I like crossing the most

Chapter 560: Dead? Like dead (5500!)
"Drink, drink, drink, drink!"

"Hahaha--"

"Look at me, flowers, birds, wind and moon!"

“Ohhhhh——!”

"One more, one more!"

In the central square of the Town of Origin, fifty people gathered together to sing and dance.

After the meeting, Aqua suggested holding a banquet tonight to relax the mood, and Diabel agreed without thinking. And through his persuasion, others also agreed.

Tomorrow will definitely be a tough battle, and no one is sure what will happen. Maybe someone will be sacrificed and will not be able to attend such a banquet. So holding a banquet before the battle can be said to enhance feelings and relieve stress.

It really fulfills that doctrine—

[The answer you come up with after hesitating for too long, no matter what you choose, you will regret. You will regret it anyway, just choose the happiness of the moment. Don't worry too much about how you will be in your later years. Even God doesn't know whether you will be smiling in the future, so just be happy in the present. 】

In short, the town is now a bustling scene.

Aqua was performing her banquet skills on the podium. I had no idea how she could use those weird skills even though she had already entered the game.

Sato Kazuma is bragging to other players while gathering useful intelligence.

Others were also enjoying the party.

Alice in particular had a cute look, so many people wanted to approach her to chat with her, but unfortunately they were all blocked outside by the guard dog, Kureya.

During this time, Kobayashi noticed that Diabel and Kirito seemed to be talking about something, but when Kirito shook his head, he sighed slightly and seemed a little disappointed. After Kibo came to call him, he went to talk to other people.

Kirito moved away from the crowd. As a socially anxious person, he probably couldn't stand so many people gathering together. However, when he saw Asuna, he paused, but still walked up to talk to her. Then the two of them said something and soon left together.

Well, the intersection between the two should start from here.

Xiaolin decided to ignore them.

Whether it's Kirito or Asuna, they promised to come back to participate in the BOSS battle and will definitely not be absent. In fact, it doesn't matter if they are absent, even if there are only Krillin and the others, they can successfully defeat the BOSS.

Then he went to find Rain.

"Here, these are the tools and money I have saved recently, as well as this short scimitar and small round shield. I'll give them to you as well."

"Thank you."

This is also one of the reasons why Lei Yin does not participate in the boss battle.

After all, Xiaolin did not level up with Sato Kazuma and the others. Although their levels were not much different, their equipment and items were much different. In order to participate in the BOSS battle, someone had to make sacrifices and give up their equipment and items to him. The person chosen was naturally Raine, who was not good at close combat.

Originally Huihui should have done the same, but the miserly little loli refused to do so, so she had no choice but to give up her little treasury.

"I'll strengthen it later."

Since it is a game, there must be a strengthening system. Otherwise, how can you increase attack power within a limited level?

Xiaolin needs a lot of money, and that's why he wants to use highly enhanced equipment to make up for the gap with other people.

"I feel a little guilty about spending the team's money on myself."

"Don't say that. It would be a waste if it was used on Sato Kazuma, but it would be of the greatest use if it was used on Mr. Kobayashi."

"I'm happy to hear you say that. But don't underestimate Sato-kun. If we just talk about playing games, he might be much better than me."

Never underestimate Sato Kazuma.

Although he has some minor personality problems, he is very talented in gaming. The reason is that he was able to play the game console he got back from the Crimson Devil Village by listening to the music and closing his eyes! Even Xiaolin couldn't do this, it was very exaggerated.

Xiaolin then sent a text message to Argo, asking which blacksmith shop in the Starting Town had the best enhanced attributes.

[The best option at this stage is to go to the blacksmith shop in the south. You are preparing for tomorrow's BOSS battle, so I won't charge you. Accordingly, you must successfully break through the first level. ]

[You really believe in me. But it's no problem, I can definitely break through the first level easily. ]

[Then I'm relieved. Also, the thing you asked me to do is ready. I will go to Tortobana tomorrow morning and give it to you then. By the way, what is the use of this thing? Just treat it as a bonus information, can you tell me? ]

[No way! ...I want to say that, but since you gave me the information for free, I can't be stingy. - This is something that may be useful in tomorrow's boss battle, but of course, I don't hope to use it.]

