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Sword Art Online - Volume 7 - Chapter 3




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Chapter 3
Aincrad's 24th floor was a limnetic floor mostly covered in water. Its style is similar to the currently unreleased lake city «Salemburg» on the 61st floor where Asuna once lived.
The main block was named «Panareze». It was designed as a man-made island in the center of a large lake, connected to innumerable isles through floating bridges stretching out in all directions.
Asuna gazed at the festive Panareze from across the lake, and placed her head on Kirito's shoulder.
The two of them currently sat on the south coast of an isle slightly north of the main block. The large tree behind them was budding, small waves washed at their feet. Warm wind blew over the lake even though it was winter, and the grass around them rustled.
"Hey, do you still remember? The first time you went to my house." She lifted her face and asked, Kirito replied with a slight smile.
"I'm not boasting, but I'm confident that I have poor memory—"
"Eh—"
"—However, I still remember that time clearly."
"...Really?"
"Of course. At that time, I got a super rare ingredient, and Asuna made a stew out of it. Ah... that meat was so delicious... Even now, I often think of it."
"Really! The only thing you remember is about eating!"
Asuna pouted and hit Kirito's chest, but there was still a hint of a smile in her voice.
"...Well, I also think about it often."
"What, you have no right to complain about others... Hey, that stew, is it possible to recreate in the real world?"
"Uh~ huh... It's basically similar to chicken, perhaps if I work on the sauce... Still, it's probably better for it to remain in our memories. A dish you can never taste again, isn't that great?"
"Mmn, yeah, that's true."
Looking at Kirito nodding slightly regretfully, Asuna once again smiled. Kirito also smiled, and said as though he suddenly thought of something:
"Ah, right... Hey."
"What is it?"
"We've unknowingly saved up quite a bit of Yurudo, when the update with the 60th floor is introduced, why don't we buy a house in Salemburg? Asuna's home was there in the past."
"About that~"
Asuna thought about Kirito's proposal for a while, and shook her head.
"Well, no. I don't really have any good memories in that place. Use the money to help Agil open a shop in Algade."
"Help revive that unscrupulous shop... The interest rate will be ten percent every ten days..."
"Wah, you're going too far."
They can talk forever about the memories they share of Aincrad. As they smiled and talked, Asuna noticed an increase in the number of players flying from Panareze to this isle. Everyone flew over the two of them, towards the large tree in the center of the island.
"Ah, it's almost time. I have to go."
While saying that, Asuna was still reluctant to part with the warmth against her. At that time, Kirito said with a serious expression on his face.
"Asuna. If you're going to fight with Absolute Sword..."
"...Eh?"
"Er... Well, no, that person... is very strong, really."
Hearing some stuttering in Kirito's tone, Asuna tilted her head.
"I've already heard a lot about Absolute Sword's strength from Lisbeth and the others. Moreover, even Kirito was defeated. From the beginning, I've never felt like I'd win. I just want to see that sword... Besides, I really can't believe that Kirito-kun actually lost."
"Right now there are plenty of people stronger than me. Well, even among those, Absolute Sword is special."
"Speaking of which, Lyfa said you said something during the fight. What was it?"
"Ah, about that, it's something I'm slightly concerned about..."
"What is it?"
"This and that..."
Asuna keenly noticed some kind of anxiousness in Kirito's look. Asuna was getting more and more confused, and blinked.
No matter how strong the player called Absolute Sword is, this isn't SAO anymore. Even if you don't surrender in time and lose all your HP, you can revive on the spot as long as someone casts a ressurrection spell. Even if you lose experience due to the death penalty, you only have to hunt for several hours to regain it.
However, Kirito quietly said something Asuna didn't expect.
"I asked that person— You're completely a resident of this world, aren't you? Her response was a silent smile and a ferociously fast charge skill. That speed... broke the limit..."
"...That is saying, a super addicted player?"
Asuna tilted her head and asked, in response to her question, Kirito hurriedly shook his head.
"No. I'm not referring to certain VRMMO worlds, I'm talking about the entire «The Seed server»... No, that's also wrong. I should say, it's a product of the environment created by full diving... That's what I felt."
"What... does that mean...?"
"—It's better not to make a first impression so early. I want you to feel the rest yourself. I think you'd understand if you fight."
As Asuna blinked while Kirito patted her head, the sound of people landing continuously came from the tree behind them. Then, they heard a loud voice.
"My eyes just left you a little and you've run off to this kind of place!"
Hearing the sound of footsteps on grass, Asuna hurriedly lifted herself up.
Lisbeth walked out with an apron dress from behind the tree, stood with her hands on her waist, looked down at Asuna and said.
"I apologize for bothering you while you're busy, but it's almost time."
"I, I know."
Hoisting herself with the wings on her back, Asuna immediately stood up and confirmed her equipment. A jacket weaved with silvery blue threads and a skirt of the same kind. Boots and gloves made out of the skin of a water dragon. Hanging from the sword belt around her waist was a rapier with a crystal handle. Every single one of them were treasures of the highest grade that could currently be obtained. That way she couldn't blame it on equipment even if she lost.
Finishing her examination of things like the type of magical accessory she had equipped, she took a look at the clock.
There was still a bit of time before it was 3 pm in the real world. Asuna glanced at Kirito who stood at her side, turned around, looked at Lisbeth, Silica and Lyfa who were behind her, as well as Yui who was on her head and said.
"—Then, let's go."

They flew low in a row, toward the center of the unnamed island. A large hill came into view as they moved through the trees which extended into the distance. Branches stretched out in every direction from the large tree at the summit, and a large group of players had already gathered in circles at its base. A great cheer came rumbling like a tsunami.
As they noticed room in the audience and were landing, a player fell from far above accompanying a cry. He brutally fell headfirst to the tree's base, raising a large cloud of dust.
The swordsman which appeared to be a Salamander lay sprawled on the floor for a good while before finally shaking his head and jerking up. With an expression that still showed the impact from the fall, he raised both his hands and shouted.
"I've lost! I surrender! I resign!"
At the same time, a sound signifying the end of the duel rang out and the sounds of clapping and cheering became louder.
Amazing, this is already the 67th win in a row, could nobody stop that person, countless calls like that mixed with praises and gripes intertwined. Hearing those, Asuna narrowed her eyes and looked up as though to confirm the winner.
