I am Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes.

“Alright, let’s go then.” Argo nodded and then walked out of the inn first.

How much does the information cost?

"Including taking you there, 2 Cors."

Then, the next moment, Argo received a trade notification.

Gil was incredibly wealthy at this time; it could be said that the combined wealth of all the major guilds in Aincrad might not even equal that of Gil.

Sigh, what can a rich person do?

Jill glanced at her Corel number, looked at the six followed by eight zeros, and clicked her tongue.

Ah, the golden ratio A is so useful!

……

Then, Argo led Gil to the second floor.

The two climbed the rock walls of the tree-covered, flat-topped mountain range, which was situated on a vast second-level area, and crawled into a small cave, sliding down the underground water flow like a water slide.

There were probably three battles, but for Jill, that level of combat was just playing around. Can you call it a battle when you can take down monsters with a single slap?

Judging from their location on the second-level global map, Jill and his group have probably arrived at the summit of the highest rocky mountain located at the southern end of the second level.

Looking around, there was a small space surrounded by rock walls, a spring, a tree, and a small hut.

"...Is this the place?" Jill asked, looking at the lonely little house in front of her.

Argo nodded and walked to the cabin without hesitation.

Then he suddenly pushed open the door that appeared in front of him.

The room contained a few pieces of furniture and a muscular, bald, middle-aged male NPC with a thick beard around his mouth. A golden question mark icon adorned his head.

This is the common marker for starting a quest in almost all RPG games.

Jill looked at Argo questioningly, and Argo nodded again.

"That person is the NPC who teaches ExtraSkill physical techniques. That's all the information I have to provide. Whether or not you accept this quest is up to you, Gil-chan."

Without a second thought, Jill stepped into the hut and approached the old man meditating.

The middle-aged man, dressed in tattered martial arts uniform, looked at Jill and asked:

Are you someone who wants to get started?

"……Yes."

"This cultivation is very long and dangerous, you know?"

"Exactly what I want!"

After a brief Q&A session, the "?" mark above the uncle's head turned into an "!", and a mission acceptance logo appeared in the field of vision.

At this point, Gil finally understood the meaning behind Argo's words, "Don't resent me"...

Chapter Twenty-Five: You Know Too Much (kind smile)

The uncle, whose title had been changed to Master, led Jill outside the hut to a huge rock at one end of the courtyard, which was surrounded by rock walls.

The middle-aged man tapped the rock, which was two meters high and one and a half meters wide, stroked his beard with his left hand, and said, "Your training has only one thing: to crack this rock with your fists. If you can accomplish this, I will pass on all my skills to you."

Jill gently tapped the huge rock.

After Jill got used to the game, she could tell the durability of an object just by feeling it. What came back from Jill's hands was an extraordinary hardness that was "almost immortal."

Jill: "...Why would Argo say something like that if it's only this much?"

"You are not allowed to come down the mountain until you break this rock. You must make such a vow."

The uncle who said this suddenly took out a strange object from his taekwondo robe.

He is holding an inkstone in his left hand.

In his right hand was a large and ornate pen.

A bad feeling crept over her; these words seemed to materialize in three-dimensional form and float into Jill's mind. Jill instantly felt a premonition that her self-esteem would be severely damaged.

He instinctively wanted to cancel the mission, but the older man was one step ahead of Jill, and his right hand flashed with dazzling speed.

The brush tip dips into the inkstone, becoming fully coated with ink.

Then, swish, swish, swish! The ink exploded on Jill's face.

In that instant, Jill finally understood the secret behind Argo's beard.

She discovered this older man on her own during the closed beta test and accepted the mission.

I accepted the task, was told to destroy rocks like these, and had my face scribbled all over—with three mustaches on each side.

Jill, freed from the onslaught of the brush, quickly wiped her face with both hands.

However, the ink seemed to dry quickly, and no matter how much you rubbed it, you couldn't wipe it off, so Jill's face ended up with a bunch of strange patterns.

The man looked at Jill, nodded, and uttered another impactful line, "This [proof] cannot be erased until you crack this rock and complete your training. I believe in you, my disciple."

