A journey to another world starting from a sword

So let's put it off until tomorrow night.

The next day, everyone got up early and sat together at the dining table, eating fresh bread that the extremely virtuous Asuna had bought from a nearby bakery.

The food in Aincrad is based on reality, but its shelf life is much shorter.

The moment it's made, the food's durability starts to drop, and when it reaches its lowest point, it spoils and disappears in pieces.

The only good thing is that even if the durability decreases, the taste will not change; food only exists in two states: normal edibility and spoilage/disappearance.

Bread from bakeries can generally only be stored for less than a day, with some varieties lasting a little longer. However, dark bread, as the best among all types of bread, has the longest shelf life, so there's no need to worry about it running out of time.

Therefore, it is the food that players have no choice but to carry most often.

By the way, the cream obtained from the first layer is a limited-use item, not a food item with a spoilage period.

After finishing their meal, they marched fully armed to their next stronghold, "Marome," located southeast of "Urubas."

They didn't cancel the room they stayed in last night; they had paid for three days upfront.

They need to return to Urbus to replenish their medicine and rations, as well as maintain their equipment.

Although "Marome" is only three kilometers away from "Urubas" in the main street, and there is a prop shop inside, the variety of goods is not very large, and there is no NPC blacksmith to maintain weapons.

Therefore, they had to use Urubas as their base of operations before establishing a permanent presence in the labyrinth area.

Led by Mitt, they soon arrived at the small village of Marome.

Admittedly, they were not the first players to arrive at this village; some players must have arrived yesterday afternoon.

However, they were indeed the first player team to arrive in this village.

Further ahead in the basin is the location of Boss Bull Bau.

They were standing atop a small, round, table-shaped mountain range, which offered a perfect view of the basin where the Boss resided.

The bull-shaped boss's massive body, comparable to a small mountain, was fully visible, but simply looking at it wouldn't gather any information.

"Shall we go down?" Asuna had now put the hood of her wool cloak behind her back, so her amber eyes shone brightly in the morning sunlight.

A clear smile appeared on her beautiful face after the hood was removed.

Dante also smiled and said, "Yes! Let's go test the Boss's strength first."

Chapter 58: The greater the risk, the higher the reward.

The enormous roar of "Moo-ru-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo!" could be felt vibrating in the air even from a distance.

Dante glanced at the nearby stones that could serve as markers and noted down the range of the Boss's warning circle.

Bahoo, the headed bull, charged from the depths of the basin, spewing white steam from its nose. Its massive limbs stomped the ground, creating a rhythmic earthquake.

"You all step back," he said to the people behind him without turning his head.

"Okay." Asuna quickly pulled Silica aside, while Mito, without needing to say anything, simply ran in another direction.

Unlike other bulls, the world's first bull, Bauer, had four horns on his head.

"It must hurt a lot if it hits me," Dante thought.

Then, at a suitable distance, he quickly dodged to the side. Boss roared past like a tram, taking away the surrounding air with him, causing Midnight Coat to tumble violently.

"Hmph!" Dante slammed his right foot into the ground and charged toward the Boss's rear, the "Bear Slayer" sword flashing with the light of his sword technique.

A single vertical sword technique called "Explosion".

When the blade cut into the giant bull's body, there was no unexpected pause; instead, it slid down very smoothly, as if cutting butter.

Because the bull looked all muscular, he thought the sword would get stuck in the middle, but now it seems the bull's muscle density isn't that high.

...No, it could also be because the sword in my hand is sharp enough.

The Bulls' star player, Bau, immediately reacted, turning his body 180 degrees and repositioning his four-horned head towards himself.

Dante stepped back a few paces with his left foot, taking the opportunity to observe the Boss's HP bar. This wild area Boss only had one HP bar, much less than the four HP bars of the floor Boss that looked so troublesome.

Now, after taking that sword strike, the Boss's HP bar has visibly dropped a little, probably by about one-twentieth.

