I'm a Sword Master in Sword Art Online

The morning sunlight spilled onto the emerald canal, shimmering with tiny golden rays. Mochizuki and his companions stood on the wooden boardwalk of the main dock of the fourth-level water city, Lobia, as a blue gondola gently swayed with the waves.

"Please aboard, esteemed adventurers." The NPC boatman, wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat, bowed. His bronze face was covered with wrinkles, but he wore a standard service smile. "Today's sightseeing route will pass through the Grand Canal, the Bridge of Sighs, and finally arrive at the Equipment Exchange Wharf."

Asuna nimbly leaped onto the bow of the gondola, which then sank slightly.

Her eyes reflected the shimmering light: "It's even more stable than I imagined."

Long, slender fingers brushed across the gilded prow, which was engraved with dolphin patterns. Inside the gondola, the seats were upholstered in deep red velvet, and the brass armrests were polished to a shine.

Silica carefully stepped onto the deck and was immediately captivated by the scenery on both sides of the boat: "Look! The fish in the water follow the boat!"

She excitedly pointed to the side of the boat, where a group of phosphorescent blue-scaled fish were swimming in the shadow of the boat, leaving silver trails in the emerald green water.

Mochizuki Kaede was the last to board. As Raidao sat down, his hand lightly touched the brass armrest, producing a crisp sound. With the gondolier's long, drawn-out "Let's go!", the gondola slowly pulled away from the dock. The oars slicing through the water created pearly sprays.

Vines climbed the walls of Venetian-style buildings along the canal. NPC residents leaned out from their ornate balconies, tossing petals onto the boats. Asuna caught a falling red rose and gently tucked it into Silica's hair.

"The Bridge of Sighs is ahead."

The boatman pointed his oar at a snow-white marble arch bridge.

"Legend has it that couples who kiss under a bridge will have eternal love." He mechanically recited the scripted lines.

Silica blushed instantly, while Asuna glanced at Mochizuki Kaede instinctively. The ship tilted slightly as it passed through the shadows of the bridge arch, the stained glass beneath casting dreamlike dappled light in the interplay of sky and water.

"Look at that fountain!" Silica suddenly pointed to the left bank. A mermaid statue was rising from a seashell, and crystal-like water jets gushed from the tip of the trident in her hand, refracting a rainbow of colors in the sunlight.

As the boat passed through an open body of water, a school of luminous silver fish suddenly leaped out of the water, tracing graceful arcs in the air. Silica reached out in delight and caught a falling water droplet, which miraculously transformed into a tiny pearl in her palm.

"This is a unique interactive Easter egg on the fourth floor," Mochizuki Kaede explained, watching Silica's childlike excitement.

"Turn right and you'll be in the equipment area." The boatman adjusted the oars, and the gondola smoothly turned to the right side of the waterway.

Mochizuki Kaede gazed at the gradually clearing dock, where signs for various weapon workshops stood side by side. The loot from the third-floor boss lay quietly in his inventory—the throwing-type special weapon, [Crescent Wheel].

He turned to look at Silica: "The fourth layer of water-patterned steel can enhance the [Crescent Moon Wheel]. Go to the workshop later to enhance this weapon. The budget should be enough to upgrade it to +2, which should be perfect for you."

Silica nervously twisted her fingers: "But... I've never used a throwing weapon before, I've always used short swords."

“Perfect timing to replan my skill build.” Mochizuki Kaede brought up the skill panel and pointed to the special spinning attribute description of [Crescent Moon Wheel], “This weapon will automatically return after being thrown, and it will be excellent when combined with your agility.”

Asuna also came over to check the weapon data: "And it can restrain enemies at mid-range, making it easier to coordinate with us in close combat."

She suddenly remembered something and added, "But I need to go to the training ground first to get used to the throwing feel."

The boat gently bumped into the crash barriers on the dock, and the boatman secured the mooring lines.

“Let’s go.” He turned to Silica and said, “Today’s goal is to get you fully mastered the new weapon.”

The plank road swayed slightly under his footsteps, and the rhythmic hammering of the workshops echoed over the water town in the distance.

