Shirou's clones number 30 million

After waiting a few seconds, Shirou Narusaka closed his eyes and tried to return to his own world.

However, there was no response whatsoever.

"There's no going back. It seems he has succeeded."

"What are you going to do now? Play chess with your shadow clone for two days?" Kitahara Shirou couldn't help but ask.

"Let's read a book. There are plenty of books here. This is a good opportunity to expand our knowledge."

"Another show-off."

"I'm not a show-off. I just decided to read books on a whim to pass the time. I don't have his perseverance to read all the books in this collection in one go."

"That's why Xiu'er is called Emperor Guangwu. Just based on this kind of perseverance, I, Kitahara Shirou, would call him the King of Perseverance."

Liu Xiu smiled helplessly. It seemed that the nickname "Xiuer" was stuck with him.

"It's not really about perseverance, it's just a personal hobby, much like the fighting that Adris enjoys."

"Hobbies? I envy people who have hobbies, but I don't think I have any."

"Isn't listening to Setsuna sing your favorite thing?"

"Uh... I do like it, but it's not really a hobby, is it? At most, it's just something I like to do."

"Isn't this what hobbies are all about?"

"No, compared to you two, I don't deserve to talk about hobbies."

One could endure loneliness and read books alone, especially dry and boring theoretical knowledge; the other was excited about war and could be called a battle maniac.

How can you compare them? They're completely incomparable.

To be honest, I used to have a hobby—being a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur).

However, I've already graduated, and that was a complete black mark on my past; it couldn't even be considered a hobby.

……

Sword Art Online world, Earth Online, virtual section Aincrad.

"I am coming!"

Since it's a game, there's no need to use power beyond the game's scope. Let's just use the power level of a level 1 character to fight monsters and level up for now.

Outside the safe zone, Adris, holding a wooden stick, walked toward a wild boar not far away.

"Let's start by taking down this monster!"

boom!

The wild boar, blinded in one eye, charged straight at them.

Adris sidestepped and thrust the tip of the stick into the boar's eye socket.

In an instant, the wild boar's brain was pierced, and as it fell to the ground, it was transformed into raw material and flew into the backpack.

"Wow...it feels so good, almost just like killing a wild boar in real life, awesome!"

"So I was such an idiot, I didn't understand anything at all. Isn't this paradise on earth?"

"We can try a stronger monster now. Let's just beat the next one to death with a stick. It's been so long since I did that. I really miss it."

……

"Kirito, when are we going to challenge the eighth floor boss?"

Upon hearing the team member's voice, Kirito fell into deep thought.

At the current level, it's barely possible to fight the boss on the eighth floor, but everyone must use the correct skills, and the margin for error is too low.

If you fail, you'll have wasted a whole day of leveling up.

"Let's practice for two more days and then try it out the day after tomorrow."

At that moment, a system notification sound suddenly rang out.

[Floor 8 successfully cleared. Floor 9 is now open. All players can travel to the next floor via the portal.]

Kirito was slightly taken aback and subconsciously looked at Klein beside him.

Are there any other strategy groups besides us?

"Yes, there are, but we're supposed to be the strongest, right? Even we can't beat them, so what's the point of sending others?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Klein's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly said:

"Oh right, my phone! Let's see if there's any relevant information online."

The progress of the strategy is related to the future of all mankind, and each strategy is broadcast live online.

This time, perhaps, will be no exception.

Searching for the eighth-floor boss yielded countless related entries in just a short time, all of which were reports, videos, and forum posts about the boss being defeated. Some even featured exaggerated phrases like "easily defeated" or "defeated in an instant."

Clicking on any webpage, after a brief explanation, quickly leads to a battle video.

It was a scene of a cool-looking young man with blue hair and blue eyebrows, wielding a wooden stick, fighting against a BOSS.

His weapon was clearly unable to penetrate the boss's defenses, and it had no effect whatsoever on the boss.

However, his combat skills were exceptionally good. After a brief stalemate, he seized the opportunity to leap up and thrust the tip of the wooden stick into the BOSS's eye socket, instantly piercing through its brain.

Its fighting style is exceptionally elegant, making one think of only the word "art" at first glance.

