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Chapter 387: Chapter 383 ~ Encounter in the Labyrinth

Two and a half weeks have passed since the grand launching of the world's first VRMMORPG and death game, Sword Art Online.

Since then, the player base had begun to form four divided groups. 

First, around half of the player base have chosen to wait in the Town of Beginnings. 

5000 people stayed within the confines of the safe zone. The fear of death anchored them within the walls, clutching onto the sole hope that those in the outside world, such as the company ARGUS or the nation, would try to help them escape. 

The Town of Beginnings, equivalent to the size of a massive ward in Japan, was big enough to fit these few thousand people. However, food and residencies remain a problem. 

To be able to buy food and afford rent, they would need Cols, the currency of the game. And to obtain Cols, they would need to work or hunt. In other words, diving right into danger, taking risks, and surviving. The initial Cols they were given wouldn't last forever. Sooner or later, they would have to make a decision and act. 

The second group, around a third of the player base, congregated together and formed a group. These three thousand players believed cooperation was their best chance of survival. 

They formed a group. The leader being the manager of Japan's biggest websites about online gaming. Under his supervision, players were grouped together into smaller bands to share items, Cols, and information regarding labyrinths that housed the staircases to the next floor. 

Then the third were those who were desperate, of which there were about a thousand people. 

They were the ones who wasted their Cols early, and couldn't gain the courage to brave the monsters in the wilderness. 

Most of them who'd wasted their initial earnings had begun going hungry and had no other choice but to join the Army to get themselves fed. 

The rest proved how far desperation, hunger, and fear could drive a man into madness. 

The fourth and final category were the "miscellaneous".

They were very few in comparison, only around five hundred players. They were the ones who wanted to help conquer the game but refused to join the Army-formed guilds. A positive force in the advancement of their shared goal of conquering the game, with their biggest advantage being the absence of massive and rigid bureaucracy to use the limited resources in the game. 

The extreme minority of crafters and traders were also included in this group. They formed guilds of their own, focusing on skills that would enable them to gain Cols and make a living without fighting. 

The remaining several dozen adventurers were solo players. Individualists who chose to act alone rather than join any group, for whatever reason they had. 

Most of the solo players were former beta testers. And with their initial boost of strength due to their knowledge and experiences, they found little reason to work with others. 

Recently, however, one rumor began to circulate around every single group. 

A mysterious player, clad in a hood and mask, had quickly become the main topic of whispers, rumors, gossip, and formal discussions within established groups. 

None knew of his name, nor his appearance. Only a few facts. 

He was a male, tall, wielding a one-handed long sword, and adorned in a raven black coat and mask. 

He defeated field bosses, high level monsters, as if they were regular mobs. He challenged hordes of enemies single handedly, and defeated each and every one of them with unimaginable speed. 

Some said that they've never seen his HP wavered. A few said they didn't even see him use a skill during his fight with a field boss. 

An unbelievable notion. Thus, the rumors stayed as it was. 

Many dismissed it as exaggerations spun by players who weren't familiar with the game. Most of the more experienced players, especially beta testers, thought this way. 

A character imagined by desperate, delusional players who sought hope of being freed from this prison. 

Instead of an absurd, fictional superhuman, many players chose to put their hope in real, concrete information and advancements made by the pioneers and vanguards. 

The greatest hope came in the form of books. 

Guides regarding quests, monsters, farming spots, and even information and map data of the labyrinth that most likely housed the Floor Boss room of the first floor. 

The free version of the guide book was filled with newbie-friendly information, allowing many players to farm outside the Towns of Beginnings more safely, as long as they stayed alert. 

While the paid version of the various guide books were extremely detailed. The latest even containing information on monsters just outside of the boss room. Their levels, HP, weapons, attack patterns, item drops, even rare drops. 

Many believed they were information from beta testers, who chose to share their knowledge and experience of the game to help the other players. Since they've reached higher floors during the beta, having information regarding these monsters shouldn't be too strange.

However, some beta testers had voiced their doubt in its contents, because many differed from their own knowledge and experience of the beta.

Moreover, they had great doubts that information regarding monsters located that deep in the labyrinth were true. After all, it was impossible for any player to reach that deep in only a few weeks. 

Monsters grew stronger as they dove deeper and deeper into the labyrinth. And the monsters outside the floor boss's room might even be as strong as some field bosses outside the labyrinth. 

No sane player would be so reckless as to dive so deeply in the labyrinth. Even if there were those who had lost their mental capacity for fear, they wouldn't be alive to tell the tale. 

