I like traveling the most

After winning the championship of the best martial arts club in the world, it stands to reason that Kirito should be a proud young man, enjoying being praised by others.

However, he doesn't have that kind of pride at all, and instead resists being famous. After all, he is a complete social phobia, so it is understandable that he does not want to attract attention.

The end of the festival left other players still talking about it and immersing themselves in it, but the members of the strategy team had already calmed down and devoted themselves to the new strategy floor.

Xiao Lin thought that the strategy team would be overwhelmed by this and could clear several levels of BOSS in succession. However, they were stuck again on the fifty-sixth level.

————

The fifty-sixth floor is outdoors.

Klein, who was dressed as a bearded warrior, looked at the extremely terrifying earthworm-shaped BOSS with two large pincers, double horns on his head, and a mouth of vicious fangs, and his sloppy face turned blue.

"This, this is not considered a breakthrough at all!!!"

"Klein, stop shouting at this time and run away!"

Kirito said hello and turned around and ran away.

"Hey, wait for me!"

Upon seeing this, Klein quickly chased after him.

Behind him was the huge wild BOSS, who was chasing after him. Two large pliers kept falling down, making the whole floor tremble. Sand and stone were flying around, and dust and mist were lingering. The gravel on the floor was constantly being thrown up, and Kirito and Klein had to flee in a hurry.

"Whoaaaah————"

Just as Klein burst into howls, a camp appeared in front of the two of them. The camp was surrounded by countless giant log piles, covering the entire southern part of the floor. The height of the log piles was a full ten meters!

"Big brothers——, hurry up! Come here quickly——!"

At the gate of the camp, a little girl was greeting the two of them loudly, and behind her were the members of the strategy team who saw the sudden change in the face of the giant BOSS.

"Hurry up, Klein!"

"I know, I know!"

Kirito urged Klein, and the two quickened their pace, and finally ran back to the camp at the critical moment.

"Okay - close the door!"

Upon seeing this, the members of the strategy team worked together to close the open camp door to block the menacing earthworm-shaped BOSS from outside.

"Wow!"xN

The crashing sound knocked many people away. But the camp is a safe area. As long as the door of the camp is successfully closed, monsters cannot break in. This is true even for wild BOSS.

However, the beast-shaped BOSS is not very intelligent. It keeps hitting the door made of log piles. Even though the members of the strategy team know that the door will not be destroyed and the wild BOSS cannot break in, they still look scared.

Yes, they were stopped again.

Although it was considered a floor with no outstanding features, the strategy team was stuck in a week-long stagnation due to their inability to defeat the large outdoor BOSS.

Kobayashi was very suspicious about this, whether Kayaba Akihiko saw that they passed the level too smoothly, or because the contestants of the World's No. 1 Budokai were generally strong, so he specially arranged such a wild BOSS to block the strategy.

And now, they had to bear someone's wrath.

"How many times do you want to repeat this kind of battle that is just a joke! A big meat fight, what does that mean? Are you kidding me?"

In the council hall, a beautiful girl with long brown hair wearing red and white guild clothes stood in front.

Her expression was ugly, and the coercion she exuded made no one present dare to resist, even forgetting that she was just a little girl.

This is the power of Asuna, the Demon of Strategy.

Under this strong force, Klein scratched his cheek and said awkwardly: "I am actually quite confident in this battle. I thought I would definitely succeed."

"Let me tell you first, I don't have one."

Kirito unceremoniously broke the news.

The big battle just now [Using A-grade ingredients to lure the BOSS and drive it to other areas] made him suffer a lot, and he almost didn't come back.

"Stop making excuses!"

Asuna couldn't help but get angry and said: "Next time we fight, our KOB will be in command as agreed!"

She said it very firmly and did not allow others to refute it.

By the way, SAO can register the abbreviation of the guild in the system, KOB is the abbreviation of the Knights of Blood, and the abbreviation of the Axis Cult is Akxs, but no one uses it.

"It's okay, it's okay."

Hearing Asuna's words, Klein did not refute, but he pointed to the map on the board and said: "Look, this is the main city where we are. Outside the gate is a canyon that cannot be passed around. The BOSS is in the canyon. Guard at the end.”

The fifty-sixth floor is a relatively special floor. The south part of it is the main city area, surrounded by rock mountains on three sides, and the only exit is blocked by the wild area BOSS.