On the street in the equipment area, Mochizuki Maple and his two companions were browsing the shops when suddenly a player wearing a gray cloak stopped them.

"Excuse me, gentlemen." He removed his hood, revealing a face with a warm smile. "I am Nezha, a professional blacksmith. Judging from your equipment, you are no ordinary players. Would you like to try my enhancement service?"

Silica blinked curiously: "A blacksmith?"

“That’s right!” Nezha patted the forging hammer badge on his chest.

Mochizuki Kaede frowned slightly: "Why did you come to us?"

Nezha smiled confidently: "My [Weapon Enhancement] skill has a unique feature: the higher the quality of the enhanced equipment, the faster the proficiency increases. And I guarantee that my enhancement success rate is 15% higher than that of ordinary NPC blacksmiths!"

Nezuha's gaze fell on Mochizuki Kaede's [Thunder Blade] and Asuna's [Elf Sword], his eyes shining.

Asuna was skeptical: "You have such a special skill?"

“How about this, let’s try that Shadow Dagger first? I’ll show you my skills.” He winked and pointed to the Shadow Dagger at Silica’s waist. “The first service is free, consider it making friends.”

Silica looked at Mochizuki Kaede with a hint of excitement.

Mochizuki Kaede pondered for a moment and then nodded. Silica then unsheathed the Shadow Dagger from her waist and handed it to him. Nezha immediately set up his portable forging table and began working with practiced ease.

He first used a special whetstone to carefully polish the blade, meticulously working every inch. Then he took out a small porcelain bottle and evenly sprinkled a powder that shimmered with blue light onto the sword.

"This is [Water Essence Powder], a specialty of the fourth level, which can enhance a weapon's water resistance." He explained as he lit the forge, and blue flames immediately shot up.

For the next fifteen minutes, Nezha worked with complete concentration. The rhythm of the hammering varied, sometimes as light as raindrops, sometimes as heavy as thunder. Sweat streamed down his forehead, instantly evaporating into white vapor upon contact with the scorching metal surface.

"The crucial step has arrived!" he suddenly shouted, taking a shimmering crystal shard from his robes. The crystal emitted a blinding purple light upon contact with the sword, causing the entire forging table to tremble.

"Watch closely!" With the final hammer blow, the short sword burst forth with a dazzling purple light. The shadow patterns on the blade flowed as if alive, refracting an eerie brilliance in the sunlight. "Success! The quality has increased by one level!"

Asuna took the short sword and examined it carefully. The newly added water ripple patterns on the blade shimmered in the sunlight: "Indeed... the attack power has increased by 15%, and it also adds water resistance."

“I told you so!” Nezha wiped his sweat triumphantly. “Now you can believe me, right?”

Chapter 53: The Fraud Case

Looking at the enhanced Shadow Short Sword, Mochizuki Kaede relaxed his guard slightly. He took out the [Crescent Moon Wheel] from his inventory; its moon-like metallic surface reflected the shimmering water of the canal.

Nezha took the weapon with both hands, a strange glint in his eyes: "A good weapon!"

Then he began forging and strengthening it. The rhythmic sound of hammering rang out, and amidst the flying sparks, the weapon's brilliance seemed to truly shine even brighter.

However, when Nezha gave the enhanced weapon to Silica, the originally exquisite crescent moon wheel turned into a dull and ordinary iron ring, and its attribute values ​​plummeted to the level of a white-grade item.

"What...what's going on?" Silica's voice trembled.

Nezha scratched his head, giving an apologetic smile: "I'm really sorry... It's a low-probability event, maybe it's due to material incompatibility? These kinds of special weapons sometimes have unexpected reactions..."

The three of them stood there, stunned.

When enhancement fails at the NPC blacksmith, at most the attributes don't improve, but this is the first time they've encountered a weapon that completely degrades back to a blank slate.

Mochizuki Kaede stared at the ordinary iron ring in Silica's hand, his brow furrowed. After all, this was the first time they had encountered a player with the blacksmith profession, and this unexpected situation was unprecedented. Previously in Aincrad, weapon enhancement was always handled by system NPCs.

Asuna strode forward and questioned, "Didn't you just say that the success rate was 15% higher than that of NPCs?"