In the sunlight streaming out from between the branches of the large tree, a player's silhouette came spiraling down.
Absolute Sword was smaller than imagined. Due to the name, Asuna imagined that it would be a huge man with bulging muscles, but Absolute Sword should be considered slim. The details could gradually be seen as Absolute Sword slowly approached in the backlight.
Her skin color was milky white with a hint of purple, a characteristic unique to Imps. Her long hair was a lustrous and gorgeous purplish-black. The obsidian armor which covered her chest had a slight bulge, the blouse and windswept dress beneath that were a bluebottle violet. On her waist hung a thin, black sheath.
In front of Asuna's dumbfounded gaze, the undefeated swordswoman «Absolute Sword» quickly spun around before landing lightly en pointe. Then she lifted the corner of her skirt, placed her right hand in front of her chest and curtsied like an actress. At the same time, the men around once again whistled and cheered.
Absolute Sword nodded slightly and stood up, her face wreathed in smiles and innocently made a V sign. She was clearly shorter than Asuna. On her small face were dimpled cheeks, a slightly upturned nose and her large, flashing eyes displayed an amethyst-like radiance.
Asuna still hadn't recovered from her astonishment, and nudged Lisbeth's abdomen with her elbow.
"...Hey, Liz."
"What is it?"
"Absolute Sword — is a girl?!"
"Uh huh, didn't I mention it?"
"No you didn't! ...Ah, could it be..."
This time she glanced at the face of Kirito who stood on her other side.
"The reason Kirito lost..."
"No, it isn't."
Kirito shook his head seriously and said.
"I didn't go easy because she's a girl. I already fought really seriously. Really... At least until halfway."
"Who knows?"
Asuna haughtily turned away from him.
During this time the Salamander stood up, smiling even though he lost and shook Absolute Sword's hand before turning around and returning to a corner in the audience. The girl who wore a red hairband on her dark hair cast the lowest level healing spell on herself and looked around.
"Then, the next challenger, are there any?"
Her voice was also the high, lovable voice of a young girl. Her tone was bright and innocent, making it hard to associate with a seasoned warrior.
ALO doesn't support sex change, so the player was definitely female, but the randomly generated virtual body doesn't reflect a person's age or physique. Even so, the realisticness of «Absolute Sword»'s mannerisms makes people believe it's her real age and appearance.
'Why don't you go', 'No way, I'd get killed in seconds', conversations like those kept coming from the surroundings, but nobody signed up. This time it was Lisbeth's turn to nudge Asuna's abdomen with her elbow.
"Hey, go."
"No... Wait, I need to get into pace first..."
"You can just get into that kind of thing in a round against that child. Now, go quickly!"
"Wah."
Thump, her back was pushed, and Asuna fell several steps forward. She hurriedly spread her wings to stop falling, stood up straight and found herself looking face to face at the girl with the alias Absolute Sword.
"Miss, want to try?"
Twitchingly smiling, Asuna can't do anything but,
"About that... Well, then here I come."
Respond quietly like that. Before her fight with Absolute Sword who she imagined to be a large and ferocious man, she expected there to be a vigorous battle of words, but too many things have messed with her pace.
However, the surrounding cheers were left seething. Many people knew that Asuna was a frequent winner of the monthly tournament, and voices calling her name can be heard.
"OK!"
The girl snapped her finger and beckoned towards Asuna.
Breathing deeply, Asuna made up her mind and walked towards the center of the human wall. After the surrounding voices gradually stopped, she first confirmed the conditions of the fight.
"About that, can you describe the rules?"
"Of course. You can use magic and items if you wish. However, I (boku) will only be using this."
The girl who really suited the personal pronoun «boku» tapped the hilt of her sword with her left hand while responding. Her almost naive confidence provoked Asuna's will to fight. [2]
...In that case, I won't use means of restraint like long distance magic attacks either. A straightforward fight between swordswomen is what I wished for, whispered Asuna in her heart and placed her right hand on the hilt of her rapier, at that time.
Absolute Sword loudly said something even more leisurely.
"Ah, right. Miss, a fight on the ground or an aerial one, which do you like?"
Originally thinking that it'd obviously be an aerial one, Asuna was shocked and stopped unsheathing her rapier.
"...Either kind is fine?"
Absolute Sword grinned and nodded. Asuna couldn't help but wonder if it was some kind of ploy. However, there wasn't a hint of wickedness in the smile of the Imp girl. That was saying, she simply believed that she could win no matter what kind of fight it was.
If it's like this, I won't go easy. Thinking this, Asuna responded.
"Then, a fight on the ground."
"Ok. Jumping is fine, but you can't use your wings!"
Absolute Sword immediately agreed, and folded back the characteristic shadowy wings on her back. The color of those wings which were shaped like a bat's immediately faded and became almost unnoticeable. At the same time, Asuna also used the command to remove her wings: her two shoulderblades tightened up completely and were fixed there for two seconds. A jingling sound came from behind her, and she understood that her wings had disappeared.
Asuna pretty much mastered «Voluntary Flight» without a joystick on the first day she connected to ALO as a normal player, and now her aerial techniques weren't any worse than veterans who were playing since before Aincrad was patched.
Even so, as expected, the movements that permeated her body during the 2 years of fighting in SAO didn't weaken at all. In truth, fighting on the ground was difficult. Moving her toes, she felt the hardness of the ground coming from beneath her boot.
Next, Asuna confirmed the «Multicolor Pointer» of the girl who was known as Absolute Sword.
This small window automatically emerged near people your attention was focused on. Other than displaying the target's name, HP, MP and small icons for buffs and debuffs, the color of the window also showed your relationship with the target. Conditions like same race, neutral race, enemy race, friend, guild, party and so on would change its color, which was why it was called multicolor pointer.
However, since it was the first time Asuna and the girl had met, it wouldn't show her name, thus there was nothing above her HP bar. Comparatively, to the left side was a small icon. It was known as a «Guild Emblem». As its name implied, it meant that the person belonged to a guild. The emblem could be freely edited, the girl's emblem was a very cute one with a pink heart with two white wings spreading from its side. Asuna herself wasn't part of any guild, so there was no emblem on her pointer. Several times, she and her companions have mentioned forming a guild, but for some reason it had always stayed like that.
