Kibaou and the others stared blankly at Yusei, their throats moving. Unbeknownst to them, they were already drenched in cold sweat.
They were truly terrified. If before they might have scoffed at Yusei's threats, after witnessing his speed just now, only fear remained.
Yusei paid no more attention to the thoroughly frightened group. He'll just properly 'see them off' next time they meet in the wild.
If Kiriko and the others had been even slightly more careless, they really could have been killed by the Kobold Sentinel suddenly joining the fray.
Therefore, these people were unforgivable.
Meanwhile, the Kobold Lord's HP bar had also turned red, entering the danger zone.
Seeing this, Diabel shouted to the other players:
"Everyone, fall back! Leave this to me! According to the Beta Testers' information, when its HP drops to red, it changes its attack pattern and switches its weapon to a talwar."
Diabel was very clear about all this and could completely dodge it.
A smile appeared on Diabel's lips as he activated a sword skill, preparing to charge forward and become the player who landed the Last Attack on the Boss.
At that time, he would receive the Last Attack bonus.
Before he could charge over and deliver that final blow, a hand pressed down on his shoulder, stopping him.
"Let me give you some advice. Don't go throwing your life away."
Yusei had, at some point, arrived in front of the Boss. The one stopping Diabel was him.
He wasn't kind enough to save people unrelated to him, but he was currently going to demonstrate Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu's sword techniques for Kaguya. He naturally didn't want anyone else interfering.
"You..." Diabel was momentarily stunned, about to say something, when he saw the Boss on the other side raise its head and let out a long roar. Its weapon was tossed aside as it pulled out a Nodachi.
'This scene made cold sweat pour down Diabel's back. A Nodachi?! It's completely different from the Beta Test!'
Simultaneously, a sense of relief rose in his heart, 'If I had charged up just now, I would have been dead for sure.'
"Thank you. I owe you my life," A somewhat shaken Diabel whispered to Yusei.
Yusei didn't respond. Instead, he slowly drew the Ice Dragon Katana from its sheath.
At the same time, he addressed Kaguya, who had just finished her fight, speaking with a confidence ordinary players lacked:
"Weren't you troubled that real-world swordsmanship couldn't be used in the game?"
"Actually... that's not the case. Even if the skill isn't in your skill list, your body itself possesses it."
"Or rather, in this game where you can push your physical qualities to superhuman levels, real-world swordsmanship becomes even easier to use."
To be honest, Yusei was partly spouting nonsense to show off. Although he had Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu skills in his skill list, he could actually use them even without relying on the skills.
During these days of leveling, he discovered that by coordinating perfectly with Shiro, they could execute a sword technique and have it possess the special effects of a sword skill.
For example, Ryutsuisen has a knock-up effect. In SAO's skill system, the 'Vertical' skill also has a knock-up effect.
So, all he needed to do was use the posture of Ryutsuisen to execute a 'Vertical' slash, and he could achieve the effect of Ryutsuisen.
What needed to be overcome was the post-skill delay. This was also why Yusei wanted that ring… to perfectly eliminate the delay after using a sword skill.
The formidable aspect of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu lies in its fierce, relentless attacks without gaps. So, combos are absolutely essential.
Kaguya listened to Yusei's words, not immediately understanding what he intended to do. That was until she saw him draw his katana and charge alone towards the Boss.
"Are you crazy?!" Kaguya cried out in alarm, quickly looking towards Shiro, who was observing.
"Shiro, quickly go support your brother! The two of you working together should be able to kill the Boss. He definitely can't do it alone!"
Shiro shook her head, her tone flat, "Shiro and Nii together are invincible. But Nii alone is also invincible."
Kaguya still wanted to say something... but then she suddenly heard surprised exclamations from all around. She hurriedly looked towards the Boss.
But the next moment, her eyes widened in shock.
She saw the Ice Dragon Cloak on Yusei's back seemed to transform into a dragon's head, enveloping Yusei completely. A thick path of ice formed on the ground before him.
But that wasn't what was surprising. What was astonishing was Yusei's dazzling sword technique, filled with lethal intent.
"Ryutsuisen!"
Yusei's eyes focused. His entire being seemed to transform into an ice dragon about to devour its prey, diving from a high altitude towards the Boss on the ground.
Kaguya's eyes instantly widened. She knew this all too well. She was very familiar with this move.
Ryutsuisen... A sword technique that slashes down from a high position onto a ground enemy, knocking them up. And its follow-up combo is… Ryushosen!
And the result was just as Kaguya expected. She saw the somewhat dazed Boss being directly sent flying into the air with a 'Bang!' by the dragon's head form Yusei had taken.
The launched Boss couldn't move, forced to wait until it landed.
But Yusei wouldn't give it that chance.
Kaguya saw him lower his stance, holding the katana in his right hand, his left hand pressing on the hilt. The illusory ice dragon head surrounding him also seemed to be gathering energy, bit by bit radiating icy blue aura.
Kaguya looked incredulously at Yusei in this posture... She almost subconsciously murmured the name:
"Impossible... This... This is... Kuzuryusen! How can it be used in the game?"
But before she could finish speaking, Yusei's figure turned into an afterimage and vanished from his original position.
That's right. He turned into an afterimage without any warning and disappeared. Then he appeared next to the Boss in mid-air.
All the players felt a dazzling ice-blue light bloom before their eyes... A cold aura swept through the entire Boss Room.
One... two... three... a full nine strikes!
Under the blinding cold light, the players couldn't see the specific process, only the strange nine slashes.
But Kaguya, who wanted to understand everything, saw it.
There's no mistake, 'That was indeed the ultimate technique of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu… Kuzuryusen!'
The Kobold Lord, which still had over half its red HP bar, had its health instantly emptied.
Bang!
The moment the Boss landed, it turned into scattered data fragments and disappeared.
And on everyone's game screen, the message [Floor Cleared!] and [Victory!] was displayed.
The players were first stunned. Then, reacting, they erupted into collective cheers.
They... had successfully cleared the first floor.