The faint sunlight of early winter shone through the dark-colored street trees, dragging shallow shadows on the stone floor. The sparse number of people walking in the alleys of the starting town combined with the feeling of infinite expanse of the town makes the impression of desertion linger.

Is...... Accurate......

Indeed, the town now feels as if it were dead.

The four of them, fully armed, Yukito with Yui in his arms—the goods got what they wanted—strode briskly down the street under Yuriel's guidance.

Of course, Asuna originally wanted to entrust Yui to Sasha's care, but no matter how much she appeased, Yui stubbornly said that she would go with her, and finally had to bring her here. Needless to say, naturally she had a transfer crystal in her pocket. If there was a case—though sorry for Yuriel—they would have used the means of escape.

"Ah, I haven't asked the point yet."

Kirito said to Yuriyer, who was walking in front.

"What level of the maze are we going to?"

Yuriel's answer was simple.

"Right here."

“……?”

Asuna tilted her head in wonder.

"...... here?"

"In the ...... of the Beginning Town In the middle of the ground, there is a large labyrinth. Xinka ...... Should be in the deepest part of ......"

"Really?"

Kirito ** said:

"I didn't have this kind of thing during the closed beta, I was too careless......"

"The entrance to that labyrinth is in the Black Iron Palace, which is the underground of the army's base camp. This labyrinth is probably the type that opens up with the progress of the upper level of the raider. It was discovered after the Tooth King took real power. He planned to be monopolized by his own faction. All the while, Xinka, and of course me, were kept in the dark......"

"I see, there are a lot of rare items in the Unbroken Labyrinth that only appear once. He must have made a lot of money. ”

"Not necessarily."

At this time, Yuriel's tone carried a little joy.

"At the grassroots level, the difficulty of that maze is very high...... The monsters with the basic configuration alone have a level of about the sixtieth layer. The advance team led by the Tooth King himself was swept home, and in order to save his life, he had to use the transfer to escape, and I heard that there was a serious deficit caused by the excessive use of crystals. ”

"Hahaha, I see."

Yuriel responded to Kirito's laughter with a smile, but her expression immediately sank again.

However, it is also difficult to rescue Sinka now. The cloister crystal used by the Tooth King seems to have been recorded when he ran into a very deep place to escape from the monsters...... Xinka was further down the record site. It's a monster I can take down single-handedly in terms of level, but I can't fight continuously - excuse me, but ask the three ......."

"Ahhh......h

"Just paddling ......"

"Hey, get me serious! Let's talk about the 60th floor...... Liz seems to have no problem coming......"

Ye Chi seemed to feel that his group had inflicted tons of damage on Yuliyeer......

Asuna's level is now over 90, Ye Chi is hovering around level 100, and Kirito's words are also as high as level 93.

According to this ratio, this level can theoretically be about 80 floors, but this is a game that will really die, so players are still blocked by 75 floors.

Monster ...... on the 60th floor That's it......

However, Yuriel continued with a restless expression:

“…… And, there's one more thing that must be noted. This is heard from the mouths of the players who participated in the advance party, in the depths of the labyrinth...... Saw a huge monster at the boss level. ”

“…………”

Ye Chi gasped...... However, it is useless, because even the layer boss level can already be defeated alone at this level, not to mention that there is a small team now.

But there is still a need to be careful.

"Is the boss also a guy around the sixtieth floor...... What does the leader look like there?"

"Uh-ha, remember...... Something like a stone armorer. ”

"Ahh......h Remember not too much trouble......"

"It seems so...... But it's exactly the type that Asuna and I aren't good at......"

"If only there was a guy with a blunt object......"

"But it didn't help Liz to come...... You just want to be with Liz, right? ”

"How is that possible! I'm just feeling emotional! ”

"Anyway, it shouldn't be a problem." Ye Chi turned to Yu Liyeer.

"Really? That's great!"

The corners of her mouth finally relaxed, as if she was looking at something dazzling, her eyes narrowed and she continued:

"It seems that all three of them are constantly fighting the boss...... I'm really sorry to delay your precious time......"

"Peace of mind, we're on vacation...... It's a rehearsal for work......" Kirito said with a big grin.

In the middle of the conversation, a huge building glowing black appeared across the street ahead. It was the largest facility in the town of the beginning, the Black Iron Palace. When you enter the gate, you will see the "Monument of Life", a roster of all players, set up in the plaza in front of you. While anyone was free to enter and exit, the area that stretched deeper was almost entirely occupied by the military.

Instead of going to the main entrance of the palace, Yuriel walked around the back. The towering walls and the deep ditches that surround them stretch as if to repel intruders, and are completely unpassable.