The girl was probably also looking at Asuna's pointer, the girl who was focused slightly away from Asuna once again looked directly at her with her beautiful, violet eyes. She smiled, waved her right hand and skillfully manipulated the system window which appeared. After that, a request for a duel appeared in Asuna's vision accompanied by a heart-stirring sound effect. The top row said—
?Yuuki is challenging you.?
???, read as Yuuki, was probably the name of that girl's character. Cute yet imposing, it was a name which really suited her.
Like in SAO, there were 3 modes selectable at the bottom of the window. Beginning from the top, they were «First Strike Mode», «Half Loss Mode» and «Total Loss Mode». In the previous Aincrad, duels were basically all done in first strike mode. Obviously losing all your HP was out of the question, even if it was half loss mode, it was possible to reduce someone's HP to the danger zone if the finishing hit was a critical hit.
But now, the obvious choice was total loss mode.
Feeling the change in times in a corner of her brain, Asuna clicked OK. The name ?Yuuki? appeared on the girl's multicolor pointer. At the same time, the pointer she was looking at should display the name ?Asuna?.
The window requesting a duel automatically disappeared, replacing it was a ten second timer. Asuna and the girl — «Absolute Sword» Yuuki unsheathed their swords at the same time, *ka-chink*, two clear sounds overlapped and rang.
Absolute Sword's weapon was a thin, single-handed, double-edged straight sword. It was translucent with an obsidian black hue like her armor. Judging from the radiance and details, the weapon's level was more or less the same as Asuna's rapier. That was saying, it probably didn't have the additional effects unique to rare, legendary weapons.
Yuuki placed her sword in front of her at her waist, and naturally lowered her body. In comparison, Asuna placed her right hand at the side of her body, her rapier held almost perpendicular. At the same time, the surrounding cheers ebbed away like a tide.
While she took a deep breath and breathed out, the counter on the timer reached zero.
In the instant the word ?DUEL? flashed, Asuna stomped on the ground with all her strength. Closing the distance of about seven meters in an instant, she twisted her body towards the right.
"Ha!"
Following that short cry, Asuna's right hand shot forward like an arrow. Those thrusts filled with torque and inertia shot out twice slightly to the left of the center of Absolute Sword's body, and another thrust ingeniously shot out to her right after a short while. It was a regular skill rather than a sword skill, although it wasn't as fast, its aim was more precise. If she dodged to the right to avoid the first two thrusts, she couldn't evade the following one.
Like Asuna thought, Yuuki's body moved slightly to the right to avoid the first two strikes. As her movement stopped, she entered the striking zone of the third hit—
However, as the tip of the rapier was about to hit her chest armor, Yuuki's right hand moved indistinctly. At the same time, sparks appeared to the right side of Asuna's rapier, and the trajectory of the thrust shifted slightly.
Absolute Sword accurately parried her rapier which was thrust at an ultra-high speed, as her brain understood that, the tip of her rapier grazed Absolute Sword's armor and hit air.
Expecting a counterattack, the skin on Asuna's neck numbed. However, if she retracted her rapier right now, her posture would be rigid. Following her skill's inertia, she hardened her heart and spun to her left.
At the same time, a black light aiming for her neck leapt into her eyesight.
"——!!"
Tremors filled Asuna's body as she faced this terrifying, lightning fast speed. She gritted her teeth and twisted her body to its limit, the strength exerted by her right foot almost scraping off the surface of the ground.
The friction of the grass which grew densely at her feet was set slightly lower than that of rocks or bare earth. This value betrayed Asuna and her right foot slipped. Instantly, her body tilted abruptly.
However, luckily, Absolute Sword's sword only grazed across Asuna's chest. *Clang!* The impact passed close to her ear. If hair had hitboxes, Asuna's long, light blue hair would probably be left with half its original length. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the energy released into the air spreading out.
Asuna recovered her balance, stomped the ground with her boot and leapt to the right. She leapt with her left foot once again and stopped a good distance away.
Even though Asuna was bent low in preparation for pursuit attacks, Absolute Sword retained the same smile, stopped moving and once again raised her sword to her waist. Asuna calmed her heartbeat and smiled back — but inside, she was covered in cold sweat.
The trajectory of the thrust which came flying towards her was just a single point. Basically, you could only avoid it using footwork, but Absolute Sword accurately deflected Asuna's rapier.
Rather than the speed of her counterattack, Asuna was more speechless at her amazing reaction speed. Although she kept hearing about how strong she was, the opponent's unexpectedly cute face put her off guard. She once suspected that the reason Kirito lost was due to negligence or discretion while fighting a girl, but that was completely undeserved. Even he wasn't able to successfully block Asuna's full power thrust even once.
Asuna once again breathed in deeply and held her breath. She was indeed a terrifying opponent, but giving up after just a single round would be a disgrace.
Unexpectedly, a sound echoed in her ear.
—What sword. That kind of thing, it's just a game...
Asuna clenched her teeth and threw away the noise in her mind. This world was already a real world, fights in this place were real battles. She must treat it as such.
As though to spur herself on, Asuna shook her rapier, raised it to her right shoulder and faced her opponent.
If normal skills won't work, then she must be prepared to risk using sword skills from now on. However, sword skills have a set recovery time, if all the hits are avoided, she will surely receive a fatal counterattack. She must think of a way to destroy her opponent's posture and create a situation where it will definitely hit. Asuna clenched her left hand.
She once again stomped on the ground and leapt, this time her mind completely clear. Something that was rarely ever felt during fights in the ALO world, the feeling of her nerves burning as her thoughts accelerated, engulfed her body.
This time, Absolute Sword also leapt forward. The smile in the corner of her mouth was gone and a radiance shone in her amethyst eyes.
The obsidian sword came howling diagonally from the upper right, Asuna pushed it aside from the left. A haircurling impact came from her right hand along with sparks and a metallic noise. Using the blocked off sword, Absolute Sword quickly swung again as though she couldn't feel the weight of her weapon, she attacked again and again. Her speed was so fast that it was impossible to react by the time you saw her attacks. Completely focusing her eyesight on her opponent, Asuna predicted the direction of her next attack from her movements and blocked or avoided it. Occasionally their swords would cross and graze each other's bodies, causing both of their HP to drop a little, but there wasn't a single clean hit.
Rapidly swinging her sword, Asuna suddenly felt uneasy.
