The nose split at the front end curled the two of them up in one fell swoop. Then he quickly lifted the two of them off the ground like a carrot.

Babble~~

Kirito, who made such an embarrassed scream, and Rifa, who couldn't even make a sound, were easily lifted to a height of tens of meters by the Elephant Evil God and slowly put it in their mouths - fortunately this did not happen, and the Elephant Evil God just threw the two of them on his back.

They fell on the body of the elephant god, and at one point bounced up before sitting down again.

The jellyfish, which looked rather smooth from a distance, was actually covered with short gray hair, and when Kirito and Lifa sat down in the center of its body, the jellyfish squealed in satisfaction, and began to move as if nothing had happened.

“………”

After Rifa and Kirito glanced at each other, they stopped trying to figure out the current situation, and just looked blankly at the scenery around them.

Although Juzheim is known as the land of eternal night, it is not completely dark.

The icicles that cover the overhead all glow with a slight phosphorescence, staining the entire snowfield with a thin layer of blue.

Even though this is an ultra-dangerous area, the view is still very stunning.

From a height of tens of meters above the ground, Lifa and the others saw the pitch-black forest, the steep cliffs, the towers built on them, and the distant ancient city.

The twenty feet of the jellyfish continued to tread on heavy feet, and Kirito staggered on its back for a minute or so, finally muttered, "That is to say...... This must be the beginning of some kind of mission......"

"Hmmm......"

Lifa tilted her head and replied in a low voice, "If it's a mission, there should be a Start logo at the beginning......"

With her left hand, she drew a picture in the upper left corner of her sight.

"If it doesn't, it's not a delegated task with a clear beginning and end, it's an occasional event...... But if that's the case, it's a bit of a hassle......"

"Why?"

"If it's a mission, you're bound to get some sort of reward at the end. But events are a bit like a player-type drama, and they don't always end well!"

“…… In other words, it is possible that it will end up very tragically?"

"Of course it's possible. I've been in a horror movie-like incident before because I chose the wrong action option, and I ended up being boiled to death by a witch in a pot. ”

"W- This game is too scary......

Kirito's face showed a stiff smile, and he began to touch the abundant hair of the evil god under his waist.

“……… Well, anyway, I have mistakenly boarded the thief ship, wrong, I should say that I mistakenly got on the jellyfish. And jumping from this height will also hurt a lot, and we will only have to make it to the end...... But—that ...... It's a bit late though......"

"What's wrong?"

The stern-looking guard elf first stared at Lifa, then suddenly lowered his head and said:

"Lifa...... I'm sorry just now. Say something that ignores your feelings. Well...... Maybe there's something in my heart that underestimates this game too much. I think it's just a game. But...... Whether it's real or virtual, the things and thoughts I feel are actually the most real, and I should be the one who knows this best......"

Kirito lowered his head, a sad expression flashing across his face.

Although she knew Kirito was referring to SAO, Lifa always felt like she had seen that kind of expression somewhere......

It seems to be her older sister - Kiritani and Night.

"No...... Actually, there is something wrong with me. That one...... How could you, who have worked so desperately to save me and the Wind Elves, think that ALO is nothing more than a game, I know that very well......"

Including ALfheim Online, this new genre of games called VRMMO, RPGs, has always tested the player in some way.

Lifa has been feeling this very deeply lately.

To put it mildly, the game is all about the dignity of the player.

Since it's a game, you can't win forever.

Whether it's falling into a trap set by an enemy player and getting caught up in a dilemma, or being defeated head-on by an enemy, these can happen at any time.

When that happens, how far the player can struggle and whether they can maintain their dignity when they lose.

These are the places where the game tests the player. In the case of games that are normally screened on a flat screen, as long as the player does not type the icon, the expression on the character's face will not change, and of course, you can also use emojis in instant communication to soothe the regret caused by failure.

However, in a fully stealthy environment, the character will faithfully represent the player's feelings at the time. Sometimes players even shed tears of remorse.

Some people just don't want to be seen with this expression, so they immediately give up the game with a smile when the situation is not in their favor, and many people even log out the moment they lose.

Of course, Lifa didn't want her crying face to be seen by others.

But the guard elf in front of him, who looked exactly like his sister, didn't seem to be able to do these superficial efforts at all.

