The two of them, one after the other, sped across the vast plains.
Their destination was a hidden cave deep within the wild boar monster spawning area, a place rarely visited even by Closed Beta Players.
"Your goal is the quenching longsword. I know about this hidden quest."
Argo's voice came from ahead. She didn't turn around, her tone as flat as if stating a fact unrelated to herself.
She constantly surveyed her surroundings, wary of strange creatures suddenly darting out—a habit she had maintained since the Closed Beta.
"The quest requires you to continuously kill five berserk wild boars at the cave entrance, triggering their aggro. You can't handle it alone."
"That's why I need your help," Chen Mo admitted frankly.
He possessed macroscopic memories of the next few years, knowing BOSS strategies and the fates of key characters.
But when it came to the specifics of how to swing a sword or how to position himself, he was now a complete novice. Although he had tried a few times, he was ultimately unskilled.
No sooner had he spoken than a wandering wild boar locked onto Chen Mo, who was lagging behind. Its crimson eyes reflected his figure, and then it let out a roar, charging forward with hooves flying!
Chen Mo's heart skipped a beat. He gripped his starting short sword, mimicking the posture of the Black Swordsman from his memories, leaning his body forward.
However, the sword skill did not activate.
The system was unresponsive.
His stiff posture appeared utterly comical in Argo's eyes.
"Idiot! Your starting stance is wrong!"
Argo's voice carried undisguised mockery. She stopped in place, watching with interest to see how Chen Mo would resolve the situation.
Seeing the wild boar's tusks about to touch him, Chen Mo executed a clumsy roll, narrowly dodging the attack.
"SAO's skill assistance requires you to follow the skill's pattern for it to register!"
Argo finally turned, crossing her arms, the helplessness in her tone almost overflowing.
"You don't even know this? Are you really a Closed Beta Player?" Her doubts resurfaced.
"There's always a gap between theory and practice," Chen Mo climbed up from the grass, no embarrassment on his face. He simply laid it bare, "This body hasn't moved in too long."
Argo fell silent.
This man was becoming increasingly difficult for her to understand.
He possessed top-tier intelligence that even Closed Beta elites yearned for, yet he lacked even the most basic combat knowledge.
This extreme contradiction made her keen, merchant-like intuition sniff out an unusual aura.
"Watch closely. I'll only teach you once."
Argo stopped with the idle talk, crouching slightly, pulling her dagger back a tiny amount.
"This is the starting stance for the one-handed sword skill, [Horizontal Slash].
After activation, your body will have a brief stiffness, during which you cannot move or defend."
As she spoke, she used her dagger to simulate the sword's trajectory.
"So, either you kill in one hit, or you must learn to cancel the stiffness."
"How do I cancel it?" Chen Mo immediately pressed, this was the key.
"Use the next skill," Argo said concisely. "The moment the previous skill's recovery ends, strike the starting stance for the next skill. The system will recognize it as a skill chain, thereby offsetting the stiffness. This is the difference between experts and novices."
In a flash of insight, Chen Mo's mind suddenly cleared.
So that's it! Those fluid combos in the anime weren't just fast; they utilized this system mechanic!
"The deal was just to help you get the sword. This is a bonus," Argo glanced at him. "Now, you try."
The wild boar that had missed its attack turned around and charged again.
Chen Mo discarded all distractions, focusing on Argo's explanation, holding his short sword horizontally in front of him, lowering his body.
This was the feeling!
The moment the wild boar entered attack range, the short sword in his hand glowed with a faint blue light.
[Horizontal Slash]!
A clean slash cut across the wild boar's waist, bringing up a string of damage numbers.
The moment the skill hit, a feeling of stiffness spread through his body, leaving him unable to move.
Now!
Chen Mo forcibly twisted his body, and before the stiffness ended, he raised his sword high, striking the starting stance for [Vertical Slash].
Buzz—!
The sword glowed again, the stiffness vanished, replaced by an extremely fluid sense of power.
The second slash came down heavily!
With a mournful howl, the wild boar's HP bar was instantly emptied, transforming into a shower of blue data fragments.
[Ding! Learned Skill Combo Technique, Proficiency +1.]
Beneath Argo's cloak, a hint of unconcealed surprise flickered in her eyes.
She had only taught him once, without even a full demonstration, yet he had succeeded.
This guy's learning ability was somewhat terrifying.
"Let's go."
Chen Mo exhaled a breath. The exhilaration of his first battle victory lifted his spirits considerably.
