A journey to another world starting from a sword

The two-handed sword five-hit combo "Battle Blade" and Asuna's recently learned rapier four-hit combo "Fourfold Pain" simultaneously struck the Boss.

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Friday, December 23, 2022, 11:20 a.m.

The fourth floor boss of Aincrad, "Horse-Headed Fish-Tailed Monster Wizge," was defeated by a combined force consisting of eight squads totaling forty-eight people, plus one NPC squad.

Diabel, who had finally managed to break free from the crowd, walked toward Dante, clapping his hands. "Congratulations, what a wonderful battle."

At the same time, he bowed respectfully to Kizmel, who was standing next to Dante, and said, "Thank you as well, my friend of the Dark Elves."

Kizmel proudly raised her head, her hair flowing down her sides, revealing a breathtakingly beautiful face and slender ears. Her obsidian-like eyes surveyed the speechless players in the strategy group, and she uttered a chilling voice.

"In the name of Kismer, the Royal Guard Knight of the Kingdom of Leussra, it is only right that I, along with my human friends Dante and Asuna, defeat the Guardian Beast according to the covenant. If anyone should be thanking, it should be the two of them."

Diabel was the first to recover from the stunned players, and he laughed heartily. "Of course, they are my friends too. I'll treat them to a meal later."

"Yes." Kizmel nodded and then said goodbye to Dante and Asuna.

This time, Asuna didn't say anything, she just gave her a hug, because she already knew they would meet again.

Noticing that Kizmel was looking at him with a puzzled expression, Dante reluctantly stepped forward and joined in the hugging, embracing both Kizmel and Asuna.

Perhaps lost in the sadness of parting, Asuna showed no reaction, simply burying her face in Kismer's neck.

After Kizmel left, Dante and Diabel exchanged a glance and began to discuss what would happen next.

As for the LA reward, the two of them skipped it. According to their discussion, they would decide how to distribute the LA reward from the Boss by rolling dice after the fifth floor.

Before that, the tradition of whoever gets it belongs to them will continue.

Moreover, based on the performance of "Eternal Garden," no player would openly question its qualifications.

Diabel then brought up another matter.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.

The two of them walked together toward the steps to the fifth floor.

"So?" Dante tilted his head and asked in confusion.

"How about we have a Christmas party?" Diabel's suggestion wasn't just a whim. "After all, everyone's tired."

“Diabelle, that’s… a really good idea.”

Chapter 114: Easter Eggs in the Ruins

“Right?” Diabel flashed a bright white smile and gave a thumbs-up. “How about we hold it on the fifth floor, in the main street area ‘Karuruin’?”

“Why not the fourth floor? The fifth floor should be a floor with a ruins theme.” Dante disagreed with Diabel’s opinion.

"Is there something wrong with the ruins?" Asuna, who was following closely behind Dante, asked curiously.

"Hmm... how should I explain this?" Dante pondered for a moment, then told Asuna about the situation on the fifth floor.

The scenery on the fifth floor is hardly suitable for celebration, and the underground tombs are teeming with ghost-like monsters. The thought of holding a celebration on top of them at night feels rather strange.

"A ghost?" Asuna's voice suddenly became very high, her eyes flickered, and her brows furrowed slightly.

"Haha, looks like we need to get through the fifth level quickly." Dante chuckled.

Mito, who was a few steps behind Asuna, also smiled knowingly.

"Ugh—" Asuna puffed out her cheeks in embarrassment and anger, quickly jumped two steps, and punched Dante on the back with her pink fist.

“Let’s just go to the fourth floor.” Diabel was also convinced by Dante’s reasoning.

"Tomorrow?" Dante asked.

“Tomorrow,” Diabel nodded.

"The Christmas party is on Christmas Eve..." Dante seemed a little dazed, as if he had discovered something wrong.

"The Red and White Song Festival is still the day before New Year's Day." Asuna patted his back again, indicating that there was nothing to be surprised about.

Dante and Diabel quickly finalized the schedule for the Christmas celebration.

On the fourth floor, the players have accumulated a large amount of crab meat, shrimp meat, and bear meat. They can take the opportunity to cook them up and then offer them to the people attending the celebration for free.

