In the magnificent world of Aincrad, each floor holds unexpected challenges and adventures. The 62nd floor, known as the frozen world, is a place where ice and snow cover everything, creating a frighteningly cold atmosphere. This is where Yuuki is Leveling up while Noah and Asuna accompany Yui to visit the 48th floor.
Yuuki closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the cold air penetrate her armor. She took a deep breath, strengthened herself with enhancement magic and ran towards the ice giant in front of her. This monster, with a large body covered in ice, let out a growl that echoed throughout the area, as if warning everyone who heard it of the danger lurking.
"Shut up!" Yuuki shouted as she launched a series of attacks. Each swing of her sword shattered the ice that formed the giant's body, sending cold shards flying into the air.
Yuuki jumped into the air, charging at the giant that was currently below her, with each strike, her sword sparkled like a star, cutting through the ice that was frozen on the giant's body. Strike after strike carved wounds into the hard ice skin, and every time the sword made contact, a loud cracking sound rang out like battle music.
The ice giant swung its arm, trying to strike Yuuki with a force that could shatter mountains. However, Yuuki nimbly dodged, spinning in the air and diving back with an even more powerful attack.
With one great swing, Yuuki gathered all of his sword energy, and channeled it into one ultimate attack. Her sword glowed brighter and brighter, emitting a blue light that formed a circle around him. "Star Strike!" She shouted, swinging her sword towards the giant.
The attack hit the ice giant's heart and the ice giant's HP continued to drain away and suddenly, a terrifying roar echoed. The giant's body began to crack, shards of ice falling like cold rain.
Finally, with a ground-shaking explosion, the ice giant collapsed, its body disintegrating and turning into scattered data, dancing in the air before disappearing completely.
Yuuki continued to search for the other monsters with great enthusiasm, because of the all-white color, it would have been difficult to find the ice giants if not for the presence of the name panels above them.
Although Yuuki fought with great enthusiasm, she began to feel the experience he gained decrease. Each ice giant he defeated only gave a small amount of EXP, far from what he had expected. She knew that in order to reach the next level, she would have to find a more effective way to gain experience.
After several tiring fights, Yuuki decided to enter the labyrinth. She had heard rumors of a hidden place on the 62nd floor that could give more EXP. With strong determination, she stepped into a direction she had never explored before.
While Yuuki was immersed in her efforts, in the distance, a man in a black robe watched closely. The man had a frightening aura, and the name above his head was red like blood. This was a sign that he was a Player Killer (PK). He had been searching for the right prey for a long time, and now, Yuuki seemed to be the ideal target.
Cautiously, the man sent a text message to his guild members. "I have found the perfect target. Get ready, we are going to hunt him down." After sending the message, he began to follow Yuuki from a distance, trying not to be seen.
Yuuki, unaware of the danger that lurked before her, continued to explore the labyrinth. Every step she took brought her closer to the darkness that lurked. Ahead, a winding path led Yuuki to a large room filled with increasingly powerful ice monsters. She could feel the tension in the air as the monsters detected her presence.
"This is it," he whispered, smiling hopefully. "I hope I can get more EXP here."
The battle began again. Yuuki leapt forward, slashing through the ice monsters at an incredible speed. Attack after attack was launched, and each time she defeated one, she felt a surge of enthusiasm. However, as time went on, she began to feel fatigue.
"A better strategy is needed," she thought. "I need to find a way to defeat them faster."
Meanwhile, the man in the black robe continued to follow from a distance, closely observing Yuuki's every move. He knew that now was the time to act. With a wicked smile on his face, he stepped forward, exploring the labyrinth to find a faster path to Yuuki.
One by one, Yuuki managed to defeat the ice monsters, but she began to feel something was wrong. The atmosphere around her grew heavier, and she felt like there were eyes watching her. She looked around, but saw no one.
"Focus, Yuuki. Don't let yourself get distracted," she whispered to himself, trying to push away the fear that was starting to creep into his mind.
However, as she turned to continue her search, she heard a cracking sound behind her. Quickly, she raised her sword, ready to face any possible threat. "Who's there?"
However, there was no answer. Only silence enveloped the labyrinth. Feeling uneasy, Yuuki decided to continue her search. She knew that she couldn't get caught up in fear, especially in this world where every second could mean the difference between life and death.
Outside the labyrinth, the man in the black robe had managed to gather his guild members. They all wore dark robes with the logo of a coffin with smiling lips and a skeletal hand over the heart, signifying that they were part of the same guild. They were the red guild Laughing Coffin, a guild that gathered all of SAO's strongest PK players.
"Remember, we must not kill her, we will use her as bait to catch bigger fish," he said, looking at his comrades eagerly.
They made a plan to attack Yuuki together. With their combined strength, they were confident they could defeat him before he realized the danger that lurked. "We will trap her in the forbidden teleportation area so that he cannot escape with the teleportation crystal." the black-robed man continued. "Everyone, don't be reckless, you just need to surround her and don't attack her randomly that will kill her accidentally. Remember we need her alive."
Back to Yuuki, she felt the tension around the labyrinth increasing. She knew that time was not on her side, and she had to find a way out soon. She started running, trying to avoid the ice monsters that kept attacking her.
