A journey to another world starting from a sword

Her hand finally left the water, because as the sun gradually set, the river water cooled down considerably, and soon her hand, which had been in the water, lost most of its warmth.

While holding and warming her left hand with her right, Lingyin looked at Dante.

"If there's a chance in the future, I can let you experience it."

There's not much of a chance on the last two floors. The fifth floor is mainly filled with ghost-type monsters. Camping in such a maze is something that even Dante wouldn't want to do, let alone the girls in the guild.

And now they are on the fourth floor...

Dante glanced at Mitt, who had been quietly and leisurely leaning back in his seat admiring the scenery, and called out, "Mitt, have you guessed it yet?"

Leaning back and tilting her head back, Mitt stared at Dante with her ruby-like eyes, her expressionless face fixed on the riddle-like question. The next second, a beautiful smile bloomed on her face, as if to say: "Of course."

"So Mito knew what the surprise was all about." Asuna gently nudged Mito's arm.

"Well, it's vague, I guess." Mitt looked at Dante again. "But I'm really looking forward to it too."

Because the fourth layer was almost completely different from the closed beta, she found it very novel.

"Actually, this is my first time here too." But Dante murmured softly in response to Mitt's expectation.

The scenery that followed was immediately etched into everyone's mind, like a once-in-a-lifetime study trip, an unrepeatable memory.

The towering cliffs on both sides gradually changed color, turning into a dimly lit valley, before being blocked by a completely white wall.

This feeling of déjà vu left Asuna somewhat dazed.

Amid the girls' screams, the Tirneel plunged into the thick, all-white fog.

The fog made even the companions sitting next to us appear somewhat blurry, causing everyone to instinctively hold each other's hands.

I took a deep breath and felt that the damp, cold air seemed to carry a refreshing forest fragrance.

"Ah—ah! This fog, could it be..." A figure suddenly popped into Asuna's mind, a memory that happened not long ago.

Before she could finish speaking, the thick fog dissipated as if by illusion, and the view suddenly became clear.

This is a circular lake several times larger than Lake Karudela in the morning. The afterglow of dusk falls on the mirror-like surface of the lake, the shimmering gold reflecting the gradually changing orange-red of the sky.

A magnificent ancient castle stands majestically in the middle of the lake. The castle is built of gray and white stones, and the years have etched mottled marks on its surface.

The city wall is covered with moss, and the stone carvings are faintly visible, giving it an ancient and serene appearance.

On the corner towers of the castle, where countless arched windows gleam with orange light, banners flutter in the breeze, and on the black fabric are the emblems of horns and scimitars crossed.

"That's the flag of the Dark Elves!" Asuna shouted, her voice hoarse with surprise and anticipation.

“So beautiful—” Silica murmured.

At this moment, everyone's hearts were pounding. As they got closer to the castle, a sense of romance welled up inside them.

“Yes, it’s more beautiful than any castle I’ve ever seen in the real world,” Asuna agreed with a bright smile.

Guided by the blue glow of the oil lamps at the front of the pier in front of the castle, Dante maneuvered the Tirnier into an empty berth, where several ten-seater black gondolas were moored nearby.

"Thank you, this is indeed a wonderful surprise." Asuna thanked Dante quietly after disembarking, smiling and putting her hands behind her back, her face flushed and her expression a little shy.

Dante felt it was a great deal to get that smile for free.

“We should say that once we’re inside.” Dante led the way, and as he passed Asuna, he placed his hand on her lower back and gently nudged her to keep going.

"So it's possible to go in after all?!" Silica's eyes widened slightly.

“Of course.” Dante glanced to the side briefly, then grinned.

A large, gleaming black gate stood in front of the dock, flanked by two imposing, heavily armored guards who were completely out of proportion to the elves and wielded astonishingly long halberds.

When Dante was about five meters away from the gate, the elf suddenly cried out.

"Stop! This is not a place for humans!"

After saying that, the two of them simultaneously shouted that they had crossed their axes and spears.

"Just like during the closed beta." Mitt muttered quietly behind Dante.

Dante held aloft the letter of introduction he had prepared beforehand from his pouch. It was a wax-sealed scroll stamped with a horn and a scimitar crossed, which could only be obtained from the commander of the dark elf camp after completing the third layer of the elven campaign.

The next moment, two heavily armed guards snapped their axes back to their vertical positions, and the massive main gate opened to the left and right with a loud bang.

"Wow!"

The girls cheered.

