A journey to another world starting from a sword

“But Argo, you help us a lot, and we’re friends, right?” Asuna blinked her bright eyes, signaling Argo not to worry about such a small thing.

“It’s precisely because we’re friends that I feel bad about it.” As he spoke, Argo, like everyone else, reached for the cake with his fork. “By the way, if you have any information you want to know, I’ll tell you for free.”

"Hmm... there's nothing in particular I want to know." Asuna couldn't think of anything for the moment. "Oh right, the information about the fourth floor..."

"Uh—can I finish the Strategy Guide: The Spirit War Chapter first?" Argo glanced at Asuna with an exasperated expression. "You and Dante are just alike. What's this? Teamwork?"

"Hehe~" Asuna chuckled awkwardly, then suddenly remembered something, "Argo, do you understand Russian? What does Моимармеладныи mean?"

These words immediately caught the attention of the people at the table.

“…No, although I am of mixed race, I am actually more fluent in Japanese.” Argo spread his hands helplessly.

“Miss Asuna, I know what this means.” Suddenly, Rein, who was sitting next to Silica, raised her hand.

"Huh? You know that?" Asuna turned to look at her in surprise.

"Actually, I'm a child who returned from abroad," Lingyin smiled shyly. "Because I've lived in Russia since I was a child, I know some Russian."

“Oh my~” Argo raised an eyebrow. “How interesting. So we’re all mixed race.”

What a coincidence!

"What—what does that word mean, Lingyin?" Asuna asked with interest.

“Hmm… Моимармеладныи actually means my gummy bear.” Lingyin coughed lightly, then looked intently at her vice president. “Has anyone said that word to Miss Asuna?”

"Ah... um, is there anything special about this word?" Asuna, who had attended an all-girls school for many years, knew very well that it was the expression of a girl when gossiping, as she observed Lingyin's sparkling eyes.

But I can't remember exactly what we talked about.

"Because of different cultures, the expressions may be different." Lingyin didn't keep them in suspense and explained carefully, "In Russian, 'my candy' is actually equivalent to 'my honey' in English."

"...What? My honey?" Lisbeth blinked in confusion, as did Silica.

"Huh?" Mitt suddenly looked up, and the fork slipped from between her fingers and fell onto the table.

"Ha...ha, ha?!!!" With a "bang", Asuna, who had just come to her senses, suddenly sat up from her seat.

Even in the relatively dim indoor environment, everyone could clearly see the flush on her face.

Chapter 93: Breakthrough to the Third Level

"Joe has gone missing."

Under the faint aroma of wood and soft lighting, Diabel solemnly turned the glassware on the table.

"..." Unexpectedly, Dante had just sat down in the tavern and ordered two drinks when he heard this news from Diabel.

His fingers tapped lightly on the rim of the glass, his eyelids lowered.

"When did this happen?" Dante hadn't expected PoH to react so quickly, managing to stop the damage before he could launch a retaliatory attack.

“It was right after rumors started circulating in the guild that I was a closed beta tester,” Diabel said, turning his head to stare at the exquisite wooden crafts displayed on the wooden shelf on the wall.

"Linde and the others will probably say they don't believe it, right?" Dante chuckled.

“They might have some doubts, after all, I led them out of the starting town and we’ve been mostly safe along the way, but they still say they trust me…” Diabel’s tone was somewhat heavy, but he indicated that his team members didn’t have any particular reaction.

"So things going too smoothly has its downsides," Dante chuckled, then seized the opportunity to bring up another matter, "I was ambushed by orange-tier players yesterday..."

Diabel's face turned as pale as ice, and his mouth opened unconsciously.

Orange-tier player? Ambush?

Individual words are dangerous enough, let alone when they are combined.

He never expected that such a level of crime would occur on the third floor.

"Be careful, you might be attacked if you're alone."

PoH craves chaos, seemingly dedicated to creating despair, but is being trapped in Aincrad forever really what he wants?

Dante didn't know this either. Perhaps after PoH had had his fill of playing and venting his hatred, he would go back into hiding and wait for the game to be completed.

After all, judging from his later act of personally abandoning the murder guild "Laughing Coffin" that he founded, he truly treated SAO as a game.

“I will be careful.” Diabel nodded seriously.

Since orange-level players cannot enter towns, staying in towns is undoubtedly the safest option. The second safest option is to stay with their teammates. Unless they fall into a "monster swarm" trap, it is difficult for orange-level players to attack such an elite team. As long as they are careful, they will not be in any danger.

