\"Alberich is very capable in combat, and most importantly, he protects Asuna.
"I see, you mean that my abilities have been recognized by the commander?"
"That's it.
"Of course. On the contrary, it would be an honor to fight alongside you. I will let you learn how to fight."
"Okay, just follow me."
After saying that, Alberich and Lilan walked side by side beside me. But immediately, Lilan made a sound.
\"Isn't he a very friendly person?\"
"Yes, and he is also capable. He is indeed a good person."
\"However, that skill should not be mastered quickly. What exactly did you do?
"Think about it, it won't happen, although there are limits to self-cultivation."
When I was curious about this, I asked Alberich.
"Alberich, you are strong, but where did you get your strength? Did you do something through your own training?"
Alberich chuckled.
"Actually, since the beginning of this game, there has been a person who taught me all kinds of things. This swordsmanship, as well as the way to survive in this world, were all taught by that person. In fact, I can survive to this day because of Thanks to that man."".
Initially, the game took the form of recruiting testers and testing it. Perhaps the "person who taught me how to live" Alberich spoke of might have been a reluctant beta tester. When this game turned into a death game and most players were confused, Alberich was very lucky to meet such a serious and kind player.
"I see. Is that person a beta tester?"
"I'm sure it's true. I'm sure he must be quite a fanatic. I'm really surprised by his dexterity and knowledge. Like a guy who's famous for playing special games on video sites."
Some people understand the specifications of such games and the behavior of artificial intelligence and work on special games.
When I'm in the real world, I'm surprised when I see videos of people like this on video sites, and sometimes I laugh out loud at their performances. There was a time when I admired that kind of person and tried to imitate that person, but on video websites, it is said that it is difficult to imitate that person, and even if you can do it, people will praise you. I'm frustrated because it doesn't work at all.
"It's so careless to have people like that in this game."
"If possible, I'd like to bring that person in too, but do you know where they are?"
"No, after teaching me various things, he suddenly disappeared. Where are you now and what are you doing?"
"Didn't you exchange messages or exchange addresses?"
"He is not one to do such a thing. But if I can, I would like to thank him and hope that he will join the Bloodsworn Knights and fight."
At this time, Lilan made an expression as if she had realized something, and made a "voice" to my head.
\"Could it be Alice?\"
\"Alice-san?\"
"Indeed, Alice's ability is guaranteed, and she is a developer, and her knowledge level is still far behind." However, one year after the game started, Alice and Shino came here using medicuboid, so this It's impossible.
\"Hey, isn't it? Miss Alice and Shino came on the same day. Alberich has been involved in this game from the beginning. No matter how you think about it, the time and date don't match.\"
\"Yeah, I thought of Alice for a moment, but it seemed like I just remembered.\"
"Alice? Is there anyone with this name in the Bloodsworn Knights?"
Think about it, Alberich knew Aerith when she was attacked by Martell, but they didn't know each other's name. Alice is one of our best collaborators, so introducing her is a great idea.
\"Ah, Miss Alice is not a member of the Bloodsworn Knights, but she is one of our companions. You see, when I was attacked by that big guy and ran away, the black-haired woman appeared on me
After Alberich glanced at the ceiling, he made a face as if he remembered something.
"Ah, is this it? Because he was with the commander before, I thought he must be a member of the Blood Oath Knights, but he was wrong."
\"Yeah, Miss Alice is our collaborator, so you should know her name by now. Well, she's on the first floor, so it's easy to go see her.\"
"Is it the first floor? Did something happen there?"
\"There's a church there with children. Mr. Alice is the caretaker of the church there. He's a friendly guy like Alberich, so it's fun to talk to him about a lot of things.\"
"Really? I want to go see it next time."
\"However, Miss Alice is a very strong person and hates being touched by children. If anything happens, Miss Alice's sword will definitely knock you down, so be careful.\"
Alberich looked slightly surprised.
"Is that person really that strong?
Indeed, many times I hope that Alice can fight for me, but the children are all attached to Alice, and if something happens to the church when Alice is away, Sasha and the others are often unable to compete. That's why the church always needs Alice.
Well, lately Streia has become like a bodyguard with high combat effectiveness, so it should be fine, but sometimes Streia wants to join our strategy, so it's useless without Alice in the church. Sometimes Alice disappears suddenly though, so that's a problem.
\"Unfortunately, this is impossible. If Alice-san leaves the church, she will not be able to cope with the emergency. Alice-san must protect the church at this time. I was just rejected.\"
"This is a complex issue."
