Evolution of a Girl

He has the same appearance as 02, but is extremely noble.

Completely different from lowly servants and slaves like me.

"Yes, I have pretended to be Asuna before. I am just an ordinary desert villager chosen by the master..."

02Seeing everything in the distance, I suddenly seemed to understand it all.

However, the owner showed a subtle look on his face at this time.

The shop owner was also observing the queue in the distance.

Although it is an NPC shop, the owner is actually not an NPC, but a player who bought the shop, but he rarely appears.

Next to him was another guest who had just arrived.

"Here is the list." The other party handed a list to the owner.

"Where's the information about Lord PoH?" asked the shopkeeper.

"Not yet. But there's no doubt that we were exposed this time because someone inside leaked the news. I suspect it was those who previously cooperated with the president."

"We are the only ones left now." The owner frowned.

"There are also traitors. We have arrested many people, and many of them have defected."

"It doesn't matter. There's still a long time to go, and they'll pay the price." The owner didn't care.

"Then let me warn you, it's probably dangerous here too."

"Well... I'll pay attention..."

……

"The plan worked."

In the outside world, Nomi Ryuno is in a good mood.

"Her growth is even better than I imagined." Kayaba Akihiko, who had just returned from the Black Iron Labyrinth, also felt that he was on the fifth floor...

……

So who is actually on the fifth floor?

Chapter 528 Reunion

"The Black Demon" is a legend circulating in Sword Art Online.

A terrifying being, said to possess top-notch swordsmanship and unparalleled combat intelligence, and to move with the swiftness of a ghost...

However, up to now, no one knows who the other party is.

Because everyone who saw her...died.

But it is said that this person is a member of the Smiling Coffin, a super killer trained by the Red Name Guild.

After the Smiling Coffin and other red-name guilds were annihilated, the black ghost was still floating around.

Many red-named players who surrendered and were captured were killed by the other side to silence them.

Not only the players, but even the NPCs who provided information were never let go by the other side.

After the Blood Knights returned, they once again swept through the remaining remnants. Afterwards, these people fled in all directions, and the Black Ghost also disappeared...

"Haven't you found Asuna yet?" Kiriko sighed and looked at the map.

There is still a month left until the start of the strategy for the 41st floor, and time is running out.

But there was still no news from Asuna.

After leaving the Black Iron Labyrinth, Tongzi learned of the international coalition's annihilation of the Red Name Guild. It was then that Tongzi learned from Heathcliff that their strategy wasn't just a strategy; it was also a tactic to lure the enemy away from their territory. While it seemed like a large number of elite troops from the major guilds had entered the labyrinth, in reality, a group of them had already begun to falsely taunt the Red Name Guild.

"Perhaps Lady Asuna is still lurking among these remnants," said Kradir.

"I heard before that an NPC who looked very much like Asuna was taken away by a merchant. It must be her. Asuna was mistaken for an NPC and is probably somewhere now." Kiriko said.

"That's a good thing," said Kraldiel, "but we can't go looking for her. It's very dangerous. If those remnants knew that the NPC was Lady Asuna herself..."

"You're right..." For Asuna's safety, Kiriko could only think so.

There is nothing we can do about this.

"Speaking of which, there is something that needs to be dealt with recently. It is said that a strange ghost appeared in the wild map recently."

"Ghost? Not a monster? An NPC?"

"I don't know, but that ghost will fight monsters. It is said that its attack power is very terrifying, and it seems that there is no way to communicate." Kladil took out the latest information.

"There's actually this kind of thing? Could it be related to the game update?"

Kiriko began to think.

The biggest gain they got while exploring the underground levels was adding an update to the system.

After the final clearance, the game added a lot of new elements - in fact, they were added by Akihiko Kayaba manually, but no one knew about it.

What concerned Tongzi most was the addition of a so-called "virtual fluctuating light" system for monsters. No one knew what this "fluctuating light" was, but the result was that monsters in the wild seemed to have become somewhat more intelligent. Some high-level monsters could even speak!

Of course, communication is impossible. Even if these monsters can speak, they can only say some cruel lines.

If it weren't for this kind of death game, this design would definitely be popular, but the problem is that in a death game, such variables would be terrifying.