However, as she ran, she didn't realize that she had entered the forbidden teleportation area. The black-robed man and his guild members who had been hiding in the corner of the area immediately surrounded Yuuki.
Yuuki was shocked to see a group of dark-robed players in front of him. "Who are you? What are you…" Yuuki's words stopped when he saw their red names and seeing dozens of them, Yuuki knew that she couldn't defeat them.
Fighting monsters and humans were two different things, besides this wasn't the usual practice battle she usually did, but a real killing battle. Yuuki had never killed anyone before so she doubted she could use all her strength to its full potential, not to mention the dozens of enemies who were experienced in killing players.
Yuuki felt a sense of tension as a group of black-robed players surrounded her. They surrounded her with sinister smiles on their faces, as if this game was just a joke. In her heart,Yuuki knew that she could only fight them with all her strength so that he could get out of this situation.
"Listen up, Yuuki," he said in a challenging tone. "We won't kill you if you obediently surrender."
Yuuki bit her lip, feeling her heart pounding. She knew that if she didn't take action, she would be caught in their evil plan. She looked around, searching for a way out, but only darkness and evil figures were visible.
"Then I have no choice," Yuuki muttered. She grabbed her sword and prepared to attack.
The black-robed man grinned widely. "Now that's what we've been waiting for! Attack her!"
With that command, the guild members attacked simultaneously. Yuuki dodged quickly, making use of her agility and speed. She knew that fighting them head-on would be suicide, so she had to be smart and use the environment around her.
Facing the siege of dozens of people, she decided to use arrows and magic which had a wider attack range.
Yuuki jumped to the side, avoiding a sword attack that missed from the left. In one swift movement, she drew her arrow and fired it at one of the guild members who was trying to get close. The arrow flew fast and hit the man in the arm, knocking him down. The man's HP had been written as paralysis, so it was clear that Yuuki's previous arrow contained a poison that could paralyze anyone who was hit.
"She's pretty fast!" shouted another guild member, and their attacks became more focused. Yuuki felt the pressure growing around her. She didn't have much time, and she knew that if she was trapped, it would be difficult to escape.
In the midst of this chaos, Yuuki remembered a magic spell she had learned from Noah. "Power of the wind, take me away!" she uttered the spell out loud. A strong wind suddenly swirled around her, creating a shield that protected her from the incoming attacks.
The guild members were shocked at the power of Yuuki's magic. They began to retreat, but the black-robed man would not let him escape. "Don't let hier escape! Attack her with magic!" he ordered.
Quickly, several guild members began to cast their spells.
"Blazing flames, come!" a mage shouted, and a large fireball shot towards Yuuki. She deftly directed the wind around her to divert the fireball, causing it to explode against the walls of the labyrinth, leaving a scorched trail.
Yuuki couldn't wait any longer. She needed to find a way to fight back. She took out her arrow again, but this time she cast a spell to increase the power of her attack. "Unite, lightning arrow!" she fired an arrow that was imbued with blazing lightning energy. The arrow flew towards one of the guild members, and when it hit its target, the lightning blast knocked him down and helpless.
"Don't let her use her magic!" the black-robed man shouted, and they all started trying to distract Yuuki. However, Yuuki wouldn't let them get close. She cast another spell, "Frozen ice, capture my enemy!"
A wall of ice suddenly appeared in front of Yuuki, blocking the incoming attacks. The ice wall was thick enough to withstand several attacks, and Yuuki took the opportunity to catch her breath and plan her next move.
However, she knew that time was not on her side. The ice wall wouldn't last forever. She had to find a way out of this situation as soon as possible. Yuuki felt the magical energy flowing through her, and she decided to use the maximum power she had.
"Gather, wind and ice! Destroy them all!" Yuuki raised her hand, summoning the power of wind and ice at once. From her hand, strong winds and ice shards began to swirl, forming a small tornado that was ready to destroy everything around it.
The tornado began to move, crashing into the guild members who tried to approach. They were thrown back, and some of them fell to the ground, helpless. However, the leader of the black-robed men stood tall, his eyes gleaming with anger. "You won't be able to escape, Yuuki! We will catch you!"
Yuuki felt pressured, but he would not give up. She felt her fighting spirit burning. With one last strike, she cast a more powerful spell. "Lightning from the sky, descend and destroy them!"
The lightning split the sky, striking towards Yuuki, and then hurtling towards the guild members with incredible force. A massive explosion erupted as the lightning hit the ground, creating a shockwave that sent everyone flying. Yuuki fell to her knees, exhausted, but saw several guild members lying helpless around her.
Yuuki realized that this was her chance to escape. With the last of his strength, she ran towards the exit of the labyrinth. As he ran, she heard the screams and curses of the black-robed men behind her, but she did not look back. She knew that he had to get out of this place and protect himself.
Just before she reached the exit of the area, she felt a cold wind pass behind her before hitting the back of Yuuki's neck and making her fall.
"Luckily I have this Hydra dagger, otherwise you might have escaped"
The man said while holding a short black purple dagger. The man opened the hood of his robe and revealed his true face, he had long wavy black hair and a tattoo on the right side of his face. He was PoH, the leader of the red guild Laughing Coffin and a Psychopath who loved killing.
Yuuki who was paralyzed by the poisoning could not move or even speak.
"Time to welcome our big fish" PoH said while licking his dagger with a vicious smile.