A journey to another world starting from a sword

Dante twirled his sword and then sheathed the bear slayer.

“Your swordsmanship is as beautiful as ever.” Diabel walked towards him, clapping his hands repeatedly. “This victory belongs to you.”

When the team's achievements were acknowledged in person, Asuna's beautiful face, revealed when she took off her hood, showed an extremely bright smile.

"No, this victory belongs to everyone." Dante said these nice words, then he and Diabel intertwined their right arms tightly in the center of the room.

The room erupted in an even louder cheer, with everyone in the coalition forces clapping enthusiastically around the two men.

We finally broke through the second level, and it took an exceptionally short time, only five days, with zero deaths in the Boss battle.

However, many players, including Diabel, learned two lessons.

Firstly, you should complete the tasks around the last village or maze area on each floor in the future; you might be able to obtain information about the Boss.

The second point is that everyone should be prepared that the bosses on the later floors will be different from those in the closed beta. Although players only reached the tenth floor in the closed beta, that's not a long time coming.

For example, before Christmas this year, they might be able to break through the fifth floor and reach the sixth floor, and then welcome the first New Year of Aincrad together on the sixth floor.

This is what Diabel said to Dante.

Chapter 76: She's a Dark Elf Big Sister!

Dante remained silent as Diabel spoke of his grand ambitions.

Before Christmas... isn't this setting a Christmas flag?

Honestly, apart from the bosses being about the same difficulty, the difficulty of the monsters in the second-level maze area and the wild area is not much higher than that of the first level, and the overall atmosphere is a leisurely ranch theme.

Given the current progress, it's no wonder Diabel is so optimistic; after all, Dante doesn't seem to care which floor he spends the New Year on.

Whether it takes two or three years, it makes no difference to him whether he progresses through SAO faster or slower.

“Diabelle…” Fang Wang walked over while the two were talking, looking like something was on his mind.

"What's wrong, King Fang?" Diabel turned around and smiled, he was in a very good mood at the moment.

"It's about LA," Ya Wang said in a low voice, his face grim. "Are we really going to let that closed beta player take the LA rewards?"

"..." It seems that Kirito took General Balan's LA reward. Dante looked at Ya Wang in silence, and Ya Wang's face showed no other displeasure.

Noticing his gaze, he glared at him, but quickly looked away, letting out a clear "tsk."

"Regarding this, didn't we already say that the props belong to whoever gets them?" Diabel shook his head seriously.

"But... isn't it a waste to let closed beta testers who didn't contribute much to the front lines get the LA rewards?!" Ya Wang said, extending his right hand as if stating the facts.

"So what do you want?" Dante suddenly asked, his tone laced with sarcasm. "To make him hand over the LA reward and then give it to you?"

"This has nothing to do with you, does it?" Ya Wang said bluntly. "I didn't say you had to hand it over. Besides, I didn't ask you to hand that guy over to us directly. We can discuss how to handle it, can't we?"

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

"What's wrong with them?" Asuna whispered to Mito. Ever since the King of Fangs walked over, the smiles on Dante and Diabel's faces had completely disappeared. The players closest to them had obviously noticed that they seemed to be having some kind of argument, and they were all quietly watching like her.

“I don’t know.” Mitt shook her head, wondering to herself. Suddenly, she saw the King of Fang look to the side for a moment, and in that direction, Agil’s G team was standing.

what......

She had a pretty good idea of ​​what was going on. Given Ya Wang's style, the current topic was most likely related to a guy in Team G whose helmet was showing.

"It must be that Fang Wang angered Dante again." Silica said indignantly, her words filled with bias.

"Pfft... Ahahaha... Silica-chan is right." Asuna, contrary to her usual self, suddenly clutched her stomach and burst into laughter after hearing Silica's words, and agreed.

"Well, that's basically it." Mitt shrugged helplessly.

"But if they keep arguing, everyone will notice." Asuna couldn't help but worry as she said this, and then walked straight over.

“Ah…” Mito stared dumbfounded at Asuna’s retreating figure, then shook his head at Silica, who was about to follow, “We’re not going.”

If one group goes over, the others—especially Diabel and Fang Wang's squad—will also surround them.

Then, as if remembering something, she asked Liting behind her, "By the way, Miss Liting, where did you get your armor?"

The reason she asked this question was because she had noticed before that the steel plate armor on the other side was probably very difficult to obtain at the moment. It was not convenient to ask before the battle, but after defeating the boss together, they became partners in the battle.

