The purple-haired girl stopped.
She slowly turned, her icy gaze falling on Chen Mo, filled with scrutiny and wariness.
"I know where to find ghost essence."
Chen Mo met her gaze, speaking calmly.
Mito appraised the man before her, who seemed utterly ordinary, though a bit handsome.
But how could this man know something even she, a Closed Beta Player, didn't?
"Are you sure?"
Mito's voice remained cool, but the probing in it intensified.
During the closed beta, she had spent an entire month just to barely find a clue for [Shadow Ore]. As for a material like ghost essence, she had never even seen it.
Just then, the door to the blacksmith shop was pushed open again.
A flurry of footsteps approached, followed by a petite figure rushing in.
"Mito! I finally found you!"
The newcomer was Asuna.
Her chestnut hair was somewhat disheveled, and her face still showed the shock and panic from Akihiko Kayaba's death declaration.
At this moment, she hadn't yet developed the calm and composed demeanor she would later possess; she was just an ordinary girl thrust into a death game.
"Asuna?"
Mito was a bit surprised; she hadn't expected Asuna to find her here.
"What are you doing? Everyone else is rushing to kill monsters for experience, so why are you in a place like this?"
Asuna looked around, taking in the humble blacksmith shop.
Her voice carried clear anxiety and unease. Akihiko Kayaba's words still echoed in her ears, and the reality of the death game kept her in a state of high tension.
"I'm taking care of some things."
Mito's reply was brief.
She glanced at Chen Mo, seemingly considering whether to continue their previous conversation.
Chen Mo, however, was decisive. He directly brought up the system map interface and pushed it in front of Mito.
"Look here."
His finger traced a path on the map, extending outwards from the Town of Beginning, through grasslands and forests.
"Further on, there's a graveyard where ghost-type monsters have a certain chance to spawn."
Mito's eyes widened as she carefully examined the marked area on the map.
She had indeed passed by that location, but only briefly, never exploring it in depth.
"How do you know?"
"I saw it during the closed beta."
Chen Mo answered nonchalantly, but Mito's doubts deepened.
As a Closed Beta Player, she also had an impression of that area, but she had never heard of ghost-type monsters there.
"Wait, are you also a Closed Beta Player?"
Asuna suddenly interjected, a hint of hope in her voice.
In this desperate death game, encountering an experienced veteran player was undoubtedly a lifeline for her.
"Sort of."
Chen Mo neither denied nor confirmed it.
"Then can you teach me? I don't know anything, not even how to use the most basic skills."
Asuna stepped forward, her eyes full of expectation.
"Mito taught me a few things earlier... but I'm still not very proficient."
Mito frowned.
She had indeed given Asuna some basic guidance after the death game began, but now she had more important matters to attend to. Without strength, how could she protect the people she needed to protect?
"Asuna, now is not the time."
"Why isn't it the time?"
Asuna's voice rose, her emotions starting to flare.
"Do you know? That madman just said we might die! We really might die! I don't want to die, I still want to return to the real world, I still have so many things unfinished!"
Her eyes reddened, and her voice trembled.
Mito was silent for a moment, then reached out and gently patted Asuna's shoulder.
"Don't worry, I'll protect you."
"But you can't protect me forever!"
Asuna shook her head, "I need to get stronger. I don't want to be a burden."
Chen Mo quietly observed the interaction between the two girls.
He remembered how the Asuna in the original work gradually grew from a fragile girl into one of the top players in SAO.
And this purple-haired Mito before him was Asuna's best friend.
Her strength clearly exceeded that of ordinary players, even surpassing most Closed Beta Players.
"Since everyone is here, why don't we go to that graveyard together?"
Chen Mo suddenly spoke, interrupting their conversation.
"You need ghost essence, and I need experience and equipment. Besides, this place hasn't been discovered by anyone yet, so there are fewer people. We can all get what we need."
Mito considered it for a moment, then nodded.
"Alright, but I have a condition."
"What condition?"
"If there are indeed ghost-type monsters, and we successfully defeat them, the ghost essence belongs to me. You two can distribute the other drops as you wish."
"Deal."
Chen Mo agreed readily.
His original goal was to help Mito complete her equipment upgrade and, incidentally, observe this mysterious purple-haired girl.
"What about me? Can I come along?"
Asuna asked cautiously.
Mito glanced at her, then at Chen Mo.
"Asuna, it will be very dangerous there."
"I'm not afraid of danger!"
Asuna clenched her fists, "I don't want to keep hiding in the safe zone waiting to die. If I'm going to survive in this world, I have to get stronger!"
Chen Mo nodded.
"Okay, but you have to follow orders."
And so, the three-person team was temporarily formed.
As they walked out of the blacksmith shop, the Town of Beginning's plaza was still in chaos.
Some players had already started forming parties to head into the wilderness, but many more were still crying, cursing, or trying to find a logout method that didn't exist.
"What a bunch of fools."
Mito said coldly, "What's the point of wasting time here?"
"Not everyone can be as calm as you."
Asuna defended those people, "They're just scared."
"Fear solves nothing."
Mito's pace was fast, showing no intention of waiting.
"In this world, only the strong can survive."
Chen Mo walked at the back, listening to the two girls' conversation, and some conjectures formed in his mind.
Mito's personality was clearly more ruthless and realistic than that of ordinary players, a trait that was indeed helpful for survival in a death game.
But her protective instincts towards Asuna also revealed the tenderness deep within her.
The three quickly passed through the West Gate and entered the wilderness area.
Following the route Chen Mo pointed out, they traversed the familiar grasslands and entered a dense forest.
Deep in the forest, the air became cold and damp, and the sunlight was largely obscured by the tree canopy, appearing only faintly.
"Are you sure it's this way?"
Mito asked, looking back, her scythe already gripped tightly, ready for battle.
"Confirmed."
Chen Mo pointed forward, "Walk about another kilometer, and you'll see the graveyard."
Just then, a eerie low moan came from ahead.
All three stopped simultaneously, warily observing their surroundings.
"Something's coming."
Mito said in a low voice.
The next second, a translucent figure floated out from deep within the woods.
It was a ghost in tattered robes, its eyes glowing with a eerie green light, slowly drifting towards the three of them.