A journey to another world starting from a sword

"Why don't you look any different?"

Mitsu immediately returned to his original form.

"Guess," Dante said with amusement, resting his chin on his left hand on the table.

"So you logged in using your real-life appearance too." Unable to stand it, Mito pointed it out directly, hands on his hips. He couldn't bear to look at Asuna's silly, newbie-like appearance, who was even seriously thinking about it.

But it wasn't just Asuna who chose to enter the game in her true form. So, was the other person a gaming newbie or... a narcissist?

"Ah, that's true." Asuna realized as well, it was obvious that the other person felt the same way.

"Brother Dante, do you know this lady?" Silica, who had been sitting silently opposite Dante, asked.

The chestnut-haired female player opposite her, I think her name is Asuna, is a really beautiful woman.

Even Silica, who is often praised for her cuteness in real life, has to admit that the other person is outstanding in appearance and even more so than herself.

"We met yesterday," Dante introduced her as well. "This is Silica. We met this morning and teamed up together."

"Let's team up..." Asuna murmured.

She had only heard from Mitt yesterday that teaming up here is a symbol of friendship.

The two of them teamed up yesterday and went out to fight monsters today.

"I am Mite." Mite nodded and introduced himself simply.

At the same time, she glanced at the girl Silica sitting in front of the man. At this age... she must have just started middle school, right?

No, maybe she's still in elementary school.

The anger I felt earlier had dissipated with time and opportunity, replaced by a feeling of frustration.

“...Hmm.” Mite was slightly unwilling.

"Want to have dinner together?" Asuna felt a certain sense of kinship with Silica, the petite girl. As a senior who was often admired by younger female students at school, she asked gently as usual.

Seeing Asuna's overflowing "maternal instincts," Mito was dumbfounded but couldn't say anything to refuse. Although he still had feelings for that man, he couldn't be a bad person if he could team up with such a cute girl as Silica... right?

So the four of them sat down together. Dante and Silica had just started eating, but because there was a lot of food, Asuna and Mito sat down next to them for convenience.

Before the food was served, Asuna and the others spent most of their time at the table concerned about Silica, even though they had just recently experienced Kayaba Akihiko's death announcement.

Silica then began to recount how the two met.

Chapter 12: Her Vow

"Thanks to Dante!" Silica said confidently, and then recounted in detail how he reminded her to go to the church when they first met, and how he taught her how to fight.

Some things were naturally kept, but the one that wasn't mentioned was the treasure chest.

Silica knew this too; she couldn't say too much to someone she was meeting for the first time.

“Eh—” Unexpectedly, Mitt uttered a meaningful sigh, quite surprised that the handsome male player in front of him was such a gentle person.

However... this also made her wonder if the other person was also a closed beta player like herself.

The person who can understand the current situation so quickly, and is familiar with the combat in a short time, and even has the spare capacity to lead others, is very likely a closed beta player.

"Hmm!" Asuna looked at Dante with admiration, approving of his childlike act of helping others.

......

In preparation for tomorrow's first floor strategy, Asuna and Mito, who planned to get some rest early, headed straight to the hotel where they had stayed the previous day after dinner.

Going up to the second floor, the wide corridor is lined with the doors of many guest rooms.

Their room was at the end of the corridor; it was a rare double room available for players who needed it.

"Mite, what did Mr. Dante want to ask you when he stopped you?"

Upon entering the room, Asuna called out the window to disarm herself, then sat on the bed wearing only her undergarments. Her chestnut-colored long hair fell casually over her shoulders, with a few strands gently brushing her face, adding to her relaxed demeanor. However, her every move still revealed the fact that she was well-mannered.

At that moment, Mitt knocked on the wall to open the pop-up window and dimmed the lights in the room.

We've been chatting for a long time, and it's already past nine o'clock. It's almost time to go to sleep, so let's dim the lights in the room and try to get sleepy.

"Oh, that? He was asking me for directions to the next village."

"The next village?" Asuna repeated in confusion, taking off her shoes and placing her bare legs on the bed, then lying down flat.

After a day of fighting, I felt heavy and tired all over. I thought I would fall asleep soon, but now I am unusually energetic. I am still immersed in the afterglow of the battle and making new friends, and I am in a state of high excitement.

“Yes, yes, let’s tell Asuna about it too,” Mito said. She walked to Asuna’s bedside, sat down, opened the main menu, did a few things, and then pressed the OK button.

Then, a huge two-dimensional image appeared in front of the two of them, which seemed to show the overall view of the first floor of Aincrad.