Indeed, Absolute Sword Yuuki's attack and reaction speed were quite terrifying. Judging from speed alone, she was even above Kirito. Even so, the reason Asuna was able to persist until now wasn't only due to the large amount of combat experience she amassed in SAO, but also because her opponent's attacks were too direct. From the beginning to the end, she didn't use a single feint, which could upset the rhythm in an instant.
Asuna felt that, perhaps, Yuuki didn't have much experience fighting players. If that was the case, even if it was only for an instant, she had a chance of winning if she took her by surprise.
Entering the gap between the three-hit combo coming from her top right, top left and left side, Asuna ruthlessly entered Absolute Sword's bosom. The two of them were nearly stuck together. That way, neither of them could avoid attacks using footwork.
Asuna bent down, the rapier in her right hand pointing directly at the center of her opponent's body, and resolutely thrust forward—
Absolute Sword responded, and blocked the rapier from bottom up—
At that instant, Asuna suddenly pulled back her right hand, and at the same time, clenched her left fist and punched Absolute Sword's right side. This was a «Boxing» skill which she learned when she visited the faraway Gnome capital's training field. Even though there was no power because she didn't equip a knuckle-type weapon that it was intended for, it caused a flinch which was impossible without using a skill.
Dong, an impact came from her left fist, Absolute Sword widened her eyes in shock. This was her first and last chance. Asuna didn't hesitate and activated the four-hit sword skill «Quadruple Pain».
Asuna's rapier shone bright red and at the same time her right hand, controlled by the system, shredded the air like lightning.
Asuna was confident that the attack would hit. The opponent's posture was already destroyed and it was also impossible to avoid in terms of distance.
However. Letting the system speed up her right hand, Asuna looked at Absolute Sword's face, and tremors once again filled her body. Even though Absolute Sword's eyes were wide open, there wasn't a hint of panic in her violet eyes. Her eyes were focused on the tip of the rapier.
She could see the thrusts—?
The instant this thought crossed Asuna's mind, Absolute Sword's right hand flashed out.
Like a sword placed on a grinding wheel, a hard, scraping sound continuously rang out four times. Asuna's four-hit combo was accurately parried up, down, left and right, not a single blow hit. Asuna could only see a thin, ink-like afterimage left on Absolute Sword's sword.
Her last hit being parried, Asuna was frozen in a position with her right arm stretched out for several tenths of a second — this hopeless recovery time overtook Asuna. Absolute Sword didn't let go of this chance.
With a clang, she pulled back her obsidian sword, her sword glowing purple.
A counterattack-sword skill!
"Aaah!"
For the first time in the match, Yuuki let out an awe-inspiring cry. Then, she thrust forward with a speed that would've been very hard to avoid even if Asuna wasn't recovering from her skill, and caught Asuna's left shoulder. Slanting directly towards the bottom-right, she executed a five-hit combo without rest. All of them beautifully hit and Asuna's HP bar rapidly decreased and became yellow. She didn't remember a one-handed sword skill like that, which meant it was an «Original Sword Skill». She actually compiled such a fast five-hit combo—
While Asuna was dazed and thinking that, the light of Yuuki's sword didn't fade and she raised it to her upper-left.
It didn't end in five hits. It was still continuing. Finally being released from her skill's recovery time, Asuna pulled herself together and once again trembled.
Supposing Yuuki thrust at her another five times, there was no doubt that her HP would drop to zero. However, it was impossible to avoid.
Rather than uselessly trying to run and getting hit in the back, it'd be better to gamble on a small chance. Asuna put all her energy into her right hand and once again activated a sword skill. The only five-hit OSS which she had successfully compiled, named «Starry Tear».
Red and blue flashes interlocked. Going from Asuna's right shoulder to her bottom-left, the tip of Yuuki's sword intersected with her previous hits and made a cross.
However, Asuna's rapier finally hit Absolute Sword. Drawing the apex of a small star, the five-hit thrust skill pierced the black armor.
They finished exchanging five hits, and there was a moment of silence. Neither of them had fallen.
Absolute Sword's HP bar was reduced by more than half, and turned yellow. Whereas Asuna's HP bar entered the red zone, and there was only a little left. In the first place, Asuna, whose character data was inherited from SAO, had higher HP than ALO players. The astonishing ten-hit combo managed to actually chip almost all of it away, the power of Absolute Sword's OSS was really terrifying, however...
No. Yuuki's longsword was still releasing a violet glow, the sword skill hadn't ended.
Once again pulling back her sword, she aimed directly at the center of Asuna's body, the intersection of the cross-shaped effect.
That is saying, this is the miraculous OSS which Absolute Sword gambled on the duel? Asuna sighed deeply.
Power and speed which exceeded common sense, moreover, beauty which was even greater than those. I have no regrets losing to this kind of sword skill. Stating this in her heart, Asuna waited for the final hit.
The eleventh hit ferociously descended — but suddenly stopped right before it pierced through Asuna. The forcefully interrupted system support released a bright flash and the impact was released into the surrounding air, causing the surrounding grass to radially fall.
"—?!"
In front of Asuna's dumbfounded eyes, Absolute Sword placed down her weapon, and for some reason, quickly walked toward her. She patted Asuna's shoulder with her left hand, smiling brilliantly. Opening her lips, she vigorously said:
"Yeah, that was great! I've decided on you!!"

"Wha... Eh...?"
Asuna was already completely lost, and could only let out a dazed sound.
"How, that... What happened to the last hit of the duel...?"
"I'm already satisfied with fighting this much. Did you want to continue till the end?"
Hearing her saying that while smiling, Asuna could only shake her head. No matter what, if Absolute Sword didn't stop her last hit, Asuna's HP would've definitely been reduced to zero.

The girl who really suited the personal pronoun «boku» cheerfully nodded her head and continued speaking.
"I've always, always been looking for a strong person. This time I've finally found one! Hey, miss, do you have anything to do after this?"
"Well... uh. No..."
"Then, come with me for a while!"
Absolute Sword Yuuki returned her sword to the sheath on her waist with a clink and energetically stretched out her right arm. Asuna also sheathed her sword for the moment and uneasily grasped her hand.
At the same time, Yuuki widened her back and activated the command which spreads out her wings. The translucent, bat-shaped wings appeared, raising her body slightly.
"Ah, right."
Asuna hurriedly stretched out her shoulder blades, grew wings and kicked off the floor. Yuuki smiled once again, grasped Asuna's hand, turned around and accelerated upwards like a rocket.
