"Has that little girl from back then become the vice-commander already?"
"I think using NPCs as cannon fodder is fine; they're not real humans anyway!"
"Kirito's thinking is too naive. As long as we can survive and go back, isn't that enough?..."
Most ordinary people still supported Asuna, believing her method could not only increase the success rate of clearing the game but also reduce player casualties.
I'm Standing on a Million Lives
"NPCs are alive too!"
"Disgusting! What do these people think life is!"
Yotsuya Yuusuke dug into the ground with a hoe, venting his inner dissatisfaction.
If possible, he also wanted to live forever in another world.
Kahvel was his eternal pain. Even in the game world, they were still living their lives!
He would never agree with such acts of indiscriminate slaughter!.....
Otherworldly Labyrinth & Black Company World
"Ninomiya, what does NPC mean?"
Yuki didn't quite understand the meaning of this word. Were they the commoners of that world?
"That's labor!"
Ninomiya's eyes shone; they were all free labor!
It was a pity he couldn't use them, otherwise he could build another company!...
BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense.
"What they said is too much!"
Maple swallowed the field monsters in one gulp, her little face full of displeasure.
Her relationship with the NPCs was quite good. Weren't field monsters just meant to be eaten?
If you're afraid of dying, just eat them all. What's the big deal about defense!
Be like her, a pure tank with no hard feelings!
"Gulu gulu... You're right, Sally, aren't you?"
Sally looked at Maple speechlessly, "Goodness, everyone else is killing monsters, but you're eating them!"
And it hadn't stopped until now. Just who were the real monsters here?...
[The Screen Continues]
[Kirito lay leisurely on the grass, enjoying the comfort brought by the sunlight...]
[Rustle... rustle...]
[Asuna walked over and looked at him seriously...]
["Everyone in the clearing group is working hard to challenge the labyrinth!"]
["Why are you peacefully napping here?"]
[Kirito closed his eyes and said it would be a waste not to sleep in such nice weather...]
[Asuna frowned. Didn't this guy know that their time in the real world was also passing simultaneously?...]
["At least we're living in Aincrad now, right?..."]
[Everyone in this world thought they were in a game and desperately wanted to escape...]
[Only people like Kirito treated this as the real world and lived seriously...] ...
"Is this the difference between us and him?"
The players in SAO seemed to understand why they were so different from him.
To this day, the players were in a state of mental stress, anxious about gains and losses every day.
But Kirito wholeheartedly devoted himself to this world and integrated into it.
In Reality
"Asuna, don't get so close to that kind of person; it'll hold you back!"
Kyouko Koujiro was very unhappy with Kirito's attitude. Being so lazy in this environment was just a waste of time!
However, no one paid any attention to her words.....
[On Screen]
[Asuna followed Kirito's example and lay on the grass, sleeping even more soundly than Kirito...]
[When Kirito woke up, he was dumbfounded and had to watch over her until evening...]
[After waking up, Asuna specially treated Kirito to a meal to repay him...]
[After all, many people secretly engaged in PK duels while others were asleep to obtain loot...] ...
"As expected, what's more dangerous than monsters is the human heart!"
They never expected that in this death game, people could harm each other like this.
Indeed, this world was much more dangerous than many others!
"Boss, were we tricked by that kid last time?"
Johnny played with his poison-coated dagger, recalling how the three of them had been scared off by him.
"Don't worry, that guy and the Flash aren't that strong. Even we can handle them!"
PoH shook his head. He knew Kirito's strength best.
Even he wasn't confident about dealing with the Black Swordsman!
Thinking of this, his desire to fight Kirito grew stronger!...
[On Screen]
[A scream shattered the town's tranquility...]
[The two of them quickly ran out...]
[They saw a man in armor half-suspended in the air, a thorn-like sword stuck in his chest...]
[Then, the man screamed in horror and turned into points of light, disappearing...]
[For a moment, the players panicked. There were no duel victory notifications, indicating the man was killed in a safe zone, which had always been recognized as the safest place!]
[Asuna proposed cooperation, and the two began investigating the deaths in the safe zone...] .....
"There is only one truth!"
"As much as I want to say that, I can't go to that world!"
As soon as Conan saw this suspenseful murder case, his interest was immediately piqued!
