Chapter 18: Emergency – Changing Information
The two of them, having returned to the streets, happened to run into Kirito.
"Oh~ Kirito~"
"Kirito-kun, long time no see!"
"Yeah, it's been a while. Where are you two coming back from?"
"We just went to the labyrinth area."
"Ah, I heard the field boss got taken down. That was really quick this time."
"When did you get back, Kirito?"
"Last night. I was so exhausted, I ended up sleeping in until noon today."
"Well then, let's give the tired Kirito a souvenir."
"If you're giving it to me, I'll gladly take it. What is it?"
Hachiman silently handed the ring blade over to Kirito.
"This... To be honest, I don't really need it…"
"Didn't you just say you'd take it?"
"Got baited... Sigh, thanks, Hachiman."
"No need to force a thank-you, Kirinyan."
"Don't—please don't call me that."
"Ah, Kirito-kun, you started training martial arts skills too, right? It's fine, I've seen Hachiyan before."
"Don't call me Hachiyan."
The three of them laughed together.
"Just to confirm, Kirito, do you need this?"
"You mean this reinforced leather belt?!"
"Why not give it to Agil? It suits him."
"Thought the same thing, huh."
"Yeah, can't think of anyone else it'd fit better than him."
"No doubt about that."
The three of them exchanged smiles again.
"By the way, Kirito, have you heard anything from Argo?"
"Ah, right. Argo contacted me. I'm actually on my way to meet her."
"I see. She'll explain the details, but this one seems a bit tricky."
"Really? Then I'll just hear it straight from Argo."
"Yeah."
After parting with Kirito, the two of them decided to call it a day and leave tomorrow's matters for tomorrow.
Perhaps because they had spent so much time in the labyrinth area, both seemed especially tired and wanted to rest early.
"Well then, good night, Asuna."
"Yeah, good night."
While Hachiman was resting at the inn, he received a message from Argo.
She said she wanted to meet and talk in detail tomorrow, and it seemed she had a request as well.
Hachiman agreed without hesitation and soon fell into a deep sleep.
Morning of the 8th day after the 2nd floor opened.
Hachiman and Argo met at Asuna's inn.
"So, what's up today?"
"There are two things. Let's start with last night's situation.
Since you've already gotten involved this deeply, I think it's necessary to explain."
It turned out Kirito had gone to enhance his weapon on Argo's request.
Meanwhile, after the incident with Hachiman, Nezha continued taking commissions while moving between towns.
After his weapon was destroyed, he immediately summoned a new one to try and control the situation.
Compiling information from various sources, the situation was roughly as follows:
He originally chose a combat class, but due to the NerveGear's visual system failing to fully synchronize, he couldn't grasp distances properly.
This caused him to constantly drag his teammates down and trouble them.
Feeling guilty toward his comrades, one day he encountered a mysterious, cloaked player who taught him a method of committing crimes.
Now, following Kirito's advice and aiming to gain new strength, he decided to abandon forging skills and switch to martial arts skills.
He was currently striking rocks in the mountains non-stop.
"About that cloaked guy…"
"No intel on him at all. Honestly, he doesn't seem like a normal person."
Hachiman raised a new question:
"But is it okay for someone who can't grasp distances to train in martial arts?"
"Interestingly, he's also been leveling up his throwing skill."
"I see. Thrown weapons are less affected by depth perception. But throwing itself... wait! Could it be ring blades?!"
"That's right. Hachiman-kun, you really did a good deed this time."
"I just wanted to avoid the hassle and pushed it on him... Didn't expect it to help so much…"
"Life's full of miraculous coincidences."
"I see. Then all that's left is dealing with compensating the victims whose weapons were stolen, and we can wrap things up?"
"To be honest, that's the hardest part."
"Since it involves criminal behavior, even if the perpetrator apologizes sincerely, there's no guarantee they'll be forgiven."
"It's up to them now."
"Right. Argo, what's the second thing?"
