A journey to another world starting from a sword

Kizmel, however, said in a voice that seemed to find it amusing, "Hmm, don't human warriors bathe together?"

This shocked Asuna. "Boys...boys and girls wouldn't...Kizmel...elves...?"

Just as she was about to think that dark elves were some kind of obscene race, Kizmel shook his head and said...

"There are separate bathrooms for men and women in the knights' quarters in the castle, but this is a temporary camp, so we can't have too many luxurious requests."

"Phew—" Asuna exhaled a long breath, "So that's how it is."

"Oh, right, Asuna, if you don't mind, would you like to shower with me? I was just thinking of taking a shower too," Kizmel invited with a smile.

"Well, of course."

However, when Kizmel stopped at the door, he turned back to look at Dante, as if to ask if they really weren't going to come together.

After receiving a sharp look from Asuna, Dante shook his head again and refused, "Fine, I'll guard the gate."

The tent had no lock or similar features, so anyone could break in, including all the male elves in the camp. This made Dante wonder if simply looking without touching it would trigger the rules against sexual harassment.

I'm a little curious.

"Then I'll leave it to you." With a smile, Asuna entrusted the matter to Dante with complete trust, and then went into the bathroom with Kizmel.

That overly confident attitude made Dante wonder how much he trusted Dante to believe that Dante wouldn't spy on him.

"Ha..." Although he really wouldn't do such a thing.

Two faint sound effects came from behind the fabric, which must have been the sound of pressing the "Undress All" and "Underwear All" buttons in succession.

Then came the sounds of splashing and swishing as it entered the water, followed by a sigh that seemed to indicate satisfaction.

"Ah...it feels so good to soak in this, Asuna," Kismer exclaimed.

"Hoo hoo hoo hoo... I feel like all the fatigue in my body has been eliminated..." Asuna also made a sound that left men with endless fantasies.

"The human girl's skin is so beautiful, incredibly fair and soft."

"No, Kizmel, not all human girls are like that," Dante thought to himself as he leaned against a pillar and sat down.

"Ah! Don't poke me like that, really!" Asuna exclaimed in surprise, then praised, "Kizmel is so beautiful, her skin is so elastic and radiant."

"Really? I haven't compared myself to anyone else."

"Look, it's slippery." Asuna seemed to be touching it to verify.

"Ah, it's so itchy..." The next second, Kizmel's panicked voice rang out.

"Hey, let me help you brush your back. This brush works like this, right?" Asuna suggested softly.

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to trouble you then." Kizmel readily agreed.

"How was it? Was I too forceful?"

“No, this is just right, but it brings back memories,” Kizmel said absentmindedly. “I used to have my sister brush my back like this, it’s really nostalgic.”

"Where is your sister now?" Asuna asked innocently.

“She was killed in action last month,” Kizmel said calmly.

"I'm sorry..." Asuna was momentarily flustered.

“It’s nothing, I’ve already let it go.” Kizmel shook his head casually.

"Kizmel's sister must be very happy to have an older sister like Kizmel. Gentle yet strong, she's an older sister who will protect everyone."

"...Don't do that, it's a little embarrassing."

"Hehe, sorry, sorry."

Shower.jpg

Finally, the two finished their bath in a pleasant atmosphere. After they came out, Asuna gave Dante a light smile, like a snowflake touched by the sun.

"Ah, thank you for your hard work. Thank you for being our guard so we can relax."

"Yes, we had a very comfortable soak." Kizmel, who came out by lifting the curtain, smiled, her cheeks flushed, probably from the heat.

"Do you want to go in?" Asuna asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Okay."

When Dante returned to the tent after washing up, he saw Asuna practicing the swordsmanship he had taught her with her new rapier.

Kizmel was sitting quietly by the stove, wrapped in a blanket with only his head showing. When he saw Dante enter, his pointed ears twitched slightly.

"Welcome back." Asuna breathed softly after sheathing her sword, then looked at Dante and said.

"...I'm back?" Dante replied uncertainly, only to be met with a playful eye roll from Asuna.

