A journey to another world starting from a sword

Before Asuna could finish speaking, Mito had already begun to act, "It's okay if you don't understand now, the important thing is to get out of here first."

She pulled Asuna towards the west gate of the "Town of Beginnings," heading towards Horuka Village.

Leaving the safe town, the two ran along the straight dirt road.

On both sides were grasses that reached up to the calves, which turned orange-yellow in the setting sun, just like autumn crops.

Suddenly, blue light and shadow appeared ahead. After the light effect disappeared, two monsters named "Hungry Wolves" appeared in the same spot.

They are a kind of monster that inhabits the grasslands, and are more aggressive than wild boars.

"You step back first." After shouting to Asuna, Mito, holding a scythe in both hands, rushed forward.

The wolf-like monster also charged at the two of them at the same time, its eyes flashing red with ferocity. It opened its mouth and roared, revealing its hideous fangs and the saliva it spit out on the ground with each roar.

They truly live up to their name as hungry wolves!

Just then, a purple special effect light emanated from the scythe. Mitt activated the scythe's sword technique, "Harvest Slash," aiming at the waist of the first wolf and swiftly slashing down.

It was a smooth gameplay experience, and the monster's HP bar smoothly plummeted to the bottom, marking its demise.

But before Mitt could raise his scythe, another hungry wolf pounced.

Left with no other choice, she used the handle of her sickle to defend herself against the wolf's fangs.

Seeing that his attack had failed, the wolf tilted his body, loosened his grip on the scythe, and ran past Mito, heading straight for her.

"Asuna!" Mito quickly turned around and reminded her.

However, Asuna was not holding any weapons at the moment, and she did not know how to deal with the current situation.

They spent the day playing in the town, and she knew nothing about the game's combat system.

So Asuna stood there in a panic, watching the wolf, which looked just like it did in real life, pounce on her.

The hungry wolf pounced on her, tearing at her neck.

"No! No!" she cried out in terror.

There is no pain setting in SAO, but at this moment, Asuna can't distinguish between them. She feels a pressure on her neck that makes it hard to breathe.

My HP bar is rapidly decreasing and turning red in my field of vision.

When she played a fighting game called "Tekken" with Mito-Fukasumi on the school rooftop in real life, she learned the most basic common sense about games.

She will die when the HP bar reaches the bottom.

"No!!!"

Am I going to die? Me.

As she lay dying, a question that seemed absurd to her came to mind.

Just then, the purple light pierced through the wolf's body once again.

The monster tearing at Asuna's body swelled and shattered, turning into blue fragments that dissipated into the air.

"Alright, let's go." Mito arrived just in time, squatted down, and looked at her with remorse, "Asuna..."

The recent threat of death became the final straw for Asuna. She slapped away Mito's outstretched hand, and tears streamed down her delicate cheeks and onto the ground.

"What? I don't understand at all. I can't even log off? Is that even possible?" Asuna complained and complained, shifting her knees a few times, grabbing Mito's clothes, her vision already blurred.

"Calm down," Mitt said, offering a rather unconvincing attempt at comfort.

"The exam is just around the corner. Why did it turn out like this?!" Asuna still can't understand why her peaceful daily life has collapsed so dramatically.

"Now is not the time to say such things." Mitt looked around at his surroundings. This was "outside the circle," and new monsters would appear.

"I don't understand this game at all!"

“Asuna…” Mito looked at his friend blankly, a familiar feeling welling up in his heart.

That is......

"You only say things like 'move forward' because you're good at video games, Mito, right?! I'm not like that!!!"

Mite gaped in disbelief, remembering similar things that had happened before, and how things had unfolded exactly as she had predicted.

"Alright! Leave me alone!!!"

I first heard this phrase six years ago.

"Fukasumi, you're really good at playing games, so you probably had a lot of fun."

"I always end up surviving by myself."

"Why don't you just leave us alone?"

Mito, Usagizawa Fukasumi, was told this by two former friends when they were in elementary school.

However, the memory remains vivid even now, and every time I think of it, a feeling of being stabbed in the heart comes rushing back.

If time could turn back and I could start my life all over again...

No... that's probably meaningless too.

That day was the same.

"Please, don't say those things." Mito knelt down and hugged Asuna tightly.

"..." Asuna was stunned for a moment, but this was the first time she had seen Mito and Fukasumi like this, her voice filled with endless sorrow.

"I know you're scared, but trust me. I'll teach you everything about SAO, so let's work together to beat the game."

As he spoke, tears streamed down Mitt's face, wetting the soil beneath his feet.

“Then we…go back together,” she pleaded.

......

"......it is good."

Chapter 8: The Cat That Brings Good Fortune

Having not slept all night, Dante slowly yawned and walked into the "Town of Beginnings" with his back to the rising sun.

He was incredibly conspicuous at that moment because he was the only player walking in, surrounded by people moving in the opposite direction.

On the deserted grassland, they practiced swordsmanship while fighting monsters and leveling up, and have been fighting for about 18 hours since yesterday afternoon.

There are 24 hours in a day, so he should go back to the hotel and sleep for at least 6 hours before continuing the fight.

However, there was one more thing to do before going to sleep. After asking the NPC for directions, he headed towards the church by the river in the East Seventh District.

In his memory, there was an officially designed Easter egg there.

