A blue light flared from the one-handed sword in Seiya's hand—the activation glow of a Sword Skill.
With a spark flashing at the tip, the blade shot forward like a streak of lightning, plunging straight into the Hungry Wolf Leader's eye.
Pixels of deep crimson, like spurting blood, burst from its eyeball as the field boss let out a piercing howl of agony.
No matter the species, the eyes were always a weakness.
Seiya's sword had sunk all the way in, delivering a devastating critical blow. Under the multiplied damage, the wolf leader collapsed on the spot, dead before it could even retaliate.
The moment the boss fell, the last surviving wolf chasing Kirito shattered like broken glass, vanishing into pixels.
When Kirito looked back, he was startled to see Seiya already "looting the corpse."
He clearly remembered that once the wolf leader's HP dropped below ten percent, it should have entered berserk mode and summoned another wave of minions.
But Seiya had bypassed that entire phase, one-shotting it with a massive weak-point strike.
"This isn't what we agreed on! Weren't we supposed to let the one handling the minions land the finishing blow on the boss?"
SAO had a unique mechanic: the player who landed the final hit on a boss received a special bonus reward.
Seiya and Kirito had agreed that the last hit should go to the one who worked harder—in this case, the one luring away the summoned wolves.
But the result turned out very differently.
"Alright, alright, I already said sorry. I didn't expect this so-called field boss to be that weak. Besides, didn't I give you all the other drops?"
Kirito glanced down at the pile of junk loot in his hands, then at the gleaming wolf-fang necklace hanging around Seiya's neck. His chest tightened with envy.
Sure, the wolf leader's drops were valuable at this stage, but compared to Seiya's special reward, they were nothing.
Equipment: Wolf-Heart Necklace
Type: Accessory
Effect: Increases EXP gained by 20%.
Bound to: Seiya
When Kirito saw the special equipment, his eyes burned red.
Most rare gear in SAO came from boss drops or final-hit rewards. Normally, even rare items were just transitional—good until your level outgrew them.
But there was one category of equipment with no level requirements, whose effects scaled by percentage. They remained useful at any level.
Such items were rare among rares.
And the Wolf-Heart Necklace wasn't just any scaling item—it boosted experience gain.
In the early game, that effect might not seem overwhelming, since leveling up wasn't too difficult yet. But in the mid-to-late game? As a seasoned gamer, Kirito knew: this thing was practically a divine artifact.
Of course, no matter how much he wanted it, there was nothing Kirito could do. The necklace was soul-bound to Seiya—and more importantly, Seiya was his only true friend in this world. All Kirito could do was grumble about his dog-like luck.
Time flew like a fleeting shadow. Before they knew it, a month had passed since the players had been trapped inside SAO.
And yet, after an entire month, not a single group had managed to clear the first floor and ascend to the second.
For comparison—during the beta test, players had already reached the eighth floor by this point.
By all logic, with returning beta testers already familiar with the game, the clearing speed should have been even faster this time. But reality was the opposite.
The reason was simple.
In the beta, players could afford to rush ahead recklessly. Failure meant nothing—they could respawn and try again. Floor bosses, no matter how powerful, eventually fell to relentless war-of-attrition tactics.
But now, the game was no longer just a game—it was their lives.
One death here meant real death. With fear in their hearts, progress slowed to a crawl.
And because of that slow pace, today a strategy meeting was being held at Tolbana's central plaza to discuss clearing the first floor boss.
The meeting was organized by a handsome, blue-haired player named Diavel. The attendees were all the most prominent frontline players.
"Seiya, that bastard… he said he was busy and told me to come alone. And to skip out on something this important? Just what the hell is he up to?"
Over the past month, aside from their early days together, Seiya had begun acting alone more and more once he fully grasped the game's mechanics.
After completing the greedy merchant Messi's quest, both he and Kirito had received Windflower Swords as rewards. But Seiya, under the guise of being a "noble's son," also gained Messi's personal favor.
With his silver tongue and his hefty startup funds, Seiya had secured valuable resources and connections. He was now laying the foundations for his own trading guild.
Kirito knew that with their combined strength, the floor boss would've been no problem if Seiya stayed by his side.
But instead of focusing on clearing, his friend was neck-deep in business ventures. That was why Kirito had to attend the meeting alone today.
On stage, Diavel spoke confidently to the gathered players, radiating the aura of a true leader.
The crowd nodded in agreement, ready to follow his plan—
Until a spiky-haired player named Kibaou suddenly jumped out, pointing fingers at the so-called "beater" players and loudly accusing them of causing so many deaths by being selfish.
(End of Chapter)