Chapter 23 Quest 1

(Change Algo name to Argo )

Ever since he appeared in SAO, he had been subconsciously avoiding this question. Perhaps even he hadn't noticed it himself. But today, after Kiriko asked him this question, he suddenly panicked.

What awaits him outside the game? Arthur didn't know, but thoughts swirled in his mind, becoming more and more complex until, in the end, he stared blankly at the ceiling, motionless.

"Sigh, you really gave me a difficult question, Kiriko." Arthur sighed suddenly, a bitter smile on his face.

The next day, in a restaurant in Urbus, Arthur kept yawning, tiredly looking at the figure of Algo in front of him.

"You didn't sleep well last night?" Algo asked, curious. After all, in this game, sleep was crucial.

"Sort of," Arthur nodded.

"Where were you? Don't tell me you were grinding levels all night," Argo looked at Arthur, sounding strange.

"How could that be," Arthur shook his head. He had a very regular schedule. If it was nighttime, he wouldn't be grinding levels.

"I just spaced out all night," Arthur yawned, taking a sip of the energizing drink next to him.

"Huh," Algo was surprised. Spacing out all night? How did he manage such a high-level operation?

Under Algo's gaze, filled with strangeness, Arthur's mouth twitched. "I'm not sick! My brain isn't ill either!"

"Uh-huh," Algo nodded absently.

"Anyway, I have a serious matter to discuss with you today." Arthur didn't want to banter with Algo, a person who was both sarcastic and sly. Facing such a sarcastic and sly character, he couldn't hold his own.

"A serious matter?" Hearing Arthur's words, Algo, who had excellent professional ethics, immediately restrained the teasing expression on his face and sat up straight, looking at Arthur seriously. "What information do you want? Or is it about that player in the black cloak? I'm sorry, I still don't have any clues."

Arthur shook his head. "It's not that, and there's no need to continue investigating that."

Then Arthur brought up the system menu and kept swiping his finger on it.

"This is your reward. After all, you've wasted quite a bit of your time," Arthur transferred ten thousand kel to Algo.

"Huh?! Are you doubting my business integrity??" Algo's reaction was strong. He stood up directly, staring at Arthur intently.

Arthur felt a bit flustered by her gaze and smiled awkwardly. "After all, you've been troubled for quite some time. How about considering it as compensation for your trouble?"

"Without providing you with useful information, how could I accept this money?!" Algo's attitude was very firm, showing no signs of compromise.

"In that case, how about I sponsor the funds for printing the strategy guide for you?"

"No! That's a different matter!" Algo still shook his head.

"...," Arthur shook his head with a wry smile, waving his hand. "Alright."

"Alright, fine. But next, I still need to buy some information from you,Don't reject the deal!"

"Buy information?" Algo, upon hearing this, didn't have the same strict refusal as before. She looked at Arthur with confusion.

"That's right, I want to purchase some information about quests from you," Arthur nodded.

"Understood," Algo said knowingly.

"Why suddenly interested in doing quests?" Algo curiously asked, after all, since they first met on the first floor, Algo had noticed that Arthur seemed only interested in grinding levels, never doing any quests.

"Just to relax a bit, I guess. I feel like something's off with me lately," Arthur said with a wry smile, ready to admit that Kiriko's words from last night had made him instantly resistant to the world outside the game.

"And, after more than a month of intense grinding, I want to take a good rest," Arthur added, reciting the prepared excuse.

"I see," Algo nodded knowingly. Arthur's previous level grinding intensity had frightened her, of course. She didn't know that Arthur was only grinding proficiency. Now hearing Arthur's explanation, Algo subconsciously thought that Arthur had turned his fear of this world into a driving force for progress. After adapting, the fear gradually disappeared, so she also began to relax her tense nerves, as most players were in such a state—either dying silently or bursting out in silence.

"What type do you need?" Although Algo was an information broker, as a closed beta player, her reputation was mainly known among the closed beta players, and there weren't many ordinary players who knew about Algo the information broker. Closed beta players mostly had their own goals, so at this time, Algo had quite a bit of task information on hand.

"Well, something with a slightly longer quest cycle, not too tiring, and I can also enjoy some leisure time," Arthur stated his criteria.

"Really, other players just ask for any quest information from me, and that's enough. But you're being so picky," Algo complained.

"Um, please forgive this insomniac," Arthur gestured to his nonexistent dark circles around his eyes.

"Fine, there's one quest with a three-day cycle, not too bothersome. Protect NPC Blacksmith Sge to obtain crystal ore from the western wasteland area, then go alone deep into the wasteland to kill a giant minotaur and get its horn. Finally, head to the northern mountain area, enter the cave, and find the underground pool to fetch the water," Algo explained.

"Hmm? Sounds good," Arthur nodded.

"Then it's settled," Arthur didn't think much about it. After all, Algo wouldn't cheat him. Besides, they had a friendship, and Algo valued her reputation. How could she ruin her reputation?

"How do I accept the quest?" Arthur asked the crucial question.

"Well, find NPC Sge at the Sge Blacksmith Shop in Urbus, give him the wheat beer bought at the restaurant, and the quest will appear," Algo explained the procedure she knew.

"Ok, thanks," Arthur nodded and left the restaurant.

"Hey! This quest doesn't cost so much !" Algo watched Arthur walk away, chasing after him and shouting.

"It's okay, keep the extra for now. I'll come to you next time," Arthur waved his hand without looking back.

"Really," Algo sighed, looking at the more than ten thousand Kel in the trade window, shaking her head helplessly.

Although he knew about the quest, Arthur didn't plan to enter immediately. After all, he decided to relax a bit. He planned to take a nap first, and then deal with everything after waking up.

The next day, after eating and drinking enough, Arthur bought a barrel of wheat beer and then leisurely walked towards the location to accept the quest, Sge Blacksmith Shop.

When Arthur arrived, it was bustling because many players were buying weapons here. It was evident that the business of this blacksmith shop was quite good.

Arthur didn't want to disturb at such times, so he just stood aside, quietly watching.

As people came and went, Arthur saw the blacksmith named Sge continually serving customers. He leaned against the door and quietly looked at the scenery outside.

"Hey, Black Cat, why are you here?" Just as Arthur was quietly watching the ever-changing clouds in the sky, a familiar voice came to his ears.

"My weapon damage can't keep up anymore. When I was on the first floor, I saved a lot of Kel, and I heard that the weapons sold here are even of superior quality. So it's a good time to buy one. After all, it's a real death game now, using the lowest level weapons to challenge is unacceptable. If I can't survive," Kiriko said with a slightly cold voice.

Hmm? Arthur raised his eyebrows and looked to where the voice came from. Three or four meters away from him, two cloaked players were walking towards the blacksmith shop.

The voice of one of them seemed familiar to Arthur, as if he had heard it somewhere before.

"Ah? Really? Since Black Cat, you want to change weapons

.....

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