"Hey, how about a duel?" Asuna suggested, flipping her rapier up to her chest.

"Are you so impatient?"

On several previous nights, Dante often practiced dueling with Asuna, and Asuna seemed to have also come to enjoy this exciting battle, which may have been largely due to her competitive spirit.

Because of his record of losing all nine duels with Dante to date.

Although the tent wasn't large, it was still spacious enough. After switching to her initial weapon, just five minutes later, Asuna's battle record was updated: ten losses in ten battles.

"Why can't I win..." she sat on the carpet, distressed, and drank the fruit wine that Kizmel handed her.

"Because of Asuna, you are not used to fighting against your own kind," Kizmel commented on their recent duel.

Perhaps Asuna usually fights monsters and lacks experience with humans, especially players.

In short, it's because they've played too many low-level games and can't adapt to high-level games in a short time.

"Well. That just requires a lot of practice." This problem was easy to solve. Dante took a sip of the wine in his glass, his fingers curling up as he held the wooden cup.

"Then I'll leave it to you." With a light tone, Asuna walked to Dante's side, bent her knees as if looking for a more comfortable sitting position, her waist twisting gently from time to time. It wasn't deliberate, but it had a kind of innocent cuteness, and her casual posture made her seem even more innocent.

"Okay~" Dante replied casually.

"By the way, did you see what the paladin dropped just now?" As if to avoid Kizmel, Asuna lowered her voice and took a bottle out of her inventory.

The item is called "Kares O's Crystal Bottle," and its effect is to preserve the proficiency of various skills set in the skill slots...

In other words, having this bottle is like having an extra skill slot. You can put skills you don't need right now into the bottle, and you can swap them with your existing skills. It's an incredibly powerful effect!

“This is mine.” Dante then pulled out his loot item, “Glory of Kares O.” To be honest, since it wasn’t equipment but an item, he didn’t really care what kind of item it was.

"This is..." Asuna then leaned closer to examine its effects with Dante.

"Pfft, hahaha..." The usually dignified, sarcastic, and somewhat gentle young lady suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hmm..." To be honest, Dante was also getting a little impatient looking at the uses of this item with its decent bonus rewards.

Because this "Glory of Carles O" is actually a hair dye!!!

Chapter 81: The Queen Spider's Cave

"Kares O's Glory" can dye the player's hair the golden color of a forest elf, while also granting the player a bonus to agility and resistance to curse-related negative effects, and making the player lighter when in the forest, specifically by reducing the weight of equipment.

“You…” Dante looked up, wanting to say something to Asuna, but when he saw her silky chestnut hair, he swallowed back the words he wanted to say.

"What?" Asuna blinked gently, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "What were you trying to say?"

“I want to say… Asuna, you don’t suit blonde hair.” Dante pointed to Asuna’s hair and closed his eyes, saying, “I can’t imagine Asuna looking like anything other than chestnut hair.”

"Is that so?" Asuna muttered, twirling her hair with her fingers.

“Yes.” Dante smiled gently. “Chestnut is a very warm color, and it suits Asuna very well.”

"..." Upon hearing this, Asuna's face seemed to flush slightly, and the hand that was fiddling with her hair gradually stopped.

“Idiot—” she suddenly cursed.

"Dante, what happened to Asuna?" It was probably because Kizmel heard Asuna call him an idiot that he was a little worried and concerned.

"N-nothing," Asuna hurriedly called out to Kizmel.

In the end, they still couldn't decide who would use this item. The rarity of this item was probably the same as the "Crystal Bottle of Kares O" in Asuna's possession.

Selling it directly to someone else would be a huge loss, because you'll likely never get a similar item again.

So they decided to go back and discuss it with Mitt and Silica before making a decision.

The fatigue accumulated throughout the day has been somewhat dulled by the hot water in the bath, resulting in a gentle sense of languor.

The moment my head touched the pillow, this weariness transformed into a deep sleepiness.