"So what was the reaction of the King of Teeth and the others?" Dante asked, waving to the NPC waiter in the shop to remove his empty cup.

"The King of Fangs didn't say anything, but the players who were recruited seemed to be having a heated discussion," Diabel said with a wry smile, shaking his head.

"After all, people have mouths on their faces." Taking the new wooden beer mug from the NPC, Dante muttered under his breath, "That's just how it is when there are too many people talking."

The overflowing foam exudes a faint aroma of alcohol, along with the fragrance of wheat and hops.

"When are you going to come out and tell me you were a beta tester?" Dante asked.

“I can’t bring myself to say it anymore,” Diabel said indifferently. “I once interacted with Ya Wang as a non-closed beta player. If I were to say now that I was a former closed beta player, wouldn’t that mean I deceived Ya Wang?”

Trust is easy to break, but it can take a very long time to rebuild.

Especially Ya Wang, I feel like he's the kind of person who gets stuck on things.

However, Dante felt that the worst outcome of Diabel's statement would be that the King of Fangs would leave the guild with his men.

But Diabel seems to value this very much.

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

With the date agreed upon by Diabel drawing ever closer, news that the strategy group plans to defeat the floor boss on December 15th has spread throughout the main street of the third floor, and about 80% of the players should know about it.

This put considerable pressure on the strategy teams at the front lines, while also creating a sense of mission among top players. Everyone was determined to conquer the maze in one fell swoop.

It was already evening the day after their conversation with Diabel. Dante and Asuna were preparing to return to their camp to rest. The final mission of the Elf Campaign, Chapter Ten, "Reclaiming the Key," which began that afternoon, was about to begin.

Their mission was to conquer a maze that, while not as large as the multi-level maze, was still quite spacious. However, for the three of them—Dante, Asuna, and Kizmel—it was only a little time-consuming.

However, it was impossible to completely clear the maze in just one afternoon, so they planned to make a final push tomorrow.

Fortunately, no one visited the labyrinth. Dante and Asuna opened many treasure chests and gave the unused items to Lisbeth to sell.

Just yesterday, Lizbeth's Blacksmith Shop officially opened in the main street "Zimford" on the third floor. Most of the players on the front line knew that there was suddenly another highly skilled player blacksmith.

Initially, because the fraud had spread across the front lines over time, everyone was skeptical of the blacksmith.

However, once they learned that the other party was a "knight"—a member recruited by the guild established by Dante—the phrase "bustling with activity" was probably insufficient to describe the grand occasion.

Lisbeth made sure that all the players on the front lines remembered her name and the guild's name on her very second day after joining the guild, and they remembered it willingly.

Because player blacksmiths are so scarce, Lisbeth's existence fills this gap.

Even Diabel visited the stall in the afternoon, asking Lisbeth to upgrade his main weapon.

After spending most of the day acquiring a large amount of materials, Lisbeth actually made a net profit of over 3 Cors! in cash!

Although the turnover will definitely decrease later, this number is still quite terrifying.

“Finally back.” Standing at the entrance of the camp, Asuna shed her aura of conquest.

Before it got completely dark, they finally returned to the dark elf camp. After eating a large meal, the three of them took turns taking a bath.

Dante was still standing guard at the entrance to the bathroom tent that was in use, but this time Kizmel chose to bathe with Asuna.

Through the curtain, you could hear the girls' soft moans, the splashing of water, and their laughter; they seemed to be having a lot of fun.

"Dante, Asuna, once we find the key, I might have to go back to the upper level." After taking a bath, Kizmel suddenly spoke in the tent, breaking the peaceful atmosphere of the three sitting around the fireplace.

"Huh?" Asuna, her eyes widening slightly, lifted her head from under the blanket, a tense smile on her face due to her bad mood.

"Don't worry, we're about to defeat the evil tree demon Nereus, then we can meet up on the fourth floor." Dante comforted Asuna, earning her a glare in return.

“Parting is not something to be sad about, Asuna.” Kizmel paused here, turned her head and looked up. “I am so glad I met you. Dante, Asuna, I will never forget this life-saving grace.”

“Let’s go on an adventure together once we reach the upper levels,” she said gently, “as partners.”

"Hmm!" Asuna immediately beamed with joy. Although the fourth floor was only a brief reunion, the expression on her face became somewhat forced when she thought of this.

"Would you like to practice your swordsmanship?" Dante immediately suggested, hoping to cheer Asuna up.