"Hey, Asuna, where are you going?!"
Looking back towards the sharp voice, Asuna saw Lisbeth with a half-shocked, half-dazed expression on her face, yelling with her hand to her mouth. Lyfa, Silica and also Yui who sat on Kirito's head all looked dumb-founded, yet the black-clothed Spriggan just smiled calmly, as though he already predicted this development to some degree.
Encouraged by his expression, Asuna smiled and breathed in deeply.
"Well, about that... I'll contact you later!"
After she shouted that to Lisbeth, in front of her, Yuuki's wings released a purple radiance and she instantly entered a sharp burst of speed. With her right hand being pulled, Asuna frantically flapped the wings on her back, following the back of the young, mysterious swordswoman.

Absolute Sword flew directly south over the 24th floor's lake, through an opening in Aincrad's boundaries and into the space outside without hesitation.
"Uwah!"
At the same time, thick clouds hit Asuna's face. They continued moving forward in that pure white space for several seconds before suddenly slicing through the layer of clouds, the azure sky stretched out boundlessly in front of them.
In the bottom-right corner of her eye, she could see a green cone stretching out where they pierced through the layer of clouds. It was the top of the world tree which towered in the center of Alfheim. Looking directly below her, she could faintly see a blue surface. Judging from the circular shape scooped out from the coastline, it seemed like Aincrad was flying above the «Crescent Gulf» in Undine territory.
While Asuna was wondering about where they were going, Absolute Sword who was flying in front suddenly turned 90 degrees and started flying upward. Turning her body around, Aincrad appeared in front of her eyes, its giant, curved body towering like a precipice. Passing through the hundred meter high floors one after another, Absolute Sword continued flying higher.
—Although you could say that, but you can only freely go in and out of Aincrad's boundary for floors already cleared. The outer limits of floors which haven't been accessed are inaccessible zones. Asuna was slightly worried and wanted to ask her in order to confirm, but right when she breathed in deeply and was preparing to shout, their angle of flight once again turned 90 degrees.
It seemed like Absolute Sword's target was the 27th floor. If Asuna remembered correctly, that was the current front line. Going through a gap in the moss-covered wall, they flew inside with a bang. Instantly, the surroundings darkened.
The 27th floor of Aincrad is a country of perpetual darkness. There were exceedingly few openings in the exterior and no sunlight shone in even during the day. Numerous stalactites unevenly hung down from the ceiling inside, and above those, there were large prismatic gems here and there, letting out a hazy blue glow. In terms of impression, it was similar to the underground of the Gnome territory in the north of ALfheim.
The imp girl, whose night vision was almost as good as a Spriggan's, pulled Asuna's hand and flew between the stalactites. From time to time, a group of «Gargoyles» came into view in front of them, but Yuuki wasn't interested in fighting, skillfully avoided the group's scouting range and continued flying.
After flying into the ravine which appeared soon after and gliding slowly for a minute or so, a small town came into sight at the bottom of the wide, circular valley. This was the 27th floor's city block, named «Ronbaru».
Alleys and stairs complicatedly criss-crossed over this town which seemed as though it was carved out of a block of rock, an orange light shining over it. Like a sole campfire burning on a frigid night, it had a calming effect.
A purple and light blue trail stretched out from Yuuki and Asuna in the darkness as they flew and slowly landed in the circular plaza in the center of the town.
The quiet BGM signifying that they've entered the city drifted into her ears, and a bit of the pot roast's fragrance tickled her nose — while Asuna was thinking about that, she landed on the stone floor with a patter.
Asuna caught her breath and looked around. Ronbaru is the city of night elves, fitting that setting, there wasn't a single large building. A small workshop, shop and inn made out of cyan stone were tightly connected together. Under the orange light, this view had a fantasy-like beauty and the liveliness of a night festival.
Back during SAO, even while they were clearing the floor, people only gathered in this town for a short while because there weren't any important facilities. Asuna also only remembered staying in this town for several days. But right now, since it was the front line, many players proudly strode around, a clashing sound coming from their armor. Everyone seemed to have a few tempers and carried the heavy atmosphere of a warrior. Seeing that, a feeling mixed with yearning and bitterness drifted into Asuna's heart.
In order to obtain the wooden house, Asuna stood at the front lines for the entire time until they've reached the 22nd floor, but she hardly ever participated in boss fights after that. She felt that the joy of «entering a new town» should be left for the adventurers of the new Aincrad to savor. Besides, her memory of the front lines weren't all happy.
After closing her eyes and lightly shaking her head in order to throw away her sentiments, Asuna looked towards Absolute Sword who stood next to her.
"...Hey, why did you bring me here? Is there something in this city?"
In response to this question, Absolute Sword smiled and once again pulled Asuna's hand.
"Before that, let me introduce my companions first! This side!"
"Ah, wait..."
Following the back of Absolute Sword who suddenly started running, Asuna entered one of the narrow alleys that extended radially from the plaza.
Climbing up and down the small steps, passing through a bridge and going through a tunnel, they arrived in front of what looked like a hotel. Knocking aside the pot-shaped sign made out of cast iron with «INN» written on it, they entered through the door. They passed through a napping, bearded NPC and stepped deep into the pub and restaurant. At this moment—
"Welcome back, Yuuki! Did you find one?!"
The voice of a clamorous boy met the two.
Five people sat at a round table in the center of the tavern. There weren't any other people. Absolute Sword walked in front of them, quickly turned around and faced Asuna, happily spread out her right hand, straightened her chest and said:
"—Let me introduce you. This is my guild, my companions from the «Sleeping Knights»."
She turned around once again, and this time motioned at Asuna.
"And this is—..."
Her words suddenly stopped there. Yuuki shrunk back, rolled her eyes and adorably stuck her tongue out.
"...Sorry, I still haven't asked what your name was."
The five players splendidly fell into their chairs with a clatter. Seeing this, Asuna couldn't help but laugh and after a curtsy, she told them her name.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Asuna."
And then, to Asuna's far left, a short Salamander boy stood up with considerable verve. Swinging his orange hair tied in a braid at the back of his head, he said with a spirited voice.
"I'm Jun! Hi Asuna-san!"
To his side was a huge Gnome man. The beaming eyes beneath his wavy, sand-colored hair made him look amiable. He retracted his protuding stomach, bowed, and said his name with a leisurely tone.