If you want to leave, you must defeat it.

"But the BOSS's frontal defense is an iron wall. Slashing, thrusting, striking, and penetrating, all four major SAO skills can't cause damage. Of course, its soft-looking belly is probably its weak point, but no matter what, it can't be bypassed. Behind the scenes, we can only retreat inside the gate..."

"But in the next battle, we will deliberately not close the door!"

Asuna said coldly.

After hearing what she said, the expressions of the other members of the strategy team suddenly changed slightly.

"Wait a moment, if you do this, the BOSS will break into the village..."

"What I want is this situation. When the BOSS slaughters the NPC, attack it from behind and annihilate it!"

This combat plan is undoubtedly too extreme.

Many strategy teams did not agree with this method, but many people were lost in thought.

"What a mess!"

Kirito looked at Asuna with burning eyes and said, "NPCs are different from objects like rocks or trees. They are..."

"Alive!...Do you want to say that?"

Asuna seemed to predict what he wanted to say, but her face soon fell.

"——Too naive! They are just pure entities. No matter how many times they are killed, they will appear again after 24 hours. I have wanted to say this before, as the strategy team at the top of all players, your There is a mistake in the priority order of actions. Regardless of whether it is a day or an hour, the BOSS should be defeated as soon as possible to reach the next level! Nothing can prioritize this goal except the player's life!

This is the ghost of strategy.

She can clear floors regardless of the cost.

But on the other hand, Asuna's idea is right. After all, everyone's main goal now is to conquer the floor and leave the game, so as long as the players are not injured or killed, other props can be used.

"I don't want to deny your idea, but is it okay to just carry out the strategy as fast as possible? Give up companions who are slow to level up, kill NPCs... In this process, one of your most important parameters... your heart Won't you get hurt?"

"You actually...you actually looked at me with such pity in your eyes..."

Kirito's words seriously hurt Asuna.

"Okay...let's prove those words with your sword!"

She challenged Kirito to a PVP duel.

"Didn't you expect it to unfold like this?"

Klein couldn't accept Asuna's coldness. He panicked and shouted to Xiaolin, who was playing with the stupid goddess, "Wait a minute, wait a minute! Hey, Xiaolin! Don't you have one?" What do you want to say?”

"Huh? No. This is someone else's housework... I am a talented and beautiful woman, so how can you, a monster like you, get to point your fingers at me?"

Xiao Lin casually ordered one of the bowls, but unfortunately it was empty when he opened it.

"Ah, it's obviously the one, but I guessed it wrong again. Aqua, you're not cheating, are you?"

"How is it possible? I didn't cheat."

Aqua raised her head proudly.

Hey hey hey, it’s true or false.

This is the front line of the strategy team, and these two people are actually playing small games as if no one else is watching!

Klein wanted to complain.

"But don't worry. After all, Kirito, you are the champion of the Budokai, and you even defeated Asuna."

"Yes, but I can't tell for sure this time."

Kirito accepted the duel application.

The members of the strategy team in the conference hall were stunned.

"Hey, are you serious?"

"That's Asuna, the strategy ghost of the Blood Alliance Knights!"

"Kirito is still the Budokai champion, not to mention he defeated Asuna in the quarterfinals."

"Yes, yes!"

"No, I can't tell this time."

"What?"

Hearing Xiaolin's words, the members of the strategy team were surprised.

"If you look carefully, the duel application Asuna sent is not the half-loss victory or defeat mode in the conference, but the first-strike decisive mode where you win as long as you hit once. This pair of Asuna is known for her fast attack speed and dexterity. In fact, she is quite advantageous. She is not as reckless as you think."

"O-so that's it!"

Other players suddenly realized.

Duels between members of the strategy team were rare, let alone a week after the Budokai ended.

"I think Kirito will win because he has the two-sword style."

"No, this is not a half-loss mode. I think Asuna, who has a fast rapier attack, will win."

Players have different opinions. The only thing they have in common is that they are very interested in winning or losing.

Within the urban area.

Asuna and Kirito faced each other, with a distance of five meters between them.

"First strike decisive mode, you wouldn't say I'm cunning, right?"

"How come?"

The two exchanged a brief word, and as the countdown on the light screen ended, Asuna took the lead. Her rapier attack speed was extremely fast, and Kirito was a little overwhelmed by the dazzling attacks.