After a few minutes of walking, where Liel stood was a staircase descending from the road towards the water of the ditch. On closer inspection, the stone wall on the right side of the staircase opens an entrance to the dark path.

"From here into the sewers of the palace, you will be able to enter the entrance to the labyrinth. It's a bit dark and cramped inside......"

Yuriel stopped at this point, and glanced at Yui in Kirito's arms with worried eyes. Yui looked a little dissatisfied, frowning, advocating:

"Yui is not afraid!"

Asuna couldn't help but smile at this look.

Regarding Yui, she only explained to Yuriel that "we live together", and she didn't ask again. But sure enough, I still feel uneasy about taking Yui into the maze with me.

Asuna said in order to reassure her:

"No problem, this kid looks stronger on the outside."

"Well, he will definitely be a great swordsman in the future."

In response to Kirito's speech, Liel and Asuna looked at each other and smiled and nodded widely.

"Let's go, then!"

The dark golden blade suddenly poked out of the void, swept through the monster's eye with a sharp folded line, and then spun around in a half-circle with an invisible point as the center, stabbing into one of the monster's eyes.

Undoubted weakness, the monster collapsed little by little with the center of the blade, and finally exploded into pieces.

At this moment, a black figure emerged from the void, but there was still some illusion as if it had melted into the shadows, and the ornate silver trim of the person did not seem to make it conspicuous, but helped him become one with the shadows in the shadows.

It was Ye Chi, the assassin of the night, the undisputed king of shadows.

Swinging the knife and shaking the blood, it returned to the sheath, and quietly returned to Asuna's side.

"Ahh......hh I feel that my muscles and bones are loose, ......" Ye Chi crackled and snapped his knuckles, "It's better to slash people with a knife......"

"You guy...... Didn't you fight with me the other day? Kirito on the side didn't seem to be very happy, "You snatched it all away!" ”

"You can't cut people freely...... What if I hack you to death? ”

"You soulless!"

It has been dozens of minutes since entering the labyrinth made of black stones from the dark and damp sewers. Although it is deeper and wider than expected, and the number of monsters is also large, but in front of the two people who are close to the harvester, these monsters are just moving experience packs, and the monsters are chopped to pieces like cutting wheat, so that the two ladies have no chance to make a move at all.

"This, this...... I'm really sorry I didn't make ......a move at all."

Asuna smiled wryly at Yuriel, who was hunching her neck because she was sorry, and replied:

"No, that's a pathology...... Let him be. ”

"What, that's so ugly...... You know, if you let your fighting instincts fade...... But it's going to die! When Ye Chi heard this, he spread his hands indifferently and retorted.

"Then why don't you let me fight?" "Want to try the sensation of your flickering light piercing through the mucus-filled toad's body?"

"Don't!"

"Sinka's location hasn't moved for a few days, so it's supposed to be in a safe area. As long as you can get there, you can only get out with crystals...... I'm sorry, but I'm going to ask you for a little more help. ”

You Liye lowered her head, and Ye Chi waved her hand, "It doesn't matter, I didn't help in vain, I got good things." ”

"Huh-"

Asuna immediately asked:

"Did you get anything good?"

"Oh-"

Ye Chi lowered his head to operate the window, and said, "It seems to be a very high-grade ingredient...... In my hometown, it's called a field chicken...... It tastes about the same as chicken......"

The strange texture of the red-black flesh is like a frog's leg has been peeled - and it is.

"This ...... What is this?"

"Frog meat! It is said to be as delicious as a special ingredient. I'll trouble you with the cooking later!"

"Absolutely, yes, no, yes!"

Asuna shouted, and opened the window as well. Move to the inventory with Ye Chi, mercilessly click on the line "Carrion Eats Toad's Flesh ×24", and then throw it into the trash.

"I said you can buy a lot of money even if you sell it, right? After all, the level is quite high......" Ye Chi helplessly spread his hands.

Watching the daily interaction between the two, Yulier couldn't suppress it, holding her stomach and laughing. Right at this moment.

"This is the first time my sister has laughed!"

Yui screamed happily, and a smile was on her face.

Seeing this scene, Asuna remembered something. Let's put it this way, the timing of Yui's symptoms yesterday was also after defeating the army and making the children laugh together. It seems that the girl seems to be particularly sensitive to the smiles around her. Is this the girl's innate personality, or is it because she has been having a hard time so far - thinking of this, Asuna can't help but pick up Yui and hug her tightly, while vowing inwardly that she will always be by the child's side with a smile.

"Come, move on!"

Asuna said. The group stepped out and went deeper.

When you first enter the labyrinth, the monster group, which is mainly water creatures, changes into zombies, ghosts, and other horror systems as the floor descends. Although Asuna was frightened by this, Ye Chi did not hinder the slightest, using the long knife to wipe out all the monsters.