"Ah, about that, my name is Thatch. Please treat me kindly."
The next to stand up was a skinny Leprechaun youth. His tidy, brass colored hair and round, iron-rimmed glasses gave him the impression of a student. He widened his small eyes, bowed and blushed while introducing himself in a flustered manner.
"I, I am, that, that is, my name is Taruken. Please advise me... Ouch!!"
The wail at the end of the sentence was due to the female player sitting to his left kicking him hard in the shin with her boots.
"Enough, Taru, stop being like this! You're always like this in front of girls!"
Saying this with an imposing and agitated tone, she rose from her chair with a clatter. She widened her eyes and smiled at Asuna, scratched her black hair which extended out like the sun and stated her name.
"I'm Nori. Glad to meet you, Asuna-san."
Judging from her black skin and gray wings, it seemed like she was a Spriggan, but her thick eyebrows, lips and large physique didn't feel like a Spriggan's at all.
And then, the last one was a female Undine player like Asuna. Her long, light blue hair which was almost pure white hung down from her shoulders. The calm, deep blue eyes beneath her drooping eyelashes shone with a radiance. Her long nose, lustrous lips and surprisingly slender body completely gave off the feeling of an excellent Undine healer.
The woman stood up lithely, and calmly introduced herself.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Shiune. Thank you for coming here."
"And then—"
Finally, Absolute Sword jumped to the right, stood alongside the five people and said as her large eyes shined:
"Me, who is also the guild leader, Yuuki! Asuna-san..."
She strode forward and clenched Asuna's hands,
"Let's work hard together!"
"Work hard to... do what?"
Asuna smiled back and asked, Yuuki was somewhat taken aback and once again stuck out her tongue.
"Eh, I haven't told you yet!"
Clatter! Seeing the five of them once again collapsed in their chairs, Asuna couldn't hold it in any longer. She laughed out loud, and immediately, Yuuki and the others also cheerfully laughed.
When she finally stopped laughing, Asuna once again looked around at the members of the «Sleeping Knights»— And then, she felt a slight chill behind her back.
They were all terribly strong. Asuna could determine this from every one of their movements. These six people were all fully used to moving in the VR world. If they took up arms, all of them would probably be about as strong as Absolute Sword.
Asuna, and probably also Kirito, Liz and the others, were completely ignorant about such a powerful group's existence. If they also transferred over from a different world like Absolute Sword, then they must have been a famous group in the VR world they came from.
What was the reason they moved to ALO, throwing away their familiar characters and all their items... While Asuna was wondering about this, Absolute Sword — Yuuki, who finally stopped laughing, scratched her head which was decorated by a red hairband and embarrassedly said.
"Sorry, Asuna-san. I brought you here without even telling you why. I was exhilarated that I finally found someone almost as strong as I am, and just... That is, I'll ask you for a favor once again. I... Please help us!"
"Help... you?"
Tilting her head and repeating this, Asuna thought up various possibilities in an instant.
It probably wasn't simply helping hunt for money, items or skill points. The guild was already at such a high level, just adding Asuna shouldn't make much of a difference.
Similarly, it's hard to believe that they're aiming for something like a specific rare item or residence. It's different from SAO where information itself was traded for a high price, piles of information on ALO was freely published on external sites. If you refered to those and got down to it, almost any item can be obtained eventually.
It's worth noting that the «Strength» Absolute Sword was looking for wasn't purely numerical, it also included the know-hows of combat. That's needed more for battles against players rather than monsters. Moreover, since she even introduced her guild, it's a large-scale battle rather than one-to-one duels like those which Absolute Sword has been carrying out up till now— Simply put, it's a battle without rules against another guild.
Considering this, Asuna lightly bit her lips and anxiously said.
"About that... If you need help in a conflict against another guild, I'm sorry..."
In battles against players where the rules in competitions and system rules in duels are removed, a sense of aberration always remained. Of course, players who won't let go after a moment of conflict are a minority, but the possibility that it'd bring trouble in the future to her friends and not just Asuna herself cannot be ruled out.
So even if Asuna encounters people acting unreasonably while hunting, she won't raise her sword against them.
In order to explain this as concisely as possible, Asuna once again opened her mouth. However, Absolute Sword's eyes widened for a moment before she immediately shook her head.
"No, it isn't, we're not doing something like fighting against others. About that... that, we... maybe you'd laugh..."
Lowering her head, Absolute Sword embarrassedly pursed her lips, looked up at Asuna and said something unexpected.
"...About that, we want to defeat this floor's boss."
"I see... Huh?!"
Asuna voice blurted out, this was completely outside her expectations. She originally thought that she'd hear a goal even worse than a conflict between guilds, but it turned out to be clearing the floor's boss, an extremely normal and upright goal. The players which currently stayed at the front line doubtlessly had the same goal.
"The boss...? The boss in the innermost part of the dungeon...? Not a Named Mob which respawns at a definite time?"
"Ah, yes. The one which can only be defeated once."
"I see... Is that so... a boss, huh~"
Asuna silently glanced at the faces of the other five guild members, they were all blinking and waiting for her response.
In other words, they want to join a guild which was formed specifically in order to defeat floor bosses, a «clearing guild». They just transferred over and didn't have any connections, so they're asking for her to help introduce them to veteran groups— Is that the case?
"About that... Well, Ze... No, Yuuki, since you're so strong..."
This development was slightly outside her expectations, Asuna closed her eyes, changed her way of thinking and considered the actual possibility. Among the players who were currently at Aincrad's front lines, around 80% of them were native to ALO and 20% came from SAO. Right now the groups from ALO and SAO have made peace, and the clearing guild was really mixed. However, back when it was first upgraded, their relationship was very stiff. That was due to one side being the first game to use AmuSphere, while the other side is the first real VRMMO, both «Fairies» and «Swordsmen» had strong egos. Like Asuna herself.
At this time, a group suddenly transferring over from another game uninvited and saying 'Let us join' can't join the raid group that easily— However, «Absolute Sword» Yuuki's strength is over the top. If the other five were at a similar level and they displayed it, it might be possible.
"Indeed... This floor's mapping is already close to the boss room, I don't know if it'd work if you suddenly asked to join the boss fight. But even if it isn't possible this time, if you join at the beginning of the next floor, with your strength, you may be able to join the boss room's raid group... The maximum number of people in a raid is 49 people, so I don't know whether all 6 of you can join..."