She was finally able to ask the question that had been buried in her heart.

In her memory, the shops on the first and second floors did not sell such well-made heavy armor, and it was clearly a complete set of armor with a unified style.

Although there is still the means of "manufacturing", firstly, it is impossible for Liting to make it herself, because it is obvious that there are not enough skill slots.

Even commissioning an NPC blacksmith or having the skill to craft metal armor can be difficult, simply because the sheer number of necessary materials and items required is enough to drive anyone to despair.

Metallic materials can only be obtained by collecting "ore" bit by bit from the walls in specific "mines" such as rocky mountains or caves.

Then you need to fill your inventory with the heavy and space-consuming ore and transport it back to town. Then you can have the NPC blacksmith or the player rent the blacksmith's furnace to melt it into "sheet metal" or "ingot".

Two iron ore pieces can make one iron plate, six iron ore pieces are needed to make one iron ingot, and to make a higher-grade steel ingot, even four iron ingots are required.

Therefore, the amount of iron ore needed for the complete set of heavy metal steel armor worn by Li Ting is astronomical, and at least Mitt admits that he doesn't have that kind of patience.

Currently, Dante, Asuna, and Silica in the team are mostly equipped with gear dropped by monsters or obtained from treasure chests, and their gear is already quite well-upgraded.

Although it's much better than some players who are still wearing the regular stuff sold in stores, if Miss Liting upgrades her armor to the limit, it will be enough to outshine everyone's equipment except for Dante's.

“My friend helped me make this,” Liting said frankly, oblivious to Mitt’s rather complicated thoughts.

"Then what kind of ore is needed to forge this body..." Mit asked with a strange expression.

"Um... actually, I encountered a bug." Li Ting touched the back of her hair sheepishly, even though she was wearing a helmet at the moment, and the friction between the metal gloves and the metal helmet was a little harsh.

“Bug?” Mite murmured blankly, and Liting nodded gently.

"The ore in that place never runs out no matter how much you dig, so I dug up more than a thousand in one go, and then my friends and I transported the ore back to town."

"There are things like winning the lottery jackpot..." Mitt shook his head sheepishly, thinking that Miss Liting was lucky.

However, as for the blacksmith who can forge this kind of armor... I'll talk to Asuna about it later. Miss Ritsuka's friend should be more reliable.

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

As Asuna approached the three whispering figures, she heard Dante say, "What do you want other parties who don't want to join your guild or other solo players to think? Is the Aincrad Alliance using its power to intimidate and force solo players to hand over their items?"

"Hmph—that's just what you say. We're only doing this for all the players!" Ya Wang said righteously, crossing his arms.

"What's wrong?" Asuna quietly walked to within ten centimeters of Dante and gently stroked his back with her left hand.

Dante shook his head at her, then said to Diabel, "The Strategy Group is not a closed and exclusive organization. I don't recommend doing this before the later players have grown up."

Once you reach the third level, small guilds will definitely emerge one after another, including some powerful guilds in the mid-to-late game. Establishing rules that favor large guilds now will dampen the enthusiasm of other players.

Later on, the player forces that attempt to defeat the boss will be selected based on merit, and even the large guilds will only have two or three teams in the combined forces.

Back then, whether it was drawing lots or rolling dice, it was relatively fairer.

"And if you want to change the distribution rules, please bring out the rewards next time the Aincrad Allied Forces receive the LA rewards."

This time, absolutely not.

"Hmm." Diabel nodded seriously, as if he had taken it to heart.

"Hmph." Fang Wang turned his head away disdainfully, but miraculously didn't say anything more. Clearly, he had also been persuaded by Dante, but... he was just being stubborn.

Seeing that the dust had settled, Dante breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, saying, "King Ya, did you come up with that idea yourself?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Of course, it was my idea!" Ya Wang pointed to his chest with his thumb.

“Let’s just take it that way then,” Dante said, shaking his head.

"Alright!" Diabel clapped his hands and smiled brightly again, then patted Dante and Fang King on the shoulder at the same time, saying, "Everyone's watching us, don't look so serious, this is the time to celebrate!"

"Hmph—" Ya Wang snorted softly through his nose, then turned and walked towards the team. Facing the worried team members, he waved to indicate that everything was alright.

Diabel watched this scene with a smile, then turned to Dante and said, "The King of Fangs isn't a bad person at heart."

“I know.” Diabel’s worries were unnecessary; Dante didn’t take the King of Teeth seriously.

