Third day in the SAO world.
Early in the morning, the quiet inn became bustling again as the sky brightened.
After Asuna and Katsura Kotonoha got up and washed up, they went to the next door and knocked on the door, asking Luo Jie to come downstairs for breakfast.
"Have you heard? Yesterday, members of the Black Beast Mercenaries infiltrated the city and assassinated Minister Thomas."
"That Black Beast Mercenary Group again? When will the Crown Princess lead the army to eliminate this gang of bandits?"
"That's right, these people are even more terrifying than those monster girls... Are they going to break into the royal city one day?"
"Blah blah blah..."
Never underestimate the speed of word of mouth.
In just one night, the news that Prime Minister Thomas had been assassinated in his home by a Black Beast Mercenary thief with a crossbow had spread throughout the streets and alleys of the royal capital.
All morning, nearly everyone's conversation revolved around the assassination, as if anyone who didn't join in the conversation about the Prime Minister's assassination and the Black Beast would be mocked as an uninformed country bumpkin.
Of course, to outsiders like Asuna and Katsura Kotonoha, whether the person who died last night was a prime minister or a street beggar was just a name of insignificance.
"By the way, Nightmare, I heard quite a few people have decided to go out hunting today."
At the dinner table, Asuna shoveled at her bowl of bland vegetable stew when she suddenly broke out a startling piece of news.
"Oh? So early?"
Luo Jie was a little surprised. Although he knew these time travelers would eventually encounter this day, he hadn't expected someone to be ready for battle so soon.
"Perhaps they feel that further training won't yield any real results? I even feel that the monthly living allowance these aliens gave us wasn't for self-training at all, but rather to give us some time to absorb reality."
Asuna's words were echoed by Katsura Kotonoha.
"I think so too... The book they gave us mentioned that the rules of this world are very similar to those in our RPGs (role-playing games). The power gained through training is minimal, and the fastest way to increase your strength is to continually slay powerful monsters."
After spending the entire day together yesterday, the shy and introverted girl had finally overcome her inner male phobia a little, at least daring to speak to Luo Jie in Asuna's presence.
"Nightmare-kun, Kotonoha and I discussed it last night, and we've decided to go out of town today to hunt monster girls... Hmm, what about you?"
Luo Jie could tell Asuna wanted to invite him along, but was afraid of hurting his reputation if he didn't, so he used this subtle way to test his stance. Just like in the original novel, she's a gentle girl who knows how to consider others.
"It just so happens that I have something to discuss with you two."
Seeing Luo Jie's formal tone, Asuna and Katsura Kotonoha simultaneously put down their cutlery, sat up straight, and looked at him in confusion.
"I'm planning to head to the top floor of the floating city 'Aincrad.' Before I get there, I might need two regular companions..."
Luo Jie didn't mention the "Savior" mission. It wasn't that he couldn't, but he felt the title was too flashy and a bit awkward to bring up.
"Can't you go home on the 75th floor? What are you doing on the 100th floor, Nightmare?" Asuna asked curiously.
"That... just think of me as just curious." Luo Jie smiled noncommittally. "Of course, I won't ask you two for free. If you're willing to be my teammates, I'll prepare the best armor and weapons for you, and do my best to keep you both safe while you're in 'Aincrad.'" "
Katsura Kotonoha's eyes widened at this, and she blushed as if she had thought of something. Asuna was also stunned for a moment, then teased, "Night Dire-kun's words sound a bit like some kind of ritual oath. Look, Kotonoha is blushing..."
"Asuna-sister, don't joke like that..." Katsura Kotonoha waved her hands helplessly. "I... I don't have any feelings for Night Dire-kun..."
"Okay, it's just a joke. Kotonoha, you might look cute right now, but you can't stay so shy!" Asuna put her arm around Katsura Kotonoha's shoulders and said to Luo Jie, "Kotonoha and I can agree to this, but let me make one thing clear up front: we're not doing this for your promise..."
"Why?" Luo Jie asked curiously.
"Because we're friends!" "
Asuna, a gentle smile on her face, stood up and extended her fist towards Luo Jie. Luo Jie paused for a moment, then smiled and placed his hand on the back of Asuna's smooth, jade-like hand.
Kura Kotonoha hesitated for a moment, then, as if making up her mind, stood up and placed her own hand on top.
...
——[Reminder: You have formed an "Aincrad" raiding party with the story characters "Asuna" and "Kura Kotonoha."]
——[Story characters "Asuna" and "Kura Kotonoha" gain the "World Goddess's Blessing" effect—temporarily enabling the SAO world's digitalized rules. Level-up experience can be gained by killing beasts and monsters, with corresponding attribute point bonuses depending on the class.]
——[Under the "World Goddess's Blessing," story NPCs and monsters in this scene are capped at a maximum level of 99, with a maximum Constitution stat cap of 2000 points and a maximum Spirit stat cap of 2000 points. ]
——[In this scenario, players will not be affected by the "Blessing of the World Goddess" and cannot level up by killing monsters. Experience points earned will be evenly distributed among the story characters in the party.]
As the party formed, a series of system prompts popped up from Luo Jie's visual projection.
Hmm... that's a bit overwhelming; he needed to process it carefully.
The digitized rules were within his expectations. After all, SAO's original novel is set in an online game world. No matter how much the system was modified, it couldn't eliminate this basic monster-killing and leveling routine.
Otherwise, the ten thousand travelers in this scenario wouldn't be here to save the world, but to die.
A true 1,000-mile deliverance.
The level limit is 99, a typical online game leveling routine, corresponding to the number of floors in the floating city "Aincrad." Its main purpose is probably to help travelers understand their current safe range and avoid wandering into high-level areas and causing their own misfortunes.
The 2000-point cap on both Constitution and Spirit actually refers to the maximum attribute cap for the boss creature in this scenario.
Common sense suggests that even if a story NPC were to reach the maximum level of 99 and fully equipped with E-Gold gear, their base attributes wouldn't be able to reach this level. Even reaching one-third would likely be the limit.
Using this standard, Luo Jie's current base attributes are roughly equivalent to...
Level 99.
Yes, that's right. Perhaps even higher.