I like crossing the most

Chapter 585: The World's No. 2 Martial Arts Tournament
"Hey, Ruth, you came early today."

"You too, Andy."

"Then let's start quickly."

"no problem."

Ruth and Andy are both members of the strategy team. The difference is that they are not members of a particular guild, but are lone wolf players like Kirito.

It was just that when the strategy group was gradually replaced by the Blood Alliance Knights and other guilds, some players spontaneously formed teams in order to pursue upgrade efficiency and avoid being kicked out of the strategy group. These two were one of them.

During the upgrade period.

"By the way, Ruth, have you heard about the No. 1 Martial Arts Conference in the World?"

"I know. This name is a plagiarism of Mr. Bird Ming's idea, it's so funny."

"That's it."

"Hahahaha——" X2
The two of them laughed in unison.

After a while.

"Are you going?"

"No. Are you going?"

"A member of the Raiders Team condescended to attend the festival and was watched by others?"

"Can you still be called a member of the strategy team if you're treated like a monkey?"

"Despicable. Hahahaha——" X2

The two laughed at the same time again.

After that, they stopped talking and focused on killing monsters and raising their levels, working harder than ever before. Until the evening—

"Okay, let's call it a day."

"Yes."

"Do you have time later? Do you want to go have a drink together?"

"To be honest, I have a date later. We need to go to the garden on the 47th floor."

"Really? Then——"

"See you tomorrow." X2
The two turned around and left quickly. Then, the dazzling light of the moving crystal filled the field of vision. When the blue fragments gradually dissipated, Rutt and Andy met at the teleportation point of the starting town on the first floor. The two looked at each other. For a long time——

"Didn't you say you were going to drink?"

"You are the one, aren't you going on a date?"

They fought in the town without paying attention to anyone. Fortunately, the two were still in a team and did not attack each other, and their names did not turn orange.

However, their fight also attracted spectators, causing a traffic jam, until the receptionist from the Akusis Church showed up to stop the riot, and at the same time, two more players from the strategy group were added to the festival.

Such scenes happen every day, and the players passing by are no longer surprised.

The members of the strategy team look aloof and cold, and seem to be dissatisfied with everything, but in fact, they will treat you like a goddess who despises you. If they find the right way, they will welcome you with a smile.

Nothing else.

Just because I gave too much.

The news of holding the world's number one martial arts tournament reached Heathcliff's ears before it was publicized, and he soon expressed his hope to host the festival together, and of course he would pay half of the prizes.

Considering that the Blood Knights had joined - with the endorsement of the two top guilds in Aincrad, which was more convincing, Xiaolin agreed to the request.

"Haha... there are so many people coming."

Kirito looked out at the town of origin.

He dared to bet that this was the busiest day in the Starting Town except for the first day of the server opening.

Many people would not return to the Starting Town after leaving it. In addition to the fact that there were few monsters and rewards in the Starting Town, there was also the psychological fear brought to them by Kayaba Akihiko, which made them unwilling to think about what happened on the opening day.

But now the fear has completely dissipated, and instead everyone is eager to try.

“That’s the reason.”

He raised his head and looked at the notice posted on the bulletin board of the Town of Origin.

Listed above are the requirements, rules, and prizes for participating in the World's No. 1 Martial Arts Tournament. At the top is SAO's only resurrection item, the Saint Crystal of Resurrection. Then there are high-quality weapons, props, Cole, etc. The rewards are so generous that it's unbelievable, and you wonder if it's a scam.

But when they saw the emblem of the Axis Church and the emblem of the Blood Knights at the bottom of the notice, they finally confirmed that this was true.

The entire Aincrad was shaken.

Many players sign up every day, and players who do not meet the requirements run to the wild day and night to upgrade frantically in order to get some benefits. Even under this fanatical momentum, the 55th floor that has not been conquered for a long time was broken through.

In a game where numbers speak for themselves, every bit of improvement counts, and members of the strategy team will not slack off.

“I have to work harder now.”

"Humph, as expected, you have your eyes on that prize."

A familiar voice came from behind me.

“…Asuna?”

The beautiful girl in red and white armor is none other than Asuna, the vice-captain of the Knights of the Blood, also known as the Ghost of Strategy.

