After breakfast, we decided to go to the 54th floor for the time being to continue the arrest. We were looking forward to seeing what kind of levels awaited us this time, and we were a little surprised. The 54th floor has almost no land and is a floor like a temple in the sky, with corridors floating in the air. In front there are corridors and passages, where a high fence is installed.

"Uh-uh, I didn't expect to encounter such a layer as the Sky Temple so soon."

Shiina, looking down from a nearby fence. However, his face gradually turned purple.

"It's that if someone with a fear of heights comes, they will faint. I mean, even if you're not afraid of heights, you might be scared and you can't see the bottom at all. ”

"Yes, this floor is completely built in the sky, so you have to be careful, if you make a mistake, don't be pushed out of the fence, if you fall down, you may die directly."

Presumably, the outside of this fence is the same as the perimeter of Irongrant. It is no exaggeration to say that this is an instant death trap that kills you on the spot if you fall. I had to be careful and keep going so I didn't fall. Well, if it falls that much, it becomes an unreasonable game, so this will not be the case.

Lilan gave me a "voice" as I thought about these things.

"It should be fine. Even if you fall, I'll jump out and save you. You'll need to watch out for enemies that try to blow you away, but you don't have to worry. “

No matter what you think, we'll get there before Lilan jumps out to the Death Judgment Zone. I appreciate Raylan's words, as long as I can rely on his ability to act, it may not be reliable.

"Okay, so be it. But you won't be blown away and thrown out so easily. If you get blown away easily and fall, you can't get by, it's just a game of death. ”

Shino showed a satisfied expression.

"Of course, the development team wouldn't be so brutal and make a device that kills players so easily. And, the Kayama that appears in your story won't be so crazy. ”

"No, to put it bluntly, Akihiko Ashiba is a madman."

If you want to create a wonderful Nerve Gear and Full Dive game, then its true form is games and devices that trap players inside, and if they die there, they will die in real life as well.

Akihiko Kayaba is a madman who wants to create such a device. But even then, the Kayak doesn't make a device that allows the player to die easily.

Once upon a time, there was a role-playing game where the player would die over and over again, but this is possible because this is not a death game. This game is certainly a death game, but Kayaba himself has made it clear that it is not a death sentence, so it is impossible to die so easily.

Thinking of this, I was taken aback when I reached for the top of the fence. I stopped in the air, feeling my hand touch something. It's like having a transparent wall.

"What is this?"

When I reached out again, it felt like I was hitting a wall and my hand stopped. As a test, I clenched my fist and slapped it, but it didn't make a sound, but it felt like I was knocking on something. Ah, is this it?

"Ah, that's fine"

"What?"

"On top of the fence or rather, there is a wall that doesn't look like a fence.

Shino tilted her head and put her hand on the fence. Sure enough, my hand didn't go out of the fence like I did, and it stopped.

"That's true, I can't see it, but there must be a wall, so that you don't fall to your death."

Sure enough, it was expected by Akihiko Kayaba. This game, while unreasonable, is designed for the game of death.

"Yes, Lilan, I don't need your help in case of emergency."

Lilan looked depressed and lowered her head.

"Am I useless?"

Still, I thought it would be nice if I could fly in the sky like this on Lilan's back. Flying on the back of a dragon is the player's yearning and unfulfilled wish. I knew it was going to happen in this world, so I'm very excited. Unfortunately, you can't seem to fly through this level due to the invisible walls.

"Next time I fly the 22nd floor of the sky, there seems to be no height limit in the upper part of the maze over there, there are no enemies, and the weather settings are good, it should be very comfortable."

Shino seemed to realize something, and said to Lei Ran.

"Ah, well, Rylan is a dragon with wings, so he can fly in the sky. It feels so good to fly on your back, can you do it? ”

Lilan looked up.

"I don't mind. I feel like I'm only flying when I'm fighting bosses now. Run in the skies of this castle if you want. Well, this layer doesn't seem to be possible. “

"There's no way, let's go, let's go."

The two of them nodded at my voice and walked behind me. After confirmation, I started walking in the air corridor, but after a while, I noticed something. That was in the boss fight on the 53rd floor.

Shino was charging and firing sword skills, but she felt something was wrong. No, before that, Shino's dagger wielding seemed awkward, or rather unaccustomed.

There are 9 weapons in the game: one-handed sword, greatsword, curved sword, katana, two-handed axe, spear, one-handed staff, dagger, but each one depends a lot on the player's potential. It is not uncommon for a player to feel awkward when fighting with a one-handed sword, but conversely, when fighting with a spear, he is stable.