When he was attacked by the fire elves in the Luguru Corridor and fell into a desperate situation, he was beaten by General Eugene's magic sword and was helpless, Kirito did not hide his anger and remorse, but struggled desperately and succeeded in reversing the disadvantage in the end.

It is impossible for someone who thinks that the world is 'just a game' to do such a thing.

That's what it is...... The 'heart' of SAO survivors?

It's because you're going to die, so you don't think of this world as a game, right?

"That'...... We'll be okay with that. It doesn't matter what time I get there, because I'm already free to choose whether to go to school or not. ”

With that, she held out her right hand, and Kirito smiled and said, 'That's it,' and shook hands with her.

The elephant jellyfish carrying two people didn't care about the conversation of the passengers on their backs at all, but kept stepping forward with heavy steps.

After casually glancing in the direction she was going, Lifa began to frown tightly.

"What's wrong?"

Hearing Kirito's voice, Lifa replied with her right hand outstretched......, "Didn't we just say that we should go to the west or the southern corner?" You see. ”

A large silhouette gradually emerged from the darkness in front of the finger.

At the tip of the gentle arc of the Juzheim, a number of inverted cone-shaped structures hang down. In addition, there are many reticulated objects made up of complex branches that surround very large icicles.

Judging by the degree of blurring of the near and far effects, the icicles should be about ten kilometers away from Lifa, right?

But because it's so huge, the sense of distance is confusing.

There are also a few points of light buried in the icicles, and the slow and periodic appearance of light and extinction looks very solemn.

“…… Those nets that surround icicles don't know what they are......"

"I've only seen it on screen photos...... That's the root of the World Tree. ”

"Huh......"

Kirito quickly narrowed her eyes, and Lifa glanced at the side of her face before proceeding:

"The roots that run through Alpheim hang down directly to the top of Ünzheim. That is, the god did not go to the periphery of Üzheim, but to the center of it. ”

"That's right...... The World Tree is our final destination...... Isn't there a way to climb those roots from here to the outside?"

"I've never heard of that kind of pathway. Then again, you see, the longest root is only halfway between the ceiling and the ground. But even that position was already more than two hundred meters, and it was absolutely impossible to reach this flightless training ground. ”

"That's ......"

Kirito sighed softly, then regained his energy and said with a smile, "Well, now I have to leave everything to this guy who doesn't know if it's a weevil or a giant isopod." I don't know if I'll be sent to Ryugu Castle for a grand welcome or if it's going to be tomorrow's breakfast. ”

"Wait, wait. What is a giant isopod? If you want to say it, it's an elephant or a jellyfish, right?"

After Lifa pursed her mouth and retorted, Kirito raised her eyebrows in surprise and said, "Huh-don't you know......?

As she spoke, she used her hands to make a fairly wide range, and Lifa's upper body shook a little before hurriedly covering Kirito's mouth.

"I see, let's give it a name!

Looking at the hairy body underneath the body and the round head looming at the front end, Kirito desperately thought of a name suitable for the elephant.

…… Mammoth ...... Not good...... Like a human ...... Nor is it ......

"Then it's called Dang Ji!"

Hearing Kirito say this suddenly, Lifa blinked in fright.

It's a cute name, but where did she come up with it?

Wait for the elephant to be tuckled, how do you seem to have heard this name.

After spending about two seconds exploring the depths of my memory, the answer finally emerged.

It was the name of an elephant that appeared in a picture book at home when I was a child.

The story is that at the end of the war, the government issued an order to the zoo to kill the beasts, and the breeders had to cry and take poisonous bait to kill the smart elephant, but it did not eat the poisonous bait and kept repeating the action of banzai until starvation to death.

When Lifa's mother read the book to her, she immediately burst into tears.

"That's a bit of a bad name......

After she whispered, Kirito nodded apologetically.

"Yes, it seems to be. I'm starting to have an impression in my mind, too. ”

"Hey—have you read that picture book too? That...... Never mind. That's the name!"

Lifa clapped her hands and touched the short hairs under her feet.

"Hey, evil god, you're going to be called a ...... from today on."

Author: Dao ...... I can't help but think of the little twitter in the heart of the humanoid computer angel, ahhh~ I miss it so much (exposed age)