"That's a Killer Ant... its shell is super hard, has six legs all over its body, the upper body swells with four hooked claws on its hands, and it'll call for friends when in danger."
Finally encountering a monster, Kirito stopped his joking attitude and seriously listened to Kuro's explanation.
At the same time, he also carefully observed several giant ants crawling toward him along the surrounding walls.
This concerned his new friend's life. even though these Killer Ants looked very weak, Kirito still concentrated fully, using a hundred percent of his focus.
In an instant, the Killer Ants crossed the distance of dozens of meters, the four hooked claws on their upper bodies gleaming coldly as they mercilessly clamped toward both of Kirito's legs.
Facing the attack of several Killer Ants, Kirito nimbly moved his legs, easily dodging the attacks while thrusting his long sword, cleanly and quickly finishing off all the Killer Ants.
"They feel kinda weak!"
Kirito sheathed one sword, these monsters' attack patterns were too monotonous.
So monotonous that he felt like holding two swords in his hands was overkill.
"So this is what you call magic stones—they're pretty nice."
Bending down to pick up the purple stone on the ground, after examining it carefully, he put it in his bag.
"Hmm!"
Watching Kirito easily defeat the monsters, Kuro suddenly couldn't say anything.
Before encountering monsters, he'd kept emphasizing the dungeon's danger and monster difficulty, the results were beyond expectations.
Kuro suspected that for Kirito, the previous battle might not have even used up a bit of stamina.
In the following time, Kuro really saw the quality of the Black-Clothed Swordsman.
Needle Rabbit... dodge, one sword.
Dungeon Lizard... dodge, one sword.
War Shadow...one sword...
After getting used to monster attack patterns, facing monster attacks, Kirito didn't even dodge he directly ended his opponent's brief life with one sword.
"Alright, today's practice ends here. Kuro, your turn I want to see your fighting."
Half an hour passed quickly. Just when Kuro was fully concentrating on experiencing Kirito's sword swing techniques, Kirito bent down to pick up magic stones on the ground, breaking the silence.
"Ah, oh, okay."
Kuro quickly reacted, taking back control of his body, and casually grabbed a bottle of magical power recovery potion from his bag, drinking it all.
Right now, he was starting to understand why he was so weak.
The Black Sword in Kirito's hands was called a sword in his own hands it was just a weapon. Whether knife or spear, to him there seemed to be no big difference.
Even without using sword techniques, each of Kirito's attacks could precisely penetrate monster defenses, hitting vital points.
He could sense attacks from any direction, yet even though he had skills, he couldn't perform to that level.
Sensing monsters approaching, Kuro didn't rush to attack but waited for his opponents to fully emerge from the dungeon wall cracks.
Seven or eight Killer Ants attacked him.
Facing the same scene, Kuro tried to imitate Kirito's movements.
However, after just a few steps, his leg was already grabbed by one Killer Ant's pincers.
"Ah!"
A pained scream was heard, but it wasn't from Kuro this level of pain was like child's play to him.
But for Kirito in his head, the intense pain suddenly struck, making him unconsciously cry out in pain.
Kuro stabbed with one sword, piercing the Killer Ant gripping his leg.
However, his arms and back again felt intense pain. this time Kirito was prepared and didn't make a sound.
A few moments later, he finally managed to kill all the Killer Ants.
"Kuro, do you usually fight like this?"
"Hmm!"
Hearing the amazed tone in his head, Kuro felt somewhat embarrassed.
"You have perception skills, why are you still getting attacked? And fighting with your back to a wall would work too—why did you have to go into the middle of the monster group?"
"That... sorry!"
"No need to deliberately imitate me—everyone has their own unique fighting style. Even though your combat experience is still limited, I can feel your decisiveness when attacking. This shows you must practice hard normally."
Kirito kept correcting Kuro's mistakes while continuously giving encouragement.
"Actually, what you need most right now is practical training against people. Dungeon monsters' attack patterns are too monotonous. both their attack methods and movement paths aren't good enough training." Kirito sighed: "Fighting them for a long time might actually make your reactions slower."
"Upper floor monsters are indeed like that, but by the middle or lower floors, monsters' emotions become richer... when facing skilled adventurers, they'll even run away."
"Really?" For Kirito, who was entering the dungeon for the first time, the information he could grasp almost entirely depended on Kuro.
He suggested: "If conditions allow, I suggest you only use half a day exploring the dungeon, while focusing the remaining half day plus evening on basic training. I'll also teach you some basic sword moves as long as you practice hard, in about one or two years, you should be able to reach a certain level."
One or two years...
"Could we speed it up a bit?"
Never mind two years. about one year later, the end times might already be out, and by then it'd be too late.
"But..."
Kirito was somewhat hesitant. This sword art really depended on daily diligent practice to advance. He'd also practiced kendo for some time, plus experienced various life-and-death trials in the game world, before creating his current sword art level.
"About me, Kirito, you don't need to worry. As long as I can quickly increase my strength, any training is fine with me."
Hearing Kuro's firm tone, Kirito couldn't help but sigh softly in his heart.
"Then in the morning you go to the dungeon and I'll teach you practical training, during the day you should find people to spar with, and at night do basic training."
While leading Kuro's battles, Kirito arranged training plans.
Another half hour passed. When Kuro was about to take out another potion, Kirito stopped him.
"Let's stop here for today. I know you're in a hurry, Kuro, but becoming strong can't be done in one or two days.. I'll do my absolute best to help you."
With Kirito's persuasion, Kuro finally put down the potion in his hand, and after promising tomorrow's time, released the magic he was using.
Maybe influenced by Kirito's teaching, the morning time passed quickly.
Remembering Kirito's earlier advice, Kuro decided not to stay in the dungeon but chose to leave.
After lunch, walking on Orario's streets, Kuro thought about who would be willing to teach him.
Honestly, the first person Kuro thought of was Ryuu. She not only had top-level combat experience but also had a gentle and kind character, plus she was his life-saver.
However, as soon as he appeared before her, he was afraid that not only wouldn't she be able to give instruction, she might even become suspicious of him, thinking that his repeated approaches meant he was hiding some other motive.
Besides Ryuu, who else would be willing to guide him? No, more precisely, who could be convinced to spend half a day every day sparring with him?
Walking unconsciously, his steps suddenly stopped.
Like something had just tugged at the hem of his pants.
Looking around, he only saw dilapidated buildings nearby. he hadn't expected to find himself back in the slums again.
Kuro didn't see any human figure, only noticed a hand sticking out from a pile of garbage beside him. clearly, he'd been pulled by this hand earlier.