After glancing at Asuna, who was wrapped in a blanket and breathing peacefully, Dante got up, lifted the curtain, and went outside the tent.

The "streetlights" that had previously illuminated the entire camp were now all extinguished, leaving the camp completely submerged in the blue-white moonlight.

He randomly found a campfire and then sat there motionless.

After an unknown amount of time, someone suddenly approached quietly from behind, stepping on the sandy ground.

"What, can't you sleep?"

It's Kitzmer.

Dante looked up, the light of the campfire gleaming in his eyes. "I don't need sleep."

"Sleep is important. If you don't get enough rest, tomorrow will be tough." Her words melted away as soon as the night fell.

Kizmel walked in without any metal armor, wearing only a women's corset and tight pants.

Her movements were somewhat slow, each one exuding a natural rhythm and indescribable elegance. Her hair, like a waterfall in the night, was smooth and glossy, gently swaying in the wind.

“I can use meditation instead of sleep,” Dante explained to Kitzmer.

“But that’s not real sleep.” Kizmel didn’t seem to have any doubts about meditation, perhaps thinking it was some kind of secret technique passed down from humankind. “It’s better not to put too much pressure on yourself.”

Stopping by the campfire, Kizmel sat down next to Dante. “You look just like I did when I was a knight in Her Majesty’s Royal Guard. Back then, I held the saber given to me by Her Majesty and practiced my combat skills every second. My face was always tense, and my sister was always worried about me.”

"Looking back now, I should have spent more time with Tiernell back then." Her tone was uncertain, tinged with regret.

“I think I’ve hidden it very well,” Dante said with a shrug.

“Is that so?” Kizmel said briefly, then pointed behind him.

Asuna, who should have been fast asleep, poked her head out of the tent. After being discovered, she stopped hiding and came out, now fully armed.

"When do we leave?" she asked.

After glancing at the time, Dante replied, "Now."

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

In the misty forest at midnight, the fog turned into a light blue veil under the moonlight, and its light and graceful appearance, like fireflies, was considered a stunning sight during the closed beta.

Mitt tugged at her cloak and walked alone through the forest. She planned to wait until she finished the quests that required her to be outside the circle during the guild formation mission before meeting up with Silica in town.

Looking at the markers on the map, she changed direction and continued moving towards her target.

"Asuna." Mito called out when he saw his companion standing in front of the cave.

"Mite!" Asuna exclaimed joyfully upon seeing her appear.

“Let’s go.” Dante nodded to Mite, then said to Kizmel who was standing next to him.

According to Argo's intelligence, his current mission to "slay the poisonous spiders" is divided into two phases.

The first stage involves finding the Dark Elf scout's relics in the underground level of the discovered cave, and then taking them back to the camp to hand over to the commander.

The second stage involves returning to the cave to defeat the Queen Spider, who dwells deep underground on the second level.

Meanwhile, the guild that Mitt is currently working on also needs to go to the second floor of the cave to check on the thief's whereabouts.

Their tasks partially overlap, because going to the second floor inevitably leads to an encounter with the Wilderness Boss, the Queen Spider.

I figured I might as well do it all at the same time.

"Where's Silica-chan?" Asuna asked Mito, holding a torch and stepping into the shallow puddle.

"Still sleeping." Mitt shone the torch on the wall to his left, trying to find the right direction. "After I go back and get some sleep, I should be able to finish the guild formation quest with her this afternoon."

The map of the first floor has been explored to a large extent. The room where the elf quest is located is next to the stairs leading down to the second floor. After the four of them easily defeated the spider guarding the door, they found a silver ornament shaped like a leaf that was shimmering faintly on the wall deep inside. This was the emblem of the Dark Elf Locust Tree Knights.

Dante picked it up and looked around. This item should have belonged to the scouts who came to investigate the cave, but he didn't see any corpses.

Perhaps it was completely devoured by spiders, or more likely it was "shattered" on the spot; SAO's death leaves no corpse.

In the firelight, the white gem at the bottom of the badge, resembling a pearl, shone brightly. He handed the badge to Asuna.