Then, the uncle slowly returned to the hut and disappeared into the depths of the doorway.

Jill: "..."

He looked at Argo. "Argo, you accepted this mission during the closed beta... and then gave it up, right? So, you had no choice but to keep this beard until the closed beta ended."

As a result, the character of the intelligence broker [Rat] was created, and in order to continue doing this job in this official server, you have no choice but to continue wearing this outfit... or so it seems.

This is the only way to explain Argo's facial makeup.

“You guessed right, just like Kirito, you figured it out immediately.” Argo nodded. “I met Kirito A-Meng more than a year ago, and it’s great to have the honor of meeting Gil A-Meng again today…”

Then, Argo took a closer look at Gil's makeup.

After Jill's face was covered in ink, she looked like a tabby cat.

"Pfft... Hahahahahahahahaha..." Argo couldn't help but burst out laughing.

It's probably because Jill's ink-stained face is indeed quite comical.

Jill pondered for a moment, then nodded, as if she had made a decision, and drew the "Engraver" and pointed it at Argo. "You know too much."

Argo quickly waved his hands, trying to explain, "Wait, wait... I..."

Jill: "Argument is useless, you scoundrel, quickly meet your death!"

"Help me!!!"

……

Later, Jill spent a day breaking the stone and learned an ExtraSkill called Body Technique.

Gil clicked his tongue. He didn't really blame Argo, after all, it was something he had sworn an oath of with his own integrity.

So you can't blame them, right? It's all because Jill insisted on doing things her own way.

Despite this, Jill didn't actually suffer any real loss; the ink stains on her face disappeared after the mission was completed.

It's just that seeing it like that would always make people unhappy.

“No wonder Argo said not to resent her before he died.” Jill nodded knowingly.

"I'm not dead yet!" Argo suddenly appeared beside Gil, reaching out to pinch Gil's cheek hard. "You little brat, you're really ruthless!"

"...This isn't a safe zone like a town," Jill reminded him.

"When will the rich guy come back to buy information?" Argo quickly changed the subject.

“Indeed, someone wants to buy from you.” Gil nodded. “Do you know Kirito’s sword called the Elucidator? Where can I find the best materials to forge a sword with similar attributes?”

"This..."

“Send the message to Kirito, I’ll pay for it,” Gil said.

"Rich guy, don't you really need any more leggy accessories?" Argo asked.

"...I don't need that kind of thing."

"Are you really not going to think about it?"

No, really, it's not necessary.

……

Finally, Jill returned home.

“…Oh my god…” Jill lay comfortably on the bed, “In this cold world, this bed is the only thing that can give me some warmth.”

After all, he had been breaking stones for a whole day and night without rest, so it was normal for him to be mentally exhausted.

“But this is not bad either…” Jill scrolled through the menu, looking at the ExtraSkill, a satisfied smile on her face.

Although Jill hasn't mastered this unarmed combat skill called [Martial Arts] yet, judging from her current progress on the front lines, it's estimated that her proficiency in this skill won't increase too slowly.

However, although this skill can be used as a trump card, there aren't many situations where it can be used on Jill.

One reason is that Jill possesses a unique skill called "Sword Drawing Technique," in which attacks are characterized by extremely high speed and powerful single-hit damage.

The sword-drawing technique is a skill that Jill acquires after maxing out her katana skill proficiency and reaching the highest agility among current players.

There should be about ten of these unique skills in SAO.

For example, Heathcliff, the leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath, also possesses a unique skill that combines offense and defense, called "Holy Sword," which is also very powerful.

Jill felt that without using her sword-drawing technique, she would have difficulty breaking through Heathcliff's defenses, largely because of this unique skill called "Holy Sword".

Chapter Twenty-Six: As long as you don't regret it.

Jill tossed and turned, realizing there was nothing else to do, so she simply lay down on the bed and went to sleep.

Anyway, taking a day off once in a while isn't a bad thing...

As Jill thought this, she slowly closed her eyes.

……

At this very moment, in the world of miniature gardens.