A journey to another world starting from a sword

"Over here!" Agil rushed right under the Boss's nose, attracting its attention.

Another round of focused fire ensued, and this time Robaka, whose Intimidate skill was still on cooldown, joined in, directly reducing the Boss's health to less than half, turning it a dangerous yellow.

After the third concentrated attack, the Boss's health had reached the red danger zone.

Just one more round of sword strikes, and this boss will be defeated.

Not every boss has a second phase. Dante never gave any chance for unexpected events to occur. He proceeded step by step steadily and never acted rashly.

Getting the LA reward depends on your own ability. Generally speaking, multi-hit attacks are more advantageous. This time, Mito, who is well prepared, also plans to use the scythe's double-hit sword technique.

Mitt was determined to get it; his competitive spirit was rising.

Sword skills are acquired sequentially, but there is always a time lag.

Asuna was planning to use the "Triangle Attack," a three-hit sword technique she had just learned, since the "Linear Attack" was a single thrusting attack and not advantageous in gaining LA.

Silica used a short sword technique called "Piercing Armor," a special sword technique that can reduce the enemy's defense.

On the one hand, everyone was eager to kill the Boss and avoid any unforeseen complications; on the other hand, they were also worried that their attacks might hit the enemy too early, thus missing out on LA.

These two completely opposite feelings eventually merged into a fatalistic attitude of "letting fate decide."

In the blink of an eye, Akiel's Bulls' HP bar plummeted to the bottom.

His hand, which had been gripping the axe handle tightly, relaxed in an instant.

The Boss's body suddenly stiffened, and then, like the kobold lord of yesterday, it turned into countless fragments and disappeared.

"I won, I won." Agil looked at the six thousand Cor and a large amount of experience points he had obtained and murmured in disbelief.

Robaka, standing next to him, patted his shoulder hard, "Ah—we won!"

"Won!!!"

"Hahaha......"

The two burly giants burst into hearty laughter, for they had won with remarkable ease.

As Dante approached with his sword, he said in perfect English, "Congratulations!"

He extended his fist, and Dante, looking at his fist, clenched it without thinking and bumped fists with his.

"I said so."

Chapter 59: Rare Equipment: Powerful Leather Belt

The hastily assembled team split into two groups again, with Agil and Robaka deciding to return to Urbus first.

Since Argo's strategy guide had not yet been released, they decided to use Urbus as a base in the surrounding area for the time being, as it would be safer.

Dante remembered that Argo had said yesterday that the first edition of the strategy guide would be completed today, and the strategy groups at the front should be able to buy it directly.

He brought it up, and Agil immediately said he would keep an eye on it, but the plan to hunt around Urbus today remained unchanged.

Caution is a good quality.

Dante and his companions decided to continue onward, all because of Mitt's suggestion.

If we are delayed for several hours in order to return to Urbas for item resupply and weapon maintenance, the training ground in the south may very well be taken over by someone else.

Especially for solo players!

It was clearly the four of them who went to great lengths to defeat the boss, so they should rightfully receive the "spoils of war"!

The "spoils of war" mentioned here refer to treasure chests found in the maze.

Just you wait until the afternoon when they come back; all the treasure chests on the first floor of the maze area will definitely have been opened.

Moreover, the town of Taran, the final destination, offers some resupply opportunities, so there's no need to return.

After hearing Mito's words, Asuna and Silica were unwilling to go back, so Dante complied with their wishes.

"By the way, what is this 'Bullet of the World'?" Asuna walked through the winding, narrow valley, rummaging through her inventory, looking at the new item that had appeared in her inventory.

She wasn't unaware that animal-type monsters in Aincrad could drop food items, but this was the first time she had ever seen food items dropped by a boss.

"Ah... things with names like 'meat of something' or 'egg of something' are all food items dropped by monsters. So this must be meat from that Bull of the Balls, Bau," Mito casually answered Asuna's question.

"Eh—" After hearing Mito's answer, Asuna raised her eyebrows and asked with a hint of curiosity, "I wonder if it tastes good."

