A journey to another world starting from a sword

On the table are two jugs of Pinot Noir and a croissant in a bread basket, with a vanilla cream filling inside.

“Our equipment needs an upgrade.” Dante held the knife in his hand and got down to business. “When Asuna and I went to see Ashura this afternoon, we told her that we need to prepare the materials. Mito will assess everyone’s equipment later.”

"At the same time, Liz is focusing on acquiring materials for enhancement, as the demand will be very high later. As for money, we've already made enough from our turnover these past few days."

There were far more than enough players; players from the entire strategy group, plus those from lower levels who came specifically to visit, made nearly 10,000 Cors just from weapon maintenance fees every day.

Even if it's the King of Fangs, he won't come to repair the weapon, but he will still come to enhance it, since he can't joke around with the weapon that keeps him alive.

“Yes!” Lisbeth replied immediately.

"Yes, Asuna and I need to continue the mission. There's more to the shipbuilding mission than meets the eye. It seems there's more to the story behind the old shipwright's exclusion."

After receiving the customized ship, new content has been added to the bottom line of the "Shipwright of yesteryear" quest window.

Find a large boat in the southeast of town that is carrying wooden crates instead of passengers. They should set sail from there at night. Just follow them without being spotted.

"Huh? Isn't that...?" Mitt's eyes widened instantly as he looked at the clock on the restaurant wall.

It was almost dusk, even though it got dark earlier because it was winter.

Moreover, this mission sounds a bit suspicious. Why would a ship choose to set sail at night? Combined with the innocent old shipwright's statement, could the cargo ship be engaged in some shady deal?

"We'll be leaving soon, and Mitt will come along too," Dante nodded, intending to bring Mitt along as a precaution.

After finishing their meal, Dante stood under the slightly purple sky, waiting for Asuna and Mito. Asuna then pulled the girls from the guild aside and talked to them in an open area some distance from the pier.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Asuna brushed her hair, which was being blown by the wind, and then put on the hood of her purple cloak.

They said it was a long wait, but it didn't actually take a minute.

Mito followed behind Asuna, casting his gaze toward their ship with a hint of scrutiny in his eyes.

"Hmm?" Dante tilted his head in confusion and looked at Asuna, as if asking if there was something that needed to be taken away from him, only to be met with a sharp glare from her.

Ha, isn't it just a swimsuit made by Ashura?

Anyway, we'll see you again eventually. I'm looking forward to seeing you in your swimsuit!

Just as Dante was about to say those words, Asuna, who was passing by, rolled her eyes at him.

The meaning is quite clear: stop talking nonsense.

"Hurry up and leave, what if we're late?"

"It's late, so we'll do it tomorrow."

"Tomorrow will have its own affairs, and the day after tomorrow will have its own affairs."

"Yes, yes, Vice President."

The three traveled by boat to the southeastern region of Robia, and after a thorough exploration, finally located the target ship before nightfall.

Although it was called a cargo ship, it was actually not much bigger than their Tirneel gondola.

There were only four NPCs sitting on it, and in the center there were more than a dozen large wooden crates covered with a cloth.

Because the ship had no cargo hold and the cargo was displayed openly, it was hard not to guess that this was the target they were looking for.

“That’s the target.” Mitt crouched at the bow, examining the cargo ship. “What’s inside the boxes?”

"It really is just a simple wooden box," Dante thought to himself.

"Nothing special seems to be here." Asuna leaned over the bow from the side, her gaze fixed on the cargo ship.

Suddenly, the two boatmen on the cargo ship raised their masts and pushed the ship into the distance.

"Let's follow them." Asuna quickly turned around and said upon seeing this.

"Good—" Dante steered the Tirnier smoothly through the narrow waterway with agile movements, mainly because the cargo ship ignored the main road and took the side road instead.

"This is getting more and more suspicious." At this moment, Mitt, who had transformed into a famous detective, sat back down, but leaned forward as if he was still on guard.

Finally, under the cover of night, the cargo ship seemed to melt into the darkness, leaving the town through the southern water gate and heading out of the circle.

Proceeding cautiously along the natural waterway, after crossing the great waterfall at the end of the waterway, a water-soaked maze appears before us.

To Asuna's surprise, they spent an unexpectedly long time in the maze, unknowingly spending a full four hours.

