A journey to another world starting from a sword

Using all his strength, he plunged the short sword into the wild boar's body. Thanks to the weapon's superior performance, the monster's health was instantly destroyed as the dazzling effect light appeared.

First came a mournful "plop," followed by a broken sound effect.

“It’s gone.” Silica stared blankly at the first monster she had defeated.

"Congratulations." Dante planted his two swords in the ground and extended his palm.

Silica looked at his palm, understood, took a step forward, and also reached out to clap her hands in celebration, her face beaming with the joy of success.

"great."

“Well, short swords aren’t exactly weapons for frontal attacks anyway. I’ll draw the monster’s attention from the front while you attack from the side.”

Dante didn't force Silica to adapt to combat as quickly as possible from the start, which would have been a bit harsh on a 12-year-old girl.

After about five such battles, Silica finally got used to the wild boar's behavior patterns and successfully absorbed the combat experience.

Dante rarely takes action in battle, consistently playing a support role.

Having almost reached level three, the experience gain efficiency of the monsters in the beginner village had dropped to a barely tolerable level. Once he truly reached level three, he probably wouldn't gain much experience at all.

The experience points for team-based strategies are calculated based on the percentage of damage dealt to monsters.

Silica, who was constantly on the offensive, was gaining experience points at the same rate as during a normal battle.

After Silica got used to this supportive fighting style, Dante decided to let her try facing monsters alone.

"Haa!" After dodging the boar's charge in a panic, Silica immediately unleashed her sword technique, stabbing at the boar before it could make its next move.

"The movements are still not decisive enough," Dante thought to himself.

It wasn't even a proper form; my body was a bit off balance. If it weren't for the game's system assistance, I might have fallen right away.

Let's still encourage them for now.

“Well done.” He said with a smile while clapping.

“Yes, really?” Silica turned around and smiled happily.

"Let's continue." Dante looked at the hills not far away, where blue wild boars were gradually respawning.

Today they can still enjoy the benefits of the solo hunting grounds, but maybe not tomorrow; they need to upgrade as soon as possible.

"Ok!"

Chapter 11: An Encounter at the Restaurant

As night was about to fall.

"Whoa!" With her short sword in hand, Silica charged from the side of the battlefield.

She pushed off the grass with all her might, running at breakneck speed to close the distance between herself and the wild boar.

Dante stood in front of the two wild boars, keeping watch on their movements. He had already handed the one on the right over to Silica, and now he only needed to keep an eye on the monster's actions.

Silica's short sword was already in the correct position, emitting an orange-red light.

He continued charging forward, his short sword aimed at the side of the wild boar that was about to launch an attack.

The wild boar roared in extreme pain, and its HP bar dropped to the bottom.

Another boar charged toward Dante unaffected, but it was clear that this desperate charge would not cause him any trouble.

Raising his greatsword high, he unleashed a single vertical sword technique called "Explosion," aiming precisely at the wild boar's forehead.

The fatal penetrating wound cleaved the wild boar in two, and the next second it shattered into countless fragments, scattering everywhere.

The girl on the other side withdrew her outstretched arm as if drawing a short sword from her hand, and let out a long sigh.

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself, then slowly turned and walked toward Dante.

Having fought all afternoon, Silica knew that every battle was a test, and that she needed to constantly improve her skills and combat experience in order to surpass herself and continue to grow.

"Let's go back." Dante sheathed his sword and smiled at Silica.

"Mmm." Silica nodded vigorously, her face full of exhaustion.

Such a relentless, high-intensity battle was still a bit too much for this novice girl, and Dante had also witnessed her tenacity in silence earlier.

Let's have a more substantial dinner.

The experience points for the team were distributed based on output, but the money could be set, and the two chose to split it equally without any dispute.

They each earned a full three thousand cors throughout the afternoon.

Of course, this also has nothing to do with the fact that there are very few players on the grasslands; as soon as one wild boar is defeated, another one appears.

"Let's find a nice restaurant," Dante suggested on the way back.

“Great! I haven’t eaten at any of the restaurants here yet,” Silica laughed heartily.

However, it was still difficult for the two of them to determine what constituted a "better" restaurant, since they had never eaten there before.

As they passed a deserted spot, Dante shook his head, indicating that since it was unpopular, the food might not taste good.

The next shop was a bit small, and the environment was just average; it was too simple for the two of them to celebrate their first successful team hunt.

Finally, they stopped in front of a restaurant that looked very large.

"This is the one," Dante decided.

“Hmm.” Silica had no objections; she had found it quite amusing to choose a restaurant with Dante earlier.

She thought it didn't matter which one it was, since they would try all the restaurants in the starting town later.

However, this idea was not voiced.

And even if he said it, Dante would just smile and shake his head.

Because according to Dante's plan, he would definitely hurry to the next village, and he might rarely return to the starting town, let alone eat his fill.

The restaurant called "Modena" has a spacious first floor, but it's not very crowded.

It's probably because the store is so upscale that it deters most players who are short on cash.

