A slideshow started playing in Asuna's mind.
School, studying, messing around with classmates, secretly playing games with friends...
It was all over.
Her short life would disappear along with her game character.
The Kobold Lord leaped over, opening its bloody maw, about to bite Asuna.
Swish!
A reinforced skill strike sliced off the Kobold's nose along with its upper jaw.
"Wooo!"
The Kobold Lord cried out in pain and instinctively retreated.
Bang! Bang!
Following that were two more consecutive slashes that were so fast they were dazzling.
The Kobold Lord was repeatedly forced to retreat.
"Eh?!"
Asuna's eyes widened. She saw a figure leap down from the air.
Holding a completely black longsword, it stood there, facing the Kobold Lord.
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
The Kobold Lord roared again, using its fear-inducing skill.
Overlord Body!
Tenya instantly removed the negative effect, blocked with a single-handed swing, and deflected the Kobold Lord's sharp claws.
Horizontal Slash!
Vertical Slash!
Rage Spike!
Factor Impact!
Horizontal Arc Slash!
A series of sword skills left the Kobold Lord with no way to parry.
Whoosh!
With a flash of movement, Tenya stood on the Kobold Lord's back, charged up a strike, and successfully cut off the latter's head.
Experience + 200
Golden light flashed twice in succession, and Tenya's level rose to 18.
"Yo! You must be Asuna, right? How much HP do you have left?"
Tenya flicked his sword beautifully and sheathed it.
"...."
Asuna seemed still in shock, her mouth wide open, unable to speak.
"Divine Healing!"
A holy light shone, and Asuna's HP instantly recovered from 1% to 81%.
"You, who exactly are you..."
Asuna finally came back to her senses, regaining a bit of rationality.
Just then, Silica and Mito finally broke free from the monsters and rushed over.
"Asuna!"
"I'm sorry!"
"I'm late..."
"I thought I would never see you again."
Mito excitedly hugged Asuna and burst into tears.
"Mito..."
"Waaah! Waaah! Waaah! Waaah!"
Seeing her friend, the stone in Asuna's heart finally fell.
Hugging her companion tightly, she cried her heart out, releasing her emotions.
"That's great..."
"As expected of Tenya!"
Silica watched him with eyes full of admiration.
Returning to town.
"Thank you so much!"
"For saving our lives!"
Asuna and Mito both bowed in thanks.
"Eh, don't worry about it, we're all companions!" Silica scratched her head shyly.
"Just a helping hand in passing." Tenya's expression was indifferent, with a hint of coolness.
This was a lie!
He wasn't the kind of good Samaritan who would draw his sword for anyone in trouble.
The only reason he acted was because the system detected that the other party had a treasure chest.
However, his extensive experience with women told him that both Asuna and Mito, in reality, should belong to the 'maiden' type of girls.
They were very wary of the opposite sex and couldn't be charmed with just a few words.
To get closer to them, he had to proceed gradually.
Hearing this, Asuna and Mito relaxed, and their impression of the male player in front of them greatly improved.
Someone who saves people without considering the cost must be a great person in reality too.
"Um, how about we add each other as friends first?" Silica was happy to make friends.
"Okay!"
Asuna and Mito readily accepted.
"Tenya-kun and Silica-chan."
"Please take care of us."
"Asuna-san and Mito-san. Please take care of us."
After becoming friends, they could view each other's names and basic information.
For the following leveling, the four traveled together.
Especially with Tenya, this 'human cheat', in the team, the efficiency and safety of grinding monsters were guaranteed.
The levels of the four were: Tenya (Level 20), Silica (Level 12), Asuna (Level 14), Mito (Level 17).
Passing through the labyrinth guard, they arrived at Tolbana.
Located in a valley, lined with giant windmill towers, it was the largest town outside the starting town.
"Wow! What beautiful large windmills! It looks like a Nordic landscape." Silica exclaimed excitedly.
"According to the map information, there are high-class inns here that we can rent." Mito checked the information.
"Really? That means we can finally take a bath?" Asuna's eyes lit up.
Although there was no cleanliness setting in the game, not having a bath for two consecutive weeks was psychologically difficult to accept.
"Let's go into the city and take a look first." Tenya walked in front, leading the way.
Beep!
Upon entering the city, the four immediately received a public message located within Tolbana.
"Starting tomorrow, there will be a strategy meeting for the first floor boss? Are we finally going to face the boss?" Asuna's mood was a bit heavy.
She had just experienced a great battle and was almost wiped out.
"Come on, Asuna!"
"We promised each other, we must live and return to the real world!"
Mito patted her shoulder.
They were both students from the same school and were good friends.
In fact, Asuna's entry into Aincrad was because she was pulled into the game by her.
"Mhm mhm. With Tenya here, I'm not afraid of anything." Silica smiled and nodded.
"Since we're participating in the strategy meeting tomorrow, we should rest well tonight and reach our best state."
Tenya led the three girls to a high-class inn in the city.
"Do guests need a room?"
"A deluxe suite is 5000 Cor per day, can accommodate up to five people at once, and provides a bathroom and free milk."
The NPC lady showed a professional smile.
"H-How much?"
"5...5000 Cor?"
"That's enough for me to buy a spare weapon with decent stats at level 10."
Mito complained, her eyes wide.