"Yeah, then, let's continue."
"Said, we started walking again." With the heat of the lava, the red cave was filled with monsters that looked like they lived in the volcano, and it was also invaded by the lava and dyed red - not long after entering , a huge wild boss-like monster stood there. Our way, but before we could attack, a rerun killed it.
Alberich shouted to me after witnessing the beast-like powerful attack.
"Even so, this leader's dragon Lilan is also very strong."
"Yes. Because it is one of our hopes and my reliable partner. And because it is a life living in this world, Lilan is very powerful. Moreover, Lilan is different from the monsters here."
"what is that?"
Despite getting to this point, he never modulated Alberich's voice before speaking so as not to surprise him. From Alberich's perspective, it would be a surreal sight, as if I were talking to Leland, a language he shouldn't understand. But now it's time to reveal the truth.
"Replay, listen to Alberich."
"Um?"
"Finally? Alberich, can you hear me?"
When Leland spoke to Alberidge, Alberidge gave a player's reaction. Yes, I looked around in confusion at the mysterious noise I suddenly heard. said Alberich, confused.
"Oh, I thought I just heard a voice or rather, it seemed like it was echoing in my head."
"That's Lilan's 'voice'. Lilan has a heart and can talk. It transmits his voice directly into our heads."
Alberich looked surprised. Ordinary players raised their voices in surprise when they heard this, but Alberich surprisingly did not raise his voice.
"Hey. Can Lilan speak?
"Even so. Sorry for not talking to you until now.
"W-What the hell is this? I can't believe he can communicate with us."
Alberich turned to me and moved his mouth slightly.
"Uh, what kind of AI is Lilan running? It's completely different from ordinary NPCs, isn't it?"
"Yes, but I don't know what kind of existence this guy is. Why can he speak? Now, this is the biggest mystery of the Blood Oath Knights."
\"Is that so? But I have never thought of such an existence. Although it is a death game, Aincrad is also a vast place.\"
"Yeah. But it's best not to say too much to offend Lilan. Lilan has a kind heart, and he is almost the same as us. When you are angry, he will bite your head open, because you lose. "it. "
Alberich turned his face to Liran, his eyes widening slightly. Maybe he imagined what it would be like when Lelan attacked him.
"Well, that's right, I don't want to be the boss on the scene just now."
\"Is that so?\"
I turned my face forward and noticed. The surrounding area was burned red by the lava, and only one door was not stained red. The door was blue-black and looked very heavy, with strange patterns carved on it, but I recognized that door.
"This is the door to the boss's room!"
"What, are you already in the boss room?"
So far, I've been progressing through the fields and dungeons with Alberich and Lilan, kicking enemies, so I didn't realize it, but we've reached the top level of the maze, and we're on what appears to be a boss fight. On the edge
"I didn't realize it because I kept walking forward but this door was definitely the door to the boss room."
Lilan nodded, and there was a sound in her throat. ——This is the action Lilane took when she sensed the presence of a powerful enemy.
"There is no doubt about it, Kirito. Behind this is a powerful enemy, the boss of this floor."
"You've finally come this far, Commander, what are you going to do?"
Since we are going to attack the front line, we ask Shino and Asuna to get information about the boss. They moved very quickly and collected information very quickly. It should be by the time all the information on the boss was collected. And the boss is not something that a few people can defeat, so if you rush in directly, you will be defeated in the blink of an eye.
"Now use the corridor crystal to remember this place, and use the teleportation crystal to return to the city. Call out everyone else and hold a strategy meeting. The boss cannot be defeated by us alone. Even if you use the power of re-running."
“Of course, no matter how strong we are, it seems unlikely that we can challenge the boss alone and win.
"Yeah, I'm probably collecting information about the boss. I should be able to hold a strategy meeting as soon as I get home."
As I said that, I took out a light blue crystal from the item library and asked it to remember this place. I put it in my pocket, and this time I took out a blue crystal and chanted the four words "Transfer", surrounded by blue light.
A fiery labyrinth rising from the crater. After finding the boss room, we returned to the city on the 76th floor. The reason why it is on the 76th floor is because the 76th floor is a town with a business district where you can find the items needed by the captive group, and it is also a frontline town where many captive groups gather.
It is true that each floor has its own town and shop, but none of them has a good selection of goods. In the end, everyone comes to this town with good goods, and it becomes more and more luxurious. Since this is a town that capture groups can easily pass through, most capture meetings are held here. In fact, even now, there are many capture group players everywhere.
