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

At this moment, the boss guarding the floor had not shown up yet, causing the scene to gradually become noisy.

"..."

"Hey--"

I don't know who made the sound of being unable to bear it, at this moment...

"above--!!!"

There was a trace of confusion in Asuna's eyes, and then for some reason, she subconsciously raised her head and looked at the ceiling high in the room.

The next moment, Asuna couldn't help but scream in shock as she saw something strange in her eyes.

At the top of the dome - there was something clinging tightly to it.

It was something very large and long.

Centipede——?

The moment she saw it, Asuna's hand clenched tightly around her beloved sword.

It is about ten meters long.

Its body, composed of numerous segments, is more reminiscent of the human spine than of an insect.

A pair of bones extend from each grayish-white cylindrical segment, which are as densely packed as the legs of a centipede, with sharp legs exposed.

As your eyes move forward along its body, you can see that at the front of the body, which is gradually getting thicker, there is a skull with a very ferocious expression on its face.

That is not a human skull... Forget it, which of those monsters in the game are real? It’s normal if they are not human.

If it were a human skull, the game developers might have a headache.

After all, it looks so weird!

However, compared to the face I saw in the anime, the face in front of me is even more terrifying.

This is probably the difference between a bystander and a person who has experienced it. Only by facing it personally can you truly appreciate its power.

Fortunately, I have gradually developed resistance to these monsters in the past two years. Except for ghost monsters, no matter how ugly or scary other monsters are, I don't feel any fear at all.

If you had just entered the game, you would have been so scared that you wouldn't be able to hold the sword.

On the bones twisted into streamlines are two pairs of four eye sockets that are suspended high up.

Blue flames like will-o'-the-wisp flickered in the empty pale eye sockets.

Hmm, will-o'-the-wisp?! No, no, no, it must be an illusion. This monster in the anime doesn't have the ability to summon ghosts!

But when I think about the fact that I have been a married lady for more than ten years, and most of the past events have been forgotten as time goes by... plus the reality I am in now... even SAO can come true, is it strange that there will be other changes?

The entire lower jaw protrudes forward and is lined with sharp fangs. Once hit, even those players who specialize in being meat shields will definitely feel uncomfortable.

Moreover, according to her only vague memory, it seemed that... their expedition team sacrificed many people to hunt down this monster.

There are huge sickle-shaped bone arms protruding from both sides of its skull, and the sharp cold light makes people feel a little palpitated!

You’ll die—!

If you get hit by that sickle, you will definitely, definitely die!

Then, when everyone focused their attention and looked up at it, the name of the monster was displayed along with a yellow arrow.

「TheSkullreaper」——The Skeleton Hunter.

The Skeleton Centipede was firmly fixed to the ceiling above Asuna and the others.

As the blue flames flickered in its eye sockets, it began to move under everyone's terrified and silent gaze!

Seeing this, Asuna's pupils shrank suddenly, and the fragments of memory were highly consistent with the movements of the centipede above her head.

"Don't stay there! Spread out!!!"

Asuna's sharp voice cut through the air frozen by the skeleton centipede, but compared to the skeleton centipede above their heads, the expedition team beside Asuna and her friends was more than a beat slower!

When all the members of the expedition team were awakened by Asuna's call, they came to their senses and started to act.

On the ceiling, the huge skeleton centipede was moving slowly on the ceiling while wriggling its densely packed, seemingly countless legs.

Suddenly, as if it had determined where it should fall, all of its legs stretched out, and then - it fell from right above the team.

"call----!!!"

The giant skeleton centipede fell from the sky with unstoppable momentum. Even though Asuna had given them a warning not long ago, there were still three people right below the falling skeleton centipede who were a little late in their actions.

“————!!!”

“Disperse quickly!!!”

They seemed to have no idea which way to move, so they just stopped and looked up.

Looking at the huge monster carrying wind pressure falling down, there was an undisguised fear in his eyes.

At this moment, Kirito, holding two one-handed swords, one black and one white, hurriedly shouted to them.

Compared to three people running in the same direction together, if they scatter and escape, they should be able to save one person!

Hearing their colleagues' shouts, the three men began to run in three different directions as if the curse had been lifted.

Then...the monster arrived!

“Boom boom boom!!!”

The moment the giant skeleton centipede fell, the entire ground of the 75th floor vibrated violently. If it weren't for the system setting that prevented the ground from being destroyed, perhaps the vibration from the sky alone would be enough to tear the entire ground apart!

However, even after being defeated like this, the strong shock still became the last straw that broke the camel's back for the three people!

The strong vibration not only made the expedition team unable to stand firmly, but even the three people who were running for their lives stopped and almost fell down.

And then, just like that, the right arm of the huge centipede skeleton - the blade alone was a huge bone sickle as long as a person's height, swept towards them.

