I'm a Sword Master in Sword Art Online

"I didn't expect the fourth-floor boss to be the [Horse-Headed Fish-Tailed Monster] that controls the water." Diabel frowned, his fingers unconsciously stroking the hilt of his longsword.

“At least we knew the intelligence beforehand.” Agil patted his bald head, his battle axe swaying behind him. “It’s better than a reckless challenge.”

Kirito said, "If it weren't for the city lord's warning, we would probably have been drowned in the BOSS room without even knowing it."

A hint of seriousness flashed in Wang Yuefeng's silver-gray eyes: "The key is how to deal with the aquatic environment. The levitation spell that the city lord mentioned is something none of us currently possess."

Asuna's eyes suddenly lit up: "Perhaps we can take a gondola into the BOSS room?"

Diabel shook his head with a wry smile: "The system settings do not allow us to move the gondola into the maze area, and it is also unrealistic to carry the boat up into the maze area."

Just as everyone fell silent, Silica raised her hand: "I have an idea... Once the BOSS uses his ability, the door to the room will close and cannot be opened from the inside. However, once the water pressure reaches a certain level, the door can be easily opened from the outside. We can have someone wait outside the door, and when water seeps out from the crack, we can open the door. This way, the BOSS's special ability will be nullified."

Mochizuki Kaede was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "Silica, this plan might work."

Asuna hugged Silica in delight: "That's amazing! Silica, are you really a genius?"

When she was hugged tightly in front of everyone and suddenly praised, Silica's face turned bright red, and even the tips of her ears felt burning hot.

After discussing and agreeing on a strategy, Diabel and his group set off first, intending to return to the water city of Lobia. They had two important objectives for this trip: first, to release information about the fourth-floor boss to the outside world, and second, to gather various strategy groups.

Meanwhile, Mochizuki Kaede, Asuna, and Silica stayed behind to bid farewell to the dark elf knight, Kissmel. Unexpectedly, Kissmel suddenly spoke up: "I'm going with you too."

"Huh?" Mochizuki Kaede, Asuna, and Silica all exclaimed in surprise at the same time.

Kismer nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world and explained, "We dark elves will send an elite squad to assist you, and the city lord has already agreed."

Then, Mochizuki Kaede, Asuna, and Silica boarded the larger dark elf black gondola, which was even larger than the "Little Maple". Silver runes were etched on the hull, and a night owl head carved from amethyst was inlaid at the bow.

"Departure."

At Kismael's command, the dark elf soldiers simultaneously unleashed their power. The gondola cleaved through the water like an arrow released from a bow, its prow slamming up two streaks of silvery white spray.

The runes on the ship's hull lit up one by one, leaving a trail of eerie blue light on the lake's surface. Soon, it sailed out of the enclosed lake and plunged into a narrow canyon.

During the voyage, aquatic monsters would occasionally emerge from the water to block the way, but the gondola's huge ram was so powerful that it could smash the monsters to pieces in an instant.

Before long, the gondola reached the fork in the road and then sped off south.

They then crossed the land at the end of the canyon in a flash, arriving at the bottom of the maze area in almost no time. At the entrance, the group stopped and waited quietly for Diabel to arrive with the strategy team.

About half an hour later, Diabel finally came into view. Behind him were two teams: the Aincrad Liberation Army led by Fang Wang, and the Dragon Knights led by Rinde.

After entering the maze tower, the team did not stop for a moment and continued forward, clearing out almost all the monsters along the way.

Finally, the group arrived at the entrance to the BOSS room.

Before me stood an incredibly heavy granite gate, tightly shut.

Diabel stepped forward, firmly grasped the patina-covered door knocker with both hands, stood on his feet, and used all his strength to pull the door open.

With a dull thud, the door slowly opened.

The space inside the door is very spacious.

This is a rectangular room, about fifty meters deep. There are no windows, and the floors and walls are made of gray granite, giving it a depressing and cold feel. The only source of light is an eerie blue glow emanating from the tops of several pillars, softly illuminating the surroundings.

In the center of the damp floor, a huge silhouette faintly emerged.

Just as the city lord had told them, the BOSS monster before them had a bizarre appearance, with the front half of a horse and the back half of a fish. The horse's front hooves had been replaced by webbed feet with hooked claws, and the original mane had turned into constantly writhing tentacles, making it look extremely creepy.

The name displayed by the colored marker above the monster's head is 【Horse-headed Fish-tailed Monster o Wizge】.

At this moment, the BOSS emitted a damp, whirring sound that echoed in the silent room, sending chills down everyone's spine.

Immediately afterwards, Kismer's expression hardened, and he shouted loudly, quickly drawing his saber from his left waist and raising it straight above his head.

She shouted, "In the name of Kismer, the royal guard of the Dark Elves! I will fight with all my might for Lady Mochizuki, Lady Asuna, and Lady Silica!"

