I like crossing the most

Chapter 584 The best martial arts club in the world

"No one has much motivation lately."

In the labyrinth area on the 55th floor, Aqua suddenly said this.

I don’t know if it’s because everyone’s advancement has slowed down, but even this stupid goddess has moved her leveling location to the front line as time goes by, joining up with the rest of the team.

After killing a monster, Sato Kazuma stopped what he was doing and said, "Okay, then Aqua, you should perform some talents here to liven up the atmosphere."

"I don't want it. Besides, I can't use my talent casually. I need someone to support me."

The stupid goddess refused decisively.

Just like a certain Biluo teacher who needs 100,000 fans to show her face, I don’t know what she is insisting on. It was obvious that she couldn’t be stopped when she was drunk in the bar before.

"Besides, that's not what I meant. Speaking of which, you guys have noticed this weird tension and anxiety, right?"

"Aqua is right. I felt it too."

Darkness nodded.

Alice whispered, "Why don't you let me sing a song here? This way everyone can refresh themselves."

Kureya and Rain agreed with both hands.

“No, I don’t think that’s any use.” Huihui shook her head and pointed at the others, “Look, those people seem to be working hard, but in fact they are just going crazy. Even singing can’t heal them.”

“It’s really strange.”

Xiaolin held his chin with his hands.

At first he thought that they were anxious because they couldn't pass the 55th floor, but now it seems that they were too anxious.

Youyou said, "Maybe I haven't had a rest."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

“Well, that’s… When I was in the Crimson Demon Clan, I studied every day and worked hard to catch up with Megumin. One time, I fell ill and collapsed. I think they should be like this too.”

I didn't expect there was such a connection between them.

"What are you talking about, Youyou."

"Everyone has had a rest."

"That's right. During the New Year, no one was conquering floors. Aren't they just taking a break?"

Huihui and the others talked at once.

It was a little hard for Youyou to explain.

"That, that..."

"Wait, I think I understand what Youyou means."

That's it.

The instantaneous flow rate of social animals and working people.

Although it is a holiday, it doesn't feel like a holiday. In this state, no matter how many days of holiday I have, as soon as I return to my post, the work seems to be just yesterday's thing, and the recovered energy and spirit will disappear in an instant.

SAO does not force players to complete floors as quickly as possible, but under the threat of death they dare not slack off, and over time they develop an irrecoverable fatigue.

After Youyou's reminder just now, Xiaolin suddenly had an idea.

It took a month to complete the first level. At that time, no one believed that they were trapped in the game and still had illusions of being rescued by the outside world. But as time went by, everyone gradually faced the reality.

After the New Year, they mustered up their courage and enthusiasm to quickly complete the floors. That was the fastest time for them to complete the floors, on average they completed one floor every three days, which greatly boosted everyone's confidence.

But as time went by and the second year came, everyone realized that they had only completed a little more than half of the level. The huge gap made the strategy team members no longer confident, and the boring strategy levels also made them physically and mentally exhausted.

This has become clear since this year.

Their attack speed slowed down. It wasn't because the difficulty of the floors had increased a level - although that was a factor, but more importantly, they were inert and tired.

"It really depends on Aqua's talent show."

"Eh------"

Hearing what Xiaolin said, Aqua immediately made a depressed hissing sound, and then he continued:
"But I guess it's of no use."

"why?"

Sato Kazuma didn't understand.

The reason is simple. Aqua's talent is indeed worthy of endless praise, but how many times do you think the stupid goddess has performed her talent? She only performs from time to time, and no matter how good her talent is, people get tired of seeing it.

"I guess that's why Aqua doesn't want to perform."

"is it?"

“That’s right! Idiot Kazuma, you don’t understand at all. Talent is just like magic. Once it’s discovered, it becomes boring. I really hope you can learn from Kobayashi. It’s because you are always inconsiderate that you can’t get girls’ love... It hurts, it hurts, it hurts—!”

Before she could finish her words, Sato Kazuma pinched the stupid goddess' head and refused to let go no matter how she screamed in pain and begged for mercy.

"Then Senior Xiaolin, what should we do in this situation?"

"Yes, let me think..."

