Chapter Sixty-Four: The First Layer’s Conquest (III)

By the time the three of them had sobered up and returned to the plaza, it was already afternoon.

"Akihiko Kayaba is truly a genius. Such meticulous virtual technology—his abilities must surpass anyone else in this world." Even though Lancer knew he was inside a virtual world, he couldn't help but marvel at its realism.

"Yeah, Akihiko Kayaba is a genius." Kirito, who had loved electronics since childhood and was himself a prodigy in the field, considered Kayaba his idol. Though he couldn't understand Kayaba's motives, he still offered a positive reply.

"If we weren't trapped in this damned place, our lives held hostage, I think I might actually admire him." Agil voiced his own opinion. Lancer, however, seemed unconcerned about the so-called restrictions. After all, he couldn't very well tell them that with his "Thunder Magic Sword," he could completely ignore the so-called brain-frying electric currents.

"I'll go discuss with the others about the distribution of monsters among the teams for the final boss raid, as well as some key points for the last battle." With that, Agil went off to talk with Tia Bel.

"Let's go find our new teammate. I trust my instincts, but we still need to talk things over," Lancer said, leading the way toward the spot he'd already noticed. A sly, mischievous smile flickered across Kirito’s lips.

"This stuff can't taste good, can it? Want to try some of my food instead?" Seeing the girl eating a plain flatbread, Lancer couldn't help but offer, wishing to help her out—even if he wasn't sure whether they'd be able to clear the game, watching a girl gnaw on bread was hard to ignore.

The girl instinctively shifted away from him by a seat.

"Ha! Lancer, you really got rejected, huh? Serves you right, you just don't look trustworthy," Kirito jeered, finally getting a chance to mock Lancer after being suppressed by him for so long. To be fair, Lancer did have the look of a suspicious man lurking by a kindergarten gate. (For the record, my sister is a kindergarten teacher—I don’t need to lurk outside! Ha—back to the story.)

"You jerk, did you forget that even though you’re carrying the gear, all the money and materials are with me? Or do you plan to pawn your equipment or grind monsters for hours just to afford a night at the inn?" Lancer said with ill-concealed malice.

"Uh..." Kirito froze at these words. Most of the gear was stuff Lancer didn't use, so he sold what he didn’t need, but all the good equipment was basically with Kirito. Kirito, feeling a bit guilty for always getting the gear, usually split consumables evenly, rare gear went to Kirito, but money, materials, and special items always stayed with Lancer.

All the equipment Kirito had was either necessary or swapped out when required, and the rare gear was reserved for trading with others later—definitely not something to be used up now. Besides, these things belonged to both of them, so—

"Lancer, my lord, I was wrong!" Kirito bowed at a perfect ninety-degree angle.

"Heh." Lancer said nothing, just stared at him, making Kirito break out in a cold sweat as he took a bottle out of his pocket. "Alright, it’s yours."

A faint smile appeared at Lancer’s lips. "Not bad. I’ll let it go this time." He placed the bottle between himself and Asuna. "Give it a try—this is a reward from a quest this kid secretly did." After a brief hesitation, Asuna decided to trust Lancer and touched the bottle.

"This is cheese?" Asuna said as Lancer used the item too. "Ugh..." Seeing the shattered bottle, Kirito looked devastated. The quest wasn't hard, but could only be done once a day. Now the bottle was gone, meaning he wouldn't get a share.

"Idiot. Without me, you’d have been conned out of your underwear by now. Be grateful." Still, Lancer tossed him a fruit. "Try this—it's a reward from clearing the orchard. It drains HP, but tastes good." Even before he finished speaking, a purple mark appeared above Kirito’s head.

"Whatever. We’re in a safe zone—no one can kill me here but myself." He kept eating. "Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention—the poison from this thing doesn’t wear off. Your HP will stay empty for six hours straight." Kirito’s expression was priceless.

"You fiend! Where did you find this crazy fruit?" Despite his words, he kept eating. "Weird as it is, it really tastes good. Give me another."

Under her cloak, Asuna’s face was a complex mix of emotions. Normally, even friends would be furious if pranked like this, but Kirito didn’t blame Lancer at all. She was genuinely curious about the relationship between these two.

While her mind was still reeling, the rest of the flatbread was gone in a flash.

"Want me to tell you about the quest?" Lancer asked, seeing that she seemed to enjoy the food.

"Hey, hey, how did you know about it? Weren’t you asleep the whole time?" Kirito became agitated at the thought of Lancer giving away his secret for nothing. For players at this stage, this was a precious resource. To enter the tavern, money wasn’t enough—a quest was required, which explained why the three of them hadn’t seen any other players there all afternoon. Food was terrible, with only shop-bought bread and the like. Kirito was already wondering if he could keep doing the quest without losing time for leveling and other tasks if the secret got out.

"No need." To Kirito’s surprise, Asuna refused outright. She continued, "I came here to join the frontlines and take on the challenge for myself, not for the food."

"Why? The frontlines are extremely dangerous, you could lose your life at any moment." Kirito was puzzled; in his eyes, such things were a man’s responsibility—a view that belied his chauvinism.

"No reason. I just think it’s better to die moving forward than to rot in the Town of Beginnings." Kirito couldn’t help but look at her with newfound respect—he hadn’t expected to meet someone like this.

"Indeed," Lancer replied, as if he’d expected her answer.

With that, Lancer suggested they disband for the day. It was getting late, and everyone needed rest before tomorrow's raid. The three of them needed to be in top shape—he didn’t want anything to happen to either of his companions, one a longtime friend, the other a girl he’d only just met. He couldn’t bear to see either vanish before his eyes.

Thank you to everyone for your suggestions—I’ve made some changes accordingly. If you have any thoughts, please leave them in the review section. I can’t guarantee everyone will like the story, but I’ll do my best to write with care. That’s all for now!

Damn, I forgot to post this in the morning... No wonder there weren’t many reviews. Making up for it now.