A journey to another world starting from a sword

"Is it about the Boss or the labyrinth area?" Dante took the mug Diabel handed him, clinked glasses with him, and then downed the rich wheat drink in one gulp.

“Yes, everyone does,” Diabel said with a wry smile. “If it weren’t for you, everyone would have started arguing about it long ago.”

"What are you talking about?" Dante beckoned to the female NPC waitress and handed her the empty mug.

"Some people think you're in such a hurry to take down the boss because you want the LA reward."

After Diabel finished speaking with a wry smile, Dante also chuckled, deciding not to delve deeper into the topic, but instead to roll up the map archive.

"By the way, which floor have you and your team members reached?"

"We've only just reached the fifth floor," Diabel said, pounding his breastplate.

"Wow, that's pretty impressive." At this rate, Diabel will also be able to reach the Boss's room in three days.

"Hearing you say that feels a bit ironic," Diabel said with a smile and a shake of his head. "Anyway, thank you for the map."

"Hmm," Dante nodded.

"Has the boss changed at all compared to the walkthrough?" Diabel asked, voicing a question that was of great interest to him.

“You can’t tell from the outside.” Dante told Diabel about his idea of ​​conducting reconnaissance beforehand.

"Reconnaissance? It is indeed necessary. Tomorrow I will organize three or four squads to go to the Boss's room. Let's take a look together then."

“It’s you who’s going; I don’t plan to go.” Dante declined Diabel’s invitation. “But I’ll ask them if anyone wants to go.”

"Hmm. Is something urgent?" Even the most urgent matter can't be as important as the floor boss's situation.

"Yes, there are some, but please allow me to keep this a secret."

After all, it involves the origin of Argo's beard.

Chapter 65: Special Skills - Physical Combat

He walked out of one tavern and turned to walk into another.

The moment he entered, he saw a short man sitting at a table deep inside the tavern. From his exposed golden-brown curly hair and dark leather gear, he knew that he was the information broker Argo.

"Oh, I've been waiting for you for ages." Argonne's voice, with its seductive nasal tone at the end, and her feigned maturity, made Dante chuckle.

He remembered that Argo was of mixed race in real life, and her nickname was probably Karina. Judging from that, her golden-brown curly hair seemed to be all-natural.

Once Dante was seated opposite Argo, Argo waved to the NPCs in the shop and said, "Please bring me an ale."

After hearing the NPC's reply, Dante placed his hands together on the table, tapped the surface with his fingers, and teased, "Are you still a minor?"

He had just been drinking with Diabel because they were both of legal drinking age, while Argo, though she liked to call herself "older sister," didn't look like an adult at all.

"Aincrad beer is non-alcoholic!" Argo crossed his arms and said with a nonchalant expression, "Besides, it's on me, what more do you want?"

“I can’t refute that.”

"Hum~"

After the golden ale, brimming with creamy foam, was served by the tavern's NPC waiter, Argo raised his glass first, "Cheers!"

"...Cheers." Dante's feelings were slightly complicated, and he had a sense of déjà vu, as if he were in an izakaya (Japanese pub).

After a long day at get off work, office workers rush from one cocktail party to another.

Argo boldly picked up his glass and downed the rest of the beer in one gulp, shouting "Pfft!" Dante, on the other hand, drank about half of it with him.

"Hey, Sir Knight, why are you drinking so little?" After making a lighthearted joke and receiving a "mind your own business" reply, Argo took out a bag of metal currency from his inventory. "It's a total of 31,000 Cors. As agreed, I'll take 3,100."

“I’ve received it.” Dante replied, putting the money away, and then quickly placed the materialized scroll in front of Argo.

"Alright!" The information broker picked up the scroll and then made it disappear from his hand as if by magic. "There's still some time left. You're not in a hurry to go back, are you? Would you like another drink?"

“Even someone as busy as you can spare the time, so I’ll definitely keep you company.” Dante chuckled a few times, then snapped his fingers at the NPC waiter, “Could you please bring me the menu?”