As I passed by the transfer gate plaza, I saw a girl with pigtails, who looked about 12 years old, sitting in a corner of the plaza. Dante kindly reminded her of her presence.

"If you have nowhere to go, you can go to the church over there. There are some people your age there."

Although the guild's "army" will take over this place in a year, it is still a good place for now.

Later on... Dante considered adopting the children in the church when he had the means.

Anyway, once you reach the dozens of floors, the value of the food consumed by a group of children each day is only equivalent to the value of one monster, or at most two.

Of course, it would be even better if such a malignant tumor as the "military" did not appear according to the original timeline, but it is hard to say at present.

After giving the reminder, he continued walking towards the church. There weren't many people in this area, perhaps because it was too remote, far from the central commercial street and the main hotels.

"This is it." Dante stood with one hand on his hip in front of the church, scrutinizing the building.

The church in the starting town looks like a solemn and sacred building.

Its exterior is tall and magnificent, with pointed towers and stained glass windows, and its structure and appearance are full of strong religious connotations.

In addition, the church walls are carved with various intricate patterns and texts, which can be felt as a rich historical heritage. The design team has even meticulously reproduced this aspect.

Standing by the church window, he secretly peered inside. There were indeed some very young children inside, even elementary school students.

He must be playing with his NERvGear at home, but now he's trapped in SAO.

I reckon that once they leave SAO, their parents will never let them play full-dive games again.

He couldn't help but grin, shook his head with a sigh, and began to look around the church.

Next, he looked around to see if there was a cat nearby, and for that purpose, he strolled clockwise around the church.

Until they saw a small figure at the other end of the alley, its gray fur and a fluffy tail sticking up were eye-catching.

It's a pity it's not a Minuto; it looks more like some kind of country cat.

A sense of tranquility rose between the person and the cat as time passed.

Two pairs of eyes met, as if they were sending and receiving radio waves.

Dante only gave chase after the gray cat when it started to turn and run into the alley.

Then, as if it had already decided on its destination, it ran straight into the depths of the alley.

Dante's destination is also the finish line he is running towards. Whenever he speeds up, the gray cat will also speed up, and the two always maintain a proper distance.

As the gray cat disappeared around the corner, Dante wondered, "I hope I haven't lost it," when he saw the cat stop in the middle of the path and look back at him.

This made him exclaim in surprise: "How clever!"

No, perhaps this is just a pre-designed pattern of action.

But...it is indeed obedient, I just don't know if pets can be kept in Aincrad.

It's still unclear where it's headed, but thankfully we can check the map. No matter how many street corners and alleys we turn, we won't really get lost.

The starting town is actually just a city with a diameter of one kilometer, not much larger than a park in reality. It is only because of the dense buildings that one can easily lose their way if they are not careful.

Finally, the gray cat quietly slipped into a section of broken walls covered with vines and disappeared without a trace.

Oh, this is it.

Unable to contain his excitement, Dante eagerly stepped forward, knelt down, and lifted the vines to reveal a small hole in the stone wall.

Inside is an officially designed Easter egg: a treasure chest containing 20 Cor and a very high-level rare short sword.

What is the approximate concept of 20 Korla?

Two years after the main storyline, SAO will be conquered, and at that time all players will be freed and able to leave the game world.

How will you spend the last 730 days before you leave?

Staying at a cheap inn in the starting town costs 15 Cor, while the cheapest black bread in the bakery costs 1 Cor. Players can get free drinking water from the fountains that can be found everywhere in town, so there is no need to worry about drinking water. All in all, it will cost a total of 11680 Cor over two years.

Even if you want to be a little extravagant, staying in some rental rooms with luxurious bathrooms and free milk only costs 80 Cor. A regular set meal in a restaurant should normally cost around 10 Cor. So, including three meals a day, it would only cost 73000 Cor.

In other words, with this money, you don't need to leave town to fight dangerous monsters. Instead, you can comfortably stay in the city and travel around. Under normal circumstances, 20 Cor will be more than enough to cover your expenses.

Of course, if you're thinking of buying a house, this amount of money is completely insufficient, as that involves expenses in the millions or tens of millions.

The guild headquarters of the two top guilds, "Blood Oath Knights" and "Holy Dragon Alliance," are worth hundreds of millions, or even billions. It's hard to imagine how they made that much money.

Furthermore, if you spend the money on purchasing and upgrading equipment, a good sword in the early stages will cost tens of thousands of Cor, and upgrading once will cost at least thousands of Cor including materials. 20 Cor will be spent in no time.

From this perspective, if we aim to become top players, it doesn't seem like it will take too long to accumulate 20 Cor.

But right now, at this moment, this 20 can create a snowballing advantage in the early stages, allowing you to buy the best equipment available in the shops of every town or village you arrive in, so that you can hunt faster and more safely.

The role it can play is invaluable.

but......

After glancing at the wall he couldn't climb over, Dante gestured towards the opening with his hand, then compared it to his own size, blinked, and then frowned.

"..."

Isn't this hole a bit small?

-----------------

"Is this the place that person was talking about?" Silica, whose real name is Keiko Ayano, stood in front of a building that resembled a church and looked around.

因生于10月4日，搞化学的祖父便用第10+4=14号元素Si，给她取名为“珪子”。

She stepped across the path toward the church window and then peeked inside.

There were indeed several children inside who were about her age, or even younger than her.