After nodding, Hachiman asked about the second request.
"This time, information gathering on the boss went more smoothly than last time, but there's a certain quest that's been bothering me."
"Bothering how?"
"I just have a hunch that it's related to the boss—call it an informant's intuition."
"You want us to help with that quest?"
"Exactly. It's a fetch-quest type. Lots of running around."
"No problem."
"Same here. Shall we start now?"
"If you're both in, then let's go. Kirito's not joining?"
"Kirito's currently taking Nezha to the martial arts quest location. Afterward, if we gather useful info from the quest, he'll join the strategy meeting as a contact."
"According to my intel, the frontlines should find the boss room pretty soon."
"Then we need to hurry."
"Alright, let's go. Our destination is the forest near the labyrinth area."
And so, the three of them entered the forest, beginning a long trek.
Meanwhile, after bringing Nezha to the martial arts skill quest trigger point, Kirito silently watched his training.
(He's really going all out... At this pace, he'll complete the quest soon...)
Kirito stayed overnight to observe, while Nezha never stopped striking the rocks.
The next day, when Kirito returned to town, he ran into Agil and learned the boss room had been found and a strategy meeting was about to begin, so he decided to attend.
After the meeting went smoothly, Kirito joined Agil's party.
"Agil, thanks for this."
"No problem. By the way, where are those two? Didn't see them."
"They're busy gathering more intel on the boss."
"I see... Those two are impressive."
"Yeah. They risked their lives for me on the first floor. If there's anything I can do for them, I'll give it my all."
"In that case, do your best tomorrow to repay them."
"Yeah. Looking forward to tomorrow, Agil."
Meanwhile, after receiving the news of the meeting's start and end, Argo grew increasingly anxious.
'At this rate, we might not finish until noon tomorrow... Not good.'
"Hachiman, Asuna, the strategy meeting's already over."
"That was faster than expected. Looks like we'll still need time over here."
"Worst case, we'll head straight to the labyrinth area after finishing here."
"As long as we have the map data, we'll figure something out."
"Anyway, let's keep pushing forward."
That night, Nezha shattered a massive rock with remarkable speed after training tirelessly without sleep.
After descending the mountain, he immediately began specialized ring blade training.
Aside from short breaks for meals, he trained continuously until dawn.
By noon, having mastered the ring blade's handling, he began heading toward the labyrinth area.
.
.
.
The following morning, the trio finally neared the quest's endpoint.
"Phew, just one more step and we're done."
"This really was a long quest."
"Thanks to both of you."
"Alright, that's a wrap—wait! Hachiman, Asuna, this is bad!"
"What is it, Argo?!"
"The boss info was wrong! To be precise, there's one more—Asterios, the Minotaur King!"
"Contact Kirito immediately!"
Argo tried to send a message, but it failed to go through—players inside the dungeon couldn't receive messages. The main force had clearly already entered the labyrinth area.
"Argo, compile the boss data immediately. We'll charge into the labyrinth as soon as we're ready."
"I'm coming too. More hands are always better."
"Got it. Let's move fast."
The three of them rushed to prepare and then bolted toward the labyrinth.
"Hmm? There's someone over there."
"Huh? Isn't that... Nezha?"
"Looks like he completed the quest. And the mustache's gone too."
The three approached him.
"Hey, what are you doing here?"
"You're... Ah, you're also a companion of Kirito-san."
"Yeah, sorry about before."
"No, it was all my fault. Please don't worry about it."
"So, what's the situation now?"
"I've completed my training. I came here hoping to help, but I've never been inside the labyrinth and I'm kind of at a loss…"
Argo suddenly cut in:
"Nezha might actually be the key to solving this crisis."
"What do you mean?"
"I'll explain on the way. Nezha, we're heading to the boss room—will you come with us?"
"Yes! Please let me join you!"
"Good, full team, let's go!"
"Everyone, move out!"
"Hachiman, you're on trap detection and enemy scouting."
"Leave it to me."