Anime Crossover: Master is Not Here Today

After Argo left, Fujimaru Ritsuka and the other two also began to do their own things.

Fujimaru Ritsuka smiled at Kirito:

"This time, you should be able to team up with us, right?"

Kirito felt a little embarrassed upon hearing this, but still nodded decisively and smiled:

"Of course, and I should be the one asking you to let me join the team."

According to his memories from the closed beta, the next maze area has a total of twenty floors, and the boss of the first floor, the "Kobold Lord," is located at the top of the twentieth floor.

However, the entrances and exits of each level within the maze area are in different locations, requiring players to explore on their own, hence the name maze.

Moreover, unlike leveling areas in the wild, monsters in the maze area will actively attack all players within their field of vision, and there are also mechanisms and traps that do not exist in the wild.

In addition to these, there are also treasure chests inside the maze, with a chance to obtain rare items, materials, and equipment.

However, whether it's a treasure chest or a mimic disguised as one can only be determined by careful observation by the player.

In short, it is certain that the maze area is far more dangerous than the leveling area in the wild.

When grinding monsters in the wild, a solo player who can enjoy the experience alone definitely has an advantage over other players who grind monsters in a group.

When exploring dungeons, the efficiency and margin for error of playing alone are definitely not as good as that of playing in a team where players can support each other, especially now that SAO has become a death game.

Although he possessed information about the maze from the closed beta period, his experiences over the past two weeks have made him fully realize that over-reliance on information from the closed beta period will only hasten his demise.

But he doesn't want to die, nor does he want to be surpassed by other players. Therefore, if a suitable team invites him to join, he will not stubbornly adhere to the principle of going it alone.

Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna's team was clearly the best choice that could be presented to him.

He also looks forward to seeing the two of them in battle, where they can be dubbed "Flash" and "Unrivaled" respectively.

It must be very beautiful, right?

he thought.

However, there are a few things to do before we begin exploring the maze.

The first thing is to find a dormitory room.

【Torbana】is the town closest to the labyrinth area, and other players will gradually move in and use it as a base to begin exploring the labyrinth area.

Although there is no shortage of accommodation in the town, good rooms with excellent conditions are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Fortunately, Kirito, as the fourth player to arrive in [Torbana], can choose freely.

The most striking feature of Tolbana is the row of giant windmills nestled in the valley, which looks tranquil and beautiful.

The house that Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna rented was on the second floor of a farmhouse in the area above the windmill tower.

Looking out of their room windows, they could take in the entire valley scenery.

In addition to a bathroom, the room also offers unlimited milk, but you can't take it out.

Such a great room, only 80 kol per day, that's 40 kol per person, it's an absolute steal!

Kirito then rented the second floor of another farmhouse next door. Although the view wasn't as good as theirs, the conditions weren't bad either.

He arrived in Torbana in the afternoon. After resolving his accommodation issue, he checked the time in the system: 5:31 PM.

So he suggested:

"Since it's already this late, why don't we eat first and then talk about it?"

"Okay!"

-

"Um, I'll say it."

Inside a restaurant in town, the sight of a sumptuous feast steaming hot in front of you is hard not to make your mouth water.

However, while swallowing hard, Kirito asked hesitantly:

"Is it really okay to order such an extravagant meal?"

If he hadn't miscalculated, the total price of the dishes in front of him seemed to be nearly 2000 kol.

Converted to the rent of their rooms, it's enough to rent for 25 days at once, and also enough to buy 10 bottles of recovery potions from the store!

Although it's definitely not a huge sum, it's still a considerable expense.

He also likes to reward himself with a delicious meal after returning to the safe zone from a day of monster hunting, but he spends most of his money on buying equipment and items, as well as upgrading his equipment.

The lavish meal that Cole had eaten in 2000 was indeed the first time he had ever had one.

Fujimaru Ritsuka laughed and said:

"We don't usually splurge like this, but we met up with Kirito today, so we thought we'd have a big meal to celebrate."

"Is that so? Thank you."

Kirito was somewhat flattered by what he heard.

At this moment, Asuna glanced at her without saying a word, and after she gave her a pleading look, she ultimately said nothing.

In reality, Fujimaru Ritsuka had her eye on this feast for a long time; celebrating Kirito's arrival was just a side thing.

However, in terms of the outcome, there was nothing wrong with what she said.

So the three of them began to feast, and all of them showed happy expressions.

After slightly filling his hungry stomach, Kirito seemed to remember something and spoke to the two of them:

"Since we're going to be fighting as a team, we should exchange some information first."

"My current level is 10. My current skills are [Target Acquisition], [Stealth], and [Weapon Defense]. My weapon is [Tough Sword +4 (2S2D)]."

Level 10 is the highest level at which you can normally obtain benefits in the first tier. After level 10, the experience you can gain from killing monsters in the first tier will decrease significantly.