The target ship disappeared completely after entering the maze, suggesting that the other party had been there several times before and was very skilled at it.

Dante moved forward at a slow pace, switching the window to the map to confirm their current location. During this time, they had explored most of the map. Although the entire map of the maze had not yet been fully explored, based on the area already explored on the map, they would soon reach the mission point.

We encountered two wild monsters along the way, which gave us a good opportunity to test the attack power of the Tierniel's ram, and we found that it was indeed formidable.

"Wait! There seems to be something ahead." Mitt, who was scouting at the bow of the ship, spoke up again.

"Understood." Dante, who had already heard the sounds ahead, slowed down the ship and finally brought it to a steady stop at the corner of the wall.

He moved to the bow of the ship, peering forward over Asuna and Mito's stacked heads.

The space in front was extremely spacious; the semi-circular hall must have been about 100 meters in diameter.

In addition to the tunnel where they were hiding, there were five or six extra tunnel entrances in the wall.

"That's it!" Asuna, who was beneath her, suddenly exclaimed, clearly having spotted the wooden crates piled on the pier.

The large gondola we've been chasing from Robia to this point, now leaning against the pier, is undoubtedly the one we brought here. The wooden crates currently piled on it are about to be unloaded from the boat, which is secured by thick mooring ropes.

The men carrying the cargo were the four sailors we had just seen, while the men who took the boxes and carried them to another ship were a group of warriors equipped with long, thin scimitars at their waists.

“Those guys are… fallen elves.” This time it was Mitt who exclaimed in surprise.

Chapter 99: You're squeezing me.

The Fallen Elf, before the Earth-Severing Incident, attempted to gain an invulnerable body by using the power of the Sacred Tree, but was instead killed by the descendants of the Exiles.

After the earth was severed, they miraculously experienced a touching reunion with their cousins ​​in the floating city of Aincrad.

"Mite?" Asuna gently moved the hand that was on Mit's shoulder.

“…” Mite turned his head to look up, then shook his head as far as the two of them could see.

This maze didn't even exist during the closed beta, let alone the fact that there were fallen elves here; she had no idea about it.

“If all those sailors are from the Robia Water Transport Guild… then that means the entire guild has joined forces with the Fallen Elves,” Asuna calmly analyzed, hitting the nail on the head.

Judging from the old shipwright's words, there used to be many free shipwrights like him in Robia, but one day the shipbuilding industry in Robia was monopolized by the shipping guild, and the old man had no choice but to give up his job.

Almost simultaneously, the boats of the residents of Robia were also prohibited from sailing outside the town, while the boats of the Water Transport Guild were allowed to come and go freely under this control.

It's terrifying to think carefully.

"What is the purpose of the Narovia Water Transport Guild doing this?" This is something Asuna has never been able to understand.

"Is it possible that the guild just wants money?" Dante said calmly.

"......" "......"

It seems to make sense.

Asuna and Mito were both stunned.

By this time, all the wooden crates on the ship had been handed over, and a fallen elf wearing an even more terrifying mask handed a leather bag to one of the human sailors.

The sailor who took the bag looked down to check its contents, then nodded in satisfaction and gestured for the others to retreat.

"If it's money, it should be tens of thousands of cors," Mitt speculated, and Dante seemed to detect a strange implication in his words.

"Hey, Asuna, do you remember how we were looked down upon by the Rovia's boatmen when we sailed the Tirnier to the main road?" Dante said quietly.

"What are you two thinking about?!" Asuna murmured, gently tapping his chest with her fist.

"Yes~" Mitt replied honestly.

"Don't worry." Because he didn't answer immediately, Dante received a deep gaze from Asuna. "If you want Cor, you should go farm the Queen Spider on the third floor."

That's a mini-boss that refreshes every three hours, dropping thousands of Cors and rare materials like "Queen's Spider Silk".

“Indeed.” Mite nodded in deep agreement.

“They’re off, they’re heading back.” Reaching the stern, Dante braced the mast backward, and the Tirnier instantly tilted rapidly backward.

"But the mission isn't progressing at all?" Asuna swiped her finger to check the "The Shipwright of Yesteryear" mission in the mission list.

"Then we need to hide first, the Water Transport Guild is about to come out." Dante slowly turned the boat back the way it came, returned to the first fork in the road and then turned into the dead end.

