I like traveling the most

"Drink, drink, drink, drink!"

"Hahaha--"

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

"Oh oh oh————!"

"One more, one more!"

In the central square of the town of Beginning, fifty people gathered together to sing and dance.

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

Tomorrow will definitely be a hard battle, and no one is sure what will happen. Maybe someone will die because of it and will no longer be able to attend such a banquet. Therefore, holding a banquet before a battle can enhance feelings and relieve stress.

It really lives up to that teaching——

[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. 】

Anyway, the town is a lively scene now.

Aqua was performing banquet skills on the high platform. She couldn't understand how she could still use those weird skills even though she was already in the game.

Kazuma Sato was bragging with other players while gathering useful information.

Others were enjoying the party too.

Especially Alice, because of her cute appearance, many people wanted to come and strike up a conversation, but unfortunately they were blocked by the guard dog - Kureya.

During this period, Kobayashi noticed that Diabell and Kirito seemed to be talking about something, but when Kirito shook his head, he sighed slightly and seemed a little disappointed. After Kibaou came to invite him, he went back to talking to others.

Kirito, on the other hand, stayed away from the crowd. He was afraid of society and probably couldn't stand so many people gathering together. However, when he saw Asuna, he paused and walked up to talk to her. Then the two of them didn't know what to say. Something, and soon left together.

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

Xiaolin decided not to care about them.

Whether it's Kirito or Asuna, they promised to come back to participate in the boss battle and will never miss it. In fact, it doesn't matter even if they are absent. Even if there are only a few of them, Xiao Lin, they can successfully defeat the BOSS.

Then he went to find Rein.

"Here, here are the props and money I have saved recently, as well as this scimitar and small buckler. I will give them to you as well."

"Thanks."

This is also one of the reasons why Lei Yin did not participate in the BOSS battle.

After all, Kobayashi did not level up with Sato Kazuma and the others. The level difference is not big, but the equipment and props are much different. In order to participate in the BOSS battle, someone needs to make sacrifices and transfer equipment and props to him. The candidate is naturally Lei Yin, who is not good at close combat.

Originally, Megumin should be like this, but that miser little loli refused to do anything, 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 an enhancement system. Otherwise, how can we increase attack power within a limited level?

Xiaolin needs a lot of money. Because of this, he needs to use highly enhanced equipment to make up for the gap with others.

"I always feel a little guilty after spending all the team's money on myself."

"Don't say that. If it is used on Sato Kazuma, it will definitely be a waste, but if it is used on Mr. Kobayashi, it can play its maximum role."

"I'm very happy that you can say that. But don't underestimate Sato-kun. In terms of playing games, he may be much better than me."

Don’t underestimate Kazuma Sato.

Although he has some minor personality problems, his talent in gaming is very strong. The reason is that on the game console he got back in the Red Devil, he can complete the game with his eyes closed while listening to music! Even Xiao Lin can't do this kind of thing, it's very exaggerated.

Then Xiaolin sent a text message to Argo, asking which blacksmith shop in the starting town had the best attributes.

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

【You really believe me. But no problem, you can definitely break through the first level easily. 】

[Then I’ll be relieved. In addition, the thing you asked me for 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 bonus information, can you tell me? 】

【No way! ...I want to say this, but since you gave me the information for free, I can’t be stingy. ——This is something that may be used in the BOSS battle tomorrow. Of course, I don’t expect to be able to use it. 】

"Can it be used in BOSS battles?"

Argo looked at the prop in his hand and really didn't understand its use in the BOSS battle.

[If you are interested, why not take a look with your own eyes? It’s guaranteed to be an eye-opener for you. 】

She looked at the email sent by Xiao Lin and her expression gradually became irritable.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, what a shame!"

But this is just lip service. Intelligence dealers value their credibility very much.

Then she sent the email word for word.

【No, it must be! I am an intelligence agent, and an intelligence agent will never take action personally! I'll take the benefits and send you to death! 】

"hehe."

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

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

At the street entrance, Xiaolin saw Kirito and Asuna, who walked out of the blacksmith shop and left in another direction.

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

That's right. Kirito is a famous closed beta player after all, so it's okay for him to know the location of this blacksmith shop. Maybe Argo told him.

Xiaolin didn't bother the two.