"Can it be used in boss battles?"

Argo looked at the item in his hand, not really understanding what use it would have in a boss battle.

[If you are interested, why not come and see it with your own eyes? It will definitely open your eyes. ]

She looked at the email from Xiaolin and her expression became increasingly irritable.

“Aaaaah——, damn man! He actually aroused other people’s interest, and then acted mysteriously! Be careful or I won’t give you the props!”

But this is just talk, intelligence dealers value their reputation very much.

Then she sent the email word by word.

[No, no, needless! I'm an intelligence dealer, and intelligence dealers will never do it themselves! I'll take the benefits, and you go and die!]

"hehe."

Xiaolin looked at the email sent by Argo and could imagine how angry the mouse was that he couldn't help but say such words.

After that, the two sent many emails to each other until he came to the blacksmith shop recommended by Argo.

At the street corner, Kobayashi saw Kirito and Asuna. The two walked out of the blacksmith shop and left in another direction.

It turned out that the two of them came to strengthen their equipment.

That's right. Kirito is a famous closed beta player after all, so it's not a big deal that he knows the location of this blacksmith shop. Maybe it was Argo who told him.

Xiao Lin didn't bother them.

Go into the blacksmith shop and strengthen your equipment.

“+4（+2韧性、+2防御）的小圆盾和+6（+3锋利+3耐久）的弯刀吗？算了，也就这个样子吧。”

That's the benefit of a team.

Generally speaking, ordinary players don't have enough money to upgrade their weapons and armor to a high level, but Kobayashi took the remaining money of Rain, Aqua and others, so the enhanced attributes were naturally considerable.

"It seems that the guild is necessary."

Xiaolin pinched his chin.

Back in town, Kirito and Asuna were not there. Aqua was drunk and lying on the ground vomiting crazily. Sato Kazuma patted her shoulder with a look of disgust. The rest of the team was in a similar state. Koharu and Rinko sighed and doubted whether these people were reliable.

And just like that, the banquet came to an end.

At ten o'clock the next morning, all members gathered in the town. Seeing the determined looks in everyone's eyes, we knew that they were ready for battle.

Diabel waved his hand.

"--Set off!"

Then everyone walked in unison towards the maze area. SAO's way of moving is different from clicking a mouse or pressing a keyboard. You must use your feet to reach your destination.

Kobayashi and others also followed behind the main force.

Yesterday, Diabel divided the tasks. The six members of Sato Kazuma's team and the six members of Kobayashi were all tasked with dealing with the miscellaneous soldiers and the ruins kobold guards. It must be pointed out that this was not an easy task. Although they were just miscellaneous soldiers, their individual combat power was comparable to that of elite monsters in the wild, not to mention that they could recover health and refresh infinitely.

That's right, as long as the BOSS is not defeated, it will refresh infinitely, and there are three of them. Because of this, the nine teams have to allocate half of their people to deal with them.

"I didn't expect it was to deal with miscellaneous soldiers."

Xiaochun sighed deeply.

I think she is quite resistant to this arrangement. After all, she is one of the closed beta players, and she should deal with the BOSS no matter what.

"But you didn't object, did you?"

“That’s because…!”

Because of fear of death.

Xiaochun pursed her lips. She didn't say the rest, but that was the meaning.

No one knows what will happen in the boss battle, especially since Kobayashi once said not to trust the strategies in the closed beta test, which made her very concerned and she felt uneasy about the upcoming battle.

Sato Kazuma patted her shoulder, raised his thumb and said with a reassuring smile: "Don't worry, we are just dealing with miscellaneous soldiers anyway."

"Hey... this isn't exactly comforting."

She still couldn't accept Sato Kazuma. But there was still something strange.

"Aren't you nervous?"

Now they were heading towards the maze area. No one was talking along the way. The oppressive tension almost made her breathless. But it was normal to be like this. After all, it was a boss battle and someone might die. Xiaochun was also very nervous.

On the other hand, Sato Kazuma and the others looked leisurely and nonchalant, not like they were here for a life-and-death battle but more like they were here for a picnic.

