A journey to another world starting from a sword

“…” Silica took a deep breath, took off her hood, and retorted without fear, “Because your personality is not suitable for our team.”

Is it okay to say it this way?

Chapter 83: Lisbeth's Plea

Silica had a bad impression of the player named Morut, who was frivolous and talkative.

"Such a young child?"

"Which guild sent a kid to recruit people?"

"It really was fake, wasn't it?"

Despite some skepticism, many others noticed that Silica's equipment was different from the top-tier gear in the starting town.

"Wow, that's amazing. You probably can't buy that kind of equipment on the first floor, right?"

"Such a young girl dares to go out and fight..."

"He really has the personality of a child..." Morut suddenly said with a crooked smile.

"Ah~, so this is the 'Knight's' companion? He's really not trustworthy."

The moment the name "Knight" was uttered, a commotion erupted in the crowd. Even those who were out of touch with the news had heard of this title, which was second only to "Hero" on the front lines.

"you!"

Biting her lip, Silica glared at the male player in front of her, then slammed her hand on the table and stood up.

You can say she's okay, but you can't help but say Dante or Silica.

"Why do you say that?"

"Hahaha, isn't that right? The 'Knights' actually recruited a kid like you. I really don't know what use you can be. Hurry up and go home. What are you playing games for?"

Morut gave Silica a blatantly disapproving look, a mocking smile on his face.

Trust, of course!

Silica had actually asked Dante the same question when they were on the first floor of Torbana. Dante's answer was: "Because I trust Silica. After all, it hurts quite a bit to be hit by a monster from behind."

Although Silica knew Dante was joking and that SAO didn't feel any pain, she finally felt relieved.

After all, she felt that even if she teamed up with this player, she would always have to worry about his back, making him the type of player she could never trust.

Just as she was about to retort, an angry female voice suddenly rang out from the crowd.

"Stop! Don't you feel ashamed to bully a child?"

By this time, the crowd had formed three layers deep, and the female player who made the noise managed to squeeze in with great difficulty.

A young and pretty girl with long flaxen gray hair and bangs stood three meters in front of the crowd. She was probably just starting high school and was dressed simply like everyone else.

Morut, who had been wearing a mocking expression, widened his eyes slightly. He whistled and said, "What? Want to be a hero? Don't be fooled by this kid's appearance, actually..."

Ignoring Morut's words, the pretty girl walked towards Silica first, as if to protect her, standing in front of her and shielding her behind her.

“I heard everything. You were the one who provoked me first. If you don’t want to join this kid’s guild, then leave.”

"Of course I want to join. I'm already level 14, which is enough to join the 'Knight's' team, right?"

“But I haven’t seen you on the front lines. While we were fighting the Boss to the death, where were you hiding with your strength?” Silica stepped out from behind the girl and shouted.

This statement definitively confirmed that she was a player in the frontline strategy group.

"So she really was that knight's companion?"

"Hey!"

"This is completely different from how the Hero's Guild recruits."

However, Silica's comment about "hiding" made a large group of onlookers' expressions turn sour, because they were also "hiding" in the starting town.

"Wow, doesn't that make me look like the villain?" But Morut didn't seem to care at all. "Then you'll see me in the third-floor boss battle. Look forward to it! Don't be late, hahaha~"

After saying that, Morut put his hood back on and walked towards the crowd as if nothing had happened. As he passed by, the players made way for him and let him leave the scene.

As for his last words, Silica didn't really believe them, because the combined forces were already at full strength last time. Although new people would be added to the front lines, the final combined forces should be similar to the previous ones.

"Thank you." Only then did Silica realize what was happening and whispered to the female player standing next to her.

"Ah—I wasn't much of a help. That person left because of what you said, right?" The girl with long flaxen hair shook her head with a wry smile.

“No, out of all these people, you are the only one who had the courage to stand up.” Silica said softly, in a voice only the two of them could hear, and bowed slightly. “Compared to those adults, they are very timid and just stand by and watch, so we should thank you.”

"Haha, after all... it takes courage to hand out flyers in Akihabara." The girl muttered under her breath, then smiled at Silica, "I also have a younger sister, maybe a little younger than you, and she's just as cute as you. That's why I couldn't help but stand up when I heard you were being harassed by that player."

“Oh, I see.” Silica nodded, then suddenly remembered, “Oh, I don’t know your name yet. My name is Silica.”

"Ah—my name is Ling Yin." Ling Yin said her name in a natural and generous manner.

Just as Silica was about to say something, a male player in his 30s approached her and asked, "Um... excuse me, young lady, does your guild need a blacksmith?"

“Yes,” Silica replied affirmatively to the man, her conversation interrupted.

To Silica's surprise, within seconds, seven or eight players appeared in front of her, all requesting to join the "Knights" guild, and there was even a group of people watching from the outside.

“…” Silica paused for a few seconds, then immediately looked at Lingyin standing to the side.

Lingyin chuckled when Silica looked at her like that. "It seems there's nothing for me here, so I'll take my leave."

"Ah! Wait, Miss Lingyin! Have you ever thought about joining our guild?" Silica grabbed Lingyin's wrist and bowed to the players gathered in a circle, apologizing, "Sorry, our guild prioritizes recruiting girls."

"what?"

"what--"

Not only were the casual players stunned, but even Lingyin was taken aback.

But there must be a reason for them to leave, right?

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

“Ha…” Lisbeth walked down the street and sighed heavily, “When will I ever get a rug to sell things on?”

I just sold the weapons and equipment I crafted to the NPC shop, but I didn't make much money at all. It makes me wonder if all the time and effort I spent mining in the mining area was worth it.

Moreover, although that thing is called a carpet, it is several levels lower than the shops that are rumored to sell goods, but it is very expensive!