It's just a rough topographical map, not much different from the simple map displayed in the system menu. It would be great if there were more detailed maps later.

"You can do that...?" Even this poorly detailed map was enough to leave Asuna speechless. She had no idea that such a thing could be done in a game.

She made some space on the bed, and seeing this, Mitt also removed her equipment, took off her boots, and draped them over the edge of the bed. The two, wearing only their undergarments, sat facing each other on the bed.

Before Mito explained, Asuna touched her ankles, which felt cold, and remarked, "It's a little chilly at night."

"Hmm?" Mito, who was sitting cross-legged, turned his head and looked at her smooth calves. "After all, it's already November. If you feel cold, Asuna, you can go to the prop shop and buy a pair of long socks."

"Huh? I didn't know you could buy socks here." Asuna's eyes widened in surprise.

“Of course,” Mitt said, unsurprised. “Cloaks, masks, and the like are also available for purchase.”

"It's the one Mito wore at the beginning!" Asuna suddenly remembered that when she first met Mito, she was really startled by her mask, and of course, she was even more startled when she took it off.

"That...that's the starting equipment for beginners," Mitt explained. The mask you wear at the beginning can be selected directly in the character creation interface when you enter the game.

She spent a very long time creating her character during the closed beta test, and she immediately fell in love with that mask; it was really cool.

"Sigh..." Asuna supported herself with her hands and leaned back, exclaiming incredulously, "So this world is really like this."

"Hmm." Asuna's words made Mito fall silent, because it was precisely this real world that had trapped them.

The cage called Aincrad has trapped all the players inside. I wonder if other players regret queuing up to buy this game.

The silence didn't last long, because Asuna continued, "Speaking of which, it was the same when we were on the grassland today. The feeling of the grass scratching my legs... it was a little itchy."

She glanced at Mitt's long legs. "Mitt is wearing tall boots, so he doesn't feel it."

"Well, Asuna, would you like to wear stockings or boots...? I know a special shop, let's go check it out tomorrow," Mito said with a shrug.

“Okay!” Asuna nodded enthusiastically.

That's what they say, but actually there's a rare quest over there that you can pick up while you're at it.

Without disturbing Asuna's relaxed smile, Mito refocused his gaze on the displayed map, pointed to it, and began to explain.

"At the southernmost point is the main street area of ​​the first level, which is the 'Town of Beginnings' where we are now. To the north is the labyrinth area leading to the second level, as well as the village 'Torbana' near the labyrinth area. There are three paths leading to 'Torbana'."

The cliff known as the "Dalhali Fortress" cuts the central part of the building in a straight line, dividing this circular building with a diameter of ten kilometers into the north and south sides.

One of the three routes to the north is to proceed straight from the north gate of the "Town of Beginnings," cross the vast Lada Plain, and break through the canyon in the center of the fortress.

During the closed beta, it was said that quite a few players tried to climb the steep, vertical rock face, but the pitons couldn't penetrate the metal surface, and there was almost nothing to hold onto. It's said that all the challengers fell to their deaths.

Therefore, there is no option to take a shortcut now, and the game designers probably did not design a path that can be climbed.

In a game where death is the premise, even trial and error are not an option. Therefore, choosing this path requires a direct offensive to break through the Darhali fortress.

The shortest route is the one that breaks through from the center, but it is also the most difficult.

On the Lada Plains lie the villages of the ugly elves, a formidable initial enemy, and in the canyon ahead, a gigantic boar-shaped regional boss awaits.

Putting aside the ugly elf, it's 99% impossible for just two people to defeat the wild boar boss.

If we could find two or three more experienced players, we might be able to give it a try, but in the current situation, Asuna is still too inexperienced, and the risk is too great, so we have to pass.

Thinking of this, Mitt recalled the two players he had just met. Although they had added each other as friends at the dinner table, he guessed that the other two were also in a situation where an experienced player was leading a newbie, which was why they chose the less difficult west side.

If there's an opportunity in the future, I might consider collaborating with them.

However, this was only because the opposing team consisted of a little girl named Silica. If the players were all male, this idea would never have crossed Mitt's mind.

She continued explaining the other two routes, both of which were relatively simpler. One route was to proceed from the east gate to the village of "Medai" and use it as a stepping stone to conquer the ruins labyrinth in the eastern part of the fortress. The other route was to go west and pass through the cave labyrinth in the western part of the fortress in front of "Horuka Forest".