"Is this guy a real-life martial artist? He can do this much with just a wooden stick. It feels like he's mocking us gamers for being incompetent."

"Klein, let's go ask him for combat tips. Also, if we can win him over, we can speed up the progress of our campaign."

"Great idea! But I don't think he'll agree. After all, he looks so cold."

"Don't judge a book by its cover, okay? I feel cold too, though."

Even within the same strategy team, when leveling up by fighting monsters, they still split into several groups to fight monsters in different locations to improve experience gain.

On their way to the ninth floor, Kirito's group encountered members from other groups, and soon the entire group was reunited.

"Looks like we're all thinking the same thing. Where do you think that blue guy will go?"

"Is that even a question? Judging from his relaxed appearance, he definitely won't linger on the ninth floor. Let's go straight to the BOSS room."

At that moment, a system notification sounded abruptly.

[Ninth floor successfully cleared, tenth floor unlocked...]

"Solved it again? This guy is amazing! If he just keeps fighting his way up to the hundredth floor, won't we all just be spectators?"

"Impossible. Even if he can get through the first few levels by himself, what about the later ones? Those bosses are not something a low-level character can defeat with skill alone."

"That's right! With skill alone, you can only get to around level 15 at most. As for the bosses later on, if your level and equipment aren't good enough, don't even think about it. You'll probably get one-shotted as soon as you enter the room."

"Even if he is exceptionally skilled, he still needs a team to level up quickly. Neither attracting monsters nor resupplying can be done by one person alone."

"That's what I think too. I hope he's not the kind of stubborn lone wolf."

"So, do you think he'll go level up by fighting monsters first, or head straight for the boss room?"

"Is that even a question? Given how easily he did it the first two times, he'll definitely go straight for the boss."

"In that case, let's head straight for the tenth floor BOSS room."

Not long after, while the strategy team was still on their way, the system notification sounded again.

[Floor 10 successfully cleared, Floor 11 now open...]

"This is ridiculous! The intervals are getting shorter and shorter. We might hear the notification that we've successfully cleared the eleventh floor soon."

Chapter 283 It's not shameful to acknowledge someone else's strength.

Chapter 283, Section 284: Acknowledging the strength of others is not shameful.

The eleventh floor, the twelfth floor...

When we reached the seventeenth floor, no more system notifications sounded.

However, when Kirito and his group went to the BOSS room, they still couldn't find their target.

"Was it too late again? What exactly does that guy mean?"

"Perhaps he intends to continue being a lone wolf? After all, judging from the smooth combat scenes in the video, he could easily defeat the seventeenth-floor boss without needing to team up with anyone else."

"It's already very late today. I guess he's planning to go back to sleep and recharge. When he wakes up tomorrow morning, he'll definitely hear that familiar notification sound again."

Hearing the team members' murmurs, Klein unconsciously glanced at Kirito and asked in a low voice:

"What should we do? Kirito, should we still go look for him?"

"Well……"

For the first time, Kirito fell silent. He knew all too well that he had never been a genius; he had simply spent more time playing games than most people.

Over the past month, he led the strategy team all the way to the seventh floor, and received a lot of praise online.

He even received the title of "Morning Star".

Under these circumstances, although he maintained his usual mindset, he still felt some pressure and joy.

Now, this person who suddenly appeared seemed to be mocking him with his actions, saying that he was just an ordinary person, not a genius.

"Kirito?" Klein couldn't help but call out Kirito's name again when he noticed that Kirito remained silent.

"Sorry, I'm thinking about something for a bit."

When he came to his senses, Kirito noticed the somewhat confused looks on his teammates' and his sister's faces in the distance. He quickly realized that everyone was probably thinking the same thing as him.

Is it even necessary for the strategy team to continue?

If that blue guy can reach the 100th floor all by himself, then all our efforts seem to be in vain, just a waste of time.

Moreover, since the strategy failed to play a role in the operation, will the benefits agreed upon when the strategy team was formed still be delivered as promised?

This is not only related to everyone's current situation, but also to their future prospects.

Even worse, if the strategy team were to disband on the spot and everyone slunk back to school or home, how many scornful looks and ridicule would they have to endure?

At this moment, he inexplicably thought of his cousin, Shirou Narusaka.