Many had ignored it. Those that were more believable, they heeded. After all, although some of the information was absurd, most were quite reliable and useful. 

While others ignored the warning and chose to believe in their own strength, knowledge, and experiences. 

Some died, realizing the truth too late. 

The rest proved that they were true and validated the legitimacy of information provided by the guide books. 

*Shatter* *Shatter*

Sounds of shattering glass echoed in succession throughout the walls of the darkly lit labyrinthian hallways.

Then, several bell rings resounded for Yuuji, pop up notifications showing him the amount of experience points, Cols, and item drop he received from defeating two Ruin Kobold Troopers. 

They were the umpteenth monster he had defeated. He had stopped counting when he reached 100. 

"Hm… They're barely giving me any experience points now…"

Despite having defeated numerous Ruin Kobold Troopers, his progress to the next level had barely moved. 

But, it was only natural. 

He had raised his level to level 12 with immense speed, almost bordering absurdity. He had completed all the quests he could get from the Towns of Beginnings, Horunka Village, Medai Village, and Tolbana, the second largest town in the first floor. And with almost no player having reached those areas, he was able to complete the most rewarding quest in those towns multiple times, increasing his leveling speed. 

In addition to all the monsters, field bosses, and high level monsters within the labyrinth he had grinded, he was able to reach level 12 when most other players could barely reach level 8. 

But as he leveled up, the experience points granted from defeating monsters within this floor had also decreased dramatically. 

He had been farming in this area of the labyrinth, where he observed the most number of Ruin Kobold Troopers would spawn in, for quite a while. 

At this point, the only upside of him continuing to grind here was to obtain Cols, item drops to sell, experiment with combat, and level up the proficiency of his newly equipped skill, Parry. 

"Ai, what time is it?"

["It's nine thirty in the evening, master!"]

"Ah, so it's gotten that late…"

Yuuji sheathed the Anneal Blade that he had upgraded to +6, and turned to exit the labyrinth. 

He turned through corners, walking confidently through split paths, following the map data he had mapped out himself previously. 

As he was about to arrive in the outer area of the labyrinth, he 

Heard the sounds of clashing steel and battle around the corner. 

His interest was piqued instantly. 

This was the first time heard any sign of life aside from himself in the labyrinth this late into the night. 

Curiosity directed him to walk towards the sound of battle around the corner. 

He stepped silently before leaning out slightly, peeking out with his back to the rough stone walls of the labyrinth. 

He saw a lithe figure in dark red cloak, wielding a rapier, standing off against a Kobold Trapper. 

"Haaah!"

A melodic feminine voice. Young. Perhaps around his age. 

She wielded the rapier fiercely, yet with an accuracy Yuuji never saw in any other player. 

She charged and unleashed a sword skill with great speed, and thrusted her rapier forward. 

Her rapier pierced through the Kobold Trapper's chest. And in the next moment, the kobold shattered into particles of digital light. 

The figure lowered her rapier, her body visibly heaving under the cloak. Even from this distance, Yuuji could hear the faint sound of heavy breaths. 

'She should be fine…'

He turned and began to walk away. 

When suddenly, a scream of pain echoed. 

Yuuji moved quickly, running towards the sound of the scream. 

Upon turning the corner, he saw the feminine figure cornered against the wall by three Kobold Rat Hunters. 

She raised her rapier defiantly, but even obscured by the hood of her cloak, it was obvious that she was exhausted with barely enough strength to raise her rapier. 

"Haaaah!"

With a defiant battlecry, she activated her sword skill once again and charged against the Kobold Rat Hunter right in front of her. 

*Roar!*

The kobold evaded, causing her sword skill, "Linear", to hit its shoulder. 

She succeeded in staggering it and preventing it from launching a counterattack. But the post-motion delay from her sword skill, though remarkably short, was compounded by her exhaustion, making it impossible to avoid the attack from the other two Kobold Rat Hunters.

*Roar!* *Roar!*

She clenched her teeth, steeling herself to endure the damage she would inevitably receive. 

But the pain never came. 

She looked to see the two Kobold Rat Hunters to her sides frozen for a moment, before bursting into particles of light. 

And just as she wondered what happened, the kobold right before her recovered from its staggered state. 

*Roar!*

"!!!"

Her body moved instinctively and thursted her rapier several times into it. 

She evaded a swing from the Kobold, and finally launched another "Linear" against it. 