They haven't seen each other for a long time.

Don't get me wrong, it's just that Kirito is a lone wolf player who levels up by himself, and the 55th floor has been unreachable for a long time, so they haven't seen each other for a long time. It's definitely not that Kirito hangs out with other beautiful girls and cheats on them, it's definitely not like that.

"Yeah, I think a lot of players (males) have their eyes on that prize."

"I think so, that..."

"Soul Crystal of Resurrection." "A chance to meet the idol princess."

"…Huh?" X2

Asuna seemed to have misunderstood something.

The brown-haired girl felt extremely ashamed and angry under Kirito's strange gaze. Her fair neck was dyed an attractive pink color, until her ears were also completely dyed red. Then she said nothing and simply turned around and ran away.

"…What happened to her?"

Kirito looked confused.

Then he shook his head, stopped thinking about it, and headed to the festival registration office set up by the Axis Church.

I met a lot of acquaintances there.

"Oh, it's coming!"

When Sato Kazuma saw Kirito in black, he stood up excitedly and waved: "Over here! Come on, I thought you weren't going to come!"

"No, no, no, there will be someone who won't come for such a generous reward. Besides, this is the best opportunity to test who stands at the top among the 8,700 players."

"Who knows what the famous black swordsman is thinking?"

Sato Kazuma was finally relieved when he saw him sign up, and whispered with a guilty look, "You don't know, I bought your peripherals, if you don't participate, I will lose a lot."

"...Hey, don't do this to me!"

Kirito rarely complained.

The two were of similar age, and Sato Kazuma was more open-minded - at least much more so than the socially anxious Kirito. They also often conquered floors together, so they were very familiar with each other.

"By the way, how many places can you get if you bet on me?"

"Win the championship."

"real or fake?"

"Of course. I have great faith in your ability, Kirito, so I have placed my entire fortune on your shoulders without reservation."

"You're putting a lot of pressure on me."

Kirito felt the heavy expectation.

The black swordsman is well-known in the strategy group. He has a very high level and extremely strong skills. In addition, he is a lone wolf player. Many members of the strategy group believe that Kirito may be the strongest player in Aincrad.

"That being said, I don't have the confidence to defeat Xiaolin, Liu Zi, and Heathcliff."

"Ah, don't worry about that. None of the three of them will participate."

"……what's the situation?"

"Senior Kobayashi and Ryuushi are not suitable for fighting in the arena, and Heathcliff said he is not good at attacking, so they both chose to withdraw. So, Kirito, you are the favorite to win this time!"

"Yes, yes..."

Kirito felt a little lost.

Most people came to participate in this festival for the rewards, but there were also quite a few who wanted to prove and confirm who was the strongest player in Aincrad, so they came to participate with great enthusiasm. However, several strong players withdrew from the competition, which made Kirito, who wanted to fight with them, feel a little uncomfortable.

Never mind. There's nothing we can do about it.

Besides them, aren’t there other people?
Even though the members of the strategy team get together when attacking a BOSS, they have never dueled before. This is a good opportunity for them to compete with each other!
Kirito clenched his fists.

"By the way, is Asuna participating?"

"Of course she participated, and she signed up before you. ... I understand, there is an affair!"

Sato Kazuma covered his mouth and rolled his tongue.

He learned the essence of a certain little blue cat, and its mean look made the black-clothed boy feel shy.

“Kazuma!”

"But I'm sorry, who fights who is completely random, and you may meet her in the first game. I can't do anything about it if you want to manipulate her."

"No, that's not what I meant..."

Kirito clenched his fists and said with a determined expression: "No matter who it is, I will not let them go and will win in the end."

He has this confidence.

With the exclusive skills he obtained after completing the 50th floor strategy, he will definitely be able to do it, even if it means exposing his trump card.

"Oh, it's good to have confidence."

"Of course, I will definitely win. Even if I meet Asuna, I will not let her win. Because she is very strong. If I let her win against a strong person, wouldn't it be disrespectful to her?"

Kirito assured.

And Sato Kazuma looked behind him and said, "That's what he said, Miss Asuna."

"I heard."

