linear attack, he would be defeated instantly, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Having confirmed Asuna's intention, he drew "Bear Slayer" from his back again and casually assumed a mid-range stance.

As the countdown began, Dante's concentration grew so high that he could no longer hear the wind, the rustling of leaves, the turning of the waterwheel, or the rushing of the water.

Asuna, on the other side, felt as if a sharp, cold line was running through her entire body, and she almost trembled. She desperately suppressed the feeling.

Until the very end, she looked away from the countdown window, her whole body tense with nervousness. But when she took a deep breath, she seemed to enter the state of mind in an instant, and her mind calmed down.

Then the word "DUEL!" meaning duel appeared between the two of them, accompanied by a purple flash.

Almost simultaneously, Asuna slammed her foot into the ground and charged forward, the grass and dirt beneath her boots flying everywhere, the air she tore apart seeming to roar loudly.

Dante's body reacted only a fraction of a second later than hers.

Faced with the flash of light that was so close at hand, he held his breath and focused his attention, managing to spot the trace of that shooting star.

The target was his abdomen, a much harder position to block than his upper body.

Having already guessed his opponent's swordsmanship, Dante chose to lower his center of gravity and roll close to the ground.

Since it's difficult to defend against, then let's not defend against it.

"Huh?" Asuna's rapier suddenly lost its target and then stopped in mid-air after releasing the impact of her sword technique.

Dante dodged to the left, quickly stood up, twirled his longsword with one hand, and rapidly approached Asuna.

"Ah!"

Without any unnecessary movements, he did not choose to unleash a sword technique, but instead swiftly thrust his sword towards Asuna's right hand.

A flicker of panic flashed in Asuna's eyes, but she quickly made a judgment and drew her sword nimbly and swiftly.

The rapier's attack range when thrusting is definitely longer than that of a two-handed sword when swung, meaning Asuna's rapier will hit him first, aiming for his head.

Forced to do so, Dante opted to deflect Asuna's thrust, but the light strike during the change of tactics did not cause Asuna to lose her balance.

Then Asuna took a light step towards him, her sword gleaming in her right hand, while her left hand reached out towards him.

As she leaped into the air, her cloak and skirt billowed, obscuring the sword's trajectory.

Immediately, she thrust out a cautious and brief attack with the sharp blade in her hand.

Dante quickly jumped aside, and the thrust didn't even touch him; the rapier also avoided his diagonal parry.

He instinctively launched an attack, his sword swirling, attempting to parry Asuna's weapon and create an opening for his attack.

However, the thrust of a rapier is inherently difficult to block.

Asuna dodged his sword and thrust it straight at his face again.

Barely managing to block it, Dante spun on his toes to avoid the oncoming sword strike, then leaped to the side.

On the moonlit grass, Asuna transformed into a black and white shadow, bringing with her the roar of the wind, and attacked once more.

She spun around and delivered a decisive blow from close range.

Dante followed her movements, attempting to dodge the sword.

But Asuna saw through his thoughts and moved closer, so close that he could feel her breath.

At the same time, the sword tip also pierced his chest.

Dante felt a sharp pain, and then everything was forgotten.

A rapier, at extremely close range, leaves no room to unleash sword techniques.

He turned around again in the opposite direction, and using the momentum of the rotation, swung his sword towards Asuna's waist.

Asuna leaped away, seemingly trying to create distance so she could launch an attack from a higher position.

However, Dante pounced and slashed open her wide-open thighs and abdomen with his sword.

After deflecting the sword blade aimed at his temple, he quickly feinted and then slashed at her leg again.

Kazi.

"what......"

Asuna let out a brief cry of pain and lost her balance, she saw an icon appear in the upper left corner of her vision; it was a symbol for missing body parts.

At the same time, a purple system message announcing the end of the duel could be seen flashing from the corner of the eye.

-----------------

"I'm sorry," Dante apologized to Asuna, who was perched on his back.

"So players' bodies can be severed after all." Asuna sighed softly, abandoning her composure as she stood up, and instead lay down, though her arms were still covering her chest.