"Okay, just a moment," the female NPC, whose waist wasn't particularly thin but who wasn't unattractive, replied politely.

She looked like a married woman from this village, but in the end, she was just a well-maintained village woman.

Dante had no doubt that if the NPC waiters in the shop were any prettier, the shop would be incredibly popular, instead of just him and Argo being there.

"That's because I value my personal relationship with you, Dante, more than doing business with you."

At that moment, Argo wore an innocent smile that almost moved Dante to shout out in emotion.

Brothers!

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

On his way back to the inn from the tavern, Dante bought some buns with unknown contents from a roadside vendor and took them back with him.

After the team members gathered in one room, he piled five or six of them on the round table.

When Dante bought it, he saw that the buns were a normal milky white color and the rising steam didn't have any strange smell. Judging from their appearance alone, they looked quite delicious.

"Eh—" Asuna looked at the buns on the table with a curious expression and asked in a low voice, "What kind of filling is in these?"

"The buns are called 'Taran Buns,' so I don't know what the filling is." Dante took off his gloves, washed his hands with water, and prepared to eat them with his hands.

"Maybe it's cow?" Silica guessed. After all, this floor is themed around cows, so if it's a meat bun, it should be made of beef.

"Does Mitsu know?" Asuna, having removed her leather gloves, first picked up the top bun.

“No.” Mite shook his head. “I didn’t eat it during the closed beta.”

"Meow!" Asuna froze, holding the meat bun in both hands. The large bun, about twelve centimeters in diameter, had already been bitten.

But... the filling wasn't meat!

The thick, creamy liquid that gushed from the opening smeared very vulgarly onto her face and neck.

Although Asuna looked like she was about to cry, she carefully moved her mouth and swallowed the first bite, then said in a soft voice:

"Inside is warm custard sauce, and then some kind of sweet and sour fruit."

"Oh! Are you alright, Miss Asuna?" Silica quickly took a handkerchief from her pouch and handed it to her.

Although the "dirty effect" in Aincrad will disappear on its own after a while even if left unattended, it can be immediately removed by wiping it with a cloth item.

"Thank you, Silica-chan." After a few seconds of wiping, the cream on Asuna's face was completely gone.

Seeing this, Dante silently pulled the Taran bun, which was still about three centimeters away from his mouth.

Driven by curiosity, he wanted to try the sweet bun, but after seeing the sticky white liquid on Asuna's face, he hesitated.

"What's wrong?" Mitt noticed Dante's hesitation and asked casually.

"No, I'm afraid it will taste strange." Upon closer inspection, sweet buns should be considered heretical, but Dante's desire to try something new was being gradually persuaded by himself.

"It still tastes pretty good. Of course, as a dessert, you know." Asuna said, amused and exasperated, seeing Dante's conflicted expression, like a picky eater struggling with their food. Then...

"Here, try it first. If it's not good, then forget it."

She broke off a piece of the bun in her hand, crossed the table, and handed it to Dante.

"...Hmm." Dante placed the bun on the table, glanced at the bun skin filled with milky white filling, resisted the urge to take it directly with his mouth, picked it up with his right hand, and then threw it into his mouth.

Well.

It's really strange to turn steamed buns into desserts or something.

"The second floor is clearly themed around cows, but there aren't any beef buns! That's so strange!" Dante couldn't help but slam his fist on the table and complained vehemently.

“Yes, indeed. Taran… Baozi is quite a misleading name.” After swallowing the baozi he was chewing, Mitt took another small bite.

"Dante, do you like meat buns?" Silica wanted to know.

"Hmm... I often eat this for breakfast, but I don't know how to make it." Dante took a sip of water to clear the sweet taste from his mouth.

“I sometimes think about buying one when I pass by a convenience store,” Mitt agreed.

"Steamed buns, steamed buns..." Asuna thought seriously for a moment, "How should I make steamed buns?"

Her family often eats Western-style breakfasts and has never bought breakfast from a convenience store.