When Asuna spoke while thinking and reached this point—
Yuuki once again shrunk back shyly, and said something outside Asuna's imagination.
"About that. It's slightly different from what you're saying. We don't want to join the large group... We want to win with only the six of us and Asuna-san."
"...Eh, what?!"
The loudest sound she has made since she was brought to the inn blurted out from Asuna's mouth.
The reason was very simple.
Compared to the originals in SAO, the mobs guarding the route to the next level in the new Aincrad were littered with power-ups. Of course, the substantial change in the system cannot be simply compared, but with prudence, the bosses in the past can be defeated without a single casualty, while the new bosses scatters players like dandelion seeds using extremely strong attacks and skills. They were almost irrationally strong.
Of course, the strategy used must change as well. Gathering the maximum number of people in a raid and preparing healers in expectation that there'd be many deaths is a solid strategy. Rather than one person sacrificing his life in order to deal 10 damage, more focus was placed on 10 people steadily dealing 11 damage. The last raid which Asuna participated in was the 21st floor's, even though it was such a low level and they've formed 7 parties of 7 people, there were innumerable times where they faced the danger of being wiped out.
Of course, the bosses' strength increases the higher they go. The end of the 20 floors which were opened up last Christmas can gradually be seen, she heard that the 26th floor was finally cleared by gathering the elites of several large guilds.
In other words, no matter how strong Yuuki and the others were, even if Asuna joined as well, defeating the boss with 7 people can be said to be impossible.
Asuna chose her words, and briefly explained this.
"...So... with 7 people, I think it's somewhat unlikely..."
After she finished saying this, Yuuki and the others glanced at each other and for some reason, all of them laughed embarassedly. Yuuki spoke up as their representative.
"Yeah, there's absolutely no way. Actually, we also challenged the 25th and 26th floor's boss."
"Eh?! With... With just 6 people?!"
"Yes. We did try pretty hard... but our MP and HP potions can't keep up no matter what. While we were raising money around and about, the boss was defeated by the large group."
"Ah... is that so... You're serious."
Asuna once again looked closely at the faces of the 6 of them.
It can definitely be considered a foolhardy challenge, but she didn't dislike their spirit. Players who were used to games can distinguish what's possible and what's not, and would give up impossible things immediately. The rising will to challenge of the members of the «Sleeping Knights» reflected something extremely fresh — and slightly nostalgic in Asuna's eyes.
"But... Why? Why are you unwilling to go with other guilds and have to beat the boss alone?"
Of course, you can obtain an abnormal amount of money, rare equipment and items by defeating the boss with just one guild. She felt that this kind of incentive doesn't suit the 6 of them though.
"About... About that."
Yuuki widened her amethyst-colored eyes, and moved her mouth as though to say something. However, she didn't say anything. As though there was something stifling her, she opened and closed her mouth several times, like she can't find the proper words.
At this moment, the tall Undine next to Yuuki named Shiune spoke up to help her.
"About that, let me explain. Before that, please have a seat."
The 7 people including Asuna sat down around the table, and a NPC brought them the drinks they've ordered. Shiune gently crossed her fingers on the table, and started speaking in a quiet voice.
"Perhaps Asuna-san has already noticed, but we didn't meet in this world. We met in an online community outside of games... and immediately got along and became friends. It has already been... around two years."
Shiune eyelashes fell as though reminiscing, and stopped talking for a moment.
"We were really the best of friends. Together, we went to many different worlds, and undergone various adventures. However, regretfully, we can only continue to journey together up until this Spring. Everyone... is busy due to various reasons. So we decided that before we disband, we will create a memory we definitely will not forget. In the innumerable VRMMO worlds, we will find the most joyful, most beautiful, most exciting world and work together to finish something there. So we continuously transferred to various places, and this was the world we found."
Shiune looked around at her companion's faces. Jun, Thatch, Taruken, Nori and Yuuki, the faces of all five of them were gleaming, and they nodded. Shiune also smiled gently, and continued speaking.
"This world— Alfheim, the home of elves, as well as the floating city Aincrad, is fantastic. All of us will never forget about the time we've spent flying in the beautiful towns, forests, plains, the world tree — and also around this city. There is one more thing we want to do... We want to leave our footprints in this world."
Shiune's blue, slightly closed eyes glowed with a serious radiance.
"If we defeat the boss, we can leave our names on the «Swordsmen's Stele» in the Black Iron Prison inside the 1st floor's «Starting City»."
"Ah..."
Asuna's eyes widened for a moment, and nodded. She almost forgot about this, but the names of the players who have defeated the boss will be recorded in the Black Iron Prison. Asuna herself has her name left on the 21st floor's column.
"About that... Even though it's just for self-satisfaction, we want our names etched there no matter what. However, there's one problem. If a single party defeats the boss, the names of all the members will be recorded, but if there are multiple parties, only the name of the leaders will be left."
"Ah... Is that so. Yes, it's definitely like that."
Asuna responded while thinking about the interiors of the Black Iron Prison.
The «Swordsmen's Stele» was a 3D object inside the virtual world, so its size is limited. They need to reach the 100th floor in the end, there's not enough space to record the names of all the raid members for all the floors. At most, only 7 players' name is etched for every floor. So, like Shiune said, all the member's name can be etched on the stele if one party defeats the boss, while in a raid only the party leaders will be recorded.
Shiune paused for a moment as though waiting for Asuna to understand, then lightly nodded and continued speaking:
"In other words, if we want to leave the names of all the members of the «Sleeping Knights», we can only challenge it with a single party. We tried desperately on the 25th and 26th floor, but no matter what, we always fail by a finger's breadth... Then, after discussing it together, we decided. The upper limit of a party is 7 people, there was still one space. Even though it's presumptuous, we decided to find someone who's at the same level or stronger than Yuuki, who is the strongest among us, and ask that person to join our party."
"So that's it... This was what it was all about."
Asuna took a deep breath, and her gaze fell on the white tablecloth.
Leaving their names on the ?Swordsmen's Stele?. This wish was understandable.
Not only VRMMOs, but things like online games require a lot of time from players, many people quit in spring due to reasons like going to a higher level of education or employment. Inevitably, a lot of intimate guilds which have continued for many years can do nothing but disband. Wanting to etch this memory on this monument which will continue to exist as long as this world lasted was natural.
