Chapter 68 – Sword Art Online (36)
“… You said you did! I will not sell this information no matter what!”
It was clearly Argo’s voice with a peculiar nasal sound at the end, but it was more than 30% harsher than usual.
Then came the voice of a man with spikes.
“I have no intention of monopolizing the information, and I have no intention of disclosing it. Then I can only think that there is an aim to get more money!”
Peculiar speech.
Seo-jun stops his feet and then starts climbing the rock wall next to him. In SAO, there are not a few places where you can go up and down with study and hard work, even if the terrain seems impassable at first glance.
After climbing about 5 meters, there was a narrow flat like a terrace.
He lowered himself on it, gestured to the other girls to be quiet, and approached cautiously.
The source of the fighting voice is now almost directly below.
“It’s not about the price! I’m saying that selling information and getting resentful is a no-brainer!!”
To that line, another man’s voice replied back.
“Why do you think the sleepers will resent you!? I told you to pay well enough and thank you!! As long as you sell the information on the «Extra Skill» acquisition quest hidden on this floor!!”
Extra skills are «hidden skills» that do not appear on the skill tree unless special conditions are met.
During the beta days, only two things were discovered: the 《Meditation》 skill, which increases the rate of HP recovery or the probability of bad status disappearing by sitting cross-legged, and the 《Katana》 unlocked by Seo-jun.
I don’t know about the latter, but few people use the former because of its subtle performance and sloppy attitude.
Anyway, it is certain that Argo and the mysterious Haoche man are talking about not «meditation».
It’s because the NPCs who teach that exist on the 6th floor, far above.
In other words, on this second floor, there was a quest to unlock an extra skill hidden, and it was assumed that the Haoche men approached Argo to sell that information.
… Of course, Seo-joon was aware of this event.
Because I saw it in the original.
The volume of the men’s voices increased.
“I will never back down today!”
“That extra skill is an absolute necessity for graduates to complete!”
“They don’t understand! No matter what, I won’t sell that information… It’s not, I don’t sell it!!”
The tension in the air raised the voltage even further. And Seo-jun, who couldn’t see it, got up from his seat.
“Wait here for a moment.”
“Huh.”
“Okay.”
After Seo-joon told the girls, he stood on top of the rock wall and threw himself five meters to the ground. Landing exactly halfway between Argo and the men, he immediately cast his eyes on the men.
“Who are you!?”
“Are you a spy from somewhere!?”
Seojun had seen the Haoche men shouting at the same time in the beta.
Dark gray cloth armor all over the body. His weapon is a small scimitar mounted on his back. And on his head is an equally gray bandana cap and a pirate mask. Overall, it can’t be said that it creatively reproduced the appearance of the so-called “Ninja”.
And he saw a guy who looked like this a few times during the beta test.
These are the guys who enjoy the so-called concept play.
“Shouldn’t they reveal themselves first before asking who they are?”
“Hmm! That makes sense! The graduates say they are Kotaro and Isuke from the guild 《Fumaningun》!!”
“Did you come up with that pose from scratch?”
Doo!
The two introduce themselves with cool poses.
Seojun was a little dumbfounded. That would be the case, too, as all of the guild called Fuuma Ningun, which these two were small, invested heavily in agility just like Argo.
It was because, no matter how you think about it, they were garbage, repeating dizzying battles at the forefront, running away with the speed of running when they were in danger, and presenting monsters to nearby parties.
Well, at least now that it’s a death game, it doesn’t seem like they’re doing that.
Still, it seems that they like ninja quite a bit, seeing as they practice ninja sword even in the SAO official service that has become a death game.
However, it would be a different story if you chased Argo, a female player 2-1, and forced him to provide information to those who could have been treated favorably as a little oddballs.
Seo-joon made the Argo back with a gesture and put her finger on the hilt of the curved sword at her waist.
“I don’t know what it is, but I want you to put up with me causing trouble to my acquaintances.”
Moment.
Under the fake ninja hood, Kotaro’s and Issuke’s eyes twinkled at the same time.
“It’s just fine!!”
“If you are a close friend of the information trader, can’t you please ask us to sell the information she has?!”
“Hmm?”
Seojun tilted his head.
It didn’t seem particularly malicious. However, Argo’s intentions were more important than granting that request.
“Argo, how are you?”
“Swarm! Absolutely impossible!!”
“… You say so?”
Seojun shrugged.
At that, the two ninjas put their hands together and politely asked again.
“Please!!”
“We absolutely need that information to become perfect ninjas!”
Seo-joon knew what that information was.
Still don’t know here, she asked her first.
“Why are you not trying to sell?”
“… Ok.”
Argo made a troubled expression.
She scratched her head and gestured to Seo-jun.