"Alright! Let's have another duel while we're at it." As expected, Asuna immediately became serious and put her practice sword on her waist.

“…” Kizmel smiled as she watched the two fight inside her tent. She raised her cup and took a sip of hot tea.

As Dante announced the score of thirteen to zero, and Asuna stomped her feet in defiance, demanding a rematch, Kizmel's lips still curled into a slight smile, his eyes gleaming with gentle light.

A month after her sister's death, she had been searching for a place to die. When she fought the White Knight of Kares O, she initially thought she could finally be by her sister's side. However, Dante and Asuna appeared and saved her.

It must have been that child who led the two of them to his side...

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

In the afternoon, the dark elves, having regained the key, decided to send it to the upper level of the fortress via the "West Spirit Tree".

The executor was Kizmel.

The "Spirit Tree" grows very close to the outer perimeter of the floating city. Looking outwards from the inside, the background of the Spirit Tree is a whole sky, and the peaceful and serene scene makes it easy to relax one's mind.

“This is it,” Kizmel said, pointing to the spirit tree, and casually indicating that Dante and Asuna could get a little closer, it didn’t matter.

The spirit tree is like a portal for the elves, except this one belongs to the dark elves, while there is another spirit tree belonging to the forest elves on the other side of the third level.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that near the roots of this giant tree, which was about five meters in diameter, there was a naturally formed, enormous hollow.

Deep inside the tree hollow, a faint blue light seemed to be flickering. Asuna checked several times before realizing that it was not an illusion.

The tree was surrounded by sturdy walls made of moss-covered stones, and the only gate was guarded by four dark elf soldiers.

Kizmel nodded slightly to the guards, as if to say, "Thank you for your hard work."

As she was about to leave, she suddenly turned around and walked to Asuna's side, then quietly put her arm around Asuna's back.

Although Asuna was somewhat surprised, she immediately took the initiative to hug Kizmel.

"Will we be able to meet again?"

As she buried her face in the refreshing fragrance of Kizmel's hair, which exuded the scent of conifers, Asuna asked softly.

“Yes.” Kizmel nodded vigorously. “We will definitely meet again. The Great Tree will guide us.”

The two slowly untied their embrace, and Kizmel smiled and nodded to Asuna before turning his gaze to Dante.

Just like that day in the bathroom, Kizmel embraced him without hesitation, only this time not with a soft body, but with a cold, hard metal armor.

To put it bluntly, the protrusion of the woman's breastplate was digging painfully into his chest, leaving no room for any romantic encounters.

As if noticing his own discomfort, Kizmel raised an eyebrow and then smiled, "If you want a comforting hug, then wait until next time."

"Okay."

Then the elf sister quickly turned around and walked towards the gate.

The guards parted to the left and right, and after Kizmel passed by, they dutifully blocked the door again.

This time, Kizmel did not turn back, but went straight into the tree hole of the spirit tree and disappeared into the endless darkness.

With a flash of intense blue light, the third HP bar of the squad member in the upper left corner, along with Kizmel's name, disappeared.

What is a comforting hug?

A few seconds later, Asuna suddenly asked a question that made Dante break out in a cold sweat.

"Well, it's just..." Dante wanted to argue, but when he looked up, he saw Asuna smiling with her arms crossed, looking at him with a "let's see you try to argue" expression.

"..."

Having finally managed to fool them, upon returning to the Dark Elf camp, the Dark Elf commander offered six different types of weapons and armor as a reward for the mission.

All the equipment's performance and special effects are top-notch in the third tier, and the embellished background descriptions are quite interesting.

In the end, Dante chose lightweight yet sturdy gauntlets, which he didn't find inconvenient at all when wearing them, while Asuna chose a hooded cloak made of the same material as the cloak worn by Kizmel.

The pale purple cloak with a slight sheen, while lacking the terrifying concealment of the original cape, still served a purpose, not to mention its agility-enhancing effect. This was far better than the cloaks they had been using to cover their faces and keep warm.

Then Dante heard the truth he already knew from the rather modular—or rather, NPC-like—dark elf commander.

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

"Team A, retreat and use antidote potions. Team B, switch to Team A. Team D, quickly reduce the Boss's HP bar to 30%."

The room was filled with a green mist, making the light seem somewhat dim.

In the center of the room stood a giant tree-man, "Evil Tree Spirit Nereus." This tree-man boss was tens of meters tall, its body made of thick tree bark, and its hands were as thick as giant trees.