The first floor of Al Grande, the street of initiation.

With a ripple of water, a figure appeared in front of the portal in the center of the square.

The person who appeared was a man, wearing a black cloak, completely covering his long body, taking off his hood, his handsome appearance had a faint lazy atmosphere, and a knife and a sword were crossed on his back, adding a bit of coldness.

It's undoubtedly cool, but to others, it's more of a weird look.

After all, the cloak was meant to hide his face, but he put the hood down.

And the two weapons on the back, no matter how you look at it, they are a burden to increase the load, and they have no other use except for handsome.

However, there are a lot of strange people in the game, so everyone just glances at them curiously, and then looks away.

At this time, the man in the cloak raised his head, looked at the iconic church building in the square, and muttered a sigh of relief:

"Finally...... It's back! ”

For a month, Xia Qianshi has been isolated from the world for a full month.

Although he used to be a family squat, he was able to interact with others through games and barrage.

But due to the fact that the communication function was completely blocked, he did live a completely isolated life in the previous month.

All he wanted to do now was go back to his house in Torbana, let Asuna cook him a meal, and get a good night's sleep—

However, before he could put this idea into practice, a system prompt of 'ding ding ding' rang out in an endless stream.

These are all the sounds of your friends' messages.

Although the game's communication function was blocked for a month, all the messages sent to him by his friends during this time were saved.

Now that he's back, all the messages are coming out of his head.

Looking at the thousands of messages in the communication bar, Xia Qian's head was about to explode.

If you look at this one by one, what do you have to see in the year of the monkey?

"A thousand things?"

A familiar voice suddenly rang in my ears.

Xia Qianshi slowly turned his head, and in the morning sun, a girl wearing a pure white knight's uniform stood in front of him.

The morning light seemed to drape her with a glow, and from a distance, her eyebrows were picturesque, and her whole body seemed to glow, beautiful and elegant, looking like an elf in a movie, and for a while it seemed that everyone's eyes couldn't help but be attracted to it.

Such a scene had appeared in Xia Qianshi's mind several times in the previous month.

Only this time, though, was he sure he wasn't dreaming.

A smile slowly floated on his face, dispelling all the fatigue of the month, and he waved his hand lightly at the girl, and said:

"Yo, Asuna."

"Woooooooooo......oo A Thousand Things ——! ”

As if some kind of emotion suddenly exploded, the beautiful thin sword called 'flash' made the girl crash into Xia Qianshi's arms at once, and a whimper-like cry came out of her mouth:

"It's really you...... It's really you! When I saw your icon on the map just now, I thought I was hallucinating...... Thank you, God, for bringing him to me again......"

“…… Even if you don't see each other for a month, there's no need to be so excited, right? ”

In fact, Xia Qianshi's heart is far from being as calm as he said.

Especially when the four eyes met just now, he could feel his heart beating violently.

He hadn't had time to think about these things before, but at this time, he realized how much he wanted to see Asuna.

"Where have you been all this time?"

As if she hadn't heard Xia Qianshi's voice, Asuna continued to say in a sobbing voice:

"If it weren't for the metal tablet, your name hasn't been crossed out yet, we'...... We're all going to think you're dead. ”

"Uh...... It's a long story, why don't we go home first and I'll tell you about it while we eat? I can't wait to eat your food right now. ”

"No, now is not the time to talk about that."

Asuna ignored Xia Qianshi's words again, she raised her head from Xia Qianshi's arms, her hazel-colored eyes were full of sadness, she looked at Xia Qianshi and said:

"Tilberu's funeral is about to begin...... Since you're back, come with me. ”

"Burial...... Courtesy ......"

Xia Qianshi's pupils slowly dilated, the smile completely disappeared from his face, he muttered these two words, looked at Asuna in a daze and asked:

"You just said ...... Whose funeral? ”

"Tilberu."

Asuna wept and said, "On the day you left, Tilberu took the elite 48 people of the guild to test the boss on the 50th floor, and the result was ...... As a result, except for 10 people who escaped, everyone else died! ”

“……”

At this moment, it seemed that the air around him had been drained, and what Xia Qianshi wanted to say was only "Ah...... Yes...... Ahh

He went crazy and opened the communication bar, and sure enough, he found a message from Tilberu:

Time:

December 15, 2023.

Sender:

Tilberu.

Content:

"Lord Xia Qianshi, I'm sorry ......"

It was the only word that the man known as 'Knight' left for him before his whole body was reduced to crumbs and dissipated.

I'm sorry, but I'm no longer able to deliver on my promise.

I'm sorry I didn't finish the task you gave me.

I'm sorry I can't be by your side anymore.

I'm sorry, my death will probably make you sad......

A short sentence, but a thousand words are contained in it

……

Xia Qianshi raised his head and looked at the sun in the sky with all his might, and suddenly, he suddenly turned around and walked towards the portal behind him.

"Wait, where are you going?"

As if sensing something, Asuna followed closely behind and said loudly, "Anyway, will you come with me to Tilberu's funeral first?" We'll discuss the rest of the matter later. ”

"Don't worry, it won't take too much time."

After being modified by the super high agility attribute, Xia Qianshi's movement speed is not at all something that Asuna can catch up with.

He walked ahead, his voice unprecedentedly indifferent: "At least, before attending his funeral, let me obtain a sacrifice sufficient for him." ”