After having Silica sit in a seat deep inside the restaurant, Dante walked to the counter where the NPCs were standing, quickly clicked on the menu, and then returned to his seat.

“This is a restaurant that feels like it’s set in Italy,” Dante asserted to Silica after sitting down.

Because he saw pasta on it; the menu thoughtfully used simple line drawings to roughly depict the food, so that people wouldn't be confused about what it was.

"Really?" Silica asked curiously. "Dante, what did you order?"

"I ordered everything that looked delicious."

Just as Silica opened her mouth, presumably to say something about how wasteful it was, Dante raised his hand to stop her and chuckled, saying:

"Anyway, you won't gain weight no matter how much you eat here."

It was a joke, but Silica took it all to heart.

Just then, the waiter brought over two large mugs.

This is the sparkling water he ordered. As for why it was served in a beer glass, Dante said he didn't know either.

"Celebrating the formation of the team!"

The two clinked their glasses together, and Silica took a sip of the liquid in her glass.

“It’s so real.”

It has a carbonation-like sensation and a refreshing taste in the mouth.

Dante also took a sip, and it was not bad.

It is said that the drinks in Aincrad are non-alcoholic, and the beer is said to be a bitter and astringent liquid, while the other drinks are probably okay.

I don't know if I can get drunk, I might try next time.

I initially thought there wouldn't be many people, but after a while, more and more players started entering the restaurant.

No, perhaps that's how it should be.

If, based on a base of 10,000 players, there are hundreds of players who leave on the first day, then the probability of players who want to treat themselves to a big meal entering this restaurant is much higher.

Dinner, consisting of a special salad, stew, pasta, mixed vegetable soup, and apple pie, was served, and before we knew it, it was already eight o'clock in the evening.

It was completely dark outside. Time in Aincrad was set according to Japanese time.

Six o'clock is dusk, also known as the time of encountering demons. At seven o'clock, the sky is just beginning to darken, with a hint of blue still on the distant horizon.

It was completely dark at eight o'clock, but the lights throughout the restaurant made the whole space feel warm and inviting.

Just then, two stunningly beautiful girls walked in.

“This is the place,” Mite said, pointing to his finger. “I’ve eaten here before, and the food was pretty good. Plus, it fits the theme of this floor.”

"What theme?" Asuna asked with a hint of curiosity, half a step behind Mito.

"The theme is... Asuna, look at the wild boar monsters on the grassland outside, so the stews and other dishes here must be made with pork. Also, there are apple trees planted on the street outside, so we can deduce that some dishes on the menu must be related to apples."

"I see."

As they talked, the two unknowingly walked to the vicinity of Dante and Silica's seats, but did not sit close to them.

Perhaps because they were bothered by the presence of other people, they sat down at a table away.

Mito and Dante sat back to back, while Asuna and Silica, sitting opposite them, could see each other's faces.

Of course, when Dante heard the girls' voices, he felt that the voices sounded somewhat familiar.

As the purple-haired girl, whose vision was obscured, went to order, he turned to look behind him.

As Asuna shifted her gaze from Mito, who was negotiating with the NPC at the counter, she met the eyes of the man in front of her who had his back to her.

"what......"

"Hi~"

Dante greeted him with a smile, but it was clear that the other person hadn't reacted yet and was still in a "frozen" state.

"What's wrong?" Mito, who had already ordered, came back and asked, noticing Asuna staring at a man across the table.

Is she trying to pick me up?

For a moment, she had this question. In reality, both of them were students at Eternal Women's Academy, which was a long-established and rigorous girls' school.

In the rumors circulating outside, she is mostly portrayed as an elegant young lady, which is not far from the truth.

During the school festival, men from unknown places who came to visit would often try to strike up a conversation with the students.

Moreover, even when she was playing in the arcade, she had a cold expression on her face and was constantly being approached by hip-hop style guys who would ask for her Line.

"It's you!"

Of course, Mitt was wrong. She saw Asuna slam her hand on the table and stand up abruptly, as if she recognized her.

Is it someone you met in real life? Perhaps someone from your parents' social circle.

After all, Asuna is the heiress of RECT, a major electronics manufacturer.

"That person from yesterday."

yesterday?

Unfortunately, Mitt guessed wrong again.

"Hello, my name is Dante, and yours is Dante."

"A... My name is Asuna." Asuna responded politely to the other person's self-introduction.

This made Mito click her tongue. Who would be so honest as to reveal their name so readily? No, it's all "Asuna's" fault for directly using her real name as her game name.

(Asuna and Asuna are pronounced the same in Japanese)

"Asuna, is this someone you know?" She walked to the table and asked Asuna.

“No, this is the person who helped me find Mito yesterday,” Asuna brought up yesterday’s events, “It’s that magic…”

"..." In an instant, Mito's mind vividly recalled the scene where Asuna shouted her real name in the square where players were gathered, a scene that made him feel incredibly awkward.

From then on, the name Usagizawa Fukasumi gained some recognition among some players.

"It's you!" she shouted at Dante through gritted teeth, the culprit who had caused her death!

Of course, that wasn't what Asuna was focused on; what she was really concerned about was...