"Want some?" Silica leaned closer to Asuna, peeking out her head. However, other players couldn't see the content of the player's window, so Asuna made sure to make the window visible.

The ingredients and tools she had obtained with Dante in the past had all been sold to the shop, but Silica was very curious about what the food made from them would taste like.

"Hmm, whether it tastes good or not... I really can't guarantee that, but it was dropped by the Boss, so it's probably not bad, right?" With a hint of worry on his face, Mitt's tone was uncertain as he speculated.

During the closed beta, some players thought that the meat dropped by the cow-shaped monsters on the second level was beef, just like in real life, so it should be easy to cook.

However, it was discovered that animal-type monsters are different from real animals. For example, the meat of the monster called "Trembling Bull" in the training ground near Urbas has a lot of tendons, which are impossible to bite through, making it an extremely cruel food.

"We can try grilling it later," Dante suggested, turning his head.

"How do you bake it?" Asuna asked immediately, intrigued by the suggestion.

"Stone slabs?" Dante replied uncertainly, continuing to look at the road ahead.

"Won't that be too wasteful?" Mite was very worried, concerned that it would be a waste for players like them who had never learned any cooking skills to make it.

What if! What if it turns into charcoal?

After hearing this, Asuna also began to hesitate.

"It's alright, it's alright. Rather than selling them and ending up in someone else's stomach, it's better for us to roast them into charcoal."

"Ah! Did you just say coke?!" Mitt pointed sharply and complained, even though that was what she thought too.

"Hmm... I'll be level twelve soon." Asuna suddenly spoke up in thought. Once a player reaches level twelve, they will have one more skill slot.

"Asuna..." Mito hesitated, wondering if she really wanted to learn a skill that had nothing to do with combat.

“Isn’t this good?” Dante smiled.

"Hey!" Mite shouted impatiently.

"Hahaha..." Dante laughed happily, looking ahead, when he suddenly realized, "Oh~, it's time to go out."

The four stopped at the exit, gazing at the scene before them for the first time—or rather, the second time for Mitt.

The rolling mountains were covered with vines, and the plains were covered with lush forests, as if we had suddenly arrived at a high plateau. The dense fog made visibility quite poor.

However, the silhouette of the second-level labyrinth tower standing in the distance of the jungle can still be clearly seen, as well as the huge bull-shaped relief on the surface of the tower.

"There's a final village about a kilometer to the southeast, and beyond that is the maze area." Now it was Mite's turn to lead the way. Relying on her experience from the closed beta, she led the team around to the left, making it a safer and faster way to reach their destination.

After accepting all of Taran's tasks, they arrived at the Maze Tower around noon.

Undoubtedly, they were the first players to enter the second level of the maze, but a small problem arose as soon as they entered.

"What is this?" Asuna stared wide-eyed at the monster not far away, her voice trembling.

"A minotaur?" Dante looked at Mitt and received a shrug in response.

"Its official name is Minotaur."

“Mino...what?” It’s normal that Silica, who has just started middle school, doesn’t understand the name.

"Is it a monster from Greek mythology?" Asuna did remember the story.

In Greek mythology, Poseidon, the god of the sea, gave the King Minotaur of Crete a giant white bull and asked him to sacrifice it to him. However, for some unknown reason, Minotaur sacrificed another bull instead.

Enraged, Poseidon cursed the king's wife Pasiphie, causing her to develop a fetish for animals. To cover up the stigma, Minos commissioned Daedalus to create a wooden cow for Pasiphie and hid her inside it.

Whether it was because the sculpture was too realistic or something else, the white bull took a liking to the cow and mated with her!

Pasiphie became pregnant and gave birth to a minotaur, which was later killed by the Greek hero Theseus to achieve his great feat.

From an outsider's perspective, the story sounds riddled with flaws.

According to the mythology, Minos had no reason to anger the gods for an unexpectedly acquired bull. Therefore, it is possible that the white bull was not a gift from Poseidon at all, but rather a result of his anger at being unable to take it by force.

