The system's celebratory horn, signaling the outcome of the battle, blared above their heads. As both delivered their final strikes, the sparring match came to an end. Satoru and Sheeta crossed past each other, and from the momentum alone, both staggered forward a few steps before slowly regaining their footing.
Both of their HP bars had dropped into the yellow zone.
Satoru let out a long breath, planted his curved sword upside-down into the ground, and braced himself at the waist, a look of relief spreading across his face.
He was the victor, though luck had played a part. In the end, his curved sword had been just half a second faster in landing the hit on the girl.
Clap, clap, clap. Applause rang out in generous waves, surging like a tide from the surrounding crowd.
"What a high-quality duel."
"Yeah, didn't expect the guy to win."
"What? The guy won?"
A dozen or so voices cried out in surprise at once. The applause instantly dropped by half, replaced with a flood of disdainful boos. Some people further back even jumped up and flipped him off.
You guys are really easy to read.
Satoru's face twitched with exasperation. But does that mean any of you actually have girlfriends? Hmph. Corporate drones.
He silently mocked the crowd in his mind, then casually put away the temporary curved sword and switched back to the Crimson Sickle Fang before walking toward Sheeta.
For once, the girl had lost her usual smile. Her eyes drooped with disappointment, and even the straight sword in her hand looked limp, like a wilted stalk of grass. When she saw Satoru approach, she let out a subdued hum.
"I messed up."
"You could call it a close loss," Satoru replied, shaking his head. "Are female players these days just monsters, or am I actually that bad…?"
He had nearly lost. Though he was long accustomed to victory and defeat, it was rare for someone with such a stark contrast in appearance to push him into such a corner.
"Then I won't be able to team up with Nero," Sheeta said quietly, the disappointment in her voice unmistakable.
So why push yourself this far?
Satoru felt troubled again. He hesitated as he looked at her. She looked like a kitten about to be abandoned on a winter street, facing a biting cold wind. Her round eyes were filled with reluctance, as if she were softly meowing while reaching out tiny paws to cling to someone's clothes.
Why does my guilt feel this overwhelming…? I'm the one who's been confused this whole time.
"My level is fifteen, two levels higher than yours. That's two levels' worth of base stats more. Not to mention anything else, just my maximum HP alone is about two hundred higher than yours." Satoru forced himself to speak, the words coming out stiff and unnatural. "Even so, I only barely beat you… so, if we were the same level, I'd definitely be the one who lost."
He paused, then continued.
"For me to admit defeat this willingly, to actually bow my head and say I'm not as skilled… that's pretty rare, at least in a game."
Sheeta stared straight at him.
"What does that mean?" she asked innocently.
"…"
You could understand all that earlier roundabout phrasing, but not something this straightforward?
"It means you won't be dragging me down."
He turned his head away and forced the words out through clenched teeth.
"I see."
Sheeta kept staring at him, saying only that before falling silent again.
"…I'm leaving."
Satoru turned decisively.
"Huh?!"
Only now did she start acting like her usual airheaded self. Sheeta hurried after him in small steps.
"But we haven't added each other as friends yet."
"Yeah, yeah… we'll add each other."
"Then where are you going next, Nero?"
"To eat."
"Then I want strawberry cake."
"No money. Fried rice with egg."
"Sigh…"
"Fine, we'll splurge a bit. I'll add an extra egg."
"You're never this stingy when upgrading weapons…"
"Are you subtly treating your teammate like a meal ticket…?"
The man and woman continued bickering as they seemed ready to leave Urbus Plaza, while the crowd, not yet fully dispersed, exchanged glances.
"By the way, that NPC is really pretty. If the few female players in this game were all like that, it'd be great. She's so human-like. Seriously nice. Is this one of those quests where beating her lets you recruit her as a companion? Someone knowledgeable, tell me where to start that quest."
"I heard something earlier about adding her as a friend… Could this be some kind of emotional support the game gives to miserable players?"
"W-wait."
Someone suddenly realized.
"So she's actually a female player…? I mean, having an NPC add you as a friend and chat through a window would be so pathetic it'd make you cry."
A brief silence fell over the crowd. The men, some lean, some rugged, scratched their heads in unison, then suddenly became excited.
"Holy shit! Then go get her friend request!"
"Where'd they go? Which direction?!"
Howls of lone wolves echoed continuously across Urbus Plaza. As for the rumor that later spread, that the Second Floor had a quest unlocking a beautiful NPC companion, that wouldn't surface until half a month later.
Meanwhile, at the edge of the plaza street, Aincrad's first street-side blacksmith watched the spot where Satoru and Sheeta had just dueled, a look of envy in his small eyes.
How nice… a battle like that.
After a moment of silence, he raised his forging hammer again. Slowly, carefully, as if afraid of missing, he began striking the weapon on the anvil. The rhythmic, resonant clanging echoed once more. It was just as soothing as before, yet compared to the earlier fierce clash of blades, it carried a faint trace of sorrow.
...
After turning left and then right through a narrow alley branching off the main street, Satoru arrived at a small restaurant tucked away in a remote corner. Without prior knowledge, it would be hard to find this place just by wandering. Being located deep in an alley, the lighting inside was poor.
At a glance, it had the atmosphere of a quiet, rundown bar, like the kind of place spies would meet in old movies.
But regardless of the environment or how good the food was, one thing was certain.
The prices were absolutely outrageous.
Towering on a massive plate, the high-end dessert draped in silky white cream exuded a majesty like Mount Fuji blanketed in winter snow. The golden-brown creation was cut reverently with knife and fork, revealing a fluffy golden interior. Most likely, it was a four-layer structure reeking of capitalist decadence.