This is also one of the reasons why the major guilds decided to postpone the conquest of floors until one month later.

"It seems I'm the only one left to go and see."

It's obvious at first glance that a monster like this is extremely dangerous.

If you want to investigate, you definitely need someone powerful to go there.

So it can only be Tongzi...

……

02Gradually wake up from the dream.

She didn't know how long she had been wandering.

Before this, 02 was found by the remnants of Laughing Coffin, who arranged for 02 to eliminate the traitors.

But the mainstream guilds did not stop clearing out these remnants.

After the Blood Knights returned, the remnants began to move, but they were caught red-handed and fled in all directions.

During the transfer process, 02 was also lost.

02 was wandering in the wild in a daze, floating in the wilderness like a black ghost.

It's like being in an eternal dream from which you can't wake up.

Only when killing the enemy can No. 02 feel the wonderful feeling of being alive.

The player's Yaoguang and the NPC's virtual Yaoguang, these two wonderful substances came together and merged into 02's body.

When these two forces blend, they will impact 02's brain.

The fusion of power and power produced an inexplicable and incredible energy. This energy merged into 02's brain, and seemed to gradually wake 02 from this confusion.

A very long dream.

02 She wandered to a small village in the mountains and was taken in by the villagers and became a member of the village.

The intersecting and fusion power finally gave 02's consciousness and brain a chance to breathe.

02 gradually became a villager, an NPC, a program...

“Asuna—!”

"It's you, Asuna!"

The sudden voice beside her ears gradually woke Asuna up from her confusion.

"Well……"

Opening her eyes and looking into the distance, Asuna saw someone running towards her.

"Asuna, it's you!"

Kiriko looked at Asuna excitedly.

After learning about the so-called "ghost" incident, Tongzi came to the wilderness on the 40th floor to explore.

The 40th floor has a huge city, as well as towering mountains.

Furthermore, the area of the integer layers is usually larger than that of the ordinary layers. The mountains and hills here are absolutely vast and huge. It is extremely difficult to find a specific person here...

In fact, up to now, everyone has only explored more than half of the 40th floor.

This place is still very mysterious.

In fact, after some hidden elements of many maps are activated, some changes will occur, such as the generation of new copies or the appearance of new NPCs, etc. These are all within its scope.

Tongzi also wants to complete this task and get the reward.

Tongzi had no clues at first.

So, Tongzi decided to look for people living in the mountains - a village in the mountains.

Places like these, which are very close to the BOSS, often contain some wonderful clues to help with strategy.

But Kiriko never expected that after entering the village, the first person she saw was Asuna.

Asuna was wearing a village girl's dress with a tights underneath.

Kiriko knew about that. Laughing Coffin's slave outfit was said to have very powerful stats, but it seemed to be NPC equipment, so players couldn't use it.

"Tongzi...?"

Asuna came back to her senses as if she had just woken from a dream.

"You are... Kiriko... I am... Asuna...!"

Asuna seemed to understand this.

"Asuna, we finally meet!"

"Tongzi!"

Asuna gradually understood all this.

Yes.

I am Asuna, I am Yuuki Asuna, I am not an NPC!

However, another idea came into Asuna's mind.

I am 02, I am a villager, I am an NPC, I am a slave of the Laughing Coffin...

"Tongzi!"

"Asuna!"

Kiriko and Asuna hugged each other.

The two hadn't seen each other for several years. When they met again today, they suddenly no longer had to care about anything else.

"Great. You're okay! Why are you here?! Are those remnants here too?"

Tongzi had calmed down by now.

It would be bad if the Smiling Coffin discovered me.

"Ah—nothing." Asuna waved her hand.

Her mind was still in a mess, her language and logic were not yet coherent, but her memory and consciousness were awakening.

"The major guilds launched a siege before. I got separated from the Lord—them at that time. But the situation wasn't very good, so… I hid here, hoping they could find me."

Asuna's voice was a little halting when she spoke.

"So this is ah."

After hearing Asuna's explanation, Kiriko felt relieved.

He already had some idea of what Asuna had done.

After Asuna's Smiling Coffin was destroyed by the attack, these people broke into small groups again, so Asuna continued to hide and endure the humiliation.