From the first floor to the second floor, there is a stone staircase that winds upwards and is so narrow that it allows at most two people to walk side by side.

Natsu Qianshi walked in the front, Kirito and Asuna were a little behind him, and then Tilberu and Achill were behind.

"Kirito...... You're the Kirito in the closed beta, right? Tilberu suddenly whispered to Kirito.

"Huh...... Are you also a Closed Beta player? Kirito was surprised, "We've seen it before?" ”

"I haven't seen it before, but I'm still very familiar with the player Kirito who had the notoriety of 'Tail Knife Mania' during the closed beta period."

Tilberu said coldly: "Selfish, often when the player beats the boss to the point of blood, he takes the final blow with dirty means. ”

"But you also said it, it was during the closed beta...... "Kirito sneered, this is indeed a piece of his black history.

"So I won't mention the previous things again, but I will spy on you in the future, if you want to do something that harms Lord Xia Qianshi, I will definitely be the first to stand up and stop you."

"Haha...... Of course I won't ......"

Kirito smiled awkwardly.

In fact, he wanted to say, weren't you just going to grab the final blow? But looking at Tilberu's serious and serious appearance at this time, you can know that the other party has substituted himself into another role.

On the other side, Asuna was also asking Xia Qianshi in a low voice, "When did you learn this way of fighting?" I've watched you fight every day, and I've never seen you use it, not to mention that you learned it before you met me, and that kind of proficiency can't be cultivated overnight. ”

"No, there was a time when you didn't look at me." Xia Qianshi said.

"You mean...... When I'm asleep? Asuna's eyes widened, "You did this while I was asleep!" ”

Xia Qianshi was speechless, he wanted to say that your line was very bad, but just as he was about to say this, he turned a step and a stone door appeared in front of everyone's eyes.

Everyone stopped in unison and set their eyes on Xia Qianshi's body.

Xia Qianshi knew what they meant, and he didn't shirk, took a few steps forward, and pushed the stone door open with a slight force with one hand.

When you push it open, you will suddenly see an infinite view.

The exit is set in the middle of a steeply angled cliff, and the stairs below the narrow platform float on the rock surface to the left, and the variety of composite terrain differs from the first, which is connected from one end to the other by round-shaped rocky mountains.

The mountains are covered in tender green grass, and large bison-type monsters stride forward.

The second floor of the main block, Ulbas, is located on a platform excavated at the foot of a round-shaped mountain.

"This is the second layer of Equin Grant." Standing on the edge of the cliff, feeling the earthy breeze blowing on his face, Xia Qianshi muttered softly.

Asuna smiled, "So as the first player to step onto the second layer, is there anything you would like to say?" ”

Xia Qianshi blurted out without thinking about it: "This is a small step for me, but it is a big step for all players!" ”

If Xia Qianshi said this kind of thing in normal times, it would probably only make people feel vulgar, but at this time, all players showed a look of empathy.

It's just the first layer of the Raiders, which is nothing to the 100-story Ayn Grant, but its symbolism is extraordinary.

This means that SAO does have the potential to be attacked, and the positive implications for those who are living in despair are unimaginable.

"Let's go."

Xia Qianshi said to the players who were still immersed in the beautiful scenery: "Presumably, the players on the first floor have also received the news that the first layer has been attacked, right?" Don't keep them waiting long in Initial Street, let's go open the portal. ”

On each floor of the main street in Al Grande, there will be a portal that connects all floors of Al Grande.

As long as the portal is activated, the player no longer has to go through the maze and can go directly to any floor through the portal.

About half an hour later, Xia Qianshi and his party came to the portal located in the central square of [Ulbas], and Xia Qianshi personally activated the portal.

In just an instant, from within the portal with a shimmering halo of water, a tide of players emerged one after another—

"It's finally on the second floor!"

"It turns out that the main block on the second floor looks like this."

"If we can go to the second layer, then we will definitely come to the third and fourth layers in the future!"

“……”

Such discussions filled the entire central square, excited players ran around the streets, and Xia Qianshi and others, who originally thought they would enjoy the treatment of heroes, were quickly squeezed out of the square-

There are so many people!

Originally, there were more than 4,000 players in the Initial Street, and with the news coming here, [Ulbas] gathered more than 5,000 players in a short period of time!

Of course, not all of them will be here permanently, and when the excitement wears off, most of them will still return to the Initial Street, waiting for someone else to beat the game as usual......

However, their mood will be a little different this time, right?

That night, [Ulbas] held a unique carnival party, and the number of players participating reached a staggering 7,000!

The whole party was centered around the central square and radiated to the edge of the street, and the players who were distributed to all corners of the party sang loudly, some opened their minds to dance, and some bought a large bundle of beer and gave it to the players they met for free......

The whole of [Urbas] is plunged into a sea of revelry, and everyone is both celebrating and venting.

At this moment, men and women let go of their vigilance, enemies let go of hatred, and everyone was immersed in the carnival together.

Xia Qianshi and other 45 people became heroes in the hearts of all players, someone lit a huge bonfire in the central square, and under the instigation of the onlookers, these 45 people came to the bonfire hand in hand and danced the folk wind dance together.

Xia Qianshi held Kiritto with his left hand and Asuna with his right hand, the girl's already beautiful face seemed to be dyed with a layer of sacredness in the sparks, and it became more and more beautiful, so that he couldn't help shouting: "Asuna——"

"What?" The girl tilted her head and gently stroked the hair that hung down from her ears.

“…… No, nothing. Xia Qianshi looked up at the sky and muttered, "I just think...... The moonlight here is no worse than in reality. ”

At this point, all the players in SAO have reached a tacit agreement - every time they clear the first floor, they will hold a party on the main street on the next floor to celebrate their existence in this world.

This is also the only holiday in SAO that is set by the players themselves......