Wh… what just happened?!
Kirito's mind went completely blank. That terrifying sonic boom seemed to pierce his eardrums, throwing his entire brain into chaos.
Gale, flying sand, scattered grass…
When everything finally settled, Kirito saw a small figure crouching on the distant plain.
That was Kanna, but… where was the wolf?!
Across the vast, open plain, he could not see the Black Wolf anywhere. Did it run away?!
Kirito was utterly dumbfounded. Had Sato seen what just happened?
Thinking of this, he instinctively turned his head and looked back, only to see Sato wearing an awkward, pained expression.
"Sato, did you see what just happened?"
Kirito turned to ask him.
What happened…
Sato's expression turned slightly strange as the scene from earlier replayed in his mind.
Before Kirito had even finished speaking, a certain cute-looking little girl had suddenly burst forward. At that terrifying speed, she directly ignited the air.
Her figure landed over a hundred meters away in the blink of an eye. Her small, fair fist slammed into the Black Wolf before it could even react, and the terrifying force instantly blasted it into a cloud of blood.
"N… no, I didn't…"
Sato gave Kirito a strained smile.
"Didn't see it?"
That made sense. Even with his own level and stats, he had not been able to catch what just happened. For Sato, whose level and stats were even lower, not noticing anything was perfectly normal.
"Let's go take a look."
Kirito frowned, scratching his head in confusion as he walked toward where Kanna was.
Hm?
When he reached Kanna's location, Kirito crouched down, frowning as he examined the scattered chunks of flesh around her. He analyzed seriously, "From the looks of these fragments, it doesn't seem like it was torn apart by some beast. It looks more like something exploded from the inside under immense force."
"But everything just now happened in an instant. For such a terrifying existence to appear on the first floor… it seems this floor still hides quite a few secrets…"
Kanna, crouching nearby, looked up at Sato in confusion.
What is this human talking about?
Sato quickly raised a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture, signaling Kanna not to reveal anything.
His gaze fell on Kirito, who was crouched there seriously analyzing the remains. For some reason, Sato suddenly felt a bit of pity for him.
But… bro, don't blame me.
"Kanna, did you see what killed it?"
After examining the scene, Kirito looked up and asked Kanna with some expectation.
Kanna looked at him, puzzled. Didn't I kill it?
Standing behind Kirito, Sato shook his head vigorously at Kanna. She quickly understood and also shook her head at Kirito.
"You didn't see it?"
Kirito could not help but sigh.
He did not think too much of it. Before asking Kanna, he had already expected this kind of answer.
"It seems the first floor still has some secrets we don't know about. We'll need to pay more attention in the future."
"For now, I'll take you to level up a bit."
"Alright!"
Kirito led the way ahead, while Sato and Kanna chatted through the system behind him.
[Sato, why can't we say it?]
[Because your strength is too terrifying. Humans can't accept that kind of power.]
[But this is much weaker than my usual strength.]
[Even so, it's still terrifying for humans. Did you see Kirito's expression just now?]
[Humans are so weak!]
Sato smiled at Kanna's words and did not refute them.
Most humans were indeed weak, but there were also many who possessed extraordinary power. It was a contradictory species.
…
Aincrad, Fourth Floor.
This was currently the highest floor players had reached. After leveling for a while under Kirito's lead, he brought the two here. There was a town here, and the food was quite delicious.
"No matter how many times I try it, this realistic taste makes it hard to imagine what kind of technology was used to create it…"
Sitting around a table and tasting the in-game food, Kirito remarked with some emotion.
After speaking, he glanced at Kanna, who was eating nonstop beside him, and his mouth twitched. He turned to Sato, who was leisurely sipping tea, and said, "By the way, is it really okay for her to eat this much?"
Hearing this, Sato glanced at the blue-eyed young dragon who was continuously eating, then at the tall stack of empty plates beside her. He waved his hand. "It's fine. Although the game has a sense of fullness, it doesn't affect the real world at all."
"But even in the game, that feeling of being full isn't exactly pleasant, right? This is already…"
Not just Kirito, but the other players in the restaurant were also staring dumbfounded at the little girl who kept eating.
"Th… that's a player, right?"
"But are there players that young?"
"Even if she is a player, isn't that fullness level way too high?!"
The game had been open for nearly a month. Many of its rules and attributes had already been figured out by players. Each person's fullness level varied based on their physical condition.
But no matter what, everyone's limit was within what a normal person could tolerate. Yet beside that little girl, the stack of plates had grown so high it looked like it might topple over at any moment.
"Sato!"
After finishing another piece of cake, Kanna pushed the empty plate toward him and looked at him with her clear blue eyes.
"Kirito, look over here!"
Sato called out to Kirito instead.
The blue-eyed young dragon turned and stared straight at Kirito, her small face wearing an innocent, blank expression.
Just tell me, can you really refuse?
Kirito could not help but smile bitterly. After glancing at his balance, he simply shut his eyes and cried out in pain,
"Waiter! Another ten cakes!"
"Ding-ling!"
The café door suddenly opened. A graceful figure walked in from outside. After scanning the room, she looked at a certain figure in surprise.
"Satoshi?"