1st Floor Boss(1)

--- Akira ---

"Asuna, switch!"

Without hesitation, I used my [Spear] skill to impale a Little Nepenthes through its grotesque, red mouth. The creature shuddered and dissolved into experience points, its dagger-like vine leaves twitching one last time.

Asuna immediately followed up with her own skill, her rapier slicing through another Nepenthes' arm-like vine that was about to strike me.

"Got it!" she responded, her voice focused yet calm.

We moved like a well-oiled machine. Asuna's speed and agility complemented my strength and reach, creating a seamless flow of attacks.

The paralysis post-skill was safely completed as I sidestepped, avoiding a lunge from another Nepenthes' dagger-like leaf. Its corrosive spray attack, signaled by the puffing of its pitcher, was narrowly dodged, the acidic liquid sizzling against the ground where I had just been.

"Asuna, watch out!" I shouted as I regrouped with her. A Nepenthes with a red fruit atop its head emitted a pungent odor, summoning more of its kin.

"We can't let them surround us," she replied, eyes scanning the increasing horde. The Little Nepenthes' roots squirmed towards us, their mouths dripping with viscous liquids.

I nodded, gripping my spear tighter.

Even though the average level of the monsters was 3, and we were around level 5, it didn't mean we had it easy, given the sheer number of monsters.

A normal party would've already been wiped out, but we were different.

Asuna and I switched seamlessly, her rapier flashing through the air to intercept any vine that got too close, while I used my spear to keep the bulk of them at bay.

The corrosive spray attacks were the most dangerous. We had to time our moves perfectly to avoid getting hit by the sticky, damaging liquid. Each time a Nepenthes puffed its pitcher, we jumped aside, the spray missing us by mere inches.

Asuna's rapier struck again, severing another vine, while I thrust my spear into the nearest Nepenthes, feeling the satisfying crunch as its head was pierced. The swarm seemed endless, but we kept our rhythm, fighting side by side.

This was exactly the shower of experience points I needed.

Despite our coordinated efforts, the sheer number of Little Nepenthes was overwhelming. Their weak defenses meant little against such a horde, and every time one fell, another seemed to take its place.

But even so...

"Keep on repeating the pattern. It will take a while, but we'll win."

And indeed, we won.

---

[Congratulations! You have leveled up]

[You have received one Skill Slot]

[Status]

[Name: Haru]

[Level: 6(82%)]

[STR: 1 ➔ 10]

[AGI: 1 ➔ 7]

[Skills: Spear(Lv. 11(39%), Threefold Piercer(Lv. 7(23%))]

[You have 2 ➔ 1 ➔ 2 Skill Slots left]

I turned my head to look at Asuna, who was lying on the ground next to me, panting heavily after our intense battle. I couldn't help but notice that her status screen was displaying a level-up notification.

"It seems you've also leveled up. That's good," I said, with a small smile.

But instead of returning my smile, Asuna scowled and sat up, her eyes flashing with anger. "I would've preferred to avoid going so recklessly against such a huge horde of monsters!" she exclaimed.

I shook my head, still smiling. "But didn't you have fun going wild against all those monsters?" I asked, teasingly.

It might've been dangerous, but as a fellow player, there's no way she didn't start enjoying it in the middle. This kind of thing was precisely what we wanted from this game in the first place.

She hesitated, then sighed and rolled her eyes. "You're hopeless," she muttered, but she knew I was right.

I chuckled and stretched my arms, then stood up and offered my hand to her. She hesitantly took it and I pulled her up to her feet. "Come on, let's go to celebrate our victory! I'll pay." I said, still grinning.

Asuna sighed again, but she still nodded, a hint of excitement clear in her eyes.

She must've really wanted to eat something.

"Let's be more careful next time, okay?" she said, her tone serious.

I nodded, my expression turning more solemn. "I understand your concerns, Asuna. But I want you to know that I have always considered a plan that won't end up killing us. I am always balancing safety and opportunities. If you want to keep this party, I ask you to trust me. I promise you won't die."

I could see the uncertainty in her eyes, but she slowly nodded.

Good.

You can trust me on this, really.

I knew that I wasn't a good person. I was using Asuna for my own benefit, to help me achieve my purposes faster.

There was no remorse from that.

But I at least wanted to preserve my own integrity as a human being. As such, I intend to keep that promise, no matter what.

As long as I'm in this World, she won't die.

While exchanging small talk with her as we headed back to the village we were staying in, my gaze slowly turned to my right.

In the distance, a certain labyrinth could be seen, the one where the floor boss resided.

I had originally planned to solo it, but after experimenting with going completely solo, I had decided it was far too risky, for now. So, my plan to go solo was put on hold.

Right now, it's easier to level up by having a party member by my side. In just a week and a half, our teamwork was already flawless enough to survive against a huge number of monsters, something that would've been extremely difficult if I were alone.

We've also completely outclassed everyone in level alone. We're both level 6, on the way to level 7, which is more than twice the average even among the strongest players.

But even so, I had to make it clear to her.

"Asuna, I want to talk to you about our next move," I said, turning to face her.

"We're going to reach around level 12. After that, we'll challenge the Floor Boss. If you don't want to do it, we can go our separate ways now because, in the future, I'll keep proposing things you might think are reckless, dumb, or unthinkable. Even so, I—"

She stopped me, shaking her head.

Well, understandable. If I was a normal person, I wouldn't really want to follow someone who's clearly trying to kill himself either—

"I'll follow you, Haru. You asked for my trust. And you told me you won't let me die, right? Given those facts, how can I not follow you?"

She paused, her expression softening.

"You must have your reasons for your actions. But even so, I was the one who clung to you in the first place. How could you think I'd be so shameless as to refuse to follow you after exploiting your help all this time? Hmph!"

She crossed her arms and turned her head, a hint of embarrassment in her eyes.

Heh, how funny.

She knows well enough just how dangerous this path is, but even so, she's willing to follow me down to it.

...Alright then.

I'll make sure our party will be on the mouths of every single person in this damn game, if it's the last thing I do.

I laughed.

"Let's go to celebrate the birth of the strongest party, then!"

We kept on walking, easily clearing any leftover monster in our way as we reached the village.

---

Author's Note:

If you are not familiar or do not remember how SAO's leveling system works, each level up you get 3 status points. You can either put them on strength or agi.

Chapters in Advance are back!! For the Patrons that have been supporting me even without any real benefit, I can only thank them from the bottom of my heart.

For anyone else interested in my Patreon(link in the synopsis of the novel, or in the auxiliary chapter!), you will start having real advantages, from now on! That is my promise to anyone willing to support me.

Thank you to everyone in advance for giving life to this story <3< p>