I, Asuna, don't want to travel around the world

In that state, Asuna became extremely sensitive to everything around her.

The black-clad swordsman Kirito was shocked by his own sudden change in fighting style and had to keep up with the pace.

From time to time, he looked at himself, and the owner of that gaze before seemed to be extremely curious about his condition, the captain, Heathcliff.

Moreover, it seemed that he had found the answer to the "click" sound that had been bothering him.

When his beloved sword collided with the body of the Skeleton Hunter, countless tiny polygonal fragments dissipated under the cover of the sparks.

As he attacked, the Skeleton Hunter's HP slowly decreased.

Every time this happened, the team leader's expression would become more serious, and his glances towards him would become more frequent.

Is it possible...

Asuna's eyes flickered, and during a break in the battle she glanced at the captain who had always been on the front line but whose HP value had never entered the yellow zone, and her mood became more serious.

"Humph……"

“Click, click.”

Suddenly, an inexplicable pain in her head interrupted Asuna's thoughts again.

And in my ears, the sound as if something was breaking and then overlapping became more and more frequent.

The battle lasted a full hour from the beginning to the end.

When this seemingly endless fight to the death finally ended, the huge body of the Skeleton Hunter flew everywhere.

The members of the last surviving team no longer had the energy to cheer...

Chapter 3: Temptation after Doubt (4k')

Is it over?

Uh-huh—it’s over—!

A strong feeling of fatigue came over everyone present.

The sudden fatigue made their already tense minds completely unable to bear it. They all knelt on the floor, gasping for breath.

The one-hour life-and-death battle finally came to an end, during which dozens of lives were lost before the game was won.

If someone were to constantly observe the monument of life that records the deaths of players in the Black Iron Palace on the first floor of Aincrad, they would be able to tell how difficult the strategy for the 75th floor is by the changes in the names on it.

The Black Iron Palace was originally a building in the center of the starting town, and its original purpose was to serve as the player's resurrection location.

However, when Kayaba Akihiko declared SAO a death game two years ago, a "Monument of Life" and a prison appeared at its center.

The IDs of 10,000 players are recorded on the Monument of Life. Dead players will be marked with a line, and the time and cause of death will be written behind them.

In this short hour, which usually passed by in the blink of an eye when everyone was training a little, dozens of people died in this battle...

You know, the players who come to fight the boss on the 75th floor are all top players in SAO. Once losses occur, resulting in death, it will be difficult to replenish them in the future.

After all, the so-called "top level" is not just achieved by relying on equipment and skills.

One's own combat skills and awareness are the most important criteria for measuring a player.

The deep fatigue made everyone unable to move temporarily, and they just wanted to relax their minds.

Some people fell down as if exhausted, and then they twisted their bodies and sat on the obsidian floor.

Some people were lying on the ground, gasping for breath, with tired looks on their faces.

Asuna and Kirito sat on the ground, back to back, trying to calm their breathing.

Not long after, Asuna supported herself with her beloved sword, stood up, and with a wry smile on her face, she walked towards the team of the Blood Knights.

"Captain..."

"Well, have a good rest."

Asuna nodded to her leader and sat aside.

Survived——

This is the only thought in everyone's heart.

But even if I think so, now is not the time to be happy...

Because there are too many victims.

After the Skeleton Hunters descended from the sky at the beginning, starting the battle and killing the first three people, several ear-piercing sounds of objects breaking continued to ring in Asuna's ears at a certain speed.

Even though she and Kirito worked together to resist the attacks of the Bone Scythe, and even though the team leader Heathcliff used his skill, the Holy Sword, to continuously save players from the Bone Scythe, there were always players that we could not reach who were killed by the Skeleton Hunter.

No one dared to distract themselves during the battle and count how many times the sound of shattering occurred.

Because as you keep counting, you might become the source of the sound.

Therefore, only after the battle would they count the number of people with an extremely heavy heart.

"How many people...were killed in total?"

In the silence that no one wanted to bring up the topic.

At the side, Klein, who was squatting on the ground exhausted with a heavy expression on his face, raised his head and asked his good friend Kirito in a hoarse voice.

His expression was as if he had just been fired by his boss after get off work, deep tiredness mixed with helplessness and hope for life.

Next to Klein, the sturdy man Agil, who was lying on the obsidian floor with his arms and legs spread out, also turned his face towards Kirito.

At this moment, there was still no sound, but the players present all raised their heads and looked at Kirito with tired eyes, waiting for him to tell the exact number of deaths.

"..."

Facing the silent question, the black-clad swordsman Kirito smiled bitterly, waved his right hand, called out the map, counted the green dots on it, and deduced the total number of victims from the number of people at the start.

"—a total of fourteen people died."

"is that a lie……"

“There are so many…”

When Kirito announced the number of casualties, the other players looked incredulous.

Although they knew that Kirito would not lie about such an issue, they still opened the map and confirmed the number of casualties themselves.