Of course, in addition to this, Dante also needs to invite lower-level merchants or life skills players to set up other food stalls. This is all part of Dante's job.

This only covers the preparation of food, the setup of the venue, the celebratory programs and music, and the congratulatory speeches.

"A show? Are you sure what those players on the front lines can perform? Noh, Kabuki, ah... it's not manzai, is it?" Dante listed them off in detail.

If Linde and Ya Wang were to perform manzai on stage, it would certainly be somewhat entertaining, but most people who play SAO aren't exactly popular, right?

Many of them hid in SAO with the intention of escaping something.

Dante sighed deeply, rubbing his forehead, and said, "Well, I'll take care of this too."

"Really?!" Diabel's eyes widened, then he burst out laughing. "Hahaha, please!"

"Really." Dante said helplessly as Diabel's hand, draped over his shoulder, shook him back and forth.

The theme of the fifth floor, as just mentioned, is "ruins".

The game design team seems to want to create the impression that "Karuruin" is a place where humans who come here are making use of a town that was once destroyed in the distant past.

The entire town is built in the center of a huge ruin located on the south side of the building.

The buildings, constructed from stacked blue rocks, were in disrepair, but the streets were remarkably clean, as if they had been meticulously swept.

Furthermore, the streets in the city center are lined with tents made of leather and cloth, creating a chaotic yet vibrant atmosphere.

"It's settled then." After reaching the ground, Diabel bid farewell to Dante and led his guild members away in another direction.

Dante looked at the formidable numbers of the Aincrad Alliance, shook his head, and said to his own members, who were in no way inferior in the other aspect, "Let's go too."

"Let's find a restaurant that has good food, is not well-known, where we can have a nice meal, and is also beautifully decorated." He finally managed to finish speaking, which drew admiring glances from the girls that said, "You know so much."

"What's wrong? Aren't you hungry?" Dante rolled his eyes, then spread his hands. "Or would it be better to take a nap first?"

“No…” Lisbeth pouted, “We didn’t do much this morning, did we?”

From gathering at 10 o'clock to defeating the boss at almost 12 o'clock, it only took a little over an hour. During this time, a large part of the time was spent waiting in the back. No wonder Lisbeth said that.

“And I went to bed very early yesterday,” Lingyin added, twirling her flaxen sideburns with her fingers.

There was one more thing she didn't say: she still got up at eight o'clock today. All this preparation was for one thing: the Boss battle.

"Let's go eat first then." Asuna clapped her hands and made the final decision, "Let's go to that restaurant where the food is delicious, nobody knows about it, we can have a good meal, and the decor is beautiful."

It's amazing that she was able to retell it completely; Dante couldn't help but admire her.

Then, as if guessing what he was thinking, Asuna gave him a light, slightly coquettish glare, "Hurry up and lead the way."

"Okay~" Dante shrugged at Mitt, perhaps Mitt should know where that place was.

Mitt shrugged, a smile playing on his lips, and then strode confidently to the front of the line.

"As expected, he knew," Dante shook his head unconsciously, then took over the lead in place of Mitt, following the map Argo had given him from his memory.

The restaurant is located at the end of a small road, with a large wooden door on the stone wall, with oil lamps hanging on both sides.

Ahead stood a small billboard, which Asuna looked at with curiosity.

The name "Tavern Inn BLINK & BRINK" is displayed in relief, with today's recommended menu below.

"That means blinking and the edge of a cliff," Dante casually translated as he passed Asuna.

"I quite like this shop too," Mitt said nostalgically as he pushed open the door.

"Huh? What does that mean..." Just as Asuna caught up with him, wanting to ask what was going on, she couldn't help but lower her voice.

“...It’s the sky.” Only Silica couldn’t help but murmur.

The midday sky was like a huge, deep blue ribbon, stretching out endlessly, undisturbed by a single cloud.

The sunlight shone down generously, its golden rays almost tangible, intense and bright.

Upon closer inspection, one can see a flock of large birds flying in from outside the field of vision. They slowly cross the sky from east to west, eventually turning into dark shadows that disappear from sight.