\"Then I'd like to call everyone together for a strategy meeting, but it's already evening.\"
"I was so focused on capturing it that I didn't notice it."
The arrest work had progressed to this point. I thought it would be around noon, but when we arrived in the city, the sun had already set, the sky was dark, and the moon had come out. It seemed to go smoothly, but it seemed to take quite a long time.
"No way, let's hold a strategy meeting tomorrow? I'll just go home, but where is Alberich?"
\"I'm going home to rest first. No, no, thank you very much for today, Commander.\"
"I'm glad to be able to provide you with some help, too. Well, there might be a boss battle tomorrow, so let's all get some rest."
"Thank you for all your hard work," Alberich replied, then bowed his head dutifully before dismissing the group and walking into the city's crowd. After sending him away, a smaller Lilan jumped on his shoulder.
“A lot of interesting things happened today”
"I was surprised by Alberich's ability today." In addition to being able to fight Martell, I thought he was a pretty strong person because he wore pretty powerful equipment, but I didn't expect him to be able to fight well. so good. If such a person joins the arresting team of the Blood Oath Knights, future arrests will be faster and safer.
In fact, there are many stories where capture becomes very stable by just adding one strong player.
"Ah, such a powerful person has joined the capture team. I am looking forward to what the next boss battle will be like. Maybe you can relax your shoulders and go fight."
\"I think so too, but the reality is not so\"
\"Of course. Well, it seems that Shino and Yui are waiting for us, let's go home. But some dishes are only available here, so let's buy some as souvenirs and go home.\"
After confirming Lilan's nod, I started walking towards the city. According to him, he learned it from Asuna, but if he brought food to Shino, he would use that food as ingredients to make new dishes. It's also delicious, so when I have the time and money, I buy some side dishes and stuff.
"So what should we do today?"
While looking forward to what kind of food Shino would create, I walked into this city. The food here was fried, stir-fried, and grilled just like dinner. There was a pleasant fragrance all around, and I immediately felt hungry... .
There was no such thing as a bento, and the only thing to drink was heat-resistant drinks, so naturally I was hungry. It seemed the same was true for Lilan, who was riding on my shoulders with an unhappy look on his face.
"Gugu, I'm hungry. In other words, I didn't eat anything for lunch today.\"
"Ah. I was so focused on strategy that I forgot that this smell really hurts me."
\"If you buy it, just use chicken\"
"Hmm, chicken? Then buy some roast chicken."
Just as I was about to say this, I heard a voice coming from near the portal behind the city.
"No, stop!!"
"I don't remember hearing it, but it was a female voice." And this sentence seemed to be rejecting something. Lilan seemed to have heard the sound, and like me, he turned his face in the direction of the sound.
\"The voice just now was\"
"There might be an argument, let's go."
\"If the leader of the Bloodsworn Knights and his partner Ryu appear, the matter will be solved. Let's go, Kirito.
I nodded, put down the side dishes temporarily, and ran through the crowd. As Lilan said just now, if I, the strongest player in Aincrad and the boss of the Bloodsworn Knights, appear at the scene of the dispute, the dispute will soon subside, so I can be in the middle of the dispute. Stop it before it gets too big. Besides, there is no guarantee that the current voice is not a member of the Blood Oath Knights, so it cannot be simply confirmed.
While thinking about this, I continued running, passing through the slightly dim town and through the forest of buildings, and finally came to the scene of the dispute where I could hear the sound. Although it is very close to the portal, there are not many people around, which is a bit weird.
In the midst of all this, there is a scene of about five men having sex with a woman. It can be felt. What's more, the armor worn by this woman is mainly red and white, which belongs to the Blood Oath Knights. At the same time, the man next to her is wearing a robe and armor composed of white and gold. . I saw that they were all wearing such equipment, and I knew that they were not members of the Blood Oath Knights. I couldn't see his face because he was wearing a deep robe.
"He is from the Blood Oath Knights!"
Just when I thought it would be a good idea to check it out, one of the men grabbed the woman's arm.
"Come on, let's play together."
"No, what are you doing! Let go!!"
When I was about to walk up to the woman, my eyes widened involuntarily.
In this game, a moral code is established to prevent harm such as sexual assault, if you try to move it, there will be a harassment warning and you will feel uncomfortable, but if you continue to do so, you will be thrown into the jail black The first floor of the Iron Palace.
Normally a harassment warning should be issued if a woman continues to touch someone she doesn't like, but I can't confirm this.