Hey, hey, hey, we're about to have a life-and-death battle, can't you be a little nervous?
"Nervous, why?"

"Why do you say that? We're going to fight the first floor boss soon. We might die."

“…How many times do you think I’ve died? Besides, I’ve fought against the Demon King’s army leaders many times. How could I be afraid of a mere virtual boss?”

"Sorry, I don't understand what you're talking about."

Koharu looked at Sato Kazuma who had a proud face and really couldn't understand what he was so proud of.

Is it worth being proud of how many times you have died?
What is the point of fighting against the Demon King's army?
He couldn't be talking about other games, right? But isn't SAO the first game using virtual reality technology?
Xiaochun guessed so.

Little did people know that Sato Kazuma had indeed died several times and had defeated the Demon King's army cadres several times.

Asuna has the same problem.

She looked at Megumin and Darkness who were making a lot of noise along the way, and thought that if they were real wizards and knights from another world, they would definitely not be like this when they went to subdue monsters. At least they would not be as relaxed as on a picnic.

Arriving at the BOSS room of the first-level maze area, there is a tall door with ancient patterns on it, and behind the door is the BOSS guarding the first level.

Many people swallowed their saliva, and the tense atmosphere became more and more intense. At this time, Diabel said in a serious tone: "Everyone listen to me, I only have one thing to say... Win it."

Everyone nodded in unison.

"Okay, let's go!"

Diabel took the lead and pushed open the door of the BOSS room.

It's very spacious inside.

Even too spacious.

The rectangular space extending into the depths is about twenty meters wide from left to right, and about one hundred meters from the gate to the deep wall, which is almost the area of ​​three basketball courts connected together.

In the originally dark BOSS room, the crude torches on the walls on both sides suddenly began to burn.

Then there were continuous popping sounds, and the number of torches continued to increase inwards. With the light source, the brightness inside naturally increased as well.

The cracked stone floor and walls, the skulls that decorated everywhere, the simple yet huge throne at the deepest part of the room, and a certain figure on the throne—

"Not good, not good, Senior Krillin! This is a cadre of the Demon King's Army!"

Sato Kazuma's legs were shaking.

He is being naughty again.

Seeing this, Xiaochun couldn't help but yelled: "Weren't you quite arrogant just now?"

Regardless of the strength of the BOSS, the appearance alone is quite oppressive. It has a strong body over two meters long with blue-gray fur, and its blood-hungry single eye is emitting a golden red light. In its right hand is an axe cut out of bone, in its left hand is a small round shield made of leather, and behind its waist is a scimitar about one meter long.

“Hoooooooooooooo——”

The roar was deafening.

Diabel did not hesitate, as he knew very well that the longer he waited, the faster his courage would fade away. He raised his sword high and swung it forward.

The fifty-man boss attack team roared in coordination with his movements, then rushed into the large room in one breath.

The Kobold Lord first raised the axe in his right hand high, and then chopped hard at the shield user who was in the front. After the shield user used a heavy counterattack shield to attack, the dazzling light and shadow effects and the strong collision sound immediately shook the whole room.

This sound was like some kind of signal, causing three heavily armed monsters to jump down from several openings high up on the walls on both sides. Those were the targets that Kobayashi and the others wanted to deal with - the ruins kobold guards.

Kibo led his team to meet them, including Sato Kazuma and Krillin.

The only difficulty in this battle is that when the Kobold Lord reaches the fourth HP, he will drop the weapon in his hand and switch to the scimitar at his waist, and his attack mode will also change accordingly. So as long as you are alert to this, you will be safe.

Please, just like that——

Let’s keep going like this till the end!

Whether it was Diabel or Kirito and the others, they were all praying this in their hearts.

however--

When the Kobold Lord's health reached the last bar, Diabel shouted, "Let me do it!" and rushed forward. The boss threw away the bone axe and leather shield in his left and right hands at the same time, roared again, and then stretched his right hand behind his waist, grasped the handle of the knife casually rolled up by the rags, and then drew out the vicious long knife.

...Long sword?

Kirito's pupils trembled.

This is different from what the intelligence said!
"No! Back off quickly, jump back with all your strength!"