Its spine-like joints gave it unbelievable flexibility. Its huge body almost turned a circle, and the huge sickle on its right wrist swept across the surroundings fiercely.

The three men struggled to stand up, but what greeted them was the whistling sound of wind from behind.

"------!"

They were chopped off from behind by the sickle.

When they were in the air, their HP bars were already decreasing at a rapid rate - from the yellow warning zone to the red danger zone in one breath -

"boom--!!!"

Then, it just became zero.

The three bodies still in the air turned into countless crystals and then shattered.

The sounds of extinction overlapped.

"..."

The members of the expedition team who witnessed all this became stiff.

Just one strike -- and they died --!

In SAO, where skills and levels are used together, as the level increases, the maximum HP will also increase, so no matter how good the sword skills are, as long as the level is high, it will not be so easy to die.

This is why the floor 10 levels higher becomes a safe level. Even if the equipment and skills are poor, it will be difficult for monsters to kill the player if the floor is 10 levels higher than the current level.

Moreover, the players participating in the battle to defeat the boss of the defensive floor today are all top players of the highest level in SAO.

In this case, even the attacks from the defensive boss should be able to be withstood several times, and no matter it is sword skills or special attacks, ordinary attacks will not be able to take away a large amount of HP of the strategy group players in an instant.

But... now they only took one blow and -

"This is really too exaggerated..."

Asuna's voice was a little hoarse, and there was a faint pain in her mind, as if she was stimulated by the death of her three companions, or perhaps for some other reason.

For some reason, she suddenly felt that...she seemed to have forgotten something...

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa————!!!”

The Skeleton Centipede that had taken three lives in an instant raised its upper body high, and its countless legs danced madly, making a deafening roar, and then -

“Ka-ka-ka-ka…!”

Accompanied by the sound of bones colliding, the skeleton centipede rushed towards the players present at an intense speed.

“Waaaaaa——!”

The players in that direction screamed in panic, and the bone sickle was raised again.

"clang!!!"

At this critical moment, a figure suddenly rushed in right under the sickle, raised the shield high to block the attack of the skeleton centipede!

There was a crashing sound that almost broke through the ears, followed by sparks flying everywhere.

That man was none other than Heathcliff, the leader of the Knights of the Blood.

He raised the huge shield in his hand to block the scythe attack.

The collision sound, loud enough to create a sound wave, turned into an echo in this closed boss room, wandering throughout the boss room on the entire defensive floor.

The collision between the sickle and the shield made the effect light in the game explode like a flash, sparking sparks.

However, that huge enemy has two sickles, while the players only have one Heathcliff!

While the huge skeleton centipede monster continued to attack Heathcliff with its left wrist, it also raised its right sickle to chop down the players who were frozen on the spot.

"hateful……!"

"clang----!!!"

As the scythe came, another figure rushed out like Heathcliff.

The distance between you and the enemy is instantly shortened as if you are flying in the air.

Kirito rushed under the bone sickle that was swinging down with a loud bang, and then crossed his beloved swords together, blocking the sickle's attack with both swords.

No, the force is too strong——!

The moment the two came into contact, Kirito made a quick judgment.

His body was subjected to an impact force beyond common sense, but the sickle did not stop!

“Qiang————!!!”

A huge force burst out, and the sickle and sword swept across violently, scattering bright sparks while also deflecting Kirito's double swords.

"Shh-!"

The next moment, huge sickles appeared in front of Kirito and approached him.

"not good!"

Asuna quickly made a conclusion that her captain could easily block the attack of a sickle by himself, but Kirito would need help from others.

After all, their professions are different. The fact that Kirito, as a swordsman, can withstand the attack of the Skeleton Centipede is enough to prove his strength.

“Flash Piercing—!”

Asuna stomped her foot hard, and a wave of air suddenly rose up from the ground. Like an arrow shot from a bow, she used her sword skills to quickly stab towards the skeleton sickle.

Chapter 2 Ending and Doubt (4k)

"Click, click, click, click."

what sound?

For some reason, she heard a sound as if something was breaking, but at this moment Asuna was unable to concentrate on other things.

His eyes were fixed on the huge sickle that the Skeleton Hunter was swinging at Kirito, and his mind kept echoing: Hurry up! Hurry up! Hurry up!

Among the players present, only Heathcliff, the leader of their Blood Knights, and the black swordsman Kirito have unique skills.

Judging from the current situation, only the two of them can withstand the attack of this skeleton hunter.

However, it was compared to the absolute defense of their leader - the Holy Sword.

The black swordsman's dual-wielding skill is relatively weak in defense.

You know, our team leader once held up the nearly collapsing front line for ten minutes alone in the boss attack battle on the 50th floor!

In fact, before reaching the 75th floor of the maze, his HP never dropped to the yellow zone.