In reality, if SAO were a normal game, a team of players with an average level of 5 would be enough to start taking on the boss.

He had only recently reached level 10, and his experience bar was still far from level 11. Therefore, if nothing unexpected happened, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna should also be at level 10.

Otherwise, it would be too monstrous.

In terms of skills, [Target Acquisition] and [Concealment] are essential skills for solo players, with no other choice. [Weapon Defense] is for increasing survivability.

The reason he only has three skills is that he hasn't decided how to choose a fourth one yet, and the skills he currently has are sufficient.

As for the weapon enhancement, after listening to his speech, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna once again showed the same puzzled expressions he had shown.

"2S2D, what is that?"

Seeing this long-lost expression, he couldn't help but smile and began to explain to them.

SAO's weapon enhancement system has five categories of enhancement parameters: Sharpness, Quickness, Accuracy, Heaviness, and Durability.

As long as you entrust an NPC or a player with blacksmithing skills to submit the corresponding special enhancement materials, you can freely attempt performance enhancement, but like other games, there will be a certain failure rate.

After a successful enhancement, numbers like +1 or +2 will appear after the weapon's name. However, you can only see which types of enhancements were applied by directly touching the weapon and opening the attribute window.

Therefore, in order to facilitate description when trading with players, the first letter and number of the enhancement parameters are used to indicate the weapon's enhancement details.

【Tough Sword +4 (2S2D)】 means that his weapon has been successfully enhanced twice in sharpness and twice in durability.

"I see."

The two nodded in understanding, as they had never traded equipment with other players before, and this was the first time they had learned this knowledge.

Then, the two of them began to introduce themselves, just like Kirito.

Asuna said:

"My current level is 10. The skills I've chosen are [Light Metal Equipment], [Mercedes-Benz], [Cooking], and [Weapon Defense]. My weapon is [Wind and Flower Sword +4 (2S2Q)]."

Fujimaru Ritsuka said:

"My current level is 10. The skills I chose are [Insight], [Weapon Defense], and [Sword Throwing]. My weapon is [Tough Spear +4 (4S)]."

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 150: Before the Exploration

150.

2023-11-30

After listening to their self-introductions, Kirito subconsciously began to analyze them in his mind.

The two players' levels, as well as the skill [Weapon Defense] that all three of them chose, were within his expectations.

Generally speaking, after successfully defending against a monster's normal attack with a weapon, the player will not lose any additional health. However, if the enemy's attack value is too high, even if the attack is blocked, some health will still be deducted.

The effect of [Weapon Defense] is to further reduce the damage a player receives after using a weapon to withstand an enemy's attack.

As proficiency increases, a derivative skill called "Defense Counterattack" will be unlocked, which can interrupt the enemy's offensive and provide additional attack opportunities, i.e., the parry mechanism.

However, the judgment of parry is quite strict, and if you are not careful, it can easily turn into a situation where you take full damage, especially in the current SAO, which is very dangerous.

Overall, however, [Weapon Defense] is indeed a versatile skill. It not only increases the margin for error but also provides a high-risk, high-reward parry mechanism in the later stages of the game.

In short, this is undoubtedly a must-learn skill for advanced players.

Additionally, some might find it odd that a parry mechanism appears in an MMO game where numerical values ​​are the primary focus.

However, considering that SAO's selling point is its sword skills, and most of the monsters and bosses after the third floor are also proficient in using sword skills, it's not that surprising.

In other words, while numerical improvement is undoubtedly the main theme in SAO, it does place more emphasis on the player's skill than other MMO games.

This is why Fujimaru Ritsuka and Asuna, as newcomers to MMOs, have been able to stand out among veteran MMO players and become prominent figures in SAO.

Furthermore, Asuna's choices of the speed-enhancing [Mercedes] skill and the life skill [Cooking] are also reasonable.

As for Fujimaru Ritsuka's [Sword Throwing] skill, it's probably specifically for support, and the opponent, like him, also has a skill slot reserved.

There's not much to say about the weapon. Asuna's Wind Flower Sword is a rare weapon dropped by monsters. Although it's of the same quality as the [Tough Rapier], its stats are slightly better.

The weapon used by Fujimaru Ritsuka is a rare quest weapon from the same series as the [Tough Sword] in his hand.

As for enhancements, Asuna's +2 Sharpness and +2 Speed ​​are in line with her identity as a rapier user, and are quite average. However, Fujimaru Ritsuka's +4 Sharpness does seem a bit extreme.

However, this characteristic seemed to have been foreshadowed when they first met, when she unhesitatingly chose the [See Through] skill.

Although he still had some concerns about her choice, she had proven through her actions over the past two weeks that there was nothing wrong with her choice and ability, so he ultimately didn't say anything more.