He turned and gestured to Asuna with his eyes that it was time to leave, but before taking a step, he glanced at Diabel and said, "We'll be going now."

"Aren't we going together?" Diabel asked, shaking his shoulders helplessly.

"Never mind, there are more girls in our team." Dante used this as an excuse to leave early.

“That’s true.” Diabel gave him an understanding look, then winked at him subtly.

"Hmph~" Asuna noticed Diabel's strange expression, but didn't seem angry. She just snorted as if venting her frustration.

Watching Dante leave, Diabel withdrew his gaze and then shouted, "Players who want to return the way they came, come to my side first."

When Dante returned to his squad's position, Liting was already preparing to say goodbye. She wanted to return to Taran with the team organized by Diabel.

"Let's work together again next time." Dante clicked the confirmation button on her departure pop-up.

“Okay!” Li Ting nodded vigorously, then bowed politely to the group to say goodbye.

After Liting left, Dante said to Mitt and Silicati, "Let's go to the third floor first."

“Hmm.” Mitt had no objection, as did Silica.

"Let's work together next time... Do you have any friends with Miss Galitine?" Asuna asked quietly as she caught up with Dante.

“Hmm…” Dante was speechless for a moment, then looked at Asuna with expectant eyes.

Sure enough, she proudly puffed out her rather large chest, put her hands behind her back, and winked her right eye at him cutely.

Dante chuckled softly, "Alright! Next appointment! Asuna will be the guild's vice president!"

"Why not the student council president?" Asuna pouted and said jokingly.

"I have no objection if you want to be me," Dante said, spreading his hands as he stepped onto the stairs leading to the third floor.

"...Never mind, I have no interest in managing the guild anyway." Asuna waved her hand, indicating that she was generously giving it to him.

"..." Dante glanced at Asuna meaningfully for a moment, then focused intently on the path beneath his feet.

Pushing open the door at the end of the stairs, fresh air rushed in, carrying a hint of green.

The wind from the dense forest lifted Asuna's brand-new crimson cloak and leather skirt, prompting her to reach out and smooth her unruly side hair.

The theme of the third layer is "forest".

In Asuna's eyes, this was not the usual scenery of Ueno Park or Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden.

Looking out, the towering ancient trees stretch as far as the eye can see, their dark or lush greenery extending to the horizon. Perhaps only giants in fantasy would live in such a forest.

"Wow..." she exclaimed softly, then ran past Dante and out of the ancient pavilion, the entrance to the staircase opening onto the pavilion's floor.

"So beautiful~" Silica caught up with Asuna, running excitedly.

Now only Mitte stands beside Dante, perhaps because he has grown accustomed to such a view.

Taking a few steps forward, Dante watched Asuna and Silica spinning in a 360-degree circle, his eyes narrowing. He then raised his head and shielded his eyes from the golden sunlight with his palm.

Somewhat glaring.

If you walk a few more steps, the sunlight is blocked by layers of branches and leaves, and the ground reflects a peaceful green color through the partially transmitted light.

"It's time to go." It was Mito who finally called out to wake the entranced Asuna and Silica.

“Okay—” Asuna turned around and smiled brightly.

To the north of the pavilion, you can see a pebble path extending outwards, but it branches into a Y-shaped fork in front of it.

“If you turn right on this road, you will immediately reach the main town of ‘Zimford’. If you turn left, you will enter the Misty Forest. After passing through it, you will reach the next village.”

"...Hmm, shall we go to the right?" Asuna pondered for a moment before tentatively asking.

“But there’s a large event quest on the left that you can accept. This quest even spans several floors and won’t end until the ninth floor,” Mite said, pointing to the path on the left.

"Why didn't you say so earlier, Mito? Hurry up and let's go!" Asuna swung her arms from side to side and took a quick and decisive step.

"Ah..." Mitt hadn't finished speaking when he realized that the quest was actually available to every player.

“Let’s go,” Dante said to Mitt with a smile, to which Mitt responded with a helpless smile.

After walking for a few minutes along the path that winds through the forest, the sunlight overhead began to change.

The warm air turned somewhat cold, as if every breath was a breath of biting cold air.

No! Dante noticed the fine particles permeating the forest. No wonder it's called the Misty Forest; the fog is just less noticeable now because it's afternoon.

Mitt walked along the side of the group, glancing left and right every now and then, as if searching for something.

"Shh!" Dante's keen ears caught the unusual information, and he stopped in his tracks, using his right hand to stop the three people behind him.