Chapter 30: Sword God Style - Drawing Sword Technique

However, he didn't dwell on it. The forest wasn't entirely smooth sailing; there were still some insects they couldn't name along the way.

Perhaps out of humanitarian concern, the arthropods weren't made to be too ugly; instead, they were designed to be cute.

At least Asuna didn't scream and run away at the sight of them.

The insects weren't strong, the kind you could easily swat dead. Reaching the center of the valley, the tall forest gradually thinned, revealing the exposed rocks inside.

This area was the territory of man-eating plants and was considered a high-level resource monster area, with several special types of monsters.

Although the man-eating plants weren't densely packed, they were relatively high-level, and trying to fight more than three at once was a death sentence.

Of course, this was for newbies like Asuna.

As for Naoki Kirigaya, you'd have to deplete every last bit of his health.

Huge stems and thick roots were entwined on the ground.

[Man-Eating Plant]

[Level: 4]

A few lines of small text appeared above them.

The man-eating plants had huge maws, and some had a bright red fruit on top.

Man-eating plants weren't difficult opponents, but when Naoki Kirigaya saw the red fruit, he felt uneasy.

Although he had watched Sword Art Online, it was a long time ago. Even though his soul had undergone a sublimation, his memories were still somewhat hazy.

But since they were in the testing phase, he thought to himself and said to Asuna, "Asuna, go attack the ones with the bright red fruit on their heads."

Asuna nodded and engaged a man-eating plant with a fruit on its head.

Then, with a bang, the fruit exploded, and countless pink mist spread, causing the surrounding man-eating plants to rapidly approach, like sharks smelling blood.

"So that's it, it's to attract monsters," Naoki Kirigaya nodded to himself.

Hearing this, Asuna's expression was priceless. She glared at Naoki Kirigaya and said, "You tricked me!"

Naoki Kirigaya grabbed Asuna and ran behind him.

As they ran, Asuna pinched Naoki Kirigaya hard.

Naoki Kirigaya winced in pain and almost let go. Facing the angry Asuna, Naoki Kirigaya said sheepishly, "How can you say I tricked you? See, we got out, and you didn't lose a level."

"Hmph," Asuna snorted coldly, her expression as cold as could be.

Naoki Kirigaya quickly tried to appease the girl, saying, "This is just trial and error, trial and error is necessary."

Asuna retorted, "Don't use me for trial and error next time. Try it yourself."

Naoki Kirigaya nodded quickly, "Okay, okay, I'll go myself next time."

Only then did Asuna let the boy off the hook.

After getting out of the man-eating plants' aggro range, they waited for another half hour before sneaking back in.

The man-eating plants that had gathered together had dispersed, with only three or four scattered in the center.

Naoki Kirigaya exhaled a breath of stale air and said seriously to Asuna, "I'm going to clear out the monsters."

Asuna hesitated, asking, "Are you sure you can handle it?"

Naoki Kirigaya replied, "No problem, trust me."

The novice iron sword appeared in Naoki Kirigaya's hand. He quietly circled behind a man-eating plant and executed a backstab smoothly.

Unfortunately, Naoki Kirigaya's attack couldn't kill the high-health man-eating plant in one hit, and the surrounding three man-eating plants pounced on Naoki Kirigaya.

Naoki Kirigaya gripped his longsword, took a deep breath, bent forward, stepped forward with his right foot, and swung his longsword like a shooting star, a cold, sharp light slashing towards the man-eating plant's trunk.

The man-eating plant that Naoki Kirigaya had ambushed first had its HP reduced to zero and dissipated into blue light.

Two man-eating plants quickly surrounded Naoki Kirigaya. Naoki Kirigaya retreated, and a deep blue light flashed on his sword, a sign that a sword skill was being activated.

Basic sword skill: Slant - Single Slant.

His posture was corrected, his movements became faster, and an unknown force guided Naoki Kirigaya.

Naoki Kirigaya's eyes lit up. Was this the system's assistance?

His body became lighter, and Naoki Kirigaya's sword thrust out, his figure appearing like a ghost on the right side of the man-eating plant, his iron sword slashing upwards diagonally.

After the slash, he quickly switched sword skills, and another deep blue light flashed on the sword.

Support skill: Horizontal Slash - Single Horizontal Slash. Taking advantage of the man-eating plant's stunned state, he quickly struck again, a cold light flashing as the slash struck the man-eating plant again.

The man-eating plant's HP rapidly decreased but didn't reach zero.

This couldn't be helped, as Naoki Kirigaya hadn't upgraded his weapon and was still using the iron sword he got when leaving the starting village.

Another man-eating plant surrounded him, its huge maw quickly lunging towards Naoki Kirigaya. Naoki Kirigaya was forced to retreat, gripping the sword again with his right hand.

This time, it should work.

He vaguely understood the system's sword skill evaluation mechanism.

SAO had the world's most realistic physics engine. In theory, sword techniques that could be performed in reality should be possible in the game, but the fact that his first attempt wasn't recognized by the system could only mean that his movements weren't perfect.

Sword skills weren't limited to those in the system's database. Wasn't the Sword God Style a sword skill? Of course it was. Naoki Kirigaya's golden eyes flashed with a brilliant light, his figure swiftly dodging and weaving. The benefits of regular training in reality were evident. Not only were his base stats higher than others, but his control over his body was perfect.

Pressing the iron sword to his waist, he gripped the hilt with his right hand, adopting a iaido stance.

Sword God Style - Drawing Sword Technique.

The Sword God Style pursued a one-hit kill, requiring decisive action.

A breeze passed, and the sword was drawn.

The blue light flickered, and the azure sword was completely enveloped in blue sword light.

The huge slash cut through the air in an arc, and the man-eating plant was split in two, its HP instantly reduced to zero.

[System Notification]

[You have learned a new sword skill]

[???]

[Charge, Draw Sword]

[Effect: Increases with the charging time, up to 500% of the base sword attack]

[Cooldown: 10s]

Naoki Kirigaya revealed a look of "just as I thought."

It seemed he was right, and now he had a path to explore.

This sword skill was decent, with a swift attack. Charging up could instantly kill some small monsters, and the pre-motion could be canceled depending on the situation.

More importantly, this was just a level 1 skill, and the original owner of his body also knew this sword technique. As long as he copied the entire set of Sword God Style sword techniques to this world and improved the skill's proficiency with the system's assistance, he believed the original owner would be happy to see it.

Asuna stood beside him, stunned by the boy's feat of taking on three monsters at once.

His movements were fluid, like a battle-hardened warrior.

Wearing rough cloth clothes, with smooth, dazzling golden hair and a handsome face.

It felt like he was the legendary adventurous hero, although this hero hadn't left the starting village yet, although this hero had just tricked her a little, although this hero had a rather nasty personality.