Both time-traveled characters ended up as villainous henchmen.

[Challenge failed, want to start over?]

Kirito stared blankly at the system notification that popped up in front of him, his mind still reeling from the shock he had just experienced.

This was completely different from his previous experience of teaming up to fight large bosses, and the difficulty was at the other extreme.

Most importantly, the fighting style exhibited by this straw-hatted NPC was completely different from the information he had previously gathered!

Don't let him find out in the future which unscrupulous intelligence dealer fabricated the false information!

Kirito gritted his teeth and got up from the ground. He didn't immediately click to continue the challenge, but instead brought up the mission panel and reread the mission description of this special mission.

The Trial of the Blind Swordsman in the Straw Hat: On the Path to Supremacy!

[After the trial begins, players will need to fight the blind swordsman in a fixed area. Both players must maintain level 60 within the area, and all HP recovery skills are disabled. The player whose HP drops below 25% will fail.]

Players who participate in the trial and successfully complete it will receive a guaranteed random drop of rare items.

"Towards... ultimate power?"

Kirito adjusted his mindset, no longer intending to hold back, and took out another white sword, the Dark Chaser. With both swords in hand, he challenged He Nian once again.

The lost health was instantly replenished, and at the same time, the familiar barrier once again surrounded Kirito and He Nian.

He Nian chuckled, brandishing his sword, and asked again, "Swordsman thirsting for power, are you ready to accept my test?"

"certainly!"

With a roar, Kirito immediately unleashed his sword technique, lunging straight at He Nian. He wielded his two sharp swords, one black and one white, with impenetrable force, exuding an astonishing aura, as if to shatter everything in his path.

Very good, that's it.

He Nian remained calm and quietly collected Kirito's special dual-wielding character templates.

After the two sides exchanged blows for a few rounds, and both of their health dropped to around 60%, He Nian felt that the time was right. So he started with a zero-frame attack and then rushed in with a fast and slow sword strike, which stunned Kirito. Then he swung his greatsword, and the familiar animation once again kept Kirito in place.

……

[Challenge failed, want to start over?]

"hateful!"

Kirito slammed his fist on the ground in anger, his eyes clearly filled with rage.

He refused to believe it; surely he could get past this special NPC today?

Without lingering, Kirito quickly clicked the "Confirm" button.

The barrier reappeared, and Kirito once again stood before He Nian at full health.

"A thirst for power..."

"Stop talking nonsense!!"

Kirito increased the speed at which he wielded his twin swords, and his focus reached its peak. This time, he was determined to succeed!

Then, unsurprisingly, Kirito was killed by He Nian's various zero-frame start attacks and uninterruptible command reading combos.

"Damn it, again!"

In the final moments of this battle, Kirito was about to win and had used his sword skills to dodge He Nian's powerful interrupt skill. However, when Kirito's two swords struck He Nian, who was wielding a greatsword, there was no damage displayed.

"What?"

He Nian smiled slightly, "Invincible frame, kid!"

Challenge failed!

"Continue!" [Challenge failed!]

……

This was repeated more than ten times, until Kirito was so badly beaten that he became mentally disoriented and began to question the meaning of life. Only then did He Nian stop bullying the child.

After all, he had already collected Kirito's template data.

In the final battle, when Kirito's health was down to only 26%, he finally "defeated" He Nian by a narrow margin.

In an instant, the barrier dissipated, the lost health was replenished, and the swordsman in the straw hat in front of Kirito slowly removed his straw hat.

"Congratulations, swordsman, you have passed my trial. Accept this reward!"

After He Nian finished speaking her lines, she handed the straw hat she had taken off to Kirito.

Kirito was still somewhat dazed. His hands trembled slightly as he took the hat. The next instant, the hat's durability was depleted, and it quickly dissipated into a patch of light.

Kirito's smile vanished instantly, and he looked on the verge of bursting into a tirade.

Just then, a message popped up on his system panel.

[Obtained rare item: Radiant Bracelet (accessory)]

Kirito's expression froze for a moment, then he immediately clicked on the equipment, and a silver bracelet that shone with a warm light appeared on his left wrist.

"This is the Super Bracelet. With it, you can defeat any evil monster!" He Nian recited the line again.

The bracelet's attributes are incredibly generous, ranking among the best even among rare items. In particular, the bracelet's special attack effect against monsters made Kirito feel that his ordeal of being beaten today was worthwhile.

After accepting the bracelet, Kirito looked at the blind swordsman who had put his hat back on, and heard the familiar question: "Yearning for power..."

Goodbye!

Without hesitation, Kirito used the teleportation crystal to leave the area.

He Nian was very satisfied with the result. After watching Kirito leave, his figure quickly disappeared from the spot.

Next, he'll have to study Kirito's stats panel carefully.

There was also a special program that he had implanted long ago in that bracelet, which would only take effect when Kirito met Yui.

Yui's emotional data template is of great help to He Nian in building a digital egg that stores his core data.

He Nian dared not gamble that the code from the Digital World would run perfectly in the Sword Art Online world without any deviation, so he planned to prepare several alternative solutions.

Yui, this unique intelligent emotional AI, is a good example to follow.

Day two.

He Nian looked at Kirito in front of her and Asuna beside him, and suddenly smiled.

He had originally planned to leave a rare item on Asuna as well, to increase the success rate of copying the data template when encountering the game GM Yui.

I thought I would have to wait a while longer, but I didn't expect to be able to collect them all today.

"Swordsman thirsting for power, are you ready to face my test?"

As He Nian recited his lines, Asuna stepped into the barrier under Kirito's encouraging gaze.

Then, after failing only twice, Asuna passed the trial smoothly.

Kirito witnessed the entire process and once again fell into self-doubt.

Why is the attack pattern and difficulty completely different from what he experienced yesterday...?

"Eh, it's the same bracelet as Kirito's?"

Asuna looked at the silver bracelet that had appeared on her wrist, her surprise and delight deepened.

Kirito appeared even more depressed.

Having gotten rid of Kirito and Asuna, He Nian has accomplished 90% of his goal, leaving only the last and most important one: the object to whom the Digi-Egg is entrusted.

The reliability of this partner directly affects whether he can successfully enter the real world later.

Therefore, it is essential to consider this carefully.

Nearly half a month later, a twin-tailed girl carrying a small flying dragon stood in front of He Nian.

He Nian's eyes, hidden beneath the cloth strip, suddenly lit up. He had found the object to entrust the digital egg to!

Dragon Tamer Silica, a rare beast tamer professional player.