Less than a minute later, with Dante giving a loud "Hush!", the Robia cargo ship appeared in the light at the fork in the road and headed toward the exit.

Meanwhile, Dante, Asuna, and Mito continued to investigate the Fallen Elves' cargo.

After all, it took a lot of effort to get here. If we can't keep the mission going in one go, we'll have to clear the crabs and turtles off the road again next time we come.

This is something Asuna tries her best to avoid, and even Dante thinks it's a waste of time.

Once the Tiernell arrives at the hall, how can it cross the vast expanse of water without being detected? The correct approach is to swim across.

So Asuna put on a pure white swimsuit for the first time. The extra ribbons greatly increased the glamour. Her exposed skin was as smooth as cream, her figure was well-proportioned and graceful, her chest rose and fell slightly, and a thin tassel belt was tied around her waist, swaying gently with the movement of the boat. Her long legs were also breathtaking.

"Don't stare like that," Asuna whimpered softly.

Dante, seeing her face turn red, said, "Asuna-san."

"W-what?" Asuna was taken aback by the strange address.

"You can do it if you want to, you can pull off any swimsuit except the school swimsuit," Dante joked, only to be met with a heavy punch from Asuna.

Fortunately, Mit stopped him, saying, "This is outside the circle, you know."

Mitt also changed into a special double-layered swimsuit, revealing her transparent white skin, the beautiful lines from her shapely calves to her waist, her astonishingly slender waist, and her restrained yet still assertive chest.

The swimsuit has a mature black inner layer and a mysterious purple outer layer. This two-tone color scheme is surprisingly well-matched, and it really is an adult swimsuit. It's even more mesmerizing than Asuna's.

Upon noticing Dante's gaze, Mitt seemed unconcerned, merely turning his face away into the shadows.

"Where's your swimsuit?" Asuna looked Dante up and down with a suspicious gaze.

“I’m already wearing it underneath.” Dante shrugged and then removed all his clothes, revealing a pair of white beach shorts. Clearly, the clothes weren’t as nice as the ones he was wearing.

"lets go."

The vast, dark surface of water, devoid of any light source, means that everything on the sea surface beyond a five-meter radius will be shrouded in darkness.

After climbing up an empty staircase and changing back into their gear, they found themselves facing only a sturdy-looking iron gate blocking their path.

After carefully opening it, you can see guards with the official name "FallenElvenGuard" patrolling, and they disappear after turning right at the fork in the corridor.

"Hurry up." After the guards left, Mitt immediately pushed open the door and entered. These NPCs' movement routes are all fixed. We need to quickly find clues for the mission before the next wave of guards arrives.

Following the guard's friendly suggestion, they turned right at the fork in the road and, after passing through a long corridor, arrived at a vast warehouse completely different from the upper levels.

There are two large doors on the front wall, with fully armed guards on both sides of the doors, and many wooden crates can be seen piled up randomly throughout the room and even along the left and right walls.

"Found it!" Unable to communicate verbally, the three exchanged glances.

At the same time, Dante raised his chin, wondering if there was no way to distract the guards.

Mitt raised his head, picked up a small stone from his feet, estimated its weight, and casually aimed at a wooden box on his right.

"Thump" "Click"

A slight noise caused the guards to turn their helmeted heads in unison. Taking advantage of this moment, the three men tiptoed into the warehouse and hid in the shadow of the stacked wooden crates.

Without further hesitation, Mitt used his left hand to push open the lid of the lone wooden crate in front of him.

"......?" She nudged Asuna's back with her right hand, gesturing for her to take a look as well.

"?" Asuna shifted her gaze from the guard to the inside of the box, and was surprised to find that the box was completely empty!

This is an empty box in the literal sense.

Why on earth?

Was the contents moved, or is this all a trap?!

Mitt felt a chill run down her spine, and she instinctively tugged at Dante's hem, seeking some comfort.

Just then, the sound of a door opening came from behind the small mountain of wooden crates.

Panic turned into trembling as the heavy footsteps of at least seven or eight people echoed deep within the warehouse.

What should I do?

Should we abandon the mission?

Mitt quickly grabbed Dante's arm and pulled him closer, hoping to see the answer in the other's eyes.