Nezha took a half step back, still wearing a professional smile: "Well... the success rate is calculated comprehensively, and special weapons do indeed have a small probability of negative enhancement..."

Silica held up the downgraded weapon: "Then... what do we do now?"

She looked to Mochizuki Kaede for help.

The hustle and bustle of the forging workshop street suddenly faded into the distance, and the three realized that they might be facing an unprecedented situation.

Nezha rubbed his hands awkwardly, his voice unconsciously lowering a few decibels: "I'm really sorry, I've never had this kind of problem when I'm enhancing my characters."

He glanced at the ordinary iron ring in Silica's hand and hurriedly added, "How about this, I'll compensate you, Kol? Double the market price!"

He brought up the trading interface as he spoke.

Mochizuki Maple remained silent. This limited-edition weapon, dropped by the third-level BOSS, was something that Ke'er could not possibly measure.

Just when the two sides were at a stalemate.

"You fraudster! You've tarnished the reputation of us blacksmiths! I've finally caught you!"

With a crisp shout, a pink figure rushed over like a whirlwind. Before anyone could react, the newcomer had already grabbed Nezha's wrist, the force so great that Nezha grimaced in pain.

"Ouch! What are you doing?!" Nezha struggled to break free.

Everyone turned to look, and saw a girl with short pink hair, her fair cheeks adorned with a few cute freckles, now slightly flushed with anger. Most striking were her purplish-red eyes, burning with fierce fury.

With her other hand, the girl drew a forging hammer from her waist with a "whoosh," the metal hammerhead gleaming coldly in the sunlight: "I finally caught you! You bastard blacksmith who's been swindling people around the equipment area all this time!"

Nezha's face turned deathly pale instantly: "You...you've mistaken me for someone else..."

"Stop pretending!" The pink-haired girl tightened her grip. "I've been following you for three days! You always use the same trick: first, you praise someone else's equipment, then you offer to upgrade it for free, and finally you use a special method to switch the equipment!"

She turned to Mochizuki and the other two, her gaze lingering for a moment on the ordinary iron ring in Silica's hand: "Don't be fooled by him!"

"You...you're spouting nonsense!" Nezha exclaimed hastily.

The pink-haired girl grabbed Nezha by the collar, pressing her forging hammer against his chin: "You think you can fool everyone with this kind of trick?"

She turned to Mochizuki Kaede and the other two and explained, "This guy didn't fail at forging at all; he's just using a few loopholes in the SAO system to play a trick on us!"

Cold sweat beaded on Nezha's forehead.

"A switch?" Silica asked.

“First of all,” the pink-haired girl said, tucking the forging hammer to her waist and raising a finger, “he exploited a loophole in the [Material Transfer] skill during forging that allowed him to bypass the equipment switching cooldown. While you were all focused on the forging sparks, he had already replaced the genuine item with a replica.”

Asuna's eyes suddenly widened: "No wonder I thought I saw the weapon flash just now..."

“Secondly,” the pink-haired girl raised her second finger, “the sparks during forging will cover up the equipment’s lighting effects. He uses this to cover up the subtle differences in material reflection between the replica and the genuine article.”

Mochizuki Kaede frowned and said, "So... this wasn't an accidental failure at all?"

Nezha suddenly struggled violently: "Nonsense! What evidence do you have?"

"Evidence?" The pink-haired girl sneered and said to Asuna, "Help me control him."

Asuna, already furious at being tricked, lunged forward without a word, her right hand precisely grabbing Nezha's collar while her left hand pressed against his shoulder. Her speed was so fast that Nezha had no time to react and was firmly subdued.

"Let go of me!" Nezha struggled in vain, but Asuna's fingers remained firmly planted like iron clamps.

The pink-haired girl turned to Silica: "Can I take a look at that iron ring?"

Silica handed over the ordinary iron ring.

After the pink-haired girl took the weapon, she gently traced a line on the surface of the iron ring with her slender fingers, and a pale blue light screen immediately unfolded.

"What is this?" Mochizuki Kaede asked.

"【Appraisal Skill】." The pink-haired girl stared intently at the panel, her purplish-red eyes gleaming like a stream of data. "It allows you to view detailed crafting information for equipment."

