Long Live Money in Anime Crossover

This is still a long process; it takes six to seven days for two people to simultaneously level up a skill to its maximum level, which is not a fast pace at all.

Kirito's proficiency with one-handed swords has reached 20%, allowing him to perform his first enhancement of his one-handed sword skills.

Finally, there's Momo's pork business on the starting street. Momo used his trading power to bind a random player to carry out all of this, and also used his trading power to trade with the butcher, making himself the exclusive supplier, at the cost of reducing wild boar meat to 23 kol per piece.

After deducting the purchase fee of 11 Coles and the reward of 2 Coles for each piece of wild boar meat given to random players, Momo still has an income of 500 Coles per day.

However, for Momo at this point, 500 kol was already a small amount of money. The level 10 bumblebees that Momo was hunting now dropped more than 10 kol.

If there are any differences between Sword Art Online at this time and the original work, there are two points.

One example is the legendary blacksmith Lisbeth, who single-handedly raised the gear level of all top-tier players. Upgrading gear means higher upgrade efficiency and lower death rates.

Another legendary story involves a couple of skilled players who are rarely seen, as they are always ahead of all other players. The woman is quite adept at using a rapier, while the man in the south inexplicably keeps switching weapons while chanting slogans about dominating all classes.

If it weren't for the fact that the man seemed to have some mental issues, everyone would probably think that this couple of swordsmen were practically cheating.

Twenty-four days passed, and Momo and Asuna received news that Kirito had discovered the location of the first floor boss. Although Kirito's strength was not yet as great as Momo and Asuna's, with the exquisite dark elf weapon meticulously crafted by Lisbeth and Kirito's experience, he could easily dominate the first floor.

The first floor's boss strategy will still appear, and the mastermind is still Tilberu. Tilberu's reputation is also much higher than in the original work, after all, he stole Momo's thunder at the very beginning of the game.

Momo and Asuna naturally had no reason to refuse.

After nine days of arduous leveling up, Momo and Asuna finally completed the task of achieving full proficiency in rapier and began the difficult task of increasing their sword skill proficiency.

There are several ways to increase your strength in Sword Art Online.

First, level up. Higher levels grant higher base attributes, including base health, HP regeneration, and stun resistance. They also provide freely distributable attribute points to increase Strength, Constitution, Agility, and Dexterity. Strength and Agility determine the damage of heavy and light weapons, respectively; Strength increases the damage bonus of heavy weapon sword skills, while Agility increases the bonus of light weapons.

For example, Kirito's strength attribute is dominant, so he must use a greatsword, while Asuna's agility attribute is dominant, so she must use a light weapon like a rapier.

As for our Momo, who claims to dominate all classes, that's just talk for now. Attribute points aren't part of experience or skill points, so Momo can only be bought and sold, not increased through learning or teaching.

Although Momo could buy attribute points from other people, he didn't have enough trading opportunities to begin with, so he wouldn't consider it.

045 It's time to unleash the cheat code (Part 2)

As for leveling up, Momo also tried it once and found that it was indeed possible to trade levels with Asuna.

Unfortunately, it's just a level-based trade. Even if you buy a level, it only changes the level's numerical value and doesn't affect your actual strength.

In addition, Momo can purchase experience points to level up, which can improve attributes. However, compared to the skill training that can improve two people's skills at the same time, the slight attribute improvement brought by leveling up is almost negligible.

Perhaps in the future, Momo can purchase a certain number of attribute points from logistics or second-line personnel who are not interested in fighting, and use them to improve himself. As for leveling up, it seems that Momo will have to rely on diligently fighting monsters.

After all, Momo's equipment, skills, and attributes are destined to far surpass those of ordinary players, and his level must also exceed that of ordinary players. The experience points required for leveling up at a high level are massively increased, and buying experience points from low-level players is clearly a drop in the ocean.

The second way to improve one's strength is through swordsmanship.

The improvement of sword skills is divided into two parts. One part is the visible improvement, which is the damage increase brought about by attributes, equipment, and proficiency. The other part is the invisible improvement, which is the improvement of an individual's application and combination of sword skills, as well as the improvement of combat awareness.

As for the former, Momo currently doesn't have a good way to level up. Attribute point increases have been put into the later stages. Equipment can reach the current limit of the first level, while sword skill proficiency has already reached the maximum level.

As for the second, unseen improvement, Momo, using Kirito's combat awareness, while not top-tier, was already first-rate. Besides passing on this combat awareness to Asuna, Momo could also exchange skills with other top players in the future, so this wouldn't be a problem either.

In terms of swordsmanship, Mo Mo can approach the limit in the future. The only problem that is difficult to maintain is his personal exclusive skills and so-called mental skills.

The origin of the personal unique skill is unknown. Mo Mo suspects that the so-called dual-wielding style may even be a skill that Kayaba Akihiko specially designed for Kirito as his opponent, making him his adversary.

