-238- [ Anneal Blade ]

The weapons sold in the weapon shop in Horunka are of slightly higher performance compared to those sold in the Starting Town.

Especially the only one-handed sword, the Bronze Sword, is much better than Kirito's short sword.

However, Kirito had no intention of replacing his weapon.

Because although the Bronze Sword had higher power, its durability would be consumed faster, and it had low resistance against special attacks. Obtaining this weapon would require spending extra Col to frequently repair it, which wasn't worthwhile.

Therefore, Kirito intended to continue using his own weapon and spent all his money on armor. He added a leather jacket and acquired some recovery items like potions and antidotes. In this world turned into a death game, these items were absolutely essential.

On the other hand, Rozen, without a weapon, didn't need to consider as much. He purchased the Bronze Sword from the weapon shop and also bought a large number of throwing items. He even sold useless materials and items he obtained from monsters and treasure chests to the NPC shop owner. He kept the recovery items like potions, which were sufficient for now.

However, Kirito was a bit concerned about Rozen's choice.

"Is this really a good idea?" Kirito questioned Rozen. "Spending all your money on throwing items is a waste. You could have invested in better armor and stocked up on more recovery items for safety."

It seemed that Kirito was genuinely worried about Rozen's decision not to upgrade his armor.

"Well, who do you think you're worried about?" Rozen retorted with a touch of annoyance. "Don't forget, I'm the one who taught you how to play games."

The implication was clear: Rozen understood even without Kirito's advice.

But Rozen had still made that choice.

After all,

"As long as I'm not getting hit, there's no need to think about defense."

Having made such a statement, Rozen paid no attention to the perplexed Kirito and headed toward a house located deep within the village.

"Wu!"

The Rainbow Flower Butterfly immediately flapped its wings and followed.

"Ah..."

Kirito could only sigh with a worried expression and follow suit.

Before long, the two of them entered the house together.

What lay before their eyes was an extremely simple dwelling.

Inside the house, there were two areas of interest.

One was a closed room with a coughing sound coming from it. It was a little girl.

The other was the kitchen.

The former constantly emitted the coughs of the young girl.

In the latter, an NPC woman was stirring a pot, looking like she was cooking something.

"Is this the quest location?" Rozen asked Kirito next to him.

During the beta test, Rozen hadn't done this quest, but Kirito had spent quite a bit of time on it for the desirable quest rewards.

Kirito nodded and then stepped forward, addressing the NPC woman.

"Do you have any difficulties?" This was one of the fixed lines that could trigger a quest.

With that line, the woman in the kitchen slowly turned her head to look at Kirito.

At that moment, a golden exclamation mark appeared above the NPC's head.

This was the proof that the quest had been triggered.

"Hello, Mr. Swordsman."

With a solemn tone, the woman in the kitchen began to recount the quest's details, sounding somewhat sorrowful.

"My daughter is seriously ill. Just relying on the herbs sold in the markets for decoction isn't enough to cure her completely. She needs to drink the herbs together with the ovule of a species of carnivorous plants that resides in the western forest. However, that plant is very dangerous, and it's guarded by a flower entity. Ordinary villagers like us can't possibly obtain it. If Mr. Swordsman could help me and retrieve the ovule, I will offer our ancestral longsword as a reward."

The NPC auntie finished explaining her situation in one breath and looked at Kirito with expectant eyes.

Kirito immediately nodded in a practiced manner.

"Leave it to me."

As those words left Kirito's mouth, a window appeared in his field of view, displaying the quest details.

With Kirito stepping back, Rozen stepped forward and triggered the quest using the same method, receiving the status of the quest in progress.

Both of them then exited the house and went outside.

"With this, the quest has been accepted," Kirito said to Rozen.

"As long as we complete the quest, you'll receive the Anneal Blade as a reward. That's your goal, right?"

The Anneal Blade.

It was a highly-performing one-handed sword, one of the highest-level weapons obtainable on the 1st Floor of Aincrad.

This weapon wasn't a rare drop or the type sold in weapon shops. There was only one way to obtain it.

That was by completing this quest.

Once the quest was completed, the sword could be obtained.

With the performance of this sword, it would be sufficient not only on the 1st Floor but even up to the 3rd Floor. It was an indispensable tool for players aiming to become top-level one-handed swordsmen.

That's why Kirito, as a one-handed swordsman, wanted to acquire this weapon.

Similarly, Rozen valued the Anneal Blade's performance.

Although Rozen hadn't done this quest during the beta test, influenced by Kirito, his main weapon was also a one-handed sword.

The difference was that Kirito primarily used sword skills with his one-handed sword for combat, whereas Rozen employed various support, distraction, and maneuver tactics using his familiar and throwing items before delivering a deadly blow with a sword skill. Their combat styles greatly diverged.

Originally, considering delivering a lethal blow, one would opt for an axe or a hammer with higher attack power than a one-handed sword. However, both of those had slow attack speeds, and their sword skills were all wide-swinging types, which had too great an impact on Rozen, who excelled at strategizing before acting. Other weapons with faster speeds had too low attack power, so Rozen ended up choosing the same one-handed sword as Kirito.

Since he was a one-handed sword user, Rozen couldn't miss out on this quest.

The question was,

"This quest can't be completed together. How are you planning to proceed?" Kirito raised this question.

In Sword Art Online, general quests could be divided into two types.

One type was a group quest, and the other was a solo quest.

Taking this quest as an example, if it was the former, Rozen and Kirito could team up to defeat monsters. Once they obtained a quest item, they could proceed to submit it together, completing the quest and obtaining the rewards.

However, if it was the latter, then each person had to get a quest item on their own and submit it separately to complete the quest.

This time's quest fell into the latter category; it couldn't be completed as a group.

But Rozen said, "We can't complete the quest together, but we can team up to farm the quest items."

"Let's gather two quest items before coming back. Besides, you're planning to earn experience points by fighting monsters in the forest, right?"

Hearing that, Kirito gave a wry smile and nodded.

Together, they passed through the village gate and headed into the gradually darkening forest.

"Gu!"

Only the sound of the Rainbow Flower Butterfly's cry remained, both pleasant and melodic.