"Actually, aside from apologizing, there's one more thing.
That is… I don't know if either of you has considered joining a guild?"
Asuna: "Huh? What's that?"
Kirito: "A guild is… well, simply put, it's kind of like a school club. A group of like-minded people banding together and acting as one.
Mr. Diabel, are you planning to establish a guild?"
Kirito first explained to newbie Asuna what a guild was in game terms, then turned to Diabel with the question.
"Yes, that's exactly what I had in mind. As you saw in this recent raid, when we act in an organized way, the difficulty and casualty rate drop drastically, and the success rate of clearing floors goes up significantly.
Both of you have impressive skills and execution. So, for the sake of clearing this game faster, I'd like to invite you two to join my guild. It'll make future boss raids, like today's, much smoother."
Although he hadn't managed to snatch the special reward this time, Diabel didn't dwell on it—there would be other chances.
More importantly, this raid had proven to him just how skilled Kirito and Asuna were.
Seiya didn't look like someone easy to recruit, so Diabel figured it was better to start with Kirito and Asuna.
Asuna had both beauty and strength—if she agreed to join, she'd be the guild's poster girl, and recruits would flock in.
As for Kirito, his raw ability aside, it looked like he was close to Seiya. If Kirito joined, perhaps Seiya might follow.
With the fame and resources of the "Saint," the guild could rise to prominence in no time.
One had to admit, Diabel's little scheme was practically written all over his face—his abacus beads were clicking so loud they might as well have been bouncing into Kirito and Asuna's laps.
But in response to Diabel's earnest, "for the greater good" invitation, the answers from Kirito and Asuna were…
Kirito: "Sorry, I've always been a lone wolf. These days, I don't even team up with Seiya anymore.
And I don't like restrictions. Still, if it's something like today's raid, and you call me, I probably won't refuse."
Asuna: "My situation's pretty much the same as his. So, sorry."
Asuna was lying, though. Unlike Kirito, she wasn't entirely opposed to the idea of joining a guild.
But… how to put it—although she had just forgiven Diabel for his earlier actions, when it came down to it, she still couldn't bring herself to truly trust him.
If she was going to fight alongside anyone, she'd rather it be Seiya and Kirito.
Kirito was easy enough to read, a hardcore gamer whose personality matched his appearance.
Seiya, on the other hand… outwardly cheerful, inwardly a bit dark, mature, sharp-minded, and—as she'd just learned—hiding a sharp tongue.
Compared to Kirito, Asuna couldn't quite see through Seiya. But there was one thing she knew beyond doubt.
Seiya was absolutely not a bad person. Don't ask her why—call it a woman's sixth sense!
Maybe it was just as Seiya had said: she and Kirito were simply two naive, clueless high-schoolers.
But that was fine—if they didn't understand how cruel the world could be, then as long as Seiya did, that was enough.
In short, if Seiya couldn't even be bothered to acknowledge Diabel, that alone was proof he wasn't someone worth trusting.
Meanwhile, Seiya—already on the second floor—had no idea Diabel had thrown out an olive branch to Kirito and Asuna, only to be turned down.
Because the moment he stepped onto the second floor, his long-silent system suddenly informed him that the startup mission was complete, and that he should quickly find a safe spot to enter the "Realm Between Dream and Mind."
Once on the second floor, Seiya wasted no time. He rushed into an NPC inn, rented a room, and locked himself away to avoid interruptions.
Soon enough, he entered the so-called "Realm Between Dream and Mind."
It was a vast, boundless, pure-white space, within which stood countless unopened doors.
Seiya had reached this place by walking down a long corridor and pushing open one of the doors.
And he quickly realized that the door he'd used was only one of many in this realm.
Click!
Not long after he arrived, another door not far away swung open.
When Seiya saw the person who walked through, he froze in shock.
Because the newcomer looked exactly like him—except for the black school uniform he wore.
At first, both Seiyas stood dumbfounded at the sight of one another. But after a brief moment of shock, they both quickly accepted the situation.
After all, being transmigrators themselves was already ridiculous enough.
On that basis, what was one more supernatural absurdity?
"So, in other words, you're me as well—just the version who transmigrated into the Prince of Tennis world?"
After a short exchange, the two Seiyas finally understood what the "true cheat" mentioned by their system really was.
Through physical contact, Sword Art Seiya suddenly found himself flooded with another set of memories and abilities.
And these memories and abilities didn't feel foreign or forced—they blended into him as naturally as if they'd been his all along.
Since they were essentially the same person, the integration was seamless, with no rejection at all.
The same went for Tennis Seiya. In his world, as a student, naturally he played tennis—after all, in that world, if you didn't play tennis, you couldn't amount to much.
Because of that, Tennis Seiya had honed excellent physical conditioning and dynamic vision from a young age.
Still, though they were middle schoolers, their physical ability lagged far behind that of adults.
But after this round of ability sharing, both Sword Art Seiya and Tennis Seiya realized that their combined physical stats were now no weaker than an adult's—possibly even stronger!
And not just that—their specialties had stacked onto each other as well, resulting in huge boosts.
Sword Art Seiya gained Tennis Seiya's keen dynamic vision and stamina.
Meanwhile, Tennis Seiya received Sword Art Seiya's swordsmanship techniques, reflexes, and explosive power.
(End of Chapter)
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