This is no longer a labyrinth area isolated by thick stone walls. Rather, it was in a clearing in the middle of a forest, surrounded by ancient trees with golden moss and small flowers with thorns. In the middle of this circular space, which is almost seven or eight meters long, are you fainting here...... No, there's something softer underneath me.

But – what's going on here? Why should I have fallen at the bottom of the labyrinth area and moved to this remote area?

The answer to this question is simply to look up.

His body was leaning against the huge tree, his head hanging down, his eyes closed, as if asleep. I just wanted to blame him, but it's a safe place here, and it's not strange to be able to fall asleep. Undoubtedly the male player who accosted himself before he passed out in the labyrinth.

Am I lying in his arms?

Asuna realized this, and her face instantly turned red.

I don't hate that feeling, though...... And this feeling is like déjà vu......

Asuna's shoulders twitched slightly.

I don't know if I noticed her movements, the man in the dark gray leather coat shook his shoulders and slowly lifted his face. In this bright noon forest, the man's eyes were as dark as the starless night sky.

The moment Asuna's gaze met from her dark pupils, a subtle spark sparked in her mind.

From the clenched teeth, Asuna, Yuuki Asuna, squeezed out such a sentence in a low, hoarse voice.

"Don't meddle with things."

The black-haired one-handed swordsman holding Asuna looked down with his eyes like the night sky. Although it gave people the feeling of being slightly older than herself, this unexpected and innocent act made Asuna frown.

But after a few seconds, a smile appeared on the corner of the man's mouth that was enough to change the above impression.

"I don't want to help you, though, I want to help you too."

There was such a low, calm voice. Although the boy only said this, the content contained in it once again gave it a layer of mystery.

"Then why did you move me here?"

Darkness was silent, looking up at the sky—the second layer, or perhaps higher.

"I'll take you somewhere, and you'll probably know."

This time, there were countless feelings in the tone of the dark ye.

Asuna looked at his black hole-like pupils, as if she had been sucked in by a powerful suction, or perhaps she was deeply attracted to it.

Dark Ye stood up and picked up Asuna along the way.

"You're much lighter now than you were then."

The content of these words puzzled Asuna.

Then? Has he hugged me before? Not impressed.

"In the southwest area of the twenty-second floor, in a place full of forests and lakes...... There is a small village. It's a good place where no monsters will appear. There are just a few log houses for sale right now. ”

Before Asuna could understand the meaning of the mysterious man's words, she felt a mysterious substance envelop her, very warm...... It's like a mother's embrace.

……

"Asuna, how's it going here?"

"The scenery is so beautiful......

The scenery outside is indeed beautiful. Because it is quite close to the outer part, you can see the glittering lake, the deep green forest, and the open sky in the distance. Ordinary people live under a stone cover about 100 meters above their heads, so the sense of openness that comes from being so close to the sky is indescribable.

"Don't just look at the beautiful scenery, if you get too close to the periphery, you will fall."

Asuna was now standing at the window, leaning out of the window.

Dark Ye couldn't help but hold Asuna's body with one hand from behind, now she should only be fourteen years old, and her immature body still looks green.

"What are you doing, bastard!"

Asuna snorted, but didn't break Dark's salty hand. Because she had a vague feeling in her heart that this should have been the case.

Or maybe I fell in love with him, in just a few hours. It's been said that it only takes a few seconds to fall in love with someone. And his face is very handsome, and his face is like a knife. Coupled with the sense of mystery he gives himself everywhere, perhaps it is most appropriate to explain it by liking him.

This familiar touch touched Dark Ye's heartstrings and made him speechless for a while.

The heartwarming image lasted for a few minutes, and Asuna spoke.

"You... Who the hell is it? ”

From the very first time she saw the man, Asuna had never looked through him. Whether it's changing clothes out of thin air or teleporting to the 22nd floor, it's not something that ordinary people can do.

At this time, a possibility appeared in Asuna's mind: special NPC? No way, the green cursor on his head doesn't lie.

On the one hand, the cursor can distinguish between players and NPCs, and on the other hand, it can see if people have committed crimes. Once a player has committed a crime, the arrow color will change from green to orange for a long time. If someone is killed, the arrow color will turn red.

"Me...... My name is Dawn, the Dawn of Hope. ”

After saying that, Dark Ye nervously waited for Asuna's reaction to see if she would remember anything, but still disappointed him.

"Oh... Is it really good to be perfunctory like this? And ......"

"What?"

"How did you find out that I was a woman?"

"I know from the moment I see you, and the feeling of being familiar is not deceiving."

"Does it feel familiar......

Asuna muttered in a low voice, but it was too small for Dark Ye to hear.

"How long are you going to hold it?"

"Just wait a while, just a little bit, thank you."

The sunset turned into spots through the gaps in the leaves and sprinkled on the two people who hugged each other, the girl's face was blushing, and the happiness on the boy's face was a warm couple no matter how you looked at it.

Suddenly, Dark Ye felt a strong sense of crisis.

A pure white door of light opened in front of her, as if connecting to another world, and a young girl walked out, the murderous aura on her face was not concealed at all. He is in a white military uniform, with blue eyes on the left and red on the right, and a short gun and a saber in both hands.

"Ahh

The girl raised her left hand and pointed the short spear at Dark Ye.

" - Lion's Bullet."

An emotionless voice came into the ears of the two of them.

Then, energy surged from the muzzle of the short gun, and a bullet in the shape of a lion's head flew towards Dark Ye. Behind the lion's head was a white trail, and the furious energy made a cracking sound in the air.

[Lion Bullet] can be controlled by the consciousness to pursue the enemy, leaving a white trail when pursuing, and the bullet itself and the white trajectory will gnaw through the space.