I'm a Sword Master in Sword Art Online

Leaving those words behind, Argo cautiously moved forward.

Wang Yuefeng stared intently at a spot ten meters ahead of her, where there was a concentric circle pattern formed by the texture of the ground.

. . . .

Thanks to [fghjkop] for the monthly pass!

Chapter 75: The Fifth Floor Boss

The information broker glided across the dark floor with the lightness of a feline, taking a deep breath just before stepping into the circle—

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

Between the fourth and fifth seconds, something unexpected happened!

Suddenly, the patterns on the floor emitted a blinding blue light, and the entire room shook violently.

Mochizuki Kaede's "Miss Argo!" and the information broker's retreat occurred almost simultaneously.

Normally, with her skills, she would have been able to escape unscathed.

But Aincrad's laws are cruel and precise—when the system's judgment is valid, any struggle is futile.

"boom!"

With a deafening roar, five pitch-black square pillars burst from the ground, instantly trapping Argo, who had staggered to the ground.

That's no ordinary pillar.

Instead, it has five fingers.

That is, someone's huge hand.

A giant hand made of obsidian was rising from the ground, its fingertips, shimmering with blue light, already closed. Mochizuki Kaede rushed forward recklessly, only to find Argo still stiff from the fall.

"Argo—!"

Just at the critical moment, Argo, who was lying on the ground, suddenly swung his right hand. A silver light flew past Wangyue Feng's cheek; it was the iron needle she never parted with.

The sudden warning caused Mochizuki Kaede's body to freeze instinctively.

"Maple Boy, don't come any closer!" Argo's voice betrayed panic for the first time.

"Boom!"

With a deafening roar, the giant hand that had been gripping Argo was lifted high off the floor, its five fingers clenched tightly in the air.

Mochizuki Kaede's pupils contracted sharply as he stared intently at the gigantic, black hand suspended in mid-air. Blue specks of light, like shattered stars, spilled from between its fingers, scattering into the air with a soft "crackling" sound.

A feeling that could not be called fear rose from the soles of my feet to the top of my head.

He forced himself to look away and quickly glanced at the top left corner of the screen.

Of the four HP bars, the bottom one represents Argo's health. Although it has taken about 10% damage, its health is still intact.

The shattering effect he saw was not Argo himself, but rather fragments of Argo's destroyed equipment.

“Still alive…” Mochizuki Kaede’s throat tightened.

However, it's too early to relax. Agor's health is still decreasing, and we must free her from the giant fist as soon as possible.

"call--"

Mochizuki Kaede abruptly drew his [Thunder Blade], its blade crackling with leaping lightning, and slashed down fiercely at the gigantic black arm that had risen from the ground. A piercing clang of metal rang out, and the powerful recoil made his hands go numb. A few red cracks appeared on the surface of the black crystal-like arm, but they vanished in an instant, and the fist above remained unmoved.

Suppressing the surging anxiety within him, Mochizuki Kaede quickly adjusted his posture, sheathing his longsword to his left side. As the skill was activated, the blade suddenly burst forth with a dazzling golden light—

"Shh! Shh! Shh!"

Three sharp sword lights slashed past at a speed too fast for the naked eye to perceive, this time the impact was far more violent than before. The pitch-black giant arm trembled violently, and a deafening roar came from the sky.

Finally, the black arm opened its fist and retracted into the floor. A petite figure shot out from the eight-meter-high palm like an arrow, nimbly flipping several times in the air before landing steadily beside Mochizuki Kaede. The two retreated simultaneously in perfect unison, creating a safe distance from the giant arm that was sinking into the ground.

With a slight tremor, the terrifying arm vanished completely beneath the floor. Just then, a familiar, teasing voice came from beside him:

"Oh dear, that really startled me."

"I was scared to death." Mochizuki Kaede said this, but her heart finally settled down.

He examined Argo closely. Although she had only lost about 15% of her health, her hooded cloak was gone, and the leather armor beneath was severely damaged. The shattering effect he had seen earlier must have come from the hooded cloak.

"Let's retreat first—"

Before Mochizuki Kaede could finish speaking, Argo suddenly interrupted him sharply: "Kaede, watch your step!"

The blue light patterns moving on the ground suddenly changed violently, weaving into layers of concentric circles around their feet as if they were alive—

"Jump!"

The moment the two retreated simultaneously, the massive black arm burst forth from the ground, its five fingers clenching into an iron fist in mid-air with a clang.

