I'm a Sword Master in Sword Art Online

She nodded emphatically, her fingers deftly plucking the strings. The clear, melodious notes pierced through the battlefield's clamor, and the golden aura of buffs bloomed once more beneath her teammates' feet.

Mochizuki Kaede's lightning blade erupted with even stronger lightning in response. He turned to face the BOSS's back, his movements perfectly coinciding with Yuna's piano music. At this moment, music was no longer solace, but the sharpest weapon.

In less than an hour, the battle reached its final frenzy, fueled by Yuna's piano music.

[Lion Scorpion Manticore]'s health has been reduced to the last bar.

Yuna's fingertips danced across the strings, her eyes gleaming with an unprecedented fighting spirit.

Her thoughts drifted back to the music—

In the town's square, a lonely figure plays the piano alone.

The players' empty, desperate eyes in the safe zone.

The first time someone smiled because of her piano playing, I was deeply moved.

And that night when I was determined to become stronger, the fist I clenched as I looked up at the starry sky...

This is no longer just a performance.

Every note carries the prayers of all the players trapped in this death game, and every strum of the strings is imbued with her determination to bring hope to everyone.

Mochizuki Kaede's lightning blade resonated perfectly with the music, the lightning on the blade flickering with the rise and fall of the melody. When Yuna played the most powerful note, his figure suddenly transformed into a silver lightning bolt, the tip of his blade pointing directly at the lion scorpion's gaping maw.

Accompanied by dazzling swordplay effects, the lightning blade, carrying the force of a thousand thunderbolts, pierced the lion-scorpion's mouth. Dazzling lightning erupted from the monster's seven orifices, illuminating the entire boss room. As Yuna's final melody suddenly soared, the lion-scorpion's massive body abruptly stiffened, and then—

"boom!!!"

Amidst a deafening explosion, [Lion Scorpion Manticore]'s body shattered into countless blue data fragments. These points of light, like a reversed galaxy, hovered above the room for a moment before showering down upon each player.

Yuna's lute music stopped abruptly at that moment. She collapsed to her knees, exhausted, only to find her lute glowing. The system notified her that she had obtained the exclusive title "[Lion Scorpion's Requiem]".

In the distance, Mochizuki Kaede's lightning blade was stuck in the ground. He smiled at Yuna, his silver hair covered with sparkling light.

Sixth floor, walkthrough complete.

. . . .

[P.S.: All boss images for each floor are for reference only.]

Chapter 93: Contradiction

The notification for clearing the sixth floor lit up in front of everyone, and cheers echoed in the BOSS room.

Players high-fived and hugged each other, some even weeping with joy. But amidst this jubilation, a heavy silence lingered in one corner.

The members of the Aincrad Liberation Army stood with their heads bowed, their equipment still bearing the marks of battle.

Ya Wang squatted among the group of members, his body slumped, as if all his energy had been drained away. His head was buried deep between his knees, and his hands hung limply at his sides.

Diabel walked through the celebrating crowd. He opened his mouth, wanting to reprimand Fang for entering the BOSS room prematurely. After all, such impulsive behavior had disrupted the original plan and brought unnecessary risks. But the words of reprimand swirled in his throat, ultimately turning into a heavy sigh. A member of the Aincrad Liberation Army had left this world forever; now was certainly not the time to pursue the matter.

But Rindo had no such concerns. He and Ya-o were already at odds, and a subtle conflict had always existed between them. Moreover, Ya-o's unauthorized actions had resulted in casualties, which gave Rindo even more reason to lash out.

His eyes swept coldly over the dejected Aincrad Liberation Army, then he strode up to the King of Fangs.

"The King of Teeth"

This call was devoid of any warmth.

Ya Wang slowly raised his head, his eyes filled with exhaustion and regret.

Rin looked down at him, his voice not loud but loud enough for everyone around to hear:

"Because of your arbitrary actions, a living player has vanished forever. That player should have been able to sleep peacefully at the inn tonight, continue contributing to the strategy tomorrow, and perhaps even shine in the battles to come. But now? Not even a corpse will remain. The first casualty on the sixth floor—once this news spreads, it will severely demoralize players and instill fear and skepticism in other players regarding the strategy game."

Ya Wang's lips trembled; he wanted to retort but couldn't utter a sound.