At the same time, he displayed the equipment information interface to everyone: "Look, this weapon doesn't have any record of [equipment downgrade]. And more importantly—"

She pointed to the weapon's source section: "This equipment was obtained from the weapon shop on the fourth floor, and the time was... just an hour ago."

Mochizuki Kaede's eyes narrowed; they had clearly been tricked by Nezha. The real [Full Moon Wheel] was obtained in the third-floor boss battle.

Upon hearing this, Asuna unconsciously tightened her grip: "So that means..."

“That’s right.” The pink-haired girl’s crimson eyes gleamed with certainty. “He wasn’t upgrading your weapons at all; he simply swapped them with a pre-prepared, inferior one!”

Silica exclaimed in surprise, "Then...then our weapons..."

“It must still be on him.” The pink-haired girl stared at Nezha.

Nezha's Adam's apple bobbed, but he still stubbornly insisted, "Just based on this... how can we be sure... she... she might have used some means to tamper with the equipment interface! Yes! That must be it!"

"You bastard—" The pink-haired girl gripped the forging hammer tightly in anger.

Chapter 54: Lisbeth

Asuna suddenly shoved Nezha against the wall, her right hand flashing as she drew her rapier from her waist. The elven sword gleamed coldly before Nezha's eyes, its tip just inches from his throat.

Although SAO's city protection mechanism prevented the blade from actually causing damage, the cold metallic touch still sent a shiver down Nezha's spine.

"You should know," Asuna's voice was terrifyingly soft, "While it won't make you lose blood, the fear of being stabbed by a sword is real. Want to try?"

At this moment, Asuna was indeed extremely angry.

If it weren't for the sudden appearance of the pink-haired girl who exposed the scam, they might have unknowingly suffered losses. In this deadly game, every piece of rare equipment was a matter of life and death.

But what chilled her even more was that in this world where every player's life hung by a thread, there were still people using fraud as a means of profit. SAO's cruel rules should have fostered teamwork among players, yet they had instead bred such despicable acts. Thinking of this, she moved her sword forward another half inch.

Just then, a flurry of footsteps sounded from the end of the stone-paved street. Seven or eight players rushed over menacingly, each with a long-suppressed rage on their face.

"It's him! That damned fraudulent blacksmith!" roared a burly man carrying a greatsword, his voice echoing through the street.

"He switched my +3 Gale Rapier!" another female player wearing light armor said through gritted teeth.

"I almost died in the maze because of that dagger!" A tall, thin young man clenched his fists so tightly they cracked.

"We absolutely won't let him get away with this!" A chorus of condemnation erupted from the crowd.

The pink-haired girl explained to Mochizuki Kaede and the others, "These are the victims I encountered during my investigation over the past two days. I had them wait at a nearby tavern so that we could confront them face-to-face when we catch them in the act."

Nezha's face turned deathly pale, and his legs began to tremble uncontrollably. The other players had spontaneously formed a circle around him, trapping him tightly in the middle. Some brandished weapons, others clenched their fists, their eyes seeming to want to devour Nezha alive.

"Wait, wait!" Nezha's voice became shrill and distorted. Seeing the crowd surrounding him, his hands trembled uncontrollably, and he almost curled up into a ball. "I admit defeat! I'll pay it all back!"

He frantically pulled up his inventory, dumping out a bunch of equipment: "The Silver Moon Dagger is here! And... and the Swiftwind Rapier! That... that..."

Nezha's fingers swiped frantically across the virtual interface, then suddenly froze, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He looked up at the pink-haired girl in terror, his lips trembling as he stammered, "Some...some equipment has already...been sold to black market dealers..."

These words were like a bucket of cold water poured into boiling oil; the surrounding air instantly froze, and the encirclement shrank even further. The burly man carrying the greatsword, his eyes bloodshot, grabbed Nezha by the collar, almost lifting him off the ground: "Say that again, you fucking idiot?!"

"I...I can take you to them!" Nezha's voice trembled with tears as his legs kicked futilely in the air. "The black market is in the underground exchange on the third floor! They haven't changed hands yet! Really!"