He wasn't very interested in all the flashy powers, but he was extremely devoted to cases.
"I want to go... I really want to investigate!"
The elementary school detective of death wanted to go to other worlds to bring misfortune to people...
[On Screen]
[After a round of investigation, the two narrowed it down to just a few people in the guild...]
[On the third day, the blue-haired woman Yolko was stabbed by a thorn dagger right before their eyes and disappeared...]
[Kirito spotted a nobleman in a cloak in the distance by the window and quickly gave chase... But he used a crystal to teleport away...]
[That night...]
[Kirito discovered the truth of the matter through the durability of Asuna's lunchbox...]
[Killing people in the safe zone was impossible from the start. Rules were rules, and players couldn't violate them...] .....
"That's right, that's a good deduction..."
Demiurge nodded, understanding the truth of the matter upon hearing about the durability value.
For a human, this level of wisdom wasn't bad.
"Huh? What is it?"
The other Guardians were confused. What riddles were you trying to solve here?
Old Bones was also a bit puzzled. What did you understand now?... But with no flesh, no expression could be seen...
"You fools, how can you assist Lord Ainz!"
Demiurge looked helplessly at these idiots. They were still his teammates, and he felt like he couldn't carry them.
So, Demiurge explained everything that had happened to everyone one by one....
[On Screen]
[Kirito expressed his speculation. This was likely self-orchestrated by Yolko and Kains, using equipment durability to create the illusion of death...]
[They used this method to lure out the snake and force the mastermind into the open...]
[Asuna accidentally mentioned that married couples shared inventory. If one died, all items would transfer to the surviving partner...]
[Kirito instantly understood that the rare item that disappeared earlier was still in the hands of the surviving Grimlock...]
[And he was also the forger who made those two swords...]
[In that case, the two survivors were in danger, so he hurried to the cemetery...]
[It was precisely because of his timely appearance that he prevented Laughing Coffin from swinging their butcher knives at Yolko's trio...]
[These members of Laughing Coffin were all murderous demons, and this time, they were the three most vicious ones...] .....
Real World - Countermeasures Team
"Can we trace their information based on this?"
"Unable to trace; the information is encrypted!"
Kikuoka Seijirou sighed. It seemed they could only gather information through the images on the light screen.
"As expected of Akihiko Kayaba; he did it flawlessly!"
On the first day the light screen appeared in this world, Akihiko Kayaba had already protected it. Now, no one could trace the players' locations at will.
This could be considered protecting the players in a way...
[On Screen]
["So, what will you do? Reinforcements will be here soon..."]
["Want to try dealing with thirty clearing group members at once?"]
[Kirito threatened the murderous trio using the clearing group's name...]
["Tsk... Let's go..."]
[PoH put away his weapons and led the other two away from the scene...]
[Afterwards, Asuna brought over the real culprit, Grimlock...]
[His reason for killing his wife was outrageous: the death game made him cowardly, frightened, and anxious...]
[But his wife lived more brightly than in the real world, so he killed her...] .....
"Can such an absurd reason be a motive?"
This is a twisted love!
How did they even get married? How can such people find their other half?
Why are they still single old men!
Countless people felt the world was deeply malicious toward them!...
[On Screen]
[The morning sun shone on their backs...]
["Hey... if it were you..."]
["If you married someone... and discovered their hidden side... what would you think..."]
[Asuna's words stunned Kirito. He had never considered this question before; after all, he was still a child...]
["You should feel lucky..."]
["Huh?"]
[Asuna looked at Kirito in surprise, her eyes wide...]
["Since you're married, it means you liked their previous side... If you discover another side... and fall in love again..."]
["Wouldn't that... be twice as much?..."]
[Kirito's answer made Asuna smile knowingly, as if something opened in her heart. She looked at him with a tender expression...]
["Let's go... Let's head back..."]
[Suddenly, Kirito grabbed her, thinking something was wrong...]
[But when she turned around, she was stunned by the scene before her. Miss Yolko, who was supposed to be dead, stood by the grave, smiling at the two of them...]
[In the blink of an eye, she disappeared again, as if she had never been there...]
["Hey... Kirito... Let's add each other as friends..."]
["Um... I'm a solo player..."]
[Slap!]
["Actually... It's not inconvenient..."]