A journey to another world starting from a sword

"That's outrageous!" Silica angrily clenched her fist in front of her chest, and Asuna also looked furious.

“Yes,” Dante nodded, while he and Mitt remained expressionless.

"Moreover, the other party most likely has accomplices. By selling the stolen weapons, they can quickly obtain a large amount of Cor to upgrade their equipment and strength. As for their purpose, they may want to use this to squeeze into the front-line command group." Dante said, stroking his chin and turning his head to the side.

"Hmm—" After thinking for a moment, Mitt suddenly looked up. "Could it be that group?"

When the three of them looked at her together, Mito first looked at Asuna, "Asuna, do you remember the new player team?"

Since it was mainly Asuna who was talking to the others at the time, Mito couldn't remember much.

"Ah, the captain's name is Orlando, which should be taken from a paladin under Charlemagne of the Frankish Kingdom. There's also someone named Beowulf, whose name should be a hero from mythology near England." After being reminded, Asuna remembered.

“Yes, yes. Those are the guys,” Mitt replied quickly.

Asuna put her finger to her lips and continued, "The names of the other people seem to be those of heroes from various places. They've even decided on the name of their guild. I remember it's called 'Legendary Heroes'."

"What an ironic name," Dante said, crossing his arms and turning his head to the side.

“Hmm.” Mite nodded in agreement with Dante’s statement. “That makes sense. Nezha must be one of them.”

"Then Nezuha... which region's hero is he?" Asuna pondered earnestly. "Since Nezuha is one of them, his name should be in the same style, right?"

“Nezha…that’s Nezha.” Dante pronounced the Chinese words clearly. Seeing Asuna and the others staring at him as if they were looking at something strange, he shrugged. “That’s a Chinese mythological figure, just like Sun Wukong in Journey to the West. He’s a protagonist who symbolizes the spirit of rebellion and freedom.”

“Sun Wukong!” Silica knew Sun Wukong, but the Sun Wukong she knew was most likely different from the one Dante was talking about.

"You even know about this?" Asuna exclaimed, then she remembered something else. "No wonder they asked if it was shopping or skincare first."

“Hmph, then it seems that Mr. Nezha must be somewhat unwilling as well,” Dante said with amusement. “It’s amazing that you could sense something like that.”

“After all, I’ve always attended an all-girls school, so paying attention to details and reading people is a piece of cake for me,” Asuna said with a smile hidden deep inside her hood.

Indeed, Asuna was always surrounded and admired at school, a stark contrast to Mito, who always acted alone.

“But whether it was voluntary or forced, doing such a thing should be punished,” Dante said, pointing to his arm.

"Then what should we do? Go up and expose them?" Asuna nodded in agreement. "Without any evidence, they won't admit it, right?"

Even if they were forced, at the last moment, the other party would probably feel fortunate that they wouldn't give up and turn themselves in.

“Well, we’ll have to go check it out ourselves.” Dante glanced at the group and shrugged. “I’ve already called Diabel over; he should be here soon.”

“Mr. Diabel.” Asuna nodded again.

Quite some time had passed since Dante sent the message. After waiting a little while, Diabel walked over with a brown-haired player.

The brown-haired player seemed to be named Linde. When Linde entered the alley, he first glanced at Mitt, who was standing against the wall, but Mitt didn't look at them at all.

“I’m here,” Diabel said, extending his hand.

"Yes, you must have had a hard day of reconnaissance yesterday," Dante greeted.

"Thank you." Diabel smiled and thanked him first, then asked with a serious expression, "What was the meaning of your message? What could be the cause of such a heinous incident that might enrage the frontline players and lead to mass killings?"

After noticing Dante's gaze shift to Lind behind him, he added, "Don't worry, Lind is an important partner of mine."

These words made Lin De stand up straight with pride.

“Then I’ll speak.” Dante shrugged indifferently. He first asked a question, “Diabel, are you aware that a failed weapon upgrade can be ruined?”

“No, I have no idea.” Diabel’s pupils trembled slightly, and he shook his head. “Under normal circumstances, this shouldn’t happen. I remember the game guide on the official website only mentioned three possible situations, but none of them included weapon damage.”

He cleverly used the official website as an excuse to reveal what he knew.

"Well, after our observation, we found that the four powerful weapons that the blacksmith player over there had been enhancing in one morning all shattered into pieces on the anvil."

"What—" Diabel was so shocked he couldn't speak. "Normally, that shouldn't be the case..."

If this is true, then the blacksmith player did something malicious with the weapon that the player entrusted to him.

"Is this true?" Lind, standing behind Diabel, stepped forward excitedly and asked incredulously.

“What I’ve said so far is all true.” Dante didn’t look at him, but instead gazed at Diabel, who was deep in thought.

"What kind of method?" Diabel asked earnestly, looking up.