In other words, fluffy cake, then strawberry cream, then another layer of cake, then another layer of cream.
The person enjoying it popped a small piece into her mouth and let out a delighted sigh.
"Tremble Shortcake… what an exquisite taste. Even if it's just data simulation, this really is something that can make people happy."
Just looking at her moved figure from behind made it obvious how delicious that Tremble thing was.
"I assume the price matches that exquisite taste perfectly," Satoru said flatly.
"Ugh."
Caught off guard by the sudden jab, she tried to respond but choked up instead. She thumped her chest, grabbed a glass of water, gulped it down, and swallowed the cake in one go.
"Hmph. After all, this was the condition of our deal, Yu-san."
Argo snorted lightly, still coughing, then wiped her mouth with feigned elegance and turned back with her signature merchant's grin.
Then she froze.
"What's wrong? You look like you just realized you ate arsenic," Satoru said, watching Argo as she seemed to pause completely.
Argo stared at him silently. More precisely, she was staring at the blonde beauty practically glued to his side.
"You… have you sunk so low as to make a move on an NPC?" Argo muttered in anguish. "What method did you use to exploit such a system loophole? No, if it's you, maybe you could find a bug, but this is disgustingly obsessive."
"What nonsense are you spouting? She's a player. Is your indicator broken?"
"I see. This is your method of self-delusion, isn't it?"
Argo sighed, then habitually glanced at Sheeta's indicator. She fell into an even deeper silence.
"She's… real?"
Her voice trembled.
Satoru nodded.
"Then isn't that an even bigger problem?! That's already a crime!"
"If I'd actually done anything, she could've sent me to jail with a single command. But I'm still standing here."
"That's exactly the problem! What kind of mind-controlling method did you use?!"
Thud.
Satoru stepped forward and lightly knocked her on the head.
"Let's talk business. Any leads on my request?"
Argo, muttering as she rubbed her head, sat back down and shot him a disdainful look.
"There's nothing like that on the Second Floor."
Satoru's expression instantly fell. The light vanished from his eyes like a dead fish. He let out a hollow sigh and slumped into his chair.
"Hm? Is Nero looking for something?" Sheeta asked.
Hearing her use such an intimate form of address, someone's gaze turned even more hostile.
"He's looking for a psychoactive poison that turns your lungs pitch black, makes you cough after just a few steps, and yellows your teeth," Argo replied coldly.
"Nonsense! It's clearly a spiritual tonic that makes you more manly, clears your head, and boosts your masculine dignity!"
Slumped in his chair, Satoru shouted forcefully, waving his arms like a public speaker trying to drive his point home.
"See? That's a symptom of advanced-stage smoking. He's starting to lose his mind."
"Hey, let's be honest. The reason drugs make people feel so miserable is that they're stimulants. They keep releasing the body's latent potential, causing blood vessels and muscles to dilate. Once you stop taking them, that release stops, and the sudden contraction makes your whole body ache like it's cramping. The only relief comes from taking more.
"And because that potential keeps getting drained, eventually a person's vitality is completely exhausted. They end up gaunt and emaciated, looking like a stick figure.
"But cigarettes don't have that effect! So classifying them as drugs is narrow-minded!"
"You… you haven't actually done drugs, have you?"
Argo, whose moral compass was still relatively intact, took a small step back.
"No. I just learned all this so I could argue with people like you."
Satoru spoke with righteous confidence.
"Tsk…"
Sheeta watched the two of them, humming thoughtfully.
"If we're talking about tobacco, there might be a clue on the fourth floor."
Satoru shot to his feet.
"Is that true?"
"It's just a possibility."
"Is she a closed beta player?" Argo asked curiously.
"As one of the closed beta players yourself, shouldn't you know best?" Satoru replied.
"But even if that's the case, once someone changes their nickname and appearance, there's no way to recognize them."
"Let's not worry about that…"
Satoru rubbed his hands together and flashed an ingratiating smile.
"Could you please keep an eye out when we reach the fourth floor?"
"Ugh…"
Argo looked visibly disgusted and clicked her tongue.
"Hmph. I owe you a favor from before, so I'll do it this once. But after that, you'll have to pay extra."
"Of course, of course."
"I really don't get you."
Argo shook her head helplessly.
"Anyway, the regional boss in the Labyrinth Tower is set to be raided in a few days. After that, we'll be able to pry open the boss's door on this floor right away."
"That's surprisingly fast compared to the First Floor."
"That's because things are finally on track. I came to remind you. It's in three days. Also, if you want to get along better with the assault team afterward, you should start building relationships with a few people who show signs of becoming big shots. Even though no Guilds have formed yet, there are already small groups forming."
"I thought there'd just be one big group. There's actually competition in this kind of situation?"
"That's because of the 'healthy competition' that Diavel proposed. As the number of players increases, a single massive Guild wouldn't be able to manage everyone properly. And besides…"
Argo spoke with conviction.
"Every gamer's got a bit of a brocon streak."
"That's common sense. Even as a support class, you still want to save up for Desolator and the Lament of Daedalus. I get it."
Satoru reached toward the luxurious cake on the table, but Argo swiftly slapped his hand away.
"That's mine," she declared.
"I paid for it," Satoru protested weakly.
"Then order another one."
"Waiter…"
Gritting his teeth, Satoru reluctantly picked up the menu and spoke to the server.
"I'll have fried rice with egg. Make it two eggs."