“Just pay attention to the changes in the light patterns…” Before Mochizuki Kaede could finish speaking, Argo’s warning rang out again:

"Here comes another one!"

New concentric circles have already formed on the soles of my feet.

When the second giant arm burst forth from the ground, Mochizuki Kaede could even feel the powerful wind generated by the metal fingertips brushing against the sole of his boot.

"There are actually two?" Mochizuki Maple gripped the Thunder Blade tightly.

Argo's voice was surprisingly calm: "They're the left and right hands, after all."

She landed nimbly in the safe zone and pointed to the two giant arms: "Look at where the thumbs are pointing, these are the complete arms."

Indeed, the two arms stood in perfect symmetry, as if some enormous creature was trying to crawl out from underground.

In other words, this attack was truly coming to an end. Just as Mochizuki Kaede was about to seize this opportunity to rush towards the distant stairs—

A chill suddenly ran down my spine.

He looked up abruptly, and blue light patterns identical to those on the ground appeared on the ceiling, converging into concentric circles at an astonishing speed!

"Be careful up there!"

He grabbed Argo's arm and lunged forward.

The next second, accompanied by a deafening roar, a two-meter-long, jet-black giant foot descended from the sky, slamming heavily onto the spot where they had just stood. The shockwave nearly knocked them over, and they staggered, barely managing to regain their balance.

“Maple, since you have two hands…” Argo said breathlessly.

"Then it must have two legs! I know!" Mochizuki Kaede stared intently at the light patterns on the ceiling that had become active again.

The second giant foot, carrying an even more terrifying force than the second-level boss, General Taurus, crashed down. This time, the two were prepared, leaping up simultaneously the instant the shockwave spread. Upon landing, Mochizuki Kaede braked sharply, turning to look at the center of the room—

Four pitch-black "giant pillars" stand tall: two arms with outstretched fingers and two giant feet firmly planted on the ground.

Mochizuki Kaede and Argo had been forced back to the wall, a full fifteen meters away from the escape stairs. This distance, which would be insignificant in town, now felt like an insurmountable chasm.

The lines of the floor and ceiling, as well as the enormous hands and feet, have now come to a standstill.

Mochizuki Kaede hesitated whether to take the opportunity to rush towards the stairs or to remain vigilant against the possibility of a third hand or foot appearing.

"Hey, Maple, don't move!" Argo suddenly warned in a low voice.

"Huh?" He instinctively tried to turn his head, but was immediately stopped: "Don't move! Stay still!"

Despite being filled with doubts, Mochizuki Kaede immediately froze. While holding her breath, Argo gave a new instruction: "Don't move your feet, slowly look down."

He carefully moved his eyes, his gaze slowly descending.

Amidst the winding blue light patterns on the black floor, his boots landed precisely in the only black gap, just a finger's width from the nearest blue line. Argo's feet, too, narrowly avoided all the light.

"I see." Mochizuki Kaede suddenly realized, "As long as I don't step on these blue lines, the attack won't be triggered?"

“That’s right,” Argo affirmed. “But the problem is…”

The blue lines in front of me are intricately interwoven, with some gaps wide enough to stand in, while others are less than five centimeters wide. Even if you walk carefully on tiptoe, it is quite difficult to avoid stepping on the blue lines and returning to the stairs.

Chapter 76: The Golem

Just as Mochizuki Kaede was contemplating whether to take a gamble and charge forward, the ground suddenly shook again. But this time it wasn't a prelude to an attack; instead, the four "giant pillars" were slowly retracting into the floor and ceiling.

Obviously, if the mechanism is not triggered for a long time, it will return to its original state.

Just as Mochizuki Kaede was about to turn around and explain her plan to retreat to Argo beside her, suddenly—

"Xiao Feng! We heard a huge tremor downstairs, are you alright?"

Asuna's clear voice suddenly broke the silence of the room from the direction of the stairs. Mochizuki Kaede's heart tightened, and she turned to see Asuna, Silica, Yuna, and the mysterious "Shinigami" lady hurrying into the room. Worse still, their footsteps were constantly crossing the blue lines on the floor!

"Don't come any closer! Avoid all the blue circles!" Mochizuki Kaede shouted the warning with almost all his might, his voice booming in the empty BOSS room.

In an instant, four huge concentric circles lit up simultaneously on the floor and ceiling, making the entire room seem like a deadly circuit board that had been activated.