With Argo's guidance, he quickly mastered the connections between several basic sword skills. Though still a bit clumsy, he was no longer the noob who couldn't even unleash a skill.
The two soon arrived at the cave, half-hidden by vines and rocks.
At the entrance, five berserk wild boars, noticeably larger in size, paced back and forth, exuding a dangerous aura.
"I'll pull two, you handle three. Any problems?" Argo drew her dagger.
"No problem," Chen Mo gripped his weapon.
The next second, Argo's figure darted out like a phantom, two cold gleams accurately attracting the aggro of two wild boars.
The remaining three roared and charged towards Chen Mo!
Chen Mo calmed his mind, sidestepped, [Horizontal Slash]! Connect, [Vertical Slash]!
His movements were far less graceful than Argo's, but they were precise and effective.
After paying the price of some HP, the three berserk wild boars successively turned into fragments.
On the other side, Argo had already finished her battle and was leaning against a rock, watching him.
The moment the fifth wild boar dissipated, a melodious bell chime echoed without warning from the direction of the Town of Beginning.
Dong—
Dong—
The bell's sound was dull and oppressive, striking everyone's heart with each toll.
"What's going on?" Argo straightened abruptly, looking towards the Town of Beginning.
There hadn't been this event during the Closed Beta.
Chen Mo didn't speak. He simply looked up at the sky.
It's here.
The clear blue sky had, at some point, been stained with an ominous blood-red hue.
Giant [WARNING] and [SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT] texts covered the entire firmament.
An irresistible, coercive force swept over them, instantly teleporting the two players from the wilderness back to the central plaza of the Town of Beginning.
The plaza was packed with people, tens of thousands of players gathered there, every face filled with confusion and unease.
"Hey! The logout button is gone!"
"Is this an open beta event? What a grand scale!"
Amidst the clamorous discussions, the blood-red color in the sky grew more intense, finally coalescing into a colossal, faceless giant wearing a red cloak.
"Players, welcome to my world."
A cold, emotionless electronic synthesized voice reverberated throughout Aincrad.
"My name is Akihiko Kayaba. I am the sole god of this world."
The plaza instantly fell silent.
"I believe you have already noticed that the logout button has disappeared. This is not a malfunction; it is the true nature of Sword Art Online."
"From this moment on, you cannot log out voluntarily. The only way to leave is to clear the hundredth floor of this floating castle."
A panicked commotion began to spread through the crowd.
"Finally, one more thing: if a player's HP drops to zero in the game, the NERvGear on your head will emit high-power microwaves, destroying your brain, which means—death."
"Forcibly removing the NERvGear in the real world will also trigger the same result."
"Boom—!"
The crowd completely erupted.
Screams, cries, curses, despair... countless negative emotions surged skyward.
"This... this must be a lie, right?" Argo's voice trembled. She clutched Chen Mo's sleeve, like a drowning person grasping at a final straw.
Beyond the game, she was just a freshly adult girl.
The fear of death instantly enveloped her entire being.
Chen Mo did not answer her.
He merely looked at the god in the sky who had declared everything, feeling the air of despair around him.
Even though he had known what would happen, when this moment truly arrived, the chill still penetrated his virtual body, reaching deep into his soul.
But unlike the pure terror of others, deep within him, besides the coldness, there was a trace of extreme, suppressed determination.
[Countdown ends...]
[Ding! Detecting that the host still retains a spark of hope amidst extreme despair...]
[Meets system pairing standards...]
[System is binding... Binding successful!]
The voice that rang in his mind made Chen Mo's pupils suddenly contract!
It's here!
This was his greatest trump card for daring to step into this death game!
"Well then, I wish you all good luck."
After Akihiko Kayaba spoke his last words, his giant figure dissolved into blood-like mist and disappeared.
Immediately after, a soft light enveloped all players.
Chen Mo felt his body twist, and the next second, his original special custom outfit transformed into basic novice gear—this was what he wore when he first entered the game.
He turned to look at Argo beside him.
Her cloak, which had concealed her appearance, also vanished.
In its place was a very pretty young girl's face, her flaxen short hair a bit disheveled, and in her pale yellow eyes, there was now only terror and bewilderment.
Everyone's virtual avatars were forcibly replaced with their real-life appearances.
Just at the peak of this chaos and despair, a brand new system notification sounded clearly in Chen Mo's ear.
[Ding! Detecting the official start of the Death Game!]
[Obtained unique title: Warrior in Despair!]