"……Eh?"

A familiar voice came from behind, and Kirito suddenly broke into a sweat.

He seemed to be suddenly connected to the campus network with a very poor signal. He twisted his neck backward with stiff movements and saw the well-known deputy leader of the Blood Alliance Knights.

"A-Asuna..."

The voice became extremely hoarse.

Asuna was not angry about this. Instead, she was happy that Kirito would not let her win. However, when faced with the declaration of war, the girl naturally did not want to be outdone.

"You are right. I will not show mercy either. We will see the truth then."

Then she turned and left.

Kirito was left disheveled in the wind.

Sato Kazuma couldn't bear to watch it anymore and pushed his shoulder: "Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and catch up."

"oh oh!"

At this time, Tong Ren woke up as if from a dream and hurriedly chased after him.

"What happened to them?"

Kobayashi and Aqua, who had just arrived here, were curious when they saw the backs of the two people leaving in a hurry. But after listening to Sato Kazuma's explanation, they just felt that it was very much like a romantic comedy.

I hope they will meet in the first round.

...Kobayashi is looking forward to it sincerely.

“So, Kazuma, how many players are participating in the festival this time?”

"A lot. There are more than 400 now. A rough estimate is that there will be more than 500 people."

"Doesn't that mean almost all the top players are participating?"

"Yes."

There are currently about 8,700 players in Aincrad, of which 5,000 to 6,000 are low-level players. In order to survive, they will not go to dangerous places such as the maze area.

The remaining two thousand or so players are middle-level players who want to keep up with the progress of the strategy team but their abilities are not up to the mark, so they are stuck there, unable to move forward or backward.

The first two to three hundred players are the top players. Some of them are members of the strategy group, and some are reserve members of the strategy group. In short, they are very strong.

The remaining fifty people - to be exact, forty-eight people, are the true members of the strategy team who stand at the top of the game, and their strength is even more terrifying. It is precisely because of this that Rosaria and the others were so panicked when they knew that Kirito was a member of the strategy team.

And now that they are all gathered here, I wonder what kind of magnificent sword skills they will bring to the audience.

"Why not just charge them some admission fees? Otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste of money for them to watch it?"

“… Kazuma?”

"That's for the members of the strategy team, ordinary players can't see it at all. Otherwise, we can watch the qualifiers for free, and start charging tickets from the top 32. The top 16, the top 8, the top 4... the higher the ticket prices are. Oh, why not make it a lottery to buy tickets? That way, if you don't have a ticket, you can only blame yourself for bad luck, and not blame us for charging you... That's right, let's do it!"

“——What a head!”

Kobayashi, who saw the shadow of the ZB family in him, couldn't help it anymore and slapped Sato Kazuma on the back of the head.

This person is really obsessed with money. He wants to make money no matter what. Even if he has the talent to be a businessman, it is too much.

In the end, due to Kobayashi's strong resistance, the ticket system was not implemented.

"By the way, Senior Kobayashi."

Sato Kazuma leaned over to Xiaolin's ear and whispered like a thief: "Have you placed your bet?"

"……certainly."

"who is it?"

"The strongest one."

The two of them smiled tacitly.

How could they miss out on something like this where the favorites were betting on it, and they all had the strongest candidates in mind.

Xiaolin picked up the registration form casually.

He saw many people participating, and there were many familiar names, Kirito, Asuna, Rinko, Koharu, Diabel, they were very strong, and they were recognized by the members of the strategy team. However -

"Is that person here?"

"...No, not yet."

"Yeah."

"Does Senior Kobayashi think he will participate? In front of everyone?"

"I don't know. It's possible that he will send other players to participate, and the probability of this happening is a little higher. After all, he likes to hide himself behind the scenes."

His name was not mentioned, but both knew who was being spoken of.

"Senior Kobayashi, I'm still not well."

"Don't worry, don't we have level requirements? And I don't think he will cause trouble in this situation."

This is a festival for all SAO players, so Xiaolin sent invitations to all players, such as Diabel, Kibo, Xinka, and of course, PoH as well.

Will you show up?
Will anything be done?

Xiao Lin was actually looking forward to it.

(End of this chapter)