In other words, if you unleash nineteen more sword techniques at it, the world's top Bull, Bau, will die here in bitterness.

Dante, having attracted hatred, was then subjected to a relentless attack from the giant bull—using its two pairs of horns, which resembled swords and spears.

Exhausted from parrying and dodging, he had no chance to unleash another sword technique, and even a simple swing of the sword was difficult for him.

Although the sword in his hand was also very long and large, it was still inferior to that of a wild beast.

He lightly jumped backward, creating more distance, which seemed to trigger a switch that changed the Boss's behavior pattern.

It made a thumping motion behind it, lowered its head, and flattened its horns, like a knight holding a lance.

It was yet another terrifying advance.

After briefly engaging it in combat, Dante seized an opportunity to dodge the charge and immediately turned back to retreat from the battlefield in the opposite direction.

"Well, did you see it clearly?" Standing on the platform he had just been on, Dante watched as the Bull Bau slowly walked deeper into the depths until the cursor above his head could no longer be seen.

"Hmm!" Asuna nodded, staring blankly at the giant bull's wiggling rear end. "I can see it very clearly."

"It appears that the attack pattern is unchanged from the closed beta," Mitt concluded.

“Yeah, that boss looks kind of silly.” Silica commented, placing her finger on her head.

But Mitt immediately warned him, "Don't underestimate it. The reality might be completely different when you actually face it."

Under Mitte's confirming gaze, Dante nodded in agreement, "It is indeed very oppressive."

He had just had the idea that he could take down this boss by himself if he spent some time on his own.

He only got a chance to attack after spending almost two minutes, and it would take him at least thirty minutes to defeat this boss.

He couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't make a single mistake during those thirty minutes of intense concentration.

If you make just one mistake and get hit, or collide with that diagonal object, you'll probably be in so much pain that you can't move.

The margin for error is too low. If something unexpected happens, Asuna and Mito alone won't be able to continue the campaign. They'll have to give up and retreat.

"However... we can win." Dante said calmly, one hand on his hip, which brought relaxed smiles to the faces of the three people in front of him.

“Just call Agil over here,” he said to Mitt. “We’ll take down this boss this morning.”

"Mm!" Mite nodded vigorously, then swiped his finger down to navigate to the game's main menu window.

The player was sending messages to Aegir because Aincrad had message notifications. As long as the player wasn't asleep or in places where messages couldn't be received, such as the dungeon area, the player could see the messages directly.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, Mitt received a reply from Agil.

When I invited him to team up to conquer the jungle boss, he expressed great interest.

After receiving the coordinates and general route from Mitt, Akiel said he would bring a reliable tank player with him.

The waiting time was rather boring, so Dante sat cross-legged on the edge of the mountaintop platform, looking down at the basin and pondering his next move.

Asuna knelt down on the spot and took out a chamois cloth and polishing oil from her inventory to carefully wipe her beloved sword.

After thinking for a few seconds, Silica ran to the side and behind Dante and sat down with her knees drawn up to her chest at close range.

After standing there for 10 minutes, Mitt carried his sickle and walked towards "Marome," saying he was going to pick up Agil and the others.

"Yo!"

Seventeen hours later, Dante saw the burly, bald, chocolate-colored giant again, and raised his hand in response.

"Yo."

“Although I wanted to say it’s been a long time, I realized we just met yesterday,” Agil said with a comical twitch of his eyebrows.

“Yes,” Dante said, spreading his hands. “Speaking of which, I haven’t added you as a friend yet.”

“We can add it now.” Agil opened his window and then sent a friend request to Dante.

Without hesitation, she pressed the accept button. Friends in Aincrad have many privileges, such as viewing location or having access to the other person's room.

It can be said to be proof of mutual trust.

"And this is Robbaka." Agil then introduced Robbaka, who was also a two-handed axe wielder, to Dante and the others.

This was a middle-aged man with short, dark green hair and a stylish fringe, who was probably older than Agil and did indeed look reliable, just as Agil had said.