And the woman is about to be taken away by the man.
"What's going on? Why is there no harassment warning?\"
"I want to ask, but this guy will definitely be of no use if you leave him alone. Let's go."
I kicked up the stone pavement and ran, impulsively pulling out the "Crazy Ruler". I rushed towards the men gathered around the woman, and the moment the men noticed, I fired a one-handed sword skill at the neck of the man holding the woman's arm.
"Wow!!"
"Wow!!"
The man who grabbed the woman's neck received my sword skills, screamed and was blown away. In the process, he let go of the woman's arm, and finally rolled onto the stone road. The woman was also frightened by this sudden fright and screamed.
"D-Captain!"
When I recovered my posture and raised my head, the men around me raised their voices in surprise. Strangely, they were all wearing deep hoods and masks, so I couldn't see their faces.
\"This, this guy is from the Blood Oath Knights!\"
I immediately pulled out the "Dark Repulser" and started preparing to activate my sword skills.
"What are you doing to our guild members? You obviously don't like this."
"Damn it, I didn't expect someone like you to show up!"
When the men prepared their white one-handed swords, I prepared to launch the long-range attack skill "Terminator Revolver". Those who don't listen to me have no choice but to use this against them. It's within range, so it won't hurt your opponent, and the cursor won't turn orange, so you can shoot with confidence.
"Are you still leaving? Any further violence will be interpreted as a declaration of war against us, the Bloodsworn Knights."
When I said this in a threatening tone, the blown man stood up, ran to the four people in front of me, and stood in front of them staring at me.
"You guys, retreat here. The boss of the Blood Oath Knights is too bad."
The men around him nodded softly and put away their weapons. Then, the leadership-level man called me to shout.
"Don't be arrogant just because you are the leader of a guild full of strong men. Eventually, we, Mnemosyne, will take over the world! And of course, you and the Knights of Blood!"
"Mnemosyne". After uttering these cryptic words and some incomprehensible lines, the mob quickly left us. The previous screams and the voices of the thugs disappeared. When silence returned to the scene, I put the two swords into the scabbards on my back and looked back at the woman who was attacked.
The woman was about my age, with short reddish-brown hair—she was more of a girl than a woman.
"d. Captain"
"Are you okay? Being attacked by someone like that is a disaster."
"Yes they appeared out of nowhere and attacked me out of nowhere but thanks to the captain I was saved. I don't think you know this but my name is Coco."
"Kekeha. Since no one comes out to attack, is it the support side?"
"Yes. The 76th floor is a place where you can collect various items, so I collected items that will be used later, but then I fell into that exchange."
I thought again of what those people looked like. The gear they wore covered their faces, was the same as the one in the Smiling Coffin, and was the opposite color to the one in the Smiling Coffin. However, that doesn't change the fact that they were people I'd never met before, and it was the first time I'd heard them talk about the word "mnemosyne."
(Mnemosyne)
What they say is "mnemosyne". Even though I had a lot of information and words from the internet, I had no idea what the word meant. Shino probably knows about this too, so I'll ask him when I get home.
"But what are they? I don't even recognize them."
"Me too, I'd also like to know what this is, from what I've seen, they're all green players, so I don't think it's a red or orange guild."
Hearing Coco's words, I put my hand on my chin and lowered my head. It is true that players now have green cursors, which does not look like they are killing people, but even if you kill someone and the cursor turns orange, if you complete the karma restoration task, it will also turn green. go back.
If a person had calmly done something so heinous, it would probably have been orange and now turned green again. Well, it could be a mono-green player doing bad things like the former thugs from the Aincrad Liberation Army.
But even so, the word "mnemosyne" and the strange phrase about seizing control of the world caught my attention. They said, "We are mnemosyne," so mnemosyne was the name of their guild team.
I would like to know.
And when the leader tried to take away the cocoa by force, there was no sign of being stopped by the harassment warning. There's no way something like this could happen to a regular player, and the recent harassment warnings have been properly confirmed, so the chance of it not triggering due to a bug is slim.
"Anyway, I'm not sure, so I'm a little confused." It's like eating grilled fish and having a little bone stuck in your throat.
"It would be better to keep an eye on them anyway and share the information among the Bloodsworn Knights. Maybe."
\"Pull,\"Smiling Coffin\"!?
I instinctively extended my palm to Coco, who started to panic and shook her gently.
"Hey, hey, it doesn't matter, this is just a guess, I don't think they are that powerful.