At least there's a designated area for selling things, since equipment and items left lying around on the ground will naturally lose durability over time.

If you want to make big money, carpets are just the beginning, so the most important thing is... Ke'er.

"Ahhhhh!!!"

One morning, a stupid girl, furious and incompetent, appeared on the main road of the town of Beginning, pulling at her short hair.

After calming herself down, Lisbeth decided to go back to the hotel for a nap—or rather, a second nap.

Just then, she noticed that there seemed to be a group of people surrounding her.

"What happened?" she muttered to herself, deciding to... go and take a look.

Then I heard, "If Miss Lingyin were to learn blacksmithing skills, I could definitely persuade her, but... our guild leader will let you join."

It was the voice of a little girl.

Curious, Lisbeth patted the shoulder of the last male player in the crowd and asked, "Excuse me, what happened up ahead?"

The male player turned to look at Lisbeth and casually remarked, "Ah, it seems like a top player from a raiding group is here to recruit members on the first floor."

"Yeah, yeah, the requirements seem pretty strict. Only female players are allowed, and they have to be blacksmiths." Another person next to him turned around and complained after hearing this.

"Anyway, it's impossible for me," another person said with a self-deprecating laugh. "I didn't expect knights to have gender bias."

"Right? Hahahaha..."

Knight? Lisbeth had heard of that title before. It seemed to refer to a player who was very active on the front lines, and there was another one who was called "Hero."

The unexpectedly cheesy nickname "Hero" reminded her of the silly boys in elementary and middle school.

Well, that's normal in Aincrad, right? Strictly speaking, it's a fantasy world. There are dragons, so there must be heroes too. I just wonder if there are any princesses who need knights to save them.

“Then I definitely have no chance either,” Lisbeth chimed in sarcastically.

Since it's a guild founded by very skilled players, why would they need a beginner like her who basically only stays on the first floor? On the other hand, it seems that Liting participated in the second floor boss raid. I received a message from her last time. That girl is probably struggling to decide which guild to join.

"Excuse me, we've found the blacksmith. Please leave now."

Hearing the little girl's innocent cries from inside surprised Lisbeth once again.

As the crowd gradually dispersed, she stood still, intending to take a quick look at the person who spoke the voice before leaving.

Then she saw an adorable little girl with brown pigtails.

Wow, she's so young!

...No, wait.

She felt like she'd seen this person somewhere before; Lisbeth was somewhat dazed, but a feeling told her that this must be something very important.

"...Ah...Ah...Ahhh!!!"

She remembered!

On that morning when he lost his warhammer, that resolute figure that seemed incredibly radiant to him.

It was because of that beautiful female player that she regained her courage and went to the grasslands outside the circle to find her hammer.

And the person next to that female player at the time was this child!

As her memories became clearer, Lisbeth felt a pang of panic. So, this child's guild...

Seeing that they were about to leave, Lisbeth immediately rushed over: "Waaaaaah!!! Wait!"

"Huh? What's wrong?" Silica turned her head to look at the girl who suddenly rushed up, and shrank her neck.

"You're hiring, right?" After saying that, Lisbeth glanced at the sign to confirm.

We need a blacksmith, and yes, she is the blacksmith!

“We’ve already hired someone…” Silica declined, carefully choosing her words.

“Hey hey hey—” Yes, that’s true. Lisbeth glanced at the girl with long flaxen gray hair, who had a sweet appearance and a quiet temperament, and a one-handed sword at her waist. “You don’t look like a blacksmith at all.”

"Hahaha..." In response to Lisbeth's carefree remarks, Lingyin chuckled shyly. She was indeed not a blacksmith, but at Silica's enthusiastic invitation, she thought learning smelting skills seemed like a good idea, at least... much better than drifting aimlessly in the town of beginnings.

If a child as old as Silica can go to the battlefield, even she thinks she should try her best.

“But Miss Lingyin arrived first.” Silica was still angry about what had just happened, so she replied without any politeness.

"How could this happen?!" Lisbeth lowered her head in disappointment. This meant she'd never see that player again...

No, we can't give up! If we miss this opportunity, who knows when the next one will come!

Thinking of this, she quickly raised her head, then... clasped her hands together, solemnly lowered her head, and said, "Please, please, please give me this chance."

"Um..." This time it was Silica's turn to panic. "That...it can't be that bad..."

There's no need to be so serious.

"No, no, no, this is very important to me, so please!"

Faced with such a generous gift from the female player, Silica suddenly remembered Dante's advice to hire two blacksmiths. He used a two-handed sword, which required learning the "Two-Handed Weapon Crafting" skill in the smelting category, along with skills like "Metalworking." At this stage, it was difficult for a single blacksmith player to meet the needs of an entire team, unless they were a full-time blacksmith.

Moreover, having two blacksmiths ensures that there won't be a shortage of blacksmiths in case of an accident, and it also fosters healthy competition.

“Okay,” Silica replied briefly.

The unexpected surprise made Lisbeth overjoyed. "Really? Thank you so much!"

"No, it's nothing," Silica replied politely.

"Um, my name is Lisbeth ( ). May I ask what your names are?" Lisbeth pointed to her chest with her thumb.

“My name is Silica,” Silica introduced herself.

“Yes, you’re 'Knight’s' teammate, right?” Lisbeth nodded, arms crossed.

"Um... actually, Dante doesn't really like people calling him that to his face," Silica whispered a reminder.

“Of course, of course, we definitely can’t call the boss by his nickname. By the way, our president’s name is Dante.” Lisbeth nodded understandingly, then looked at the other person, “And you?”

"Rain." This is the name she used when she worked at the maid shop, and it was directly used in the game.