The castle’s forecourt is even more beautiful than Rurikoin Temple in Kyoto. The exquisite flowers and hedges exude an ethereal splendor, so beautiful that one hesitates to approach.

It wasn't until the door behind them closed again that everyone came to their senses and officially stepped into the courtyard.

Although there are other buildings, such as the canteen, armory, training grounds, various shops, and a maze-like basement, Dante led them with a clear purpose to the entrance of the main building.

The moment he opened the door, Dante felt his arm being gripped tightly. He turned his head and saw Asuna's unconscious movement.

A red velvet carpet was laid in the center of the main hall, and a huge crystal chandelier hung from the dome, shining with dazzling light.

On the walls on both sides, the light illuminates the rich patterns of the tapestries, which are mainly purple and red, and weave a lifelike epic of elves.

A slightly flamboyant violin melody suddenly appeared from somewhere, and all around were elegant dark elf NPCs.

"Dante! Asuna!"

Suddenly, a voice that Dante and Asuna recognized came from the mouth of an elf passing by on the second floor.

Dressed in a deep purple gown, the slender elf gracefully swung down from the second floor and ran towards them at a speed completely out of character for her attire.

She forcefully opened her arms, ignoring everyone else, and picked up Dante and Asuna at the same time.

"It's been a long time." A clear and nostalgic voice rang in my ears.

The long-awaited yet somewhat unfamiliar embrace from the elven older sister was unfamiliar because this time, what I felt on my chest was not hard armor, but something soft wrapped in fabric.

"Ah. It's been a long time, Kizmel."

Chapter 104: The swimsuit suits you very well!

Fortunately, Asuna was so immersed in the joy of the reunion that she didn't notice this fact.

After a brief embrace, Dante left the elf sister's arms, but Asuna and Kizmel hugged each other for more than five seconds.

Then Asuna wiped the corner of her eye with the tip of her right hand, a pure smile appearing on her face.

"Although I always believed that we would meet again, I am still very happy to actually meet again like this."

“Me too,” Kizmel nodded with a smile, then looked behind her. “Are these your companions?”

Because they were in a small team, all six of them could enter this temporary map together, and Kizmel didn't seem to have any negative feelings towards them.

Kizmel should remember Mitt, but this was the first time he had met the others.

“Yes.” Asuna stretched her hand behind her back. “This is Mito.”

“I know, I still remember the battle that defeated Queen Nefera very clearly.” Kizmel gave Mitt a knightly salute.

“It’s my pleasure,” Mitter nodded politely.

“This is Silica,” Asuna introduced again.

"Hello, you're so young and already... that's amazing," Kizmel exclaimed.

"No, no." Silica shrank back. Based on the stories about dark elves that Dante and Asuna had told her during their chat, the dark-skinned woman in front of her was a true knight, quite different from her half-baked "adventurer."

“These two are Lisbeth and Lingyin,” Asuna said, pointing to the two girls standing at the back.

"Hello." Lisbeth and Lingyin quickly bowed their heads.

"Yes, nice to meet you." Kizmel returned the greeting, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Are you two perhaps blacksmiths?"

"Huh? How did you know?" Lisbeth looked up in surprise.

“I have a feeling.” Kizmel smiled faintly. “Master Dane in this city of Jofer is the family blacksmith of Viscount Joferis. You can ask him for advice on smelting techniques.”

This is probably a side quest. There are many similar quests in Aincrad. After completing them, the carpenter can get special blueprints, the apothecary can get special recipes, and the merchant who wants to open a shop can get a lower-cost supply channel.

What Kizmel was referring to was probably a side quest related to blacksmithing. Lisbeth and Lingyin planned to take a look back. Although they couldn't accept the main quest midway, these unrelated side quests were no problem.

"You can all call me Kizmel. Dante and Asuna are my friends who fought alongside me, and their friends are my friends." Kizmel turned to show the hall, gesturing with his hand, "It's almost lunchtime, are you all hungry?"

Dante looked at the others and saw that they had no objections to the invitation to a free meal. Instead, they were quite excited, wondering what kind of delicacies the elves living in this castle would eat.

Well, generally speaking, medieval castles with such strong defensive capabilities would only have some food that could be stored for a long time, so nobles didn't really like living in castles and would choose to live in manors instead.

But this is Aincrad, a world full of fantasy and even a touch of magic, and the castle they are in can hardly be called a mansion.

"I can't ask for it."

Dante's answer made Kizmel smile beautifully, and she led the group toward the courtyard.