"And the boss Vasak Casals, all the remaining soldiers were dead at that time." He could not appear in the form of a ghost, so the "Smiling Coffin" would not be born again. "
"that's right"
Coco suddenly changed her mind and bowed to me.
"Well, Commander, thank you very much. What would have happened now if the Commander had not come?"
"No no, I'm glad I found you by chance. I have things to do, so I have to go, but can I do it alone?"
"Yes.
"I understand, but something may happen in the future, so be careful and go home."
Coco smiled and nodded "yes" before returning to the portal. There was a feeling of relief when I took the steps, but my heart was filled with confusion and uneasiness.
"So [mnemosyne] what are you talking about?"
\"mnemosyne\" I think it's some kind of word, but I'm pretty sure that's their name. \"
"Yes. Could it be that the [Smiling Coffin] wasn't completely destroyed at that time?"
"But they don't look as bad as the Smiling Coffins. If I must say, they're closer to the ex-Army thugs who occupy the first floor.
"I was a little surprised to see Lilan standing on my shoulders." Even Lilan didn't expect that they would think that they looked like the former "Army" people.
"Do you think so too?"
"I think so. But I can't leave them alone. Just in case, I have to pay attention to their movements in the future.
"I know"
"The riot is over for now, I have to go home quickly." With this thought, I returned to the business district, bought a piece of chicken from the stall designated by Lilan, put it in the inventory, and then went to the portal again. Flying to the twenty-second floor.
◇◇◇
"What is Mnemosyne?"
Shino tilted her head and whispered.
Now, Shino, Yui, and Liran and I were having dinner in the house on the 22nd floor as usual, but I wanted to talk about them there, so I reported to Shino immediately.
As I brought Shino's delicious chicken to my mouth, I taught her more.
"Mnemosyne, to be precise. It doesn't stretch enough."
"No, it means the same thing anyway" mnemosyne.
"When I returned from capture, someone attacked my fellow Bloodsworn Knights. They said
Shino put the bucket into her mouth, swallowed it and said.
"Do you want to take over the world? Someone joked."
\"Oh, I don't understand it at all. So, Shino, what does 'Mnemosyne mean? I don't understand.'
The next moment, it was Yui who answered my question, not Shino.
"[mnemosyne] is the entity in Greek mythology who deifies memory. Mnemosyne is the goddess of memory."
"The goddess of memory?"
Seeing Yui start to drink the soup, Shino nodded.
"Yes, the name of the memory goddess who appears in Greek mythology is Mnemosyne. If I guess correctly, she must be the lover of Zeus and the goddess who gave birth to the gods."
“Blessed, does God commit adultery with an adulterous partner?”
Shino, who must have known about this, said with a wry smile.
“The gods in Greek mythology all have human odors”
Yui raised her eyebrows and turned to face me.
"Are those people attacking dad's companions?"
"Ah. They only had one companion, so five of them attacked together. They wore white and gold combat uniforms and armor mixed equipment, and wore hoods. In addition to being deeply covered, I couldn't do anything because I was wearing mask, so I recognized your face.”
Shino placed the soup plate on the table and frowned.
\"What, that suspicious group\"
At this moment, Lilan, who was eating food, threw a "voice" into our minds.
\"No, it is actually a suspicious group. They attacked a female player but did not receive a harassment warning. The harassment warning should have been visible to third parties, but it was not confirmed by our own eyes.
"It was Yui who was fascinated by the story." Yui is one of the systems in this game, and she has a thorough understanding of how the world works. I knew immediately that the words coming out of my mouth were unbelievable.
"This is strange. Under normal circumstances, if a male player attacks a female player, unless the moral codes of both parties are invalid, the victim will receive a harassment warning, and the perpetrator can be sent to Black Iron Palace Prison. But in the end, the murderer The player was eventually imprisoned in the Black Iron Palace Prison. Did the female players turn off their moral code?"
I thought of Coco, the woman who was attacked. From what Coco sees, she doesn't do that, and she doesn't seem to understand the existence of the First Moral Code. I'm sure Coco would have received a proper harassment warning if I pushed her or tried to force her to leave. But Coco did not appear to have checked the window to operate the harassment warning at the time.
"I don't think so. Players must have followed the moral code at the time, and both. Yet the guys at mnemosyne didn't get the harassment warning...could the functionality around this have started to break?"
Shino raised his eyebrows and lowered his head.
"Of course, after Martell did this, Kayaba disappeared at that time."
"Yes, but the harassment warning function may have died recently? If there is a way, check it out."