They stood on the edge of Aincrad, silently gazing at the breathtakingly beautiful scenery that numbed them from head to toe.

"It's beautiful—" "Yes." "So this is what it's like outside."

"This is the first time I've been this close to the outer perimeter." Asuna lowered her head slightly, as if suppressing the overwhelming emotion welling up inside her.

"..." Dante and Mitt exchanged a glance. This was the second time they had done this. The first time was in Raizer Village, when they first met Yuna and Ashura.

“Since we have this opportunity, let’s dine on the terrace,” Dante suggested.

The girls, except for Mitt, realized that they had come to eat, and in such a beautiful place at that.

The restaurant's round table only had four chairs, but that wasn't a problem; they could just bring two more from somewhere else.

In any case, they have temporarily "booked out" this restaurant.

"Excuse me, is anyone here?" Dante called out toward the shop door.

The next second, the NPC waitress wearing a black apron and dress pushed open the door and walked over quickly. She greeted them with a welcome and gave a bow before placing a glass of cold water on the table.

"Have you decided what you'd like to order?" the waitress asked politely.

"Wait a moment." Dante picked up the menu on the table, glanced at it, and ordered all the dishes except for those with suspicious names.

"Don't waste food!" Asuna said, pointing her finger.

"Just this once." Dante smiled, resting his chin on his hand. "If I kill a few more monsters outside the circle, I'll make it all back."

"That's true..." Asuna didn't seem to agree much. Perhaps it was due to her good upbringing. She hadn't expected that even a wealthy family like Asuna's would avoid waste.

"Oh, right. This shop also has limited-edition dishes with support effects. Did you order those?" Mitt suddenly asked.

"Don't worry, it's ordered." Dante turned to look at Mitt.

"Limited-time offer?" Asuna tilted her head. The only food she had ever eaten with special effects was the "Shocking Cream Strawberry Cake" on the second tier.

"You'll find out soon enough," Dante said, blinking.

The last thing served was a dessert that looked similar to a regular blueberry tart.

"Is there anything special about this?" Asuna cut off a piece with her fork, stuck it in her mouth, and examined it closely.

"Eat it," Dante encouraged, demonstrating how.

Beneath the refreshing and sweet-tart fresh blueberries lies a rich custard sauce, which blends perfectly with the crisp tart crust.

"Ah...it's so delicious." The blueberry tart was so delicious that Asuna couldn't help but murmur this.

The afternoon coffee washed away the sweetness on her tongue, and as she was about to take another bite, Asuna suddenly noticed a buoy appearing above HP.

"What is this?" She was sure Dante and Mitt had seen it too.

“Asuna, take a close look at the floor around the terrace.” Mitt pointed to the ground.

The other girls also mysteriously searched the ground for anything suspicious.

Then I saw a faint light coming from the corner of the terrace.

"What is this?" Asuna stood up, walked closer to the glowing object, and picked it up. It turned out to be a small coin.

Although it's a bit old, it is indeed a silver coin, and might even be worth a hundred cor.

"Heh heh, this is an Easter egg event on this floor." Dante smirked smugly. "Let's collect them all together."

Chapter 115: The Scavenger's Celebration

"Karuruin Coins" is the collective name for the silver coins Asuna picked up. Although they are set as coins used during the glorious period of the ruined city of "Karuruin", they can now only be considered as "relics".

What's surprising is that it can be exchanged for the same value as the Cor. After all, it's a metal currency, and coins made of gold and silver are bound to be valuable.

"Well, during the closed beta, many players also came to the fifth floor to scavenge for relics," Mitt added.

It has to be said that the word "scavenging" used by Mito was very insightful. Asuna could almost picture a group of scavengers who would not even leave the ground untouched, scavenging the fifth floor clean.

"In another day or two, many players will definitely come up from the lower levels. The whole town will probably be very lively then, eventually turning into a festival for collecting relics."

Dante repeated a line from Argo's early strategy guide, then looked up, picked up the silver coin Asuna had placed on the table, and twirled it between his fingers.

"So let's try it out first."