As she approached her ear as she wished, Argo quietly whispered.
“… It’s information that allows you to acquire the «Physical» skill that allows you to fight with your bare hands.”
She kept talking.
Extra skill, taijutsu. This skill, which allows you to fight with your bare body without a weapon, is sure to be of great help. And it will be useful for concept play.
However, the difficulty of learning is extreme.
The content of the quest is to break a rock with bare fists, and once you start, graffiti will be engraved on your face that will never be erased until you clear it.
However, the rock has a hardness right before the indestructible object.
Even Argo, when she first found it, she liked it because it seemed like she could sell it for a high price, but after experiencing it herself, she seems to have realized that it was something that should never be sold.
For her reference, the fact that she drew a mouse beard during the beta was the reason she couldn’t finish this quest and she couldn’t erase her graffiti after all.
“Aha.”
Seojun nodded his head as if he understood.
Those ninjas who were stunned by her agility would never be able to clear the quest, so she must have been trying not to sell her information.
Seojun stroked Argo’s hair.
“Well, leave this to me.”
Seojun saw the ninjas.
And he said to them
“I’ve heard of it, but I guess I can’t tell you guys.”
“Why!”
“Well, as a condition to clear this quest, you need to invest a lot of strength stats. But you all invested in agility, didn’t you?”
“… Ugh!”
“That, that… Still, there is no reason not to sell information!”
“No, I can’t sell it.”
That would be too.
Seojun added.
“Because there is a huge penalty if you fail the quest.”
“… Is that true?”
“Uh. The Argo here also tried it during the beta, but after failing, it didn’t sell because it couldn’t be sold.”
“… Keugh!”
“Nonsense…”
The ninjas despaired.
Still, they seemed naive when you see that they believed the other person’s words straight away.
Seo-joon looked at the two for a while and then asked Argo.
“… But if they say they’ll buy after investing quite a bit in strength, can’t I sell it?”
“… Uh, is that so?”
After thinking for a moment, she shook her head.
“If you are at a level where you can succeed in that quest, there will be no problem selling it.”
“Okay, I got it for now. Did you hear that too?”
The ninjas who had their ears pricked up saw him.
Seo-joon told them.
“If you guys come with enough strength to clear the quest, I’m willing to sell it, so if you really want it, come back after investing.”
“… OK, I’ll get it right away. Thank you for saying that.”
“I will repay this grace later! Then!”
“Ninnin!!”
The two quickly disappear.
Seo-jun, who was watching his back, lowered his hand from the sack.
Immediately after, two small hands suddenly reached out from behind and hugged Seo-jun tightly. I feel the warm and soft touch on his back, and the sound of a small whisper shakes my hearing.
“… Thank you, Jun Doryeong.”
That voice belonged to Argo, who had been quietly silent until now.
However, it was full of shyness, subtly different from her usual bad boy.
“… I don’t think this older sister or Jun Do-ryeong would break the information rule number 1.”
Information rules?
Although it is a remark that attracts intellectual curiosity, Seo-joon responded more to her behavior than that.
He carefully grabbed the hand that was wrapped around his waist.
“Were you that scared?”
“Uh, so let me stay like this a little longer.”
“So what?”
How long was that
Seo-joon asked her, who was somewhat genuine.
“Are you calm?”
“Huh. I feel a little better now.”
Seojun turned her head and looked at her.
Certainly, seeing that playful expression, it seemed to calm my heart. Well, as a young girl, the experience of being chased by two eccentric men like that must not have been very pleasant.
“This, I lost the light to the lord who gave it to me again.”
“Debt, take this much.”
“It might be a close relationship, but it’s good to do this thoroughly. So if you want anything later, tell me.”
“Well, if Argo says so.”
“… This is interest, so accept it.”
Argo, who had approached Seo-joon, stood up and kissed her on the cheek.
Side, there was a sound.
After a brief kiss that lasted less than a second, she stepped back behind her. Then she turned her body around, pulling her robe over to hide her reddened face.
“Well, then I need to get some useful information from the second floor, so I’ll go… !!”
Leaving only her words behind, she drifted away, blowing her dusty wind.
Seo-joon smiled at that cute figure. He felt several people behind him. The girls who had been hiding and watching had approached.
“Jun-kun~?”
“Your brother is a playboy.”
“My fault for falling in love with this guy is big.”
“… Ahaha, I’m always on Jun’s side.”
Seojun touched the back of his neck.
Having nothing to say, he changed the subject.
“… Now that we’ve confirmed that Argo is safe, let’s go find a place to stay. Then everyone else will take over.”
“Ah, turn the horse!”
“… Let’s go.”
Seojun intentionally ignored it and quickly headed for Urbas.