The only thing that surprised Kayaba Akihiko was the mental technique. After all, mental techniques are things that "transcend the limits of human cognition," meaning they are things that even Kayaba Akihiko found surprising and incomprehensible.

Kayaba Akihiko may have some understanding of mental techniques, or he may be completely ignorant of them, but when he saw Kirito use a mental technique and break through the system's limits, he knew that Kirito was capable of breaking the limits he had created. That's why he handed THESEED over to Kirito and released him.

Incidentally, they rescued Asuna and released everyone.

Perhaps, the final battle on the 75th floor was just a farce where Kayaba Akihiko forced Kirito to create a successor.

In any case, Momo can't consider using a unique skill for the time being. Perhaps Momo can make a fair deal with Kirito later and learn dual-wielding techniques from him.

As for mental techniques, in Mo Mo's view, they should be a manifestation of human consciousness being able to receive and influence digital signals. Two years of deep diving caused some changes, or perhaps evolution, in the brains of Kirito and the other players, enabling them to receive and release digital signals.

This may also be one of Kayaba Akihiko's goals.

As for what Kayaba Akihiko was planning, Mo Mo wasn't particularly concerned. And since mental techniques weren't something Mo Mo could currently acquire, perhaps she'd have to rely on the kind-hearted Kirito in the future.

The third way to enhance strength is through weaponry and equipment.

Momo has no way to interfere with the drop of weapons and equipment. Of course, if he encounters any hidden missions in the future, he might be able to use his trading rights to buy the equipment, but for now, he should focus on crafting.

Fortunately, in SAO, crafting is the most important way for ordinary players to obtain equipment. High-level players can use advanced materials to craft their own equipment without relying on recipes, and there is a chance to obtain advanced weapons.

In the original work, Kirito's sword, the White Sword Darkseeker, is a high-level weapon obtained through forging, and it accompanies Kirito until the very end. It's worth noting that the main materials for Darkseeker are obtained in the Ice Dragon's Nest on the 55th floor, which sufficiently demonstrates the importance of the blacksmith profession in SAO.

Of course, this also illustrates another point: compared to minor improvements in weapon stats, a good weapon combined with proper weapon enhancement is of paramount importance.

In SAO, weapons can be upgraded from LV1 to LV20, but this is only available to the highest-level weapons; lower-level weapons have a limited number of upgrade attempts. However, generally no one will upgrade low-level weapons to high-level ones because upgrading requires a lot of materials, which players need to collect little by little.

This is not an easy process.

The greatest advantage of enhancement lies in the fact that, on the one hand, enhancement not only increases the basic attributes proportionally, but also increases special attributes with each enhancement level, such as attack speed, movement speed, skill cooldown, accuracy, sharpness, toughness, and so on.

When Asuna upgrades her weapon, she often prioritizes Precision Attack. The significance of Precision Attack is that when it hits a monster's vital point, it can cause a greater amount of critical damage. Secondly, she prioritizes attack speed.

Asuna, the Flash Asuna, is not only known for her fast attack speed, but also for her high attack power. This attack power is due to Asuna's control over her sword skills, resulting in high critical hits when she attacks the monster's vital points.

Therefore, the title "Asuna the Flash" is entirely a testament to her strength, without any falsehood.

Therefore, weapon enhancement is another major factor affecting strength besides sword skills. Only with a good weapon base and high enhancement can a powerful player be created.

Regarding this, Momo and Lisbeth's blacksmithing level ensures they can always use high-level elite weapons that match their skill level, and the enhancement success rate is also very high. However, they still have to collect the enhancement materials themselves, and the success rate of high-level enhancements, even for blacksmiths at LV10, still drops significantly.

Even a level 10 blacksmith has a mere 5% success rate when trying to enhance a level 19 weapon.

These are all the ways to increase your strength in SAO. (Since SAO is a novel, some parts reference the settings of two games, while others are personal additions. Please just be aware of this; this book does not delve into specific data.)

Mo Mo had already understood all of this, and had done his best to master all the means that could improve his strength.

Sword skill proficiency and weapon level are not issues; character level requires gradual practice, weapon enhancement cannot be rushed, and character attribute improvements should be addressed later in the game.

However, even with only a weapon enhanced to level 4 and full weapon proficiency, their sword skill proficiency was far from full. Momo and Asuna's strength had already surpassed that of all other players.

If the two of them wanted, they could even go straight to the first floor's boss, take the pitch-black midnight coat, and enjoy the style of a black swordsman.

However, Momo naturally did not intend to do so. Firstly, the black coat was not very meaningful to Momo. Compared to the importance of weapons, armor seemed rather lackluster. Its most important function was not to provide defense, but to enhance attributes.

After all, SAO is a sword-fighting game where defense is just an added bonus. The game's focus is on deciding victory or defeat in a single move.

This is one of the reasons, but the most important reason is that Momo and Asuna will not choose to reveal their strength now.