Kobayashi had no obligation to resolve this anxiety, but considering that any problems they had would affect his and others' efforts to conquer the floors - the higher up the floors in SAO, the stronger the bosses, so a joint force was necessary. A situation like the fifth floor being cleared with only eighteen people simply did not exist on the higher floors.

"Let's hold a large festival, a festival for the players themselves."

"Players' own festival?"
Everyone looked at each other, not understanding what Xiaolin meant.

There are also many events in SAO, such as Christmas, New Year, etc. In order to make players feel a sense of belonging, Kayaba Akihiko has done a lot. But the game is a game after all, and it is a death game, so people have no time to play it. Especially the members of the strategy group, they only care about whether there are powerful props and weapons in the event. For example, the apostate Nicholas.

"If Alice's idol activities are aimed at ordinary players and everyday players, then this festival is aimed at the top players."

"Top players?"

Darkness was a little confused. “What exactly is that? I think Xiaolin should understand that the members of the strategy team are only interested in conquering floors and the best leveling locations. They rarely do things like festivals that waste time.”

She was right.

The players in the strategy group are constantly improving their levels and skill proficiency. They would never waste time helping the Silver Banner Guild Master catch the murderer like Kirito did.

“You’re wrong, Darkness. They’re not only interested in conquering floors and leveling locations, they’re also interested in one more thing.”

"what?"

“Who is the strongest player?”

"…The strongest?"

"Yes, the strongest!"

Xiao Lin spread his hands and said as if he saw through everything: "In any game, there will be a so-called player ranking. But there is no such system in SAO, and it is impossible to distinguish who is the strongest player. Then, let us... no, all the players be the witness!"

"Really? Are you going to use this trick?"

Sato Kazuma clapped his hands, and his look of sudden enlightenment also attracted questioning from everyone.

The members of the strategy team are a small group of the best people in the entire Aincrad, and the players who can join the joint force to conquer the floor are the best of the best.

Although everyone knows each other and has a good relationship, things will change when it comes to strength.

Just like the first level, no one wants the first level BOSS to be cleared without their knowledge - the so-called player's soul, who is the strongest player in SAO? They all have their own persistence and unyielding character.

"I think it's time to prove who is the strongest player in SAO."

The game has been launched for a year and a half, and talented and capable players have already come to the fore. There are simply no top players who are buried - even if they have a good talent for playing games, the fact that they dare not take risks means that they are not top players and cannot be compared with the small group of people standing at the top.

"I see. Is this a festival for high-level players?"

Darkness blushed and twisted her body. “I’ve only endured monster attacks so far. If I could experience attacks from players who are stronger than monsters… That would be awesome! Ha—ah—ha—ah!”

Uh……

Sato Kazuma showed a look of disgust: "You, are not allowed to participate!"

"I do not want!"

The perverted female knight has begun to have wild thoughts.

"But will this work?"

Alice was a little worried. "Not all members of the strategy team want to prove themselves. For example, Uncle Agil is working hard just to clear the level. I think there are many people who think the same as him and will not participate in the festival."

"This is when we need something attractive." Sato Kazuma smiled evilly.

"Something attractive?"

“That’s what they call a prize.”

Xiao Lin touched Alice's head and said, "The players in the strategy group are all a bunch of strategy fanatics. They are only interested in the best leveling locations and powerful weapons and props. So can't we just take out these things?"

After thinking for a while, he said, "Aqua, please contribute the Holy Crystal of Resurrection."

"Eh--"

"Don't feel wronged. You've been holding it for three months, haven't you figured out anything yet? Hurry up, we need it to attract players this time, so give it away!"

Sato Kazuma has already reached out to grab it.

At first, Xiaolin was thinking about whether he could ask Aqua to research something, which he had always done in the past, but unfortunately it didn't work this time. Because the Holy Crystal of Resurrection was a game prop, even the goddess couldn't do anything with it, and could only stare blankly.

The Holy Crystal of Resurrection is the only resurrection item in SAO at present. It is a unique product and its appeal is absolutely extraordinary, which is more than enough to lure those top players.

As for the other prizes...

"Senior Xiaolin, how about making a special weapon for the second place winner?"

"Weapon?"

