"I can't believe I was actually chosen." Kirito's head was still buzzing.
The meeting concluded after the members of the Boss Raid Team were announced.
At Aomori's request, Kirito and the other four team members went to a leveling area together today to practice and get to know each other, improving their coordination.
Arriving at a deeper leveling area, Aomori said, "This looks good. How about everyone introduces themselves first?"
Kirito subtly observed the other four. To be selected by Aomori for this squad, they must all be highly skilled players.
"I am Nautilus. Please take care of me," spoke first a well-mannered young man with brown hair. His expression was tight, perhaps from nervousness or simply his personality.
Next was a large, dark-skinned man with the "strong-man haircut": "I'm Agil. I'm already an old guy. I originally wanted to relax with my wife in this game, but then this happened. If you need anything, just say the word. If it's within my capability, leave it to me."
He seemed like a very reliable older man. Kirito nodded.
The third person was a tall player wearing a hooded cloak. He pushed back his hood, revealing a face with slightly Western features: "My name is PoH, P-o-H. I'm delighted to be working with you all. Honestly, Leader Aomori is my idol. I'm really looking forward to raiding bosses with you."
Aomori responded with a smile.
Kirito, however, felt a slight dislike for this man, sensing something insincere about him. He looked at the next player, who was also wearing a hooded cloak, and recognized the person he had been watching earlier that morning.
'I remember the name was 'Asuna,' right? Is she a girl?'
Kirito watched "Asuna" put her hand on the brim of her hood, pausing for a moment before suddenly pulling the hood back, revealing soft chestnut hair and a beautiful face. She seemed slightly flustered, took a deep breath, and finally said, "I'm Asuna. Nice to meet you all."
"Whoa, a beautiful young lady," PoH whistled.
Nautilus and Agil both showed expressions of being pleasantly surprised, though Nautilus quickly turned his head away.
Kirito was no exception. In his meager experience with the opposite sex, he had never seen such a beautiful girl. He deliberately turned his head, masking his slightly flushed face, and said, "Hello, everyone. My name is Kirito. Kirito as in the kiri from kirigaya and the to from kazuto."
Aomori watched the scene quietly, a hint of sentimentality in his eyes. He never thought characters he once loved could come to life so vividly before him.
A few seconds later, he had adjusted his mood and pulled his thoughts back to reality.
The main reason he organized this Boss Raid Team was to complete Main Quest 2. The psychologically warped PoH and the gaming-addicted Kirito were his primary targets; the others were simply bonuses.
Additionally, keeping PoH restrained by his side would prevent him from going off and causing trouble, while Kirito, the main character with good luck, might lead to good developments if kept close.
More importantly, as long as Aomori landed the final blow, the experience points and score points would not be lacking...
Seeing that the five had finished their self-introductions, Aomori decided he wouldn't stay here. He wanted to go to the Labyrinth Area to level up. In this dungeon, where Monsters were everywhere, he felt like he was in paradise and naturally didn't want to waste a single second.
Thus, Aomori casually tossed out, "You all get acquainted first. I'll go scout the Labyrinth Area," and vanished before the five of them.
The five players exchanged perplexed glances. "He just left? No on-site training or anything?"
"Well then, let's start leveling," Agil was the first to break the deadlock and suggested.
"Alright."
Then Agil watched as the other four each chose a spot and began grinding Monsters individually.
"???" Didn't he tell us to get acquainted? Why is everyone doing their own thing? Agil, the adult in the room, felt stressed. After thinking about it, he sought out the Black Swordsman, Kirito, who seemed easy to get along with.
"Kirito, mind if I grind with you? Two people are more efficient."
"No, not at all, not at all." Kirito wasn't a dense idiot with zero social awareness; he couldn't possibly say no at a time like this.
"That's great. Actually, I..." Agil launched into a lengthy monologue about his past experiences while simultaneously pulling two monsters.
"Hehehe..." Kirito forced a smile while keeping his attention on the other three.
'Nautilus-san's swordsmanship is rigid and by-the-book; it looks very orthodox. Was he a master swordsman in real life? PoH-san is using short blades. Every strike is aimed at a weak point; his technique is very practiced. As for Asuna-san, hmm...' Kirito couldn't help but frown.
"Hey! Kirito, come help me out quickly!" Agil had pulled a Monster but didn't expect Kirito to be distracted.
"Ah, ah, sorry! Sorry!" Snapped awake, Kirito forgot about observing the others and quickly helped clear the Monster.
After barely scraping by, Agil said testily, "Seriously, if you're so concerned, just go talk to her! What good does just watching do? Back in my day, I was..."
"It's not like that..." Sigh. Kirito decided to give up on explaining. "I apologize, but there is something I'm very concerned about."
After bowing several times to Agil to apologize, Kirito ran toward Asuna.
…
Meanwhile, Aomori was grinding monsters in the Labyrinth Area with Absol and Pidgeotto. The small-fry Monsters posed almost no threat to them.
Aomori watched the incessant System notifications with a pleasant feeling.
Suddenly, Aomori noticed a unique System notification:
Ding!
[Congratulations to player Aomori and pet Absol! Affection Level has reached Lv5. Unlocked Affection Skill: Telepathy!]
Affection Skill? Telepathy?
Aomori exerted a little effort, turning all the Monsters in his field of vision into experience points, then opened Absol's panel. Sure enough, there it was.
[Telepathy: The player and the pet can engage in mind-to-mind conversation.]
"I see." Aomori glanced at Absol and silently communicated in his mind: 'Absol? Can you hear me?'
Absol looked at Aomori as if startled, and a clear voice rang out in Aomori's mind: 'Papa? Is that you?'
Papa?
'It's me, but don't call me Papa. Call me Aniki from now on.'
'Understood, Aniki.'
The labyrinth was exceptionally silent. Pidgeotto looked left and right, feeling like it had been excluded. It hurriedly squawked several times: "pidgeo pidgeotto!"
Absol preferred quiet and wasn't very talkative, so the conversation ceased after a few exchanges.
Aomori smiled knowingly at Pidgeotto and said, "Don't worry. You'll get it too eventually."
"Pidgeo!"
Afterward, Aomori and Absol kept busy for a while, testing the range of the Telepathy skill.
Given this discovery, Aomori didn't have time to challenge the boss on this floor. He only noted the location of the boss room before leaving the Labyrinth Area.
Having learned about this skill, Aomori's desire to capture a Ghost-type Pokémon grew even stronger.
"Once this dungeon is over, let's return to the Pokémon world for the next one, Absol."
"Alright!"
————
You can read the ahead chapter on Patr if you're interested: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]