"Shino must have the potential to adapt to other weapons." However, Shino looks strange even with a one-handed sword, and other weapons feel like that. What exactly is the weapon that Shino is suitable for? Maybe this kind of thing doesn't exist, and Shino can only fight with a dagger that she is not familiar with. Just as I was thinking this, Shino's voice in my head came to my ears.

"Hey, Kirito. Can you stop for a moment? “

As he spoke, he stopped and turned. Shino stood there, and the skill window opened.

"What's wrong?"

"I want you to see this, and when I open the skills window, I see this"

"Pictures?"

As if guided by Shiina's words, I stood in a line beside her and checked the window, but the next moment I was a little surprised. Shiina's skill window appeared with a name I'd never seen before. Its name is "Shooting".

"[Shooting]? What is it? ”

"I didn't know that when I opened the window, it happened before I knew it."

"There are a lot of skills in this game, but I haven't heard of shooting skills in them." A similar skill is a throwing skill that slightly strengthens long-range attacks, and although I've already acquired it, is "shooting" a higher skill than it?

However, even the informant was unaware of such a thing. The game is actually made with the premise that you can move your body to play, so it shouldn't be full of ranged attacks.

(Wait?) ）

"I had a flash of inspiration in my head." No, it should be said that I remember more correctly.

I've seen goblins, lizardmen, and werewolves use bows and arrows when climbing this castle before. Normally, they will be equipped with the same weapon type as us and shoot the same sword skills as us, but their bow and arrow skills are far from ours, and this is the only ranged attack and skill in the castle.

How can a bow and arrow, which only they have, not be called a "ranged weapon".

"No, is this a bow and arrow skill!?"

"Yumiya skills?"

"Yes, when I was conquering this area before, I once encountered an enemy equipped with a bow and arrow, and launched a ranged attack, I should use a skill that maybe this skill is a skill that allows the player to equip a bow and arrow."

Shiina's eyes opened slightly.

"So I can equip a bow and arrow now?"

"I think so."

"That's when I realized." Until now, even if you go to the weapon shop, you can only find 9 weapons: one-handed swords, broadswords, curved swords, katanas, two-handed axes, spears, one-handed - hand over the staff, and a dagger. No problem. Even if Shino's skills are related to bows and arrows, there is no way to confirm it.

"But it's useless, if you don't have the bow, you can't check if you can equip it."

"Oh, I see."

She turned her face to Shino in surprise. Before she knew it, Shino had opened the object window with her left hand and began to organize her belongings. Moreover, there was a look of surprise on his face. It's just like me.

"What happened?"

"It's a bow.

"What did you say?"

Looking through the skill window to the prop window, his attention was focused on where the poem was pointing. Displayed there is the name of an item I've never seen before, "White Bow". White Bow "White Bow"?

"White Bow. What is it? ”

"I don't know. But it certainly doesn't feel like anything else. ”

"Is this what came out of nowhere?"

"yes, and besides, it seems that this can also be equipped with a dagger."

"Often, it's not possible to add an item to a project window without being noticed." Could it be that Shino has automatically appeared as a reward since she acquired her shooting skills? I thought that such a thing should be impossible, but it seems that this is not the case.

Immediately after, Shino clicked on the white bow and summoned it to herself. And when the summoning light erupted, the bow really appeared. Shino trembled and reached out to pick up the bow, but Lilan and I also focused our attention on the bow with Shiina. Literally means "white bow" and is like birch in color. The only time I've seen it was when I was fighting monsters, and it was the first time I'd ever seen a bow like this.

"It's a bow"

"Uh-bow"

When the two of us looked at each other for a moment, Lilan called out.

"I see, Shino can fight now"

"yes. This one can be equipped, so from today you can equip it to fight, so let's try it out. ”

"Anyway, I'd like to hear what you think."

Shino understood, opened the equipment window, and equipped her with a white bow. Shino, who has only wielded a dagger so far, still looks a little new with a bow and arrow, but I have never seen a player equipped with a bow and arrow.

No, I didn't know I could equip a bow before Shino's skills came out, and I hadn't seen it before, so the figure of Shino equipped with a bow in front of me was Ayn Grant. A first look in history.

Shino took a quick look at the bow, then pulled the string. In the next moment, an arrow appeared in Shiina's hand, wrapped in light just like when the sword technique was activated. He looks like the archers you see occasionally on TV. I wonder if that light comes from shooting skills.

