Chapter 83: Yukino's ALO Journey
"Have you all seen the photos I posted?" "There are seniors and two people I don't know in the photos." "I saw them! That's a huge creature, right?" "If they're holding fishing rods, could it be a fish?" "Maybe it is."
Yukino, Yui, Komachi, and Iroha were chatting casually in ALO.
They were at their usual temporary base in the neutral city "Central Arlne." This massive city, with its layered structure, served as the gateway to ALO's ultimate goal—the World Tree's Root.
So far, no race had breached it, as the guardians' attacks were overwhelmingly fierce.
As an independent squad not aligned with any faction, the four of them were somewhat well-known here. By the way, their in-game IDs were "Yukino", "Yui", "Komachi", and "Iroha".
Their naming style was straightforward enough to make people laugh, but it was understandable for newcomers to the game.
However, only Yukino had been given the title "Absolute Zero" by the system.
When she was first called that, her helpless expression caused the other three to never mention that title again.
"Yui, how is senior Miura doing now?" "She said she'll be able to buy an AmuSphere after working two more months! She's really working hard!" "I'm looking forward to it." "I didn't expect senior Miura to actually follow through~" "Yeah, it's a bit surprising. When Hachiman logs in, we should all give him a warm welcome." "Got it!"
"By the way, through Yui's connection, Miss Sakuya, the elf lord, sent us a commission." "Actually, I heard it through Leafa too!"
The commission Yukino mentioned was for guarding the alliance signing ceremony between the elves and cat demons two months from now.
Yui, as an elf, often relayed such requests through her friend Leafa.
Yukino was a water elf, while Komachi and Iroha were cat demons.
"Our cat demon tribe is good with this! As long as Yukino-senpai agrees!" "If Yukino-senpai is okay, then I'm okay too!" "Then let's take it."
"Alright~" "Thanks, Yukino-chan!"
"Since Miss Sakuya and Cat Demon Lord Alisa have a friendly relationship, there's no reason to refuse."
Alisa treated Yukino and Yui fairly despite them being from other races, so naturally they had to help when needed.
"Yeah, I've been helped by them a lot in the beginning."
Actually, Yukino mistakenly chose the water elf race initially, so her spawn point was far from the other three.
On her way to the elf territory, she was attacked by fire elves but was saved by Sakuya and Alisa.
This bond kept their relationship good.
"But what exactly is the relationship between those two and 'brother'?"
As the conversation paused, Komachi, who remembered the photos, suddenly asked.
"One of the men seems to be a top-three player on the rankings." "Oh right, they mentioned top three before. That woman beside him must be his girlfriend, right?" "Maybe." "But seeing our lively brother is enough for me!" "If we clear to the 75th floor, calculating five days per floor, we can reunite with Hachiman in four months." "…Will brother's body hold out till then?" "Ms. Hinata and our hospital are doing their best to maintain him. Believe in him, Komachi. Don't worry, Hachiman will definitely come back." "Yeah!"
Yukino gently patted Komachi's head.
This sisterly interaction sparked a playful rivalry between Yui and Iroha, who also started ruffling Komachi's hair.
"Hey, stop that suddenly!" "Ah~ You all seem like real sisters." "Komachi's real big sister is here~" "Hah... Anyway, it's up to brother, so no matter how nice you are, it's useless." "Komachi is turning dark!" "Come to think of it, our brother is such a harem king, it's frustrating…" "Yeah… how many girls are waiting for him to come back?" "Komachi's happy and troubled at the same time, she doesn't know who to support!"
"Anyway, let's pray for his safety first." "Okay."
Komachi whispered softly, looking up at the sky: "How high is the 75th floor anyway?" "If each floor is 100 meters, then it's 7,500 meters high." "The 100th floor would be 10,000 meters up! Won't there be oxygen shortage?" "That's the stratosphere…" "More or less that concept." "How high can the four of us fly together?" "Maybe we can get a bit closer to little Hachi." "Well, we're free today. Wanna try?" "Maybe we can reach the top of the World Tree without finishing the final quest." "Taking some high-altitude photos wouldn't be bad either!"
Suddenly inspired, the four actually began preparing. They casually went to the outskirts, forming a human tower with Yui at the bottom, then Yukino, Iroha, and Komachi on top.
"Didn't realize we got serious about this. If we fly, let's go all out!" "Yeah! Maybe we can get closer to brother!" "Komachi, hold this." "A paid photography tool? The pictures are way clearer than normal screenshots." "If we do it, we do it right." "Got it! Komachi will definitely take amazing photos!" "Maybe we'll even see Aincrad floating up there." "That'd be awesome if it really existed!" "Though the chance is zero, dreaming is free." "Exactly, Yukino-senpai!" "Alright, everyone, full power!" "Oh!"
Yui flapped her wings with all her might at the base, followed by Yukino and Iroha, and the four shot up like a rocket.
"Sorry, Yukino-chan, I'm about done." "Go rest, I'll take over."
As Yui dropped out, the remaining three kept climbing. When Yukino reached her limit, Iroha took over.
"Iroha-senpai, it's up to you!" "Charging forward, senpai!"
The last relay, Komachi, gave her all. Just as she was about to touch the World Tree's branch, she saw a birdcage-like object floating above.
"Can't reach... wait! Is there someone in that birdcage? Are they looking this way? At least take pictures!"
Komachi wildly pressed the shutter.
Suddenly, the system popped up an emergency maintenance notice.
"What the heck?" "Did our actions scare them? The operators are way too quick to respond…" "If Leafa was here, maybe we could have met someone!" "Let's check again after maintenance, for now let's log off and return to base." "Okay!"
After logging off and eating alone, Komachi suddenly received a call from Hinata:
"Komachi! Come to the hospital! Hachiman… Hachiman has woken up!"
Komachi dropped her chopsticks and rushed out.
Racing against visiting hours, she burst into the hospital and ran to the ward.
As the door was pushed open—