"I can make dumplings, but the fillings for steamed buns and dumplings seem to be quite different," Dante said uncertainly.

"Dumplings... teach me sometime if you have the chance." Asuna looked away from the buns and smiled at Dante.

"Me! Me! I can make steamed buns! My grandma in the countryside taught me!" Silica stood up and raised her hand high.

"Hey—then teach me and Asuna next time too," Dante said, resting his chin on his hand, and Asuna smiled and agreed.

"it is good!"

"Well, there's one more thing I want to tell you..." Dante recounted his recent meeting with Diabel, including the reconnaissance mission.

"Dante, aren't you going?" Mitt asked in surprise when he heard that Dante himself didn't plan to go.

"I have other things to do. You can go if you want, but be careful," Dante said with a smile.

"What is it?" Asuna didn't think anything was more important than the strategy guide.

"Hmm... I got some information from Argo about the special skill 'physical combat'."

Before Dante could finish speaking, Mitt interrupted him, "Physical skills!"

Judging from her excited expression, she seemed to want to learn as well.

"Physical techniques?" Asuna asked.

"Well, as the name suggests, physical skills should be skills that involve attacking with bare hands without weapons. They should be quite effective when weapons are dropped or broken due to low durability," Dante explained, spreading his hands. "Moreover, this special skill does not take up a skill slot."

In fact, many skills in Aincrad do not occupy skill slots, except for some special skills, such as the skills "Hint" and "Tracking" derived from "Target Acquisition".

"Then why are you going alone? Let's go together!" Mite seemed very happy and immediately suggested.

“Mmm.” Silica nodded in agreement.

"Because learning this skill requires staying there for a long time, and the time spent is related to your strength, most of your attribute points have been added to agility, right?"

Even though Argo just told me about it, she said that no matter what the outcome, you can't hate her.

Incidentally, she also wanted to show him the way the next day, but Dante saw right through Argo's little scheme. He clearly wanted to see him make a fool of himself, so he decisively refused and only asked for a map.

"I see." Mitt nodded understandingly. "What if we miss the boss battle..."

“Yes.” That’s what Dante was thinking. “You guys go participate in the reconnaissance mission tomorrow, and then collect the enhancement materials we need for our equipment. I’ll join you after I’ve learned the body-building techniques.”

"I understand," Asuna nodded obediently.

"Listen to Mito's advice on things that require experience, and leave the negotiation to Asuna. Silica, be careful to avoid danger if you encounter it."

Before returning to their rooms to rest, Dante gave them his final instructions.

Half an hour later, Asuna came over, hoping to get some more guidance on her swordsmanship.

After correcting a few mistakes, the two said goodnight to each other and went back to their rooms to rest.

The next day, Dante got up early and headed toward "Urubas". The place where he learned martial arts was actually in the easternmost corner of the second floor.

It's a place that requires immense curiosity and patience to find on your own; otherwise, you'll have to rely on clues provided by NPCs, like Argo did.

But before Dante even left Taran, when he was still a few dozen steps from the entrance, he saw a special player.

The man's distinctiveness wasn't in his face, as it was covered by a helmet; the focus was on his body, where his semi-naked posture, with belts binding various parts of his body, was extremely conspicuous.

He doesn't have much muscle; if it weren't for his flat chest, one might even mistake him for a girl.

Moreover... Dante guessed that the equipment was the "powerful leather belt underwear" they had obtained in the labyrinth.

Standing still was a bit abrupt, which made the other person notice and stop walking.

The two stared at each other on the street. Most of the NPCs passing by didn't seem as surprised as the players and didn't turn around to look at this strange man.

"Kirito?" Dante's guess was not only related to his physique, but also to the resilient sword on his back.

And the pants and shoes on the lower body haven't changed much either.

"...You've mistaken me for someone else."

"No, it's you. Trying to lower your voice won't help."

"...Wow, the weather is so nice, where are you going?"

"Ah, let's change the subject."

Instead of standing in the middle of the street, the two reminisced on the roadside.