So fast!

I can't keep up with the movements of her sword tip!

Kirito barely dodged the blow, while secretly muttering: Is it AGI specialization? And the skill cooldown is also very short!

Although the damage of each hit of the combo with a short skill cooldown is extremely low, it is enough to meet the victory requirements of the first hit decisive mode.

I have to say that Asuna came prepared.

Kirito frowned slightly.

Although I was a little embarrassed, I still had to use that trick! He stepped on the floor and jumped up, holding the sword high above his head.

——Upper cut!

Hooked!

Asuna's eyes narrowed.

She was sure of any trajectory of the one-handed sword's upper cut. After blocking it with an attack and parry, she took advantage of the opponent's frozen state to get past it!

It's a pity that the idea is beautiful but the reality is very skinny. When she was about to block the attack, she suddenly noticed that Kirito's left hand was reaching behind her.

The second sword? !

Liar! When did he operate the window?

Asuna didn't notice Kirito's movements at all, but it was useless to think about it now. She might as well attack the right side first and use one move to block both sides...

No? !

It was a fake move of swinging the sword!

Oh no, it missed! The system's sword skills were stiff and there was no way to retract it!

Swish——

Kirito's one-handed sword slashed across Asuna's chest.

You win!

Asuna knew that Kirito could use the two-sword style, and Kirito also knew that she was wary of him using the two-sword style, so Kirito cleverly used the two-sword style to trick Asuna.

From the results, his little trick was successful.

Asuna's expression was very ugly, even uglier than when she was in the meeting room just now. Klein couldn't help but shrink back, fearing that he would be picked on.

But she didn't say anything, but silently put away the sword and turned away.

"Hu——, I was scared to death."

Klein patted his heart mischievously.

Kirito rolled his eyes at him in annoyance: "Why are you exaggerating so much? I'm the one dueling."

"That's true, but I'm worried about you, right?"

"You're worried about yourself, right?"

Kirito exposed him without saving face.

Klein chuckled and said, "I say, don't you plan to go over and comfort her?"

"Forget it." Kirito shook his head: "It would be awkward to comfort the defeated person, no matter who it is, right?"

"Yes."

Klein agreed deeply.

On the other side.

Asuna, who lost to Kirito, walked on the street in great depression. She was very unwilling to lose to Kirito's trick, and was also dissatisfied with the tactics that could deceive the system.

Is that the skill to defeat Alice? Obviously, she didn't use it in the quarterfinals before. No, does using it now mean that she is stronger than before?

Suddenly——

"The village chief with a long beard, the greedy uncle in the weapon shop, the children running around in the square, the black cat climbing up the eaves, the robin singing on the branches, the big snake with steel armor, everyone fell asleep..."

A light and soothing voice came to her ears, and she was particularly familiar with this voice.

Is this... a lullaby?

Asuna stood up from the chair and walked towards the end of the street not far away, and then saw a goddess in the moonlight. Her cheeks were flushed at this time, and she was holding a bottle of wine in her hand. Asuna smelled a strong smell of wine from her body. She couldn't help but exclaimed:

"——Ms. Aqua?"

"Huh, Asuna?"

Aqua forced her eyes open and waved to Asuna drunkenly.

"What are you doing here?"

"You can tell by looking at me. I'm drinking. This is a rare premium wine that I just got from a bet with Kobayashi. I couldn't help but run out and drink it secretly."

"Ms. Aqua..."

Asuna was speechless when she heard this.

Then, Aqua sang the song again. The lyrics were exactly the same as the one she heard just now, which made Asuna react greatly.

"Ms. Aqua, this song... where did you get this lullaby from?"

"Lullaby? Ah, you mean the one I hummed. Just now, a little girl ran over and said she wanted to sing a lullaby to me. I learned it after she sang it once."

"Learned it?"

"Yes! I'm a goddess. It's not easy for me to learn a lullaby."

"Then... can you please hum it again, Ms. Aqua?"

"No problem."

After saying that, Aqua hummed it again.

Asuna stood up suddenly.

"This, this is it! This song is the key to defeating the boss! Miss Aqua, you've done a great job! Great!"

"Huh? Really? Hahaha, I can't help it! I'm a goddess! A goddess!...?"

The stupid goddess who just jumped up fell to the ground with a plop.

"Ms. Aqua? Miss Aqua!"