Walk into the blacksmith shop and strengthen the equipment.

"+4 (+2 toughness, +2 defense) small round shield and +6 (+3 sharpness +3 durability) scimitar? Forget it, it's just like this."

This is the advantage of the team.

Generally speaking, the money of ordinary players is not enough to strengthen both weapons and armor to a high level, but Xiaolin took the remaining money of Rain, Aqua and others, so the enhanced attributes are naturally considerable.

"It seems that the guild is necessary."

Kobayashi 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 disgust. The rest of the team was in a similar state. Koharu and Rinko sighed and doubted whether these people were reliable.

Just like that, the banquet came to an end.

At 10 o'clock the next morning, all the members gathered in the town. Seeing the determined eyes of the people, they knew that they were ready for battle.

Diabel waved his hand.

"——Let's go!"

Then everyone walked towards the maze area in unison. 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 followed behind the large group.

Yesterday, Diabel divided the tasks. The six members of Sato Kazuma's team and the six members of Kobayashi were all dealing with the miscellaneous soldiers, ruins, and kobold guards. It must be pointed out that this is not an easy task. Don't underestimate them as they are just ordinary soldiers. Their combat power is comparable to that of elite monsters in the wild, not to mention that they can 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. It is precisely because of this that the nine teams have to allocate half of their people to deal with them.

"I didn't expect to deal with ordinary soldiers."

Xiaochun sighed deeply.

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

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

"That's because...!"

Because I'm afraid of death.

Xiaochun pursed her lips. The rest of the words were not said, but this is what she meant.

No one knows what the BOSS battle will be like, especially Xiaolin's words that she should not trust the closed beta strategy easily, which made her very concerned and made her feel uneasy about the next battle.

Sato Kazuma patted her shoulder, raised his thumb and smiled to comfort her: "Don't worry, we are dealing with miscellaneous soldiers anyway."

"Hey...you are not comforting at all."

She still can't accept Sato Kazuma now. But there is still something strange.

"You...aren't you nervous?"

Now they are walking towards the maze area. No one is talking along the way. The suppressed nervous atmosphere almost made her breathless. But it is normal to be like this, after all, it will be a BOSS battle, and someone might die. Xiaochun is also very nervous now.

On the other hand, Sato Kazuma and the others are leisurely and indifferent. They don't look like they are here for a life-and-death battle, but more like they are here for a picnic.

Hey, hey, hey, it's going to be a life-and-death battle, can't you be a little nervous?

"Nervous, why?"

"Why? We're going to fight the first floor boss, and we might die."

"...How many times do you think I've died? Besides, I've fought the Demon King's army leaders several times, so 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 looked proud, and really couldn't understand what he was proud of.

Is it worth being proud of the number of deaths?

What about fighting the Demon King's army?

Is he talking about other games? Isn't SAO the first game with virtual reality technology?

Koharu guessed so.

Little did he know that Sato Kazuma had died several times and defeated the Demon King's army leaders several times.

Asuna had the same question.

She looked at Megumin and Darkness who were noisy 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 fight monsters. At least they wouldn't be as relaxed as a picnic.

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

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

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Okay, let's go!"

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

It was very spacious inside.

Even too spacious.

The rectangular space extending into the depths is about 20 meters wide on the left and right, and about 100 meters from the gate to the deep wall, which is almost the area of ​​three basketball courts connected together.

The simple torches on the walls on both sides of the originally dark BOSS room suddenly burned.

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

In the cracked stone floor and walls, the skulls decorated in various places, and the simple and huge throne set in the deepest part of the room, and a certain figure on the throne——

"Not good, not good, Senior Kobayashi! This is simply a cadre of the Demon King's army!"

Sato Kazuma's legs trembled.

He was sticky again.

Seeing this, Xiaochun couldn't help but spit out: "You were quite arrogant just now!"

Not to mention the strength of the BOSS, just the appearance is quite oppressive. It has a strong body of more than two meters with blue-gray fur, and the blood-hungry single eye is emitting golden red light. In his right hand was an axe cut from bone, in his left hand was a small round shield made of leather, and behind his waist was a scimitar about one meter long.

"Roar oh oh oh————"

The roar was deafening.

