——The second floor of "Aincrad", on the outskirts of the main district "Urbas".
(...Well, I understand. "Switching" all of a sudden would be too heavy a burden on both parties' souls.)
(…)
(Ah, after all, we spanned two "worlds", but this time it also proved that "my" guess was not wrong.)
(…)
(That’s it, until you can completely “switch” over, just be an “ordinary player”. There’s still time anyway, right?)
(…)
The connection between consciousness was interrupted, and the black-haired girl, Yuuki, let out a long sigh of relief.
In the previous boss battle, although she successfully 'borrowed' power from her 'other self', the side effects were not small.
After forcing her consciousness to go to the hotel on the second floor, Yuuki woke up again after falling asleep. It was already three days later.
Although it is an 'imaginary world', some things have not changed. It is still too reluctant to carry the consciousness of [elf] in a human body.
She needs time to 'transition'.
If you intervene forcefully, I'm afraid you don't need to wait until you die of illness, the external body will have already collapsed first.
It seems that even if you want to 'turn on plug-ins', you have to wait until the 'processor' can keep up.
…
After confirming her plans, the black-haired girl was ready to move faster.
After resting for a few days, it’s almost time to move on to the second level of ‘Strategy’.
But before that... let's take care of this little tail first.
Stopping before entering the "maze area", Yuuki turned her gaze not far behind her.
"I said, the 'maze area' is ahead. Do you really want to continue following?"
Because Yuuki conquered the first level of relationships, many people had come to this town one after another during the few days she was in coma, so she was not surprised that players would show up.
But not long after he left his foothold in the town, this hooded man in a cloak kept following him. At first, he thought he was on the same road, but now, it doesn't look like him at all.
If it's a guy with evil intentions, she doesn't mind sending him to prison with the sword in her hand.
Turning around, Yuuki stared at the cloaked man who was starting to become a little flustered with an unfriendly expression.
"..."
Well, seeing how clumsy the other party looks, it's probably not necessary.
As for why he made such a judgment, it was naturally because the other party followed him so 'stupidly', and now like this, it felt more like he didn't know whether to speak or how to talk.
"that--"
After stroking his hands and hesitating for a while, the cloaked man finally spoke as if he had made up his mind.
(…a girl’s voice?)
The voice that reached Yuuki's ears was a clear young female voice.
"Can you come with me...ah, no...can you please take me to level up with you?"
In the middle of speaking, he suddenly lowered his posture and begged the cloaked man.
"...?"
Under Yuuki's strange gaze, the other party pulled down his hood.
It was a cute girl about the same age as Yuuki with short hair in twin tails.
Sitting side by side with the girl next to her at the foot of a boulder about three to four meters high, Yuuki nodded clearly.
In fact, when the girl pulled down her hood, she already felt that her face was very familiar.
Silica, that's her name.
It's just that she is not the "Dragon Messenger" in the middle-level period, but a twelve-year-old girl who is still a little overwhelmed.
She didn't even know the target yet. She didn't stay on the first floor out of curiosity, but followed the crowd to the city on the second floor.
During this period, many people invited Silica to form a team because of her cute appearance and status as a girl. Girls who had no plans to join other people's teams were so disturbed that they had to wear a hood and cloak.
Speaking of which, there are very few female players in SAO, especially cute and beautiful girls. Therefore, in order to protect themselves, in the early stage, most girls who were somewhat confident in their appearance would choose cheap cloaks sold in item shops to cover themselves.
own identity until you find a team you can join.
Of course, this is not to say that Yuuki is ugly in disguise. On the one hand, it is her confidence in her own strength. On the other hand, she may not have this consciousness at all.
"...So when I happened to see a girl about my age in the town, I wanted to stop you."
"But at that time, Yuuki, you seemed to be very distracted and ignored me at all!"
"Forehead……"
Her little face puffed up slightly, and Silica showed a somewhat naive and complaining look.
She scratched her face in embarrassment. Yuuki really didn't care about the players in the city, and there was a so-called safe zone in the town, so she didn't have to worry about being in the wild. Plus, she was having a serious discussion with 'herself'
, and subconsciously ignored the people around him.
What happened after that is easy to understand. Out of a little girl’s unwillingness to be stubborn, Silica followed Yuuki all the way to the suburbs. And in the process, she saw that Yuuki was not only familiar with the route, but also
She solved the monsters she encountered like chopping melons and vegetables, and the little girl realized that she seemed to have encountered an unusual player.
From the beginning, it was just because I wanted to communicate with girls of the same age because I was lonely, and it gradually turned into this idea of "begging to form a team and ask for guidance".
From Silica's point of view, there is simply no one more suitable to form a team with her than Yuuki.
The little girl couldn't help but admire Yuuki, who was confident, powerful, and somewhat heroic.
…
"...Isn't that possible?"
The question of team formation was raised again, and Silica hugged her knees and leaned her head sideways. Seeing Yuuki's hesitant expression, Silica became a little dejected.
Like an abandoned little squirrel.
(...No wonder she is called a girl idol in the game, she is so cute that she wants to hug her...)
Smiling bitterly inwardly, Yuuki compromised.
Anyway, she still has a lot of time, and going through the levels alone will always be boring.
After touching the frustrated little head next to her, Yuuki returned the choice to Silica.
"I will keep fighting until I clear this game."
"If you haven't given up on beating this game yet, come with me."
Leaving a cool figure behind her, Yuuki stood up and walked towards the entrance of the "maze area".
The black-haired girl didn't keep waiting for long, as the sound of trotting soon came from behind.
Then, came the invitation to team up.
"Yes! I will try my best!"
(This is not bad.)
With a slight smile, Yuuki pressed the OK button. (To be continued)