The enormous body of the Stone Statue Guardian completely solidified, its scarlet eyes, like two burning charcoal balls, locked onto Chen Mo and Kirito.
It let out a muffled roar, raising the giant rock axe that was taller than a man. The cold glint flashing on its blade caused the temperature of the entire passageway to drop by several degrees.
Sweat seeped from Kirito's palm as he gripped his sword.
Two thousand five hundred HP.
An elite monster of this toughness, even for the top Assault Team during the Closed Beta, would require a five-person squad to carefully maneuver to take down.
Yet, Chen Mo, beside him, not only showed no intention of retreating but instead took a step forward.
That step was as steady as if he were treading to the beat of a war drum, terrifyingly calm.
"Are you ready?"
Chen Mo even turned his head to ask, his tone as relaxed as if he were inviting someone for afternoon tea.
Kirito was startled, then infected by that confidence. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he nodded heavily.
The roar was deafening!
The Stone Statue Guardian moved, its giant axe stirring up a fierce wind as it chopped down directly at Chen Mo, who was closest to it!
It was powerful and heavy, impossible to dodge!
Kirito's heart instantly leaped into his throat.
Was he crazy?
Directly taking an elite monster's heavy attack skill?
However, Chen Mo also moved.
He didn't block, nor did he dodge. Instead, he charged forward, directly facing the giant axe that felt like Mount Tai pressing down!
The next instant, Kirito witnessed a scene that completely subverted his understanding of the game.
Chen Mo's figure suddenly lowered, and he transformed into a golden streak of light rushing close to the ground. The moment the giant axe fell, he narrowly pierced through the Stone Statue Guardian's legs!
"Furious Pierce"!
The tip of his sword accurately stabbed into the gap in the monster's armor around its waist and abdomen—a weak point in its defense!
An astonishing damage number popped up.
-312!
But this was only the beginning.
Chen Mo, having passed through, didn't pause at all. The moment he landed, he pushed off with his toes, forcibly twisting his body at an incredible angle!
The quenching longsword in his hand once again erupted with brilliant skill light!
"Vertical Square Cut"!
Uppercut! Horizontal slash! Downward chop! Spin!
Four condensed sword lights intertwined in mid-air, forming a cross of death. Each strike tore through the air, fiercely striking the Stone Statue Guardian's unguarded vital point at its back!
-298!
-301!
-295!
-289!
A series of dense damage numbers wildly popped up, and the Stone Statue Guardian's despairingly long HP bar visibly plummeted by nearly two-thirds!
Kirito was completely petrified.
His mind was blank, with only two words echoing wildly.
Four-hit combo?
How is that possible?!
As a top Closed Beta Player, he was intimately familiar with SAO's combat system.
There was an unavoidable rigid time between sword skills; this was an iron rule Akihiko Kayaba had written into the very foundation of this world!
At this stage, players were at their limit if they could even manage a two-hit combo!
Unless... a thought so absurd it was hard for him to believe rose from the depths of his heart.
Unless this man in front of him had already broken through the level restrictions and unlocked the higher-tier sword skill slots that shouldn't appear on the first floor yet!
"Switch!"
Chen Mo's fierce shout, like a bucket of ice water, jolted Kirito awake from his endless shock.
The Stone Statue Guardian, instantly crippled, became utterly enraged. It gave up turning around and directly launched a savage giant axe sweep, carrying a space-tearing roar, towards Chen Mo, who was still in skill paralysis!
Kirito had no time to think; his body reacted before his brain.
He lunged forward, using all his strength to hold the one-handed sword in front of him!
Block!
"Clang—!"
A deafening metallic clang exploded in the passageway, the echo rolling.
An irresistible force surged along the sword. Kirito's tiger's mouth (the web between thumb and forefinger) felt a sharp pain, and he was sent flying three or four meters back, as if hit head-on by a battering ram, slamming heavily against the cold stone wall.
His HP instantly evaporated by one-third.
But he succeeded.
He used his own HP to buy Chen Mo those few tenths of a second of golden time to break free from paralysis.
"Well done."
Chen Mo's faint praise came, his figure already flickering like a ghost, having moved to the Stone Statue Guardian's blind spot.
The subsequent battle made Kirito deeply realize the meaning of 'gap' for the first time.
Chen Mo's prediction of the monster's attack patterns was horrifyingly accurate.
Every raise of a hand, every step, he seemed to anticipate the monster's intentions half a second in advance, always dodging with the smallest cost and then counterattacking from the most tricky angles.
And Kirito, relying on the combat intuition accumulated during the Closed Beta, firmly seized every moment of paralysis that occurred after Chen Mo's attacks, using his own body to draw aggro and create output space.
There was not a single unnecessary exchange between the two.
But their cooperation was as seamless as if they had practiced thousands of times.
A few minutes later.
Accompanied by a final, unwilling roar, the enormous Stone Statue Guardian shattered with a crash, transforming into blue data polygons dancing in the air.
"Ding! Killed Treasure Guardian · Garon, gained 1800 experience points, 2000 ke'er."
"Ding! Congratulations on leveling up! Current level: 12."
"Ding! Obtained drops: Guardian's Sword (Blue), Ring of Strength (Blue)."
Kirito slid down to the ground, leaning against the wall, his chest heaving violently as he gasped for breath.
They won.
But the intensity of this battle had almost drained all his energy.
In contrast, Chen Mo's breathing was only slightly hurried, and he still stood tall and straight, as if he had just completed a warm-up.
"That... four-hit sword skill of yours..." Kirito wiped the sweat from his forehead, his voice filled with unconcealed shock.
Chen Mo didn't answer. He just opened the menu and took out the Guardian's Sword, which emitted a blue glow.
He didn't even glance at it, casually tossing it to Kirito.
"Equip it."
Kirito subconsciously caught it, the heavy feel of the hilt bringing him back to his senses.
He looked at the attributes; the attack power was significantly higher than the beginner's sword he was currently using, and it also came with an attack speed modifier.
This was definitely a priceless top-tier weapon at this stage.
"This... it's too valuable." He hesitated slightly.
"Your output is too low."
Chen Mo's voice was calm, yet it pierced Kirito's heart like an awl.
"It affects efficiency."
As he spoke, he put on the Ring of Strength, feeling the tangible increase in his strength attribute.
Kirito fell silent.
He looked at the brand new longsword in his hand, then at the man who didn't even bother to give an extra explanation, a mix of emotions swirling in his heart.
The other party wasn't showing charity, nor was he expressing goodwill.
He was merely stating a fact.
—You're too weak; equip this, and don't hold me back.
This was more hurtful than any taunt, yet it was so true that he couldn't refute it.
He ultimately equipped the sword.
"...Thank you."
"Mm."
Chen Mo hummed, which served as a response.
He turned around and strode deeper into the passageway, his back figure aloof and mysterious.
"Let's go."
"There should be more interesting things ahead."
Kirito gripped the Guardian's Sword in his hand and quickly followed.
The doubts in his heart had now swelled to their peak.
This man named Chen Mo.
Who exactly was he?