Then they discussed how to defeat the boss at their feet, and Dante shared the information he had obtained from the reconnaissance battle.

"By the way, Dante, is it alright if you don't invite Diabel?" Agil casually asked, stroking his beard.

Don't get me wrong, he'd be happy to take down the Boss before the blue-haired hero, how exciting would that be?

"Aegir," Dante said, addressing her by name, pointing a finger. "SAO has become a death game, but it's still an MMO. We should be simple and enjoy the fun it brings. Otherwise..."

He stretched his arm toward the sky, his palms as if caressing the heavens.

"How are we going to get through these few years of customs clearance?"

"..." After two seconds, Agil burst out laughing, then immediately broke into a hearty laugh, "Hahaha, you're right."

After he finished laughing, he looked at Dante seriously and asked again, "You can win, right?"

Going it alone means they have no backup team. Although the rewards are high, the risks are also great if the operation fails.

"I can win (できる)." Dante stated.

"Alright!" Akiel clenched his fist. "Let's go all out!"

Once everything was ready, they formed a complete six-person team. Agil and Robaka walked in front, with Dante following behind them, while Asuna, Mito, and Silica brought up the rear of the line.

"Just a few more steps and the Boss will be out," Dante warned, glancing at the rock beside him.

“Hmm.” Agil and Robaka simultaneously reached behind their backs, gripping their massive two-handed axes in preparation.

He tentatively moved his feet, but after only a few steps, the earth shook violently again from ahead.

The enormous bull, with its four horns raised, charged out like a bull in a fight.

"Aaaaaah!!!" Agil let out a battle roar that got people's blood pumping as the giant bull approached.

This is not just a simple roar, but a derivative skill called "Intimidation".

It can increase a monster's hatred level, causing the monster to target you.

So after Dante and the others scattered to the sides, the giant bull still targeted Agil and Robbaka, and its charging direction remained unchanged.

Agil and Robaka raised their double-handed axes, which were imbued with the light of sword techniques. They simultaneously crouched down, preparing for a passionate clash with the giant bull.

"Ziqiang——!"

With a deafening roar, the giant bull's horns clashed with the axe blades of the two warriors.

If they didn't have enough strength, they would have been sent flying into the sky. However, the two of them were only pushed about a meter away before they managed to stop and push the bull's head back.

"attack!"

At Dante's command, Asuna, Mito, and Silica immediately charged forward, unleashing their sword techniques at the exposed side of the giant bull's belly.

With a hissing sound as it cut through the air, Dante twirled his sword, his swordsmanship following seamlessly with his swordsmanship.

Without needing to confirm in detail, it was clear that the Boss's HP bar was dropping rapidly, almost a third of its previous value.

"Puru moo ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh!"

Suddenly a loud roar rang out, and the world's leading bull, Bau, raised his front hooves high, then stomped the ground, forcing Dante and the others back.

"The next charge is coming!" Mitt shouted.

Upon hearing this, Robaka struck a pose to use "Intimidate" again. Agil's taunt skill was still on cooldown, so it was Robaka's turn to use it a second time.

Just as the giant bull was about to shift its charge target, the same battle cry rang out.

However, the giant bull did not change its target. In fact, intimidation has a certain probability of failure, and the giant bull set its sights on Dante, who had caused it the most damage.

"It's alright, I'll handle it." With the situation still under control, Dante confidently gripped his twin swords.

He stared at the bull-shaped boss up close, which was four meters tall, with its head lowered and its thick hind legs kicking the ground.

He steadied himself, twisted his body, and spun his sword half a circle. The greatsword, already gleaming with blue light, cut through the air, and the sword technique "Whirlwind" struck the Boss's right corner.

A tremendous force came from the sword, and my hand hurt a little, but it was within an acceptable range.

"Haha!"

As Dante deflected the bull's attack, he used the momentum to spin around and unleash his sword technique "Tornado," striking the bull's neck twice in succession.