This isn't about hiding your strength or pretending to be weak; the two of them are strong enough to sweep everything away right now, but the strategy can't rely on just the two of them.

Later on, it will definitely be a team effort. If the other members' levels and weapons don't improve, Momo and Asuna will have no choice but to wait for everyone else.

In particular, what Momo is doing now is just reducing the time spent on the boring process of two people fighting monsters to level up and gain experience. It is not a real modification of the data. In the future, all players' data will be increased, and all players will be close to their limits.

In the original work, floor 75 is such a threshold. Kirito, Asuna, and the others are all over level 90, not far from the maximum level of 100. Although there is still room for improvement in their weapons, sword skills, etc., the boss on floor 75 almost wiped out the entire party, which is enough to illustrate the difficulty of defeating the bosses on floors above floor 75.

This was intentionally set up by Kayaba Akihiko, suggesting that he may never have intended for players to clear the game. Even a group of level 100 players with maxed-out stats might struggle to defeat the highest-level boss.

This is why Momo decided not to over-reveal his strength and let everyone rely on him. Momo didn't want everyone to become dependent on just two people, and in the end, the group would all retreat when facing the boss above level 75.

Well, leaving the game is also a way to end it.

Having received an invitation to the first level strategy meeting, Momo and Asuna returned to Torbana once again.

Compared to half a month ago, there are now fewer than 4000 players left in Torbana. These 4000 players are truly terrified. On one hand, there is a death game where players' names are constantly being engraved on the Black Iron Monument; on the other hand, they have very few Cole left. They are truly facing despair.

Some players even started begging from other players, but few people chose to pay attention to them.

After all, most people were forced out of Torbana, and the Cole they had was obtained by fighting monsters. It wasn't even enough to buy food, stay in an inn, and upgrade their equipment, so why would they share it with other players?

After all, this is still a game. Although being hungry is unbearable, it won't kill you.

"Hey, hey... these two people..."

"It's them, it really is them!"

"Look at their weapons, they're all glowing, and the glows are all different. These must be high-level weapons! They must have been upgraded to LV10!"

"Don't talk nonsense. The blacksmith clearly said that the first level can only be enhanced to LV4. She wrote down the materials needed for enhancement, the monsters you will face, and the characteristics of the monsters in the strategy guide. Didn't you read it carefully?"

"Oh, really? I just left the city not long ago, and I'm still practicing my swordsmanship!"

"Tch, what's so interesting about that? Those two must be closed beta testers who stole all the resources that belonged to us, and you still admire them?"

"You can't say that. They didn't steal or rob anyone; they left the starting street a long time ago!"

046 Welcome, Kirito 02

Momo and Asuna walked along the streets of the Beginning Street. Momo felt no pressure at all as he faced the pointing and whispering of passersby, having seen this kind of scene many times before.

In his previous life, there was even a global wave of resistance against Momo, which he easily suppressed. He could accept the accusations of billions of people with equanimity, so how much more so would he be swayed by the few players he had now?

"Mo Mo..."

Asuna hesitated, but Momo understood her thoughts and said, "This is an RPG game, and resources are limited. The maximum income from experience, materials, etc., determines that player stratification will inevitably occur."

"Our strength has increased more due to my own power than from acquiring massive amounts of resources. If this is to be criticized, Asuna, then it is their fault. It is just a manifestation of the inherent flaws of humanity. Even if we shared all our resources, they would still not be satisfied."

Momo grinned and said, "They might even accuse us of hoarding things. Using this so-called righteousness as a weapon, they'll humiliate us without restraint. Do you believe that, Asuna?"

Asuna nodded, which was considered an agreement. However, Momo knew that Asuna's agreement was only rational; in reality, she probably still didn't believe that a person could be so shameless.

"Of course, if you agree, once our strength reaches its limit, I can choose to trade with other players to further enhance their strength. Starting from Argo..."

"no!"

Asuna immediately glared at Mo Mo, a hint of suspicion in her eyes.

"Ugh, I'm getting shy looking at me like that!"

"Humph!"

Asuna turned and stepped forward. Although she didn't have conclusive evidence, Asuna had a vague feeling that Argo's gaze toward Momo was a little off.

Thinking back to that night, both of them hadn't returned home until late, and they had come back from the same direction, Asuna found it hard to control her thoughts.

Later, Argo directly admitted that she was the one who hired Momo to do the mission that day. Logically speaking, Asuna shouldn't have any doubts by now. However, Argo's casual use of the term "playboy" to refer to Momo only intensified Asuna's suspicions.

There's no way around it; under what circumstances would a girl call another man a playboy?

Although Argo's nonchalant tone made it hard for Asuna to believe that anything had really happened between her and Momo, it was at least clear that there had been some contact between them that went beyond friendship, or that Momo had some inappropriate feelings for Argo...

The above is the rational reasoning of the famous detective Asuna Yuuki; at least she herself believes she is rational.