Rinde continued, "What do you think being the first to capture the territory proves? If we hadn't organized a timely rescue, your entire team would have perished here! Become a string of death statistics!"

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly froze.

In this heavy, suffocating atmosphere, a provocative voice suddenly rang out.

"If it weren't for you closed beta testers hoarding information and seizing resources, our guild leader, Fang Wang, wouldn't have led us here alone! What right do you closed beta testers have to say this? In the end, it's all your fault!"

The speaker was a short-sword user beside the King of Fang. He wore a leather mask, revealing only his eyes and mouth. Mochizuki Kaede recognized him as the person who had suddenly attacked him during the Christmas celebration on the fifth floor; his name seemed to be Joe.

Joe's words were aggressive and inflammatory. He pointed at Rinde and said, "We, the [Aincrad Liberation Army], are just ordinary players, unlike you high and mighty beta testers. You take advantage of your prior knowledge to act arrogantly towards us, taking all the good equipment for yourselves, leaving us ordinary players to only pick up your scraps. We're also trying to conquer this death game, why should we put up with your arrogance! If we had your high-level equipment and high level, would there be any casualties?"

His voice grew louder and louder, drawing the attention of the other members of the Aincrad Liberation Army.

Rinde sneered and was about to retort when Diabel raised his hand to stop him.

“Enough,” Diabel’s voice was low and firm. “Now is not the time for mutual recrimination.”

But Joe clearly wasn't going to stop.

"When will that be?" he retorted sarcastically, "When you monopolize all the rewards from the floor bosses, while we ordinary players can only follow behind and starve?"

His gaze suddenly shifted to Wangyue Feng, and his tone became even sharper.

"Especially you, the guild leader of [Golden Rule]. Is your guild's information sharing truly without reservation? Or are you just giving us scraps to be grateful for?"

Asuna frowned, while Silica couldn't help but shout, "You're talking nonsense! Brother Feng clearly released the dungeon map and BOSS information!"

Joe scoffed, "Publicly announce it? That's just a pretense. If you really wanted to liberate all players and clear the game, then this guild leader should hand over the rewards for the sixth floor boss right now. We, the members of the [Aincrad Liberation Team], also contributed! Our teammates even risked their lives to weaken the boss for you!"

The atmosphere at the scene grew increasingly tense, and even the ordinary players' eyes began to waver.

Just when the situation was about to spiral out of control—

"boom!"

With a loud bang, Ya Wang's fist slammed heavily onto the ground.

“That’s enough, Joe.” His voice was hoarse and weary. “It’s pointless to say all this now.”

He slowly stood up, his gaze sweeping over his teammates before turning to Diabel and Mochizuki Kaede.

"This time... it was my fault."

Qiao was stunned: "President!"

Ya Wang raised his hand to stop him and took a deep breath.

"Neither intelligence nor resources are reasons to gamble with one's life." His voice was low, but loud enough for everyone to hear. "Our lost comrades... will never return."

There was silence.

Rinde snorted coldly, but ultimately said nothing more, while Diabel sighed.

Finally, Ya Wang turned and silently left with the members of the Aincrad Liberation Army. Joe glared at them resentfully, but still followed.

Rindo then led the members of the Dragon Knights to the spiral staircase leading to the seventh floor.

Diabel patted Mochizuki Kaede on the shoulder, then led the rest of the group to follow him, heading towards the spiral staircase.

Inside the BOSS room, the crowd gradually dispersed, leaving only the four members of [Golden Rule].

Seeing Mochizuki Kaede's silence, Asuna assumed he was still angry about the conflict with the Aincrad Liberation Army and couldn't help but feel worried. So she asked softly, "Is Kaede angry about what happened earlier?"

Mochizuki Kaede shook her head: "I was just thinking about something."

He turned to look at the girl in the white hat: "Yuna, how did you get paralyzed during the battle just now?"

Yuna was slightly taken aback, then realized what was happening and a look of lingering fear appeared on her face: "It was a poisoned throwing knife that hit my back from behind, paralyzing me."

She paused, then continued, "There were only players behind us at the time... so I'm not sure..."

Chapter 94: Fireworks

"What?!" Asuna and Silica were instantly shocked.

Asuna was so angry that her eyebrows shot up, and her voice was filled with barely suppressed rage: "You mean a player ambushed you during the battle?"