And the final result... still makes it hard for them to believe this fact.

Everyone present is a top player who has experienced countless battles.

Even if I can’t escape from the battle or instantly restore my HP, as long as I prioritize survival, I shouldn’t die immediately. Although I think so, but…

In the face of this irreversible fact, all reasons and rebuttals were powerless and turned into pieces, shattered by the deep despair.

A gloomy atmosphere suddenly enveloped the survivors.

After all, it took a lot of effort to conquer three quarters of the floor—

There are only 25 floors left without a guide...

Although there are still several thousand players in Aincrad at present, there are only about a few hundred people who are serious about clearing the city and always stay on the front line.

If there are so many victims just in the strategy of one floor.

Then, what they will eventually face is that when conquering the boss on the 100th floor, there may be only one player left who can face the final boss.

The 75th floor alone resulted in the sacrifice of 14 people, so how powerful would the boss of the 100th floor, crowdfunding group 456127940, be?

It's simply unimaginable!

A dark cloud suddenly hung over the heads of all the players.

In this situation, the only one who can survive from the many boss battles is probably Heathcliff who possesses the unique skill "Holy Sword".

Asuna raised her head, her long chestnut hair spreading out on the ground behind her.

There, among the crowd of players who were either lying on the ground or sitting on the ground in a decadent manner, only that man was still sitting there upright.

Faced with the skeleton sickle that Asuna and Kirito had to work together to resist with some ease, he managed to endure the entire battle by himself.

In such a situation, in addition to the numerical damage, it would not be an exaggeration to say that he collapsed due to excessive exhaustion.

However, his upright back as he sat cross-legged on the ground made it impossible to sense that he was mentally tired.

It's incredibly tough. It's like a machine - no, it's like a fighting machine equipped with a perpetual motion mechanism...

His spirit seemed to be made of steel. It seemed that it would never stop until the fuel was burned out, and he had no idea what fatigue was.

So...what is the fuel that keeps it "running"?

Of course, he wasn't completely uninjured.

When Asuna aimed her sight at him, an indicator arrow appeared and Asuna could clearly see that his HP bar had been reduced a lot.

Asuna raised her head and stared at Heathcliff's HP bar.

After the harsh battle, it has been greatly reduced, but even so, it has not dropped below half!

The HP bar, which was barely at 50%, was still showing blue...

Moreover, the HP bar of this man not far away has never fallen into the yellow warning area so far!

Can such an overwhelming defense power that is different from that of ordinary people really be increased by just one skill? !

Kirito's dual sword style was also used in this strategy battle. Although it gave people an extremely amazing feeling, that skill was still within the acceptable range of "cheating skills".

However, the HP bar never fell into the yellow zone... Are your health bar and defense at boss level?

During the battle, Heathcliff would occasionally cast strange glances at him.

On weekdays, although he is the leader of the strongest guild, he never issues any orders, but leaves everything to Asuna and other players.

As for him, he watched from the side for a while and then disappeared in the guild headquarters. Although he said he was going to level up, who knew the truth?

"Captain..."

“Crack, crack, crack…”

In my mind, countless tiny shattering sounds kept ringing.

Looking at the man with his back to her, Asuna couldn't help but have a premonition in her heart.

The tiny seeds of inspiration continued to expand, and the questioning buds absorbed the nutrients of suspicion and began to stretch upward.

Not bound by the rules of the death game.

But it's not an NPC.

If it was just a program, it would be impossible for him to defeat all the players he met in more than two years!

If artificial intelligence really develops to that level, how could the government allow it to be used in games?

Moreover, Heathcliff's expressions on weekdays were completely normal, and even his conversations were not the slightest bit different from those of humans.

Since it's neither an NPC nor an ordinary player, there is only one possibility left.

And that was the only reason that could explain why the leader would frequently look towards him after he had caused extra damage for some unknown reason during the battle with the Skeleton Hunter.

But, how can we confirm this possibility... Currently there is no... any way.

No, that's not right. There is a way that can only be done at this moment and in this place!

Asuna looked at the HP bar above Heathcliff's head that was about to enter the yellow zone, and a hint of determination flashed in her eyes.

"Ding~!"

Asuna slid her hand and put her beloved sword back into the warehouse.

Then, a thin sword as sharp as a cone appeared in Asuna's palm.

All the adventurers present bowed their heads in silence because of the death of those fourteen people, remembering those who had passed away.

Asuna slowly grasped the rapier in her right hand and stood up slowly with very small movements.

Heathcliff did not notice Asuna's actions because he had his back to her the entire time, his calm eyes always fixed on the demoralized players.

That look, that calmness, was not at all the expression one would show when showing sympathy to a wounded companion.

"Captain... I really hope you are not who I thought you were..."

The hesitation in Asuna's heart was cut off by an invisible sharp blade, and a hint of determination flashed in her bright and tired eyes.

"boom!!!"