This time, her rapier squarely pierced the center of its chest. And the kobold before her shattered into particles of light. 

"Hah… Hah… Hah…"

Cold sweat dripped down her forehead. Her chest heaved painfully. 

The looming sense of dread from being a sliver away from death lingered, clutching onto her lithe body. 

It was only after a few seconds later could she finally look up to see a hooded figure before her, a mask completely obscuring his face. 

From his physique alone, she could tell that he was a man with quite the athletic build. 

But strangely, instead of recoiling from being with a male stranger alone, a sense of safety from his presence filled her with relief instead. 

"Thank… Thank you."

Yuuji nodded, sheathing his sword back to his waist. 

"Are you alright?"

"Just… A little tired."

Just then, her rumbling sound echoed throughout the chambers of the labyrinth. 

Yuuji looked around, alert. He found no monsters nearby. 

'Ah…'

He slowly turned back towards the girl before him and saw her clutching her stomach, with her head lowered, as if trying to curl into herself. 

"..."

An awkward silence followed the rumbling of her stomach. 

"Uuuhh…"

She groaned in painful embarrassment, hugging her stomach ever so tightly as if to stifle it from making anymore sound. 

Seeing this, Yuuji couldn't help but pity her and began going through his inventory. 

"Here you go… It'll hold you over on your way back to town."

A loaf of bread smeared with butter on top of it appeared on Yuuji's hand, and he handed it over to her. 

She slowly looked up, and her eyes locked onto the delicious piece of bread and butter before her. 

"Take it. I have plenty more."

Sensing her hesitation, Yuuji urged her to take them. 

And only then did she slowly raise her hand to take them. Her smooth, white hand and slender fingers peeked out of her coat and held onto the bread. 

"Thank you."

Yuuji nodded, and turned around. 

"I'll be going now. Stay safe. It's already late. Be careful of monsters and other players."

He walked away, leaving the girl behind. 

And as he made his way out of the labyrinth and back to Tolbana, he made sure to kill all the monsters present. 

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

Watching the mysterious figure walk away, Asuna felt the strength she had barely mustered before now fully drained from her. 

She fell to the ground, her breaths still slightly ragged, but her eyes never left him. 

Even after he vanished into the corner, her gaze stayed there, watching his figure in her mind. 

"I didn't even get his name…"

She looked down to the buttered bread he had given her in her hand. 

He had saved her from a great peril, putting himself in unnecessary danger, and even shared his own resource with her.

When this game turned into a death game, when their lives were now directly tied to their ability to survive in this game world, any player would naturally put themselves first and foremost in order to survive this world. 

They would hoard their own hard-earned resources from the limited resources that existed in the game. And they would never put themselves in danger for others. 

She had heard countless rumors whispered amongst players in the Town of Beginnings. Stories of being scammed. Of being robbed. Of being left behind by their "friends" when an unexpected danger came, only to barely survive by sheer luck. 

Trust had become a luxury no one could easily afford. Not during these desperate times. 

She, herself, chose to not give anyone such a thing. That was why she kept to herself and donned a cloak that would hide her eye-catching appearance. 

The small bread with a bit of butter might be cheap. And judging by his skill, the Kobolds might not even be a threat to him. 

But the fact remained. He jumped in to save her, protected her, and shared with her. And even after putting her in his favor, he never took advantage of it. 

He never asked for her items or Cols in exchange. He never threatened her. He never made her do something for him in exchange. 

Instead, she noticed the distance he maintained. His conscious decision to not encroach into her personal space and alert her. 

He was considerate, kind, and never crossed the line. 

"Is that why I felt so safe with him…"

Moreover, while conversing with him, she felt a strange emotion surfacing in her heart. A memory just out of reach that her heart seemed to recognize. 

A sense of familiarity. A déjà vu.

'No, I must be imagining things.'

Asuna shook her head and raised herself up with a soft groan, before she began making her way back to Tolbana. 

As she walked, she ate the buttered bread slowly, her mind wandering off back to the mysterious figure and the sense of familiarity she felt. 

But no matter how hard she tried, nothing came into mind. And with most of his appearance obscured by a hood and mask, it was impossible for her to remember who he was if she ever met him in the first place. 

"At least, it's quiet on the way back…"

For now, she would simply enjoy the tastiest bread she had ever tasted in this world, and think of retiring for the night in peace. 

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AN: I hope you guys enjoy this chapter~! Please comment your thoughts~! I would love to hear what you think about it~!!!! 

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Thank you~!