I, the spiritual mentor of beautiful girls from all over the world

A few strands of sweat-dampened chestnut hair clung messily to her cheeks and neck, and her fair skin was covered with dust and fine scratches left from rolling around.

···Requesting flowers··· ···

Disheveled, yet incredibly upright.

She slowly turned around.

The training ground gates had been opened at some point.

Lynn stood there quietly watching her, her expression returning to its initial gentleness, as if the cold, devilish person from before was merely her illusion.

Asuna raised her head and looked at Lynn.

The moment her gaze met his eyes, eyes that seemed to see through everything.

She suddenly understood.

That bowl of stew that warmed my soul was a "gift" from God.

That soul-tearing massacre just now was God's "trial".

Gentleness is His divinity.

Coldness is also part of His divinity.

At this moment, in her eyes, this man was no longer a simple "guide NPC".

He is a god who controls the rules of this world, who can bestow warmth upon lost souls, and who can also mercilessly impose trials—a god who is capricious yet utterly just.

Lynn looked at the transformed, radiant young girl and calmly calculated the final profit.

(Those eyes.) A feeling akin to "appreciation" welled up within him.

(Fear and confusion were completely washed away, leaving only the light called 'faith'.)

(Simply smash it to pieces and then piece it back together, and even the most fragile piece of glass can be forged into the sharpest diamond.)

(And that fulcrum that made her shine was me.)

Lynn's gaze swept over her hand gripping the sword tightly, and over her eyes, sharpened by battle.

(As expected of a genius who can rival the future 'Black Swordsman', his talent is truly astonishing.)

..... ... 0

A subtle, victorious smile curved the corners of his mouth.

(A perfect sword only needs a master to wield it. And now...)

(This sword, which I sharpened myself... is mine now.)

The moment the thought crossed his mind, a cold system notification arrived as scheduled, like a cannon salute to crown him.

[Congratulations, host! Visitor "Yuuki Asuna" has completed the second stage of the assignment, "The Forging of Courage."]

She has successfully transformed her negative emotions of "anger" and "resentment" into the purest fighting spirit, and has grasped the rudiments of a sword technique unique to her.

[Reward Awarded: [Mental Barrier (Intermediate)]!]

[Ability Description: Your mental barrier has been strengthened, granting you complete immunity to low- to medium-intensity mental attacks, illusions, and emotional manipulation. When facing high-intensity mental attacks, the barrier will provide you with a longer buffer time and a certain chance to reflect some mental damage.]

……

Lynn withdrew his scrutinizing gaze and walked up to Asuna.

The girl was still disheveled, with sweaty hair clinging to her cheeks and her body covered in dust and scratches from the battle.

But those hazel eyes were like a sky washed by rain, clear and bright, with a chilling sharpness.

Lynn's gaze fell on the scattered fragments of the red cloak at her feet.

"very good."

His voice regained its gentleness, yet carried an undeniable decisiveness.

"That thing represents cowardice and escapism, and it no longer deserves to belong to you."

He raised his hand, and with a slight snap of his fingers, Asuna's tattered beginner leather armor and clothes turned into countless specks of light and quietly dissipated.

Asuna instinctively let out a short gasp, crossed her arms over her chest, and her cheeks instantly turned bright red.

However, the next second, new fragments of light gathered from the void and wove themselves into a brand new garment on her body.

That wasn't armor, but a simple, pure white dress.

The fabric is soft cotton, without any unnecessary decorations, except for a light blue ribbon tied around the waist.

It looks like a comfortable loungewear dress, clean, pure, and with a comforting warmth.

The soft fabric gently brushed against my skin, taking away all the stickiness and coldness left after the battle.

Asuna instinctively grabbed the hem of her skirt, her fingertips able to feel the pure, unblemished texture of the cotton.

She didn't blush or feel shy.

An indescribable emotion, a mixture of sadness and tranquility, overwhelmed her like a tide.

She gently raised her head and looked at the man. In his hazel eyes, which had been cleansed of all the dust, there was a trace of regret at the impending farewell, and a trace of... relief after his wish had been fulfilled.

Was this dress a final, gentle "funeral garment" bestowed upon her by the deity, allowing her to face her final dissipation in a pure state?

She thought, this is... good too.

"Your soul has been greatly depleted in this trial."

Lynn's calm voice interrupted her thoughts.

"It can last for another three days."

"Eh?"

Asuna was suddenly startled.

"You will completely disappear in three days."