Often, it's rude for high-level players to make a fuss in a practice area that is lower than their own. But this time there was no one else, so there was no need to care. If time is sufficient, it is even possible to level up by Liel from the sidelines, but the highest priority for now is to rescue Sinka.

In the blink of an eye, two hours had passed. The group also closed the distance between the current location marked on the map and the safe area where Sinka was located at a steady pace. After countless black skeleton swordsmen were shattered and blown away by Kirito's sword, he finally saw a passage that emitted a warm light.

"Ah, it's safe!"

While Asuna spoke, Kirito, who had confirmed with her enemy-searching skills, also nodded.

"There's a green player in there."

"Xinka!"

As if she couldn't bear it anymore, Yuriel screamed, and ran out with steps that made the metal armor rattle. Kirito, who was holding a sword in both hands, Ye Chi and Asuna, who was holding Yui, also hurriedly followed.

After running towards the light source for a few seconds on the passage that curved to the right, I finally saw a small room in front of the Grand Crossroads.

The room was filled with a blinding light that blinded eyes accustomed to darkness, and a man stood at the entrance. Although he couldn't see his face clearly because of the backlight, he was waving his arms violently towards it.

"Yuriel ——!"

The moment the person was confirmed, the man shouted his name. Yuriel also waved her left hand and increased the speed of her run.

"——! Sinka "

As if to drown out the crying voice, the man shouted—

"No, you can't come over ——! ...... passage!"

Asuna was startled and immediately slowed down. But Yuriel didn't seem to listen anymore, and just ran straight to the room.

"Don't go over!"

Ye Chi's constant opening of the Seeing Through and Seeking Enemy was instantly covered with alert red, and the red alert arrow on the left side of the field of vision became thicker and thicker - high-risk enemy!

Then.

A few meters in front of the room, a yellow arrow suddenly appeared in the right corner of another road that crossed at right angles to the passage where the four men were running. Asuna quickly confirmed the name, displaying it as "ThcFatal-scythe" -

The definite article added before the proper noun meaning the scythe of fate is the proof of the boss monster.

"No——! Miss Yuriel, come back quickly!"

Asuna shouted. The yellow arrow also quickly moved to the left, gradually approaching the intersection of the crossroads. If you continue like this, it will only take a few seconds to hit Yuriel at the intersection.

"Hmm!"

Ye Chi instantly seemed to melt into the void, and the next moment it seemed to flash, appearing behind Yuriyer, kicking her out without hesitation, and at the same time retreating with this power.

A deep crack appeared on the ground, and if it weren't for Ye Chi, Yuriyer's current upper body would have fallen.

A huge black shadow rumbled the ground and sliced across the two men parked in front of the intersection with the emergency brakes that would scorch the air.

The yellow arrow rushed into the passage on the left and moved about ten meters before stopping. The invisible monster slowly changed direction, and it felt like it was about to rush again.

Ye Chi took out his long knife and put it on his arm armor, making a rare defensive posture.

Asuna also hurriedly chased after her.

After picking up Yuriel, who had fallen to the ground in a daze, and pushing her to the other side of the intersection, and then putting down Yui in her arms and leaving her to take care of her, Asuna shouted briefly:

"Please take this child and get back to safety!"

After confirming that the whip made her face pale and picked up Yui and walked to the room, Asuna drew her sword and headed to the left.

Floating further down the tunnel was a dark figure about two and a half meters tall and covered in tattered black robes.

Deep in the hat and on the arms sticking out of the cuffs, all wrapped around the dense darkness that stirred up. The eyes embedded in the dark face were covered with lifelike veins, and they were turning to look down on the two of them. In his right hand he held a long, large scythe, and drops of red viscous water continued to drip from the menacingly curved blade. Overall, it's what death looks like.

The Grim Reaper rolled his eyes and stared straight at Asuna. At this moment, Asuna's heart seemed to be gripped by a sense of pure fear, and the chill ran through her body.

However, in terms of rank, you shouldn't be afraid...... Probably?

Just as she was thinking like this and raised her thin sword, Ye Chi, who was standing in front of her, whispered-"Asuna, you immediately go to the safe area and take the other three people out with crystals. ”

"Huh......?"

"What the hell is this?" Kirito, who arrived, suddenly set up his twin swords and put on a stubborn posture.

"This guy is pretty tricky. I can't even use my recognition skills to get the data, and the strength should be at the level of the ninetieth layer......"

Asuna was momentarily stunned-

For today's players...... Really...... Death is coming!

——————————————————————

I got a new bicycle, Kaisen......

However, the money for food was gone for two months......