Not to mention others, Asuna herself doesn't know how long she can continue to play ALO. If her mother took an even stronger approach, it was possible that she'd be forbidden from even using the AmuSphere. Wanting to spend every minute and second on something meaningful since the time remaining was limited, this thought of hers was the same as theirs.
"...How about it? Will you agree? Not much time has passed since we just transferred over, so we might not be able to prepare enough gifts as thanks..."
Asuna stretched out her hands and stopped Shiune from operating a trade window to hint at the amount.
"Ah, no, since the number of places requiring funding are as numerous as mountains, this money is better left with you. I can just take whatever the boss drops as a reward..."
"So, you'll agree?"
The faces of Shiune and the other five glowed. Looking at their expressions in turn, Asuna gave up thinking about how it ended up becoming this kind of situation. At first, she was just slightly interested in the rumors of the mysterious swordmaster «Absolute Sword». Then she was absently brought from the competition grounds to the front lines, introduced to Yuuki's companions and was even invited to challenge the floor's boss with her. This all happened in less than an hour. The person who pulled Asuna into this jet-like development, «Absolute Sword» Yuuki, widened her sparkling, amethyst-colored eyes as much as possible and was waiting for Asuna's response. You can say that she's impatient, and you can say that she's unyielding, but this kind of strange encounter was also one of the joys given by VRMMOs. The most important thing is — deep in her heart, one hazy yet definite premonition sprouted. She can definitely become good friends with these mysterious swordsmen.
"About that... Wait a moment."
It was because of this that she can't deal with it casually. Asuna once again took a deep breath, fixed her gaze on the glass on the table and calmed her slightly chaotic thoughts. She put her doubts and shock aside, and focused her thoughts on Yuuki and the other's lofty goals for a moment.
A long time ago, as the sub-leader of a guild which no longer exists, Asuna planned the raids on many bosses.
She can't remember how many hours she spent discussing with other guilds and solo players, roaring at each other, and even prostrating and begging for help when there weren't enough people. She worked so hard because in that world, there was one requirement which must be kept. There can't be a single death.
But now, everything has changed. There was only one obligation and right which players in this elves' home had, and that was to enjoy. Can you enjoy the game if you tell yourself that you can just retreat if you have no chance of winning? Yuuki and the others have already challenged the bosses of the 25th and 26th floors with only 6 people, and it seems like they did pretty well.
Rather than thinking about what happens if you fail, just go without thinking about anything first. She hasn't played in such a rash way for a long time. Even if they were wiped, the only thing they lost was a little experience.
"...If we're going to do it, let's do it. This time, put aside things like success rate."
Asuna lifted her face, and mischievously smiled. At the same time, a smile bloomed on Yuuki's adorable face. In the tremendous cheers of her five companions, she leaned forward and grasped Asuna's right hand from the table.
"Thank you, Asuna-san! Even in the very beginning, when we fought each other with swords, I knew you would say this!"
"Call me Asuna."
Asuna smiled and responded, and Yuuki in turn, smiled and said.
"Then you should also call me Yuuki!"

After shaking hands with the five people who hurriedly stretched out their hands and drinking a toast with newly ordered fruit beer, Asuna asked Yuuki a question which suddenly came to her mind.
"Speaking of which, Yuuki-sa... Yuuki, you were looking for a strong person through duels, right?"
"Ah, yes."
"If that's the case, there should have been lots of strong people before me. Specifically, a Spriggan dressed in black who uses one-handed swords, do you still remember him? I feel that that person would probably be more useful than I am..."
"Ah—..."
Yuuki remembered about Kirito with just that. She kept nodding, and held her arm with a complicated expression for some reason.
"I remember. That person was also really strong!"
"Then... Why didn't you ask him for help?"
"Yeah..."
Yuuki was unusually silent, and a mysterious smile flashed across her face.
"As I thought, that person won't do."
"Why... Why is that?"
"He realized our secret."
Yuuki and Shiune didn't seem to want to say anything more about this, and there was no way to learn more. Perhaps this «Secret» is related to Absolute Sword Yuuki's outstanding strength, Asuna thought about this, but she can't see what Kirito noticed at all.
While she tilted her head and thought, the Leprechaun Taruken spoke up as though to change the topic.
"Then... the specifics of the raid, how... how are we going to organize it?"
"Ah... Let me think..."
Asuna washed down the questions stuck in her mouth with fruit beer, and raised her index finger.
"First of all, the most important thing is to understand the boss' attacks. Avoid when you should avoid, block when you should block and attacking with all your strength when you should attack, that way we might have a chance of winning. The problem is, how we are going to get information on this... It's probably pointless even if we ask the large guilds which specialize in hunting bosses. I think that we have to challenge it once with the premise that we'd be wiped."
"Yeah, we're fine with that! Only... The previous floor, and also the one before that, it gets defeated by other guilds immediately after we get wiped."
Yuuki showed a downcast expression, and the young Salamander boy Jun across the table frowned and continued.
"It has already ended when we got there again three hours later. Perhaps I'm just worrying too much... but I keep getting the feeling that they're waiting for us to fail..."
"Really..."
Asuna placed her hand next to her mouth and thought. Recently she heard rumours about disputes over raids as well. They were mainly about the large guild being too peremptory, but would this kind of group pay attention to a guild with only 6 people? However, this information cannot be ignored.
"Right, for the moment, we should make preparations for challenging the boss immediately after we're wiped. When does everyone have time?"
"Ah, sorry. Taruken and I aren't free at night. How about tomorrow at one in the afternoon?"
The tall Spriggan Nora scratched her black hair and apologized.
"Yeah, I have no problems with that. Then, let's meet in this inn tomorrow at one?"
OK, I understand, everyone responded in various ways. Facing the nodding «Sleeping Knights», Asuna once again smiled, and loudly said.
"—Let's try our best!"

Asuna stroked Yuuki's head while Yuuki kept talking about how thankful she was. She reluctantly left the inn, and first returned to where Lisbeth and the others were. They would probably be startled by this unexpected result, Asuna's heart pounded as she walked quickly towards the teleport gate in Ronbaru's plaza.
Relying on her unreliable memory as she passed through alleys, the festive plaza finally appeared in sight, at this moment.
Beep, as though the power switch was pressed, the world darkened. All her senses disappeared, Asuna was left in complete darkness.



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