(Chapters 70, 72, and 77 have all been released; there are currently no banned chapters... I don't know about this afternoon, but hopefully there won't be any more bans. Ouch.)

Chapter 82: To welcome the dissipation of my soul in your arms is my greatest happiness.

You have three days left.

"Eh?"

Joy and sorrow, two completely opposite emotions, were inexplicably intertwined at this moment, leaving her momentarily at a loss for how to react.

The joy came from the fact that she actually... had three more days.

The sadness stemmed from the fact that she only had three days left.

Lynn didn't say anything more. He handed over a warm towel and a glass of warm water.

"Go take a shower."

His tone was so gentle that it was as if the cold-blooded devil from before had never existed.

"Then, we ate."

...

As the bathroom door was gently pushed open, Asuna Yuuki emerged, her body enveloped in a warm, moist steam and a clean, sweet fragrance.

The warm steam gave her fair skin a faint pink hue, like cherry blossoms blooming after the rain.

Her long, moist chestnut hair cascaded smoothly over her shoulders, with occasional water droplets sliding down her ends, leaving a glistening trail on her delicate collarbone.

The pure white dress fit her perfectly, without any unnecessary embellishments, which only accentuated her upright figure and the purity she possessed after all the artifice had been washed away.

At this moment, she had lost some of the aristocratic air of a young lady and the naivety of a novice swordsman.

When she saw the scene on the dining table, her breath hitched slightly.

It was no longer a simple bowl of stew, but a sumptuous dinner.

The sizzling steak, glistening with oil, is drizzled with a rich black pepper sauce;

A brightly colored vegetable salad, topped with crushed nuts;

There was also a small cream cake garnished with strawberries and a glass of fruity soda with fine bubbles.

These are all her favorite foods in the real world.

Her eyes welled up with tears once again.

This is no coincidence.

This guide, this deity… he knows everything about himself.

He honed her sword in the cruelest way, yet comforted her weary soul in the gentlest way.

...

When told that there were only three days left since "860", Asuna Yuuki felt a sense of relief she had never experienced before.

She stopped thinking about the real world she could never return to, and stopped thinking about the nightmare called SAO.

When she personally severed all thoughts about the past and the future, this small safe house, with only two people, naturally became her whole world.

She began to confide in Lynn.

She peeled back the layers of her life—which was seen as perfect by outsiders but was actually a cage by herself—and showed it to him.

“From a young age… I had to be number one.” She took small bites of her steak, her voice soft and slightly dazed.

“My mother said that for the Yuki family, there’s no option to lose. So, I gave up drawing because it’s a ‘waste of time’…”

Lynn didn't say anything, but simply pushed the glass of bubbly soda toward her.

"Later, it was my brother... He always said, 'Asuna is a genius, she can do everything perfectly.'"

As she spoke, the fork unconsciously scraped across the plate with a harsh sound, and a bitter smile appeared on her face.

"At first, I was happy. But slowly, it became a shackle..."

"I dare not make mistakes, dare not stop. I'm afraid that if I don't do well even once, I will disappoint him, and disappoint everyone..."

These heavy shackles, in the cruel world of SAO, ultimately transformed into that red cloak that isolated everything—

She wanted to hide away from everyone's gaze, yet deep down, she conflictingly longed for someone to discover her true self.

As she poured out her heart, her voice gradually turned into a suppressed sob, and by the end, she was almost incoherent.

She thought she would receive a comforting remark like, "You've done a great job."

However, Lynn did not.

He simply gazed at her quietly, his languid eyes seemingly reflecting all the shackles that bound her from childhood to the present.

Then, in a calm tone, as if stating a fact, he spoke softly, yet deliberately, word by word:

"So, I see."

Asuna's crying stopped abruptly.

Lynn picked up a napkin, wiped her mouth, and continued in that calm tone, uttering the words that had utterly shattered her defenses.

"The word 'genius' has never been a compliment to you, but rather the most exquisite cage that is placed on you."

"They hand you the key but never tell you that you can use it to open the door."

Asuna's mind went completely blank.

The knife and fork in my hand fell onto the plate with a clatter.

Cage… key…

Yes... she always had the key.

She can rebel, she can say no, and she can do what she wants.

But no one told her that. Everyone just kept praising how magnificent the cage was and how elegant she looked inside it.

Tears, like pearls from a broken string, flowed uncontrollably.

She lay on the table, her shoulders trembling violently, and let out a childlike wail that she had suppressed for more than a decade.

Lynn didn't pat her back, nor did she say another word.