Yuna nodded slightly: "The throwing knives were shot from the direction of the player's camp."

"Why, why do we have to do this?" Silica asked urgently. "Everyone is working hard to clear the level."

Yuna shook her head helplessly, a hint of confusion in her eyes. Clearly, she didn't understand the attacker's motives either.

The four of them looked at the silent Mochizuki Kaede without prior arrangement.

Mochizuki Kaede said, "At least we can be sure that there are people with ulterior motives infiltrated into the current strategy group. Before they reveal their true colors, we have no way of knowing whether the person standing next to us is an ally or an enemy."

Asuna frowned: "What's the motive? What benefit would he gain from hindering the conquest's progress? If this continues, no one will be able to return to the real world."

Mochizuki Kaede looked towards the spiral staircase: "Unless someone doesn't want this game to be completed at all."

These words stunned the three girls. How could anyone willingly be trapped forever in this steel cage? In this death game where death could come at any moment?

"No matter what, the upcoming strategies will only become more and more dangerous." Mochizuki Kaede looked at her companions. "Not only will we have to face powerful monsters, but we also have to be wary of some players with ill intentions."

"So, should we continue cooperating with the raiding group?" Asuna's voice was filled with obvious worry. "What if the next target of the sneak attack is Xiaofeng, or me and Silica..."

Mochizuki Kaede was silent for a moment, then said, "Until we find out the truth... let's minimize unnecessary cooperation."

The atmosphere became somewhat somber for a moment.

Looking at his silent companions, Mochizuki Kaede suddenly changed the subject: "Speaking of which, today is New Year's Eve. The system will hold a fireworks celebration in [Starkyon] to simulate the New Year's Eve event in the real world."

Asuna was taken aback by what she heard, then suddenly remembered something: "Lisbeth sent us a message earlier to invite us to watch the fireworks, and she's already waiting for us in the city."

"New Year's Eve...fireworks..." Silica repeated softly, her eyes gradually brightening, and a hint of anticipation appeared on Yuna's lips.

Mochizuki Kaede looked at her three companions and said gently, "In any case, we've cleared another floor, which is worth celebrating. This is the first New Year we've spent trapped in this game."

The four of them exchanged a smile, temporarily putting those gloomy thoughts behind them.

night.

[Starkeyon] Main district.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven..."

On the street, the countdown from over a thousand players rose and fell like waves. Although there was no countdown screen or host to guide the conversation, everyone's voices were perfectly synchronized.

"Six, five, four, three..."

Wang Yuefeng and the others stood on the ancient city terrace, a superb viewing spot recommended by Argo, offering a panoramic view of the city lights while avoiding the crowds.

"Two, one..."

As the final countdown ended—

"zero--!"

“Swoosh—bang!!!”

Several streaks of fire shot into the sky from the transfer gate in the central square, bursting open in the dark night. Then, a second, a third... colorful fireworks exploded one after another.

The sounds of fireworks exploding mingled with the cheers of the players. The streets echoed with shouts of "Congratulations!" and "Happy New Year!" Swordplay performed against the walls to create a lively atmosphere illuminated the streets with colorful light effects.

"Wow—!" Silica covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes sparkling.

Asuna looked up at the sky, the glow of the fireworks illuminating her profile.

Yuna stood quietly to the side, a gentle smile on her lips, like a lily blooming in the night.

Lisbeth, standing beside Mochizuki Kaede, said with a grin, "How about it? It's not bad compared to fireworks in the real world, is it?"

Mochizuki Kaede nodded slightly, her gaze sweeping over the cheering players on the street.

"Happy New Year, Xiaofeng!" Asuna turned to look at him, her smile more dazzling than fireworks.

"Happy New Year, Brother Feng!" Silica jumped and waved.

"President, Happy New Year," Yuna said gently.

"Happy New Year!" Lisbeth patted him on the shoulder heartily.

Looking at his companions surrounding him, Mochizuki Kaede smiled and said, "Ah, Happy New Year."

After chatting and laughing for a while, the group looked up at the sky above the street again.

"I really didn't expect to see fireworks in a game," Asuna sighed softly. "I wonder where they bought them..."

Lisbeth replied, "They sell them at the odd item shop in a corner of the main city."