On July 1, 2023, inside a tall building in Mishe, the main town on the 35th floor, Akimi and Asuna were enjoying afternoon tea.
This was the most famous restaurant and inn in Mishe, though its name was a bit odd — "The Weathercock Rooster Pavilion."
For the past half month since finding the trainer, the two had been running back and forth between the frontlines and Urokodaki Sakonji, hardly ever returning home.
The intense training and dungeon raiding had left them mentally and physically exhausted, so they decided to skip training today — though technically, it wasn't skipping, since they had told Urokodaki in advance.
"Mmm~ so good… sweets really are the best way to make someone happy," Asuna sighed, taking small bites of the tempting slice of cheesecake in front of her.
"From a scientific perspective, you're not wrong," Akimi replied, forcing down the coffee in his mouth.
He normally didn't like coffee, but he had ordered a cup to see if SAO's coffee tasted any different from real life.
It turned out that SAO had done its best to recreate reality in every aspect… including coffee's taste.
Draining the cup in one go, Akimi casually wiped the corner of his mouth and continued, "Sweets make people happy because the taste of sweetness stimulates the brain to release dopamine. Looks like even virtual sweetness can make our brains release dopamine too…"
Seeing Akimi order a glass of juice from the waitress, Asuna's lips curled into a teasing smile.
Biting her small spoon, she said, "But I think… no matter how much sweetness you eat right now, it won't make you release dopamine."
Akimi said nothing to her jab, instead taking the juice the waitress brought over and drinking it down, trying to wash the taste from his mouth.
He didn't hate coffee — he simply disliked the flavor.
Smelling it was fine, but drinking it was unbearable.
After a while, once he was sure the taste of coffee was gone, Akimi looked over at Asuna — who still had a small piece of cheesecake in front of her — with a faint, unreadable smile.
Just as Asuna scooped up the cake with her spoon and was about to put it into her mouth, Akimi suddenly slapped the table and stood up, startling her so much that she froze mid-motion.
Taking advantage of her moment of shock, he bent down quickly and stole the cake right off her spoon.
"Yup, the cake here really is delicious…"
Asuna's cheeks flushed red when she realized what had happened.
She stood up, clenched her fists, and said through gritted teeth, "To-mi-o-ka—A-ki-mi… !"
With the calm of a battle-hardened veteran, Akimi smirked and raised his right hand confidently.
"Waiter, bring us two more cheesecakes — the largest size you have."
Then he looked at Asuna with an expression that screamed checkmate.
Unfortunately for him, it seemed his calculation had failed — Asuna, without a moment's hesitation, drove a fierce thrust straight into his stomach.
In the past, such a blow from Asuna would have been completely blocked by the safe-zone protection system, but for some unknown reason now, the system only prevented Akimi from losing HP; it no longer generated a barrier to physically block the attack.
As a result, Akimi was taken down instantly — a one-hit KO.
Asuna claimed a flawless victory.
After dealing with this annoying pest, Asuna lightly dusted off her hands as if shaking away invisible dirt, then gracefully thanked the waiter who was bringing over the cheesecake.
By the time Asuna had finished an entire slice of cheesecake, the still-slumped Akimi, his head tilted on the table, finally asked, "Asuna, how's your Water Breathing training going?"
"I should be done in the next couple of days—" Asuna replied while sipping her tea.
"But honestly, most of the Water Breathing sword forms don't suit me very well, except for the Third Form, Seventh Form, and Ninth Form."
She let out a soft sigh, looking a little downcast, but quickly brightened again with a smile.
"I already have some ideas for my own sword forms. I might be able to create styles that suit me before long."
When it came to Water Breathing practice, Asuna's talent seemed to be off the charts — even Urokodaki had marveled at her extraordinary compatibility with the style.
Despite never having undergone systematic sword training before, Asuna had managed, in just half a month, to practice to the point where her form was clean and precise — even able to exchange a few blows with Urokodaki himself.
Although most of the Water Breathing forms didn't match her style, she had still mastered all of them and even identified the direction best suited for her own unique sword forms — a true prodigy.
Compared to her, Akimi's progress seemed far less impressive.
He had only just managed to burst his third gourd, and his Total Concentration Breathing duration had gone from ten minutes to just thirteen minutes.
Numerically speaking, his Water Breathing proficiency had increased by more than twenty points.
This was actually a considerable improvement — but, as with all things, comparison is cruel.
Next to Asuna's results, Akimi's achievements looked rather insignificant.
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