However, thanks to Mochizuki Kaede's timely reminder, Asuna and the others reacted quickly—

"Scatter!" Asuna flipped to the side, her elven sword drawing an emerald arc in the air. Silica leaped back lightly, like a startled fawn. Yuna was abruptly pulled to safety by the Grim Reaper, her white cloak fluttering in the air.

"Boom! Boom!"

Two enormous black hands and two enormous feet shot out at the same time, but they all missed their target.

Mochizuki Kaede continued to instruct loudly, "Remember! Never step on the blue lines on the ground!"

With his reminder, Asuna and the others managed to avoid the blue lines in time and come to a steady stop.

Seizing this rare opportunity to catch her breath, Mochizuki Kaede quickly and clearly explained the rules:

"There are blue lines on the floor, right? Once you step on one, concentric circles will appear under your feet or above your head. A giant hand will then reach out from the floor to grab you, or a giant foot will descend from the ceiling to stomp on you!"

Asuna quickly understood: "So, as long as we stay still across the line like this, we won't trigger an attack for the time being?"

“That’s right!” Mochizuki Kaede nodded. “At most, two hands and two feet will attack at the same time. If you get grabbed by a hand, you’ll be lifted ten meters into the air, and your HP and armor durability will continuously decrease. But if you hit the arm with a two-hit sword technique with a one-handed weapon, you can free the trapped person!”

After everyone nodded in understanding, he continued, "As for the attack power of the giant foot, although I haven't personally experienced it yet, it's definitely more terrifying than an arm! It will also generate a shockwave upon landing, and it would be dangerous if you were knocked down!"

After a brief silence, Yuna softly asked the crucial question: "If we just stand here and don't move, the BOSS won't attack, but we still won't be able to defeat it?"

"I think... that's how it should be."

Just as Mochizuki Kaede was weighing whether to actively trigger the mechanism to start the BOSS battle or temporarily retreat to regroup,

As if the game system couldn't tolerate the relaxed atmosphere in the BOSS room, the blue light patterns above the stairs and in the center of the ceiling began to intertwine wildly, as if controlled by an invisible hand, causing everyone to involuntarily hold their breath and look up.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

With a deafening roar, the ceiling began to slowly rise, its shape becoming increasingly complex. Black panels with bluish edges continuously combined and pieced together, gradually forming a huge, sharply defined face.

Those features, rough like early 3D modeling: a prominent square forehead, sunken eye sockets, a sharply defined nose, and a mouth as thin as a line, were materializing at an extremely fast pace.

When the giant face, which was three meters tall, was fully formed, blue and white halos popped out of its dark eye sockets with a "pop," and complex and strange patterns appeared in the center of its forehead.

Under the silent gaze of everyone, six health bars unfolded one by one above the giant face. The first health bar was slightly damaged, seemingly from the negligible damage caused by Mochizuki Kaede's previous sword technique.

Finally, the glowing system text solidified in the air:

【Empty Golem o Fosgus】

"The Void Golem of Fosgus..."

Mochizuki Kaede's whispers were almost drowned out by the deafening roar.

The floating giant face suddenly opened its quadrilateral mouth, and the emblem on its forehead turned from blue to red, radiating an ominous light.

"Oh no!" The thought had barely crossed his mind when a visible sonic boom erupted from the golem's mouth. The entire maze trembled, and everyone lost their footing. Fortunately, no one stepped on the blue lines, but this brief moment of relief was quickly shattered.

A debuff icon indicating decreased defense appeared on everyone's status bar, and all the blue lines on the ground began to move wildly.

Amidst the chaos, Mochizuki Kaede quickly regained his senses. He took a deep breath and shouted with all his might:

"Everyone spread out! Keep a close eye on the changes in the blue lines! Try to avoid them, and if you do step on one, watch out for both the ground and the ceiling! If you see the concentric circle markers, dodge with all your might! If you have the strength, attack the outstretched limbs!"

He quickly added to Silica, "Silica, the gaps in the blue lines along the wall are big and easy to dodge! Whenever you have a chance, use the Crescent Moon to attack the giant face!"

Silica nodded knowingly and nimbly retreated to the wall.

Then, Mochizuki Kaede gestured to Argo, Asuna, Yuna, and Miss Death to gather together: "I will deliberately step on the line to lure it out, you all prepare to attack with your skills!"

"understand!"

Taking a deep breath, Mochizuki Kaede stomped onto the blue line on the ground: "Now!"