"It's not clear yet, but we can try to find out." Dante pointed in the direction of the square. "Find someone to pretend to be a guest."

"Looks like I've arrived just in time." Suddenly, a lazy, slightly hoarse girl's voice came from the end of the alley.

“Argo, you’ve come.” Dante nodded to her.

"Rat..." Linde whispered, calling out the other person's nickname.

"Was Miss Argo also summoned?" Diabel asked without changing his expression.

“Yeah, this guy.” Argo walked over to Dante and nudged him in the waist with his elbow, a playful smile on his face.

Then she spread her hands and said, "Well, I'm here to give you some hints. The other party might be using a skill mod."

Mod is short for Modify, which means that when the proficiency of each skill reaches a certain value, there will be options to enhance it.

When Dante's "Two-Handed Swords" skill reaches level 50 midway through the first floor, three options appear: "Shorten sword skill cooldown time", "Increase critical hit rate", and "Increase sword skill power".

Without hesitation, he chose the critical hit rate mod, which could be used without sword skills.

As for the reduced cooldown time, it is indeed a good option for normal players, but he usually uses swordsmanship. Moreover, when fighting against top players, swordsmanship will expose more flaws, so he avoids using it if possible and uses single-hit attacks as much as possible.

There are also many useful mods for other skills. Choosing one from the many options is an annoying pleasure that SAO must experience.

“The opponent must have used ‘Quick Switch’,” Argo speculated. “It’s a mod that almost all one-handed weapons can choose early on, but actually no one would choose it in the early game.”

As she spoke, she put her hands behind her head and continued, "But as long as you learn the quick-switching mod, open the window, press the hotkey, and get used to the operation, you can switch weapons in just 0.5 seconds."

Mitt instantly had an expression of understanding. Although she hadn't learned this mod, she had heard of its usefulness when she was clearing out the fifth floor in the closed beta. It was very effective against certain monsters on that floor.

Furthermore, it can be pre-set, allowing you to select which hand will display which weapon when the icon is pressed, and various other detailed options, even... automatically selecting a similar weapon from the inventory.

Having roughly guessed the other party's fraudulent methods, the remaining question was who would go and test the waters.

A commander who constantly shows up everywhere might not be suitable, and a player like Mitt who uses an uncommon weapon—the scythe—is also not a good fit.

Diabel glanced discreetly at Lind behind him, whose expression was written all over his face, sighed inwardly, and then looked at Dante with expectant eyes.

"Well, my Bear Slayer has a slightly unique shape, so it's hard to find a substitute." Dante felt that he wasn't a good target. The fact that there was a skilled blacksmith in Urbas meant that Nezha was also good at choosing his victims.

The Resilient Sword in the backpack has not been enhanced yet, and since it's a basic weapon, Nezha certainly wouldn't steal it.

“Then I’ll do it.” Asuna suddenly stepped forward. Her Wind Flower Sword did indeed look very similar to the rapier in the shop, and the other party should be tempted.

"Are you sure? What if you're wrong? Your sword might really be destroyed," Dante asked worriedly.

"Someone has to do this, right?" Asuna glanced at him and then smiled.

Then Dante accompanied Asuna to stand before the blacksmith Nezuha. "Excuse me," he said, "we need to upgrade our weapons."

When Nezuha saw Asuna return, his already drooping eyebrows drooped even more dramatically.

It was an expression that seemed perplexing no matter how you looked at it, but of course he didn't refuse the commission.

Asuna then fluently stated her request: to upgrade the Wind Flower Sword from +4 to +5, with the Accuracy type, and to provide the upgrade materials herself.

After Nezuha took the Wind Flower Sword from Asuna's waist, he glanced at the weapon and his drooping eyebrows furrowed into a deep frown, but he still continued with his next move.

“Fingers,” Asuna muttered abruptly.

"What?" Dante looked sideways.

"Extend your left hand fingers," Asuna stated clearly again.

Upon hearing this, Dante slightly raised his left hand and extended his index finger, and Asuna then grasped his fingertip with two fingers of her right hand.

"Uneasy?" Dante asked with a thoughtful smile.

"Yes," Asuna readily admitted.

To be honest, I was a little worried that my weapon might actually be damaged as a result, but like she just said, someone has to do it.

She could imagine how painful it must have been for those deceived players to see their painstakingly crafted swords break. The blacksmith Nezha had also betrayed the efforts and dedication of the team members who had worked so hard to help collect enhancement materials.

That's why she volunteered to step forward when everyone else was struggling with the situation.

"here we go."

Hiding in a spot near the square where they wouldn't be easily spotted from the opposite side, Diabel, Mitt, and Argo stared intently at the blacksmith's hands.

After the materials were thrown in, and the small furnace burst forth with the blue light that is emitted during "Precision" enhancement, something seemed to change in Nezha's left hand.

