Chapter 38

On the other side, Naoki grabbed Asuna's arm, his face stern as he said, "I'm sure you already know what's going on."

Asuna's expression crumpled, and she muttered, "We're done for."

Naoki gave her forehead a firm tap, his tone sharp. "Snap out of it. Right now, our goal is to defeat Kayaba Akihiko and ruin his plans."

Asuna's eyes suddenly lit up. She looked at Naoki with a glimmer of hope and asked curiously, "Do you have a plan?"

Naoki let out a cold, dry laugh. He could barely keep himself alive—how could he have a plan? Still, he said with a straight face, "We just need to make it to the hundredth floor."

The light in Asuna's eyes faded, and she muttered again, "We're done for."

Naoki sighed, exasperated. "Since it's already happened, why not look for a way to change things? What's the point of wallowing in self-pity? Besides, at this point, there's no need to keep worrying about your mother."

With that, he pushed Asuna forward, saying as they moved, "Life is about looking ahead. How can you keep standing still?"

"Alright, alright, let go—I'll walk!" Asuna shoved his hand off and stormed ahead, clearly annoyed.

"Asuna, what level are you?" Naoki asked, catching up to her side.

"Level 3," she replied, frowning. "Why?"

Naoki thought for a moment before saying, "Let's go hunt some man-eating flowers."

Asuna's face froze, and she stopped in her tracks. "I'm only level 3 right now."

The implication was clear: Why are you sending me to my death?

Naoki shrugged. "If we pull them one by one, we can handle it. No problem at all."

Asuna narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you sure it's fine?"

Naoki thumped his chest confidently. "Absolutely no problem."

After some back-and-forth, Asuna reluctantly agreed. Naoki sent her a party invite, and once they teamed up, experience points would be shared based on damage contribution.

Along the way, they took down a few wolf-like creatures. Naoki led Asuna through a winding path until they reached the entrance to a forest.

He exchanged a glance with her, then took the lead, stepping forward boldly. His right hand gripped his steel sword as he advanced.

The dappled shadows of the trees swayed around them. A breeze swept through, stirring up the dry, yellow leaves on the ground.

Naoki scanned their surroundings, occasionally striking out to one-shot small monsters. Asuna didn't even get a chance to act.

Watching the boy carve through enemies like a whirlwind, Asuna fell silent.

Am I completely useless? she wondered.

After clearing out the small fry, they followed a narrow trail deeper into the valley.

The center of the valley was less dense than the forest's entrance. Sunlight poured down, bathing them in warmth.

Naoki climbed a slope and peeked over the edge.

Sure enough, it was a gathering spot for man-eating flowers.

The creatures stood in small clusters, lumbering aimlessly.

Naoki whispered to Asuna, "I'll pull two or three of them over. Once I attack, you follow up and aim for a stun."

Asuna nodded.

Seeing she understood, Naoki took a deep breath. He picked up a stone from the ground and gripped it tightly.

The stone glowed with a faint blue light. Naoki scanned the area, choosing a nearby man-eating flower. After confirming there were no dangerous fruit-bearing variants nearby, he hurled the stone.

It flew fast, whistling through the air in a perfect arc before smacking the flower square in the head. Its HP dropped slightly.

Instantly, the flower and two others nearby stirred, their targeting systems locking onto Naoki as they lumbered toward him.

Man-eating flowers were bizarre creatures—not just terrifying in appearance, but in their awkward, lurching movements too.

Naoki muttered, "I'm going in. Wait for my signal."

Asuna nodded again. Naoki stood, stepping forward a short distance. He lowered his stance, gripping his steel sword tightly. With a swift motion, he unleashed the Sword God Style's drawing technique.

He exhaled sharply, the blade shimmering with blue light.

His right arm tensed, muscles bulging as he positioned the sword at his waist.

As the flowers closed in, he struck.

The blade flashed with a cold gleam, swift as lightning—almost too fast to follow.

In an instant, a gaping wound tore across the chest of the lead flower. Its HP plummeted into the red zone before stopping.

Green sap oozed from the gash, dripping onto the ground.

The two flowers behind it charged. Naoki's body glowed blue as magic enveloped him, a surge of power flooding through his limbs.

With a powerful kick, he sent the closest flower flying three meters back. It crashed to the ground with a thud. Switching his grip, Naoki held the sword with both hands and slashed through the bloated body of another flower.

Its already low HP hit zero.

"Asuna, switch!" Naoki shouted.

Asuna darted forward, her rapier flashing in a quick thrust. The flower's tendrils, reaching for Naoki, were pierced through by her blade.

Rapiers excelled in speed. While Asuna's attack didn't deal much damage, it triggered a stun effect.

Stun: a state where the target couldn't move after being hit.

In Sword Art Online, this was a mechanic that restrained weaker monsters and bosses. Once struck by a player's attack, they were briefly immobilized.

Of course, the attack had to meet certain conditions—either a sword skill or significant damage—to count as a stun trigger.

Naoki took a moment to catch his breath. That last move had been powerful, but it left him needing to steady himself.

His heart pounded as he shouted, "Switch!"

Stepping forward, he gripped his sword and thrust it out.

It wasn't a sword skill—just a simple stab—but it was only a fraction slower than Asuna's own skill.

Asuna pulled back, waiting for her skill cooldown.

Naoki's blade sank into the flower's chest. With a fierce kick, he sent it sprawling to the ground.

The last flower staggered to its feet and charged at him.

Asuna stepped in, intercepting it.

The flower Naoki had kicked lay helpless, its grotesque maw pressed into the dirt, jagged teeth twitching.

Naoki shivered at the sight but didn't hesitate. He finished it off with three quick stabs, each one piercing clean through. Its HP dropped to zero.

"Naoki, hurry!" Asuna called out.