Unfortunately, his shouts were drowned out by the sound effects of the Kobold Lord's sword skills. Its huge body shook the floor a few times before it jumped vertically. It twisted its body in the air and stored power in its weapon, and as it fell, it immediately turned the stored power into a crimson light and released it like a tornado.

A special skill for broadswords, attacking over a very wide range.

——【Carousel】

The brutal force swept away all the players in front of it, and a rotating hazy yellow light appeared above the heads of the six people lying on the ground, which meant that they were temporarily unable to move - that is, they were in a state of dizziness.

No one at the scene could react.

Although a thorough combat meeting had been held beforehand and the attack had been going quite smoothly so far, the reliable captain Diabel was knocked down by a single blow. This sudden situation left everyone at a loss as to what to do.

In the strange silence, the Kobold Lord has recovered from the skill stiffness.

Oh no, it’s chasing us!
When they realized this, Agil and several other players were ready to step forward to help, but it was too late.

"Uluru————"

The Kobold Lord roared loudly, then swung the broadsword in both hands and chopped it high up at a trajectory that almost scraped the floor.

This is the sword skill [Floating Boat].

Its target was Diabel who was lying in front of it. As if being pulled by a reddish arc of light, its body in silver metal armor floated into the air. Diabel was not seriously hurt, but this was just the opening move, and the next move was the killing move!
The floating boat is the starting move of the combo. If you are hit by this move, you must not struggle in vain, but just curl up your body and make the best defensive posture. However, if you see this move for the first time, it is impossible for you to know how to deal with it.

Apparently Diabel is one of them.

He did not take a defensive stance, but instead made a gesture to fight back with sword skills, but the system did not judge his unstable movements as starting movements, and the huge samurai sword attacked the knight in white with his sword raised high from the front.

Diabel's death was foreseeable. Just when everyone was about to accept this fact, and even Diabel himself was ready to accept his own death, Xiaolin shouted -

"Darkness!"

"Come on horseback!"

A golden figure jumped up from the ground and stood in front of Diabel.

No one knew where she came from, nor did anyone understand where she got the courage to confront the BOSS without any preparation, but now there was no energy left to explore these things.

The first was an upward and downward combo that was so powerful that even the eyes could not catch it, followed by a thrust after a pause. This was a three-hit combo technique called [Crimson Fan].

A huge impact force fell on Darkness, and her body flew directly over the heads of the joint forces members. She was bounced nearly twenty meters away, and finally fell almost headfirst to Kobayashi and others who were fighting with the kobold guards at the back.

hiss--

Kirito gasped.

After being beaten like this by the Kobold Lord, his health points must have been severely reduced, and he might even die!

In fact, he also saw that Darkness's health was rapidly dropping, from green to yellow and finally to red, and then the red also disappeared, and the transparency continued to fill and occupy everything.

"Hey……"

Kirito couldn't make a sound.

He really didn't understand why someone would risk his life to block an attack, and what would make the other person do this.

Most importantly, someone died.

Kobayashi came over and patted the perverted female knight on the cheek to wake her up from the afterglow.

"Hey, are you okay?"

“…Great!”

"You, I asked you to help block the damage, I didn't ask you not to even defend yourself."

Xiao Lin helplessly held his forehead and sighed.

"... huh?"

Kirito was dumbfounded.

He really couldn't understand why Xiaolin wasn't sad or angry. Wasn't Darkness their companion?

...When he thought about this, he suddenly realized that Darkness's health was actually still a little bit left. Only a little bit was left, and it was impossible to see clearly without careful observation.

Kirito's tense mood suddenly relaxed.

It turns out he’s not dead!

fortunately!

"Don't be so reckless next time. Drink the potion."

"Oh."

Xiaolin handed Darkness a bottle of potion and watched her drink it all in one gulp. Her health points increased again.

Sato Kazuma and others also came over, scolding and blaming her, but their expressions showed that they were used to her behavior.

Ok? ? ?
Kirito looked at the carefree Darkness and couldn't understand what these people were thinking. Your companion almost died just now, be more thankful! I am more thankful than they are!
The sadness that he had accumulated with great difficulty was released in this strange way, and Kirito always felt like a clown.

(End of this chapter)