"So Silica and the others are planning to go west." Asuna looked thoughtfully at the map that Mito was pointing to.

"Yes. Dante asked me how to get to the village of Horuka in the west."

No, looking at it this way, the other party might not necessarily be a closed beta player, Mitt realized at that moment.

After all, would closed beta testers really not know the way to the west?

"So, are we going west too?" Asuna asked, looking up.

“No, I know a few hidden quests in the starting town. Let’s complete them before we move on,” Mito replied decisively. Asuna’s combat skills were still a bit raw, and there was no guarantee that continuing forward wouldn’t be dangerous. Let’s wait until her level and combat experience have improved before proceeding.

"Then we missed out," Asuna said with a hint of regret.

"Asuna," Mito muttered her name speechlessly, "this is the first time we've met them."

"This is the second time," Asuna thought to herself, but she didn't interrupt.

"SAO has become a death game now. It's easy to run into all sorts of problems if you rashly team up with unfamiliar players." Mito pointed with his index finger, reminding everyone that you can't easily trust others at this time.

This is also one of the reasons why she wanted to leave the starting town—due to her distrust of the players.

In a death game, a player's enemies are not only the rules, traps, and monsters, but also other players.

She couldn't say for sure that there would be players who would threaten others with weapons to hand over items.

Just imagining a player of a much higher level wielding a sword maliciously attacking them in the wild creates a palpable sense of crisis and fear, making one's mouth taste bitter.

We must protect Asuna; she promised yesterday, so let's not take unnecessary risks now.

"Hmm." Asuna nodded, looking at the other person's serious expression, she thought that it was best not to argue with Mito at this time.

Seeing that there was still some time before bedtime, Mito gazed at Asuna and said, "Let me explain tomorrow's plan again."

"it is good."

Chapter 13: Pirouette Swordsmanship

“Miss Asuna is such a beautiful person.” On the way back, Silica remarked to Dante with a relaxed expression. The conversation at the restaurant had brought her back to reality and temporarily dispelled the unease hidden in her heart.

“Yes, they are all good people.” Dante shrugged, then suggested to Silica, “You can talk to Asuna more often; it doesn’t hurt to have another friend.”

Perhaps it was Asuna's approachable attitude and gentle personality that made Silica feel very good about Asuna, but she wasn't as enthusiastic towards Mito as she was towards Asuna.

That makes sense, since Mitt is probably the kind of cool girl with a cold face in real life, and she won't be very friendly in the game, especially when dealing with players she's meeting for the first time.

However, when he told the other party about Mitt's death in the central square, the other party did show an interesting expression, with embarrassment and anger.

And another person has come to know about Fukasumi Usagi's scandalous affair.

Thinking of this, Dante glanced at Silica beside him.

Unaware of Dante's gaze, Silica nodded happily at Dante's suggestion.

"Yes!"

But then she remembered something else and asked, "Um... what did Dante and Miss Mitt just talk about?"

“Ah, it’s the village of Horuka that we’re going to next. Mitt knows some information, so I asked her about it,” Dante replied truthfully.

"Horuka Village?" Silica tilted her head in confusion, her brown twin ponytails adorably tilting along with her head.

"Yes, yes. From the northwest gate of the starting town, well, that's the west gate. From there, you leave, cross the grassland, and then go through the maze of paths in the forest to reach the next village, Horuka."

That village, though small, was fully equipped with facilities such as hotels, weapon shops, and prop shops, and it was protected by a "crime prohibition order."

"Tomorrow, after you reach level two, Silica, we'll head to the next village."

"Huh?" Silica looked surprised. "So fast?"

"Well, we don't have time to explore this town slowly. The rewarding quests have definitely already been taken by players who went through the closed beta. We might not be able to find them again, and even if we do, we might not be able to get them first. It's just a waste of time. Gaining experience and Cor through combat is the most profitable thing for us at this stage."

"I...I understand." Silica nodded, indicating that she understood.

However, she couldn't help feeling a little regretful, as there were still many places in this town she hadn't explored, and the restaurant today was also very delicious.

Seeing what Silica was thinking, Dante gently comforted her, "Once we reach the second floor, we can use the teleportation door to move directly to the first floor. It will be much easier to come back here later, so there's no need to linger."

"Yes!" Silica replied hastily, a wave of panic washing over her. She was afraid that Dante would say something like, "Since Silica cares so much, why don't you stay for now?"

Although she knew it was hard to imagine such words coming from the always gentle Dante, she couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't have similar thoughts in his mind.