Starting City.
Passing through large streets and small alleys, under the gazes of many players, filled with fear, envy, and jealousy, Yusei and Shiro arrived at that remote blacksmith shop.
Seeing the owner diligently repairing equipment for a few players, Yusei stepped forward, "Boss, I'm here to pick up the commissioned equipment."
The owner looked up, saw it was Yusei, and a look of joy appeared on his face. Ignoring the other players' dissatisfaction, he directly threw down his hammer and hurried back inside.
In less than thirty seconds, the owner came out, carrying a large wooden box.
"The equipment for Sir Warrior and Miss Warrior is all here. In total, one katana, one longsword suited for Miss Warrior, and two sets of armor."
At this point, the owner couldn't help but show a proud expression.
"These are the best works of my life. I might never create such masterpieces again in the future."
Yusei smiled, "Thank you."
Immediately, without avoiding these players, he directly opened the wooden box.
Instantly, a faint red dragon's roar emanated from the box, and waves of cold air rushed over, as if blowing a blizzard towards them.
But all this was just an illusion. When everything settled down... Yusei finally saw the true appearance of the weapons inside.
First was his katana. The entire blade was a deep blue-black, the edge sharp and exposed. The hilt was inlaid with a small, vividly carved ice dragon head. Blue frosty energy flickered on it, as if it were alive.
The handle was entirely covered in blue scales, with faint hints of snow and wind swirling around it, looking very cold.
Yusei gripped it and found that the expected piercing cold did not occur; instead, it was warm. At the same time, he saw the quality of this katana clearly.
[Legendary]
[Equip Level: 20]
While it is just level 20, it is also a Growth Weapon!
In other words, this weapon could level up continuously as Yusei progressed and conquered floors in the future.
"Good blade!" Yusei praised.
He looked at Shiro. Her longsword's attributes were almost identical to his. Besides their attractive appearance, their weapons had one of the most powerful abilities: [Freeze].
When attacking an enemy, there was a 10% chance to freeze the enemy.
Furthermore, their armor consisted of full-body blue and white robes embroidered with dragon patterns. The attributes were also very powerful.
All of the items are Legendary grade and are Growth-type items.
Seeing the beautiful and elegant robes, Yusei was in a great mood and teased the blacksmith shop owner.
"Boss, I didn't expect you to be so deft and clever."
The owner gently shook his head, "It wasn't me who did the sewing."
As he spoke, a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl in a long dress walked out from inside the blacksmith shop. The girl clasped her hands in front of her chest, looking somewhat nervous, "Sir Warrior, are you satisfied?"
Yusei was stunned for a moment, but then nodded satisfactorily.
"Excellent craftsmanship. You will surely become a Grand Master Tailor in the future."
After chatting casually for a few more sentences, Yusei and Shiro took their leave, as they still needed to attend the afternoon Boss Strategy Meeting.
After the two left, the players who were still waiting for their equipment couldn't help but mutter.
"I know that guy. He's the Beta Tester who had a conflict with us last time."
"Look at the equipment he's wearing. If he's not a damned, despicable Beta Tester, then what is he?"
"That's right, that's right. I say we should have forced him to hand over the equipment earlier..."
Clang!
A metallic clangor made them stop their discussion instantly. They turned back in shock and found the blacksmith's daughter, Serena, looking at them with a gloomy expression.
"We cannot repair your equipment."
"How is that possible? You're a blacksmith. Where is there equipment a blacksmith can't repair?"
"Can't repair means can't repair. Leave now!"
As she spoke, Serena already began operating the NPC permissions, forcibly ejecting the 'troublesome players' from the shop.
The players cried out as they were thrown out of the shop, their weapons flying out along with them.
Afternoon.
First Floor Boss's Strategy Meeting.
In the outskirts outside the town, at a deserted stage resembling an ancient Roman theater, quite a few players had already gathered.
Players sat together in small groups, some discussing, some nervous, and players continued to arrive from time to time.
This was the location for the First Floor Boss Strategy Meeting.
Yusei and Shiro arrived as promised. However, because they were wearing their Ice Dragon Cloaks, which concealed their appearances, they didn't immediately attract attention.
While waiting, Yusei checked his Friends List.
Among the few friends there... it was a relief that their statuses all showed [Online], not [Offline].
If one day their icons showed [Offline], that would be a disaster.
It would mean they had died in the game, completely leaving SAO and the real world.
Of course, with Yusei around, it was impossible for them to die.
Except for Kiriko, everyone on the friends list was practically family.
How could Yusei watch their HP hit zero and die? As for Kaguya... well, she's family too, of course, because Koken was his master.
As the saying goes, 'Once a teacher, always a father'. Putting it that way, he could even be considered Kaguya's father.
'Erm... that's a bit messy. That old man couldn't possibly be a father? He's just my master. I already have one false dad. Don't need another.'
After letting his thoughts wander for a bit, Yusei saw on the friend location page that two green dots were quickly approaching this location.
Yusei watched with interest. The two green dots were naturally one for Kiriko and one for Kaguya.
One of them had already arrived. Yusei looked over and found a tall figure wearing a cloak.
Yusei knew at a glance it must be Kiriko. Because there was no way Kaguya was that tall...
After a moment's thought, Yusei picked up Shiro, and the two went over to sit near Kiriko.
"Yo. Long time no see, Kiriko-chan."
Kiriko was still thinking about the situation regarding the First Floor Boss strategy when this sudden greeting startled her.
But after seeing clearly who it was, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Yusei-kun?"
Although Yusei and Shiro were wearing Ice Dragon Cloaks, because they weren't in combat state, the cloaks didn't show the blue dragon patterns, so they weren't particularly conspicuous yet.