The courtyard, surrounded by majestic conifers, possesses a beauty distinct from the front courtyard, with tall conifers spreading their branches and leaves on both sides of the path.

As they passed by, everyone looked up at the sky with great interest.

“This is juniper, isn’t it?” Mite murmured.

“Yes. My sister’s favorite essential oil can be obtained from these juniper trees, so sometimes I can’t resist coming here.” Kizmel said nostalgically, looking at the bench next to him.

Indeed, when you breathe in the air through your nose and fill your lungs, you can feel a cool, woody scent; it should be even more pronounced on a midsummer night.

"In our world, besides being used in medicine, juniper is also used as a flavoring agent for alcoholic beverages," Asuna said, revealing her erudition as she smelled the same aroma.

As the game is set up, players are summoned from another world using magic left over from humanity, so Asuna spoke candidly about things in the real world.

"I see." Kizmel blinked, intrigued.

The castle’s dining hall is located on the second floor of the west wing tower.

Pushing open the heavy, brown-red door, the aroma of food, lively yet not noisy laughter, and background music from string instruments immediately flooded out.

The restaurant was almost entirely filled with armored castle guards who strictly adhered to the principle of taciturnity, while elves in special robes and children were the main sources of noise.

“They are priests who serve the Holy Tree.” Noticing Dante’s scrutinizing gaze, Kizmel, who was walking toward the empty table, leaned closer. “They were dispatched from the royal city on the ninth floor to oversee the key retrieval mission.”

"Will they fight?" Dante asked, turning his head.

“No.” Kizmel shook his head. “They are just officers with no combat experience.”

So, it means civil officials supervising military officials?

This measure seems normal for a kingdom of elves that has existed for thousands of years, but...

"So you're wearing a formal suit because of these priests?" Dante asked, resting his chin on his hand and tilting his head to look at Kizmel beside him after sitting down.

“Well, because the priests said it’s too jarring to wear metal armor inside the castle,” Kizmel said with a sigh, his voice barely audible at their table.

"How could this be!" Asuna exclaimed indignantly. Her dissatisfaction wasn't entirely about not wearing armor in the castle, but more about the priest's reason, which was simply because it was jarring.

This abuse of power not only displeased Asuna, but also Mito and the others.

“After all, Yofel is surrounded by lakes and cliffs. This fortress, which is difficult to attack but easy to defend, has never been breached since it was built. It has even repelled the forest elves several times. Perhaps they think that there is no need to be so vigilant here.” Kizmel shook his head.

"Ha," Dante chuckled to himself. The fallen elves and forest elves had joined forces and were lurking outside, so there was no safety to speak of.

"Let's not talk about this anymore." Kizmel quickly adjusted his mood and waved to the NPC maid standing not far away, who was of course a dark elf lady.

Although Kizmel herself was significantly more beautiful than these maids, this did not prevent Dante from appreciating and critiquing aristocratic life.

After a while, a deluxe set meal, starting with soup and appetizers, was served.

Although there were no cakes or anything like that, you could take as much fresh fruit as you wanted.

And all of this is free! The fact that a meal that would normally cost hundreds or thousands of dollars was free made the group very happy.

The conversation at the dinner table mainly consisted of Dante, Asuna, and Kizmel discussing what had happened since they parted ways, as well as some interesting anecdotes from the fourth floor.

Asuna also learned that elves indeed do not cut down living trees, but unlike the fallen elves who must abide by taboos, dark elves refrain from cutting down trees out of custom and respect for ancient trees.

After they finished the fruit that served as a substitute for dessert, Kizmel led them to the fourth floor of the east wing tower, where the officers' quarters were located.

However, the room type seems to resemble the layout of a real presidential suite, with a shared living room connecting two bedrooms.

“I’m sorry, but since Dante and Asuna are actually our acknowledged friends, you can only use this room,” Kizmel said with a troubled expression, standing in the corridor.

"Sigh..." Lisbeth uttered a sound that conveyed "How could this happen?" Silica and Lingyin were also somewhat disappointed.

Asuna looked around at everyone. There were six of them in total, which was a bit cramped, unless they slept on the floor. And these guest rooms probably didn't have spare blankets. Just as she was about to ask what they planned to do, Dante suddenly spoke up.

"Then it shouldn't be a problem for Asuna and me to go and talk to you about where you live, right?"

"Ah... um." After a moment of hesitation, Kizmel immediately broke into a bright smile. "Of course, no problem."