Thinking of this, Shino immediately pointed her bow at the vast sky, and then released the string. The arrow of light left Shiina's hand and sliced through the air at an invisible speed and disappeared into the sky. Shino sighed as she stared blankly at the trajectory of the arrows that flew away.

"I see, it feels so much better than using a dagger."

"It's amazing. It's an attack I've never seen before. It was like Raylan's breath attack. ”

Lilan nodded.

"It does look a lot like my attack. If two people can attack from a distance, it should be possible to defeat the enemy without getting close. “

Until now, you could only attack enemies who were close to or close to you with your weapons, i.e. close range attacks. However, Shino's bow and arrows are an alternative, attacking enemies from a distance and defeating them without letting them get close. It's revolutionary, and no, it's going to blow the mind of Ayn Grant players. Involuntarily, an excitement welled up from deep in my stomach.

"Awesome! That's the skill, what else is there besides convenience! ”

"Ah, but what about Kirito."

"What"

Shino looked a little disappointed.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry to make you look forward to it, but I can't use this weapon."

"Huh? Why? ”

Shiina's white bow pressed and a window was called. As a sign of intent to look at the values, I noted. The next moment, I was surprised and disappointed when I turned my attention to the numbers displayed on Shino's fingertips. - This bow's attack power is ridiculously low.

"Wow, what a number! It's too low!? ”

"yes, the dagger I use is about one-fifth weaker, so you won't be able to fight the enemies on this level at all, and even if you do, you won't be able to deal decent damage. Unexpectedly, it was garbage. ”

"Indeed, this is already garbage." When I heard that it was a white bow, I thought it would be a good number, but it was on par with the weapons sold at the weapons shop on the second floor. When we ventured through the fifty-fourth floor, something like this was of no use to us.

"What the hell is this, I had high hopes for this rare skill, but"

"I can't use this. I need to find another piece of equipment somewhere, but I don't know where it is. ”

I remembered the lineup of each floor of the weapon shop, but it was all one-handed swords, broadswords, curved swords, daggers, spears, and it seemed that there were no bows and spears. Arrowhead. There might be a way to go back and check out the weapons shops on each floor, but I don't want to waste my time on something so troublesome

Thinking of this, the moment I put my hand on my chin, something suddenly came to mind. Then again, this Ain Grandrie has a blacksmith skill and has a blacksmith shop run by players who are proficient in the skill and are able to do business.

By sharpening and strengthening a weapon, it is possible to increase its attack power, but sometimes by adding materials, the weapon can be reborn into a completely different and powerful piece of equipment. Moreover, such equipment is generally dropped on the 1st and 2nd floors, and many of them are useless at the 54th floor. If you give Shino's bow to a blacksmith, you may be able to regenerate it into a completely different powerful bow.

"Shina, there's a better way."

"What"

"Leave this to the blacksmith. The purpose of this game is to strengthen, so that weak weapons can sometimes become strong weapons, and Shiina's may be the same. “

Shino stared intently at the white bow.

"I see, I can't use it, but I can use it as long as I strengthen it."

"That's right. I had to take it, but it wasn't something I had to rush about. Now I'll go back to the city and find a blacksmith. ”

"That's when I suddenly had an idea." It's Asuna.

Asuna defeated a lot of enemies and worked hard to level up when she was in "Asuna the Glitter", but at the same time, her sword was definitely worn out. Every time you slash an enemy, the weapon in this game loses durability, and when the durability reaches zero, the weapon is damaged and consumed.

The blacksmith restores durability and makes it last longer, but Asuna's weapons are not mass-produced like those sold in the weapon shop, but rather rare items such as the final attack reward. And it seems that it has been used for a long time, so it should be maintained by a special blacksmith.

"If you ask Asuna, she might be able to introduce you to a blacksmith."

"Alright, let's go meet Asuna."

"At Asuna's house?"

"Ahh Asuna's rapier has been in use for a long time. The sword must have been repaired by Asuna at the blacksmith. Do you know the rest? “

Shino made a look at what she thought of.

"Ah, then I'll ask Asuna to help me strengthen my bow."

"That's right. And Asuna also wants to meet Lilan. “

Rylan turned his face to the city.

"Indeed, I've been in touch with you lately, maybe I haven't been to Asuna. Asuna might have something to say to me soon, so I agreed to go to Asuna's.

"Right.

Shino nodded, folding the bow and arrow on her back. After learning that Shiina's bow had changed in this way, we went back the way we came, heading straight for the headquarters of the Bloody Knights where Asuna was.