Chapter 95: Mistake
"By the way, Yui, there's something I want to ask you."
"Sure, Daddy, what is it?"
"Usually, when you start a new game account, don't you begin from that race's capital city? But this time, Kirito and I started from a really high position directly above. What do you think about that?"
"Well, Daddy and Uncle Kirito, where were you two at the very last moment of SAO?"
"The last moment... ah!"
"I see, so that means..."
"What is it?"
"Yui, your question helped me realize something. We were in the boss room on the 75th floor at that time."
"I get it now. That must be why. The boss room is located high up in the air. When converted to ALO coordinates, that would correspond to a spot directly above."
Listening to Yui's words, the two of them simultaneously looked up at the sky.
"Hey, Kirito, I just thought of something interesting."
"I know, we absolutely can't let Agil and Klein find out about this, right?"
The two exchanged looks and put on exaggerated, theatrical smiles.
"You're no better yourself, haha."
"Not at all, you're the worse one, hehe."
"Daddy, Uncle Kirito, what exactly are you two doing?"
"Yui, this is what we call a traditional performance art."
"I see! Traditional performance art! I'll remember that, Daddy!"
"Anyway, even though we solved the mystery of starting in midair, what should we do next?"
Kirito asked Kazuto, who fell into thought.
"Originally, we planned to practice skills and wait for Miss Haruno's acquaintance's party."
"But now, we don't need to practice skills anymore, right?"
"First, we don't even know where we are. Yui, do you know?"
"Please wait a moment... hmm... okay, I got it. We are near the border between the Wind Elves' territory and the Fire Elves' territory."
"Really...?"
Kirito said anxiously after hearing this.
"Is there a problem?"
"Yes. There's a World Tree between here and the meeting point. They are directly opposite each other."
"Wow, that's troublesome."
"This is really strange. Let's log out and get instructions from Miss Haruno."
"That sounds better. Shall we log out right away?"
"No, Kirito."
"Huh? Is there a problem?"
"In ALO, if you log out in a neutral zone like this, your character's body will remain here for a long time. If attacked, you'll definitely die. So in this case, when you want to rest, you should take shifts. One logs out while the other stays to guard the body."
"Oh, I didn't know such a system existed..."
"So although you can log out alone, if both have to leave eventually, it's better to move together slowly to a nearby neutral city or a safe area. Yui, is there such a place nearby?"
"There's a safe zone about a fifteen-minute walk east from here, Daddy."
Yui pointed toward the east.
"The east is the Fire Elves' territory, huh? Well, no choice, let's head that way first."
"Got it."
"Then let's go!"
The two practiced flying as they moved forward. Thanks to this, by the time they reached the safe zone, they could fly fairly comfortably. It seems both of them have talent in this.
"All right, then let's log out here."
"Yeah. See you later, Yui."
"Okay!"
The two logged out and returned to the real world.
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Haruno, following Kazuto's instructions, rested in the hospital room sipping coffee. The two had only been in the game for about thirty minutes.
"How did they fly? That takes some skill, you know."
When stretching, Haruno suddenly noticed Kazuto and Kirito's bodies moving, realizing they returned early. Sensing something strange, she immediately asked:
"Oh? You came back early. Did something happen?"
"Miss Haruno! Something unusual happened, so we came back to report!"
"Unusual?"
"Yes, actually..."
Kazuto calmly explained the situation to Haruno.
"Oh my, I didn't expect this to happen."
"Well, saving the time for skill practice is a good thing, so overall it balances out, right?"
"True. Then I'll contact our acquaintance."
"Thank you."
Haruno left the hospital room.
"Well, under these circumstances, that's all for today."
"Though the timing is awkward, it can't be helped."
"But there's still something we can do."
"What are you planning?"
"Since the skill problem is solved, next we should focus on—"
"What?"
"Memory magic spells."
"Oh! Magic!"
"Right now, we're purely physical fighters.
So based on that, we should first memorize magic that helps close combat.
There was no magic in SAO, so being able to use even simple magic will enrich combat a lot."
"Let's start studying from the manual then."
"Great! I'm suddenly excited!"
"Me too!"
The two began researching magic.
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Meanwhile, Haruno tried calling Yukino multiple times but couldn't get through.
"Yukino and the others must still be in ALO. I'll send an email explaining the situation."
After sending the message, she waited for a reply, but the four were so absorbed in the game that this backfired. Eventually, she managed to contact Yukino late at night.
Yukino and her group kept flying towards the cat-folk neutral city without taking shifts for rest. After briefly resting in-game, they pushed on, finally arriving before midnight.
"Everyone log out and rest. I'll contact my sister."
After logging out and resting, Yukino was about to make a call but found Haruno's email. After reading it, she was shocked.
"This is... totally unexpected. It's too late to turn back now. We must inform everyone quickly."
After Yukino's notification, the three canceled their rest and immediately re-entered the game. After reuniting and hearing about Kazuto and Kirito's experience, they showed their true player nature.
"Oh my god, what is going on!"
"So that means Senpai and Kirito might be even stronger than us!"
"Indeed, their magic skills should still be zero, they're purely melee types. I wonder who's stronger, them or General Eugene?"
"Starting off comparing to the strongest Fire Elf player!?"
"How would my brother fight?"
"As a player, I'm really curious."
"So what now, Yukino?"
"We can only ask Leafa to pick them up tomorrow. Let's call it a day for today.
Tomorrow we'll spend the whole day returning, aiming to reach Srilbani the day after. Sorry for the trouble, everyone."
After explaining the plan, Yukino bowed apologetically.
"Can't be helped! No one could have expected this!"
"Exactly, Yukino-senpai, you're not at fault!"
"Komachi's free tomorrow, she'll check out brother's fighting style in the hospital!"
"I'm coming too, this is too interesting."
"Me too!"
"Of course I'll come!"
"Then all four of us will go together."
After confirming the plan, Yukino and the others logged out. Yukino sent a message to Leafa explaining the situation and requesting help.
The description of Kazuto and Kirito was vague—they were newbies but had maxed skills. But Leafa readily agreed, clearly trusting Yukino deeply. After thanking her, Yukino logged out, and Leafa did the same shortly after.
Leafa took off her AmuSphere on the bed and stretched widely.
"Tomorrow's the first visit to Kazuto after his hospital transfer. I'll shower early tonight and get to bed. Transferring to Chiba made visiting a hassle, but I heard the environment is good, so I'm grateful."
Muttering to herself, Leafa—real name Kirigaya Suguha—sent Kazuto an email about the hospital visit for tomorrow, then went downstairs to prepare for a shower.