Or perhaps, in order to enhance his royal power, Minos, confident in his position, rejected Poseidon, only to be betrayed by him.

Of course, it is also possible that other Greek gods were hidden behind it, just like the Trojan War, which was both a matter of passion and a conflict of faith.

“After all, the Minotaur is a frequent character in the game,” Mite remarked.

"Well," Dante agreed, noting that minotaurs did indeed frequently appear in various games.

“But!” Asuna glared at the two of them. “That guy wasn’t wearing any clothes! He only had a strip of cloth wrapped around his waist. It’s blatant sexual harassment.”

That's why Asuna is angry!

Indeed, compared to the kobolds and ugly elves that appear on the first level, the minotaurs wear far less clothing.

Dante also heard Asuna muttering to herself, "I really want to issue a sexual harassment prevention order and send her to the prison in the Black Iron Palace."

After all, without the bull's head, it would be an almost completely naked muscle man!

For Asuna, who grew up in a girls' school, this kind of dress was indeed hard to accept.

"Too innocent," Dante thought to himself.

Mit said nothing, which may be related to his childhood playing games, and he has a high tolerance for monsters in games.

Unbeknownst to him, Silica had somehow already hidden behind him, only peeking out her head. It seemed she couldn't accept this nearly naked orc either.

"Moo!" By chance, the Minotaur turned its head in their direction and discovered them.

Wielding two warhammers, it charged fiercely towards the four people.

Dante reacted the fastest, drawing the sword from his back with lightning speed.

Without thinking twice, he charged forward, slashing the likely surprised minotaur in the abdomen with his sword, then turned to dodge the counterattack.

The two-handed sword in his right hand was enveloped in green light before exploding on the minotaur's fully exposed chest.

Green light scattered, and monster blood splattered everywhere.

Dante crouched down in front of it, skillfully wielding his sharp greatsword, and struck the monster's neck with firmness, precision, and power.

He jumped back again, and instinctively, though it was unnecessary, he used his sword technique to swing his sword once more, aiming to sever its breastbone.

With a dying howl, the minotaur writhed a few times in agony before coming to a standstill. Its head, adorned with short horns and a metal nose ring, tilted back, and then its massive, slowly recoiling body came to a sudden stop in mid-air.

The smooth muscle shattered as it transformed into hard glass, and then blue light burst forth from the cracks—an explosion.

Everyone participated in the next few battles. Although Asuna hated it, she did not back down. Instead, she charged forward with a furious roar.

He vented all his anger on the culprit—the half-naked muscle cow!

She no longer uses only the "linear attack" sword technique to attack, but instead alternates between "parallel thrust", "triangle attack" and "linear attack".

But the sharp edge of the sword remained, and she was still that beautiful swordswoman.

“I remember there was a treasure chest here.” Mit stopped at a corner on the first floor of the maze.

"Is it around here?" Asuna asked, starting to search as well.

Standing there with his arms crossed, Dante looked left and right, and the next second Mitt shouted with relief.

"found it."

A little distance ahead on the right, there's a recess in the wall, and in that empty space, there's a treasure chest with a vintage pattern.

“There are no traps here,” Mitt said.

The remaining question was who would open it, and at that moment Dante looked at Silica.

"Silica should be lucky."

"Really?" Asuna looked at Silica in surprise.

"N-no, nothing at all," Silica said modestly, touching her ponytail shyly.

She sometimes feels that she is very lucky, for example, when she met Dante a month ago when she was at a loss in the square.

However, in reality, she always believed that good and bad fortune are interdependent, and every time she was lucky, she would remind herself to be vigilant.

These premonitions have almost always come true, and whenever this happens, she would think to herself, "See?"

She always thought winning the SAO game machine in the lottery was a lucky thing.

As a result, this bad thing happened as soon as we entered Aincrad, but then something good happened right away, didn't it?

"Then let's have Silica-chan." Asuna took a step back and said with a grin.