“I saw it!” Mite said solemnly.

“Yes, it’s very clear,” Argo nodded in agreement.

"..." Diabel remained silent, his face darkening.

Although she had expected this to happen, Asuna still couldn't help but meet Dante's gaze the moment the slender blade shattered.

In that instant, as the last fragment disappeared, the blacksmith Nezha was the first to make a move.

He dropped the hammer in his hand, turned around and bowed several times to the two of them, and from beneath his toilet seat-like hair came a mournful cry that seemed to be forcibly suppressed from his pain.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I will refund the handling fee in full. I'm really sorry!"

“Ha, no need,” Dante said calmly, then waved to the distance.

When Diabel and his companions appeared before Nezha, he took a half-step back. Even a blacksmith like him, who rarely went to the battlefield, had heard of the deeds of a certain blue-haired hero, an object of envy for him and his self-proclaimed legendary heroes.

A look of despair appeared on his face. He struggled to open his trembling mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

"If a player is killed by a monster they could normally defeat because they switched to a substandard weapon, how will you atone for that life?" Dante didn't know if this had ever happened, but this was the worst-case scenario.

Nezha the blacksmith shrank his neck even further, his arms trembling as they were pressed against his body, before he managed to squeeze out the last words from his throat: "...I'm so sorry."

Hearing such a sorrowful apology, Dante could say nothing more.

So he pulled Asuna back a step and handed the trial over to Diabel.

"!" At this moment, Dante realized something and looked down to find that Asuna's right hand, which had been holding his fingers, had somehow become tightly gripping her left hand.

Her eyes, which seemed to be inlaid with two crystal-clear gems, were now covered with a thin layer of mist.

Just as Dante was about to offer some words of comfort that Asuna's sword wasn't broken, he suddenly realized that Asuna wasn't grieving because of her sword, but rather because she felt a deep sense of sorrow for the many players who had witnessed the loss of their beloved sword.

With her eyes slightly downturned and her long eyelashes trembling, she looked as heartbroken as a painting, a painting that evoked pity yet remained untouchable.

Chapter 70: Together

The ultimate punishment for Nezhar absolutely cannot be players killing players. Although it is not yet clear what kind of evil consequences his actions actually caused, if he is publicly executed, then in the future, if conflicts arise, such as arguments over LA, someone will definitely want to use violence to solve the problem.

Once the social atmosphere is corrupted, it is difficult to repair. As a beneficiary of the existing order, Dante also wanted to maintain this stability.

Then, the silence was broken by Diabel's clear voice.

"Did you exchange all the weapons you swindled for money?"

Nezha nodded without hesitation. "Yes, I exchanged them for cash."

"As expected," Diabel continued, "You have all the cash on you?"

"...No, I've spent it all."

Are you alone?

"......Um."

These few words made Dante's face turn cold, and the strength in Asuna's clenched hands indicated that she was in a state of resentment.

A quick estimate would tell you that the weapons Nezha stole in just a few days could easily generate a profit of tens or even hundreds of thousands of kol after being sold. It's impossible for a blacksmith to spend so much money out of thin air.

Diabel, a closed beta tester, was well aware of this, and for the first time, he showed a troubled expression, asking, "Do you know what you're doing?"

Even though Dante had already explained the potential consequences of their actions, the blacksmith Nezha still wanted to protect his comrade.

"If Orlando knew you did this, would he thank you or feel relieved that he wasn't exposed?" Dante sighed deeply. He had originally intended for Nezhar, whose tricks had been exposed, to focus on running his blacksmith business and use the money he earned to make up for the losses of the deceived players.

It now seems that Nezha wants to take all the blame upon himself and then atone with his death.

Diabel raised an eyebrow upon hearing Dante's words, thinking to himself: So it was that group of people.

“It’s those guys!” Diabel’s partner, Lind, turned around with some resentment. During the reconnaissance mission, those new recruits had arrogantly asked Mr. Diabel to let them serve as the vanguard. Although Mr. Diabel didn’t take it to heart, his teammates felt that the other party was extremely rude.

At that time, Diabel wanted them to cooperate with Dante's squad members to deal with the guards, Colonel Bull. After all, the newcomers, whose strength was unknown, needed to be observed first to see if they could withstand the pressure.

However, the other party insisted that their strength was sufficient to deal with the Boss, so Diabel let them try. It turned out that this five-person team was only well-equipped and could barely resist the Boss's paralysis debuff, but their combat skills were far below the average level of frontline players. They did not look like people who had fought hard to be on the front lines.

Upon hearing Dante's direct revelation, Nezha's already weak face twisted even more grotesquely. As if trying to escape everyone's gaze, he turned his face as far to the lower right as possible and squeezed out a tense voice, "I will atone with my death. From the very beginning, I decided—if my fraudulent behavior is discovered, I will end my own life to atone for it."