"Yes. It doesn't require any payment or materials from the players, and it can be kept and used by any player without any time limit. Even if the player has conquered the 99th floor, we will help him make the strongest weapon at the moment. If this is used as a selling point, I'm sure the members of the conquering team will go crazy for it."

"……nice!"

Sato Kazuma's suggestion is quite good.

What top players need most are powerful weapons, so they are slightly inferior in terms of protective gear. After all, if they can't break the BOSS's defense, they will never be able to pass the level.

Following this line of thought, they decided on other rewards.

The third place winner will get the strongest weapon, the fourth place winner will get other special items, the fifth place winner will get special skill information, etc. From top weapons to a meeting with the idol princess Alice, there are all kinds of rewards. As long as you can enter the top 16, you will get rich prizes, and even if you can't enter the top 16, you will still get a certain amount of bonus.

"So they should all come to participate, right?"

“I don’t think anyone can refuse this.”

Because what was given was too much.

One can imagine how generous the rewards for impressing top players are. Even the Axis Cult would be hurt.

"Can you hold on?"

"Don't worry, Senior Xiaolin, I have plenty of ways to make it back. For example, I can sell some peripheral products, snacks and drinks, and bet on the favorites to win the championship and then have the dealer take all the outside bets... Hehehehehe - I will earn more than I spend, hahahaha -"

Sato Kazuma's laughter was extremely scumbag-like. I really hope that his talent as a businessman can be used in the right place, but forget it this time.

"What about the conditions for determining the winner? Will it be based on the first hit?"

"No, that's not very entertaining, and it's too much of a favor to the rapier user who has maxed out his agility. Let's use the half-loss win-lose mode this time."

Let me explain again.

There are three PK methods in SAO.

There are the deathmatch mode, where you win by reducing the opponent's health to zero. Then there is the first hit mode, where the first person to hit the opponent wins. And finally, there is the half-loss mode, where the first person to reduce the opponent's health to less than half wins.

"Is it okay? If PoH and others sneak in..."

This worry is unfounded.

On the fifth floor, Kirito once told him that some people used the half-loss win-lose mode to try to kill people legitimately, and this method later became popular, so players gave up this PK mode and switched to the first-hit win-lose mode.

"Then let's set the level."

Sato Kazuma said: "The level of the participants must be above level 50. If they have enough health, they will not die from being hit hard and having their health reduced to zero even in the half-loss victory mode."

"This is a good idea."

Xiaolin nodded.

Darkness said, "Isn't this condition too harsh? There aren't many players above level 50."

"That has nothing to do with us. Do we have to wait for them to level up? For top players, level is the least important thing."

As for whether the players would have any objections, he didn't care. If you want to participate in the festival, you have to abide by their rules. And Xiaolin didn't think anyone would be stupid enough to use this to kill people in broad daylight. If that happened, they would be regarded as enemies by the top players of SAO.

“Besides, Darkness, you should prefer this kind of duel. If the winner is decided on the first hit, you won’t be able to experience the pleasure of being attacked.”

"Varied……!"

Darkness looked as if she had just thought of something.

"But if that's the case, we'll be excluded from the door as well."

Huihui was a little unhappy.

Her current level was seventy-four, but she was just a jinchūriki carrying a flag. Her only way of attacking was to throw firework bombs. However, the duel at the festival obviously wouldn't allow her to throw bombs, and even if she did, she wouldn't be able to hit high-level players who were fast and agile.

Hearing her say that, it seemed that Liu Zi and I could not participate. It would be fine if the two of them could participate together, but it was obvious that the others would not agree to a righteous two-on-one fight. Even Youyou, Lei Yin and other people who were not good at fighting could not participate.

“Don’t lose heart, Huihui. You can still participate.”

“Kazuma?”

"The festival needs someone to set off the fireworks for the opening ceremony, so you can set off the fireworks to your heart's content when the time comes."

“Kazuma?!”

The little girl was stunned.

Aqua was very interested in this festival and asked, "Xiaolin Xiaolin, since it's a festival, it must have a name, right?"

"I've already thought about this."

"what is it call?"

"——The world's number one martial arts competition!"

(End of this chapter)