In an instant, a sword aura emanated from the tip of the blade and spread outwards in concentric circles. As soon as this aura touched everyone, four support effects immediately appeared on everyone's health bar.

The Mochizuki Maple Squad, the Diabel Squad, the Aincrad Liberation Army, the Dragon Knights, and the Dark Elf Squad all raised their weapons high and let out a rousing roar, their morale soaring instantly.

December 20th, 2:32 PM.

The fourth floor boss of Aincrad, the Horse-Headed Fish-Tailed Monster Wizz, was finally defeated by a combined force of four squads totaling forty people, along with an additional support squad.

In this battle, the fourth-floor boss's special ability, [Water Injection], caused considerable trouble for everyone. Once activated, the entire spacious room would be flooded with surging water, and the door would immediately close, trapping everyone in the water, creating an extremely dangerous situation.

However, Diabel and the others were prepared.

They had arranged for three people to wait outside the door in advance, ready to open it immediately as soon as they saw water seeping through the cracks. This repeated action effectively rendered this terrifying special ability useless.

……

"I'm thinking……"

Asuna climbed the spiral staircase leading to the fifth floor, her chestnut hair swaying gently with her movements: "The black gondola that Kissmel was on has already returned, and our Maple is still docked at the fortress pier. What should we do if we want to go back next time?"

Silica's little face was full of reluctance: "The Little Maple has accompanied us through so many adventures, it's a pity we can't take it to a higher level."

Mochizuki said, "After activating the portal to the fifth level, we can first teleport back to the fourth level, Lobia, and then go to Yofer Fortress."

"But aren't the gondolas controlled by NPCs in the main street only allowed to take fixed routes?" A hint of doubt flashed in Asuna's amber eyes.

Mochizuki Kaede smiled slightly: "If all else fails, we can build another one. If we don't need high-grade materials, it should be completed quickly."

“Well, it’s your turn to name it next time,” Asuna suddenly said.

"Let's name them Asuna and Silica," Mochizuki Kaede said, but the two girls had already refused in unison.

"I don't want it!"

. . . .

Thank you [Ren2099] for the monthly pass!

Chapter Sixty-Six: Thirty Years of Sighs

Mochizuki and his two companions are currently exploring the fifth level of the underground cemetery in Kara Town.

The incident started when they received a quest from an NPC.

The client is a middle-aged man who lives alone and recently moved here from another city on the fifth floor.

After moving into his new home, strange "clicking" sounds would emanate from the house every night, and tableware would inexplicably fall to the ground. The man, at his wits' end, asked Mochizuki Kaede and others for help in resolving the problem.

Upon receiving the mission, Mochizuki Kaede and the others first investigated the house's basement. However, the basement was completely empty; they didn't even see a single rat. They deduced that the problem might lie deeper underground, so they decided to explore the city's catacombs.

Since they are located within the circle, they don't need to worry about monsters suddenly appearing.

After groping their way forward, the group eventually arrived at a place that resembled a chapel.

There are rows of benches neatly arranged here, and deep inside, against the wall, a strange stone statue stands there crookedly, half of its body collapsed.

The room was poorly lit, with only a few candles flickering weakly on the floor. The four corners of the space were enveloped in thick darkness.

The eerie atmosphere made the two girls beside Mochizuki Kaede feel uneasy, and they involuntarily moved closer to him.

Asuna forced a calm demeanor, but her voice trembled slightly as she said, "This... this is inside the circle, so there shouldn't be any monsters here."

Silica nodded in agreement, adding, "Yes, yes, that's right."

However, considering the NPC quest they had received earlier, "Thirty Years of Sighs," and looking at the eerie chapel before them, an ominous premonition spread through the girls' hearts, as if something terrible was about to emerge from the darkness and entangle them.

"This chapel should be located directly below that middle-aged man's house, right?"

As Wang Yuefeng spoke, he opened the map window. After examining it carefully, he discovered that the location markers on the current underground map completely overlapped with the markers for the quest NPCs on the city map.

Mochizuki Kaede turned to look at the two girls beside her who were trembling with fear, and said, "Could it be a poltergeist... the reason for those mysterious vibrations in the house is hidden here?"

"A poltergeist?" Upon hearing this, Silica shuddered, her voice changing into a different tone.

"Didn't that NPC say that the house starts shaking around 2 a.m. every time?" Mochizuki Kaede analyzed.

"So... if we want to investigate the cause, wouldn't we have to come here at 2 a.m.?" Asuna said, frowning. "But it's only 9 a.m. now."

As soon as she finished speaking, a strange "sizzling" sound of footsteps came from behind her.

The sudden footsteps sent chills down Asuna and Silica's spines, almost making them scream. They bit their lips hard, desperately swallowing back the cries that were rising in their throats.

While repeatedly telling themselves, "We're inside the circle, there's no danger here," they hurriedly hid behind Wangyue Feng.