Diabel did not hesitate, knowing that the more he waited, the faster his courage would dissipate. He raised his sword high and swung it forward.

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

The kobold lord first raised the axe in his right hand high, and then chopped hard at the shield in the front. After the shield used the heavy counter-attack shield to attack, the dazzling light and shadow special 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 on the walls on the left and right. That was the target that Kobayashi and others were going to deal with - the ruins kobold guards.

Ya Wang led his team to meet them, and Sato Kazuma and Kobayashi were no exception.

The only difficulty in this battle is that when the Kobold Lord reaches the fourth bar of HP, he will drop his weapon and switch to the scimitar on 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 this -

Just keep going like this until the end!

Whether it is Diabel or Kirito and others, they all prayed in their hearts.

However -

When the Kobold Lord's HP reached the last bar, Diabel shouted, "Leave it to me!" and rushed forward. The boss threw away the bone axe and leather shield in his left and right hands at the same time, and let out a sharp roar again, 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 sword.

...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 shouting was covered by the sound effects of the Kobold Lord's sword skills. Its huge body shook the floor a few times, and then jumped vertically. It twisted its body in the air and charged its weapon, and immediately turned the stored power into a deep red light as it fell, and then released it like a tornado.

Special skill for the broadsword, ultra-wide range attack.

——【Spinwheel】

The brute force swept all the players in front of it, and the six people who fell to the ground all had a spinning hazy yellow light above their heads, which meant that they were temporarily unable to move - that is, in a dizzy state.

No one at the scene could react.

Since a careful combat meeting had been held beforehand, and the strategy had been going smoothly so far, the reliable captain Diabel was knocked down by someone, and this sudden situation made everyone at a loss as to what to do.

In the strange silence, the dog-headed lord had recovered from the skill stiffness.

No, it's going to chase!

When they realized this, Agil and several other players were ready to step forward to help, but it was too late.

"Woo-woo-woo--"

The Kobold Lord roared loudly, and then chopped the big knife in his hands up high in a track that was almost scraping the floor.

This is the sword skill [Floating Boat].

And its target was Diabel, who was lying in front of it. As if being pulled by a reddish arc, his body in silver metal armor floated into the air. Diabel was not hurt much, but this was just the opening move, and the next move was the killing move!

Floating Boat is the opening move of the combo. If you are hit by this move, don't struggle in vain. You can only curl up and make the maximum defensive posture. But people who see this move for the first time can't know how to deal with it.

Obviously Diabel is one of them.

He didn't make a defensive posture, but instead posed to fight with sword skills, but the system did not judge his unstable movement as the starting movement, and the huge samurai sword attacked the knight who was holding the long sword high in white from the front.

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

"Darkness!"

"Come on!"

A golden figure jumped up from the ground and blocked Diabel's way.

No one knew where she came from, nor did they understand where she got the courage to face the boss without any defense, but now there was no spare energy to explore these things.

First, there was a combo of up and down attacks that could not be caught by the eyes, followed by a stab after a pause, which was a three-hit combo technique called [Scarlet Fan].

The huge impact force fell on Darkness, and her body directly passed over the heads of the members of the joint forces, and was bounced nearly 20 meters away. Finally, she almost fell headfirst to Kobayashi and others who were fighting with the dog-headed guards at the back.

Hiss——

Kirito took a breath of cold air.

Being beaten by the dog-headed lord like this, the health value must have been severely reduced, and she might die from it!

In fact, he also saw that Darkness's health value was rapidly declining, from green to yellow and finally to red, and then the red also disappeared, and the transparent 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 the attack, and what made the other party do this.

The most important thing was that someone died.

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

"Hey, are you okay?"

"...Great!"

"You, I asked you to help block the damage, not to not even defend."

Kobayashi sighed helplessly.

"...Ah?"

Kirito was dumbfounded.

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

...When he thought about it, he suddenly found that Darkness's health actually had a layer of blood skin left. Only a little bit was left, and it was impossible to see clearly without careful observation.

Kirito's nervous mood suddenly relaxed.

It turned out that she was not dead!

Fortunately!

"Don't be reckless next time, drink the potion."

"Oh."

Kobayashi handed Darkness a bottle of potion and watched her drink it up, and her health value increased again.

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

Hmm? ? ?

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.