A few minutes earlier, at the entrance they had passed, a small, childlike figure slowly emerged, wearing a hooded dark gray coat, obscuring his face. His bare feet were enormous, disproportionate to his petite frame, and his arms were also unusually long. In his left hand he carried a dirty cloth bag, and in his right hand he held a long candle, its flame flickering in the dim light.

Since the color buoy is yellow, he is undoubtedly an NPC, but it cannot be determined whether he is human or not.

Asuna and Silica clutched their clothes tightly, cautiously peeking out from behind Mochizuki Kaede, their eyes fixed on the short man. He walked across the chapel with strange, clattering footsteps, heading towards one of the candle piles.

Reaching the pile of candles, he slowly crouched down and pulled a brand-new candle from his dirty cloth bag. Then, he held the new candle close to the old one, which seemed on the verge of going out, and lit it with the faint flame, then stood it upright on the ground. Having done this, he moved to the next pile of candles and repeated the same actions.

Is this some kind of hint?

Mochizuki Kaede pondered for a moment, then said to the short man, "Have you seen anything strange here late at night?"

The short man, who had stopped abruptly, turned his face stiffly toward Mochizuki Kaede. Though the inside of the hood was pitch black, only the area around his eyes emitted a faint glow.

"..."

The short man didn't respond, and at first everyone thought he hadn't understood the question. But then, a hoarse voice came from deep inside the hood:

"I won't come here late at night. I'll light candles when I get up in the morning. During the day, I'll put the ones that have gone out back on. At night, I'll blow them out and go to sleep."

After saying this, he ignored the crowd and started walking again. After replenishing the last of the candles, he slowly left the chapel, his strange footsteps echoing through the air.

Once the short man's clattering footsteps had completely faded away, Mochizuki Kaede fell into deep thought. If what the short man said was true, then the chapel's candles were lit from morning till night. Although the exact time was unclear, from another perspective, at two o'clock in the morning when the strange phenomenon occurred, this space must have been completely dark.

Thinking of this, Mochizuki Kaede immediately took action. He quickly ran to the nearest pile of candles, bent down, and blew out all the candle flames.

As the candles went out, the chapel's light source instantly decreased by about a quarter, intensifying the already eerie atmosphere and creating a palpable sense of dread. Silica and Asuna were clearly startled and instinctively shrank back.

"Xiao Feng, what are you doing?" Asuna exclaimed.

"This is a mission prompt. You guys hurry up and blow out those candles over there!" Wang Yuefeng said as he walked toward the next pile of candles, preparing to blow out the flames there.

Silica and Asuna were a little slower, and by the time they blew out the last batch of candles, the chapel was almost completely swallowed up by thick darkness.

Asuna instinctively reached into her inventory to take out her oil lamp for light. Just then, a blue-white light suddenly shone, illuminating her hand.

"Thank you... thank you..."

Asuna instinctively assumed that Mochizuki Kaede had lit the lamp, thinking how thoughtful Kaede was. But when she looked up, she saw Mochizuki Kaede in the distance with empty hands, carrying nothing. She looked around in confusion and quickly found the source of the light.

In the center of the floor, a hazy light was emanating. It did not come from any glowing magical artifact; it had no heat, but rather exuded a cold, empty feeling.

"Oh—oh—oh—"

A sound like a howling winter wind echoed through the chapel, distorting the very air. Asuna froze instantly, and Silica, startled, clung to her.

Something seemed to be slowly seeping out from beneath the floor. A pale, translucent hand, as slender as a withered twig, appeared before everyone's eyes first.

"No, no, no, no..." Asuna frantically chanted in her mind, trying to stop this horrific scene, but the sight before her would not stop because of her fear.

Then, a mournful wailing sound rang out again, and arms, shoulders, and heads emerged one after another from under the floor. Disheveled hair, a emaciated body—it looked like a woman. But where her eyes should have been, two red will-o'-the-wisps flickered, and sharp fangs protruded from her mouth.

Chapter 67: Mission Accomplished

No matter how much you focus your attention on the woman who suddenly appeared on the floor, you can't see the buoy.

It can be confirmed that she is neither a player nor an NPC.

It's a monster, no, that's not right.

It's a ghost.

As if deliberately tormenting one's nerves, she revealed herself completely at an extremely slow pace, her claw-like hands waving as she emitted a third piercing shriek:

“Eee-ooh ...

The next instant, the entire chapel began to shake violently.

The benches kept tipping over, and small stones fell from the walls and ceiling.

Asuna and Silica tried to steady themselves... their minds thought so, but their bodies wouldn't obey. Sensation gradually faded, and their tense bodies collapsed like wooden sticks—

"Be careful."

A pair of strong arms caught them steadily.

Mochizuki Kaede, who had moved without anyone noticing, was now blocking the two of them, her silver hair swaying slightly in the chaos.

He examined the ghost with great interest: "This should be considered a spirit-type monster, right..."